12
2012
Will Wright’s Extension Rank Up There With Some Of MLB’s Worst Deals?
An article by 
Nobody knows how much David Wright will ultimately get as Sandy Alderson and the third baseman try to come to a meaningful resolution on a contract extension that will keep in Flushing until as long as 2020.
What we do know is that Sandy Alderson said after the season that the negotiations will be quick, or he will begin navigating the trade waters.
A few days later, it was leaked that the front office wanted to get a deal with Wright signed before the World Series…
A couple of days after that Jon Heyman floated a number – $100 million dollars. Heyman said it was from a team source and that it was only a starting point…
He concluded it could take at least $132 million to keep Wright, but later that day Adam Rubin floated numbers ranging from $150-$160 million after speaking to a few MLB executives and GMs.
The numbers we are discussing here are mind boggling. While he toss around these astronomical numbers and try to figure out just how much it will take to keep David Wright in a Mets uniform, check out this piece from Athlon Sports who took a look at some worst contracts in major league baseball. These are just five, but check out the full article here.
1. Vernon Wells, Los Angeles Angels; 2 years and $42 million left on his deal.
Blue Jays general manger Alex Anthopoulos may never construct a playoff team, but his bosses were elated when he dumped this contract (originally seven years for $126 million). Not only did Anthopoulos save the club a ton of money, he got Mike Napoli and Juan Rivera in return. Wells is a great guy, but the reality is that he’s making over $20 million a year as a non-starter. Ouch. Wells has a combined .222 average and .667 OPS in his two seasons in Anaheim. Double ouch.2. Carl Crawford, Los Angeles Dodgers: 5 years and $106.8 million left on his deal.
The speedy outfielder was outstanding during his (Devil) Rays tenure, but Crawford has struggled mightily since leaving Tampa Bay. His 2011 campaign was a season-long slump in Boston, hitting .255 with 11 home runs in over 500 at-bats. With injuries cutting his 2012 season to 31 games, the Red Sox decided to dump their massive mistake on the Dodgers. Of course, that cost Boston Adrian Gonzalez as well. Maybe Crawford will regain his form on the west coast once healthy, but his Boston deal just looks awful at the current time.3. Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees: 5 years and $119 million left on his deal.
Obviously A-Rod was once the best player in baseball, and he’s a lock (barring a PED protest by the writers) for the Hall of Fame. However, Rodriguez’s last two years average out to 110 games played, a .274 batting average, 17 home runs and 60 RBIs. Astros/Diamondbacks third baseman Chris Johnson and his $495,000 salary matched those types of numbers this season. A-Rod turned 37 this summer and is just an average third baseman now. He can make additional bonuses should he reach all-time home run milestones, so this deal is a dud even with the Yankees’ deep pockets.4. Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels: 9 years, $228 million left on his deal.
The baseball world cringed when the Angels gave a 32-year-old first baseman a 10-year deal over the winter, and owner Arte Moreno was not counting on missing the postseason when he inked Pujols to such a large contract. King Albert’s final numbers were solid (.285, 30 home runs and 105 RBIs), but his slow start set a tone for an underachieving team that should have been better. We all know the slugger’s deal will become an albatross in a few years, but missing the playoffs in its cheapest year was not in the plans of Angels management.5. Jayson Werth, Washington Nationals: 5 years and $101.8 million left on his deal.
This oversized contract becomes easier to take with the Nationals’ pitching leading the team to the postseason. Baseball pundits screamed at Washington in December 2010 for signing a .272 hitting outfielder who had never driven in 100 runs to a seven-year, $126 million contract. Werth hit .232 and knocked in only 58 runs for the Nats in 2011, and he battled injuries and only totaled five homers (although he did hit .300 in his 81 games played) this season. Werth turns 34 next May, so the length of this deal is scary.
Other players that made their list include Alfonso Soriano, Joe Mauer, Ryan Howard, John Lackey, and Mark Teixeira. Somehow, Jason Bay avoided inclusion, but mostly because he enters the final year of his deal. Thankfully.
You know what’s scary about all these deals? That aside from Prince Albert, the majority of all the players in the Athlon piece were in their mid-to-late twenties when they signed their contracts.
David Wright will be 31 years old when he begins any deal he agrees to with the Mets. Furthermore is the fact that his best season was five years ago.
Something to think about to say the least…
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 30 | .583 | - |
| Phillies | 35 | 37 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Nationals | 34 | 36 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Mets | 27 | 40 | .403 | 12.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 48 | .314 | 19.0 |
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Will Wright’s Extension Rank Up There With Some Of MLB’s Worst Deals?
