Lester: Stop Believing What You Read on Twitter.

[pk1627]

If Lester was 27 years old, I would be very upset right now with both the negotiations and the potential aftermath. The only thing I would be upset with this off-season would be if the Red Sox were somehow to give up one of our 22 year-olds, Xander and/or Mookie, in a deal. Other that that, it is what it is. 

 
This is what worries me as well. And my fear is that if they can't sign Lester, they will feel the need to trade one to get a quality SP.
 
I feel the Sox have set it up that they will get the ability to match the high offer. Thus, the Cubs or "mystery team" will significantly overpay.  I think the Sox should match to keep both X and Mookie.

 

[Dewy4PrezII]

I suspect that they are and will be reluctant to give up any of the 22 year old position players (Mookie, Xander or Blake) and as such, if Lester signs elsewhere we may see a rotation that includes Big Game James (ugh) and another free agent like Masterson (who I think is at the beginning of a downward spiral that will make that signing a mistake).  That said, I hope they sign Lester and soon because I am tired of waiting.

 

[Rasputin]

I hate this part.
 
Everyone has pretty much made their case and the things that are going to change are relatively little things and they can change in a thirty second phone call that we won't know a thing about so all we can do is sit here and wait.
 
I'm not good at waiting.

 

[geoduck no quahog]

...Trouble with that NL < AL thing is that pesky league has been winning a lot of world series lately. Regular season, AL still beats up on NL. ...

 
NL has a substantive advantage in tournament games with the no-DH thing.

 

[Corsi]

This guy is from 670 The Score in Chicago
 
Matt Abbatacola ‏@MattAbbatacola  50m50 minutes ago
Yankees in on Lester with a late and large offer...
 

Matt Abbatacola @MattAbbatacola · 30m30 minutes ago


@jab_lo_now_ski Not sure what your angle is... Yankees made a "blow the competition away" type offer

 

[soxhop411]

This guy is from 670 The Score in Chicago
 
Matt Abbatacola ‏@MattAbbatacola  50m50 minutes ago
Yankees in on Lester with a late and large offer...
 

Matt Abbatacola @MattAbbatacolahttps://twitter.com/MattAbbatacolahttps://twitter.com/MattAbbatacola · 30m30 minutes ago


@jab_lo_now_ski Not sure what your angle is... Yankees made a "blow the competition away" type offer

Anyone else reporting this?

 

[RedOctober3829]

 
This guy is from 670 The Score in Chicago
 
Matt Abbatacola ‏@MattAbbatacola  50m50 minutes ago
Yankees in on Lester with a late and large offer...
 

Matt Abbatacola @MattAbbatacola · 30m30 minutes ago


@jab_lo_now_ski Not sure what your angle is... Yankees made a "blow the competition away" type offer

 

Until someone credible that is tied into the Yankees(such as Andrew Marchand, Wallace Matthews, Tyler Kepner, or Joel Sherman) or a national reporter such as Ken Rosenthal, Jon Morosi, or Buster Olney picks up on it why don't we cool down with the random tweets?  This is akin to posting something from Dan the Angry Call Screener from 98.5 TSH. 
 
This should go for all teams.  If a beat reporter or a national reporter isn't tweeting it, then it has a very good chance of it being false.
 
I'm not singling you out Corsi, but you were the one who I quoted.

 

[soxhop411]

“@PeteAbe: In talking to several sources, no decision yet from Jon Lester. Could come soon but there’s no timetable, either. #redsox #cubs #giants”

https://twitter.com/PeteAbe/status/540265437108641793

https://twitter.com/PeteAbe/status/540265437108641793

link to tweet

 

[smastroyin]

Dear all: this thread still exists for posting random tweets that sound like they may be news items.  I moved some posts from the other thread.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Great job Abraham. 
 
No decision yet, it could come soon......or it may come later.
 
Awesome. 

 

[Crazy Puppy]

Great job Abraham. 
 
No decision yet, it could come soon......or it may come later.
 
Awesome. 

 
Yes, but he didn't include #Yankees so we know for a fact that they're not involved.

 

[TheoShmeo]

Until someone credible that is tied into the Yankees(such as Andrew Marchand, Wallace Matthews, Tyler Kepner, or Joel Sherman) or a national reporter such as Ken Rosenthal, Jon Morosi, or Buster Olney picks up on it why don't we cool down with the random tweets?  This is akin to posting something from Dan the Angry Call Screener from 98.5 TSH. 
 
