Thursday, January 23, 2014

Mixed Messages


            So, the Yankees win the Masahiro Tanaka sweepstakes with a seven-year, $155 million contract.  That means Team AARP gets a little younger.  And both Chicago teams get to keep their cash.

The Cubs apparently finished second, which is better than they usually do.  Why Theo Epstein thought Tanaka would go to the Land of Heartbreak is beyond me, but he did.  I’m more interested in the White Sox thinking.  They already have 24-year old Chris Sale, one of the best lefty starters in the game, which means Tanaka would have made an impressive number two in the rotation.  Theoretically, that is.

Last spring, the Sox signed Sale to a five-year extension for $32.5 million.  He has 24 career wins to go with 12 saves and a 2.97 ERA.  Without ever throwing a pitch in the majors, Tanaka will be making more than three times a year than Sale.  Assume the White Sox offer was for just twice as much, which says what to their star lefty:  We love you, Chris, you’re our number one, but we think this guy pitching behind you is worth a whole lot more?  Not good, or smart.

And I can only imagine what’s going through Clare’s mind.  An unproven guy can command heaven and earth, but a girl….If and when a woman breaks into the major leagues, what do you think her starting salary will be?

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