If MLB can't find the leaks, two at least, then fire everyone in the chain and construct a confidential process that complies with what was collectively bargained with the MLBPA and signed off on by MLB!
K-Rod actually gets a $4 mil buyout on his 2012 option....the Brewers gave him (with the work of K-Rod's "new" agent, Scott Boros) an extra $1/2 mil "hush money" to drop his vesting option and convert the 2012 club option to a mutual option....that eliminated any fears the Brewers may of had in some grievance being filed about him not closing out games...and allowed Boros to collect the commission on the buyout, rather than K-Rod's former agent...but, it did not seem to stop K-Rod from mouthing off just the same.....
On Friday, Doug Melvin had no interest given the Nats' asking price. On Saturday, the demand dropped to an A-ball player and cash, and the deal was done, avoiding the Nats having to part ways with Mister Personality!
Brandon Boggs was told last night that he would not make the club and, given he was out of options,would be waived, leaving Jeremy Reed as the fifth OF.
As usual, Jeff, you seem to find overlooked areas on which to shed some light....that 2011 class earning 10-5 status generates so many intriguing questions (beyond the "For Sale Cheap" sign on Carlos lee), particularly for Fonzie and Big Z if the Cubs are out of it early.....nice foreshadowing of some in-season storylines!
Your final paragraph brings up a point for future articles.....what are the MLB pension benefits? I've heard marginal players express concern about accruing the necessary days of service time for their pension....like Bob Scanlan.....but I don't really know the details or the dollars???
I don't think Adam LaRoche will ever qualify at 3b, but he does share a common father with someone who is, in theory at least, a free-agent 3b, little brother Andy.....
I second many of Poptarts sentiments....John, your strengths are delivering the "newsy tidbits, rumors and gossip" from a knowledgeable perspective.....there's no need to try to outdo KG or Matt.....
If he were called up on May 23rd to start, and stay with the big league club, he would accrue about 134 days of MLB service time in 2010.....the range for Super-2s has been 123 to 140 days, so the Nats would be running a major risk here....ask the Twins how much they enjoyed paying Justin Morneau an extra $6+ mil by not letting him go represent Canada in the Athens Olympics and becoming a Super-2 instead.....or worse, ask the Mariners why A-Rod left for free agency after only 5 years and 65 games for Seattle, due to their "safe" management of his MLB service time.....
"Levine retaliated by questioning what the Brewers were doing with their revenue-sharing money, a system funded primarily by the Yankees paying a luxury tax on their high payrolls."
NO PART of the luxury tax (Competitive Balance Tax) is shared with the Brewers or any other team.....per Article XXIII, Section H, of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the first $2.5 mil is held in reserve by MLB and the balance is split 75% to fund benefits for MLB players under the MLBPA Benefits Plan and 25% contributed to the Industry Growth Fund operated jointly by the clubs and players to promote the growth of baseball in North America and throughout the world.....I guess playing with George's money doesn't make you smart or competent!
Questions about the Super Two tiebreaker....Fontenot with 260 MLB PA's in '07 would clearly seem to top Jones who had only 71 MLB PA's in '07, as both spent all of '08 in the bigs....however, Owings was called up in April, 2007 and pitched 152+IPs in '07, while Fontenot was not called up until 5-15-07 and had some MLB time in '06 as well....this would seem to indicate that Owings should have "won" the tiebreaker....did, by chance, one of the 2-game "rehab" stints that Owings had in 2008, and also 2009, count as a valid "option" and cost him big-time?
"since Nathan took over the job at the start of the 2009 season"
I'm sure you mean 2004, his age 29 season, after coming from the Giants in one of the most lopsided trades in recorded history..... Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser for one season of a non-tendered A.J. Pierzynski (.246 EQA)....ouch!
It won't be Mike Rivera he'll be talking to since he was non-tendered and signed a minor-league contract with the Yankees....and with Cervelli now out with a concussion, he's got another job as a backup...
Yep...Joe was a little prone to hyperbole when tweaked...remember his 2004: "The Red Sox essentially gave their playoff spot to the Cubs" line in the Nomar trade post-mortem?
If you think Lincecum has an 80% chance of prevailing, there is no way he should settle for less than #12 mil (his $13 mil less 20% of the $5 mil difference between the two)
Lincecum's agents did an excellent job of elemental game theory, whether by luck or by design we may never know.....if you think the Giants are going low, then you also go lower than you might otherwise, increasing the likelihood your number is the "more reasonable" and carries the day.....if you think the Giants are going to minimize their risk by submitting a higher number than they might otherwise, then you also go high on the chance the arbitrator will pick your number, knowing your downside is limited.....as the A's Mike Norris is reported to have said after losing in salary arbitration: "No problem, I was either going to wake up rich or richer."
Took a look at your boy Smizik's comments, and the best I can respond is to reprint the comments by Charlie at Bucs Dugout posted yesterday.....enough said!
