When I signed off after the Mets’ painful NLCS loss, I told myself I wouldn’t write about baseball anymore until after the Winter Meetings. I figured anything major would hold until then. As a matter of fact, I had a spiffy, partially spit-shined version of a column describing, in detail, why the NFL is the least fan-friendly league in the United States and how they routinely (and shamelessly) crap on their fans while the same people espouse on why every other league sucks. That column is coming, (inspired by this week’s Blackout of the Buffalo Bills’ game in Western New York) but I’m going to let it sauté another week. Besides, I can’t think about football or the Giants at the moment.
And, believe it or not, this isn’t a chance for me to talk about the awards and how Derek Jeter got screwed. It’s not surprising, really. There is no more polarizingly loathable (I have no idea if that collection of two words would pass an English class, but I like them) character in baseball than Derek Jeter. As captain of the Yankees, he’s the symbol of their lavish spending practices. He also routinely bangs chicks like Jessica Biel and you don’t. One voter went so far as to rate two players on the same team ahead of Jeter. I’m not going to call the voting system flawed, one of the guys in the neighborhood wins every season and there will always be Sour Grapes from writers when their guy doesn’t win. With Howard/Pujols, the best guy on the worst team will probably win more often than the best guy on the better team. Not to mention, when the regular season ended, the Cardinals were dead in the water. The thought of them blowing through the Padres was a distant, much less winning the World Series. And, frankly, Pujols is slowly showing himself to be an Albert Bell or Barry Bonds level diva, so he can twist for all I care.
As for Jeter, he lost to Morneau by 14 points. It wasn’t exactly a snub.
Somehow I ended up off on a tangent, but back to point. I needed to chime in a bit on the 2006 offseason, subtitled CRAZY CONTRACT EXTRAVAGANZA!!!
Alfonso Soriano: When I was talking about Things To Watch In The Offseason, I said: There were rumors earlier in the month that he’d turned down a 5 year, $70 million offer from the Nationals. They denied this rumor. If he did turn it down, 40/40/40 season or not, he’s crazy. The supply/demand curve here isn’t in his favor, as there are a lot more bats available than pitching. 5/$70 is the high-end for what any power bat is getting this offseason.
OK, so I can be wrong.
Hot off the heels of that column (well, three weeks later), the Cubs responded by signing Mr. Soriano to an 8-year, $136 million, nigh-untradable contract that will keep him in Chicago through 2014, when he’s 38 years old. On top of that, the Cubbies decided to re-sign Aramis Ramirez for 5/$75, and give Kerry Wood another 1-year deal (with whom I’m sure Lou Piniella will be gentle and understanding). One of two things happened here.
1) Jim Hendry and Brian Cashman swapped places temporarily, thus explaining why Hendry is suddenly handing out Tribune’s money like it’s free while totally ignoring their pitching problems. This explanation doesn’t make sense, though, as the Yankee front office has made nothing but solid, cost-cutting moves to refill their depleted farm stock while trading away overpriced free agent signings (shedding about $20 million by shuffling off Jaret Wright and Gary Sheffield). Which leads to:
2) Hendry is under orders to re-arrange the deck chairs on the Titanic. Thus far, they’ve handed a contract to a guy who, apparently, only tries when it suits him (like contract years) and who has racked up a svelte .233 average in the postseason, another guy who hasn’t exactly performed in the clutch for them in Ramirez”¦ and they’re already in the $100 million club. They still haven’t signed any pitching. We’re looking at the highest payroll in the NL next year, and maybe the 2nd highest in the league (Boston’s 50 million dollar asterisk aside).
Boston’s $50 million Asterisk: For a few years, Boston’s fans have gotten to point at the astronomical Yankee payroll as an excuse (never mind getting swept five games at home this season, but whatever). Even though they may still, that ended this year. The Red Sox blew everyone else out of the water to get the rights to talk to Daisuke Matsuzaka (D-Money, from here out) and his agent, Scott Boras. Assuming they sign him to a five-yearish deal, we’re talking about a hundred million dollars for a glorified prospect. That’s a lot of green for an unproven talent, so expect the Red Sox to follow through with gusto. Also remember, when the payroll lists come out at the beginning of the year, tack another 50 onto Boston’s before reading whose payroll topped the league this season.
JD Drew: And the comedy continues. Remember last year when the Red Sox couldn’t possibly give Johnny Damon, soul of the franchise, a four-year contract worth $42 million dollars because, well, he just wasn’t worth it and would be 36 when the contract expired? Well, these days Theo is looking to sign Drew. The hang-up right now? The length of the contract. Drew is looking for something for longer than four years. If the organization caves, which they seem to be doing, expect JD Drew to get a five year deal from the Red Sox. Drew’s age at the end of a five-year deal? 36!
Speaking of ongoing comedy, how about Hanley Ramirez’s Rookie of the Year? The franchise, if nothing else, gives you plenty to write about.
Carlos Lee: In another of my brilliant moves, I thought Carlos Lee was silly to turn down a good faith offer from the Brewers, which led to a deadline deal that sent Lee to the Rangers. Lee’s gamble paid off as the Astros wasted no time filling up Jeff Bagwell’s $20 million hole with Carlos Lee. While I think Lee was a sorely needed signing for the Astros, I never imagined it would be nine figures worth of sorely.
What does all this mean?
People used to toss around the terms “untradable” when it came to Manny Ramirez and A-Rod quite often, more based on their giant contracts than on any no-trade clauses. However, with Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Lee setting slugger prices in some bizarre stratosphere, Manny’s $38 million guaranteed in the next two years and $16 million/year for A-Rod has suddenly become a bargain. We’re honestly saying now that Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Lee are worth the same money as two first ballot Hall of Famers. Is the market for bats that slim? Am I the only one confused?
To close up, let’s also not forget one of the least reported news items in the month of November. The Los Angeles Dodgers declined a 2007 option on Eric Gagne. If anyone needs to wonder why Mariano Rivera and (I’ll be kind) Trevor Hoffman are very rare and wonderful things in baseball, look no further than this.
And no, I won’t be talking about the Giants, other than to continue to profess my loathing of Plaxico Burress.
