The Swamp

mister d wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2019 10:49 am I was exactly where TB was.

There's just such a fall-off likely about that point. We are in that part of Votto's contract now and I am cringing over the cater-wauling about the upcoming years from the fanbase. Ideally, players hit FA earlier and the big contracts start earlier and end around 33 with the next contracts at that point more likely to be tied into the inevitable declining production.

tennbengal wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2019 2:38 pm

mister d wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2019 10:49 am I was exactly where TB was.

There's just such a fall-off likely about that point. We are in that part of Votto's contract now and I am cringing over the cater-wauling about the upcoming years from the fanbase. Ideally, players hit FA earlier and the big contracts start earlier and end around 33 with the next contracts at that point more likely to be tied into the inevitable declining production.

They appear to be hitting him in the 2-hole, which I think is the right idea.

A_B wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2019 2:40 pm

tennbengal wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2019 2:38 pm

mister d wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2019 10:49 am I was exactly where TB was.

There's just such a fall-off likely about that point. We are in that part of Votto's contract now and I am cringing over the cater-wauling about the upcoming years from the fanbase. Ideally, players hit FA earlier and the big contracts start earlier and end around 33 with the next contracts at that point more likely to be tied into the inevitable declining production.

They appear to be hitting him in the 2-hole, which I think is the right idea.

Absolutely. But you know what that fanbase is gonna do as he ages and is making $23 million a year...

tennbengal wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2019 2:42 pm

A_B wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2019 2:40 pm

tennbengal wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2019 2:38 pm

mister d wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2019 10:49 am I was exactly where TB was.

There's just such a fall-off likely about that point. We are in that part of Votto's contract now and I am cringing over the cater-wauling about the upcoming years from the fanbase. Ideally, players hit FA earlier and the big contracts start earlier and end around 33 with the next contracts at that point more likely to be tied into the inevitable declining production.

They appear to be hitting him in the 2-hole, which I think is the right idea.

Absolutely. But you know what that fanbase is gonna do as he ages and is making $23 million a year...

If they're anything like me, they're gonna love him for being a hitting savant. Of all the skills to have, that's a good one. Hell his power is non-existent already.

They are not much like you.

I'm gonna ruin everyone's good time here and talk about the NY Mets/Bobby Bonilla thing for a minute here because I saw a lot of tweets mentioning that they'll still be paying Bonilla even after Bryce Harper's deal is done (which is true), but it's not really like the Mets were that dumb to defer all of that money. It's not really any different from a lottery winner choosing to take the winnings in installments instead of a lump-sum. I don't know that the Mets actually did this, but if they had taken the money and put it into an annuity at the time, it's the annuity that is paying Bonilla that money and not the Mets.

If you or I had a few million sitting around we could do the exact same thing. Take $5M, give it to a company and the company will just give us $500K a year for the next 25 years for a total of $12.5M (or whatever -- the numbers might not work out quite right on that, but you get the idea).

I realize it's fun to make fun of stupidity, but I think the Mets have served their time for that deal at this point. It's hardly a hardship on the Mets to be paying Bonilla $1M a year.

Yeah, those jokes only work because Bonilla was so bad and unlikeable during his time in NY. If this were something like Detroit paying Miguel Cabrera $25MM per for another five years, no one would say a word.

Ouch. (Justin Verlander and Prince Fielder are still the third and fourth-highest paid Tigers).

Max scherzer apparently has tons of deferred money

I will pour one out for Sal's elbow tonight

brian wrote: ↑Fri Mar 01, 2019 5:39 pmI don't know that the Mets actually did this, but if they had taken the money and put it into an annuity at the time, it's the annuity that is paying Bonilla that money and not the Mets.

I'd have to think that if they didn't buy an actual annuity, they did something that works out the same from an accounting perspective.

Plus don't MLB teams pull in hundreds of millions per year in revenue? Paying a million a year is nothing.

If you don’t know the whole reason why the Bobby Bonilla payouts are so Metsian, here you go:

Wikipedia wrote:After his subpar 1999 season, the Mets released Bonilla, but still owed him $5.9 million. Bonilla and his agent offered the Mets a deal: Bonilla would defer payment for a decade, and the Mets would pay him an annual paycheck of $1.19 million starting in 2011 and ending in 2035, adding up to a total payout of $29.8 million.[2][18] Mets owner Fred Wilpon accepted the deal mostly because he was heavily invested with Ponzi scheme operator Bernie Madoff then, and the 10 percent returns he thought he was getting on his investments with Madoff outweighed the eight percent interest the Mets would be paying on Bonilla's initial $5.9 million. As a result, the payout was a subject of inquiry during the Madoff investment scandal

So, T-Mobile customers get free MLB TV starting 26 March? Nice!

https://www.t-mobile.com/mlb

they've had that deal for a couple of years now -- basically since they re-upped the official sponsorship

In relative terms I recently switched, so this is fantastic and awesome. T-Mobile's military plan is bonkers enough. Having my girlfriend on the plan nets free Netflix because of the second line. Now I can watch the Red Sox anywhere.

