More Insanity
I noted this in Derek’s news wrapup, but this deserves its own post.
The Angels have signed Gary Matthews Jr to a 5 year, $50 million contract.
5 years, $50 million for Gary Matthews Jr. This guy.
Let’s take a look at his career, shall we?
In 1993, Matthews was drafted in the 13th round by the San Diego Padres after attending Mission College for one year. He was signed and sent to the Northwest League as a 20-year-old. He barely hit his weight, putting up a lousy .209/.286/.251 line.
He then spent the next three years in Class-A ball, posting mediocre performances and finally earning a promotion to Double-A at age 23. He didn’t hit in Double-A that year, either.
At age 24, repeating Double-A, he put together a decent half season but battled injuries. The performance earned him a promotion to Triple-A in 1999, where he was assigned to the Coors Field of the PCL, Las Vegas. He didn’t hit there, either.
He was then traded to the Cubs for the immortal Rodney Myers in 2000. They watched him not hit in Triple-A at age 26, and let him go on waivers. The Pirates grabbed him in 2001, watched him not hit for them at the major league level, and then sold his contract to the Mets for peanuts. A few months later, the Mets traded him to the Orioles for the John Bale, who is probably hanging out with Rodney Myers today. Matthews actually had a decent season with the Orioles in 2002 at the age of 28, putting up 344 useful at-bats as a solid fourth outfielder.
The Orioles, however, valued those at-bats so much they put him back on waivers, where the Padres claimed him in 2003. He had a slightly worse year, but was still marginally useful, so when the Padres put him on waivers at the end of the year, the Braves put in a claim.
However, he failed to make the Braves in spring training of 2004 and was released. The Rangers signed him to a minor league deal six days later. He went to Texas and resumed his career as a semi-useful fourth outfielder. He was pushed into everyday status in 2005 and was his usual self, hitting .255/.320/.436. After finishing his age 30 season, he looked like he was leaving the prime of his career, which had culminated in him being a decent reserve or a poor starter for a non-contending club.
Then, 2006 rolls around, and at age 31, he has a career year, hitting .313/.371/.495 as an everyday center fielder. However, there wasn’t a significant change in his skillset – his walk rate declined slightly, his power was exactly where it was the previous two seasons, he didn’t hit any more line drives, and his HR rate actually fell. The improvement was completely and utterly tied to his ability to have balls fall into gaps where fielders weren’t standing.
The Angels apparently think that’s a repeatable skill, and are now going to pay Matthews Jr $10 million a season for his age 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 seasons. They could have claimed him on waivers any one of four times during the past five years, or traded a non-prospect for him, or signed him to a minor league contract when he was released by the Braves.
But no, they didn’t think enough of him then to take him when he was free. A six month stretch where a few extra balls find a hole here or there and a diving catch that ends up on Sportscenter, and now, he’s a $50 million player.
That’s absurd. You can talk about inflation and wanting to win all you want, but Gary Matthews Jr is a completely replaceable role player who is going to be taking a large step back in performance during the next few years.
The Soriano contract was ill conceived, but at least the Cubs got a good player. The Pierre contract was ridiculous, but at least the Dodgers got someone who can legitimately play center field for the next few years and has a skillset that is traditionally valuable among major league GMs.
But Gary Matthews Jr got $50 million for no reason that I can comprehend. What a horrible, horrible contract. We’re going to see more wasted money this offseason than any other offseason in history. Denny Neagle and Chan Ho Park are going to look like relative bargains by the time the decision makers are done blowing a half billion this winter.
At least WE didn’t sign him. Good for the Angels! Let’s hope they overpay a few more replacement level players.
I think all these asinine contracts are actually a conspiracy in major league baseball to make Bavasi look less idiotic.
I’m just happy to see the Angels fail to improve their team by spending $50 million dollars.
So, Dave, what happened to the Reed deal? Mediocre centerfielders seems to be hot commodities right now.
#3: Good question! It sure seems like there should be a market for Reed this year, if mediocre/poor CF are getting signed to deals like that!
Even though I am a fan of Reed’s, I just don’t see spot for him now that Ichiro is in CF.
