From a Red Sox standpoint, this is exactly what there thinking. Signing Pedro long term which he wants could be detrimental to the teams well being for the next decade. Take the picks, take the 17 million dollars and never stop running because thats robbery.
Losing Pedro means keeping Lowe, Varitek, Shrek, Williamson long term plus still having money left over for next season for a Matt Morris type pitcher...
Man, its a shame that Pedro has to be that way, and its also a shame that in the midst of all this he goes out and gets creamed.. way to make your 17 million dollar per year statement Pedro