Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Remember when Jon Lester said $20 million didn't matter? (I don't blame him for picking the Cubs though)

A little after 1 am this morning the news broke that Jon Lester had decided to sign with the Chicago Cubs.  Per ESPN Chicago, Lester's contract will either be for six years and $155 million, or seven years/$170 million (with a vesting option).  The Red Sox reportedly offered Lester $20 million less, six years and $135 mil--which makes Lester's quote from this past summer all the more painful:

"In the greater scheme of things, we're talking about just a stupid amount of money. For me, I want to be comfortable. The way I look at it is, if someone gives you $170 million and someone gives you $150 million, is that $20 million really going to change your lifestyle? Same thing if the highest bidder is $100 million and the team you're going to feel most comfortable with offers $80 million. Is that $20 million really going to make the difference in your lifestyle?"

Ugh.

You think he'd like to take that back?  Or maybe $150 mil is the cutoff for a "stupid amount of money"?  So $150 mil is as good as $170 mil, but once you go under $150 mil that $20 mil difference actually does matter?

At the time I called Lester "my new hero" for saying that, and wrote "I'll be extremely proud if the soon-to-be free agent's actions stay true to his words."  Well they didn't, but honestly I don't really blame him.  Yahoo Sports Jeff Passan says Lester chose the Cubs for the opportunity to make history and bring them their first World Series since 1908.

I'm assuming Lester was still a little offended by the four year/$70 mil "offer" Boston made him last spring.  The sad thing is the Red Sox never would've needed to go anywhere near their current 6 yr/135 mil offer to lock him up back then.  He absolutely would have signed for 6/120, probably even for 5/100.

Ugh.




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