Of course, the 4th largest contract this off-season went to K-Rod. Wasn't a hundred mil, but it was $56 mil.
Rivera, in 2008, got $15 million, being the 2nd highest paid Yankee pitcher, (Pettitte got $16).
And I find the NY references particularly curious, considering that the Mets paid Billy Wagner $10.5 million to leave them in the lurch in August of 2008 -- so they went out and not only added Putz (5 million in 2009, 8.6 in 2010), but they're the ones paying K-Rod $56 million (8.5 in 2009).
Mets (2009 payroll): Wagner (DL) = 10.5; K-Rod = 8.6; Putz = 5.0.
And you mention the Mets and Yankees in an argument that attempts to DE-value relievers? These two teams are BOTH first in line when it comes to shelling out major moolah for bullpen help.
As y'know, I love the hardcore New Yawkah's sheer FEEL for the game. No baloney, just get to it. I could sit and talk baseball all day, with anybody who had a faded Yanks or Mets cap on.
One difference is that they've just seen more winners, and seen different kinds of winners. They're usually watching teams bounce back and forth between 80 and 100 wins, and doing it in lots of ways, and they get a feel for what wins and what is a mirage.
But another difference is that they're just, well, about the sports. It's real or it isn't. Gotta love it :- )
NYM leads the bronx cheers:
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If he had just come out and said “Aumont to the pen cause we feel he can’t handle a starter’s workload” then I kick my dog, smash a couple plates for a minute and get over it. However the reasoning used by our “beloved” GM is just mind-boggling.. It’s just make believe. It’s Im gonna tell you something that makes really no sense, but Im the baseball GM so you have to believe me.
His main reasons are the following:
1)He’s tall
2)He’s agressive
3)He throws 97
4)It will take too long for him to learn some other pitches
5)He can help us now
This is just utterly ridiculous.
Since when does being tall, agressive, and hard throwing mean you can’t start baseball games?
As for Z commenting that Aumont will have to learn some other pitches to be a starter, did this man not witness the WBC? With the sinker that Phillippe has he could probably be a dominating starter without ever throwing a secondary pitch. If he were spend the next 2-3 years in the minors working strictly on sinker command, the guy could come up and absolutely dominate ML hitters as a starter.
However, what’s even more mind blowing is that Phillippe has a devastating slider/slurve that he displayed at the WBC.
He has two absolutely devastating pitches right now.. If he just spend the next couple seasons working on his command of both and getting stretched out he’s a #1 starter.
Therefore, this notion that “He would have to learn a bunch of other pitches” just floors me. It makes no sense, and Z knows it makes no sense.
So lets just get to the real reason… “the fast track”… Bottomline, our new GM is just like the old one, he wants help to the big league team as soon as possible and has little interest in watching a 20 yr old polish his starting craft for the next 2-4 years in the minors. It’s a selfish, Bavasi like move, made by a guy I thought had the long term big picture in mind.
This is just a devastating blow to the organization. We have lost two frontline starters in the last week, and have nothing on the horizon in that department.
This was a real bad day and my confidence is shattered in regards to our new GM
Comments
Please excuse the double post, but this actually looks like the better place to put this comment. In the end, if the baseball argument makes no sense, look for alternatives.
I am finding something a bit peculiar about all of the moves so far. There appears to be an active effort to diminish or dismiss the high profile selections by the prior administration. Clement demoted, Aumont converted to relief, Morrow allowed to convert to relief,…Maybe Fontaine and Bavasi were THAT bad at player development. A disappointing realization, but what are ya gonna do? Or maybe Z is ALREADY playing CYA for ‘11 when the M’s are still struggling to win half their games and Z can point to the bare cupboard he inherited. Or maybe this abrupt changes are a means of trying to extract credit from the successes this prospects may later achieve. To paraphrase a future press conference, “If not for an abrupt transformation in player development practices (instigated by me), the we (the M’s) would have never recovered.”
I do smell posturing in the name of self-aggrandizement. I hope I’m wrong.
I think the bigger issue for New York is the PERCEIVED (nominal) value over the REAL value.
The Mets have had a shadow of late-year collapse for the last two years. Regardless of whether it's the bullpen's fault, the bullpen HAS been the biggest issue that's been brought up by the media and the fan corps. The fact is, the Mets have little behind Johan Santana and actually need more rotation depth compared to the rest of the division, but the spotlight has been so much on the bullpen.
The same goes for the Yankees. Rivera's value is driven by his history. Letting Rivera walk is basically the same as letting Hoffman walk, but it's something the Pinstripes would never tolerate.
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With regard to Morrow & Aumont, I think NYM's has it right. Morrow, yes, there are health issues, but the overwhelming fact is that Morrow picked to be a reliever. And with Aumont, you have no idea what you have. T Aumont basically has like 9 years of effective team control, is 20, and you pigeon hole him?
Starting pitching is the most expensive commodity and you devalue your only coins? No comprende. he GM's job should be to maximize available resources.