This should go for all teams.  If a beat reporter or a national reporter isn't tweeting it, then it has a very good chance of it being false.
 
I'm not singling you out Corsi, but you were the one who I quoted.

You may be right but I'm not that fussy.  If someone from a sports radio station in Chicago (one of the cities in contention for Lester) is saying something that definitive, I'd like to know that.  
 
Worst case scenario is that it means nothing.

 

[smastroyin]

I think the point of the tweet and the post here was to counter the flurry of tweets about Lester having already signed with the Cubs. 
 
Also, to be fair to RedOctober, I moved his post from the news thread with Corsi's tweet, which I still consider NOT NEWS.  

 

[chrisfont9]

It's a tweet. It's not like he wrote an article on it. I agree it's worthless throwaway probably while he was eating lunch, but I don't think he felt he was relaying breaking news. The bigger question is why it needed to be retweeted or posted here. People need to get a rational grip on the value of the average tweet.

No, people need to come up with some way to determine which sources on twitter are reliable. I don't think we've been debating the average tweet -- that's straw man nonsense. We seem to be debating which people who may be actual sources of information are tweeting things that are worth relaying here. I for one think the kid in St. Louis is worth relaying, as he appears to have some actual sources, although my confidence in his stuff is waning. And on the flip side, all the official credentials in the world won't stop Heyman from being Boras' mouthpiece. It seems like people here would like for some sort of standard to apply to information, but we haven't gotten very far in agreeing on what that standard is.

 

[cahlton]

Heyman says no Yankee offer thus far
 
https://twitter.com/JonHeymanCBS/status/540280060486627328

 

[Reggie's Racquet]

Why wouldn't the front office sign Panda but wait to announce it until after this Lester thing was done?
Perhaps it would have kept the Giants out of the Lester sweepstakes.

 

[MakMan44]

Why wouldn't the front office sign Panda but wait to announce it until after this Lester thing was done?
Perhaps it would have kept the Giants out of the Lester sweepstakes.

Doubt it. Hiding it from the press doesn't mean the teams in MLB don't know he's signed.

 

[canderson]

I'm more and more convinced Lester won't resign with Boston. If he wanted to come back, the offer is close enough IMO to be done ad signed. Both sides had months and months to prevent this charade from happening ... and here we are.

I hope I'm wrong but it doesn't scream to me like Boston is a safer bet than the field (ie Chicago).

 

[Fireball Fred]

I too have a concern that the Sox will box themselves into trading Betts or Bogaerts. They've spent so much that they have to be going for it, so they have to add top-of-the-rotation pitching. If they can't sign Lester, they can't sign Scherzer. Then it's either Shields (if they like him enough to overpay) or a trade - for a very good pitcher, from a team that knows they're desperate.

 

[Snoop Soxy Dogg]

I'm more and more convinced Lester won't resign with Boston. If he wanted to come back, the offer is close enough IMO to be done ad signed. Both sides had months and months to prevent this charade from happening ... and here we are.

I hope I'm wrong but it doesn't scream to me like Boston is a safer bet than the field (ie Chicago).

 
Yeah, I think he's gone too. And at those prices, I'm fine with that. But man, it's torture to wonder and wait for Plan B to fall in place.

 

[Rasputin]

I too have a concern that the Sox will box themselves into trading Betts or Bogaerts. They've spent so much that they have to be going for it, so they have to add top-of-the-rotation pitching. If they can't sign Lester, they can't sign Scherzer. Then it's either Shields (if they like him enough to overpay) or a trade - for a very good pitcher, from a team that knows they're desperate.

 
Or they could wait a year and add Price, Zimmerman, or whoever the hell else is going to be available. 

 

[MakMan44]

I too have a concern that the Sox will box themselves into trading Betts or Bogaerts. They've spent so much that they have to be going for it, so they have to add top-of-the-rotation pitching. If they can't sign Lester, they can't sign Scherzer. Then it's either Shields (if they like him enough to overpay) or a trade - for a very good pitcher, from a team that knows they're desperate.

Why? There's enough second tier pitching, such as McCarthy, that they can make a few smart signings and still make a run. 
 
EDIT: And what Ras said. 

 

[DJnVa]

I'm more and more convinced Lester won't resign with Boston. If he wanted to come back, the offer is close enough IMO to be done ad signed. Both sides had months and months to prevent this charade from happening ... and here we are.

