The Hall of Fame’s Veterans Committee will release its voting results tomorrow morning. And, George Steinbrenner has a shot at getting enshined into Cooperstown.
In honor of that, below is one take on the “All-Steinbrenner Team.”
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(more…)
Yup, it’s worth a thousand words…
It’s Elfin magic!
Via mlb.com -
The Nationals have agreed to terms with free-agent outfielder Jayson Werth, who is getting a seven-year deal worth a reported $126 million.
The Nationals figure to have money to spend after losing free agent Adam Dunn to the Chicago White Sox. Werth will help replace Dunn’s bat in the middle of the Nats’ lineup.
The move means that Werth will most likely play right field and protect Ryan Zimmerman in the lineup.
$18 million a year for Jayson Werth? Makes Jeter’s $17 million a year all the more impressive…in terms of the job Casey Close did in getting that money from the Yankees.
Bad news for Boston? Maybe not…remember…the year the A-Rod deal fell apart for them they went on to win the World Series.
Update: Via Pete Abe -
Jorge Arangure of ESPN is reporting that a source told him Adrian Gonzalez is still in Boston.
While there was a 2 p.m. deadline, Major League Baseball has the discretion to extend that. There is also a chance the Red Sox could make the trade without an extension in place.
…Major League Baseball has the discretion to extend that…
And, of course, when it comes to the Red Sox, Bud will do anything to help them out…
It’s bad enough that I’ve had this song stuck in my head for days, but, then they had to go ahead and feature it in Human Target this week too. Just imagine if it was “Like an E-6″? Oh, the Jeter haters would love it then…
He’ll probably break this record by Opening Day 2013.
By now, you’ve probably seen the reviews on Jane Leavy’s “The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood.” (And, if not, click here and here for a few samples of what’s been said on this one to date.)
In any event, since I’ve just finished reading this one, I thought I would add my opinion to the party – albeit seven weeks later than most of the other reviews of “The Last Boy.”
Without question, Jane Leavy’s book on Mickey Mantle is one of the best baseball biographies that I have read in the last 35 years. You can go back as far as Al Stump’s Cobb or as recent as James Hirsch’s Willie Mays and “The Last Boy” ranks right up there with them.
Now, I’ve read books on Mantle in the past – and there have been a lot of them. And, many of us know his story – as a player and after. But, Leavy offers such a robust picture of the man and performs some incredible sleuthing in this effort that you’re bound to be impressed with her book.
Me? Until reading this book, I never appreciated, fully, what it was like when Mickey Mantle first made the Yankees. Picture a player who had the speed of Carl Crawford or Ichiro Suzuki combined with the tape-measure power of a batter like Adam Dunn or Darryl Strawberry playing in the major leagues at the age of nineteen and put on a team that’s in the media capital of the world and who just won three of the last four World Series. What would that be like today in terms of hype? A-Rod circa 1995-96? Or, Bryce Harper, say, a year from now? Maybe…but…probably not. Remember, we’re talking about the New York Yankees here. Plus, in many ways, Mantle was being pegged as the successor to Joe DiMaggio too, at the time. Need a little more pressure?
I cannot imagine what that would be like for a player today. And, perhaps, Mantle was blessed to have this happen in the 1950′s? What would his career been like, today, if he was 19-years old in 2010 with all this talent? Now, there’s food for thought.
Usually, when I read a baseball book this good, and it involves the Yankees, I suggest that it’s something that may interest baseball fans and that it’s something that all Yankees fans should check out. But, Leavy’s book is better than that. “The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood” is a must read for all baseball fans. And, if you haven’t read it, get it on your holiday wish list. (Just one caveat, if you’re buying this one for someone else this holiday season, it’s a “PG-13″ book, without question, so, use good judgement if you’re giving it to a youngster.)
Please feel free to use the comments section of this entry to discuss what you’ve heard on this book, or your thoughts on it, or to just discuss “Mick” in general.
Via Jack Curry –
Derek Jeter has officially agreed to a three-year contract with the Yankees for between $15 and $17 million a year, according to a person directly involved in the negotiations. The deal includes a fourth-year option that isn’t guaranteed. The deal was consummated on Saturday afternoon and is pending a physical.
