Not really. The Reds bought out 2 more years of Bruce's service plus a potential 3rd year due to the option. Gonzalez's deal bought out only 1 year of FA due to the option for the 2011 that SD picked up. During that time frame SD saved probably 20 million (probably more) due to the team friendly deal Gonzalez signed. If Gonzalez just went year to year SD would have traded him sooner. So it definitely pays for the team to extend younger guys and buy out as many possibly FA years they can, that's the key.
Well, I don't think he will set the world on fire. He is essentially, at best, a platoon player for L.A. Rod Barajas. I also wouldn't be surprised if A.J. Ellis beats him out to be the primary backup. Truth be told, the Dodgers don't have a great option behind the plate so he will have to do for now.
Angels are close to signing Scott Downs to a 3/$15 million. While I'm upset that the Red Sox lost out on him, I'm happy he's staying out of NY.
Interesting, Philly is making a late push to get Lee. If he ends up going to Philly he's going to leave money and years on the table. While it would be a nice story I just can't see Lee doing that or Philly having enough money to sign him. Should be an interesting couple of days though until he makes his decision.
Cliff Lee is heading to Philly according to Jon Heyman! Wow, just wow. He's taking less money and less years. He has a lot of guts leaving all that money on the table. Philly is going to be scary good next year. And I absolutely can't wait to listen to NY radio tomorrow. Biggest winners this off season so far have to be the Red Sox and Phillies. I'm extremely interested to see where the Yankees go from here. Right now they're looking at a rotation of Sabathia, Burnett, Hughes, Ivan Nova and Sergio Mirte. Imagine if Pettitte really retires? Maybe they'll make a move towards signing Carl Pavano again? Boy it hasn't been a good 2 weeks to be a New York sports fan (except if you root for the Knicks.... go figure).
I dont see this as a huge loss for the Yankees either.. Investing that kind of dough in a pitcher for 7 yrs was too much. He is on the wrong side of 30; has had neck and back problems and simply was awful in the world series. I am excited to see the Yankees maybe give the kids a chance to play. I dont think greinke is the answer, so i hope that Cashman doesnt panic and sell the farm. Props to lee for going where his heart is and not going after the money.
Lee really liked things in Philly, when they moved him out for Halladay he was not happy about it. Good for the phillies though, reminds me a bit when the DBacks had Schilling and Johnson. And if things go south Lee has to know he would be simply traded out of PA in a couple of yrs.
Well, trade is done, however aren't you assuming that Gonzalez offered those additional yrs in that contract? More than likely he limited it to one season as it fit his age and career goals better.
I wonder who is more pissed in New York... Yankee fans or Mets...Personally im not bothered by not getting Lee...
Phillies: Hey, we'll sign that Cliff Lee guy. Marlins: Hey, we'll sign that Randy Choate guy. Edit: Ashraf, you need to watch a recent Heat game. Trust me: LeBosh Wade is still your worst nightmare.
You really can't compare the Phillies and Marlins moves. We don't have the payroll they do. I don't think so man. The Heat are great, but I really do think Orlando has a shot. But this, especially because it's PHILADELPHIA, kills me.
So you are about to face the Phillies in a 5 game series.... Game 1: Roy Halladay Game 2: Cliff Lee Game 3: Roy Oswalt Rinse and repeat as needed. Unfair...LOL!
Yeah but the SF Giants also have great pitching and I think the Red Sox are going to be the top guys in the AL. I do think great pitching wins it most of the time. Well at least if the Phins don't make the playoffs, Spring Training baseball shoud be fantastic. But I still would trade a Dolphin's 3rd SB title for pretty much anything, even a World Series. I don't want to wait another 35+ years for the Dolphins to be on top.