YES. but again, it all depends what he asks for. Again, the guy is on obvious decline, his 2nd half this year was no fluke, the guy has been terrible to say the least the past few second halves, as if he runs out of gas or something, not to mention, he has not being the same player since 2008. could be many things, from the stadium getting to his head, the pressure of being the man on the team, not having reyes and co protecting him in the lineup and in the media, etc.. Again, he had a good season and his value went up, trade the guy when his value is up before we commit to him and he ends up jason baying us for years to come.. Trade him no that his value is up.. For once this FO and the team should not be afraid to sell high.
But, but, but, Wright broke all of Eddie Kranepool’s records.
LMAO, the other day in the shoutbox me and DMets and Bayonne came up with the phrase when Wright strikes out with RISP, “We just got Kranepooled.”
Hey I want trademarked for saying “we got kranepooled”, since, well, I said it first.
Maniac, Hank came up with that phrase
Lmao… Well, i think we all know who would’ve hold the hit record right around august had the team decided to sign him.. With that being said you will find the legion of his fans finding this as a hate the man personally comment, just because we want what’s best for the franchise.
This team is rebuilding, and they don’t wanna admit it. If we sign this guy to an extension this year, the FO will get yet another pass during the offseason for not doing anything else, we can book that.. But if we trade our biggest chip for major league ready young players we can definately say 2014 will be our year to get ready to compete.. with this guy we won’t win anything…
I honestly don’t care about the hit record or loyalty to the team or life long Mets or captain or any other junk. IF they can make the team better without him so be it. If the team is better off with him than what they can bring in through trade or through FA, keep him. Seems pretty simple on the Mets end. Then it’s up to Wright.
Here’s the thing about bad contracts. They are only bad if they impact how the team can do business.
If Wright’s deal stops them from making other deals, then it’s a problem. Albert Pujols for example – his contract will never be an issue for LAA.
Wells was a problem for Toronto. There’s a difference.
Nope…
Wright wont ask for the moon…because he will go to a CONTENDER for LESS MONEY….
Wright can go to Baltimore on a 5 year 110 mil deal with a 6th year option for 25 mil and a 5 mil buyout…
Wright will be 31…that deal takes him to age 37….
in years 36-37, he can DH or switch to 1B…
He cant do that with the Mets…
Ike can hold down 1B
and there is no DH here…
Right now Jayson Werth and Crawford are neck and neck…with Barry Zito right behind them…
Unfortunately I would not be surprised to see the DH in both leagues within 5 years.
Please don’t say that, I hate American League baseball. I could never root for a team with a DH.
Same here.
Just say no to the DH.
Just_da: Here’s the thing though. You’re assuming that Wright can just hit the free agent market and get a 5/110 deal. You gotta start thinking like a client for a second.
First, the only way he hits the market is after the 2013 season right?
His value on an open market will be determined solely by his 2013 season at age 30. If you’re presented with an offer that secures you a job and solid money now – you probably take it. Because another Matt Cain, broken back, or 2nd half slump could easily happen in 2013 and your dreams of 5/110 go out the door.
Think about this okay. Jose Reyes was 28 years old when he hit the open market. He was coming off an NL batting title. He reportedly got 1 offer. Just 1. 5/102+4m buyout in 6th year which make no mistake if he’s in Miami he will be bought out.
If you’re David Wright – do you see that and say “thanks for the 6 year offer Mets but i’m gonna take my chances that atlanta or philly will offer me a better deal.”
You peg Baltimore as a landing spot – what about Manny Machado?
What if Baltimore is terrible next year? What if Atlanta lands a 3B via trade?
There are so many factors and you have to consider the whole scope.
I think the reason Wright wants to stay is because he has no idea what will happen in 2 years. There’s more in it for him and the Mets to just lock him up – because the Mets need to show everybody including players outside the organization that they CAN afford and appreciate their players and Wright needs to ensure the best possible deal for himself.
Cliff Lee chose Philly over NYY because he says they had a better chance at a winner. (nevermind their contract was better). Cliff Lee is watching CC Sabathia on tv this evening. You can’t always pick your contenders for the next 5 years.
Lee is a bad example as you just said. He just used the winner line to endear himself to the fans. He took the money, plain and simple. I still get riled when people say he took less money to play for a winner. Bullcrap.
Right but what I am saying is he did say he wanted to play for a winner and he’s sitting on the sidelines right now.