So, does this now mean that Anaheim won’t be in whatever trade market exists for Manny Ramirez? My guess is “yes”…
The Angels have basically locked up their outfield now, with Matthews, Guerrero, Rivera, and Anderson. So yes, they’re out of the Manny sweepstakes. I still think they land Miguel Tejada before this winter is over, though.
The good news seems to be that the Mariners haven’t signed any free agents, yet.
Any chance we try for Manny?
It’s always fun to see one of your division rivals make a serious blunder for many years to come. At this point, with tons of dollars handed out to outfielders, does this put the Mariners is a better or worse position? On the one hand there’s only so many dollars to be spent on only so many players, but on the other hand, this just makes some things more insane.
I heard the Orioles signed a plague of locusts to a 6 year, $75 million deal. You know what, I’m gonna take the non-traditional approach to this deal: I like it. The plague of locusts never got a decent shot with their old team, the New York Mets. They’ve got a good, patient approach at the plate, and their swarming mass allows them to cover an awful lot of ground in the outfield.
The only thing I’m worried about is their notoriously unfriendly presence in the clubhouse.
#6: But what about Manny being a DH for the Angels?
It seems to me that teams are now accepting several years of worthless performance and wasted salary as a fair price to pay for a) appeasing fans now; and b) getting a player who can give them at least one decent year.
At some point, in the new baseball economic model, this has been accepted as reasonable collateral damage. And because it really isn’t, it’s unsustainable, one would think.
The question: What will be the breaking point? What will force this increasingly shaky house of cards to collapse?
And if major league GMs are shoveling money out by the bucketload, then maybe the Mariners’ strategy for this offseason is correct: Wait for the wreckage to clear, and get involved in next offseason’s market, where the amounts are more reasonable.
The question: What will be the breaking point? What will force this increasingly shaky house of cards to collapse?
The people running major league teams right now are going to get fired for these contracts. Billionaires demand accountability, and when these teams lose with massive payrolls, heads will roll.
Pretty much every GM opening (minus Cincinnati) in the past couple of years has been filled by someone better than the previous guy. The D’Backs, Rangers, Royals, and Devil Rays have joined the community of well-run franchises.
Once MLB is free of Jim Bowden, Mike Flanagan, Jim Hendry, and guys like them, and they’re replaced by Chris Antonetti and Ben Cherington, you’ll see organizations start treating their dollars differently.
It’s going to take a while, but it’s going to happen. The guys who believe “it’s what the market will bear” won’t be running franchises much longer.
Wait for the wreckage to clear, and get involved in next offseason’s market, where the amounts are more reasonable.
But how can you be so sure that next year’s market will be more reasonable? If baseball keeps making money by the boatload, I’m not sure anything will change.
In the Silver Lining Dept., this signing makes Richie Sexson’s contract look more and more like a bargain … and at least theoretically improves the Mariners’ chances of making it look attractive to other teams.
15 – we have no choice but to hope it will change. The M’s simply can’t compete with this sort of spending. It’s not that we don’t have money – it’s that we have so much to sort out that we would have to spend even more than the Cubbies have to have a chance. I’d rather bide my time and wait a year, two years from now when better FA are available.
In the Silver Lining Dept., this signing makes Richie Sexson’s contract look more and more like a bargain … and at least theoretically improves the Mariners’ chances of making it look attractive to other teams.
Argh. No it doesn’t. I wish people would stop believing this.
I don’t see the point in even wading into the free agent pool this year (except for a veteran starter). Wait and see how our young talent continues to develop, and see what is available next year.
It’s like buying the best used car off of a crappy used car lot. Wait to buy, and go check other lots!
but, Dave, you forgot to mention his important intangibles, such as being former Mariner Gary “Sarge” Matthews son…
Argh. No it doesn’t. I wish people would stop believing this.
Dave, to get this straight. Do you contend that Richie is still not attractive because the market is not their for 1B’s and also because the Replacement Player value at this position is significantly higher than other positions?
In other words, Richie has an albatross contract at a time when much cheaper 1B’s are available that Richie is only marginally better than (if at all).
That’s the way it would seem to me.
I looked at GMJ’s career MLB stats and laughed. Wow. Stoneman deserves to lose his job for this signing alone.
