General FA: Beinfest Says Rotation Set

[MiamiHomer]

Lou is going to unleash hell on him.

Consider it unleashed.

[Swifty]

To be fair, ARod's contract is not truly awful as he (likely) allows the team he is with at the end (presumably the Yankees, but you never know) to earn more off of him, through ticket sales and memorabilia, than he is owed. If that contract were backloaded instead, I'd agree with you. Paying ARod $20 million in '16 and '17 is not that bad when you consider a 22 HR/yr pace for the life of that contract gives him the career HR mark.

[Todd]

I dont think Markakis really deserves to be on that list. He had kind of a down year last year due to luck, getting fewer 2b and 3bs, but he has shown to be an 800 OPS bat on an average year who plays great D, will get on base and steal a base here or there, and the contract is not outlandish at least compared to the rest on that list when amount of money and age is concerned.

[Swifty]

Fun little blurb (and interesting, too) from Verducci/SI:

Miami Marlins. Owner Jeffery Loria was so eager to spend cash that he looked at Wilson at one point and said, "Tell me what it will take to make you a Marlin." The Marlins were prepared to give Wilson more than $100 million over six years and reportedly dangled $275 million at Pujols. One baseball source said this is a franchise with such uncertainty that it asked free agents to be paid in two pay periods (some players prefer getting their money in only one period, the regular season) so that they could use the late-year revenue-sharing payments from baseball. It's credit card baseball, and with no no-trade clauses allowed. It could work out great if the fans keep coming beyond this year, or it could all fall apart in about three years. Still, a team that lost 90 games last year added three quality players in Jose Reyes, Heath Bell and Mark Buehrle. Loria set out to make the Marlins interesting and contenders. They are at least interesting. Give them credit for being bold in this rare opportunity of opening a new baseball-only ballpark.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...#ixzz1gCBJrjXE

[lou]

I dont think Markakis really deserves to be on that list. He had kind of a down year last year due to luck, getting fewer 2b and 3bs, but he has shown to be an 800 OPS bat on an average year who plays great D, will get on base and steal a base here or there, and the contract is not outlandish at least compared to the rest on that list when amount of money and age is concerned.

It's compared to Buck

2010-2011 WAR

Markakis - 4.8, cost the Orioles $17 million, and an additional $44 million on backend!!!!!!
Buck - 4.7, cost Blue Jays/Marlins $8 million, with an additional $12 million on the backend

This is a no brainer. Yes, a lot of the other deals are drastically worse than Markakis as he is young and may figure it out, but Buck's free agent value is beating the living shit out of him right now and moving forward.
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As for A-Rod, I cannot argue milestone/intangible perspectives, but purely on the field, A-Rod is worth nothing close to his contract and it's going to keep getting worse. Maybe if he does get the HR record and Yankees fans 'embrace' him somewhat, but I just can't fathom ever having a player on the books for that much. Must be nice to be the Yankees and able to just blow 1/3rd their payroll to appease their veterans and fan base.

[Erick]

It's compared to Buck

2010-2011 WAR

Markakis - 4.8, cost the Orioles $17 million, and an additional $44 million on backend!!!!!!
Buck - 4.7, cost Blue Jays/Marlins $8 million, with an additional $12 million on the backend

This is a no brainer. Yes, a lot of the other deals are drastically worse than Markakis as he is young and may figure it out, but Buck's free agent value is beating the living shit out of him right now and moving forward.
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As for A-Rod, I cannot argue milestone/intangible perspectives, but purely on the field, A-Rod is worth nothing close to his contract and it's going to keep getting worse. Maybe if he does get the HR record and Yankees fans 'embrace' him somewhat, but I just can't fathom ever having a player on the books for that much. Must be nice to be the Yankees and able to just blow 1/3rd their payroll to appease their veterans and fan base.

Were you against signing Pujols?

[Todd]

I wasnt comparing him to Buck so much as everyone else. Not a real valid comparison insomuch as they are contracts of an average catcher in his 30s to a 27 year old rightfielder coming out of a breakout year.

[emkayseven]

per Larry Granillo at Baseball Prospectus:

[lou]

I wasnt comparing him to Buck so much as everyone else. Not a real valid comparison insomuch as they are contracts of an average catcher in his 30s to a 27 year old rightfielder coming out of a breakout year.

All of that is irrelevant. The comment was "worst contract in MLB." Buck is as productive as Markakis, for half the cost the previous two seasons and next two seasons, and then no backend. It's not even close.
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Were you against signing Pujols?

Yes, but if it was at $210 range and not $254, I would have been pretty pumped for the first four years and being able to trade Gaby/Morrison each for a SP to fill out the roster. If they could have got him and been creative with the payroll keeping his annual values reasonable and deferring other compensation, maybe it could have worked out. I don't like the idea of having 1 guy make 20%+ of your payroll unless he is all world, and I'm not sure a 35 year out Pujols does that.

Saying that, Jose Reyes scares me, but he might be young enough to hold up.

[emkayseven]

Early on the second day of last week's winter meetings in Dallas, Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria traversed the long, crowded lobby of the Hilton Anatole. Loria's gait was brisk, but not so quick that he would outrace the flock of minicams on his trail.

Loria smiled as he walked. He could have crossed the hotel on one of the upper floors and avoided the crush of the lobby, packed with reporters and front office executives from every major league team. But he didn't want to do that. Loria wanted to put on a show.

