Mariner Central, among other places, has a discussion on the idea of Figgins-for-Young.
Sully points out, adroitly, that Young is a Bret Boone-, Edgar-style hitter who takes the ball to right-center with authority ... not that he endorses the acquisition. But that Safeco-fit observation is definitely Point A in any such discussion.
Dr. D has a bias towards talent, a prejudice toward All-Star impact. Does that apply here?
...............
Nay verily. Dr. D also has a bias against paying for cake that somebody else has already eaten, and at age 34 n a neutral park, Young is merely an average/solid infielder with blase defense.
Young might or might not be interesting for the Safeco Mariners at, say, $8M per season. Chone Figgins is not going to provide $0 baseball performance for that $9M per season. There isn't any way to make the math work.
Young could do a few good things in Safeco, no doubt. But you don't pay a guy $16M to do a few good things. No sale.
.................
Prospect Insider has a piece up on Albert Pujols' future. They reason that Washington, Chicago, and ... Texas are the three logical landing spots for Pujols.
And here is a very good thread by Dave Cameron, with 147 (and counting) responses, addressing Pujols' potential free agency. He provides math towards an ARod contract for Pujols, in case your own seat-of-the-pants observation didn't do the same.
Pujols produces 8-9 wins per season; he's worth close to 1.5 Felix Hernandezes after Felix' plateau leap in 2009. A $30-$40 million salary for him has been the logical starting point, since Pujols and a rookie are worth two $15-$20M stars.
Pujols hits .325/.425/.625 in a reasonable park. I don't want to know what that would be in Texas, do you?
The only thing I cared about, with Cliff Lee, was that he not be a Yankee. And the only thing I care about, with Pujols, is that he not be a Ranger.
..........
Perhaps 20% or 30% of SSI / DOV fans are interested in Dr. D's noodlings on philosophy, politics and religion. For those who are, rght now at That Prophet there is a bit of discussion on The Resurrection Myth and its "seeding" globally.
Why does each world culture seem to contain some variation on death and resurrection? Tolkien and Lewis debated this at length.
Nobody has been more consistent (obnoxious?) in calling for a Figgins dump....er, trade...than I. But trading his bad $8M or $9M salary for an ever worse M. Young's makes no sense! Were young 29 and you could predict the years ahead then I would be all over this one.
Let this one go. Don't bite Jack. Take a pass.
Then dump....er, trade....Figgy for somebody that doesn't consume too much salary for too long....Or somebody with a likely upside.
His price tag is prohibitive and 2 of the last 3 years his OPS outside of Texas was under .700. Keep Michael Young far away from my team.
Young's Road numbers, career: .279/.322/.411/.733
Scott Spiezio's Road #s, career: .255/.330/.425/.754
I would not pay 34 year old Scott Spiezio 16 million a year for the next 3 years either.
Figgins is movable with a good first-half, should we find a cheaper/better option. Or he can stay if there are no better options. Young will be immovable. The team he goes to is stuck with him through 2013. We already did this with Milton Bradley. If they wanted to take Milton and Figgins for this year, I guess I'd think about it.
And then I'd still turn it down, because I want a real player with Milton's money in 2012, not the corpse of Michael Young.
~G
Dr. D,
I attended a business event this morning where one of the panelists was theVP of Finance for the Los Angeles Angels. I heard some interesting insightfrom her regarding payroll, Pujols, etc.
I thought you might want some of the info for a blog post. Just an idea.
Tim