Haha. He took 28 million less. I tip my hat to him. Yeah that's going to be a tough playoff match up but the Braves had Smoltz, Maddux and Glavine and only won 1 WS. Anything can happen in the playoffs. Probably Met fans. They have to face him for 5 more years and Philly has good enough pitching where they can just walk into the playoffs each year now. The Yankees are probably pissed because that probably figured they'd get him and now they have to scramble to get someone else now. It's a huge loss in the short term because now you're looking at Ivan Nova and Sergio Mirte starting games next year. The Yankees right now might have the 2nd worst rotation in the AL East after Baltimore. Of course it's December 14th so they have time to make a trade or sign someone although the FA pitchers left aren't anything special or even good. I'm going to be interested in seeing what they do now. Maybe take on a lesser pitcher like a Derek Lowe type instead of getting Grienke. Long term it's probably go for the team he didn't sign because signing any pitcher to a 7 year deal, especially at that dollar figure is just insane.
Please name me 5 other guys in the past 10 years that took even 15 million less to sign somewhere else, let alone 28 million like Lee did. Certainly there are exceptions of any rule. This is a big one. But it does bring up a big point about the media reporting things. Remember everyone saying how he was going to the top dollar no matter what since he told 'friends' that or how he wanted to be closer to home etc. Makes you wonder if what media people are reporting is fact from a real credible source or if they're simply speculating or just trying to come up with a sexier story.
You mean weren't impressed with Ivan Nova? Besides Montero and possibly Andrew Brackman, I'm not sure which kids the Yankees have that are MLB ready and could make an impact next year. The Yankees do have some talent but not sure how close they are to being ready. Maybe this means we'll see the return of Joba The Starter?
There are rumors going around that the Red Sox are talking to the Phillies about Joe Blanton and that a trade is close, which was reported by Jon Heyman, however almost every Sox beat writer is saying the sources they have talked to are saying that's not true and the Sox have not traded for Blanton. I wouldn't touch Blanton unless it means spinning him off for bullpen help. Sounds like wishful thinking that the Sox would help Philly take away payroll in order to help them sign Lee. However Theo looks smart signing Crawford went he did because you could be sure both the Rangers and Yankees would be calling Crawford's agents now seeing what it would take to land him. Hopefully this means Texas will sign Beltre now so the Red Sox could get a 1st round pick for him instead of just a sandwich and a 2nd rounder if he were to go to the Angels for example.
I was actually worried about you since you haven't posted anything in the Off Season thread for a few days. I was going to PM you this afternoon.
Nah, was trying to pay attention last few days (really wasnt much news till this broke late last night), but finished up some travel and saw this. Wow..... Oh, well....sure I can now feel like its OK the Yanks didnt get tied up in long term contract with Lee - but - but- but - all Yankees fans should be quite concerned right now with rotation. If Andy Pettitte stays retired we have CC, young Hughes, and shaky-whoknows-AJ Burnett......something has to happen. Crawford to Sox, Cliff Lee to Philly, is not at all how I saw it play out....but as you have stated, these $100M long term contracts are crazy this off season. Its OK to see other teams do this though. Now if Russell Martin signs and wears Pinstripes I will ........
Tony Gwynn, Griffey Jr., maybe Clemons and Pettite when they both were in Houston, not saying it is common but it is not unheard of to see a player sign for less to play where they want to play.
Yeah Griffey definitely was one of them. Clemens is a bad example because he told everyone he was retiring therefore wasn't offered any contract by any team. He only took a 5 million dollar pay cut from 2003 to 2004 and in 2005 he was paid 18 million. Hard to see any team offering him over 20 million to pitch in 2004. Pettitte is possibly a good example, signed with Houston for 30.5 million dollars not sure what the Yankees offered but It couldn't have been much higher than 50 if it was even that high. Gwynn, I guess you could include on the list because he last signed in 2000 but I'm not sure how big of a market there was for a 41 year old COFer with no power that was coming off only playing 36 games. Either way that list is small even if you want to include those guys. Hard to think of many more.
he didnt leave that much money on the table......Lee's last year kickes in at 27.5 million....he didnt want to play for NY...or the Rangers for that matter...
