Some AL East moves:
The Yankees traded Gary Sheffield to the Tigers for three minor leaguers, including highly touted Humberto Sanchez.
Not to be outdone, the Red Sox, according to Buster Olney, are going to be the winners of the Daisuke Matsuzaka sweepstakes with a bid of 'between $38 and $45 million.
My first reaction to that bid is 'holy crap'. However, thinking about it a little more I don't know that's it's all that outlandish. In fact it's possible that it could be a bargain.
When the Jays play the Yankees or Mariners what do you see that you don't see with the other teams? That's right *Japanese* signage. So obviously the Jays are making more money than they ordinarily would by putting these ads up. What would it be over 81 games? If Matsuzaka has the same impact that Ichiro and Matsui had on the Mariners and Yankees it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect that the Red Sox could easily make the cost of the posting fee in increased revenue over the life of the contract. Then they're only paying market rate for a pitcher that most people consider an ace pitcher.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20061110160551652