December 4, 2015 [LINK / comment]

Red Sox acquire David Price

The Boston Red Sox have just signed free agent pitcher David Price to a whopping seven-year, $217 million contract, putting themselves back into the American League East Division competition. It was the biggest contract for a pitcher ever, with Clayton Kershaw being paid $215 million by the Dodgers and Max Scherzer being paid $210 million by the Nationals. Price's pricey deal includes an opt-out clause so that he can go elsewhere after 2018 if the Red Sox don't make the playoffs, or at least become strong contenders. See MLB.com.

It's been quite a busy year for Price, who played a key role in the Toronto Blue Jays' late-season push that got them all the way to the ALCS. But before he was with the Blue Jays, he was with another team that has been in the postseason several times in recent years: the Detoit Tigers! Older folks may recall the distant past when he pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays.

David Price bobblehead box

David Price bobblehead box, given out at the July 20 game in Detroit when the Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners 5-4.

Sun Life Stadium tweak

The Dolphin Stadium Sun Life (Dolphin) Stadium diagrams have been slightly revised, and like the recently-revised Citizens Bank Park diagrams, the octagonal overall shape made the task pretty easy. Including the "creases" at each of the eight corners did lead to a few small corrections, however. I made a startling discovery, which is that the entry portals are not positioned symmetrically but rather are offset by about 8-10 feet from the structural joints. (You can tell where those are by the support beams for the stadium lights.) I added a few other details such as the platforms at the rear of the lower deck facing each end zone. (That would be the third base side and right field for baseball.) Finally, there is a brand-new new lower deck diagram, which also shows the lower set of luxury suites.