Last night, when the Boston Red Sox announced they had signed Carl Crawford to a seven year-$142 million contract, any illusions of grandeur came crashing back to reality. The Red Sox aren't regressing like many of us hoped and you can fucking bet the Yankees won't stand idly by as Boston builds the most dangerous line-up in the league. What I hope does come out of all this, though, is that the Jays stick to their plan of building for sustainable success, because they won't be spending $20 million a year on a player anytime soon (and yes I realize Vernon Wells is making between $21-$23 million each of the next 4 years - but I consider that a blip in the radar, and one that has hamstrung the jays since it was signed). They need to build from within much like the Tampa Bay Rays have done the past few years, and hopefully when the time comes to either re-sign one of their stars or bring in a free-agent to put them over the top, Rogers is there to put their money where their mouths are.
Enough of my preaching. Here are some of the thoughts and reactions from around the MLB to the Crawford signing:
- The Angels and Rangers, who were both "in hard" on Carl Crawford may now be able to make a stronger push for Cliff Lee. Gay.
- The Red Sox interest in Scott Downs may increase as they won't have to surrender their 1st round pick. That will now be going to Tampa Bay, while the Jays would receive the Red Sox 2nd rounder . This signing just keeps getting better for Jays fans.
- With a crowded outfield, Boston is basically out of the running for Magglio Ordonez. I'd still like to see Ordonez on a one year contract in Toronto, but I'm so discouraged right now I really don't care.
- Apparently several AL executives feel as though Crawford's athleticism will be wasted in left field at Fenway.
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