December 21, 200322 yr Marlins signed Benitez and Burnett to a one-year deals and Alex Gonzalez to a two-year deal. Non-tendered Looper, Almanza, Borland, and tendered Penny and Pavano.
December 21, 200322 yr "Ding-dong, Almanza's gone!" :thumbup :killthemall :killthemall :killthemall :killthemall :killthemall :killthemall :killthemall :killthemall :killthemall :killthemall :killthemall :killthemall
December 21, 200322 yr Posted on Sun, Dec. 21, 2003 Marlins sign Benitez, fail to offer Looper contract TIM REYNOLDS Associated Press MIAMI - Armando Benitez agreed to a $3.5 million, one-year contract with the Florida Marlins late Saturday, a move which prompted the team not to offer a deal to former closer Braden Looper. Benitez had 21 saves last season for the New York Mets before being traded to the Yankees in July. The Yankees sent him to Seattle three weeks later. The signing is contingent on Benitez passing a physical, Marlins spokesman Steve Copses said. The right-hander was the Mets' closer since 1999, saving 160 games in 185 chances and representing the Mets on the 2003 All-Star team. He blew six of his 10 postseason save chances while with the Mets, a major league record. Florida also signed right-hander A.J. Burnett to a $2.5 million, one-year deal, and shortstop Alex Gonzalez to a $6.2 million, two-year contract before Saturday's midnight deadline to offer deals to arbitration-eligible players. Starting pitchers Brad Penny and Carl Pavano were tendered contracts by the deadline, Copses said, and would likely be going to arbitration. Relievers Armando Almanza and Toby Borland were not offered deals and became free agents. Looper converted 28 of 34 save chances for the Marlins last season, during which he was 6-4 with a 3.68 ERA in 74 games. He was stellar before the All-Star break, going 4-2 with a 2.28 ERA and closed out 17 of his 20 save chances. But after the Marlins acquired Ugueth Urbina on July 11, Looper - perhaps sensing correctly that his role was in jeopardy - struggled. He was 2-2 with a 6.14 ERA after the All-Star break, and opponents batted .291 against him, 44 points higher than they managed pre-break. In the postseason, he was 2-0 with one save and an ERA of 5.14. Gonzalez hit .256 with 18 home runs and 77 RBIs last season, but was wildly inconsistent. On June 20, Gonzalez was hitting .328 with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs, while striking out only 37 times. But in his final 83 games of the regular season, he hit just .192 with six homers, 27 RBIs and 69 strikeouts. The offensive struggles continued in the postseason, with Gonzalez hitting only .161 with 16 strikeouts in 62 at-bats. With one swing, though, he atoned for many problems; a walk-off home run in Game 4 of the World Series gave the Marlins a 4-3, 12-inning win and provided them with a boost of momentum that carried them through Games 5 and 6 to clinch the title. Penny was 14-10 with a 4.13 ERA in 32 starts last season for Florida, getting 138 strikeouts against only 56 walks in 196 1-3 innings. He won both of his starts against the Yankees in the World Series, and went 3-1 overall during the postseason. Pavano was 12-13 for Florida last season, but flourished in the pitcher-friendly Pro Player Stadium, going 9-4 with a 3.44 ERA in the Marlins' home park - more than two runs lower than his road ERA. And in the postseason, he was 2-0 in eight appearances (two starts), with a team-best 1.40 ERA. He held the Yankees to one run in eight innings in Game 4 of the World Series, easily handling the pressure of both baseball's biggest stage and opposing Roger Clemens in what is expected to be the six-time Cy Young winner's final start.
December 21, 200322 yr It's on floridamarlins.com Benitez Signs Doesn't give an amount though. Overall, good news..... they let Almanza walk also....
December 21, 200322 yr even though most of you seem to not like benitez, i certainly do and im really happy we picked up a big name and a great closer i hope we can work out some long term deals for the pitchers though
December 21, 200322 yr Damn 3.5 seems like alot of money for Benitez. Oh well better give it to Benitez than Looper. Now I hope Benitez wins the Rolaids relief award and that we sign a couple more relivers.
December 21, 200322 yr even though most of you seem to not like benitez, i certainly do and im really happy we picked up a big name and a great closer i hope we can work out some long term deals for the pitchers though Hey, I have no problem with Benitez, I think he's way better than Looper.
