I'm not nearly drunk enough to properly express the many conflicting emotions I have over Mookie being traded. Ultimately I think it was the shrewdest move to make from a selection of suboptimal moves, but that doesn't mean I can't mourn his departure or not regret that he'll be playing baseball in some other uniform.
But sports history has repeatedly shown that long-term mega-contracts are rarely worth the outlay, let alone one that would all but ensure perennial penalties in the form of lowered draft picks and drastically reduced pools of international signing bonus money, the very lifeblood of a successful and sustainable baseball operation (including -- gasp -- the Red Sox of the past 18 years).
Is Bill Belichick -- Jedi Grand Master and ruthless GM who would cut or trade any player a year too soon rather than a year too late -- cheap? Is Bob Kraft cheap? No?
Why is John Henry, the man who has brought 4 World Series titles to Boston in 18 years -- all while being in the top 5 in payroll dollars spent (and often 1 or 2) -- suddenly cheap? I lived through Haywood Sullivan and Buddy LeRoux, don't come at me with this.
I understand the emotional response to seeing Mookie leave, just as I understand the emotional response the Red Sox might have had if they simply said, "Mookie is a generational talent, let's back up the truck and give him whatever he wants." A large part of me would have welcomed that approach.
Mookie deserves whatever contract he signs next offseason, he's earned that right and I don't begrudge him one bit. He should be looking out for himself and doesn't owe anyone anything.
But neither do the Red Sox. Do you think the Yankees regret letting Cano walk? Same with the Cardinals and Pujols? Will the Nats regret not re-signing Harper? They just won the goddamn World Series in their first year without him, for Chrissakes.
It's all business. For the club AND the player. For all you people who are swearing off the Red Sox right now in fits of pique, you do realize that during the next offseason, Mookie will sign with whoever offers him the most money (as is his hard-earned right), don't you? Why are you so loyal to him?
If you're devastated because Mookie is gone, I feel you. You'll miss him, the summers will be a little less joyful. I get that, I'm right there with you. I have a lump in my throat as I type this.
If you're devastated because you think the Red Sox will be appreciably worse over the next 10 - 12 years without Mookie (the probable life of his next contract), and that this move indicates the Sox will suddenly be in the middle of the pack in terms of payroll spending for that duration of time, then I'd say you're wrong.
Time will tell. The sun will rise, the sun will set, and I'll have lunch. Nobody knows anything.