Always signing ex-Braves, those Dodgers. Two years, $36 million. So much for that $100 million offer.
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Always signing ex-Braves, those Dodgers. Two years, $36 million. So much for that $100 million offer.
Use code “Journal” for a 5% discount.
a smart move by andruw and boras… a short-term, bump up his value deal. still gets 18 mil a year and gets another shot at free agency within his best years.
could be a good signing for both sides.
Now the question is who’s out in the Dodger outfield? Pierre, Kemp or Either?
From the story:
“What happened to Jones in 2007? Trying to play with a secretly hyper-extended elbow didn’t help, but such decisions are commonplace with free agency looming.”
That was probably the worst decision he had ever made then.
I sure wish just one of my “bad decisions” resulted in $36 M, instead of a pounding headache.
Well good for Andruw. Man they love to take our former players.
Furcal, Maddux, Drew, Andruw, who else?
Oh, and the real stinker is that now Pierre moves to left, perhaps making him one of the worst left fielders in the game. His offense is defensible in center, but being a left fielders will make him look even worse. At least his arm will be slightly covered up in left…
I can’t type. I’m sorry.
Then that means that Kemp or Ethier is on the move.
Cary, from a few threads back.
Stoops’s ballot was something like OU, OSU, Missouri, KU, Va Tech, LSU. The top four would only be defensible if the bottom two were switched. You can find all the coaches’ ballots at USA Today, by the way.
It was $100M over 50 years, so this one made a bit more sense for him.
@10, thanks, david15, I’ll check’em out.
There’s a way to argue for Stoops’ order, but I think it requires a healthy (potentially lethal) dose of Big12-ade, like you said earlier.
I am looking forward to the Oklahoma-West Virginia game. I think its the best BCS game.
Another CF possibility (Mac will hate this one) could be Joey Gathright from Kansas City. After signing Jose Guillen, KC has an outfield of Guillen-Dejesus-Teahen, pushing Gathright to the bench.
He has no power at all, but has learned to take walks and has speed to burn… plus:
He Can Leap Cars In A Single Bound!
2007: .307 avg/.371 obp/.342 slg/.713 ops
That’s pretty weak aside from the on-base percentage. Fits in with the Willits-level players being discussed and should be cheap though.
I wouldn’t go so far as to advocate Gathright. Just throwing him out there.
Juan Pierre, is without a doubt now the worst left fielder in all of baseball, I don’t even think it’s close. Anyway, that’s the Dodgers problem.
I think this is a good signing for the Dodgers, but as for Andruw, I’m not so sure. He lost his 10/5 rights and with his $12 million signing bonus, that makes him pretty easy to trade down the line to somebody that he may not be so happy with. It works out for him if he reestablishes his value, but won’t work out so hot if he doesn’t. This was his chance to cash in and he really didn’t at all. What happened to the $100 million deal ?? He wouldn’t accept one year, but he went with two, wow Boras, usually you’re pretty good, but Torii Hunter gets 5 for 90 and Andruw only gets two ??
ummmm…is Pierre better than who we have?
nobody in LF?
i mean, i would love Diaz to be there, but he probably wont, thanks to Bobby’s insanity.
i would love Bradley…if Bobby could scare him into thinking that Bobby’s crazier than him, thus, chilling him out.
Go ahead, Bobby, give him the stare…yeah…that stare…yeah…
and people wonder why Leo rocked. it wasn’t cause of nerves on the field…he was afraid Bobby would shank him with that rubbed-down plastic fork or a maddox bobble-head or that he would try to platoon him with Mel freakin’ Stotelmeyer.
The Dodgers are trying to give the Rangers some money to dump Pierre on them. I don’t think the Dodgers are quite dumb enough to make Pierre an everyday leftfielder.
Well, so long Andruw it was fun. Hope you are happy with how your Boras experience went. I’ve heard that anyone who has Scotty for an agent is assured to get the best deal, so no regrets.
Rumor has it Andruw Jones moved to Los Angeles to be closer to the Hebrew National Hot Dog Factory in Sheboygan.
36 million, far cry from what he wanted, but not much to complain about.
I’m going to guess there’s a handshake deal that if he returns to his ’05-’06 form next year they give him a 3-4 year extension.
