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49 Comments
- inactive, on 01/16/2009, -0/+18Those salaries just continue to climb...where does the rainbow end?
- RealmDown, on 01/16/2009, -0/+10$60 Million for Lowe, but they couldn't shell out an extra 2 mil for Smoltz in what is probably his final year?
- inactive, on 01/16/2009, -1/+9unemployment rate is increasing daily yet these guys are spending so much on old players.
- PxCxG, on 01/16/2009, -0/+7More importantly, do the Dodgers have a single starting pitcher left?
- KittySpark1es, on 01/16/2009, -0/+6No you can't.
- nopointinnames, on 01/16/2009, -1/+7Bummer about Smoltz, I think he should have stayed with the Braves any how, he has at most one more good year left in his arm. He began as a Brave and he should have ended as a Brave. People want to talk about taking the money but the guy has been getting paid millions for 20 years now, he has way more money than he will ever need, 2 more million is just a drop in the bucket at this point. His home, family and everything else is in Atlanta, I think he will regret the decision if the Sox dont win the world series.
- FearlessFreep, on 01/16/2009, -0/+5He began as a Tiger
- mixxo, on 01/16/2009, -0/+5yeah, because most of us here in America make at least 60 mil every 4-years. Get a clue.
- sockfire, on 01/16/2009, -0/+5Let's see if he gets any run support from Atlanta. Dodgers didn't give him much.
Oh, and I will not miss the terrible headline puns in the LA Times like "Phillies sink Lowe" or "Lowe pitches, Lowe runs". - aegenes, on 01/16/2009, -2/+6Finally Frank Wren made something happen for the Braves! I was really starting to get scared but we've got at least 4 solid starters for this season now.
- MNorton17, on 01/16/2009, -0/+4I don't see how 4 good seasons in a row with the Expos and then a couple of bad ones can make a guy overrated. 2007 was a pretty good season, over 200 IP and over 200 Ks, and a 15-8 record. His ERA was a full point lower than the league average, and in 2006 and 2008 it was barely over the league average. Since 2000 hes only had one season where hes thrown less than 200 innings. No way he comes back to the NL and pitches like a number 4 starter.
Right now the rotation is: Lowe (Good No. 2), Vazquez (Good No. 2-3), Jurrjens (Good 3), Kawakami (unknown), and Campillo/Hanson (solid No. 5s). No 'true' ace, but still a pretty good rotation.
And I don't care how good Santana is, no pitcher is worth 137 mil. - MNorton17, on 01/16/2009, -0/+4Javier Vazquez is also just 31 years old and is only one year removed from a pretty good season. Hes coming back to the NL, a league thats easier to pitch in than the AL. If you look at his years with the Expos he had some really decent seasons. If he pitches like he did for the Expos, he would be considered a good number 2 starter.
Derek Lowe at times can be an ace but overall he is probably a number 2 starter.
Jurrjens had a season last year that would be great as a 3rd starter. If he just pitches like he did last year, the Braves would have 2 good number 2 starters and at least one good number 3 starter. If Kawakami does pan out then theres another number 3 starter. And you dont have to be great to be a 5th starter, and if Campillo or Hanson can fill in, its actually a pretty good rotation. And if Hudson comes back healthy in August, that would be 2 months of a true ace.
Tim Redding has never had a winning season and had a 4.95 ERA last year and has a 4.92 career ERA. I wouldnt say 2.5 mil is nothing for ERAs like that.
July and August are the only good months Oliver Perez had last year. In May, June and September, his ERAs were 5.58, 5.28, and 5.79, respectively, so hes not a sure bet to have a good season.
And Maine and Pelfrey are coming off solid seasons, but like you said about Jurrjens and Campillo, they are unproven. However, they could be counted on as a number 2 and number 3 starter, whereas Jurrjens and Campillo are being counted on as a number 3 and 5 starter.
So its not like the Mets rotation is leaps and bounds better than the Braves. - deanosaur, on 01/16/2009, -1/+5Can you throw a ball 90+ mph with excellent accuracy about 100 times over the course of two-ish hours?
- xOKxWhy, on 01/16/2009, -0/+3Pro-tip: If you could, you would be doing that, not posting on Digg.