Why wouldn't he? Next season, the Marlins will christen their new, $515 million stadium with a flashier lineup. Barely two years after being rebuked by MLB and the players' union for having a minuscule payroll, the Marlins splurged in Dallas.

Expecting huge revenues from the still-unnamed domed stadium, Loria laid out $191 million to sign free agents Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell. He also tried to lure Albert Pujols with an offer in excess of $200 million, though the slugger ultimately wound up signing with the Los Angeles Angels.

"It's almost like we have a new expansion franchise," superagent Scott Boras said. "The minnow has become a Marlin."

A decade ago, the Pirates followed a similar path in the run-up to their first season at PNC Park. It turned out to be a spectacular flop.

The Pirates nearly doubled their payroll to $57.7 million, which still stands as the biggest salary outlay in franchise history, and drew record crowds in 2001. Yet, they finished with a 62-100 record.

"That shows that spending doesn't always equate to wins," Pirates president Frank Coonelly said. "The Pirates are not the only example of that; you see it throughout professional sports. And when (winning) doesn't happen, revenues don't match the expenses, and you have to make adjustments."

By 2004, the Pirates' payroll was pared to $32.2 million, the losing continued, and the team was entrenched in another "rebuilding" process.

The Pirates were busy last week at the winter meetings but were more frugal and far less conspicuous than the Marlins. Pittsburgh added five players -- three major leaguers, a minor leaguer and a Rule 5 pickup -- for a total of less than $8 million.

This year's payroll is expected to be around $50 million, which would be the Pirates' highest Opening-Day mark since 2003. The Marlins' 2012 payroll is projected at $103 million.

"Whether or not it works in Florida, time will tell," Coonelly said. "It didn't work here."

It is important to note that the Marlins have pursued and signed higher caliber players than the Pirates did a decade ago. Reyes, Buehrle and Bell are premier players at their positions. Pujols is a future Hall of Famer. The 2001 Pirates imported Derek Bell and Terry Mulholland, whose best days already were behind them when they came to Pittsburgh.

The Pirates' payroll in 2001 was huge by the team's standards, but it ranked 10th among the 16 National League clubs that year. This season, the Marlins figure to have the sixth-highest total in the NL; signing Pujols would have put them in second place.

"I want our team to be important," Loria said. "I want our team to be recognized for its players. It's all about the players. A few years ago, I got a sense of how spectacular things could get once we got our new stadium. We're working toward that now."

When asked if the Marlins can afford to keep spending at such a frantic pace, Loria indicated attendance, which last year was the lowest in the NL, is a big part of the equation.

"It all depends on how our fans respond," Loria said.

The Pirates drew 1.94 million last season at PNC Park. Coonelly said new sales of season tickets are "way up" and the renewal rate also is up compared to this time a year ago, though he declined to divulge specific numbers. By the end of last season, season-ticket sales had grown by about 7 percent. Coonelly is expecting similar results in 2012.

"We are budgeting aggressive growth in ticket sales, for both season tickets and individual (game) sales," Coonelly said. "Our fans have supported the team. So we're going to take every resource that's generated by the club and continue to plow it back into improving the club."



Read more: Florida Marlins following Pirates' failed blueprint - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt...#ixzz1gEjQSWzx

Coonelly is an idiot on a number of fronts.

1) Just because they spent a team record and more than doubled payroll in 2001 means shit. That salary figure was still 19th (!) in the league. They were behind Tampa fucking Bay.

2) The 2001 free agent signings for the Pirates?
a) Derek Bell (.773 OPS, 98 OPS+ the previous year) who had 183 plate appearances for a .578 OPS in 2001.
b) Terry Mullholland, who had a 5.11 ERA in 54 games (20 starts) the year before. Traded by Pirates at the deadline for Mike Fetters.
That's it.

3) Their top paid player was Brian Giles who was a great player at the time. He made a little more than $7 million.

Kevin Young was the 2nd highest paid player at $6 million. In 2000 he hit .258/.311/.433, but he hit 20 home runs so people thought he was okay. In 2001 he hit .232/.310/.399. Yes, a first baseman who was the team's second highest player slugged .399. In 2001.

Jason Kendall was the 3rd highest paid at $5.1 million. He had a high empty batting average as we all know, but in 2001 he hit .266/.335/.358. If you recall, that offseason we WAY overpaid for CJ based on his huge 2000 year. He hit .259/.321/.450 and we paid him less to do it.

Bell was the 4th highest paid. 5th highest was OMAR OLIVARES at 4 million. He had a 6.75 ERA in 2000. Improved in 2001 - to a 6.55 ERA. Pat Meares - utility infielder who hit .240/.305/.381 in 462 ABs in 2000 - hit .211/.244/.304 in 2001 and got paid almost $4 million to do it.

Seriously, I don't think I've ever read a dumber thing said by someone who is still actually working in baseball.

[jOOj]

Also, the Pirates didn't have this:

  Spoiler:

[Big Z]

#BlueJays outfield crowded now. Francisco, Snider, Thames, Davis, Rasmus, Bautista. I smell a trade.

Jon Morosi (twitter)

I'd still take Rasmus. Best swing in baseball.

[MiamiHomer]

Rasmus isn't the one they are going to move. Probably Thames most likely first to go.

[Ramp]

Jon Morosi (twitter)

I'd still take Rasmus. Best swing in baseball.

you can't have the best swing in baseball and hit .250

[Big Z]

you can't have the best swing in baseball and hit .250

Let me rephrase that "sweetest" swing in baseball.

According to ESPN, Aramis Ramirez is signing in Milwaukee.