Schilling Back, Lowell On the Way

The offseason and free agent market are heating up. So far since I last posted the Sox have managed to sign Curt Schilling to a one year deal worth $8 million with incentives for performance. Schilling claimed to have turned down some more lucrative offers from other teams to stay in Boston. Can’t say I blame the guy, I don’t think I’d want to leave either after this past season. And he gets his own weight clauses in his contract. As you can see from the picture next to or above this paragraph, it’ll come in handy.

I love the fact that he sort of stuck it to Joe Torre for leaving the Yankees because the $5 million they offered him wasn’t enough in a roundabout way. Schilling had stated this past week that he’s made over $100 million playing baseball and he and his kids and his kids’ kids are set, so why should he be going after money at this point in his career. It would have been cooler if he said, "fuck you Joe Torre, have fun not making the playoffs out in LA!" He wants to play for the team that has the best shot to win a championship so he’s sticking with Boston. I’m personally not ready to christen the Sox as a shoe in for the ’08 Series, but I wouldn’t bet against them either.

This week while the GM’s of the league are in Florida, World Series MVP Mike Lowell was supposedly offered a contract for 3 years and an undisclosed, and probably significant, amount of money. Hopefully he’ll take, Boston wants him back and he’s been quoted many, many times as saying he’d love to stay in Boston. When you’re on top of the sports world in New England, it’s easy money. Hopefully it can stay that way. Of course you know the story, Lowell was an afterthought in the Josh Beckett trade, now he’s a Boston folk hero. Of course, not too many people saw Damon packing his bags for the Bronx after the ’05 season either. When a player files for free agency anything can happen I guess.

Jacoby Ellsbury seems ready for the big time. In a way, he’s already there turning in one of the best World Series performances by a rookie in recent history. Losing Coco Crisp will mean giving up some the speed that helped Boston become the team they were this season, but it’s a small price to pay to keep a player like Ellsbury on a course of development that will pay huge dividends in the future. Crisp was more or less a bridge to get from the departure of Damon to get to Ellsbury after he was drafted in 2005 after a more than respectable career in Corvallis, Oregon for the Beavers of Oregon State.

In what could be an interesting turn of events, the New York Yankees have made their interest public in Florida Marlins 3B Miguel Cabrera. For once, the Marlins are not letting one of their players slip through undetected. Cabrera, as you may know, was part of the price tag for Josh Beckett. If he were to replace Alex Rodriguez on bag number three for the Yankees it would make for a mildly interesting storyline. I say mild because I’d take Beckett and Lowell in a trade for Cabrera again and again. At least after this year.

Once again, signing A-Rod would be a huge mistake for the Sox. Just thought I’d throw that out there again. I’d also like to throw out the fact that 99.9% of the media is reporting Rodriguez to be a 3B replacement for whichever team he signs with. This just in…A-Rod is better as a short stop! I’m sort of sick of turning on ESPN and hearing the talking heads talk about “who would you rather have? Lowell or A-Rod?” Both, you fucktard! I’m not saying it’s going to happen, or that I’d even want it to happen. I’m just saying that you don’t need to give up Lowell to get A-Rod. Jesus, ESPN sucks.