- inactive, on 01/16/2009, -0/+3Well it just goes to show that Major League Baseball is a business. 20 years in one place can be a lot of pressure on someone. The fans think it is pressure to stay but the players might see it completely opposite. He could have been bored with the franchises production/direction. Boston's production in the second half of this decade is much more attractive than Atlanta's and he knows that. So yes his chances at a world series are greater in a sense but that doesn't make it the reason why he left Atlanta. 2 million a year is a lot of money, even to these big league millionaires.
- raddreamer, on 01/16/2009, -1/+4Tim Redding is a reliable 5/6 starter, we only paid 2 mill for him, Braves clearly overpaid for a 35 yr old pitcher, now they wont be doing anything else in the free agent market because of this, bad move imo. Mets are ready to make Oliver Perez an offer, I wouldn't mind Perez back since he pitched extremely well against good teams and is still young.
- Tegurit34, on 01/17/2009, -0/+3Derek Lowe was worth +6 wins last year. If a 6-win player signed a one-year deal he would have been worth $27 million. Even factoring yearly discounts players give up for more years, he would be paid a projected $97.2 million over 4 years.
Atlanta got a spectacular deal. The only problem is that he's signed through his age 39 season and has an increased chance of injury compared to his younger days. - Soonago, on 01/16/2009, -0/+3paid.
- gtg116y, on 01/17/2009, -0/+3I wouldnt say santana isnt worth 137 mil. After all the mets DID make the playoffs last year
oh wait instead of making the playoffs they blew. my bad. - Tegurit34, on 01/17/2009, -0/+31) Lowe: +5 wins (star level)
2) Jurrjens: +3
3) Vazquez: +2
4) Campillo: +1.5
5) Kawakami: ?
6) Reyes/Morton/Parr: 1 (replacement level)
Without Hudson and assuming Kawakami flops for argument's sake, that's a projected +12.5 wins over a rotation full of replacement level starters. Seeing as how average is +10, it's pretty safe to say they have a better than average rotation -- it's still even better than average if you want to project Jurrjens at +1.5 [below average but better than a good Triple-A starter], which is being too harsh on him, the rotation is still a tick above average.
If either one of A) Hudson comes back strong, B) Kawakami is league average or better, or C) Lowe repeats his 2008 season [+6 wins for the Dodgers] -- that's rivaling the league's best rotation.
Or here's the short story:
"Your rotation still sucks without Hudson"
You didn't do your homework. - 9bpm9, on 01/16/2009, -1/+4Over payed.
- JB88, on 01/16/2009, -0/+3woohoo! Go braves! Now it's time for a minor league contract for andruw jones. Maybe the braves will be... at least alright this year?
- Tegurit34, on 01/17/2009, -0/+2Didn't you hear? He was given his outright release. He's no longer a Dodger.
(But the Dodgers are on the hook for his contract) - Tegurit34, on 01/17/2009, -0/+2It only went one year too far, IMO. Derek Lowe was an underrated yet star pitcher last season and the $15m/y is actually a great deal for the Braves. Not to mention a great bet to age well.
- blaxicopurress, on 01/16/2009, -0/+2next up for the braves is an andruw jones reunion
- serif69, on 01/16/2009, -1/+3Employers are looking for workers with the most experience.
- DirtyVicar, on 01/16/2009, -0/+2Are the fans insistent on subsidizing these extravagant salaries? You could use that kind of money to subsidize unlimited 50-cent beer all season at the ballpark and the fans would be a hell of a lot happier, even if there's a losing season.
- Tegurit34, on 01/17/2009, -0/+2It's better than in Anaheim:
"Colon thoroughly pounded" - CaptainNoPants, on 01/16/2009, -1/+3Way to go Mets, at least we got Tim Redding!
who the fvck is Tim Redding - deanosaur, on 01/16/2009, -0/+2Baseball is "recession-proof" for middle-to-big market teams. People are still going to buy the merchandise and watch the games at the park.
- Rethcir, on 01/16/2009, -0/+2Hell of a drinker, that D-Lowe.
- Tegurit34, on 01/17/2009, -0/+2Actually, this is a buyer's market, and it's the best one since the 2003-2004 offseason. Not only are free agents only getting paid on average $4.5 million per win over a Quad-A player (replacement level) compared to the last two years' $5 million. Nobody wants to give Adam Dunn the multi year deal at $14m per, Pat Burrell with his typical Pat Burrell season only got him $15 million over two years -- hell, even Mark Teixeira didn't get anywhere near the $200+ million deal his agent Scott Boras was asking for before the season began.