On the initial $20 million/year offer.
— It was the first offer made by his agent, not what he was “asking”. This is negotiation. A car salesman once asked me to make my dream bid on the car I wanted, and I said “one penny.” He was not amused. I ended buying the car for a lot more than a penny.
— The offer was made before last season. Torii Hunter signed a 5-year $18 million/year deal, and Andruw is a better player than Hunter. At the time, this offer was certainly not absurd given the trend of the free agent market.
@15,
I refuse to type ell-oh-ell (I have my principles), but that was amusing.
Rock on.
I didn’t know that the 20 mil initial asking price was pre season. I just thought that it took stones to ask for 20 after the down year Andruw had. If thats the case the standard wasn’t Hunter but Vernon Wells another guy that Andruw is better than. Still 20 is Manny territory and Andruw defense or no defense aint Manny.
Had Andruw/Boras had gone to the Braves at the beginning of last year or even midseason this year with that 2yr/36 mil request, I wonder what would have happened? Would we have resigned him? What do you all think?
No. Too expensive.
We need to sign Tex because I don’t want to see him go play for the Dodgers too. If this trend keeps up, they may end up with a pretty good team. Gasp….
Gathright is interesting, but I’m not sure if he gives us much upgrade over Anderson. That is the problem to me. Most the options I’ve heard don’t necessarily give us an automatic upgrade in center over what we currently have.
Add this to the discussion of Andruw’s contract. And particularly the discussion on the short term contract centerfielder options.
Basically, THT says overall, the shorter the contract the more likely you are not to get the production to justify the contract. There is a reason people don’t wnat to offer long term. And there is a wish and a prayer that they will do better.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/long-term-contracts/
15 — funny stuff.
I thought LA made sense for Andruw as far as going to another player’s manager. Watch out though, Andruw — you may end up batting 8th in the playoffs. heh heh.
I wish Andruw all the best. except when we play the Dodgers — I expect no less than 3 DP’s per game.
The only reason Gathright was useful at all with a bat in his hands last season was a .365 BABIP. His career line is .266/.333/.314, and that’s what anyone who signs him should expect.
Gathright belongs to a time when there were 10-man pitching staffs. He would have fit right in with the A’s of the mid-’70s.
Everyone says that Juan Pierre becomes the Left Fielder. Why????? Unless you are trying to trade Either or Kemp for a pitcher Pierre is sunk costs. Both of those guys are wayyyyy better than old Juan.
Dodgers and 2 years makes sense for Andruw. You’d think though when the contract ends even if he returned to average performance he’d have a hard time getting a big payday at 32. But the Hunter contract dispelled those notions.
can we sign gathright to jump cars in CF during the 7th inning stretch?
I hope Bobby will not give Tommy a chance to pitch against the Dodgers because Andruw absolutely destroy Tommy.
There is a third year on this deal, for $5 mil.
I love it when the guys at firejoemorgan.com get after Juan Pierre. (And David Eckstein)
Sam, the $5M will be paid in 2010, but his contract is for two years.
I would love to get Kemp from them, not necessarily for CF. I remember the bomb he hit off Smoltz, I’m sure John remembers also
from braves website
“Wren said there is a chance two of his organization’s players could be selected. Infielder Diory Hernandez, who combined to hit .307 with Class A Myrtle Beach and Double-A Mississippi in 2007, and the recently acquired Joe Borchard appear to be the most attractive options for other teams.
Borchard, who signed with the Braves as a six-year Minor League free agent earlier this week, hit .196 in 85 games with the Marlins this year. Because every other team had a previous chance to sign him without the necessity of paying $50,000 and keeping him on their 25-man roster throughout the entire season, the probability of him being selected is minimal.
As long as Borchard remains with the Braves, he’ll at least have a chance to provide organizational depth at the outfield position. But he hasn’t been mentioned as a candidate for center field.
It appears the Braves are planning to utilize Matt Diaz and Brandon Jones in a platoon in left field. Jones, who is coming off an impressive Minor League season, was hitting .289 with Novojoa in the Mexican Winter League before injuring his right shoulder last week.”
not too exciting, but when did the Braves get Borchard?
