Will Boston sign Japanese ace Matsuzaka?
Red Sox Nation frets, but: Yes. Dec. 13, 2006 | Hand-wringing and speculation about the Boston Red Sox-Daisuke Matsuzaka negotiations have reached a — forgive me — fever pitch as the Red Sox’s artificial Wednesday deadline has arrived and the real Thursday midnight deadline approaches. The Sox have until the end of Thursday to sign the ace right-hander or he reverts to his Japanese team, the Seibu Lions. The Sox say a deal has to get done by Wednesday because the team considers it a non-negotiable requirement that Matsuzaka fly from Los Angeles to Boston for a physical before a contract is signed. The Boston Herald reported in the wee hours Wednesday that Boston’s latest offer was six years at $8 million a year, while agent Scott Boras’ latest on Matsuzaka’s behalf was six years at $11 million per. If that’s true, they’re arguing over peanuts. The Red Sox are not going to miss out on signing Matsuzaka to save $3 million a year, the price of a middle reliever or utility infielder in t