My point is a winner today may not be a winner 2 years from now. Saying as Just_Da_Damaja did that going to Baltimore because they are a contender – that could be false 12 months from now. You can’t risk hitting the open market 12 months from now because you want a “winner” when the potential winners may not need a 3B.
Arizona was a contender last year.
Yeah, a team like Baltimore may be here one day and gone the next. They would have to prove past this year that they are in it for the long haul instead of just a good story.
I wonder how much of Baltimore’s success this year is due to the weakness of the schedule due to their horrible season last year coupled with the decline of the Red Sox and Toronto?
And why i that?
Because thier two biggest bats were out of the lineup for most of the first half of the season and despite how far out of contention they were they still rallied (once those bats returned) to get into the Wildcard race WE gave up on in July despite being far ahead of them at the time.
Oh Please he took less money to play for the Phillies not a winner…
The Yankees were just as much winners as he was and he took the lower offer.
ummm…Reyes got an offer from a team that jumped on him literally at 12:01 AM after the world series…a team that was building up a super club in the market for Pujols….there were various reasons why Reyes jumped on the 1st offer…you are speculating that there wasnt any interest…
If Pujols resigned with the Cards on day 1 of the free-agent signing period…before he took any offers from any other club…one can say the cards were bidding against themselves OR that Pujols did not gather any interest from other clubs…
both statements would be inaccurate w/o knowing the full picture…
a picture you are speculating on
Hey…..I actually agree with you on this one…..he’ll take less elsewhere b/c he’s had it with these clowns and is smart enough not to trust them and doubts their ability to build a winning team.
Bromancer • 34 minutes ago
Matt. Riddle me this, then.
In that there is, without doubt, a very good case to be made for trading David Wright, why is it that we almost never see that presented? All we hear is he has to be extended.
Please explain in the context of your comment implying that you operate independent of any organizational influence or bias.
Matthew Cerrone MOD • 30 minutes ago
Because I want him to be extended and signed long term. So, that’s what I write about. If he rejects the Mets offer, I’ll probably reassess and start commenting from that reality. But, right now, he wants to stay, they want him to stay and (most important from a writer’s point of view) I want him to stay. So, that’s what I write about…
That’s why despite all my bans I always say MMO is the best Mets site, bar none. Can you believe Cerrone copped to that? He banned me and others because I once asked him if he had Wright posters all over his ceiling. I’m still prohibited from commenting there after 5 years.
Alex got banned for coining the phrase Matt’s Golden Boy.
Maniac, it’s not just here. Even as much as I am known as a Mets defender:
“http://realdirtymets.com/2012/09/24/so-i-already-traded-dickey-now-what/”
And no Metsie before you come running, this is not to drum interest for my site. It’s an older article now. Just saying that many Mets fans are considering the merit of trading Wright. Most all of us want the same thing for the Mets, WIN BABY.
When I say best, it’s not to knock other Mets sites including yours. I’m saying best compared to MetsBog and Unamazin Avenue which are totally biased sites and part of the big three.
Oh Maniac, I make no bones about the fact this is the best Mets site overall. Granted I love my site but I realize our place in the world. LOL.
Wow, just wow… the guy is an idiot we get that.. but just wow. This guy makes JesseP like an award winner article writer ..
Cerrone is a tool, he’s always had this love affair with wright, that is why most of us were banned, he couldn’t stand us beign objective and calling his boy toy a choker, that is why words like Unclutch, golden boy, all american and DW is not god send were banned from the blog and whoever would use it get ban.. go figure him sucking up to his idol. Thank god he didn’t ride shotgun with DW otherwise a scandal would’ve surrounded Citi Field…
Alex you still have a little bit of a misguided memory on why ALL of us were banned. It was because we were monopolizing the comment section discussing the same topics everyday and Cerrone was having to spend time dealing with it when he considered it a trivial part of the site.
If only the fans put as much effort into finding way to make the Mets winners as they do in finding excuses and reasons not to sign the few guys who actually get us the few wins we DO have each year….
It seems to me like some fans root for the Wilpon Finances more than for the baseball on the field!
Will you all break out the champaign and celebrate when the WIlpons are flush with cash again despite the fact we will win about 60 games all year?
Could care less about the Wilpons finances. All I care about is the Mets finances.
Until they’re in the red it appears the Wilpons either cannot or will not invest in this team.
*Until they’re in the black….
You seem to be having pronoun issues here…
Problem is MET finances and the Wilpon’s won’t invest until they are in the black…
Question what is the solution to the MET finances and what has Sandy done to correct that?
Has what he has done been successful?
What does a pronoun have to do with this conversation at all?