Well, I really, really want Matt Kemp now. (Chris, in answer to your question, yes, Juan Pierre is worse than Matt Diaz, and probably worse than Brandon Jones, and certainly worse than their platoon. And he many times as much.)
JC, I just picked up The Baseball Economist yesterday. Can’t wait to read it. Keep us posted on your latest stuff!
Read on trade rumors that a Lincecum-Rios deal is now in Sabean’s hands. There’s no package the Braves could put together that would be more attractive than Alex Rios?
I cant believe he is former 1st round (12th overall) pick by the White Sox. He’s been terrible
We should sign Cameron, even though he will miss the first 25 games. If we’re planning on having minor leaguers in CF anyway whats the difference. At least it will give the youngsters some big league at bats without putting all the pressure on them to be ‘the guy’ out there. Cameron lives in McDonough, I am sure he’d play here.
Thanks AAR. 🙂
@40 The only thing against signing Cameron is that despite the suspension he is going to want more than a 1 or 2 year contract.
I don’t think there is enough room in the Braves’ budget to sign Cameron to even a 1 year deal at this point.
Rumor has it the Braves are toying with the idea of moving Francoeur to CF and signing Brian Jordan to an incentive laden deal to play RF.
Raul Mondesi has also been thrown around as a possibility.
Even if Andruw returns to his normal form (and is normal 35 home runs or 45?}, $18 million is too much for the Braves. And he would be making substantially more than Chipper, Smoltz, and Teixera, all of whom are better players. I wish Andruw the best but it was time for him to move on.
and signing Brian Jordan to an incentive laden deal to play RF.
Raul Mondesi has also been thrown around as a possibility.
Sadly, that sounds no more or less plausible than the first time we tried it.
I just read an article on espn.com about Steve Finley looking for a job and the Braves’ tepid interest in him. Isn’t he the outfielder who always complained about how the lights are set up at Turner Field?
And if Jordan or Mondesi doesn’t work out, apparently Claudell Washington wants to make a comeback.
And Felipe Alou.
Mark Bradley on Andruw/Boras:
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/sportscolumns/entries/2007/12/06/andruws_agent_g.html
Dix, considering that Jordan’s career has been like a cockroach their might be a grain of truth to your post. LOL.
@45 Well put. In that context it is understandable why the Braves didn’t even try to negotiate. Andruw simply isn’t as good as those guys.
I do have to take something back. I had said that the team couldn’t carry 2 auto outs. I guess that I forgot that we played Thorman a lot last season. So we could start and play one of our slap hitting CFs next season because I think that in a walk year Texieria is going to rake.
We only lost one player as far as I know in the Rule V draft and it wasn’t the guy we were expecting. Apparently the Reds think Sergio Valenzuela might stick on their roster this year. I’ve heard he has a live arm but here are his stats last year at Rome & Myrtle Beach.
7.12 ERA – Rome
6.88 ERA – MB
4.66 K/9 – Rome
4.84 K/9 – MB
13.50 K/9 – Rome
11.97 K/9 – MB
Good luck Cincinatti.
Those last two stats should be hits per 9, which changes things quite a bit.
Our lineup should be fine, considering Diaz will probably bat 7th & our light-hitting CF will bat 8th.
Dix,
That was not funny. At all.
Two words: Roberto Kelley
The bigger picture item here is this is another “hit” against Boras.
First, A-Rod removes him from the process and then actually does get a nice contract (probably BY doing that) from the Yankees.
Second, Kenny Rogers fires Boras.
Third, Borass wanted $100 mill for ‘Druw and got $36.
Finally, Borass is starting to show some weakness because teams are starting to challenge his Destro like grip on MLB.
But Andruw, best of luck in L.A. Since he’s not in our division, it won’t really affect us now, good or bad.
As for Mike Cameron, I think he might have to take a 1 year deal considering the 25 game suspension. I think if he did, it would be perfect for the Braves for a few reasons:
1. he’ll come very cheaply
2. It allows us the month of April to give youngsters like Lillibridge or Anderson a shot to play and see how it goes.
I have no problem with waiting till about May 1st for a Cameron, because we could stick a youngster in there and see how it goes – plus – they could bat low in the order.