The fourth year of the deal was important to Jeter, who said in spring training that he wanted to play four or five more seasons. But the Yankees didn’t want to guarantee a fourth year to Jeter, who had the worst season of his career when he batted .270 in 2010 and who will turn 37 years old in June. The sides vowed to be creative in trying to secure a deal, which is why they were finalizing a hybrid option that will include various elements and won’t be fully guaranteed. The sides met deep into the night on Friday and were talking again on Saturday.
As part of Jeter’s deal, the Yankees have convinced the shortstop to defer an undisclosed amount of money. Mariano Rivera, who has agreed to a 2-year, $30 million deal, has also agreed to defer an undisclosed amount.
And, via George King -
The Yankees and Derek Jeter will finalize a three-year deal today after hammering out the final details on a contract that will pay the captain between $15 million and $17 million a year, according to a person briefed on the situation.
The contract includes a tricky option for a fourth season, neither a vesting situation nor a club option. It is linked to what happens across the three guaranteed years.
The deal with the 36-year-old shortstop ends a month of negotiations that at times became strained, smothered the Yankees’ universe, and divided the fan base.
The Yankees increased their original offer to Jeter, three years and $45 million, on Thursday. That resulted in Casey Close, Jeter’s agent, talking to Yankees brass yesterday.
Following Tuesday night’s face-to-face meeting in Tampa, Jeter’s camp had the most distance to travel. The Yankees knew Jeter was looking for a four- or five-year deal for $23 million per, something the Yankees were not interested in doing.
Thursday night, after the Yankees’ new offer, Hank Steinbrenner said the onus for a deal was on Jeter.
“The ball’s in Derek’s court now, and his agent,” Steinbrenner said. “It’s up to them. We don’t know how happy they are. We’ll see. There’s no possible way anybody could criticize us for what we’ve offered.”
The Yankees also were finishing a two-year deal with Mariano Rivera in the area of $30 million.
Nice that they got it done so that Big Stein can have the Yankees spotlight all to himself on Monday, hopefully.
Update – the contract details from Mr. Curry:
Jeter and the Yankees agreed to a three-year, $51 million contract that could also include a fourth year. Jeter has a player option for $8 million in the fourth year, which could boost his guaranteed money to $56 million. In addition, Jeter has the chance to earn up to $9 million in incentives in the fourth year.
The deal averages to $17 million for the first three years, which includes a $3 million buyout in the fourth year. If Jeter doesn’t exercise the $8 million option in 2014, he will make $51 million. If Jeter exercises the $8 million option, he loses the $3 million buyout and is guaranteed $56 million over the life of the contract. But Jeter can increase his fourth-year salary by reaching some incentives. That is where the Yankees and Jeter got creative.
Jeter’s contract includes a point system in which he earns points for winning the Most Valuable Player Award or finishing in the top six in the voting, for winning the Silver Slugger Award, for being named MVP in the World Series or the League Championship Series, or for winning the Gold Glove. If and when Jeter notches any of those incentives, he will earn an undisclosed amount of points. After three years, those points will translate to a dollar amount, which will be added to Jeter’s salary in 2014. Jeter can earn as much as $9 million in incentives, so the maximum amount he could earn in the final year of the deal is $17 million. The most Jeter could earn in all four years is $65 million.
If Jeter doesn’t maximize the $9 million in incentives across the first three seasons, he also has the chance to earn points in the fourth year of the contract and therefore add to his $8 million salary.
What, no points taken away for every time over the first three years that Michael Kay says Past-A-Divin’ Jeter?
Via Sweeny Murti:
I hear Yanks/Jeter talking about 3yr/$51 mil deal with vesting option for 4th year at $10 mil. Sides getting “very close.”
$17 million a season? That’s not too bad for him – considering his last contract averaged $18.9 million a season.
So, who’s the winner here, Jeter, or the Yankees, or both – or neither?
Via ESPN –
The Boston Red Sox have agreed to a deal in principle to acquire slugging first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, sources told ESPN The Magazine’s Buster Olney on Saturday morning.
The Red Sox have received permission from Major League Baseball to negotiate with Gonzalez on a new contract, the sources said, and Gonzalez’s physical examination, one of last hurdles to the deal, could happen Saturday, when Gonzalez was expected to be in Boston.
The Padres would not receive any established major league players in the trade, but it’s likely the Red Sox would include their top pitching prospect, Casey Kelly, sources have said.
Gonzalez is the Padres’ most popular player, with great crossover appeal to the team’s Mexican-American market, a native son who carried San Diego to within a game of a playoff spot in 2010.
