Posted on 12/22/2005 9:12:01 PM PST by TheRedSoxWinThePennant
BOSTON --Two days after losing Johnny Damon to the Yankees, the Red Sox took a player from New York. Backup catcher John Flaherty and the Red Sox reached a preliminary agreement Thursday on a $650,000, one-year contract.
Flaherty's agreement was disclosed by a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because Boston had not announced the deal.
In addition to his salary, Flaherty would get a $100,000 payment if he is on Boston's opening day major league roster.
Boston needed a backup to Jason Varitek after trading Doug Mirabelli to San Diego for second baseman Mark Loretta on Dec. 7. Mirabelli was knuckleballer Tim Wakefield's catcher, a role that likely will go to Flaherty if he makes the team.
The 38-year-old Flaherty batted .165 with two homers and 11 RBIs last season, when he caught Randy Johnson's final 17 regular-season starts plus his outing against the Los Angeles Angels in the playoffs. New York replaced him last month with Kelly Stinnett.
Flaherty began his major league career with the Red Sox, playing in a total of 48 games in 1992 and 1993. He moved on to Detroit, San Diego and Tampa Bay before joining the Yankees in 2003. In each of the last two seasons, Flaherty appeared in 47 games with 127 at bats. He has a .252 career average with 80 homers and 395 RBIs in 1,047 games.
Damon agreed Tuesday to a $52 million, four-year contract with the Yankees after batting .316 last season with 10 homers and 75 RBIs in 148 games. He is scheduled to be introduced at a Yankee Stadium news conference on Friday.
ping
Hey, my Phils took Tom Gordon from the Yanks, surely that has to hurt!
Yea they gave gordon 3 years and 18 mill!
The Yankees gets Johnny Damon and Boston gets.... what was his name?
I don`t think I would be jumping up and down over this one.
Hmmm...not exactly a Yankees-crippling move from the Sox...
And that was after they let Wagner go to the Mets. I have a very bad feeling about the 2006 season, hopefully not another uglky "subway series". Bleh.
Yeah, that will show 'em.
Thanks for the ping... heard this on the 11pm local news. Flaherty had better start practicing catching knuckleballs. Mirabelli said it took him a long time...
I don`t think I would be jumping up and down over this one.
I'm afraid I'm with you on this one, Bud...
Let George spend his money, he was lucky in the 90's. Most of his big buys paid off. He has always been trying that crap. Look at the 80's, it did not work. They lost a boatload of money last year. Look at Baltimore, they keep on spending money and it does nothing. The only good money they spent recently was taking Mazzone from Atl. He can get any pitcher willing to listen to him to raise his game to another level.
you know, they should just have a baseball league made up of two teams - the sox and the yankees - they seem to be the only two teams with the money and the press clippings.
I saw this thread title, I thought it was referring to the . . .
World Champion CHICAGO White Sox.
Then I discovered it was about that also-ran bunch from Beantown. :-)
Your entitled to be called World Champions. But its a tad premature to be calling yourself an Empire.
BTW, I think that Boston is suffering under the Curse of the Mientkiewicz. They have not won since they let him go to New York. Hmmm. Or maybe it's the Curse of the Bellhorn. They sent him to the Yankees, after all.
No, I think it's the Curse of the Mientkiewicz. I think he put a curse on them because they contested him for that ball.
But wouldnt that curse be tranferred to the Mets since they released him and he went to K.C. as for Bellhorn who signed with the Padres today, good riddance. I will sign with any M.L.B. team today for half of what Bellhorn is getting and strike out half as many times as he does
Red Sox got themselves a real winner...
Yep, the Yanks are doomed!
It helped them -- LOL!
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