Similarly, the Phillies hid behind the cloak of a “mystery team” and wooed Cliff Lee away from the comforts of home (well, close to home) in Texas and the bright lights and big bucks of New York City.
Which signing was more surprising to you?
That’s the question posed to NESN viewers this week’s Voice of New England Poll.
The Crawford signing was surprising for a number of reasons. For one, though the Red Sox were mentioned by outsiders to have a probable interest in Crawford, the two sides were never formally linked. Second, the Sox were getting a healthy Jacoby Ellsbury back, so an outfield of Ellsbury, J.D. Drew and Mike Cameron, with backups in either Darnell McDonald or Daniel Nava, seemed like it could work.
But, determined to fill that lineup with the best players available, Epstein made Crawford a very rich man.
Down in Philly, it was surprising as well, because, really, who turns down the Yankees’ offers?
Lee did, proving yet again that he is a different breed of star player. Philadelphia seemed an unlikely landing spot, though, largely because they already had aces in the form of Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt. Certainly, a team with such a talented rotation didn’t have room for even more talent, did they?
They sure did, and the quartet is sure to baffle National League hitters all season long.
Which free-agent signing was more surprising — Carl Crawford to the Red Sox or Cliff Lee to the Phillies?survey software
Every week, NESN.com will offer fans a chance to vote on a trending hot stove topic. Tune in to Red Sox Hot Stove Live on NESN every Tuesday night at 6 p.m. from Nov. 9 to Feb. 8 to see the results of each week’s Voice of New England poll.
