Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Right of Return

A couple of big stories did in fact break yesterday after I posted. So, i figured, in my important role as a blogger, I should address them.

Mike Lowell it appears WILL be headed back to the Boston Red Sox, manning the hot corner for them for at least 3 more years. I think the Red Sox are winners on this one. They were only interested in giving Lowell a 3-year deal and it was made quite apparent they were not going to budge on that. Lowell, who has the same agent(s) as Jorge Posada (who got a 4-year deal), was supposedly looking for 4 years from somewhere. There were a lot of reports that maybe the Braves, Angels, and Yankees were going after him, but in the end, he'll stay in Boston. I mentioned in my last post, that part of me thought Lowell was going to stay and the other part thought he would leave. There's a lot of talk in Boston that Lowell took a "pay cut" by coming back to the Red Sox and he should be applauded for that. Give me a break people. If, by now, you do NOT realize that baseball is all about money, you need to find a new sport. I would have to guess that when the Levinson's couldn't find a greater deal than 3 years/$37.5 million, they told Mike: "hey, you should probably just stay in Boston. It's the most money, and hey, they'll think you made a magnanimous gesture by staying. Win-win." If you actually think it's about loyalty, why don't you talk to Roger Clemens, or Johnny Damon, how about JD Drew? It isn't about loyalty folks. It isn't even about winning sometimes (A-Rod with Texas). It's about money. The fact is, Mike Lowell probably didn't take a pay cut. The deal the Red Sox gave was probably all that was out there, unless he wanted to play for free somewhere. Let's be honest with ourselves here. Mike Lowell, despite the fact that everyone things he is the "nicest", "most professional" baseball player on the planet (or that's what I gather from stories coming from Red Sox Nation), he is the same as everyone else. Curt Schilling mentioned on his blog how it's great "Mikey" took a cut to come back for three years. I would guess Curt only came back because he realized no one else was going to pay him the money he wanted, and he can just spin it to make himself look good. Loyalty is lost in this world of high salaries. If you want to think about loyalty, then isn't A-Rod just as loyal, in a sick, twisted way. Like Lowell he had the chance to sign elsewhere, thought he was going to get more money, and then came back. Just, because Lowell is viewed as a better "professional" than A-Rod (which is just crap, I think stats matter. That's what baseball players are judged on. If it were based personality, than Ty Cobb and Ted Williams, just two examples, wouldn't be viewed in such high regard because they were both s*** heads), his gesture is "loyal" while A-Rod is greedy. They both realized they weren't going to get the money they wanted, so they returned to their solid base. Makes sense to me. Just one is colosally better than the other...

Mariano Rivera accepted the Yankees 3 year/$45 million deal. Good for him. Right move. I spoke at length about him yesterday, so there's really no need to talk more. I'm happy.

Alex Rodriguez won his third MVP award yesterday, to no one's surprise. Except this guy who wrote an article I read about how Ortiz was the "real" MVP. Give me a break. Anyway, A-Rod SHOULD have been unanimous but a couple of Detroit writers found it necessary to vote Magglio Ordonez in the first place spot, instead of A-Rod. That's ridiculous. Did they watch baseball this year? Yes, although making the postseason is not integral for a player to being an MVP, it helps. I'm sure these guys were just looking at batting average, of which Ordonez had a higher one. But that matters so little in the statistical world. Let's be serious. Look at all the key offensive categories, and it's pretty obvious A-Rod was the better player, the MVP. Ordonez had a higher batting average (whatever) and a higher OBP, but not by much. A-Rod had a higher slugging, a higher OPS+ (which is park adjusted, a great stat), more total bases, more stolen bases, almost double the home runs, more RsBI, and more runs. Ordonez had more hits, but that really doesn't matter. He had a lot of doubles, which is impressive, but not impressive enough to beat Alex out for MVP. Plus, for A-Rod, with RISP, he hit .333, with 98 RsBI and a 1.138 OPS. He hit .357 in the new "close and late situations". With the bases loaded? How about hitting to the tune of .500 (7-14) with a 1.286 OPS. And in September, when the Yankees needed him, Alex went ahead and hit .362. Those numbers are mind-boggling and those guys in Detroit should be ashamed of themselves.