You said Wilpons finances. Wilpons finances are just fine. They’re still multi millionaires.
Mets finances are not fine.
Right but then go onto to say the Wilpons will not invest in the team which implies OUTSIDE money!
But businesses everyday take on NEW PRODUCT to increase revenue with the idea that the increase in revenue will cover the cost without any outside money being needed before the fact!
That concert you last went to promised the act they would get paid X amount of dollars without having to INVEST a cent. They then sold tickets to pay the act to perform and did not need to INVEST a penny to make the profit.
As I have stated time and again for every 160K of yearly attendance you net 20 Million dollars in revenue.
A guy like Beltran cost 12 Mil last year and could have drawn 160K more people (Maybe more!).
Net profit 8 Mil!
Not to mention all the extra money winning might add to the season ticket sales gain next year!
See that is where team and Wilpon finances do matter. An owner will not often invest his own money into a team unless he knows the return will actually be there. At this point with the Wilpons not as wealthy as before they are not willing to take the risk to invest the extra cash without some type of insurance that the return will be there.
No Owner invests his own money into the team!
This is the mistake you guys keep making because it’s more convenient to blame them than the GM who has done nothing in two years to help the problem and in most cvases of moves he has made actually made the PROBLEM worse!
Would Attendance have declined as it had is we had not let Reyes go or we re-signed Beltran?
Would we have lost a half a season of increased ticket sales and gotten knocked out of the playoffs in July if we had them or made a move to improve the team for the second half?
Convenience has nothing to do with it.
It’s about the money and nothing but the money.
Wilpons no longer have the lucrative Madoff accounts to partly fund this team. They want to hold onto it. They came dangerously close to losing it. Therefore, they obviously will not invest until some of the heavy debt has been cleared.
We might not like their plan but we’re stuck with it. Doesn’t look like they’re investing any of their own money for the team anytime soon. Therefore, if revenues do not pick up on their own – as in they manage to field a contending team despite penny pinching right now, we can all expect more of the same at least through 2013 and Bay/Johan contracts come off the books.
No one else has the Madoff fund to pay thier Salary yet they manage to sign and keep thier best players….
Sorry Srt the runaround to blame the Wilpons and Madoff for our lack of spending is not going to fly!
Did the Angels find a new ponzie scheme to help pay for Pujols?
Did the owners need to put up money to make the payroll?
Or did the attendance they netted from signing Pujols not only pay his salary but turned a profit that covers CJ Wilson’s money as well?
hey Metsie –
“Did the Angels find a new ponzie scheme to help pay for Pujols? Did the owners need to put up money to make the payroll? Or did the attendance they netted from signing Pujols not only pay his salary but turned a profit that covers CJ Wilson’s money as well?”
That is actually not factual either. The Angels landed a $3b tv deal on the heels of the Dodgers being in turmoil and Fox being nervous that they would not land any of the big sports teams after the Lakers signed with TimeWarner.
Moreno was in the right place at the right time and he knew he was about to bank a massive tv deal which gave him the luxury of spending more money on talent.
The LA Angels actually sold LESS tickets in 2012 than they did in 2011. 3.16million last year compared to 3.06m this year.
So technically Arte didn’t get a ponzi scheme to pay for the players – he just netted a guaranteed tv deal to do it
Yep and we all know the Mets are prohibited from making the same type of deals in the biggest TV market on the planet.
Maybe if we worried more about the baseball ont he field that we did about the Accounting ledger someone would pay us 3Bil to air our games!
DO you know how much the Angels increased thier Payroll this year compared to last year?
2.4 Million despite signing Pujols and Wilson!
‘Or did the attendance they netted from signing Pujols not only pay his salary but turned a profit that covers CJ Wilson’s money as well?’
It’s well documented that the Angels owners invested their money to a degree to bring some big contracts like Wilson and Pujols over there. They admitted they were banking on increased attendance as well as that big TV contract they’ve got coming up.
Y’all are just not getting this. The Wilpons were borrowing money right and left just to hold onto the team, bringing in minority investors, slashing payroll.
Can’t be repeated enough: they are unable or unwilling to invest any of their own money.
Take it up with them if you don’t like it. Don’t shoot the messenger.
How much of thier own money did they invest SRT….
Since it’s well known it should not be a problem to show how much they had to kick in to pay Pujols Salary….
And you and jessup should have a meeting because he seems to suggest it was a TV contract not the Owner’s money that paid that nut!
I have no clue, Metsie. I’m not even sure in any of the articles that they put the figure down.
