New story up late this evening, on the status of the Daisuke Matsuzaka negotiations, after John Henry, Theo Epstein et al headed out to California to negotiate with Boras face to face:
With the clock ticking toward a deadline Thursday night at midnight for Matsuzaka to sign, Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein and team president Larry Lucchino engaged in a day of talks Tuesday with Boras at the agent's offices in Newport Beach, Calif. The Red Sox hoped Matsuzaka would participate, but the Boston Herald reported that he was not present. Lucchino and Epstein left the building where the offices are located shortly before 7 p.m. ET and it was unclear when or if they would return.
A source with knowledge of the negotiations told the Boston Globe that the sides had not made any progress as of Tuesday evening. The souce indicated, however, that talks could continue until Epstein and Lucchino get on their plane sometime Wednesday morning.
I'm not sure what to think about this. On the one hand, I'm inclined to believe that the BoSox and Boras are both playing chicken, that they'll both compromise at the 11th hour to get a deal done.
On the other hand, if Boras can get Matsuzaka re-posted, or get him declared a free agent -- admittedly a long shot -- Matsuzaka stands to make millions, if not tens of millions. And so he may stick by his guns, refuse to compromise, then take action once the 30 day window expires on Thursday.
Personally, I'm rooting for the BoSox not to sign him, if for no other reason than because of the entertainment value that the subsequent circus would provide...