#51–Beauty is in the eye of the beholder….Sergio Valenzuela was regarded as a pretty hot prospect when the Braves signed him, but absolutely never did anything. If the Reds can make a pitcher out of him, then more power to them as the Braves never came close. If he is our only loss then we got of lucky….
We should have gone after Cameron along time ago–however, I think that Johnny #42 is right–he will want more than one year.
I don’t think a two year contract would be a bad thing–there is no guarantee that Schafer will be ready in mid-2008 or even 2009. However, the way things look now, I doubt the Braves will ever talk to Cameron….
Apropos of nothing, but I can’t help it- did anyone else watch Mercury Morris on Sportscenter and think he looked and sounded a lot like Nat X? “The only 15 minute show on television, because the white man wouldn’t give me 30!”
I saw that. Mercury confirmed that rap is just talking with a beat. 😉
Jose Capellan was picked in the Rule 5 draft, but it was a different Jose Capellan!
he he he…Destro
I can’t wait until we get a centerfielder and everyone on here rips into him until Schaffer is called up and then everyone will love him, even if he hit .210
I can’t believe that the Big 12 was mentioned so randomly in this thread. That was certainly odd.
Yeah, OU will beat up on the West Virginia squad. 🙂
The National Title is ours next year!
Just like they beat up on Bosie State last year?
Smitty, thats not funny either!
But since were on the topic, is Marquis Grissom available?
Yeah, that Boras is sure taking a beating. I guess he will have to go get a job at the A&P now. He’s so terrible that he got $36 mm for a guy that hit .222 last year.
My point from a couple days ago exactly, Marc.
@59 Rufino,
Mercury’s appearance on the show caused an interesting family moment at my house. My 15 year old son was watching and said some thing like “Who’s that guy?”. I didn’t immediately recognize him, but heard or saw something and then knew who it was. I explained how the Dolphins went unbeaten with Mercury and Bill Stanfill (who he has met and gotten an autographed picture from, he remembered the ring, but not the undefeated part).
His response (I guess partly based on the size difference and the glasses) “Oh, I thought he was like one of those 70’s singers you like (I love the Spinners, Temptations, etc.). I could see him with a big afro doing a smooth step.”
Here’s the scary mention of Steve Finley:
So Finley started Monday morning by walking into the lobby of the Opryland hotel, in search of an ear or a familiar face. Almost right away he found one in Braves manager Bobby Cox. After their talk, Finley walked away thinking that it was worth the trip, even just for that moment. As it turned out, a report that night said the Braves might have an interest in Finley.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove07/news/story?id=3142346
Also on Mercury Morris. He is part of the one fo the best college running back / blocking back pairs (but I can’t remember who his fullback was).
Another was that Larry Brown of the Redskins was the blocking back for a pretty good pro (but nowhere in Larry’s class) in Mac Herron. Another was John Riggins being a blocking back for somebody who was good, but not that good. The 4th was Franco Harris who was by far a better pro than the nevertheless good Lydell Mitchell.
And one for Wryn, William Andrews who was better than both of his feature tailbacks at Auburn (despite the fact that they were good) Joe Cribbs and James Brooks.
Auburn also had Tommie Agee to block for Bo Jackson and Lionel James.
He is part of the one fo the best college running back / blocking back pairs (but I can’t remember who his fullback was).
The best pair would be Marcus Allen as the blocking back for Heisman winner Charles White in ’78 and ’79. Allen would take over the tailback position in ’80 and win this own Heisman in ’81.
My point about Boras was not how rich he still IS every year – of course he’s already made a fortune.
But it’s an overall TREND that more players & more owners are seeing that he’s so impossible to work with, he’s actually hurting his clients and therefore it may finally allow other teams besides the Dodgers, Yankees, Angels and Red Sox to afford his clients.
It also may hopefully get (some) future stars to shy away from hiring Borass.
Sam Cunningham, John Brockington. They were the fullbacks I can’t remember the tailbacks.
Didn’t Lester and Ellsbury just sign up as a Boras client? Boras’ mistakes this off season don’t seem to be stopping the most talented young players from joining his team.
I think William Henderson blocked for Natrone Means at North carolina in the mid/late-90s.