I grew up in Vegas and the only thing I remember about Gary Matthews Jr’s tenure with the Stars was that his name was Gary Matthews Jr. Totally forgettable and looked like typical AAA fodder. And yes, Cashman Field was a ballpark that saw scores like 12-8, 9-7, 14-12 every single night, even if there were only like 800 fans in attendance.
Both the Pierre and Matthews contracts look terrifyingly bad from where I’m sitting. Maybe the GMs from LA are seeing something I’m missing, but I doubt it. Both are likely below average regulars during the duration of their contracts.
On the other hand, I’m waiting for the details on the club option years with the Soriano deal; that still has the potential to be a deal that makes some sense for both sides.
I guarantee that that amazing catch that Matthews made last year was worth 10-15 million dollars to him.
#23: Jeff over at LL says all 8 years are guaranteed.
Dave, to get this straight. Do you contend that Richie is still not attractive because the market is not their for 1B’s and also because the Replacement Player value at this position is significantly higher than other positions?
I’m contending that the market for Richie isn’t any more attractive than it was a week ago because the teams that will be interested in him aren’t the teams that were chasing guys like Juan Pierre and Gary Matthews Jr.
I believe that teams spend money on position specific lines, and the market for first baseman hasn’t changed just because the market for overrated center fielders has gone through the roof.
and, as far as we know, there are only one or two potential teams interested in Sexson…
So if somehow a 1B was signed to a ridiculous contract, then the market for Sexson would improve.
Just like if the carpenter working on my office building gets a raise, it doesn’t mean I can march into my bosses office and demand a raise.
Two different markets.
So if somehow a 1B was signed to a ridiculous contract, then the market for Sexson would improve.
Not necessarily. It would have to be a 1B that one of the teams interested in Sexson were also interested in, and by a team other than one of those teams.
If Baltimore gives, say, Shea Hillenbrand a 3 year, $25 million contract or something, Sexson’s value could actually go down, because that’s one less team that’s going to be bidding on his services.
Basically, the rooting-for-a-Sexson-trade crowd needs to hope that Baltimore fails to land Carlos Lee and then trades Miguel Tejada to the Angels. This would give them a need for a RH power bat and more cash than they know what to do with. At that point, you can expect the Orioles to do something stupid.
But if the Orioles sign Carlos Lee, then you’re basically hoping that the Giants go nuts for Richie without any competitors. And that’s unlikely.
nice crack from Rotoworld:
“So many contracts already with the potential to be the biggest busts of the offseason and the starting pitchers haven’t even begun to sign yet.”
11 – I imagine that Anderson will be the full time DH and that Figgins will be the utility guy or third baseman. It seems that Wood or Kendrick would either need to move to 3B or be dealt since Cabrera is signed for another two years.
Good point Dave. I mage a very general statement. Personally, I think we get to watch Sexson in an M’s uniform for another season. I don’t see a trade happening.
#31– some have opined this makes Chone trade-bait.
I “made” a very general statement. I think my brain has left for the holidays already!
Chone Figgins: What we wish WFB was.
#35: An Angel?
[pah-dum-pah]
Wasn’t Matthews an above-average defender last year? While I agree that $10M/year is probably too much to pay, and 5 years is definitely too long, an above-average CF who puts up a .280/.340/.440 line is pretty darn valuable. I’m just not sure this belongs in the same category as the Soriano and Pierre signings. (Although I aknowledge we’re really just talking about degrees of bad here – they’re all bad).
Each time we see another of these types of deals in the news, the market for Sexson goes up yet another notch.
#38: GMJ’s not a very good defender. ‘Average’ is probably about the top of his range.
And his career numbers are .263/.336/.419. That’s even with the Arlington boost from the past two years. He’s also 32.
39 – Have you read any of the comments before you? Or did you simply just parachute in to drop off this aphorism? I can see Dave pulling his hair at this moment.
Wow this one is actually insane Mathews just isnt very good…I like the Soriano signing okay for the Cubs he will be an above average player for most all of his contract…and they are one of the few teams that can afford that type of investment. making a big investment on a good offensive player with the consistency of Soriano makes sense if you have tons of money
#39: See #18…
41: My apologies. I should have added the /sarcasm tag to the end of that post.
