Boston Introduce Mike Cameron, John Lackey to Red Sox Nation

The Red Sox unveiled $98 million worth of investments today at Fenway Park.

This morning they introduced their new $15.5 million outfielder, Mike Cameron (above). Two hours later, they presented RHP John Lackey, who will make $82.5 million over the next five years.

With rumors swirling around the ballpark that general manager Theo Epstein may not be done wheeling and dealing (reportedly, he is pressing to acquire San Diego 1B Adrian Gonzalez), the team’s architect sat at the head table joined by his manager and his new star players.

Less than a week after declaring that the team might be looking at a bridge year as its younger prospects developed, Red Sox ownership and Epstein opened the coffers to sign a Gold Glove-winning outfielder and the best pitcher on the free agent market.

While some pundits suspected it at the time, it now seems clear that co-owner Larry Lucchino and Epstein were playing possum last week when talking about bridges to the future. After Jason Bay rejected the team’s last offer, Epstein & company put "plan B" into effect, re-directing the funds intended for Bay to Lackey and then replacing Bay with the 37-year-old defensive whiz.

Mike Cameron was up first today. Here are some excerpts from his press conference:

Theo Epstein on the club’s interest in Cameron:

Our interest in Mike actually goes back a few years when he was a free agent and signed with the Mets. We had a lot of interest in him and it just didn’t work out…[He] was someone we anticipated would be a free agent this offseason, so we scouted him a lot during this past year…

We just think he’s been an elite defender his entire career, someone who has been underappreciated from an offensive standpoint because he’s always played at big ballparks, pitchers ballparks. And he’s been one of the most consistent players in the game if you look. He’ll get his 20 to 25 home runs every year, play outstanding defense, and sees a lot of pitches at the plate.

[And he’s] a great guy in the clubhouse. He fits in really well with what we do here. I know a lot of emphasis, a lot of talk, was centered on our offense last year. What was lost in the mix is our run prevention needs to improve as well. We were one of the worst defensive clubs in baseball last year and we think Mike is a very important piece [towards improving].

Cameron on coming to the Red Sox:

I feel like I played in a pretty large market before and I understand the values and the hard work you have to put in…[The other primary consideration is] the opportunity to really win a championship. I pretty much have gotten to the end of the road so many times, so close, but with nothing to show for it.

With the addition of Lackey and guys that are already here—that have already been through it a couple of times—I just feel like it’s an opportunity for me to come out and compete and try to do some good things. It’s on the East Coast, it’s close to my home, so it’s a pretty special moment. I haven’t really been this excited about coming somewhere since I first came to the big leagues…

Mike communicated through [his agent] that he’d do whatever was necessary, play any position, to help the club win. Once Mike expressed that attitude, it really got our attention and we realized he could be an important part of the outfield if things fell a certain way.

Terry Francona on where Cameron will play:

I think what we need to do, and I’ve already talked to [Cameron] about this, is in the next week or so I need to sit down with Theo, Mike, Jacoby and probably DeMarlo [Hale], and figure out what’s in our best interest. But I need to talk to everyone. It’s been kind of a whirlwind week for everybody, so we’ll sit down and try to put the right pieces in the right place.

Cameron on playing at Fenway Park:

The challenges that are here are pretty much in center field and right-center more so than anything because of the particular angles, but I’ve had the opportunity to play many games here…I just know that wall doesn’t move because I ran into it in 2001…I’ll have to be a little bit more careful in that part of the field…[T]o be a part of something special like this is kind of a youthful experience and going out on this field because it is a cathedral, as they call it on MLB Network.

Cameron on his relationship with Francona:

He was my hitting coach in rookie ball and he always used to tell us that if we can’t figure this out now…[we would] be a prime candidate to be working at 7/11. I always remembered that…I had Tito as a manager when I was in A-ball and then I had him as a manager in Double-A, and he was the first guy to tell me that I was going to the Big Leagues…

[He called] me in, after I think we lost the game, and I thought I was in trouble, and he told me I was in the Big Leagues, and I almost had a heart attack because I didn’t know this was my time to be in the Major Leagues. It was pretty special. You always remember those things. Those are things that always kind of store in your memory bank, you remember, and he did always say I was going to play for him, but I never believed it until the opportunity presented itself today. So like I said before, I’m excited about the opportunity.

