my advice to the youth of the board...

 

stop smoking the weed.

i think u should save that remarkk for offtopic oh now YOU are telling me what to do?

 

this coming from a child who named himself after body hair.

 

why dont you just mind your business and go find yourself some "Yale Groupies"

 

keep "Ballin" FOO Come on KJC....

 

Don't hate, participate :thumbup

dont hate the playa hate the game...

I can't see Vlad accepting an offer from us. Besides, we don't exactly run the Marlins' management, who I don't expect to make an offer to any major free agent. Our current policy is to contain as many of our players from last year as possible. We're not going to get Vlad. I'd be willing to bet money on it. It's just a fantasy that won't happen. I mean, we could have said the same thing about Thome last year, or A-Rod a few years before. THEORETICALLY we can get anybody. In reality, it's just not feasible. There are more factors to consider that we aren't aware of.

who I don't expect to make an offer to any major free agent.

expect it

Can I have an estimate on the years/money it will take for the marlins to realistically sign vlad?

even if they get him for a one year deal ( sound familiar? ) its still worth it.

Im still sticking with my $13mil per

this board still thinks we will make a run for Vlad. . .

 

Explain to me how? If we keep Lowell, forget about Vlad

 

Or is Lowell a goner?

I don't know about "this board" but this poster feels that the status of the Vlad deal is the same as it was before this trade. Non existent. I can't see the Marlins tying up that much payroll for one player. It is too important to keep quality pitching to spend a lot of money on one player.

 

I think after Manny in Boston, and ARod in Texas, lots of baseball people are going to shy away from the one big superstar contracts. Especially small market teams. It just doesn't make any sense at all.

 

One of the deep pocket teams will sign Vlad. I don't think anybody in the Marlins organization ever looked at this as a realistic possibility.

Wrong, Keys. The market is almost non existent for Vlad. I dont know if you have been reading, but the NY teams arent even considering offering a deal to Vlad because they dont want to drive his price up. Teams are no longer going out and signing those big $20M + contracts because of A Rod, Ramirez. I dont see Vlad getting more than $10-15M per year.

 

Should the Marlins commit all that money to one player - that is the debate. Last year, I showed stats that demonstrated a relationship between a team's payroll and winning. A team that dedicated more than 15% to one player gained greater risk in losing than other teams. That may prove no different here, but to tell you the truth, if you can work out a deal for Vlad you do it. He is one of the best players in ALL of baseball.

 

The market is not what it seems for Vlad (Yanks offered to Sheff) and the Marlins are going to free up a lot of payroll. I dont see how you can dismiss the possibility - because I have tried.

Something else for you Vlad doubters to chew on - from ESPN Insider:

 

In the winter of 2000, when players and agents were driving the free-agent bus, Jeff Moorad shopped Manny Ramirez in full view of an ESPN camera crew. The mini-documentary, "Manny's $160 Million Adventure," featured a telephone conversation between Moorad and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, who unwittingly expressed interest in Ramirez while the cameras were rolling.

 

"Now we've got our 300-pound gorilla," Moorad said, as he hung up the phone.

 

Moorad was just adhering to Chapter 1, Rule 1 of the agents' handbook: When the objective is negotiating the best possible deal for a star, it pays to get the New York teams involved as quickly as possible.

 

Times have changed. In a free-agent market this slow, no agent would be cocky enough to put a courtship on public display. And gorillas, regardless of their weight, don't look so menacing these days.

 

Vladimir Guerrero is the only player young, talented and accomplished enough to set the standard for free agents this winter, and so far, New York isn't biting. The Mets are afraid to overspend for anyone after getting burned by so many big contracts. And when agent Fernando Cuza called Cashman and told him Guerrero was looking for an eight-year contract, Cashman privately bailed. Then he publicly bailed.

 

"He's a 27-year-old premier free-agent outfielder, and I've got a lot of guys on very large contracts," Cashman told Insider. "Not that we're not interested in Vladimir Guerrero, but our current commitments negate us from being a player on him."

 

 

Vladimir Guerrero hasn't been able to get the Mets or Yankees to help drive up his price.

Ironically, Gary Sheffield, who is going sans agent this winter, had a nice fling in the New York papers last week through his Tampa-Doc Gooden connection. It actually helps Sheffield's cause that he's 35 and in no position to ask for a deal beyond two or three years.

 

Guerrero, in contrast, is picking the wrong time to be seeking a contract through 2010 or 2011. He might also be the wrong guy. To this point, he's generated incredibly little buzz for a player of his ability.

 

"He's always played extremely hard, but when you invest that much money in a player, what extra things can you expect as far as media appeal and leadership?" said an American League executive. "For that amount of money, to what extent are you now a part owner in the franchise, not just a guy who plays hard at 7:05?"

 

An American League assistant GM said Cuza might be wise to try to engage the Yankees in a dialogue about a short-term deal, just to inject the New York element and build some momentum. Cuza didn't return calls seeking comment.

 

While Cashman would prefer to make his personnel decisions in a vacuum, there's always the George Steinbrenner factor to consider. But even Steinbrenner might be wary, now that teams, not players, finally have the leverage, of letting agents and players use the Yankees to jack up their price.

 

"Brian realizes what people are trying to do to him," the assistant GM said. "He's not oblivious to it. But he can afford to have flexibility when he has options. It's different when George tells him, 'Brian, you absolutely need to get this guy. You can't lose him.' Then Brian can't be seen in the paper as saying, 'We'll take a pass.' "

 

Most baseball people continue to insist that Guerrero is too shy and withdrawn to thrive in New York. Would Baltimore or Los Angeles be better fits? Perhaps. Now the word floating around is that Guerrero's mother will play a pivotal role in his decision, and she's wary of him going to the big city.

 

Cashman, for one, doesn't buy the notion that Guerrero is temperamentally unsuited to succeed in New York.

 

"Jimmy Key came in from Alabama," Cashman said. "Don Mattingly came from rural Indiana. Paul O'Neill came from Cincinnati. And they all kicked a** here. Bobby Bonilla is from the Bronx and struggled mightily in this town. So who's to say who can handle things and tough it out here, and who can't? It's a crapshoot."

 

Unless Guerrero's demands drop -- at least in terms of length of contract -- the Yankees are basing their decision to pass strictly on economics. For now, at least, the 300-pound gorilla is sitting this one out.

that article looks strangely familiar, jonny

 

http://www.marlinbaseball.com/forums/index...showtopic=10285