Looks right now the talks have stopped between Pudge and the Marlins. The Marlins say their main priorities are Castillo and Lowell at the moment. They say talks might resume after Thanksgiving between Pudge and the Marlins. They have to make a contract offer before December 7th or they lose right to him and cannot sign him until May.

 

Hopefully the can sign all three back. If they do I will be one happy Marlins fan lol

 

Heres the Article Palm Beach Post Article

it also says Loria has approved a 60 million dollar Payroll..

Admin is a smart man, unlike some ignorant fools on this board.

 

Castillo is more of a priority than Pudge, and rightfuly so. Plain and simple.

Admin is a smart man, unlike some ignorant fools on this board.

 

Castillo is more of a priority than Pudge, and rightfuly so. Plain and simple.

Put me in the ignorant fool category then, Wild Card. I agree that I'd rather have Castillo than Pudge because the odds of Castro being a capable replacement are better than us finding a replacement at 2B. But we don't have a December 7th deadline with Castillo. We have that deadline with Pudge. Because of baseball's free agency rules, if we don't sign him by the 7th, he's gone.

 

And what is this priority stuff? Beinfest can't multitask? Or is he essentially saying that we have the money for Castillo OR Pudge but not both.

Or is he essentially saying that we have the money for Castillo OR Pudge but not both.

That's what I would guess.

 

But I'm sure he's dealing with multiple trade offers (Lee, Encarnacion, Penny...) and talking to some other free agents as well.

It's inconceivable that, when you take everything into consideration including ticket sales, PR and onfield play, that Luis, who I love, is more valuable to the team in'04 than Pudge. Luis, as great as he is, is not going to sell one additional season tocket while having Pudge fronting for the Marlins '04 means millions in revenue at the gate.

 

If the Marlins could sign Pudge for one year, even at another $10 mil I suspect they'd jump at the chance. The problem may be how to justify $8+/- mil a year on a MULTI-YEAR deal. Once they have stadium financing wrapped up Pudge's value decreases regardless of his onfield play.

 

Years ago personal services contracts were all the rage in professional sports, I can't say that I know whether they are currently prohibited under the MLB collective bargaining agreement. I do know though, that an ad campaign built around Pudge's heroics in '03 will energize the fan base and were it me, I'd be looking to use dollars slated for advertising/PR to pay a portion of his salary.

It's inconceivable that, when you take everything into consideration including ticket sales, PR and onfield play, that Luis, who I love, is more valuable to the team in'04 than Pudge. Luis, as great as he is, is not going to sell one additional season tocket while having Pudge fronting for the Marlins '04 means millions in revenue at the gate.

 

If the Marlins could sign Pudge for one year, even at another $10 mil I suspect they'd jump at the chance. The problem may be how to justify $8+/- mil a year on a MULTI-YEAR deal. Once they have stadium financing wrapped up Pudge's value decreases regardless of his onfield play.

 

Years ago personal services contracts were all the rage in professional sports, I can't say that I know whether they are currently prohibited under the MLB collective bargaining agreement. I do know though, that an ad campaign built around Pudge's heroics in '03 will energize the fan base and were it me, I'd be looking to use dollars slated for advertising/PR to pay a portion of his salary.

Excellent post indeed, Marlins2003. As an ignorant fan according to more enlightened members here, I believe Pudge is vital to our success on and off the field next season. You can argue that Castillo is younger and maybe a little bit cheaper, but Pudge was our clutch player in the 03 season...whenever we needed a hit, Pudge was there...whenever we needed someone covering the plate, Pudge was there...whenever we needed someone to catch a runner in third base and end a possible rally, PUdge was there! Resigning Pude would send a message to the community: we are committed to our fans, and we are committed to winning. AS simple as that...keep Pudge and the dream stays alive!

Admin is a smart man, unlike some ignorant fools on this board.

Can you try and make a point without putting down others? Thanks.

 

If Pudge wants too much, then I see no problem with cutting off communication and locking up everyone else. Have to move on before we lose more than just Pudge.