AT&T was never this good. And I was with them for a very long time.

Tom Seaver Diagnosed With Dementia

When I was a kid, Seaver was simply the best there was.

Pruitt wrote: ↑Thu Mar 07, 2019 10:29 pm Tom Seaver Diagnosed With Dementia

When I was a kid, Seaver was simply the best there was.

When I was 8 or 9 years old, I stood in the front row next to the bullpen and watched Seaver warm up. I probably only stood there for a minute or two, but in my memory, it felt like it was 10 minutes. I was fascinated with his drop-and-drive pitching motion and tried to copy that motion when I pitched in little league and high school. I would drop so much my right knee often touched the ground when pushing forward, resulting in a round dirt stain after every pitching appearance.

Watching him warm up is perhaps my greatest Cincinnati Reds memory from Riverfront Stadium.

I remember, as a kid, he was a very good announcer.

I did the same thing after seeing Seaver with Boston in 86. Much safer than when I tried to copy Fernando a few years earlier.

mister d wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2019 9:35 am I remember, as a kid, he was a very good announcer.

Many years ago, a Producer I worked with was a part-time stringer for UPI. He brought me along to help file a couple of game stories at the Jays' crappy old stadium. I got to sit in the press box, scored the game and got a couple of quotes from the losing clubhouse. (I was too intimidated to ask questions, just wrote down what players said in response to the questions from the real reporters.)

Anyway, one time the Jays were playing the Yankees and between innings I went to piss in the press box washroom. Tom seaver walked in and used the urinal next to me. I was too intimidated to say anything - just kind of nodded. And I had to look - Tom "Terrific" was a Hall of Famer in more ways than one. He had a very big slider.

Pruitt's a Meat Gayzer!

Hope you were on his right and not his left.

Sabo wrote: ↑Fri Mar 08, 2019 9:30 am

Pruitt wrote: ↑Thu Mar 07, 2019 10:29 pm Tom Seaver Diagnosed With Dementia

When I was a kid, Seaver was simply the best there was.

When I was 8 or 9 years old, I stood in the front row next to the bullpen and watched Seaver warm up. I probably only stood there for a minute or two, but in my memory, it felt like it was 10 minutes. I was fascinated with his drop-and-drive pitching motion and tried to copy that motion when I pitched in little league and high school. I would drop so much my right knee often touched the ground when pushing forward, resulting in a round dirt stain after every pitching appearance.

Watching him warm up is perhaps my greatest Cincinnati Reds memory from Riverfront Stadium.

Heh. I did the same thing with my pitching motion. I think there was a picture of him with his knee nearly touching the ground in one of my many baseball books, so I copied it.

Of course, my best Seaver memory is watching Burt Hooton hit a grand slam off him in 1972.

This is exactly how a picture would look 3 seconds after Counsell confidently told a borderline racial joke.

So 3 batter minimum and no more trade deadline and then the other trade deadline. The 3 batter minimum seams like a big deal for the money ballers. MIT had a good podcast on out-getting last week.

I assume the three-batter minimum only applies in the middle of an inning?

And it's gonna be hilarious the first time a guy gets brought in to get an out and gives up a grand slam and he gets to stay out there for two more batters.

It really fucks fringe relievers who are going to be even more inclined to pitch through pain/injury.

The death knell for the old “get this one left-handed batter out” guys?

And the acronym LOOGY.

Harper got drilled in the foot with a 98 MPH pitch today.

sancarlos wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2019 5:47 pm

This is a good tweet.

Would have loved to see if he'd get $500 million if he went to market.

This and the Harper deal make me think agents are preparing for a massive overhaul after the 2020 season. Either a lower than expected hard salary cap or a term cap or both, or even the possibility of deals being voidable ahead of a cap? Passing on opt-outs, especially Harper, just doesn't make sense otherwise.

In the blink of an eye Mookie Betts just made himself an additional $100 million.

How pissed off is Scott Boras right now? THere is no scenario imaginable where he can get the top contract for some time.

I wonder if he's frantically working the phones trying to find Keuchel a top-AAV + $1 show-me deal.