Natrone had a couple of good seasons at San Diego, but Henderson was a decade long starter/All Pro in Green Bay.
Alex, if you are hoping for a reduction of influence from he who should not be named then your beating your head against the wall. The point is that he just got a guy that hit .222 last season 18.1 million per year for 2 seasons.
Hate,
It’s going to be a slow trickle – but it’s going to take the rest of Baseball (since the Dodgers and Red Sawx won’t) to continue, year after year, to PUSH BACK on Borass.
Yes, right now he’s still king over us all, but one of these days, we will be able to loosen that grip.
I wonder if Joe Torre had anything to do with the Andruw Jones signing. Torre may have wanted a veteran player in CF instead of Kemp or Eithier and Pierre sucks. I don’t know. Good luck in L.A., Druw.
But, Johnny, Borass/Voldemort has been seeking $100 mill over 5 years.
$36 over 2 years maybe a ton of moolah, but it’s less than half what Borass/Voldemort had been claiming he was going to get.
He also over claimed on A-Rod and was shut out of the room.
The bottomline is we need these things to continue to happen if people are going to finally be able to fight back against thr dispicable tactics of Voldemort.
Isn’t Rick Porcello (top pitching prospect in last year’s draft) a Boras client? As long as teams go over slot to sign picks I think Boras will always be able get the top flight, young talent. I’m not bashing the teams that sign guys over slot value. I would certainly do it if my team could afford the Rick Porcello talents.
I hope Andruw sparkles in Tinsel Town. Before the Braves came south, the Dodgers were my favorite team. Now they trail only the Braves on my list. It would be great if they could meet in the NLCS in 2008.
Heard a funny one today from Ed Coleman, WFAN’s Mets beat reporter. He was on the air with the Yanks beat reporter & they were discussing the Andruw Jones signing.
Coleman: “I remember going into Bobby Cox’s office toward the middle of last year. We were talking about Andruw’s troubles and I said, ‘Well, he’s still driven in 78 runs for you.’
“Bobby looked at me like I was crazy and said, “He should have driven in 178 runs with all the guys he’s left on base!'”
Hideki Matsui has 2 years $26mil left on his contract. What would it cost us to get him from the Yankees, and could be play CF for us?
Alex, Andruw was asking for $20 million a year and he got $18 million.
Dix, Matsui’s not really a center fielder, he just sometimes plays one on TV. Also, I don’t think that the Yankees would trade him, nor do I think he’d want to come to Atlanta.
ububba – that’s a great anecdote.
All of that is true (about Matsui), and just to re-emphasize: Matsui’s a below average LF. They played him in center when necessary due to injuries, but he is by no means a CF.
Mac,
Andruw was asking for 5 years and BorASS bragged he was going to get it – he got 2.
I call it a win againdt BorASS.
Watching the Braves try to fill CF on the cheap stands in stark contrast to what I see locally. The Angels and Dodgers just last year threw a tremendous amount of money at Juan Pierre and Gary Matthews to “solve” their centerfield problems. Just one (!) season into those huge multiyear deals they have scrapped that plan and brought in two new high priced FA centerfielders. At least this time it looks like they got the right guys.
Sometimes it doesn’t seem like we are even playing the same game as the big market teams.
Robert,
Thats because the Braves are cheaper and smarter. Even if they had the money, the wouldn’t lay out those two contracts that Matthews and Pierre signed.
I’ve seen Matsui play a lot since ’03. He’s an RBI machine with that lineup, but a major-league CF he’s not.
When he first came over to the Yanks, I thought he had great instincts in LF. He was a decent fill-in in CF, but nothing special.
But by Season 2, I actually thought he had regressed and, by Season 3, I thought he’d lost it out there.
He took odd routes to balls, couldn’t make up his mind whether to go for the dunkers in front of him or let the ball drop (he usually let it drop). And I’ve seen him actually muff some balls hit right at him.
I’ve actually been a bit of a fan of Matsui, mostly for his demeanor, his production and his level of effort—he never, ever dogs it.
He’s a magnet for the Japanese media, but he gives them little tidbits every day, unlike Ichiro, who hates the press & treats them less than great. (Is there a Japanese word for mensch?)
