Jan. 8 -- The market for Rodriguez has slowed to the point that the Tigers and Rodriguez have shown mutual interest, according to reports published Thursday. One report in The Sporting News suggested the Tigers could be the only team actively interested.

But Tigers president/GM Dave Dombrowski downplayed any speculation about Rodriguez, saying that while they're keeping an eye on the market, including that for Rodriguez, it's not a priority matter. At this point, Detroit is prepared to go into the 2004 season with Brandon Inge as the starter.

This is old news

Pudge, welcome to Loserville usa ( he's either going to chicago or detroit, what's the difference)

 

Take that 500 million yen contract for the japanese sushi makers, if all you care about is money

he is getting what he deserves.

What goes around comes around.

 

It's called charma, and Pudge just discovered it.

karma.

all this "he's gonna get whats comin to him!!" stuff is baloney.

 

he turned down 3 yrs $28 mil from the O's, and i'm sure he'll have no problem finding someone who offers significantly more than what we offered.

 

if he doesn't, he'll take a 1 year deal from a dark horse team (there ARE a lot of teams in baseball, you know) for mega bucks and come back next year.

 

either way, it's not like he'll be jobless in april, and it's not like he's going to be playing in japan.

all this "he's gonna get whats comin to him!!" stuff is baloney.

 

he turned down 3 yrs $28 mil from the O's, and i'm sure he'll have no problem finding someone who offers significantly more than what we offered.

 

if he doesn't, he'll take a 1 year deal from a dark horse team (there ARE a lot of teams in baseball, you know) for mega bucks and come back next year.

 

either way, it's not like he'll be jobless in april, and it's not like he's going to be playing in japan.

OK, I'm going to disagree here big time. I do believe that he'll probably take a one year deal from a team like the Tigers, but he is obviously is having a hard time finding someone to offer "significantly more than what we offered" because if he could, he'd sign by now. There's an expression that you marry first for love, and then for money: Pudge got his love fest in Texas and here, now he's all about the money; he'd play for the D-Rays if they offer him $10 million. What I'm saying is that he's not being picky about "winning a championship," he's already got that, so at this point, it's all about the money, but there's no one willing to give it to him...

all this "he's gonna get whats comin to him!!" stuff is baloney.

 

he turned down 3 yrs $28 mil from the O's, and i'm sure he'll have no problem finding someone who offers significantly more than what we offered.

 

if he doesn't, he'll take a 1 year deal from a dark horse team (there ARE a lot of teams in baseball, you know) for mega bucks and come back next year.

 

either way, it's not like he'll be jobless in april, and it's not like he's going to be playing in japan.

That's what I thought at first too, but the more teams drop out of the bidding for his service and the more days go by, I start to wonder......

Bad things like this happen to greedy bastards like Pudge.

 

My comments on the situation: :lol :lol :lol

I do believe that he'll probably take a one year deal from a team like the Tigers, but he is obviously is having a hard time finding someone to offer "significantly more than what we offered" because if he could, he'd sign by now.

the O's already offered him 3 years / $28 million. i consider that "significantly more" than our offer of 2 years @ $16 million plus a 3rd year vesting option that could have potentially pushed the total to $24 million.

 

if he takes a multiyear deal, i think it'll be notably more than the pittance we could offer him.

 

at the same time, he obviously isn't going to get 4 years $40 million or anything close to that. that's just boras' negotiating bit.

all this "he's gonna get whats comin to him!!" stuff is baloney.

 

he turned down 3 yrs $28 mil from the O's, and i'm sure he'll have no problem finding someone who offers significantly more than what we offered.

 

if he doesn't, he'll take a 1 year deal from a dark horse team (there ARE a lot of teams in baseball, you know) for mega bucks and come back next year.

 

either way, it's not like he'll be jobless in april, and it's not like he's going to be playing in japan.

Yeah, we'll see. Perhaps I will have to eat crow, but no way Pudge is going to get even $10M for one year, unless it is in Japan. He'll get no more than $8M/yr, and will be fortunate to get a multi-year contract.

I do believe that he'll probably take a one year deal from a team like the Tigers, but he is obviously is having a hard time finding someone to offer "significantly more than what we offered" because if he could, he'd sign by now.

the O's already offered him 3 years / $28 million. i consider that "significantly more" than our offer of 2 years @ $16 million plus a 3rd year vesting option that could have potentially pushed the total to $24 million.

 

if he takes a multiyear deal, i think it'll be notably more than the pittance we could offer him.

 

at the same time, he obviously isn't going to get 4 years $40 million or anything close to that. that's just boras' negotiating bit. The reported last offer from the Fish was 3/24 (guranteed). And, I believe this to be true.

