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I have been reading here for a while but never posted, figured I would finally jump in and voice my opinion. I apologize for this being extremely long so if you are rushed for time or just don’t want to read that much please move on. If you’re bored and want to drum up a debate, continue reading. Also, if this is in the wrong place than feel free to move it. BTW, this board is great and I have enjoyed reading Marlins discussion on here. I initially discounted all national media speculation regarding the Marlins FA push as purely a PR stunt, but now I am beginning to buy into it. As much as I want to believe the FO is trying to legitimately improve the team, I now see this as a pure PR stunt after the reports of the Pujols offer surfaced.
I read the Tim Brown Yahoo! article yesterday morning and saw that the $225 million offer was pure speculation on Tim's part and multiple media outlets picked it up, ran with it, and reported it as fact. I initially cringed at the thought of paying him that much for 9 years when 1B is not a real need of ours (and I feel the money can be spent better on SS/3B (Reyes), CF, and the rotation), but still excited that the FO made a legitimate offer to a superstar and showed they were willing to spend for the first time in years. Now that I see the offer was for 9 years and less that $200 mil (some reports say significantly less), I am completely skeptical of their true intentions.
Let me first state that I'm not suggesting to up the offer, but I question the FO in their approach and therefore their true intentions. Albert Pujols is a St. Louis legend. He has played there his entire career and very active in the community. Now, the Marlins offer him a contract that is less than what is reportedly already on the table from the Cardinals. What good is this? I understand how a negotiation works and you don't put your best offer on the table right away, but if the FO really wanted Pujols like the reportedly do, then you do in this case. Pujols is a different animal than the rest of the FA class. He is the prize of FA this year, treat him that way. There has been a market established for him and he has supposedly already turned down a significant offer from the Cards last year. Did he turn it down because he wants to leave St. Louis? I can’t imagine so. He turned it down because he felt he was worth more money. So what do the Marlins do to “wow” him? Offer him even less to leave a city and team he loves, uproot his family to come to Miami and play for a team that finished in the basement of the NL East. South Beach and a new stadium only go so far. And if the Marlins pitch the lack of a state income tax, that is basically the icing on the cake, not a reason to take less money. These players all have egos and want the world to know they are paid $XX,XXX,XXX annually and where that ranks that among players at their position. They don’t compare W-2’s come year’s end. The Marlins had to win him away from St. Louis for him to play here, they knew how to do that and they chose not to. They took the cheap way out but made sure to generate enough hype.
The FO never had any intention of landing Pujols and this is a pure PR stunt I’m afraid to now admit to myself (again, I never wanted them to sign Pujols from the beginning and still don’t, I’m just frustrated with this whole charade). In the end, they paraded out 10 Marlins players, gave him a tour, pitched South Beach and the Latino market, and then offered him even less money, not before they made it known he was coming to Miami the day of the logo unveiling. Does his agent not respond to the offer as soon as the Marlins present it saying that St. Louis already has you beat? What is the Marlins next move here? Wait for another team like the Cubs or Rangers to swoop in and top St. Louis’ offer? Do they not believe that eventually the real offer will be leaked to the media and invite even more criticism to the team? I really do not understand their thought process if they are legitimately trying to sign him. The team is trying to drum interest from the casual fan who has not followed the team before, that does not follow baseball closely but will buy merchandise and tickets. They hear the Marlins offered Pujols a huge contract but don’t know it was never going to be accepted from the beginning as it stands now. They know die-hard fans (like everyone on this board) that have hung with the team this long will continue to buy tickets and merchandise despite what the front office does because that’s been the norm through the years. Does anyone think it’s a coincidence that the team has been the most aggressive team in FA through media reports and is trying to sell as many season tickets for the year as possible?
I have no problem with the “low” Reyes offer because he has shown a keen interest in playing for the Marlins and there is not an offer put forth by another club that has been reported, so the Marlins basically set the market. The same goes with Buerhle and Madson. Although no numbers have been reported, if I see we made a low offer I am fine with it, there has not been a market set (via an offer made public) and they have been widely speculated to leave their former clubs. I hope I am on the ledge way too early into this process but I am very surprised at the posts here that completely discount this as a possibility. I know the Marlins aren’t beloved by the national media but almost all negative reports have been dismissed by everyone here (some rightfully so).
Trust me, I’m not Marlins fan with a constantly pessimistic outlook on this franchise. I am just frustrated and feel that this has been a PR stunt from the get-go, but am now just realizing it. And if it has, I will hand it to the Marlins; I have never read or heard this much Marlins talk in my life. All this said, I do believe we will still sign Reyes because he seems to want to be in Miami and actually makes sense for this team because it instantly upgrades us at 3B through Hanley’s move. Believe me, I hope I can come back to this post and say I had it all wrong because I don’t want to be right, that does nothing for the team I love. Here’s to a great Hot Stove fellas.