But I’ll admit that he’s had a very strange “development” in the outfield. Never mind the salary, I certainly wouldn’t call him any kind of CF solution.
Alex, I agree with you. In two years, Andruw will be 2 years older than he is now, and looking even less like someone who should get a 5-year contract. It’s always possible that he’ll hit so well in Chavez Ravine that he gets the $90 million deal that Torii Hunter got this season, but it has to be awfully sobering that Hunter — clearly an inferior hitter to Jones, and probably an inferior defender — got an average of $18 over five years, and Jones got an average of $18 over two years.
Sure, Andruw got a nice salary per year. But he’s gotten way upstaged by Vernon Wells and Torii Hunter the last two years, and Boras wasn’t able to get him anywhere near their money. That’s a bit of a slap in the face for both Andruw and Boras.
mlb rumors is saying that the Orioles and Astros are close to a deal for Tejada.
Adam Everett, Chris Burke, and a minor league pitcher for Tejada.
After all the deals Angelos has nixed over the years, this is the one he needs to step in and shut down. That is a terrible offer and wont help them win in any way, now or later. If he doesnt this proves how bad of a GM he has become
Thats because the Braves are cheaper and smarter.
I know the former is true. I’m going to hold judgment on the latter until I see who’s our centerfielder is on Opening Day.
I used to really dig the Orioles back when I was a kid.
Before free agency, they always seemed to be the smartest team out there and, like the Dodgers, they developed all kinds of talent. And after free agency, they held their own, despite inferior resources.
Now they’re like the baseball Twilight Zone. I never understand what they’re doing anymore.
AAR,
I would agree with almost everything you said, except that I feel both Hunter & Wells are superior to Andruw which is why they are getting more moolah.
Yes, I am sure many people on here will jump to Andruw’s defense. Sigh.
Nobody needs to jump to Andruw’s defense. All one has to do is consult the respective careers of the 3 guys you mention and the argument resolves itself.
Robert,
I would call not overpaying for multiple years a centerfielder in decline very smart. But that may just be me.
All one has to do is consult the respective careers of the 3 guys you mention and the argument resolves itself.
Indeed. It’s not really close.
csg, I’m not sure the deal is bad, mostly because I have difficulty quantifying the value of good defense. Everett is an elite defender, and his defense might be worth more than Tejada’s plus offense. Couple him with a pitcher, and it’s probably a good deal for the O’s.
I would call not overpaying for multiple years a centerfielder in decline very smart. But that may just be me.
I think the Dodgers will be very happy with the Andruw contract. Buying Andruw’s age 31 and 32 years for $18 million per is a good gamble if you’ve got the dough.
I’m not assuming anything good about the organization’s intelligence after the first base debacle last season.
No Alex, over the course of their respective careers Andruw is the better player.
AAR Andruw got 18 mil for a way down year. Hunter and Wells were coming off of near career years. If Andruw morphs back to the 2005/2006 Andruw or even his career numbers he’ll get a HUGE contract.
Alex Boras wins every time one of his players signs a contract. No matter how much outrageous postering he does to set expectations, no matter how badly he misreads the market or has a player go behind his back he wins. Millions. As far as his clientelle, who of any significance (Kenny Rogers isn’t significant) has dropped Boras recently. Name one. The Boras factor is always mentioned in the press but with the few exceptions every player that is represented by him, be it a 1st round pick or a superstar lands on a team with a large contract. I’m not a Boras fan or anything but the bottom line is that he isn’t the problem. Dumbass owners willing to pony up stupid money for marginal players are the problem. It isn’t Bora’s fault that baseball salaries are approaching NBA levels, thats for sure.
Career tallies are one thing, but none of that really tells us whether Andruw is going to rebound and, in the end, be better than Wells or Hunter going forward. He may be, he may not be. So while Andruw once was the better player, right now it’s not certain, not even likely.
Adam M,
I wasn’t talking about career tallies, I was talking about career averages.
That said, no, it’s obviously not certain that he’ll be the best of the 3 going forward, but I really disagree that it’s “not even likely.”
