Y'know, when I came here today, I was in a good mood, intending to add my own slightly demented take on the roster decimation. But, reading through this thread put me in a bit of a foul mood. It really shouldn't - and I'm not entirely why - but I figured better to note my acceptance of the mood thingy - and preface my comments by apoligizing if what follows doesn't carry my typical mass of diplomacy.
1) The FA market changes EVERY year. The belief that the Fangraphs (or any other) numerical dartboard shot at "right" is correct in more than the most remote way is pure fantasy. Silva - 4/12 = 48. *THAT* is the starting point standard for discussions about retaining Bedard - because that's the latest ACTUAL FA dumb enough to go hide in the great white northwestern purgatory of Seattle.
2) The Dollar projections are ALL backward looking. They do not (and cannot) take into account salary inflation (or deflation) for the next market). At best, they can potentially teach whether you overpaid or underpaid -- except that EVERY city has its own quirks which impact salary decisions. Players KNOW the Yankees overpay - so they expect to be overpaid - and the Yankees concede the point. But, one could find "supportive" examples for practically any salary/ability combo they want - because they ARE so volatile.
3) If you're going to use the Dollar and Salary numbers to form arguments, then using Seattle pitchers, (staying or leaving), would seem to be the most obvious place to mine for data applicable to the situation. Because guys like Schmidt and Zito WOULDN'T COME.
So - let's look at some actual Seattle FA pitchers:
Batsita -- final two seasons before Seattle 2.1 and 11.0. Of course, his value went 13, 7, 2 before the 2006 spike. Getting 6, 10, 10 was his reward. Was this based SOLELY on the 11 from his final season with D-backs - or did the 2.1 from 2005 count?
Washburn - value was 4.7, 6.1 and 8.1 his final 3 with the Angels. He gets a 7.5, 10, 10, (10?) deal from the Ms.
Silva's value -- 10.3 - 0.4 - 13.4 -- Yes, this wonderful salary handicapping system says that Silva was worth 13.4 million the season before he came - and he was a double-digit value for 3 of the 4 previous seasons. So, I don't want to hear ANYONE who supports the Dollar value system to badmouth the Silva contract -- because 4/48 for Silva was *LOW*, based on his previous performance (3 or 4 seasons), plus the inflation for having to move to Seattle.
Of course, Gil Meche was worth 8.1 his final season in Seattle. Obviously, his 5/50 contract was idiocy, (except, in the first two seasons he's racked up 38.8 million in value - and another 12.4 so far in 2009.)
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So, Bedard posted 18.4 and 22.2 values in '06 and '07. He comes to Seattle and only managed a 4.7 in year one - throwing for 1/2 a season. He's managed to accumulate 7.2 value ALREADY in 2009, (in only 65 innings). We don't know what he'll do the rest of 2009, but what he has done SO FAR is be 15.8 runs above replacement in ONLY 65 innings - after being only 10.8 in 81 innings in 2008. The 2008 season would appear to be the abberation, (just like with Silva).
Given the horrific results for most recent transferees to Seattle, while his health may be a concern, if he managed 160 innings in 2009 and posts another 16 or 17 million value - then there WILL be multiple teams standing in line willing to pony up big bucks. Why? Because it ain't JUST about Bedard. It's about who else is out there.
I can only think of two cities LESS desirable to head to than Seattle -- KC and Pittsburgh. But, at least you can get a good steak in KC -- and Pittsburgh is the home of Iron City. Why would a player WANT to go to Seattle? For the sterling weather? (Perhaps if you find a kid who has a fixation on musical martyrs, Seattle would be worthy of a discount).
There's a thousand variables that go into choosing a destination city for an FA - and money is only one of them.
But fine - go ahead peg Bedard's value at 14. If you look at the 2008 stats - and the Fangraphs dollar values for ALL pitchers - converting WAR into dollars - you know what was worth 14? Kyle Lohse. (of course, DiceK and Verlander also came in at $14 for 2008). Then again, Peavy only produced $12 value, putting him even with Dana Eveland. (Gee, this whole, figure out projected contracts based on fangraph FA projections is just making more and more sense every minute, isn't it?
Pitching with POTENTIAL to post big numbers ROUTINELY get large salaries, (Pavano ring any bells). Many only have to post ONE stellar season to warrant the risk. Many injury risks don't suffer in the paycheck - they suffer in the years. Only a handful of pitchers have legit POTENTIAL to post $30 dollar seasons. Bedard posted BETTER value in 2007 than Santana, Oswalt, and DiceK. There ain't a lot of pitchers with that POTENTIAL.
Seattle is advantaged at the moment, being able to court Bedard instead of compete for him. Because history says that if they compete for him in FA, they'll lose.
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