Ok, there was a trade yesterday, which was pretty big, i would say. The Chicago White Sox traded one of their starters, Jon Garland (an 18-game winner in 2005 and 2006) to the Angels for SS Orlando Cabrera. I really have NO idea why this trade was made. The Angels struggled for offense this season outside of Guerrero and the OC (which is what Cabrera is called) played pretty well. He hit over .300, had 86 RsBI, stole 20 bases, hit over 30 doubles and is a very good defensive shortstop. Garland struggled this year record-wise, which is really not a good measure of a pitcher. He had a 4.23 ERA, which was actually about a quarter of a run better than he had in 2006 when he won 18 games (just showing you how stupid wins are). He had an ERA+ of 112, which is pretty good, and a WHIP of 1.36, also not bad. He pitches in a pitchers park, the New Comisky (also known as US Cellular) and had pretty good numbers. I dont' understand why this trade was made. Really, i don't. The White Sox need pitching, Garland is a middle of the road starter who can help your team. The Angels need offense, and they traded one of the more solid offensive players on their team...I just don't get it. Maybe the Angels were in a self-destructive mode seeing as how they didn't get A-Rod, but still...who's going to play short? They aren't going to bring David Eckstein back are they? I hope not cause he's TERRIBLE!!! Well, actually, I hate the Angels, so I hope they do, cause then they'd be worse...That's objective right....Oh, it's not? Whatever. Anyway, weird decision by these two teams.

Luis Castillo is staying with the Mets. He was resigned to a 4 year/$25 million deal. Pretty good little second baseman who just needs to get on base after Jose Reyes for David Wright. Good pick up at the deadline last year by the Mets. He should help them this year.

Anyway, I guess that's all for know. Weird development: although Jorge Posada reportedly signed a deal last Monday, contingent on his passing a physical, which was scheduled for last Wednesday, there has been nothing official. Pete Abraham at the LoHud Yankees Blog suggests that maybe the Yankees are waiting for a joint press conference with Posada, Rivera and Rodriguez. Who knows. Oh, and all of this should help push Andy Pettitte towards coming back. He wants to play for a winner, and the Yankees are certainly giving him a right of return. I can tell you that much.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your argument on the "loyalty" issue has some holes in it. First, it was pretty much the general consensus among baseball writers just about everywhere (read: people with better baseball minds than you or I) that in this starting pitching- deficient free agent market this hot stove season that Schilling could easily get a guaranteed 13-14 mil, and that is probably supported by the fact that he had all sorts of clubs talking to him almost immediately after he made the list of teams he would be willing to pitch for. So, in Schilling's case, that was an act of loyalty. If it was truly more profitable to go elsewhere and that is the absolute only way the world works, then why didn't he do that? It was the best thing for his family (Schilling always puts his family first), Boston has been his favorite place to pitch, and he has a better chance to win another WS in Boston than anywhere else he was considering pitching.

Second, it has been reported that Mike Lowell was offered a 4 year contract at the same yearly rate that he accepted from Boston from Philly on Monday. 4 Years was what he was looking for. And where is he going to be playing next season? Right, Boston. So, loyalty doesn not exist in baseball? While it is true that Lowell did test the market to some degree to find what was best, can you really blame him? This will be his last chance at a big contract in his career, and he needs to do what is best for his family.

Sure, for some players, it is all about the money. Half the players on the Yankees and Red Sox are that way. But don't try to knck two players who gave up a little to play for a winner. In the end, the Yankees had to hand out record contracts to old decaying players like Posada and Rivera to get them to stay. So much for Cashman shedding the old strategy. Do you really think Rivera will be worth 15 mil in the third season of his contract? You're on drugs if you think that cutter will be splintering bats like the days of old in 3 years time. Posada will likely be reduced to DH'ing half the time in his final season, and like Lowell, most likely won't be catching up to those fast balls forever. Not to mention that the Yankees have still blown over 400+mil on contracts for these players and still have not addressed the one glaring weakness that has kept them away from the WS title this century: starting pitching.

M. Michaud said...

Fair enough, but whatever reports you have of Lowell getting an offer from the Phillies I have to disagree with. Cause on a couple occasions I read reports that the Phillies were not interested in Lowell and didn't offer him any money. And I know the Yankees pulled back their offer so....I guess that's in the eye of the beholder.

And about Rivera: no, I do not think he will be worth 15 million dollars in 3 years, absolutely not, but hey, the Yankees wanted him, and I wanted him, and that was how it was going to work. When money is not an issue, then it doesn't matter how much you pay. That's just the nature of the beast.