@93 – I looked at the rumor and, if Troy Patton is involved, it;s defensible. Tejada was not great last year – above average still at the plate, terrible in the field – and is getting paid a ton. I agree that they need to get back some youth, almost certainly a pitching prospect, but I also think they need to trade him before he declines further.
Hey so we all realize the Vernon Wells sucked last year right? That he was actually worse Andruw? Anyone care to write his obituary at age 29?
Bad years happen. Overreacting to them is just silly.
Yes, I think he’ll rebound, but his trends are really concerning. On the other hand, Wells was so terrible last year that it almost boggles the mind to think of the contract he received. And Hunter is strange in that his production at the plate has increased in each of the last four seasons. Andruw is, in my mind, the best player of the lot, but I’m not convinced he will be the best in 2008 or 2009 or 2010. Time will tell.
I was speaking about going forward and about this past season – yes – Andruw has done more over a career than Wells & Hunter.
But everyone loves to jump to conclusions when I am not having a love fest over ‘Druw.
The bottomline to me is that the man hit .222 and I am not buying another .275 year with 40-45 homers – especially at Chavez Ravene.
But let me add – since very few others are ever willing to do this on here – if Andruw does hit like it’s the late 90’s or 2000-2005 again, I will be the first one on here to admit I was wrong. I have no problem with that.
The point is that, regardless of what Boras said, it was obvious that Andruw hurt his value last year. The fact that Boras was posturing (as every good negotiator does)about getting $20 mm doesn’t mean that the contract Andruw got was a defeat for Boras. I would argue it was a victory. Everyone knew he wasn’t going to get five years at $20 per after the year he had and I’m sure Boras knew it too. It’s a no lose situation for Andruw; if he rebounds, in two years he gets an even bigger contract;if not, he’s still made $36 million. I don’t see this as a defeat for Boras at all.
Andruw has only hit .275 or higher 3 times
The point that I’m trying to make is that Boras is irrelevant. The Braves didn’t even think that Andruw was worth an arbitration ‘win’ of say 15.5 or 16. The Dodgers think enough of him to pay 36.2. The winners and losers in this are the teams and the players.
If Andruw goes back to career average Andruw, Dodgers win. If he sustains that performance then 2 years hence Andruw wins…big. As I said before Boras wins everytime a player signs a contract.
Robert and Stu, I agree with you and I believe (hope)Andruw’s best years are yet to come. IIRC, Torre was instrumental in getting Murph to go to right field. Maybe he can do the same for Druw.
I honestly thought I’d browbeaten batting-average-centrism out of Alex. He needs to start playing APBA again.
Mac,
I might’ve asked you this before, but in APBA are you a cards guy or a PC player?
PC.
I got less upset about the average than I did about the 6 week long slumps of 4 K games.
While I’m not on Alex’s side of this debate, I must admit that #116 is a good/funny retort.
Thanks Stu – I am glad I can occassionally ‘bring the funny’.
I am glad earlier as well that someone recognized my Destro comment. 😉
just try to work Serpentor in next time. heh heh.
What would it take to get Bedard? All the orioles have is corner outfielders and corner infields, none of which hit and field at a major league level. Why is he getting so much less attention than Santanna and Haren, he’s been dominating hitters and now has a little injury scare. Maybe we could get Leo back with him. But, we’d have to keep Thorman around to talk hockey with him.
Trading with the Orioles anymore? Maybe just a bag of candy.
Seems like Angelos is involved somewhere in any trades, but McPhail doesn’t seem to hard of an obstacle to pass. Maybe we could get him to slip some acid to Angelos, and then sell him on the merits of Thorman, Pena, and James, and then we could get Bedard.
I must say, I like the idea of turning James into Bedard at no cost.
Justin,
If you could get the O’s (or any team) to take that deal, you should be Secretary of State. You could solve any dispute anywhere on terms highly favorable to the U.S.!
From DOB today:
“We’re never going to replace Andruw Jones,” Braves pitcher John Smoltz said Tuesday. “But parts of Andruw, you can replace. Just not the total package. He’s an icon in Atlanta.”
Icon not so much, IMO, I’d say the man who said that quote himself and the other Jones are more of an icon than AJ.
#121
maybe a bag, but definitely NOT candy…
if you know what i mean