TIGERS OUTBID THE RED SOX

It's a good thing the Tigers weren't also trying to buy Liverpool. In case you haven't heard, the word is that the Tigers have signed Victor Martinez to a 4 year, $50 million deal. I guess that was too much of a commitment for the Red Sox, who once signed JD Drew to a 5 year, $70 million deal. The Sox once spent $51 million just to talk to Matsuzaka. They once gave Mike Lowell a 4 year, $60 million deal. They extended Josh Beckett's deal by 4 years for $68 million. They signed Lackey to a 5 year, $82.5 million deal.

They also just spent nearly half a billion on a soccer team that is over $400 million in debt. But $50 million for a consistent hitting catcher was too much. That was just too much of a commitment for the Red Sox.

I'm tired of hearing John Henry, Tom Werner, and Larry Luchino come on WEEI and pat themselves on the backs for spending the second most money in baseball, for spending their budget. Maybe it's time to raise the budget, guys. The Sox spent the second most last year, and had the 10th overall record. So maybe they should realize "we made some big contract mistakes." And instead of not spending, they could help alleviate those mistakes by spending a little more.

I don't expect them to outbid the Yankees for Cliff Lee. But I do expect them to not lose quality free agents to the Detroit fucking Tigers. Detroit, like every other team in baseball, is looking to improve. The Sox are content to be "contenders." Even though, they're not contenders, not in the AL East.

The Sox owners are not interested in winning. At least, not in baseball anymore. They want to win Premier League titles, and FA Cups. They're bored with the Red Sox. They had our fun, and now they've moved on.

And every bullshit, propaganda explanation we get from the Globe, or from WEEI, or from the Front Office itself, will only piss me off further. How come nobody asks how much the Sox made in 2010? How much was their profit. We KNOW that their payroll was on budget. And they just made a major purchase, so they must have some funds lying around.

I don't care if the Sox have a payroll of $60 million, or $300 million. I WANT THEM TO WIN. I understand that owners can't spend more than they make. But you know what, don't take the profits you make from our team, then use it to buy a second-rate, collapsing soccer team in England. Henry, Werner, and Luchino aren't from here, so they might not realize that we don't like the British here. Maybe we should fill Fenway with water and pour tea in it.

Good luck in Detroit, Victor. The Tigers obviously care more about winning than the Red Sox.

LET BELTRE GO, BUT KEEP VICTOR

There are rumors that Adrian Beltre has been offered a 5 year deal by the Oakland Athletics worth $64 million. The Sox would be fools to match this. Beltre is only 31, but his career is an up and down roller coaster of inconsistency. And he's known for having a big year when his contract is up, only to fall off the next season.

Victor Martinez turns 32 in a few weeks, and he plays a more physically demanding position than Beltre, and he doesn't play it very well. His 2010 campaign wasn't as productive as Beltre's, but it's just one year in a steady stream of consistent performances. He'll hit .280 to .300, with an OBP between .340 and .380, and slug between .460 and .500. Because of this offensive reliability, Victor Martinez is worth a 5 year deal.

Martinez will not catch forever, and should be moved to 1B and/or DH. But he can catch for a year until Ortiz's contract runs out, then move to DH. He's a better hitter when not catching anyway. In the meantime, the Sox can find a more permanent solution to their catching situation.

And that's the other big difference between Beltre and Martinez. The Sox can lose Beltre, then trade for or sign another good corner infielder to replace his production. That's not going to happen very easily at catcher.

Beltre's not worth any deal longer than 3 years. Victor Martinez, due to his consistency, and the immediate lack of depth at his position, is.

SOX LEAVE THEIR HEALTH IN SAN FRANCISCO

The good news is that the Sox took 2 of 3 from the Giants. The bad news is that injury took 2 or 3 Sox from the field.

Pedroia went down on Friday, after fouling a ball off his ankle, breaking his foot. He's likely to be out for 6 weeks, which would mean the Sox would have to play sans-sparkplug until August. Pedroia was in the midst of an insane hot streak. In his last 53 at-bats, he was hitting .490, slugging .849, with 4 homers, 13 RBI and 17 runs. I think he's been the MVP of the Sox to this point, and playing without him will be a struggle.

When it rains, it pours. 10 game winner Clay Buchholz was forced to leave Saturday's game because he hurt himself running the bases, of all things. That's just a really bad beat right there. Fuck the NL, and fuck the idea of pitchers hitting. But I guess the potential sacrifice of a Cy Young candidate is worth seeing pitchers bunt foul for strike 3. The diagnosis is a hyper-extended knee. The prognosis is that he may miss a start, but it doesn't look like a DL stint will be called for.

Bad things happen in threes. Victor Martinez fractured his thumb in Sunday's game, thanks to some foul tips. He's not expected to hit the DL, but it's perhaps still too early to tell. He'll be evaluated again today. V-Mart had also been playing well as of late, hitting .359 in June with a .409 OBP.

So some bad luck, and the stupid, antiquated, boring bad rules they have in the NL all add up to some key injuries for the Sox.

Sources:
WEEI
Rotoworld


Photo Credit:
Getty Images