Michael Silverman blogs via the Boston Herald:
COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Pessimism from both sides of these Daisuke Matsuzaka talks rules the day, or early morning, but talks are not dead and the deadline is still not until Thursday (in case you hadn't heard).
No one wants to go on the record as of yet but here's the latest info, according to plugged-in sources: The Red Sox' latest offer to Matsuzaka is six years for $8 million. Matsuzaka has counter-offered with six years for $11 million and that is the deal the Red Sox are weighing heading into the early hours of Wednesday morning.
The Red Sox are saying that if Matsuzaka is not on John Henry's plane that heads back to Boston this morning, there is no chance of the deal getting done because he will not have time to have a physical. Matsuzaka's camp is not concerned with the Red Sox' timeline on private jets and physicals.
Basically, both sides are becoming more adamant about how they are willing to walk away from this deal, and this is after the Red Sox got their face to face meeting, however brief, with Matsuzaka Tuesday night. The Red Sox are shaking their heads, wondering how Matsuzaka and his agent Scott Boras can overlook the $51.11 million that they will send to the Seibu Lions if Matsuzka signs, meaning a total commitment of more than $99 million. Meanwhile Matsuzaka and Boras are wondering if the Red Sox think Daisuke Matsuzaka is Japanese for "Gil Meche'' or "Randy Wolf.''
How does $9.5 million a year for six years sound? Anyone? Anyone?
Personally, I hope a deal gets done, but it is looking rather bleak at this point with just 1 day, 13 hours and change to go before the deadline.
A fallout would force MLB to really take a long look at the current posting system and it would subsequently make the Red Sox look like a bunch of incompetent fools with Boras looking like Satan - in the eyes of Japanese fans.
Let's face it, most baseball fans in the US already think Boras is Satan.