i dont recall ortiz coming through in many clutch situations last yr..a lot of garbage time rbis....i thought he was worth resigning but not for 14mil.  i think many of you are seriously deluding yourselves if you think this is a good signing...this might be as bad as becketts 17 million...not the direction i expected the team to go in after the veterans let them down in september...papi was one of the biggest crybabies in 2011. either way you look at it, it is his last year unless he takes a serious pay cut in 2013 i wish we would have let him walk and did DH by committee with lava, youk, agon...
Posted by georom4

Expensive roll of the dice for a player that conceivably could have been let go two years ago - replacing 28/95 is easy to do.
Posted by BurritoT

In Response to Re: Papi's Last Year with the Red Sox : Last year there were 19 players who hit 28/95, including Ortiz. Exactly TWO were openly available (i.e. free agents or clearly on the trade market) this offseason: Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols. I'd say there are between 30-40 players who have a good shot at 28/95, though many of them will still fall short of that mark. The problem is that, among that group, the only ones who are ever available are top-dollar free agents or extremely flawed veterans (Alfonso Soriano, Mark Reynolds). You'd rather have those guys instead of Ortiz? You wouldn't even be saving money... I notice all the Ortiz haters here aren't responding to my posts. Hard to argue with actual evidence, eh? I suppose if the facts don't fit your hypothesis, don't change your hypothesis...just choose facts that fit better!
Posted by redsoxu571

Given what Ortiz did in early Red Sox career, and what he was paid at that time, he has earned more than what he has been paid during his career. Contrast that to two value disgraces, good ole boys Varitek and Wastefield, who have been gifted welfare contract years beyond the age they were able to compete at the MLB level. Ortiz has not played a single season where he has not been on of the top tier hitters in the league!!! Yet most of bigoted Leftist Boston begrudges Ortiz final contract years. If Ortiz hits zero and washes out during 2012, had has earned his money a zillion times over Wastefield and VAritek!!!!!!!!!! Get that through your bigoted heads!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by hankwilliamsjr

In Response to Re: Papi's Last Year with the Red Sox : Amen to that, regarding Ortiz at least. Apparently his desire for contract security (not money...what Ortiz wants more than anything is to not have to worry about his job security) rubs people the wrong way, so they blow it way up and call him selfish. You are pretty unfair regarding Wakefield and Varitek, though. Wakefield has long been a model (and award-winning) citizen, an unselfish player who did whatever the Sox asked of him. He signed for an extremely reasonable $4m (a pay cut) after 2005, when he put up a crazy, career high 225 innings, along with a very solid 4.15 era. He then gave the Red Sox complete control with a faith-based annual $4m team option, which they happily exercised through 2009 (from '06-'09 Wakefield's ERA+ values were 103, 100, 112, 103, which means the Red Sox were getting a flexible and unselfish above average pitcher for $4m a year with no long-term risk). Then, in anticipation of the decline he has indeed suffered the last two years (but ONLY the last two years), he signed an even more team-friendly deal for an AAV of $2.5m. Was that really such a waste? As for Varitek, he signed a very reasonable 4 year, $40m contract after his two best seasons (when he was VERY good), and completely live up to it over the first three seasons (.260/.355/.440, excellent numbers for a catcher who also fields well) before unsurprisingly hitting a wall at age 36. He then took a 50% pay cut (down to $5m), then took home $3m to be a certain backup catcher, and last year was a veteran, clubhouse-leading backup catcher for a "wild" sum of $2m. Both players have lived up to their earnings, both have been unselfish and graceful personalities, and both have worked with the team to sign reasonable financial contracts. They deserve the height of praise in what is an often selfish business, not criticism.
Posted by redsoxu571

If you are so against our players, why the hell are you here? Find yourself a team that suits your desires and leave the Sox alone to those who TRULY support them year round!
Posted by xcaliber

In Response to Re: Papi's Last Year with the Red Sox : he was good last yr...but i dont care what the stats say, he was not even in the top 20 hitters in the american league...those stats are meaningless...as september proved.....14 mil for a 37 yr old one dimensional player who is more concerned with his own stats than the team's success is not my idea of a great signing...but dont let that stop your bootlicking...i realize it has been a very tough year for the APOLOGISTS
Posted by georom4

 he signed an even more team-friendly deal for an AAV of $2.5m. Was that really such a waste? Wakefield was paid nearly 4 million last year, which is truly a joke! The incentives should not have been included and did not need to be included as they represented poor quantity, not quality. Both Varitek and Wakefield have been washed up for years, and have put ownership and management in a bad position of having to be the only MLB team who will feel sorry for them and gift them MLB contracts and active roster spots. If they had class, they would have retired gracefully, at least 2 years ago.
Posted by hankwilliamsjr

In Response to Re: Papi's Last Year with the Red Sox : I hope you understand that your first statement (above) destroys all credibility you have in this thread, and many others.  Stats are stats.  They are what they are - an indication of a players contribution to the team.   Some fans love stats until they don't agree with them, then they say, "I don't care what the stats say, ....". Be one way of the other - either believe in them or don't, but don't be picking and choosing when you want to believe in stats. To call stats "meaningless" becaue of a one month slump is to allow one's self to become a victim of Small Sample Size.  I, too, think he's overpaid at $14MM, but I want him on this team (and not another team) and... it's not my money!  So I'm getting what I want, essentially for free.  And Roy Oswalt ain't coming through that door, with or without Papi on the team.
Posted by S5

In Response to Re: Papi's Last Year with the Red Sox : I hope you understand that your first statement (above) destroys all credibility you have in this thread, and many others.  Stats are stats.  They are what they are - an indication of a players contribution to the team.   Some fans love stats until they don't agree with them, then they say, "I don't care what the stats say, ....". Be one way of the other - either believe in them or don't, but don't be picking and choosing when you want to believe in stats. To call stats "meaningless" becaue of a one month slump is to allow one's self to become a victim of Small Sample Size.  I, too, think he's overpaid at $14MM, but I want him on this team (and not another team) and... it's not my money!  So I'm getting what I want, essentially for free.  And Roy Oswalt ain't coming through that door, with or without Papi on the team.
Posted by S5

Given what Ortiz did in early Red Sox career, and what he was paid at that time, he has earned more than what he has been paid during his career. Contrast that to two value disgraces, good ole boys Varitek and Wastefield, who have been gifted welfare contract years beyond the age they were able to compete at the MLB level. Ortiz has not played a single season where he has not been on of the top tier hitters in the league!!! Yet most of bigoted Leftist Boston begrudges Ortiz final contract years. If Ortiz hits zero and washes out during 2012, had has earned his money a zillion times over Wastefield and VAritek!!!!!!!!!! Get that through your bigoted heads!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by hankwilliamsjr

hmm..we get the yanks late season averages but not papis??? is this what passes for honesty on this site?  you can take Papi... i will take tex or cano or grandy or pedroia or agon or ells arod? youk? if healthy (and didnt have to play the field like big sloppy?) stop this insanity that Papi in 2012 is a great bargain at 14 mil for a dh...stupid...
Posted by georom4