as much as i love pudge, to tell you the truth, if we had to pay him $27M for 3 years, i think we're better off without him.

Does nobody other than me disagree with this? That's a bargain. We paid him 10 mil this year, and he was worth it. Will his play drop off in three years? Maybe, but we still should get at least two good seasons out of him. no we payed him 3 and the rest is deferred

If we trade Pudge we are in big trouble. We will lose our number 3 hitter that got us to the World Series and lead this team. He was awesome, after coming back from injuries everyone expected him to do bad! Loria Needs to sign him quick because there are other teams waiting for him....

For your information we cannot trade Pudge simply because he is a free agent. Free agents do not get traded... but they sign with somebody else... :whistle And Loria has until Nov 10 to work out a deal with Pudge, that's when other teams can begin negotiations.

Well, I'm not worried about his age. He'll be 32, 33, and 34 the next three seasons. His play hasn't really shown any signs of slipping. I would guess that if you adjusted for the park, his numbers this year were on a par with some of his best seasons. And, just looking through some Hall of Fame catchers to see when they began to fall apart:

 

Yogi Berra - started sucking when he was 37

Roy Campanella - started sucking when he was 34.

Johnny Bench - never really sucked, but his play fell off some beginning at 34

Carlton Fisk - started sucking at 42.

 

You can disagree if you want about the age of suckage, but I think it's pretty clear in each case. Also, Bench got injured during the season before he fell off, so that might explain the decline in his play.

 

If Pudge is like these guys, worst case scenario is he isn't quite the same player in the third year of the contract. I still think 9-10 mil a season is a bargain for this kind of player.

I know this is an unpopular view, but I think we're better off letting Pudge go. I don't think the fish can afford him anyway. Castro is ready, and will do well. The offense will fine without him. He hit ok, but not really much better statistically than Lee did for the regular season.

 

Marlins fans aren't used to having star players, and so aren't used to letting them go. LIke Cliff Floyd, and Preston Wilson.

 

I don't think it makes sense for any baseball reasons to sign Pudge long term. PR is the only reason I can think of that makes any sense. It's time to let him go. He's going to try to find a monster contract. That money can be better spent on other players.

I know this is an unpopular view, but I think we're better off letting Pudge go. I don't think the fish can afford him anyway. Castro is ready, and will do well. The offense will fine without him. He hit ok, but not really much better statistically than Lee did for the regular season.

 

Marlins fans aren't used to having star players, and so aren't used to letting them go. LIke Cliff Floyd, and Preston Wilson.

 

I don't think it makes sense for any baseball reasons to sign Pudge long term. PR is the only reason I can think of that makes any sense. It's time to let him go. He's going to try to find a monster contract. That money can be better spent on other players.

you're 100% correct. the team has a better chance to win games without him.

 

the only problem is, the bandwagoners will get discouraged and not come to games. it's pretty easy for a fan to get discouraged when he sees his best player go... that's why they should keep him. otherwise it would reek of fire sale.

If Pudge wants anything more than 9 mil a year, we have to let him walk. End of story. Ideally, we get him for 3 years at 24-27 millions dollars. If he won't sign that deal, let him go and use the money to keep somebody (or plural) else. The fan perception is a big deal, but if we break the bank to keep him, lose too many guys, and win 75 games, they won't be there anyway.

I know this is an unpopular view, but I think we're better off letting Pudge go. I don't think the fish can afford him anyway. Castro is ready, and will do well. The offense will fine without him. He hit ok, but not really much better statistically than Lee did for the regular season.

Please, don't compare what has no point of comparison. Do not compare Derreck Lee and Pudge Rodriguez. One is an excellent first-basemen who can't hit in scoring situations; the other is simply the best catcher of our generation offensively and defensively speaking. One is a guy who starts hitting coming Spetember, the other is a sure-bet Hall of Famer. People say that keeping Pudge is a PR move. I would say it is both a baseball and a PR move. The guy set the tone to our offense the whole year behind the "rabbits." Who are you going to replace him with, Derreck Lee? :w00t

I don't get all this PR stuff. Keeping Pudge at $9 mil is not a PR move. It's a smart baseball move. You don't just tear the heart and center of your team out and expect to be okay.

 

What was the biggest difference between the World Champion Marlins and the previous year's sub-.500 Marlins? It wasn't Pierre, or Willis, or Cabrera...it was Pudge. I don't think we really need to argue this point, but if you want to, I certainly can. Quite simply, as Pudge went this season, so went the Marlins. When he sucked early on, so did we. When he got hot, the Marlins got hot. What do you think is going to happen if he's gone completely?

 

And Ramon Castro? What do we really know about Ramon Castro? We don't even know if he'll be a free man. Yeah, he's got a little power, but my personal feeling is this guy hits .220 as an every day hitter. Pitchers don't know where his weaknesses are yet, but it's pretty apparent from watching him swing the bat that he does have weaknesses.

 

Pudge's price tag shouldn't be that much different than Lee's. Maybe a $2 mil difference. I'm one of Lee's biggest supporters, and at no point during the season did I get down on him, but to me it's pretty clear that the extra 2 million for Pudge is worth it.

Forget wishing that Pudge stays. I'd rather wish for Booras to get hit by a truck. Lecherous, parasitic, pus-filled chancre on the a** of modern sports that he is.

Rumor had it he was getting ready to dump Boras on his asss & work the deal himself with Florida.

 

Didn't help Boras that he all but took credit for Pudge's midseason hot streak. I have heard the same thing - and Pudge would negotiate the deal himself. Apparently, he did so as a Ranger years ago to stay with that team. He now has a World Series ring, an NLCS MVP and in a city that loves him AND makes him feel at home. I dont see him going anywhere else, and he has already stated that money does not matter so much. I think we get a 3-4 year deal done at about 10MM per. Maybe even some backloaded pay with the impending stadium...?

What was the biggest difference between the World Champion Marlins and the previous year's sub-.500 Marlins? It wasn't Pierre, or Willis, or Cabrera...it was Pudge.

i disagree

 

if you take 1 of them out of the mix, we arent as good.... its not just Pudge

 

and imo, if Pudge asks for anything mnore than $7mil, you let him go..... he would be getting his deferred money on top of that anyway