In Breaking News
ESPN reporter Buster Olney is reporting that the Boston Red Sox have posted the top bid for Japanese stud right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka, in the range of $38-$45 million. The Seibu Lions have until Tuesday to accept or reject the bid, though I can't see why the would reject. Now, I was never fired up about the Yankees getting this guy - his price tag at a $45 million posting fee could be $120 million for five years, a $24 million annual bill that rivals A-Rod's pact - and I have visions of Hideki "The Toad" Irabu, aka Hideki I Rob You. Still, if this guy's the real deal, the Yanks have lost out on two fronts. A) They don't have him, and B) the Red Sox might, depending on whether they can reach a deal. There's the possibility that the Red Sox are merely trying to keep Matsuzaka away from the Yanks and will make a half-hearted attempt to sign him. In a bit of good news, though, the Yanks did land a top pitching prospect, Humberto Sanchez, in the Gary Sheffield trade, someone who might be able to front the rotation for them capably, if not as well as Matsuzaka. Curious to see what other plays the Yanks might make this off-season. Can they woo the hard-tossing, 33-year-old right Jason Schmidt away from the West Coast, for example. Time will tell, but the Hot Stove league is heating up.