Teams began to value locking up club controlled players in arbitration a couple years ago, and are gaining a better understanding of defense, which happens to be the market's underbelly right now. - Tegurit34, on 01/17/2009, -0/+2So does Adam Dunn.
- CaptainNoPants, on 01/16/2009, -0/+2Perez has been too spotty in the past, but like you said, he's usually great against great teams. On the other hand, he gets shelled by the bad teams. Depending on how well he's come back from his injury, I think we should grab Ben Sheets.
- krahzee, on 01/16/2009, -1/+2I Didn't say it was, except for Santana, obviously. They also did not overpay for a guy who could drop off radically in production due to age/ injury. Right now EVERY starter the Mets have is 30 or under.
As far as Vasquez, I saw him pitch with the Yankees. American League or not, the guy turned out to be overrated as an Expo. Decent pitcher? Yes. He's a 3-4, not a 1-2 guy though. His era has only been under 4 three of the last ten years. That includes last year. Don't get me wrong, I'd take him , but if he's my number 2 it means my rotation has issues at the top.
Hudson is the key. When he's back everyone goes back to where they should be in the rotation. Lowe becomes the 2, with the others to follow based on the progress of the kids and the Japanese pitcher. - superherofive, on 01/16/2009, -1/+2RECESSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Foot56, on 01/16/2009, -3/+4I think baseball lost what made the game truly America’s game. It was cheap, fun to watch, and more importantly all the fans could connect to the players. Today it costs just 15 bucks to park at any major baseball stadium if not higher (using Dodger Stadium), sadly as costs go up and up, fans will go down and down.
- whoreable, on 01/16/2009, -1/+2Lil Jon from the ATL 'Get Lowe'. These jokes write themselves.
- kizio, on 02/10/2009, -0/+1Well... I couldn't see any graphics in IE7 or FF. http://petsjournal.info
- elryanoo, on 01/16/2009, -4/+5I wish I could get payed 15 million a year to play a game.
- madcaps1980, on 01/17/2009, -0/+1Please take him, we don't want him anymore!
Sincerely,
Disappointed Dodger Fan - krahzee, on 01/16/2009, -2/+2You can have him Atlanta.
Your rotation still sucks without Hudson: Vasquez had a 4.67 era last year and was 12-16, The Japanese guy is an unknown (Could be Dice K or Irabu, we don't know) and Jurrjens and Campillo are both young, and while coming off of decent seasons, unproven. By not having Hudson healthy, every other guy is one slot ahead of where they belong. Lowe is a 2, not a 1 and so on.
Then there is the age and money issue. His contract is too big and long for a guy his age. He turns 40 during his last year. Decline happens pretty fast.
As a Mets fan, I'd rather have them sign Perez again, who at 27 has better odds of staying healthy, or get Ben Sheets on a two year deal at a cheap price due to his injury history and subsequent low demand. They already fixed NY's biggest problem, the pen, anyway.
As far as Redding, it is a cheap gamble. 1 year at 2.5 is nothing. He willl compete with Niese for the 5 spot, and start as the long man if he loses. If he wins, he is only the #5 anyway. Guy was 10 and 11 with Washington last year. No reason for him not to be able to be around .500 for the Mets. That's all you ask of the 5 spot these days anyway. - sprutnik, on 01/16/2009, -1/+1The other day I was trying to figure out why it is that I have no interest in sports that involve running. Then it dawned on me. People say they appreciate a good athelete because they push the limits of the human body. But then again, the human body wasn't designed to be a running machine. Pushing the limits of the human body to make it run as fast as possible is almost like trying to squeeze out the most power from a Geo Metro.
Cycling on the other hand is something that I enjoy. Possibly because it allows human physical powered speed with the help of the machine created from our intelect (intelect being our designed strength). - fxmulder, on 02/21/2009, -0/+0that is a good one
- alanocu, on 01/16/2009, -3/+3If you're fortunate enough to be an American, the rainbow never ends.
- KittySpark1es, on 01/16/2009, -2/+2Dodgers will miss you Derek...thanks for all the heard work. I wish the owners weren't so stingy. Or at least when they do something not stingy they shouldn't blow their millions on a has-been player that batted like .220 the year before.
- inactive, on 01/16/2009, -2/+2da voice of this generation of dis deca.... wait no, he's nobody.
- almondfilter3, on 01/16/2009, -4/+3$60 million for a 35 year old pitcher. Helloooo salary cap.
- credential101, on 01/16/2009, -7/+3$15 million a year to throw a baseball....I can do that.
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