I hope I'm wrong but it doesn't scream to me like Boston is a safer bet than the field (ie Chicago).

 
Following this line of thinking, if the Boston offer wasn't good enough, wouldn't he have accepted the Chicago offer at this point then? Why would he wait?

 

[chrisfont9]

I too have a concern that the Sox will box themselves into trading Betts or Bogaerts. They've spent so much that they have to be going for it, so they have to add top-of-the-rotation pitching. If they can't sign Lester, they can't sign Scherzer. Then it's either Shields (if they like him enough to overpay) or a trade - for a very good pitcher, from a team that knows they're desperate.

Why do you think Cherington is willing to part with them? I get the sense they're off limits, along with Swihart. I mean, who really knows? but he's obviously had lots of people ask on Bogaerts and Betts. Cherington doesn't have much of a track record of pissing away the young talent, let alone talent of this caliber. And lastly, trading Bogaerts makes zero sense unless you think they're willing to start Marrero, which I am fairly certain they aren't.

 

[benhogan]

I'm more and more convinced Lester won't resign with Boston. If he wanted to come back, the offer is close enough IMO to be done ad signed. Both sides had months and months to prevent this charade from happening ... and here we are.

I hope I'm wrong but it doesn't scream to me like Boston is a safer bet than the field (ie Chicago).

My gut feel is the Levinson's are gathering every last offer and will give John Henry a last look this weekend to get the Sox best offer.
 
Lester really hasn't dragged this out, at this point we haven't heard boo from most of the free agent pitchers.

 

[mr_smith02]

I'm more and more convinced Lester won't resign with Boston. If he wanted to come back, the offer is close enough IMO to be done ad signed. Both sides had months and months to prevent this charade from happening ... and here we are.
I hope I'm wrong but it doesn't scream to me like Boston is a safer bet than the field (ie Chicago).

Seems to me that Lester, and his team, realize this deal will most likely be one that takes him up to retirement...or very close. So, I completely understand his desire to hear and weigh all options before making a career defining decision. I have no problem with how Lester has handled this process at all. There is no nonsense going on from Lester or his team from what I have seen; no misleading tweets, no statements leading on any team or fan base. He's doing what any free agent would and should do, and I feel like he's doing it in a professional manner.

Just because the 14 year old Twitter kids are impatient, it does not mean Lester needs to be.

I will be very bummed if he signs elsewhere, but I will also remember what he did while he was in a Sox uniform that afforded him this opportunity to weigh all the offers out there.

 

[canderson]

Following this line of thinking, if the Boston offer wasn't good enough, wouldn't he have accepted the Chicago offer at this point then? Why would he wait?

Disclaimer: I pray this isn't true ...

Because he has no desire to come back so has time to get as many teams involved as he can.

 

[mr_smith02]

My gut feel is the Levinson's are gathering every last offer and will give John Henry a last look this weekend to get the Sox best offer.
 
Lester really hasn't dragged this out, at this point we haven't heard boo from most of the free agent pitchers.

I do wonder if Lester's version of a hometown discount for the Sox is to allow them a chance to beat the best offer on the table prior to him making a final decision.

 

[BarrettsHiddenBall]

Disclaimer: I pray this isn't true ...

Because he has no desire to come back so has time to get as many teams involved as he can.

Then why the (unconfirmed) noise that he'll sign before the meetings?
 
My WAG is that he wants to sign for the Red Sox, and he wants at least the deal that Scherzer rejected in Spring Training. If they offer 6/144, he signs.

 

[flymrfreakjar]

Meh, I dunno. This all reminds me of the Varitek situation. I still think he'll come back to Boston for their best offer.

 

[Bongorific]

I think the Yankee rumors over the past week are either a) entirely false or b) only to drive up the price. Aside from it not fitting into their needs, there was a point leading up to Thanksgiving where it seemed a signing could come any day. Since that time, none other than the original 3/4 rumored teams have entered the negotiations as far as we know. If the Yankees were serious they would have signed him by now or rumor of an offer would have already leaked.

 

[ArgentinaSOXfan]

My gut feeling is he takes his talents to Windy City.
There seems to be a consensus that he is agreeing to a contract before this week is over.

 

[Rasputin]

I think he realizes this is the only time in his career where he gets to make a major decision about where he plays and he's going to take his time and do his due diligence and make sure he's really comfortable with what happens.
 
