The New Empire

By Mike McGann
Posted Sunday, December 10, 2006

It seems like just yesterday that Larry Lucchino described the Yankees as the Evil Empire. Funny, isn’t it, that while the Yankees have gotten their house in order and been judicious with their money — $16 million for Andy Pettitte makes sense for a team that needs pitching badly — and it’s the Red Sox who have acted like the thugs of baseball.

Whether it is tampering with the likes of Julio Lugo or J.D. Drew, and charges appear likely in the latter case, or the increasingly curious case of Daisuke Matsuzaka you have to begin to wonder whether the Red Sox feel like they have to bother playing by the rules. Despite bidding $51.1 million for the right to talk to Matsuzaka, reports out of Boston say the pitcher and the Sox are far apart on a deal that must get done by Thursday.

Red Sox defenders might argue that the questionably moral moves by the Boston front office are needed to fight off Big Market teams.

I know, take a moment to smirk. Other than the Yankees, the Sox are the biggest revenue team in baseball — with revenues dwarfing even those of the Mets. So let’s say, for the sake of argument, that the Sox tampered with Lugo — then a Devil Ray, a team struggling to figure out what it’s name should be, let alone be evil, an empire or capable of generating revenue above the bottom third of Major League Baseball. Let’s argue they tampered with Drew, and the buzz around baseball suggests there could be something to this charge. And let’s assume that they intentionally overbid Matsuzaka to keep anyone from signing him.

For all of their “Evil Empire” protestations, none of the victims of these hostile acts would be the Yankees. The Devil Rays, Dodgers and Mets, though, would be the victims. Kind of like some of the claims that "x" is the new black — maybe it is time to consider there might just be a new "Evil Empire" — one that is not the Yankees.

And let’s look a bit more closely at the last two incidents: Drew opted out of a deal with the Dodgers that paid him $33 million for three years. Based on Drew’s injury history, most people around baseball thought he was nuts to walk away from that kind of money. Unless, of course, he knew he had a better deal waiting. As, uh, luck would have it, Drew signed a five-year, $70 million deal with the Red Sox.

When the Sox gonzo bid for Matzusaka surfaced, some suggested it was a poison pill — a way to keep the ace pitcher off the Yankees, which would be a no-risk move the for Sox, as if no contract was signed, none of the $51.1 million would have to be sent to Japan. As the contract negotiations are now on the verge of breaking down with just days to go, whispers have crept up that the Sox weren’t just moving to stop the Yankees, but all of the other big market teams, especially the Mets. Apparently, the thinking is this: if the Yanks and Mets were kept away from Matsuzaka this offseason, they would need to shell out big money on other pitchers, as Yanks have already done with Pettitte and the Mets may do with Barry Zito. That could keep them from being in on Matsuzaka in 2007, when the pitcher would become a total free agent, and increase the odds of his signing elsewhere, maybe on the West Coast, for less.

According to this theory, any move or backlash would be worth it to the Red Sox to keep Matsuzaka out of New York. And while it seemed far-fetched, the near breakdown of talks between the team and the pitcher give it more credence every day. Does anyone doubt that had the Mets $39 million bid been the winner, that a press conference would have been held at Shea already to introduce the Mets’ new Japanese ace?

The Red Sox and their fans like to embrace their status as victims. Those inside baseball know the truth is different, as the Red Sox front office is increasingly reviled — and if they touch off a full-blown incident with Japanese baseball over the Matsuzaka situation — many in baseball will be calling on commissioner Bud Selig to investigate.

I think Selig needs to do more. He should announce that if the Red Sox fail to sign Matsuzaka, that the next team in line should get a shot, out of fairness to the player and the Japanese teams. And Selig needs to look hard at the Drew situation — something that could potentially cause salaries to spike even further — and assess serious punishments if it is concluded that the Red Sox tampered with Drew while he was under contract to the Dodgers, which Selig can do under the “best interests of baseball” clause.

It’s time to take action. If there’s a true “Evil Empire” in baseball, it’s offices are on Yawkey Way in Boston.