He is signed through 2011 at $6.3 million. The Padres exercised his 2011 option on Nov. 1. His contract called for a $5.5 million salary, but performance bonuses pushed the figure above $6 million.
Acquiring Gonzalez, while signing one of two free-agent outfielders, Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth, would give the Red Sox their most potent offensive lineup since the Manny Ramirez trade to the Dodgers in 2008 and make clear why they were willing to lose free agents Victor Martinez and potentially Adrian Beltre.
Remember when Brian Cashman was called a genius for not trading prospects to acquire (and then pay for) Johan Santana and waiting, instead, to just pay for CC Sabathia a year later – albeit really, really, overpaying? Well, this is sort of the opposite for the Red Sox and Theo Epstein, no? Instead of “just” paying for Mark Teixeira, now, Epstein is trading prospects and then paying for Adrian Gonzalez. So, does this mean Theo is no genius? In any event, it will be interesting to see which hired gun first baseman does better next season and in the years to follow – the one in New York or the new one in Boston? (Just like many like to compare Sabathia to how Santana is doing for the Mets.)
I’ve seen this story (courtesy of Michael S. Schmidt of the New York Times) reported across a handful of media outlets which says, basically, that the Yankees will increase their initial offer to Derek Jeter from 3Y/$45M to something in the neighborhood of 3Y/$51M with an option for a fourth year or a $6M buyout (thus turning it into a 3Y/$57M deal).
I stand by my original feeling that 3Y/$45M was more than fair, especially given that the lower end of the market has been defined as roughly $7M/season for comparable players in age and 2010 performance. The Yankees have no competition for Jeter at 3Y/$45M and thus they maintain the majority of the leverage in these negotiations. Why, they, do they feel the need to bid against themselves for an additional $12M in total compensation? While I applaud them for holding firm on three years (with a fourth year option which they can decline), I don’t see the value in giving Jeter more money.
In any case, $12M more over three years is really nothing to get terribly upset about. I hope the Yankees’ generosity ends at 3Y/$57M (inclusive of the fourth year buyout) and that Jeter comes to his senses about what his true market worth is. The next move must be made by the player.
Separately, the final paragraph from the above-referenced NY Times article struck me as peculiar:
For now, the Jeter stalemate has proven to be a significant distraction for the Yankees just as they prepare to intensify their efforts to lure the free-agent pitcher Cliff Lee to the Bronx with a lavish multiyear deal.
I’d like to know where Michael S. Schmidt is getting his information from. What gives him the impression that the Jeter negotiations are proving to be a distraction to any potential deal with Cliff Lee? Unless this is something he has observed personally or has been apprised of directly from a member of the Yankees front office, I’d say this is ridiculous. Cliff Lee’s agent has made it publicly known that he doesn’t want to entertain contract offers until the start of the Winter Meetings next week. Thus, I find Schmidt’s contention that the Jeter negotiations are distracting the Yankees from the Cliff Lee situation to be disingenuous.
Via George King -
The Yankees interest in Carl Crawford is real but tied to what develops with Cliff Lee and Andy Pettitte.
And never ignore that the team’s interest in Crawford could be to drive up the price on the Red Sox, who are chasing the free-agent left fielder along with the Angels and Tigers.
The Rangers also have been linked to the left-handed hitting outfielder who is among the fastest runners in the game.
“They [the Yankees] are going to get into it,’’ a person close to the situation said. “A lot depends on what happens with Lee, if they get him or not. Pettitte, too.’’
With the Yankees close to signing Mariano Rivera to a two-year deal close to $30 million; know Lee is looking for $140 million for five or six years; have increased a three-year, $45 million offer to Derek Jeter; and want Pettitte back, it’s not likely that they can add Crawford as well.
Pettitte hasn’t told the Yankees what his plans are.
However, when it comes to big fish, the Yankees are never shy.
Crawford, 29, batted .307 last year for the Rays and scored 110 runs, hit 18 homers, drove in 90 runs and swiped 47 bases in 57 attempts. He is the premier free-agent position player on the market and made $10 million last year.
Should Lee remain in Texas, the Yankees’ interest in Crawford would increase and force them to make a decision with outfielder Nick Swisher or Brett Gardner.
If the Yankees don’t get Lee, and then Pettitte retires, New York better focus on getting a pitcher. And, perhaps, in their eyes, that means signing Crawford and then trading Gardner for a starting pitcher?