There’s a detailed writeup on Sarge Jr. at Baseball Prospectus: http://tinyurl.com/ygpweg.
15: Well, the prices next year probably won’t go down. But the quality may go up. The problem that I see with this year’s position player market is that sub-top-tier stars (Soriano) are getting the money and especially the years that ought to ensure you’re getting one of the best in baseball, and that purely mediocre filler like Pierre and Matthews are getting star money. In a market like that, you just have to make sure you personally are getting value and, more likely, just wait until an FA year where legitimately great players are available. Next year’s outfielder crop looks much better than this year’s, for example, and Cubs fans should take notice of who they don’t get in a year because Hendry got Soriano this year instead.
the AP– “San Francisco also was said to be offered $50 million over five years before the Angels matched that package.”
How is this Matthews signing affect re-signing Ichiro Suzuki? Matthews basically had one decent year playing full time, and isn’t a household name that will draw people to the park. If he’s making 10M/5yr, that makes Ichiro’s last contract 11.5M/4yr looked like a bargain. Of course, Ichiro wasn’t a FA then.
If Matthews can get a 5 year deal at 32, having basically only play 1 full time season, don’t you think the VERY minimum to sign Ichiro right now will be a 6 yr 90M deal? I am thinking more along the line of 17M / yr that Soriano get.
On a side note, since I always pipe up with stuff like this, if you’re actually wondering where John Bale is today, he’s been pitching for the Hiroshima Carp for the last three years, and not too badly, either. Rodney Myers, on the other hand, only played a year for the Hanshin Tigers before they released him (in the same wave of housecleaning that saw Hideki Irabu call it quits).
I figured someone would track them down! And thanks for Marinerds, Deanna, I found the site a few months ago, and really enjoy it!
46. It always looks that way, until guys sign extensions in the middle of the season, making the pool smaller and smaller.
Roy Oswalt was going to be a free agent this year as well, but he got inked before the end of it. That’s the only one off the top of my head, but there were others.
I’d be interested in seeing a list of FAs at the end of 2007. I know Vernon Wells is on there… he’ll get Beltran/Soriano range money.
Overpaying for top talent is not a sin, but the latest signings are crazy. As long as the Mariners stay out of this insanity….there is hope….not much, but hope nonetheless.
You know that Billy Beane will not be participating, and the new kid with the Rangers may be too smart for this nonsense as well. If the Angels want to put themselves in a hole for years to come…..good for them.
Stoneman won’t get fired if all the prospects he safeguarded from trades the past few years start producing at the major league level.
Signing Gary Mathews Jr. was dumb. Last night Rick Rizs and the host of the “Hot Stove League” on KOMO were salivating over the thought of acquiring Mathews.
What the hell would we possibly do with Matthews? Ichiro is in CF, and we have plenty of (better) options for the corner spots!
Rizzs (and whoever the host of that show is) apparently aren’t getting much fresh air where their heads are at.
Rizzs only wants Matthews so he can talk about Sarge.
Its still better than the Pierre deal.
We need the Angels to screw up their free agent signings. They sure aren’t screwing up their draft picks. This kind of insanity gives me hope for our AL West future that our farm system doesn’t.
But if the Orioles sign Carlos Lee, then you’re basically hoping that the Giants go nuts for Richie without any competitors. And that’s unlikely.
But not unheard of. That’s how Magglio ended up in Detroit.
Comparison…
Contract A: 5 years – $50 million
Contract B: 5 years – $70 million
Gary Matthews Jr, meet Vladimir Guerrero.
[i]They sure aren’t screwing up their draft picks.[/i]
Didn’t they just punt them for a middle reliever and a fourth outfielder?
56. That’s just lunacy. It is not better than the Pierre deal, and I personally think a lot of people will be snacking on crow before the end of his contract.
Pierre is on the right side of 30 and is a name. It was only a few years back that this kid was a rising star in the league and was a catalyst for the 2003 WS champions. I know he’s had a few down years and his contract is not great, but he does have a track record that Matthews couldn’t even hold a candle to. Seasons of 200+ hits, 90+ runs and 50+ sb.