 

The 2/16 with options was on the table well in advance of the deadline. If the Fish/Boras/Pudge went into negotiations for hours till 11:59:59 PM at the deadline, a much better offer was on the table.

 

Who knows, if even the fish offered a 4th year as an option or not.

Welcome to the new age of MLB economics. The days of A-Rod/Kevin Brown/Albert Belle-type contracts are over. These days, only the really super players with years ahead of them can get the big-ish offers. Others like Pudge and Palmeiro would have to virtually work for food. LOL

The reported last offer from the Fish was 3/24 (guranteed). And, I believe this to be true.

 

The 2/16 with options was on the table well in advance of the deadline. If the Fish/Boras/Pudge went into negotiations for hours till 11:59:59 PM at the deadline, a much better offer was on the table.

 

Who knows, if even the fish offered a 4th year as an option or not.

actually, there were conflicting reports over what the final offer was exactly, although the vast majority pinned it at 2 / $16M plus a vesting 3rd year that would potentially make it $24M. the offer you referred to that was previously "on the table" varied anywhere from 3/20 to 2/14 to 2/16, though there was no 3rd year option in any case. it is believed that the additional option year was offered right before the deadline (like with castillo). judging from the amount of articles i read about the negotiations and the reliability of the sources, i think it's much more likely that this was the final offer rather than 3 / $24 guaranteed. in fact, not a single news report that said his offer was "worth" an estimated 3 / $24 used the word "guaranteed", so i have very reasonable doubts about that assessment.

 

also, there clearly was no offer for a 4th year option. nothing at all would indicate that, and beinfest's own comments would refute that, so it's pretty safe to say there wasn't one. obviously none of us know what really went on, so we're just guessing and relying on inside sources quoted in published reports.

 

anyways, i'm a news geek and i'd rather not argue those fine points with you, but for the sake of this discussion, i would say that a guaranteed $28 million is significantly higher offer than a guaranteed $24 million.

 

we were trying to get him at somewhat of a discount. even javy lopez got 3 / 22.5 guaranteed PLUS substantial incentives, so there's no reason to believe pudge wouldn't get offered much more than that in a multiyear deal. not every team in MLB is broke and unable to make such offers, especially for the greatest catcher of all time.

 

that being said, as the number of big name contenders starts to drop, i think it's likely that pudge will look less favorably on the new teams that present him with offers. if detroit offered him 4 years $36 million, i'm not convinced he would take it just because he'd rather not be locked away on a noncontender. i'm glad that it's becoming more and more likely that he will decide to take a 1 year deal and try the market again next year. not only does he fail at getting a multiyear deal on a contender, but it also gives us a shot at him next year.

I'm a big proponent of the adage "those who live in hope often die in despair" BUT that said, I continue to believe there is a chance that Pudge will wind up catching for the Fish again in 2004. Say all you want about Castro and Redmond but if the market continues to be soft for his services expect Pudge to re-sign for at least one more season with the Marlins, perhaps one year and $9 million.

 

If it does happen then Castro (or Redmond) become big-time tradebait come the first trading deadline which plays out well for the Fish.

 

A longshot? you betcha ya. Would I bet on it? No, never. But the possibility exists and the longer this thing plays out the better our chances of seeing Pudge behind the plate in 2004.

 

Stranger things have happened.

he turned down 3 yrs $28 mil from the O's

I don't think that this number is accurate. I heard the Orioles made the same offer to Pudge as to Javy. I know that ESPN has since reported the 3/28 number, but I seriously doubt the veracity of the report. As the deal was close to being finalized, every report I heard or read maintained that Pudge and Javy were both offered the same deal and whoever accepted it first would be signed. This is what I found from the Washington Post, dated Dec. 21:

 

With no other teams making serious runs at either catcher, the Orioles assumed the agents' usual strategy of playing one suitor against another. They made twin three-year offers to both players and told them they would sign the first one to accept their offer.

 

Rodriguez told a Miami television station Thursday that the Orioles had offered him a four-year deal; the Orioles denied the offer and, upset at what they viewed as a negotiating ploy to scare Lopez into signing elsewhere, turned their attention to Lopez.

 

As the negotiations heated up late this week and into the weekend, the Orioles increased their original offer to Lopez of three years and $18 million.

 

Link to full text

 

It is possible that they increased the 3/18 offer for Pudge, too. But by 10 mill? And at a time when their opinion of Pudge was soured by his shenanigans? I doubt it.