Via Mike Salfino in the WSJ –
New York’s reported initial offer to Mr. Jeter, a free agent, called for him to take a 28% cut from last year’s $21 million salary. Mr. Jeter is believed to have countered by asking for a slight raise. According to the website Baseball-Reference, if Mr. Jeter were to accept that Yankees’ offer, he’d be taking the second-biggest salary cut ever among the Yankees’ legends when compared with their peak season. Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio both were awarded final salaries that matched their top earnings (Mr. Mantle was clearly in decline). Players back then had to negotiate salaries each year with no free-agent rights. Despite that, Whitey Ford was given a nominal 1.3% cut relative to peak earnings after a 73-inning, seven-start 1966. Mr. Ford’s battery mate, Yogi Berra, signed his last-recorded Yankees contract for less than 1% off his peak salary despite entering that season as a 36-year-old catcher. Don Mattingly is the most recent example of an iconic Yankee at the end of the line, but Mr. Mattingly’s final salary was negotiated five years prior as part of a long-term deal.
Only Babe Ruth’s pay cut from his peak earnings would be more draconian. In his final deal with the Yankees (he was later traded to the Boston Braves), Mr. Ruth received a 54% cut from his peak salary.
I still think it’s apples and oranges to compare what happened before 1976 and today – since, before free agency, the players in the past had almost no leverage in contract talks. It was take what they offer, or hold out, or retire. And, the last two options didn’t pay anything.
Bottom line, it’s looking more and more like Jeter’s going to take a pay-cut on his new deal. And, if he doesn’t want to do that, he can hold out or retire.
Hey, maybe it is just like the old days, now, for Jeter?
If this report is to be believed, both the Red Sox and Angels tried to “steal” Mo Rivera away by offering him a third year.
Given the problems in Boston’s and Anaheim’s bullpen in 2010, I can’t say I blame them. I’m just happy #42 is staying in New York and told those two teams where to stick their extra year.
Not a bad piece of change for a guy who only throws 60 innings a season.
Via Bryan Hoch -
The Yankees’ decision-makers will have a few calls to make on Thursday, as baseball’s non-tender deadline forces decisions on a group of four unsigned pitchers.
Dustin Moseley will have his status examined as Thursday’s 11:59 p.m. ET deadline to tender contracts for the 2011 season approaches. Late Wednesday, Sergio Mitre agreed to $900,000 deal with the club and could earn an additional $200,000 in incentives, according to a tweet by ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick.
New York must also offer deals to Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Boone Logan by that point. If a player is not tendered a contract, he immediately becomes a free agent and can negotiate with any team.
Who would have thought that the day would come in 2010 where the question of “Will the Yankees non-tender Joba?” warranted entertainment, albeit just a wild notion?
Via Mike Lupica today –
The fun with Derek Jeter and the Yankees really never stops and won’t stop until he and the Yankees reach an agreement, and we can only pray that it’s sooner rather than later.
But sometimes it’s fun to make sort of a PowerPoint presentation out of it all.
Except that as this story has made it through one round after another of silliness, you sometimes have the urge to call it a WeakPoint presentation, right?
- The Yankees lose their minds because Jeter’s agent Casey Close gives me a four-sentence quote everybody is still talking about nearly two weeks later. Close manages to do that without hiding behind anonymous quotes, or declaring himself a source close – no pun intended – to both sides of the negotiation. I never heard that one before.
Of course the word “baffling” is now the worst anti-Yankee slur ever uttered.
So Close is the one accused of taking the negotiations public, ginning up the rhetoric, all that. Right. Sure he did.
Except.
Except now every time the Yankees sit down with Jeter’s rep or have a conversation with him, just about every detail ends up in the newspapers before the door closes behind Casey Close, or he hangs up the phone.
Obviously, these stories leak themselves. Like the Yankees’ offer of $45 million – in those conversations they desperately wanted to remain private – must have leaked itself.
- Just so you know: The Yankees don’t just want to cut Jeter’s salary because he’s getting older, or because he had his worst year. Or because his range has diminished – this at a time when you can actually see A-Rod calcifying in front of your eyes at third base – or because they don’t want to be saddled with another huge contract for an aging champion.
They want to be able to sign Cliff Lee for an insane amount of money and then stand in front of their fans and say, Look, the payroll went down!
They’ll want to tell you about how Javy Vazquez – another sparkling pitching acquisition – is off the books with his $11 million. And they’ll show you the money they save on Jeter. And, well, before you know it, it’ll be as if they went bought Cliff Lee at Target he’s such an incredible bargain.
