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December 13, 2006

Matsuzaka Is On The Plane To Boston!

2D UPDATE: If you are totally insane, you can follow the plane -- live! ... (Thanks Jere)



UPDATE From SI:
Daisuke Matsuzaka has reached a deal with the Boston Red Sox for 6 years, $52 million, SI.com's Jon Heyman has learned. The deal contains escalator clauses that could bring it up to $60 million.
Holy shit, what a steal (if accurate)!


Edes, Globe:
The Red Sox contingent in Southern California is currently flying back to Boston with pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka and his agent, Scott Boras, on board.

"You can assume that a deal is done or close," said one source with direct knowledge of the talks.

Team owner John W. Henry confirmed that Boras and Matsuzaka were flying back with the team, writing in an e-mail to the Associated Press: "They all took off together." ...

In prior days, agent Scott Boras had said he would not allow Matsuzaka to travel to Boston for a physical unless the sides had reached a preliminary agreement.
Silverman at the Herald also has the news.

24 comments:

  1. The MLB.com article notes that the deadline (which we've been hearing is "midnight Thursday") is "midnight at the end of Wednesday. So, they do it differently than the Canadian Blog Awards. Of course, this may be irrelevant now, but they still could be negotiating--in mid-air, mind you--right now.

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  2. Thanks for the tip on the takeoff, Jere!

    MLB.com article notes that the deadline (which we've been hearing is "midnight Thursday") is "midnight at the end of Wednesday."

    Which can be read as the same thing. Midnight comes at the first second of the new day on Thursday (12:00 AM), even though we also think of it as Wednesday night.

    So I type this at 1:45 PM Wednesday, the deadline is 10 hours and 15 minutes away.

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  3. Right. They've got it right. CBA had it wrong.

    6/52 according to SI.

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  4. Jere beat me to it but here is the link: SI.

    Good news if true.

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  5. Jon Heyman has been known to type some strange things into his computer, but this looks like a coup.

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  6. Wow, this is exciting. Thanks for the breaking news, Mr R Sock.

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  7. The latest from Matsuzaka Watch:

    Well, it's finally over. ... I think Theo Epstein got an absolute bargain, and should be celebrated by Red Sox Nation. ... I think they deserve a tickertape parade in Boston.

    They get a 26 year old pitcher, who by most estimation is one of the top 5 to 10 pitchers in the world. They lock him up at Meche money on the payroll to a long term deal, and outplay Boras in the process.

    As a Yankees fan, I'm not looking forward to facing the Sox when Daisuke's on the mound these next 6 years. It hasn't been easy for me to watch this unfold, as I've devoted a year of my life to promoting this player to the American public only to see him land with my arch rival ...

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  8. Just listened to Henry on WEEI. Deal is not done, but he is hopeful... well at least he sounds it. Basically, what you would expect from a Henry interview.

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  9. Plane just took a slight left, JUST south of Toronto. Go look out the window. Look south! Take pics of the plane!

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  10. Wow, Toronto's further east than I thought. You still have a few minutes...

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  11. And in Boston, they'll be waiting with a police escort to get him to his physical on time.

    The escort will hopefully not run over Doug Mirabelli on his way to sign his contract.

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  12. They're on cruise control. 529 knots for the last 13 minutes. Longest period they've travelled at a constant speed since the 11-minute long stretch at 505 knots from 3:00 to 3:11.

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  13. I wish I had credentials for the press conference. I'd be all, "Why'd you guys go from 512 knots all the way up to 540 knots at 4:01 PM??"

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  14. We were at the dog run. I did not see an airplane, but it's cloudy today. Sorry.

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  15. DM has never set foot in Boston. Maybe he's seen some videos of fans at Fenway, though. He's in for a treat.

    Will there will be any fans at Laurence G. Hanscom Field Airport (Bedford, MA)?

    I'm reminded of Pedro's comment when he arrived and walked through Logan on December 11, 1997:

    [There were fans at the airport] yelling and waving flags, and someone had a sign that said WE LOVE YOU, PEDRO. That night I said to someone, 'I think I love Boston already.'

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  16. The dog probably heard the plane.

    Or at least DiceK shrieking with joy as he signed the 52 million dollar contract.

    Just crossing into Mass now. Look up, 413s. If you're not too busy smoking weed. Oh!

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  17. I don't remember where I saw this now, but I heard an EEi host was telling people to go there to greet him. (This was actually hours after I emailed someone I know who works near there and told them to get their ass over there.)

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  18. Jack, I recently thought like you about this guy. And it's good to be cautious. But now that the plane's at 8,200 feet, on its final descent, I'm psyched!

    Make that 6,200. Oh, wait, back up to 29,000. Steinbrenner's weather-machine is in motion, people. Oh, nope, back down again. That had to be a glitch or something. You don't go up 13,000 feet in less than a minute and back down again. Unless Daisuke took the controls for a second and did some gyro-piloting. Is there anything this guy can't do??

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  19. Trading for Pedro was a gamble. Signing Manny was a gamble. Hell, resigning Cora is a gamble (of smaller proportions).

    Everything is a gamble, Jack.

    The Red Sox got their man at a much lower salary that many people thought it would take. Morons were insisting Dice/Boras wouldn't even bother to look at anything less than 12 per. Bzzzzt.

    The very fact that Dice'll be earning less money than many league average pitchers in 2007 means it's a good deal.

    (Yes, I know I'm ignoring the posting fee, but if he was a true FA, he'd command a bigger contract than 6/52. Think of what Boras is trying to get for Zito -- near $100M.)

    So, you think Meche will outpitch Dice?

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  20. It's all a gamble, Jack. Every single signing is a gamble. You may not approve of this one, but it hardly seems to warrant this level of venom. Maybe separate your feelings about Scott Boras from the fact of the Red Sox getting this pitcher.

    Japan is not the minor leagues, you know. He's technically a rookie, but he's not a rookie to big-league ball.

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  21. According to the map, DiceAir flew south of Lake Ontario and even south of Buffalo -- which is more than 90 minutes away from Joy Central.

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  22. Edes, Extra Bases blog:

    "The caravan is going by police escort to Mass. General Hospital, presumably for Matsuzaka's physical, which is required before any deal is finalized."

    AAAAAAH! What the fuck did I saaaaaaay?!?!

    Either that or traffic around Boston is still as bad as I remember.

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