Griffey to return in 2010, Stone reports
See here. Details as yet unannounced.
I expect the now-standard split of reactions:
1. Griffey “deserves” (or “earned”) a spot based on fan love, past contributions, clubhouse chemistry, etc
vs
2. Griffey can’t hit or field any more
LaRue Gets Front Office to Talk Prospects
Yesterday’s edition of the Tacoma News Tribune had Larry LaRue asking one of the more easily answered questions of the hot stove season, which prospects could contribute next season? The thought being that if players like Kelley and Jakubauskas broke through last year, well surely there would be someone else who could surprise as well. The first part is Zduriencik wading through the old tropes of prospect discussion: you can’t count on players until they’ve established themselves, no one will be given a job outright without work, and in our case, Tui, Moore, and Saunders are all coming to camp with the opportunity (emphasis) to win jobs. This much we already know. Easy though it is to say, one of the quick litmus tests you can run during prospecting season is to see which outlets include those names in the top ten and which are trying to be cute by loading the list with ’09 breakthrough players. But after those standard talking points are dispensed with, things start getting a little interesting. Take a gander…
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Branyan Wants Multi-Year Deal
Jim Street checks in with a quote from Russ Branyan, who is willing to hit the free agent market in pursuit of a multi-year contract.
“I’m not a bad guy, not a selfish guy,” he said from his offseason home. “I don’t know if there is a two- or three-year deal out there for me, but I would like to have more than a one-year deal. I don’t want another one-and-done [contract].”
Wanting security doesn’t make Branyan selfish or a bad guy. But he’s not getting it. He turns 34 in a month and he has a herniated disc in his back that caused him to miss the last two months of the season. Nobody is guaranteeing him any substantial money in 2011. He can look for a two or three year deal, but he won’t find one. Not in this market, not with his back. He also added:
“My agent [Danny Lozano] said he’s confident that we will get something done with Seattle,” Branyan said. “He also told me not to take the [one-year offer] personally. It’s just part of the negotiating process. He knows and the Mariners know I would take less to play there than somewhere else. All I want is to be treated fairly.”
I’d still be fairly confident that the M’s and Branyan will work something out too, but if he’s really dead set on getting more than one year, it’s going to take a while. He’s going to have to hit the market, feel the cold sting of rejection, and realize that the M’s were being fair. He’s just too risky to give a mutli-year deal too.
Ichiro Wins GG, Gutierrez Does Not
The Gold Gloves have been announced, and predictably, Ichiro won one and Franklin Gutierrez did not.
You should not care. These are about as meaningful as the teen choice awards. The people who vote on them don’t really put much thought into it, nor do they really know what they’re doing. They don’t represent defensive ability in any real way, shape, or form.
It’s a broken system. You should feel worse for Rawlings that they attach their name to this than for Death To Flying Things, who most people recognize as a superb defensive player.
Day two, franchise held hostage: no news in Griffey news
How can this be taking so long?
Version 1:
Z: “We loved having Griffey here, but we need to go another direction for DH next year… and our outfield is packed.”
Goldberg: “Okay!”
Version 2:
Z: “The business and marketing folks tell me I can pay your client $2m to not hit again next year as our designated hitter.”
G: “Okay!”
Version 3:
Z: “The business and marketing folks tell me I can pay your client $2m to not hit again next year as our designated hugger.”
G: “Okay!”
or
G: “Sorry, Ken wants to play every day he wants to play.”
Z: “I’m sorry we couldn’t come to an agreement then.”
Elias rankings for free agents out, no surprises
Well, not if you read USSM, that is. Downloadable as a PDF from USA Today.
M’s only have two B-rated guys, Bedard and Beltre (appropriately). So if the M’s offer those two arbitration, and they turn it down, they’ll get a late draft pick. Unless the signing team only signs one “B” rated guy, at which point something else happens, unless some other criteria is met. It doesn’t make a lot of sense, and it’s not really worth hashing out just yet until they’ve filed for free agency and been offered arbitration or not.
Washburn, who many people speculated would end up rated, is not. Doesn’t matter, the whole rating system has so little to do with actual value that you might as well call it the Gold Glove Award.
The Jones Gold Glove thing
So supposedly Adam Jones’ brother leaked that Jones won a Gold Glove. This is already being reported as coming over Franklin Gutierrez and a grave injustice and so forth… but it’s not, not yet, and I’m not sure why everyone’s jumping on this.
There are three Gold Gloves given in each league for outfielders, and they’re not position-divided. Jones could well win as well as Gutierrez. Just look at the last few years of AL voting, when we’ve seen two and even three center fielders win in a year (Hunter, Sizemore, Ichirio!)(and Vernon Wells).
Also, I don’t see why we should really get worked up about this if it’s true. It’s like bemoaning the Oscars, or NBA officiating. The surprise would be if the Gold Glove voting made sense for once.
Recommended reading: “Commie Ball”
Michael Lewis writes a long piece for Vanity Fair on Cuban baseball players and the conviction of Gus Dominguez. Check it out.
ObMarinersTie: Betancourt’s contract with the Mariners results in Gus Dominguez’s kids being threatened and, later, Betancourt’s varied stories and unwillingness to testify on Dominguez’s behalf leads to his conviction. Long quote on page seven:
it was the smuggler’s word against the agent’s, and there was really only one person who might have broken the tie: Yuniesky Betancourt. The Dominguez side never called him as a witness, mainly because they had no idea what he might say. He’d already told three different stories, two of them to immigration agents, about how and when he’d come to the United States. He declined to return phone calls, and slammed the door in the face of the private eye they’d hired to track him down. As his former agent went to trial, VÃctor Mesa’s old shortstop was back in Seattle, playing in their home opener. And on top of it all, he’d unwittingly provided the U.S. government with an explanation for why Gus Dominguez needed to smuggle ballplayers in from Cuba: to make back the money he’d lost on Betancourt—for, having stiffed his smugglers, Betancourt then stiffed the agent who had fed and housed him for six months. He signed the contract with the Mariners that Dominguez had negotiated on his behalf, but paid whatever commission he paid to someone else. (A grievance regarding the allocation of the commission is ongoing.) The money Dominguez lost on Betancourt, the U.S. government argued, threw his business into disarray. He became desperate—so desperate that he ordered up five more players from Cuba.
Sigh.
Reminder:
The AFL Rising Stars Showcase is on right now at MLB.com. You can watch it live without paying or signing up for anything. Strasburg has been scratched and the West is down 7-0 in the first, but the good news is that Ackley led off with a walk and Fields got the final out of the top half of the first.
Recommended reading
Joe Posnanski on the frustration of the Yankees, a topic that leads people like me to only half -jokingly propose they be forced to eat other teams’ bad contracts. Check it out.