Brian Cashman Conference call: UPDATE: 12:31 p.m.“Plan B is patience. We’ll engage the remaining free agent and trade market, and pursue what interests us at the level that we feel is appropriate.” UPDATE, 12:33 p.m.: Cashman says Cliff Lee has no impact on Andy Pettitte. Whether Pettitte comes back is up to Pettitte. “I don’t wake up today with the Cliff Lee decision having to make a phone call to Andy.” UPDATE, 12:36 p.m.: “I’m not angry. It certainly would have been nice to have him in our rotation, but that’s not going to happen.” UPDATE, 12:38 p.m.: On the failed mid-season trade attempt: “I’m thankful even more so now that I didn’t do that.” UPDATE, 12:39 p.m.: On Russell Martin: “I would not comment.” UPDATE, 12:41 p.m.: On his wide net: “I’ve stayed in touch and I suspect that the first stage of this stuff, people are going to dial up on both trade and free agent price tags on us.” UPDATE, 12:42 p.m.: “I think it would be a rare situation for me to include Montero in a deal.” UPDATE, 12:45 p.m.: “The one thing The Boss has taught me personally is the fact that you have to get in the arena and fight. Sometimes you win the fight and sometimes you lose the fight… We’re not down and out at all.” UPDATE, 12:50 p.m.: Cashman got the news late last night, between 11:30 and midnight. Darek Braunecker called, told Cashman he was going a different direction — Cashman didn’t ask where he was signing — and Cashman immediately called Hal Steinbrenner. Cashman said, at that point, he was not surprised to hear the news *********************************************************************************************************************** Also reported that Russell Martin has signed with the Yankees; Pending a Physical. http://yankees.lhblogs.com/
And, i can almost guarantee you that Cashman will not go into the season with Meat-tray as his 5th starter. Of course it would have been awesome to have cliff lee for this yr and maybe next, but i dont think its an epic failure. The yankees have some nice farm arms that will be ready soon (bentences banuelos brackman).... If Andy returns, the yanks will have the same rotation that won them a world series.
Back away from the ledge slowly...... that is not true; A.J. has always sucked...and he's always been a head case. Plus, if rothchild could get some quality starts out of Zambrano, he might be able to work wonders with burnett.
According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, Hideki Matsui's new one-year deal with the A's will be worth just under $5 million. MLB.com's Jenifer Langosch reports that the Pirates have reached agreement on a one-year contract with first baseman Lyle Overbay.
Yes. 2008 18 - 10 4.07 era. 231 k's 83 bb'S 2009 13-9 4.04 ERA 191 k's 97 bb'S As a matter of fact A.J. has been a really good pitcher for two seasons of his 12 and both those seasons came in contract yrs.
the stat line in 2008, in the AL East doesnt suck...or does 2009.....please remind me to dismiss whatever you say from now on ..... listen I am not saying the guy is a good pitcher, as a matter of fact, I said he sucked for them last year...however if you look at his numbers in his career, they are littered with sub 4 ERA's, granted he may have not finished the whole year and I get that, however to say he sucked is delusional......they got Rothchild because he worked with Burnett in Fla, and they hope they can recapture what he was doing down there... if everyone of the NY pitchers put up his 08 numbers this year, I would be extremly excited...
The fact is that A.J. is a head case....if he can control his head, then he can be a great pitcher in this league. But he hasnt had two good yrs back to back ever. He's hot and cold, his 2008 yr charmed the yankees into spending big bucks on him, and then he went right back to being mediocre. He is not dependable and he is a loose cannon. Granted, i would also be thrilled if Rothchild can help A.J. get out of A.J.'s way, but i certainly dont expect that will happen. Frankly, im tired of the yankees spending huge amounts of money on free agent pitchers that just dont pan out. C.C. is the only pitcher in the last 10 yrs to pan out for the yanks. So, for once, Yes i am happy that the Yankees did not get cliff lee. They really need to start figuring out if whats on the farm is good enough.