I looked at a few comparison stats for players I thought fit a Pierre mold heading into their 30′s; On a best case scenario he’s Lou Brock and the worst an Otis Nixon. But he probably falls somwhere in between, but players like these generally had very long careers. Others I looked at included Brett Butler, Tim Raines, Kenny Lofton and Vince Coleman. Only Coleman completely burned out after age 30 and the rest contined to slap hits, run around the bases and score runs and isn’t that the objective of the game.
Pierre is also marketable, I know that there will be at least twice as many Pierre jerseys as Matthews, running around the streets and LA suburbs. I’m not saying it’s a great deal, but I don’t think it’s as bad as everyone makes it out to be.
#61: Why look at hits, runs, and SB? Pierre’s skillset is vastly, vastly overrated.
You know that Billy Beane will not be participating
Here’s the thing, though – he’s already lurking around the corners, seeing if Bonds is angry enough with the Giants that he’d take a walk across the bay, poking interesting guys with a stick. If his chance is there, he’ll leap at it.
Matthews’ deal is definitely worse than Pierre’s, although the fact that Pierre went to the Dodgers, (the absolute last team in need of another leadoff/slap hitter), makes it seem worse.
On another front, I’m hearing that Dellucci will end up with the Tribe for around $12 million/3 years. It’s too bad, he would have been a great fit here, and that is a contract that actually makes sense!
Good news, the M’s misinformation campign is working…check this quote out from Fox Sports about ‘hidden gems’ of this years free agent pool: “2. Gil Meche, RHS Meche has an impressive arsenal — fastball that touches the mid-90s, tight overhand curve and enough off-speed stuff to get by — and he was finally healthy last season. Meche’s mechanics are inconsistent, but that’s a correctable flaw. With proper instruction, he’ll take a big step forward, and at age 28 he’s primed to do just that. Meche could be the steal of the winter.”
That cracks me up.
Story
64 I agree with Lofton there his skillset does seem a bit overkill.
62 I mentioned the hits runs and steals cause those are undoubtedly his strengths. No, I don’t know what his vorp, or the +/- value on his average run share for a season. And I don’t really care. The stats I mentioned are tangible. I’m not saying there isn’t a place for sabermetrics in the game, but sometimes things get pushed out of reality. I recognize that Pierre doesn’t walk enough for a lot of you, but he can hit, is a capable fielder and disrubts on the base paths.
It is not out of the realm of possibility that Pierre’s best season in LA look like this, .380/.400/.320; and that his five year average in LA be something at .350/.370/.300. Of course all the while swiping bases. And I just don’t see what is wrong with that.
#64: Oh, man, if that Dellucci rumor is true, I’m going to be bummed. I was really hoping we’d sign him.
66 Rhat is a tad bit aggresive…I seriously doubt he will average hitting 350 for five years…but he might slightly over 300 for five years, play good D, and run. Not a great player, not a great signing…but not a ruiner for LA…they can afford to overpay a little
How about we send Rizzs to Anaheim for a broadcaster to be named later so he can salivate over Lil’ Sarge somewhere else?
66: I was more referring to Furcal when i say that the last thing the Dodgers need is more singles hitters with speed. Even more true if Lofton comes back though.
I think the Dellucci rumor is true but you never know, should be in papers soon…
It’s really tough to hit 350 and slug 300. Howdja figure?
Shockingly bad article about Gary Matthews
well, it sounded like Delucci was willing to swap some money for more playing time — would the Indians give him that?
#66: Sure, they’re tangible, but what do they actually mean? He can hit? Great. Steals bases? Fantastic. Runs around really quick in centre? Awesome.
But again, what’s that worth? Pierre gets out. A lot. More than anyone in the game, actually. His middling OBP is supplemented by the fact that although he’s fast, has never really learned to avoid getting thrown out on stolen base attempts. And he gets many, many at-bats.
His career numbers are .303/.350/.377. That’s an OPS of .727, for those scoring. Let’s be kind to him and factor in the value of his running game, a strength of his, add his stolen bases to total bases and take away from his OBP whenever he got caught. Batting average will of course remain the same.