(no I am not Jeff Passan)
I read the Tim Brown Yahoo! article yesterday morning and saw that the $225 million offer was pure speculation on Tim's part and multiple media outlets picked it up, ran with it, and reported it as fact. I initially cringed at the thought of paying him that much for 9 years when 1B is not a real need of ours (and I feel the money can be spent better on SS/3B (Reyes), CF, and the rotation), but still excited that the FO made a legitimate offer to a superstar and showed they were willing to spend for the first time in years. Now that I see the offer was for 9 years and less that $200 mil (some reports say significantly less), I am completely skeptical of their true intentions.
Let me first state that I'm not suggesting to up the offer, but I question the FO in their approach and therefore their true intentions. Albert Pujols is a St. Louis legend. He has played there his entire career and very active in the community. Now, the Marlins offer him a contract that is less than what is reportedly already on the table from the Cardinals. What good is this? I understand how a negotiation works and you don't put your best offer on the table right away, but if the FO really wanted Pujols like the reportedly do, then you do in this case. Pujols is a different animal than the rest of the FA class. He is the prize of FA this year, treat him that way. There has been a market established for him and he has supposedly already turned down a significant offer from the Cards last year. Did he turn it down because he wants to leave St. Louis? I can’t imagine so. He turned it down because he felt he was worth more money. So what do the Marlins do to “wow” him? Offer him even less to leave a city and team he loves, uproot his family to come to Miami and play for a team that finished in the basement of the NL East. South Beach and a new stadium only go so far. And if the Marlins pitch the lack of a state income tax, that is basically the icing on the cake, not a reason to take less money. These players all have egos and want the world to know they are paid $XX,XXX,XXX annually and where that ranks that among players at their position. They don’t compare W-2’s come year’s end. The Marlins had to win him away from St. Louis for him to play here, they knew how to do that and they chose not to. They took the cheap way out but made sure to generate enough hype.
The FO never had any intention of landing Pujols and this is a pure PR stunt I’m afraid to now admit to myself (again, I never wanted them to sign Pujols from the beginning and still don’t, I’m just frustrated with this whole charade). In the end, they paraded out 10 Marlins players, gave him a tour, pitched South Beach and the Latino market, and then offered him even less money, not before they made it known he was coming to Miami the day of the logo unveiling. Does his agent not respond to the offer as soon as the Marlins present it saying that St. Louis already has you beat? What is the Marlins next move here? Wait for another team like the Cubs or Rangers to swoop in and top St. Louis’ offer? Do they not believe that eventually the real offer will be leaked to the media and invite even more criticism to the team? I really do not understand their thought process if they are legitimately trying to sign him. The team is trying to drum interest from the casual fan who has not followed the team before, that does not follow baseball closely but will buy merchandise and tickets. They hear the Marlins offered Pujols a huge contract but don’t know it was never going to be accepted from the beginning as it stands now. They know die-hard fans (like everyone on this board) that have hung with the team this long will continue to buy tickets and merchandise despite what the front office does because that’s been the norm through the years. Does anyone think it’s a coincidence that the team has been the most aggressive team in FA through media reports and is trying to sell as many season tickets for the year as possible?
I have no problem with the “low” Reyes offer because he has shown a keen interest in playing for the Marlins and there is not an offer put forth by another club that has been reported, so the Marlins basically set the market. The same goes with Buerhle and Madson. Although no numbers have been reported, if I see we made a low offer I am fine with it, there has not been a market set (via an offer made public) and they have been widely speculated to leave their former clubs. I hope I am on the ledge way too early into this process but I am very surprised at the posts here that completely discount this as a possibility. I know the Marlins aren’t beloved by the national media but almost all negative reports have been dismissed by everyone here (some rightfully so).
Trust me, I’m not Marlins fan with a constantly pessimistic outlook on this franchise. I am just frustrated and feel that this has been a PR stunt from the get-go, but am now just realizing it. And if it has, I will hand it to the Marlins; I have never read or heard this much Marlins talk in my life. All this said, I do believe we will still sign Reyes because he seems to want to be in Miami and actually makes sense for this team because it instantly upgrades us at 3B through Hanley’s move. Believe me, I hope I can come back to this post and say I had it all wrong because I don’t want to be right, that does nothing for the team I love. Here’s to a great Hot Stove fellas.
(no I am not Jeff Passan)
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