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Running Baseball Hot Stove Thread

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Armchair_QB, Nov 1, 2010.

  1. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    Jays sign Jose Bautista to a 5 year $65 million deal.

    Stephen Brunt's take on it:

    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/baseball/jays-swing-for-fences-in-bautista-deal/article1912172/

    Were his major-league-leading 54 home runs last year a fluke or the beginning of a trend? Was it a one-off, or the first evidence of the real Jose Bautista, having found a home and playing for an organization that gave him a chance to fully exploit his gifts? Is he now one of the game’s elite offensive players?

    There’s the gamble in a nutshell.

    Even taking into account that, given his age, at some point during the contract Bautista will be a diminishing asset, the Jays may have just locked up a superstar for less than superstar money.

    Or they may have just way overpaid for a journeyman.
     
  2. Della9250

    Della9250 Well-Known Member

    I would have gone to arbitration and made Bautista at least put together back-to-back seasons before giving him that deal. If he would have been a straight free agent after a 54 homer season, I'd understand it.

    But his history says more fluke that breakout.
     
  3. Steak Snabler

    Steak Snabler Well-Known Member

    I don't know. There's enough evidence to suggest that Bautista has made an adjustment to his swing to turn from a line-drive hitter to a power hitter. He hit 10 homers in the last month of the 2009 season, so he's got a longer track record than just one year.

    Do I think he hits 54 homers again? No. But even if he loses 20 homers off last year's total, he's worth that amount of money.
     
  4. Della9250

    Della9250 Well-Known Member

    OK then, I'll pay the 10.5 mil Bautista wanted in arbitration for a year and a month of production and see if he can do it again before guaranteeing 14 million a year for his age 31-34 seasons if 2010 was a fluke.

    He's a career .244 hitter and that's after he hit .260 last year. He hit 48 percent of his career home runs in a sixth-month span. Color me not convinced.
     
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