SLG calc: (325+1551)/(4110) = .456
OBP calc: (1244+50+258-116)/(4110+50+258+10+76) = .319!!!
So adjusted Pierre has a line of .303/.319/.456. Those numbers are about to be supressed by Chavez Ravine, remember, so you can probably drop 0.005 or so off each.
I’m not sure how you can conclude that Pierre’s going to be that valuable. Over his career, whenever he’s stepped up to the plate, his actions have resulted in an out 68% of the time. 68%!
I think it should read 300/350/370 and 320/380/400. Both are optimistic projections considering he hit around 285/328/370 over the last two seasons.
I have a question. What’s a good website/database to find out information on current contracts? Length, total, when signed, how much per year (if known), that sort of thing.
So what is going on?
Why are teams spending so crazily this offseason? What’s the impetus? Why are we all able to see that there are some utterly terrible contracts being given out, and yet they’re still being given out?
76 – you might want to check out the link in the left sidebar labelled “MLB Contracts”.
Why are teams spending so crazily this offseason? What’s the impetus?
They are making a buttload of cash, and are spending it stupidly in a very weak FA market?
If Matthews is making 5/50, one can only imagine what Carlos Lee, Barry Bonds or JD Drew are going to sign for. Hanging fire and letting everyone go out and be stupid sounds like a WONDERFUL strategy, to see if you can pick up the Kevin Millwoods or other players who didn’t cash in on one year deals late. I sincerely hope this is what Bavasi is doing (even though I worry that it’s not).
#69 – Why don’t we just DFA Rizzs? There is no way I want Rex Hudler or Steve Physioc announcing my games? FUCK THAT!
#77 – I once traded Tracy McGrady for Joe Smith and Amare Stoudemire (before he was Steve Nash’s favourite plaything). I had no reason for doing this except, 1) I had no idea what I was doing and 2) I was a complete and total basketball idiot at the time.
So there’s your answer, the people making these deals have any combination of the two above (except, obviously, in relation to baseball, that was just an example).
Anyway, I’m very glad to be watching other teams make these deals. It’s quite a beautiful thing actually.
Right, I understand all of this. And I’m glad (so far) to see the Mariners not signing anyone to these stupid deals.
But what I’m asking is, what is creating all the impulse to make these big, stupid deals, rather than standing pat in what anyone can see is a very weak free agent market?
Maybe I’m wrong, but I’m reluctant to blame it all on GMs being bad at doing their jobs.
78 – Heh. That’s easy enough. Thanks, though.
It is not out of the realm of possibility that Pierre’s best season in LA look like this, .380/.400/.320; and that his five year average in LA be something at .350/.370/.300.
It’s also not out of the realm of possibility for a meteor strike to hit Juan Pierre in CF while he’s holding a winning MegaMillions ticket. That doesn’t mean it’s likely.
Juan Pierre’s career batting average is .303. The only guy in recent memory who jumped his batting average something like 50 points over consecutive 5 year periods is Tony Gwynn, who not only did it when the NL added Coors Field AND increased their run scoring a lot in the mid-90′s, but also batted .351 and .370 in his 20′s, two things Juan Pierre has never done.
(Amare Stoudemire was a 20-point-a-game scorer before Steve Nash arrived in Phoenix.)
I just wanted to say that shaunmc’s comment 10 cracked me up.
I think 66′s numbers are OBP/SLG/AVG, which I’ve seen elsewhere. It’s the only projection that makes sense (well, more sense, I think there’s basically no chance at all that Pierre will average 300/350/370 over three years in LA).
What? Who quotes it OBP/SLG/AVG? AVG/OBP/SLG is like the stathead stylebook ruling.
What? Who quotes it OBP/SLG/AVG? AVG/OBP/SLG is like the stathead stylebook ruling.
Sadly, the official MLB pages quote it the wrong way. Here is an example. I imagine that lazy copy and pasters could quote a player’s line this way if they go to mlb’s pages for stats.
That’s crazy. Someone needs to come up with the stathead stylebook. Clearly.
Maybe AVG/OBP/SLG is the MLA style, while OBP/SLG/AVG is the Chicago style?