"Matt Bandi eviscerates Bob Smizik's latest bit of nonsense. I'll do the Post-Gazette a favor by not linking to Smizik, who makes the paper look worse with every word he writes, but I will say this. The comment section on Smizik's blog often features a guy named "Mark in Dallas," who also often posts here. Mark provides "facts" and "context" and "coherent arguments," which a guy like Smizik must find really annoying, and so this time when Mark spoke up, Smizik actually accused him of being some sort of sock-puppet employee of the team. I'm sure Mark can take it, but that's the sort of really slimy thing I hope I never did back when I was just an angry message-board commenter and an angry writer of a blog nobody read. A writer at a major paper really should be above using that paper's website for that sort of thing."
Do people not realize how far back the Pirates really were just two years ago? Go ask John to reprint his article from a couple years ago about Pirates' prospect Clayton Hamilton and just how broken the systems in this organization were? This is a franchise that basically had to be ripped up and started over again from scratch! It is not one where spending the same extra $10-11 mil on fourth-tier free agents for the MLB payroll makes any sense.
The MLBPA targeting the Pirates is going to be a joke, except to its now hostile fan base, despite the team having turned a profit the past six seasons. Rather than use revenue sharing to pay down debt, the Pirates have actually added modestly to their $100 mil debt over the past two years since Coonelly and Huntington took over. Since 2007, they have increased their budget for the draft by $8.3 mil and upped the budget for international signings by $1.87 mil. In that same span the team has nearly doubled its domestic scouting staff (14 to 25) and increased its international scouting staff (19 to 33). At the same time, revenue sharing has helped finance $11 mil of baseball capital improvements (cash outlays that aren't deductible against operating profit): including $5.4 mil for their first-ever Dominican academy; equipment and facilities upgrades at PNC Park and Pirate City, such as the installation of ProBatter video pitch simulators; the $3 mil purchase and move to Bradenton of the Hi-A Florida State League's Sarasota franchise; and renovations to Pirate City, some of which were paid for by the city of Bradenton.
In the second paragraph under Catchers, it should be 2008 when Astros backstops hit a lowly .201/.281/.289, marking 2009 as a veritable breakout season! So true, so true that bad baseball makes for good copy.....I love it!
Although our teams of interest may differ, it indeed would be great to know someone on "my" team was mentioned by Will, or whomever, where I can go straight to the poop first thing!
I second Tuck's point about highlighting in greater depth the players you were right or wrong about....and what we might learn from those case-studies. Seeing someone beat themselves up is not enjoyable!
Once again, John, your column highlights my weekend expectations....particularly Rumors and Rumblings!
The MLBPA targeting the Pirates is going to be a hard nut to crack despite the team having turned a profit the past six seasons. Rather than use revenue sharing to pay down debt, the Pirates have actually added modestly to their $100 mil debt over the past two years since Coonelly and Huntington took over. Since 2007, they have increased their budget for the draft by $8.3 mil and upped the budget for international signings by $1.87 mil. In that same span the team has nearly doubled its domestic scouting staff (14 to 25) and increased its international scouting staff (19 to 33). At the same time, revenue sharing has helped finance $11 mil of baseball capital improvements (cash outlays that aren't deductible against operating profit): including $5.4 mil for their first-ever Dominican academy; equipment and facilities upgrades at PNC Park and Pirate City, such as the installation of ProBatter video pitch simulators; the $3 mil purchase and move to Bradenton of the Hi-A Florida State League's Sarasota franchise; and renovations to Pirate City, some of which were paid for by the city of Bradenton.
John, do you recall your article a couple years ago about Pirates' prospect Clayton Hamilton and just how broken the systems in this organization were? A franchise that basically had to be ripped up and started over again from scratch is not one where spending the same extra $10-11 mil on fourth-tier free agents for the MLB payroll makes any sense. So let the MLBPA file a grievance if they wish!
As Kevin mentioned in the article, one of the Cubs problems is contract construction with so many no-trade clauses. Not mentioned by Kevin, but also a problem, is that much of their 2012 and 1013 commitments other than Soriano are PLAYER options (Dempster's $14 mil in 2012 and Zambranno's vesting option of $19.25 mil in 2013, as well as the strange case of Aramis Ramirez: a 2011 $14.6mil player option and a $16 mil 2012 CLUB option that HE can void by giving up the $2 mil buyout)! So the Cubs are left with big payroll commitments if the player tanks or is hurt (insert Dempster) and nothing but draft choices if the player does well and bolts for free agency (hasn't Ramirez already done this to the Cubs before?).
By contrast, the Cardinals are looking at CLUB options on Carpenter ($15 mil in 2012), Molina ($7 mil in 2012), and Wainwright ($9 mil in 2012 and $12 mil in 2013)! Throw in whatever you want for Pujols post-2011, but would anyone rather have their payroll going to productive players rather than to the Carlos Silvas of the world?
Glad to see Jeff on board and making more use out of his data; I'm so used to having to flip back and forth between the two sites, this should be a major win-win! Thanks Kevin for getting the ball rolling!
Kevin, you might want to correct Derek Holland's position in your Top 10 Under 25 list....nice list with six five-star 25 and Unders for a system that's "down just a tad"!
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