December 21, 200322 yr I like the moves. Benitez is going to do well here as long as he keeps in McKeon's good side and does his job. P.S.: Benitez better use the K.I.S.S. method to close- Keep It Simple Stupid! Don't get cute, just get them out.
December 21, 200322 yr Marlins2003 payroll figures are looking real accurate after these moves....we should be left with a couple more million to spend and we're done
December 21, 200322 yr Damn 3.5 seems like alot of money for Benitez. Oh well better give it to Benitez than Looper. Now I hope Benitez wins the Rolaids relief award and that we sign a couple more relivers. While $3.5M seems high for Benitez, it is quite a discount from his $6.9 last season. A combined ERA at 2.96 isn't too shabby either. Looks like a good move.
December 21, 200322 yr Philly's pen shall falter. The Phillies aren't credited with inventing the art of losing for nothin'.
December 21, 200322 yr good move. great move... puts us back in competition with Philly's pen Not sure about that. Wagner >> Benitez Worrell > Fox
December 21, 200322 yr Bullpen as of right now should be. Armando Benitez Chad Fox A.J Burnett-should do the Morris for a year IMO Mike Neu ???? ???? ???? ???? I would for these spots to be filled with a package of the following. Scott Sauerbeck-is a must for me Matt Mantei-slim to zero chance but with him in our pen will be just as good as the Phillies Scott Williamson Byung-Hyun Kim-maybe to expensive Braden Looper-at 2mil but nothing more Frank Gracesqui-lefty in our system might be ready Mike Flannery-righty in our sytem don't think is ready Terry Adams Mike Dejean Danys Baez-versatile and will welcome a fellow Cuban who can pitch on my team
December 21, 200322 yr Look, for all the talk about the Phillies upgraded pen, I'm still not scared of them. They didn't do anything to address their offensive problems. I went to a lot of Marlins/Phils games last year, and while Mesa/Williams blew their fair share of saves, I noticed that they had a real hard time scoring runs late in the game. To me, they needed one more impact bat, not a loaded bullpen. Their pen is scary good and with Worrell and Wagner it becomes a 7 inning game with them, but they just made something they had better, they didn't improve where they needed to. Go ahead and bash me, but I still say if the Phillies had added another quality bat they'd be more of a threat than adding Wagner and Worrell.
December 21, 200322 yr Bullpen as of right now should be. Armando Benitez Chad Fox A.J Burnett-should do the Morris for a year IMO Mike Neu ???? ???? ???? ???? I would for these spots to be filled with a package of the following. Scott Sauerbeck-is a must for me Matt Mantei-slim to zero chance but with him in our pen will be just as good as the Phillies Scott Williamson Byung-Hyun Kim-maybe to expensive Braden Looper-at 2mil but nothing more Frank Gracesqui-lefty in our system might be ready Mike Flannery-righty in our sytem don't think is ready Terry Adams Mike Dejean Danys Baez-versatile and will welcome a fellow Cuban who can pitch on my team I think Baez is a real option. Saurbeck is going to be a Cub, I think a deal has been worked out between the two sides, at least that's what the ESPN board was saying, but I agree, if he's available, he is a MUST with Thome/Abreu/JD Drew/Floyd all in the NL East, we need a lefty specialist...
December 21, 200322 yr I think Baez is a real option. Saurbeck is going to be a Cub, I think a deal has been worked out between the two sides, at least that's what the ESPN board was saying, but I agree, if he's available, he is a MUST with Thome/Abreu/JD Drew/Floyd all in the NL East, we need a lefty specialist... He can sign with the Cubs but he won't get traded to them because he was non-tendered a contract today by the Red Sox's
December 21, 200322 yr I think Baez is a real option. Saurbeck is going to be a Cub, I think a deal has been worked out between the two sides, at least that's what the ESPN board was saying, but I agree, if he's available, he is a MUST with Thome/Abreu/JD Drew/Floyd all in the NL East, we need a lefty specialist... He can sign with the Cubs but he won't get traded to them because he was non-tendered a contract today by the Red Sox's yup, I thought he was tendered, my bad. He is a damn near must sign in my opinion...
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.