Francona on his relationship with Cameron:

He makes me feel a little bit old today. As Mike alluded to, I saw his folks drop him off in Sarasota when he was about two weeks out of high school. I believe, I might be wrong, but they gave him a computer and they made him promise to work on it every night. I’ve seen him kind of come full circle. I’ve thrown to him more in the cage than is almost humanly possible. I’ve seen him go from kind of a raw, very athletic, likable 18-year-old to a guy who’s played and had a great career, and we’re excited to have him here.

Cameron on moving to a corner outfield position:

I know the one thing I always have in my bag is a ticket to play center field and being able to add another dimension to that, being able to play a corner, I’m not really apprehensive about doing it because they say whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. So with that being said, I have an opportunity to maybe go back and to be a better left fielder or right fielder than anybody else because of the ability I have.

John Lackey was introduced to the media at around 1:30 PM. Here are some excerpts from his press conference:

Epstein on the Lackey deal:

We touched base with Steve Hilliard, John’s agent, really early in the offseason. We were actually a little bit surprised when [he] said John had a lot of interest in pitching for the Red Sox…We’ve always seen him as a big game pitcher, a top of the rotation guy and a really tough competitor, but we never really thought he would be interested in Boston…It’s one of those things, when you play across the field from someone you just kind of see them as the opposition and that’s it.

He said John was really serious about Boston, he wants to win, he loves how every game in Boston is like a playoff game, and he could really see himself here. That got our attention in a hurry…We had a couple different versions of an offseason plan. One involved spending more resources on a big time position player and getting some pitching depth, but this really intrigued us as an alternative.

The deeper we got into the offseason, the more intrigued we got, the more we dug about John and his personality and his fit for the Red Sox and what it would mean to our rotation and the future of our rotation. We got more and more interested. Talks developed well and it ended up being the right path for us.

Lackey on coming to pitch for the Red Sox:

I’m here to win, that’s the bottom line. I’ve always had a lot of respect for this organization from the other side. Winning is the biggest thing for me and I know this organization has a great chance to do that and hopefully I can help out.

Epstein on giving Lackey a five-year deal:

When you enter into free agency from the team side, you want to try and manage the commitments as best you can and obviously you always want shorter deals. You always try to get the best deal you can for your club. John’s someone, with his track record and his consistency, who has put himself in a position to deserve a contract like this one.

If you look at recent signings and last year’s free agent pitching signings for example, certainly John ranks right up there with those guys…[The length of the contract] is something we had to think long and hard about, but in the end we believe in John…If you look on paper, we’ll put our starting five right up there with anybody’s…[T]his puts us in a position to have some flexibility if we need to make a move down the road to [get] some offense.

If you’re bold in free agency and there’s mutual interest, maybe you can add somebody like John Lackey to your club…We like the position we’re in right now. We have some depth, some options, and some flexibility going forward.

Lackey on the decision to come to Boston:

I was always interested in coming here [as a free agent]. Winning was definitely my first priority…With this franchise and their history and the way I’ve seen from the other side of the field, I’ve been knocked out of the playoffs a few times by them, I know I’m going to have a chance to win here and that means a lot…I had to have my agent really let them know that I was serious about [coming to Boston]. And the wife helped out a lot with this. [She comes from Maine and] went to UNH. That helped out a little bit.

Lackey on the passion of Red Sox Nation:

I’m definitely ready for it. That’s one of the things that drew me here. I enjoy pitching in big games and like Theo said, it’s going to be like a playoff game pretty much every night here. That’s going to be a fun environment to be in. Just walking around the city yesterday, I can’t tell you how many people came up to me welcoming me to town. It’s been fun. I’m really excited about it.