McCourt to Boras: Drop Dead

Yeah, cause the market justifies it... right.

 

Erik Bedard is making $7.75 million this season, so I fear the correction hasn't begun.

 

You know this pains me to say, but when he did pitch and was healthy Bedard went 6-4 with a 3.67 ERA -- second only to Felix Hernandez among those with as many innings. So $7.75M is not a crazy salary for him.

 

Never said it justfied it. I just didn't understand how Boras could turn down two years, $45 million with the option to void the second year at this point.

 

Be that as it may - you still have to agree that Angela's Ashes was a fine book.

 

Do I get a unicorn or just a pony?
Anyone who believs any "market correction" involves anything beyond the fans paying the same prices for a more mediocre product hasn't been watching the management side of baseball for a long time.

 

F_B, I assure you I see the management side of baseball as closely as anyone you know. And I see a bunch of people scared shitless their balloon is going to burst and motivated to do something about it. Nowhere did I say ticket prices are going to be cut in half tomorrow. I said I think we've hit the tipping point.

Just as agents need to be convinced that teams will actually refuse to play and let decent players go without jobs, team need to be convinced people will decide enough is enough and do something else with their money. Economic forces are poised to cause both of these things to finally happen, which I believe will at least lead us toward deescalation of the whole thing.

We hear it all the time -- what are we headed for, $50 miilion-a-year players? $500 million payrolls? $200 bleacher seats? It can't escalate forever, so where does it stop? I'm saying maybe this is where it stops.

 

What do you think teams have lost in terms of franchise value? Is there anyone willing to buy a medium market or smaller MLB franchise for a price near it's 2005/6 value?

 

We might not know that for a while, because absent some kind of estate issue or something, it's tough to see anyone testing the franchise market right now. And so much of what has happened to salaries is predicated on the assumption of eventual franchise sale profit, if owners start to not be able to make that assumption anymore, a lot changes. The willingness to operate at an annual loss goes away.

We've seen individual teams try to cheap out and slash payroll while holding ticket prices steady, and the resulting backlash, but can the whole industry do that? Not everyone can make do with lesser players -- the good players are going to play, and they'll have to do so at reduced salaries, if this industry-wide financial pressure develops.

 

Bedard just heard about this, and his sprained ego will keep him out six to eight weeks, BYH.

 

Did Manny have 2 yrs, $40 million on his deal when he opted out last year?

 

# 8 years/$160M (2001-08), plus 2009-10 club options

* signed by Boston as free agent 12/00
* $16M signing bonus paid over 5 years
* 01:$13M, 02:$15.5M, 03:$18M, 04:$20.5M, 05:$20M, 06:$19M, 07:$18M, 08:$20M, 09:$20M club option, 10:$20M club option
* $1M bonus if traded
* $31M deferred ($3M in 2001, $4M each 2002-08) (paid out in 16 annual installments of $1.94M, 2011-2026)
* receives a no-trade clause if another Boston player receives one
* award bonuses: $75,000 for All Star selection; $0.1M for Silver Slugger; $0.15M for ALCS or WS MVP; $0.2M for 1st place in MVP voting,$0.125M for 2nd, $0.1M for 3rd, $75,000 for 4th (2005), $50,000 for 5th
* acquired by LA Dodgers in trade from Boston 7/31/08, with Red Sox paying remainder of Ramirez' 2008 salary (about $7M) and agreeing to eliminate 2009-10 club options in exchange for Ramirez not exercising right to block trade as 10-and-5 player