Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Who Said It?

"What concerns us the most at the moment is the free-agency signings that have been occurring the last 90 days and could take baseball out of control."

Yep.

posted by Chris Needham at 10:50 PM

13 Comments:

  • I think he's right. Did you see what some fool is willing to pay Tony Womack!?

    By Blogger Harper, at 1/23/2007 11:34 PM  

  • I heard he was looking to reinstate the reserve clause as well.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/24/2007 7:52 AM  

  • player restraints as to payroll

    Me. And my bully cousin, Salary Cap. He's off at juvie, but the family tries to bring him home every few years.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/24/2007 9:24 AM  

  • There's a flip side to every coin. Look at how Redskins owner Dan Snyder throws tons of money to sign free agents has worked out. The Redskins are the most expensive ticket in the NFL and have nothing to show for it. NFL players around the league know if they want to get paid big bucks they better take Dan Snyder's phone call. I really don't want the same thing for the Nats.

    Do you want to pay outrageous ticket prices and $35 parking fees to see the Nats? I don't and appreciate Lerner's fiscal restraint in that regard.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/24/2007 9:31 AM  

  • That's assuming that there's no middle ground, which is a silly belief. You can sign reasonable free agents (which we will do at some point) without going crazy.

    Plus, a comparison to football isn't quite accurate either, as the need for a cohesive offense and defensive unit can make bringing in individual pieces more difficult than in baseball -- which is basically a series of one on one confrontations.

    ___

    Also, I'd hold off on praising the restraint of the Nats until you see the price of seats at the new barn! ;)

    By Blogger Chris Needham, at 1/24/2007 9:35 AM  

  • I use the Snyder/Redskins analogy as a generalization of how any pro sports franchise can spend tons money on players and coaches and achieve little in return. Certainly there is a middle ground and I'm frustrated as a season ticket holder at the way the Lerners are throwing in the towel before the 2007 season gets started.

    It seems to me Lerner/Kasten/Bowden are determined to rebuild the team from the ground up by developing a secure foundation in the minors. Whereas the Skins draft/develop talent then let it go to other teams via free agency while at the same time over paying another team's free agent.

    When a team spends the kind of money the Skins or the Yankees spend the people who have to foot the bill are the ticket holders. Along with ticket increases comes food, beverages, and parking increases. I don't want the Lerners to ruin the franchise the way Snyder has ruined the Skins. Snyder being an extreme case in point.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/24/2007 10:28 AM  

  • Lerner's definition of an extravagant free agent signing is spending anything over $750,000.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/24/2007 11:20 AM  

  • I am beginning to get the feeling that even the lemmings on the Nat's blogs, the rose colored glasses crowd, are finally going to figure out something I have been saying since last June----that Ted Lerner is tighter than a bull's ass at fly time.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 1/24/2007 11:28 AM  

  • Who you talking about, Phil? :-)

    By Blogger Cathy, at 1/24/2007 11:37 AM  

  • Show me the FA signing this offseason that would have made sense had the Nats made the same offer? Gil Meche? Would you be happy if we had Meche for 5 years $55 mil? Hey, we're spending!

    We won't know if they are tightwads until the time comes when we're a player or two away and we have to overpay for them. Right now, they are having just the kind of offseason they should be having.

    By Blogger traderkirk, at 1/24/2007 11:41 AM  

  • Enough with fucking Gil Meche. One GM makes a dumbass mistake, and it doesn't mean that FA is completely terrible.

    Here's a list of good pitching contracts this offseason:

    Greg Maddux, Vicente Padilla, whatever Jeff Weaver is going to sign for, El Duque, Ohka, John Thomson... just a few. There are others.

    No, not all of those would have made sense for the team, but I'm sick of the party line that just because the Royals had to overpay to bring Meche to KC that nobody should ever sign Free Agents. It's a strawman that needs to be beaten to a pulp, pissed on, then burnt, and the ashes scattered to various continents and buried deep in the earth in concrete vaults.

    You're right that this offseason probably isn't the fairest one to judge the Nats with. But what's distressing with Lerner's statement is the "out of control" portion of it, which is going to raise doubts about whether they'll ever make the high fiscal commitment to secure a premium free agent. (And don't say @#$# Sid Bream)

    By Blogger Chris Needham, at 1/24/2007 11:47 AM  

  • What I don't like is the constant referring to the dynamics of the 2006/07 free agent market. It serves no other purpose than to stir the tired argument whether or not they are cheap.

    In the end, they may be cheap. But for the love of all that's holy the Lerners, Kasten, Bowden, et al need to stop whining about it.

    By Blogger Brian, at 1/24/2007 12:00 PM  

  • Amen on that last part.

    It's one thing to say that now isn't the right time in the team's cycle to pursue free agents.

    It's another to say that FA are the root of all evil.

    They do need to STFU with the second part.

    By Blogger Chris Needham, at 1/24/2007 12:05 PM  

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