South Florida fans will not only come out to see a winner. They really don't care if Pudge, Palmeiro, or any other Latin American ballplayer is out there. Its all about winning.

The Marlins set aside $1 million for advertising in 2003.

Admin is a smart man, unlike some ignorant fools on this board.

Can you try and make a point without putting down others? Thanks.

 

If Pudge wants too much, then I see no problem with cutting off communication and locking up everyone else. Have to move on before we lose more than just Pudge. Shamrock pretty much summed it up. e hit it right on the nail.

 

South Florida fans will not only come out to see a winner. They really don't care if Pudge, Palmeiro, or any other Latin American ballplayer is out there. Its all about winning.

 

Exactly. Winning draws crowds, not players (example: Pudge in '03). Castillo gives this team the best chance to win, not Pudge. That's it. That's the bottom line. Not to mention that Cabrera could prosper as our 3-hole hitter in '04.

Sham, while I agree that people are more willing to come out to see winning baseball I think you underestimate Pudge's marketing value in this market, not to mention the field day the Herald and the Marlins-loathers in the market will have as they proclaim how Loria "dismantled" the team after all.

 

Can't you just see the Herald headlines now "Loria Lied", "Champs Burned, firesale continues..." etc ad nauseum. You can kiss away any chance of getting a stadium and possibly worse.

Despite all that 2003, if the Marlins keep tying up money in players so that every year it doesn't look like we are firesaling then we would heap up contracts like Wilson's and Johnson's so fast we'd be screwed for 10 years. Bottom line is if the team is winning south Florida fans could care less who is playing. We already have new, younger stars on the rise in Beckett, Castro (hopefully), Willis, and Cabrera, so bringing back Pudge may intially hurt us in the media but our onfield product stands to get better or least stay status quo.

Geez, everyone, it is very simple. The Marlins can only afford to carry a few multi-year contracts because of their financial constraints - i.e. no good revenue deal. The Marlins feel Castillo is more vital to this team's success NEXT year than Pudge. I agree - because Castro is more capable in replacing Pudge than any 2B out there on the market will replace Castillo.

 

Pudge isnt even the best FA catcher on the market! Lopez is going to set the market - and he isnt going to sign til well after Dec. 7 because no team wants to sign him before that AND lose a draft pick. There isnt ANY offers out there for Pudge right now either. We are the only team available. Boras can take what we offer (and he wont) or wait until after Dec. 7th to get the same deal from another team or less - far less.

 

But in terms of priority, Castillo has more importance than Pudge and a deal has already been proposed, as far as I know, to Pudge. The Marlins are working with a limited budget and can only sign those they need. I dont think Pudge will be back, and from a marketing perspective we wont lose a whole lot because we are world champs and the appearance will remain so provided that we re-sign the core of this team.

As soon as one player walks from the team, Loria is going to be labeled as the Dismantler. That's human nature.

It isn't human nature, it is WQAM/The Miami Herald slandering this team further without cause and of course once more the Marlins shall prove them wrong. They will never learn and that is why the Herald's circulation is so bad and WQAM's ratings for non-play-by-play programming is lower than a corpse's pulse.

Despite all that 2003, if the Marlins keep tying up money in players so that every year it doesn't look like we are firesaling then we would heap up contracts like Wilson's and Johnson's so fast we'd be screwed for 10 years. Bottom line is if the team is winning south Florida fans could care less who is playing. We already have new, younger stars on the rise in Beckett, Castro (hopefully), Willis, and Cabrera, so bringing back Pudge may intially hurt us in the media but our onfield product stands to get better or least stay status quo.

 

As you and I often say, let's agree to disagree.

Roger good buddy.

 

 

I'm very interested in what the media will say after one of our big time guys gets traded, non-tendered, whatever. If they come out with a major bash the Marlins ownership/FO theme than we know that without a doubt they have a serious vendetta against the ownership/FO and want to see them fail. If they don't take into account that basically the ENTIRE league is downsizing with the exception of a few teams (Phils, Yanks, Angels, Mets if mo stays away, Dodgers, Orioles) then it becomes obvious to me what they are doing.