Oh, and if he doesn't come back, he's dead to me.
 
D-E-D DEAD.

 

[JohntheBaptist]

Meh, I dunno. This all reminds me of the Varitek situation. I still think he'll come back to Boston for their best offer.

 
This is actually the vibe I'm getting as well. I was very pessimistic moving into the postseason about it, and the way things have progressed I'm surprised how optimistic it's all made me feel. Still, could change in an instant, etc.

 

[curly2]

 
Or they could wait a year and add Price, Zimmerman, or whoever the hell else is going to be available. 

 
Are they going to want to go 8/200 for Price? Because I bet somebody will.

 

[Laser Show]

Disclaimer: I pray this isn't true ...

Because he has no desire to come back so has time to get as many teams involved as he can.

Or alternatively, he plans to come back and wants to get as many teams involved as possible to extract the most money.
 
The reality is we have nothing to go on but gut feeling. Which obviously isn't much. Thank god we should find out soon. I'm ready for this part of the offseason to be done with.

 

[geoduck no quahog]

Or alternatively, he wants enough years to ensure that we (...I mean he) will never have to go through this bullshit again.
 
Lots of alternatives.

 

[djhb20]

Seriously, if I was a free agent and knew I wanted to go back to the firm that I work for, I'd still go out and talk with other places to try and get what I can out of my employer.  If a couple of extra days before deciding might get me a little more money, then why not?  It would be pretty crappy negotiating to say take anything short of the "final" offer just because it's close enough.  And you don't know what the final offer is until it's clear that another offer isn't coming.  And that may well require waiting things out a bit.
 
The point being - nothing's happening, so we are all trying hard to read into what "nothing" means.  Of course,the right answer is probably that it means nothing.

 

[staz]

The point being - nothing's happening, so we are all trying hard to read into what "nothing" means.  Of course,the right answer is probably that it means nothing.

As long as pure speculation has taken root in the main board, my guess is that Sox already gave Lester a final "take it or leave it" offer, expiring this weekend just ahead of the winter meetings. That way the team can more effectively pursue other options if he declines. Love to have him return, but won't throw myself off the Tobin if he takes his talents elsewhere, like most of the pink hats have promised.

 

[soxhop411]

we have a #MYSTERYTEAM
 
 

 
The final bidding on Jon Lester involves more than just the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs andSan Francisco Giants, an official of one club in the bidding told ESPN.com on Wednesday.
The identity of the fourth team isn't known to the other clubs involved. But there is speculation among rival teams that the St. Louis Cardinals remain interested in the free-agent left-hander.
The Red Sox, Cubs and Giants were believed to be the last three teams still actively negotiating with Lester and his agents, Seth and Sam Levinson.
The Cardinals and Atlanta Braves, the other two clubs previously linked with Lester, had made public statements recently that appeared to downplay their interest.
However, teams pursuing Lester have suspected for some time that there were other clubs interested whose identity had never surfaced.
And Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak has never publicly commented about Lester specifically.
Mozeliak did tell the St. Louis Post-Dispatch last week that his team was "always open for business" and still exploring the free-agent pitching market in an "opportunistic" manner.
Lester is described by clubs in the bidding as anxious to finish the process and choose a team. He had hoped to sign before the winter meetings, which begin next week. But with those meetings only a few days away, "that doesn't leave a whole lot of time," an executive of one team said.

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/11975072/jon-lester-bidding-includes-fourth-team?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

 

[Otis Foster]

As long as pure speculation has taken root in the main board, my guess is that Sox already gave Lester a final "take it or leave it" offer, expiring this weekend just ahead of the winter meetings. That way the team can more effectively pursue other options if he declines. Love to have him return, but won't throw myself off the Tobin if he takes his talents elsewhere, like most of the pink hats have promised.

 
+1
 
JH is no fool. Same goes for LL, despite his abrasiveness. At some point they have politely but firmly let Levinson know  that they're not going to stick around as a safety net if all else proves unsatisfactory to Lester. My guess is it's taken the form of something like: "We need to know if we're going ahead with you and Jon before BC leaves for the mid-winter meetings. We expect a lot of movement starting then and don't want to be sitting on our hands. Please call us back by the end of the day tomorrow/Friday/whatever, either with authority to give us a definitive yes or if Jon can't move that quickly, we'll understand but will have to take other steps."

