Interesting read from Gammons…second excerpt appears after the jump

NAPLES, Fla. — Of course, this means the Yankees don’t get Daisuke Matsuzaka, and there is no Mike Mussina, Jose Contreras and Alex Rodriguez redux.

But when the Red Sox posted a bid of $51.1M — according to the claims of the Seibu Lions officials — for the right to negotiate with Scott Boras for arguably the best pitcher outside of the U.S., it was far more complicated a decision than blocking the Yankees.

Here’s the second excerpt from Insider.

It is a gamble to spend the next 30 days negotiating with Boras for Matsuzaka while other free-agent pitchers are being signed. Matsuzaka’s health is always a concern considering that he threw 13 complete games and on days before he pitches he throws a 200-pitch bullpen session; it’s also every fifth, not every sixth or seventh, day that he starts. Yes, he has thrown more than 1,402 innings before the age of 26, but as The Hardball Times points out, that’s fewer before turning 26 than Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Carlos Zambrano, Brett Myers, C.C. Sabathia and others, and his regimen is legendary.

Still, Matsuzaka isn’t a free agent for two years, Seibu wants the cash, and Matsuzaka doesn’t want to return to Japan for $3.5M per year. And ever since he was a senior in high school, he has wanted to prove himself in the United States with a contender.

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