Not sure this is true, or not? When Cashman went out to correct his mistakes of 2008 by spending a gazillion dollars on Sabathia, Burnett and Teixeira, no one cared about the impact on the total team payroll.
Via the AP –
New York Yankees relief pitcher Alfredo Aceves is expected to miss the start of spring training after breaking his left collar bone in a bicycle accident in Mexico.
The Yankees say Aceves had surgery Tuesday in New York. The right-hander will need three months for full rehabilitation. Aceves was 3-0 in 10 games last season before a strained lower back in mid-May sidelined him for the rest of the year.
The Yankees also said Wednesday that outfielder Brett Gardner is set for surgery next Tuesday on his right wrist for tendinitis. He is expected to be ready when spring training starts in mid-February.
Remind me again which one Aceves was? He’s quickly fading from memory…
Surgery for tendinitis, for Gardner? Really? For tendinitis? That’s not good.
Sounds like Bill Style had a good time. Click here to check it out.
During this, the prime holiday shopping season, consumers are constantly bombarded with special offers, markdowns and deals meant to induce the consumer to part with his or her money. The Hot Stove League is no different. For example:
Player A – SS
156 G, 636 AB, 15 HR, 71 R, 71 RBI, 2 SB (0 CS), .269/.312/.381/.692 (90 OPS+), 1.8 WAR (1.2 oWAR/0.6 dWAR)
Player B – SS
157 G, 663 AB, 10 HR, 111 R, 67 RBI, 18 SB (5 CS), .270/.340/.370/.710 (95 OPS+), 1.3 WAR (2.4 oWAR/-1.1 dWAR)
Player C – SS
148 G, 521 AB, 24 HR, 64 R, 85 RBI, 1 SB (2 CS), .248/.310/.440/.749 (99 OPS+), 2.0 WAR (1.8 oWAR/0.2 dWAR)
Player A is feeble offensively but is an average defensive player. Player B, by contrast, offers much more on offense but his overall value is eroded somewhat by below-average defense. Player C provided the most overall value to his team by being an average defensive player and providing value at the plate as well.
Player A just signed a one-year, $6.5M contract and Player C just signed a three-year, $21M contract. Player A and Player B are the same age and Player C is five years younger than the other two.
We all know who these three players are (A=Miguel Tejada/B=Derek Jeter/C=Juan Uribe). If $6.5M and $21M, respectively, get deals done for two comparable players, what makes Derek Jeter think he’s entitled to more than 3Y/$45M? Legacy, history, captaincy and any other word ending in “y” aside, the market has been set.
Jeter would be generously overpaid at $15M per season so he just needs to sign on the dotted line and move on with his life. More years and more money shouldn’t happen. Period.
Now he’s interested in coming to the Yankees?
I’m sure this is all smoke and mirrors – and his agent and/or the Royals have floated this out there to get him and/or the team a better deal in a trade. It’s always good to have the Yankees involved to get some leverage. (See: How the M’s played the Yankees in the Cliff Lee deal.)
But, if he does come to New York, he’ll make Ed Whitson, Kenny Rogers and Javier Vazquez look like David Cone, Boomer Wells and Jimmy Key.
Cashman can’t be dumb enough to fall for this one, could he?
Via the AP -
Hank Steinbrenner thinks Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees will agree to a new contract.
“I feel confident that Derek will remain with the Yankees, and my brother does, as well,” New York’s co-chairman said Tuesday night in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.
The Yankees resumed negotiations Tuesday with Jeter and his agent, Casey Close, a baseball official familiar with the discussion said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the team and Close didn’t make any announcements.
Neither the official nor Steinbrenner would discuss what took place directly between the sides in the talks, which were first reported by foxsports.com.
“I’m not going to get into who’s met who,” Steinbrenner said.
“We want to keep him. He’s very important,” Hank Steinbrenner said. “I certainly hope he remains with us and he certainly should.”
I have to say, it is interesting that Jeter’s agent is dealing with Brian Cashman and not the Brothers Steinbrenner and Randy Levine. That’s not how it went down with A-Rod when he was a free agent. In that case, Cashman was not involved in the talks and it was mostly Hank doing the dealing. And, I have to wonder if this also bothers Jeter – that he’s not considered to be special enough to deal directly with the owners. If Big Stein was in his prime, you know he would have been on the front line for this one – and not just leave it up to the G.M.
