Fear and Loathing

I continue to feel genuine ennui about the Hot Stove. It appears the Red Sox have bid $51.1 million to speak with Daisuke Matsuzaka, and so of course the punditry has reached new levels of cacophony. Yankees loyalists are jumping on the dollar amount and declaring that Red Sox fans can no longer bitch about the Yankees' spending, which I find a little weird. "Ha, ha, now you're as bad as us!" doesn't seem like much of a solid criticism.

If anything, we Sox fans haven't really been able to bitch about the Yankees' payroll for going on two years, as it's been vividly demonstrated that having the highest payroll does not equal winning the World Series.

But anyway, I remain on the fence about the Matsuzaka deal, as shades of Josh Beckett dance in my head when I think of signing another young pitcher unproven in the AL East (hell, in the US Majors or American League in general, for that matter). It helps that Matsuzaka is much more of a finesse pitcher, and hopefully therefore less prone to becoming prideful and stubborn about relying on his fastball.

And if we're going to err on the side of aggression, I am glad the team appears to be doing it in the pitching department, where the need is greatest and the supply so vastly less than the general demand.

Anyway, that said, I haven't really been giving this my full and undivided because I generally find arguing hypotheticals and permutations of hypotheticals all based on speculation tiring after a while--though I know that for other people that's another enjoyable aspect of the sport, I just don't have the patience / stamina for it, I don't think. Also, I have been distracted by the signing to the Patriots of Vinny Testaverde, not because I think he'll ever see playing time (dear God, please let that be true) but because it has fanned the flames of speculation about Brady being hurt into a full-blown bonfire. The whispers have been there all season, but since the signing of another backup QB, they have become debates and conversations, and it all just makes me want to sit under a blanket with my fingers in my ears going "LA LA LA LA LA LA LA".

Which means not much gets through about Matsuzaka, either.

P.S. Seems Mrblackandwhite is on a similar page:

A couple people have e-mailed me, ok one person, has e-mailed me, asking what I thought of the The Sox shelling out 50 million just to talk to some Hekimatzuizilla guy. (Apparently he's a pitcher?) My answer: The Pats are playing Green Bay this weekend.

Exactly.

Comments

[ozziesox13]

It is truly good to hear a reasonable viewpoint on the K-Mat sweepstakes. I'm glad to hear not everyone in New England is totally sold on this move. I think sometimes people forget - all the Red Sox did was pay 51.1 mil to TALK with this guy - that's it. They must sign him now somehow someway or risk being the laughingstocks of the league.

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[Devine]

ozzie...you know they get the money back if they don't sign him, right?

I'm pretty excited. Color me indifferent to the Yankee fans' "barbs" on this issue. Guy looked really good in the WBC (only time I've seen him pitch), and the idea of Japan getting into the Sox-Yankees rivalry is pretty sweet.