..............
I/O: Word is that Boras will "let the market simmer" during December.
CRUNCH: Scott Boras finds the foamy salt spray not nearly as foamy or salty as he'd hoped, and pulls Prince Fielder back off the bow.
Meanwhile, Boras consoles Prince with a 73-page "ARod: a Historical Perspective" type hardcover. Prince, grinning from ear to ear, mounts it front-and-center in his trophy case and spends his December flipping through the glossy photos comparing him to Babe Ruth.
An ML exec compares this annual "Boras Iconic Client" hardcover to the swimsuit issue. He knows it's coming each year, people are going to flip through it, but it's not exactly going to forward SI's reputation for sports journalism.
..........
Dr. D reads this as that the Mariners have put the only 8-year offer out there.
.
Q. Is Fielder really going to get 8 years?
A. We saw on the internet that the lead authors of other blogs aren't really the types to toot their own horns. ;- ) Dr. D, however, won't hesitate to replay videos of his tomahawk dunks, at least if relevant to the discussion at hand.
Last Tuesday we saw that the Seattle consensus was that Prince should get 5 years ... maybe 6 if you really, really realllllllly were desperate .... Dr. D smiteth his forehead with the base of his palm :: SMACK :: and advised that the question was not 5 years vs 6, but 8 vs 10.
In the week since, this has become generally accepted. Fielder might very well be demanding 10 years and not one day less.
...........
Hence Boras taking his ball and going home, because ML execs simply do not agree with Boras about this.
...........
SSI's position? 8 years is fair. See the article reference above. At 10 years, you might indeed be better off passing. I SAID MIGHT.
:- )
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But he didn't actually say Fielder.
Podcast here. Obviously worth a full listen.
Main message is "stay the course" with the long-term plan, but obviously he thinks that signing Fielder does not take them off course, and I take his word for it.
More nuggets follow.
Mentioned more than once:
Paxton
Hultzen
Walker
Erasmo Ramirez
Catricala
Mentioned once:
Snow
Pryor
Campos
Franklin
--Bat
--Backup SS
--LH arm in pen
--Veteran starter (Z said rotation still "very young"; Drayer said they don't expect Pax or Hultz until midseason)
No mention of Darvish, though some still expect Ms to make a play. Find out today.
So maybe a Moyer or similar move?
Hints that Vargas and League could be deadline moves, depending on progress of young starters and Wilhelmsen.
3b competition:
Seager
Liddi
Figgy ("rededicated" Z says)
Catricala (to the surprise of the hosts)
did not mention Franklin as a 3b contender
LF competition:
Darren Ford ("will be the fastest player")
all the returning guys (Carp, Wells, Robinson, Saunders, etc. -- did not list names)
reportedly Cuddyer is being talked to (although maybe only a Fielder fallback)
Did not mention a CF competition, though presumably some of those guys will be in the mix (at least Ford and Robinson) if they decide Guti can't cut it.
[In my view Wells, Robinson and Ford would only be candidates for CF; but that's just my view. The team does not appear to view Wells as a CF, just like they do not appear to view Seager as a SS.]
Details here. Or this summary with clickable links to baseball-reference.com
Highlight is the return of personal favorite Scott Patterson (known for playing wiffle ball with kids during his lengthy minor league career). Maybe he'll get his shot.
The return of L-Rod we already knew, but it's good to see, because he's still got a real shot. Even if he doesn't show the power had flashed in AAA, he's still a much better hitter than his MLB stats show. And cheap.
And the 100-mph lefty Philippe Valiquette is at least an interesting lottery ticket at no cost.
But am glad it did!
Looks like an easy URL for the lazy D ...