 

Could it be that the 3/28 figure is another product of Boras's spin machine? :headscratch

I don't think that this number accurate. I heard the Orioles made the same offer to Pudge as to Javy. I know that ESPN has since reported the 3/28 number, but I seriously doubt the veracity of the report. As the deal was close to being finalized, every report I heard or read maintained that Pudge and Javy were both offered the same deal and whoever accepted it first would be signed. This is what I found at Washington Post from Dec. 21:

 

With no other teams making serious runs at either catcher, the Orioles assumed the agents' usual strategy of playing one suitor against another. They made twin three-year offers to both players and told them they would sign the first one to accept their offer.

 

Rodriguez told a Miami television station Thursday that the Orioles had offered him a four-year deal; the Orioles denied the offer and, upset at what they viewed as a negotiating ploy to scare Lopez into signing elsewhere, turned their attention to Lopez.

 

As the negotiations heated up late this week and into the weekend, the Orioles increased their original offer to Lopez of three years and $18 million.

 

Link to full text

 

It is possible that they increased the 3/18 offer for Pudge, too. But by 10 mill? And at a time when their opinion of Pudge was soured by his shenanigans? I doubt it.

 

Could it be that the 3/28 figure is another product of Boras's spin machine? :headscratch I think you're right about that offer not being true, because if Alkazoid is going to say that our 3/$24 mil isn't true because of a conflicting report, then the same can be said for the Orioles offer. Personally, if that offer (the O's one) was indeed on the table and BorAss told Pudge that he could do better, then that man needs to be brought up on malpractice charges. Not a single one of his marquee clients (Pudge, Maddux, Milwood) have successfully negotiated a contract this offseason; Milwood had to settle for arby...

I don't think that this number accurate. I heard the Orioles made the same offer to Pudge as to Javy. I know that ESPN has since reported the 3/28 number, but I seriously doubt the veracity of the report. As the deal was close to being finalized, every report I heard or read maintained that Pudge and Javy were both offered the same deal and whoever accepted it first would be signed. This is what I found at Washington Post from Dec. 21:

 

With no other teams making serious runs at either catcher, the Orioles assumed the agents' usual strategy of playing one suitor against another. They made twin three-year offers to both players and told them they would sign the first one to accept their offer.

 

Rodriguez told a Miami television station Thursday that the Orioles had offered him a four-year deal; the Orioles denied the offer and, upset at what they viewed as a negotiating ploy to scare Lopez into signing elsewhere, turned their attention to Lopez.

 

As the negotiations heated up late this week and into the weekend, the Orioles increased their original offer to Lopez of three years and $18 million.

 

Link to full text

 

It is possible that they increased the 3/18 offer for Pudge, too. But by 10 mill? And at a time when their opinion of Pudge was soured by his shenanigans? I doubt it.

 

Could it be that the 3/28 figure is another product of Boras's spin machine? :headscratch I think you're right about that offer not being true, because if Alkazoid is going to say that our 3/$24 mil isn't true because of a conflicting report, then the same can be said for the Orioles offer. Personally, if that offer (the O's one) was indeed on the table and BorAss told Pudge that he could do better, then that man needs to be brought up on malpractice charges. Not a single one of his marquee clients (Pudge, Maddux, Milwood) have successfully negotiated a contract this offseason; Milwood had to settle for arby... exactly, no one here can confirm the 3/28 offer from the O's. That why I said "reported" offer.

lol, i can imagine Pudge as a tiger. He should of tooken our offer even though i still think it wasnt much what we offered him. But we needed him, now we have to put Castro/Redmond to catch.

lol, i can imagine Pudge as a tiger. He should of tooken our offer even though i still think it wasnt much what we offered him. But we needed him, now we have to put Castro/Redmond to catch.

Not to defend Pudge although I guess I am, when you have a family, especially with kids, your perspective regarding money changes. I don't fault the guy for trying to get what he wanted, I lay the blame closer to the feet of his agent who advised/convinced him the market was there for his services at a price point that wasn't reasonable.

Not to defend Pudge although I guess I am, when you have a family, especially with kids, your perspective regarding money changes.

Oh yeah, because a 3 year deal for ONLY 7 or 8 MILLION dollars a year really isn't enough money

 

Pudge is a greedy bastard who should have resigned with the Marlins, who were offering him too much money in the first place, and now he's getting what he deserves on the FA market.

Not to defend Pudge although I guess I am, when you have a family, especially with kids, your perspective regarding money changes.

Oh yeah, because a 3 year deal for ONLY 7 or 8 MILLION dollars a year really isn't enough money

 

Pudge is a greedy bastard who should have resigned with the Marlins, who were offering him too much money in the first place, and now he's getting what he deserves on the FA market.

I agree with everything you said except that he's a "greedy b*stard". He should have re-signed. He was offered more than he was intrinsically worth in this soft market and he's getting what he deserves. But latter three don't make the first one true.

he did the same thing last year and wound up winning a world series ring