To be honest, I’m more concerned with how goddamned fast the baseball people can photoshop a new uniform and onto a player’s pre-existing headshot! Do they have one guy whose job it is just to photoshop new hats and unis onto traded players and just-signed free agents? How can I get a job like that?
As a huge fan of the Chicago Manual of Style (15th Edition) may I just say
SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!!
OBP/SLG/AVG is like… (what’s my least favorite style guide…) the Franklin Covey Style Guide: it’s stupid and no one should use it.
Hey man, don’t get mad at me just because the Chicago people don’t know how to order baseball stats. If it’s any consolation, I hear their proprietary defensive metric handles the issue of flyballs very well.
There’s a Franklin Covey style guide? What, the seven habits of highly effective editors? ugh.
Sorry everyone 320/380/400 and 300/350/370. This does make numerical sense, but even my old 86 Topps Canseco RC list avg last.
But whatever.
No one wants to talk about a players marketability or the fact that Lou Brock was caught stealing at the same percentage as Pierre (3/1). Nope, it’s all about a+z. Everyone nows baseball is black and white. Either your safe or you’re out.
knows
Franklin Covey. Isn’t he a free agent this year? What’s his OPS and WARP? I bet he would be good signing this crazy offseason.
And that Gary Matthews Jr. contract just shows you the evil power of SportsCenter, which has played Matthews’ over-the-fence catch in CF about a bazillion times.
No one wants to talk about a players marketability or the fact that Lou Brock was caught stealing at the same percentage as Pierre (3/1). Nope, it’s all about a+z. Everyone nows baseball is black and white. Either your safe or you’re out.
Actually, Lou Brock had a 75.3% success rate compared to a 73.6% rate for Pierre. When you steal that many, a couple percentage points does make a difference.
You also ought to consider that Pierre still has a few steps to lose, so we’ll see whether he can keep up the 73.6% in the coming years. Perhaps he will if he cuts down on the attempts and looks for the better opportunities instead.
Also, Brock’s OPS was .753 compared to Pierre’s .727. That’s including the end of his career which was brutal to his OPS, so again, it would be interesting to see where Pierre’s will go in the upcoming years. Brock was also playing in a completely different era, and furthermore didn’t get 2 1/2 years of home games a mile above sea level.
Regardless, I really don’t see them as too terribly comparable, in spite of the steals.
Maybe Pierre has some marketability, but I’m not sure that it justifies $45 million when you could get someone a tick below his current and real abilities for $400k a year. Is his marketability really worth ~$8 million annually?
Just a few thoughts to consider. Most people here really don’t look at things in black and white, in fact, from my angle it seems that’s what they commonly advocate against.
Just happens that in this case, Pierre’s more of a grey than anything bright.
I think Pierre is pretty similar performance-wise to Chone Figgins, who was already patrolling CF sometimes for the LAAAs, and only makes about 3 mil a year. Pierre probably has a better baserunning ability, but man if I was Chone Figgins I’d be feeling like a sucker right now.
Seriously, how marketable is Juan Pierre? Soriano I’ll give you – former Yankee, high profile career, gaudy counting stats. Alphonso Soriano has a public image that’s out of all proportion to his achievements.
But Juan Pierre?! I’m a more avid baseball nut than 95% of people out there and I barely know who the guy is.
But that contract is a steal compared to Matthews Jr.
I think Pierre is pretty similar performance-wise to Chone Figgins, who was already patrolling CF sometimes for the LAAAs, and only makes about 3 mil a year. Pierre probably has a better baserunning ability, but man if I was Chone Figgins I’d be feeling like a sucker right now.
Now those two are actually similar.
Figgins actually has had a little better success rate stealing and has swiped quite a few the last couple of years.
I’m not sure specifically where either of them would be defensively but they both make me feel near the middle of the pack. Nothing spectacular.
Figgins walks a little “more” and has a little “more” power. Has a slightly lower BA though. .011 higher OPS.
Almost a draw, with the difference being apparently $6 million a year. Since he can play a bunch of different positions (well? prolly not) will he be in line for $12 million a year soon?
Jeez, how much would a 30 year old Mark MacLemore command in this market?