 

[Hank Scorpio]

This may be absolutely nothing, and it may even be my mind tricking me into misremembering, but a week ago I'm pretty sure his Twitter cover photo was him fishing or some shit. 
 
Now it's him holding his son and a world series trophy with Fenway as the backdrop. I'm almost certain this changed in the past week.
 
I might be wrong, or it might mean nothing, but hey, it's there. Does anyone know for certain?

 

[Rice4HOF]

Are Speier and Bradford considered reliable sources? https://twitter.com/alexspeier/status/540333081505189891

https://twitter.com/alexspeier/status/540333081505189891

link to tweet

@alexspeier: Multiple sources tell .@bradfo and me that Dodgers are showing serious interest as late entrant in Jon Lester derby http://t.co/iuKdnoHWdr

 

[nvalvo]

Bradford and Speier: 
SOURCES: DODGERS HAVE SERIOUS INTEREST IN JON LESTER, POISED FOR POTENTIAL LATE NEGOTIATING PUSH
 
I'm not sure I buy that the Yankees have interest, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see LA bring in another high-end SP. 

 

[Why Not Grebeck?]

So it looks like the Dodgers might be the mystery team: http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/2014/12/03/sources-dodgers-have-serious-interest-in-jon-lester-poised-for-potential-late-negotiating-push/
 
I'm a few beers into my evening, so I'm fairly convinced that the Dodgers will offer him 7/180 and Boston will respond by trading Betts for Cole Hamels. I tried to turn on the MLB channel on SiriusXM earlier today and it was all reports about how Hamels will demand "at least four great prospects" and how the Sox match up well because of guys like Betts. I had to switch it off and I'm gonna be sick to my stomach if that happens.

 

[Heise3B]

uh oh the Dodgers have an unlimited cash flow and no budgetary constraints.

 

[Plympton91]

 
NL is weaker overall but that's not necessarily a bad thing for the good teams. 
 
I agree that the bidding on Lester is too high. I think he'll age well for a pitcher because to my (admittedly untrained) eyes he gets his power from his legs. But even with the market changing, all this talk about going above 6/144 is scary. At least Sandoval can DH in five years.

Sure he can, if you want a DH with a 600-something OPS. Pablo Sandoval is a good hitter for a third baseman; if he moves anywhere lower on the defensive spectrum he's going to blocking a better hitter from getting at bats.

So it looks like the Dodgers might be the mystery team: http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/2014/12/03/sources-dodgers-have-serious-interest-in-jon-lester-poised-for-potential-late-negotiating-push/

I'm a few beers into my evening, so I'm fairly convinced that the Dodgers will offer him 7/180 and Boston will respond by trading Betts for Cole Hamels. I tried to turn on the MLB channel on SiriusXM earlier today and it was all reports about how Hamels will demand "at least four great prospects" and how the Sox match up well because of guys like Betts. I had to switch it off and I'm gonna be sick to my stomach if that happens.

Just because they may have completely blown everything to do with the Lester situation over the past 12 months (they've already effectively replaced and are trying to dump the guy they traded him for, even) doesn't mean they're going to compound the stupidity by trading Betts or Bogaerts. Maybe we'll just have to sit back and enjoy a modern-day version of the 1977 Red Sox -- also a complete reversal of last season's frustrations -- lots of hitting and no pitching to speak of. This is really going to be one hell of a lineup for 2015; it'll be a shame if we spend the year losing games 8-6.

But the Dodgers? Yeesh. Lester would be their #3 starter; maybe #4. That's positively sick.

 

[lxt]

Bradford and Speier: 
SOURCES: DODGERS HAVE SERIOUS INTEREST IN JON LESTER, POISED FOR POTENTIAL LATE NEGOTIATING PUSH
 
I'm not sure I buy that the Yankees have interest, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see LA bring in another high-end SP. 

This is now being posted on TradeRumors.com - it seems Dodgers want to replace the Yankees as the "mystery team" ... MFD

 

[Hank Scorpio]

But the Dodgers? Yeesh. Lester would be their #3 starter; maybe #4. That's positively sick.

 
I just don't see it. They've already got about $200M tied up in 16 players, and they've got a rotation with two aces, three if you count Ryu. If anything, they should probably try to upgrade at 2B, SS or maybe 3B (Turner was really, really good last season, although I don't know what the book on him is). They might be trying to drive the price up out of SF's range.

 

[StuckOnYouk]

The dodgers are going to force the steinbrenners to kindly request a cap now