It was just management boasting a little after acquiring Pujols on what a great deal they thought they made and a little bit trying to justify the $$ on that long term contract and why it wouldn’t matter going forward.
As I said, something about that TV deal they secured seemed to be the main reason they were pointing to, to quiet all the detractors that though that contract would hinder them going forward.
I don’t think that TV contract had kicked in yet when they signed Pujols.
I got the impression that was starting for the 2013 season, but I could be wrong on that. Don’t rightly remember.
You forget one thing….
Pujols didn’t get a 200+Mil check the day he signed either!
So the fact they didn’t have the TV check yet really isn’t an issue is it?
You know GUARANTEED money is coming in and will pay for GUARANTEED MONEY going out!
Neither profit, investment or personal finance was needed at all.
And there was no RISK knowing full well the TV contract covered everything they spent!
I just want to point out that you said “it’s well known how much they invested” yet you don’t know how much….
That flys as well known?
Not just that…but the returns on their Madoff investments which no longer exist were used to secure the rates they got on their loans to build the stadium…
the banks technically can reassess their loans based on those returns no longer being there…
of course the mets are DEF going to have their franchise reassessed to establish a new value.
The lack of long term contracts is really the team being prepped to sell…
I think they are going for the moon ( 3B or more )
They make their loot….
The league gets a new owner in NY after 30 years who is aiming at putting fannies back in the seats and more money in the revenue sharing pot
“the banks technically can reassess their loans”
Nope the rate is the rate and it only changes based on the paramters set at the time of the loan being made.
You can’t lose money someplace and have the interest on your existing loans go up.
The only thing that changes would be the current rate you might get on a NEW loan not an old one.
This year…
$110 million was used to pay off a portion of what was a $430 million debt against the team
$25 million was used to pay back Bud Selig’s MLB-backed loan to the Wilpons in 2010
$40 million satisfied a bridge loan from Bank of America.
$43.7 million was directed to bond payments on Citi Field due in June and December,
$20 million went toward a revenue-sharing bill
$20 million was paid in interest on a $450 million debt against SNY due in 2015
$20 million earmarked for leftover debt on the team, estimated to be $320 million.
What enrages me is that Sandy goes up there and tells us that Johan will cost the team 25mil ( A LIE )
So rather than direct their anger at the Wilpons for getting in over their heads…fans can now aim their anger at the players
and fans eat it up everytime
Sandy Alderson = well paid lawyer with a General Manager title
“25mil ( A LIE )”
Again, Johan is to get $25.5M in 2013. $5M gets deferred to at a compound interest rate of 1.25%.
You continue to struggle with this.
just, not sure I follow the logic. You clearly point out why the team has little to spend (IOW, where the money is going), and it seems to me most fans clearly point at the wilpons for that, not the players (which is not the same as pointing out that dead wood is dragging the roster down).
Fans always get down on players that get paid a lot but suck, figuring they are keeping the team from having better players for the money but it is always on the team if they can’t spend more (and of course, signed the guy in the first place!)
But Santana is going to cost them 25mill this year, since it is pretty much a lock they don’t pick up his option (or have it vest). They are counting the buyout because they have to write that check in 2013.
Deferred means….the team does not pay Johan that 5 mil in 2013…they pay that 5 mil in 2020 ( 7 years after service )
What Sandy is NOT telling the public…is that the mets have a boatload of contracts they negotiated from the mid-90′s all the way to 2008 that have DEFERRED contracts that were tied up in the Madoff accounts…
Now the Wilpons have to pay back all the interest due to Beltran, Saberhagen, Bonilla, Martinez, Santana, etc w/o the guarenteed interest rates they thought they were getting with Madoff…
So let me say this again….
THIS IS NOT SANDY’S FAULT…
Sandy is just here to navigate the mets through this financial/legal mess the WILPONS got the team into..and in the event the financial situation is worse
Just note:
Sandy is falsely stating that Johan will get 25 mil ( when at most its 20 )…
and completely neglecting to talk about the mountain of debt the mets have in deferred contracts that started in 1995 ( Saberhagen ) and ended in 2008 with K-Rod…
.Madoff was arrested on Dec 11th 2008….K-Rod was signed on Dec 14th 2008…
After Madoff was arrested..I noticed that the mets did not have any deferred compensation package for K-Rod…
they had been handing those out like hot cakes for years…
Sandy Alderson = the 2012 new and improved version of Al Harazin…
if u notice…the mets went from an old school baseball guy ( Cashen/Minaya ) to a lawyer who’s expertise was in legal/financial matters ( Harazin/Alderson )
funny how full circle these things go…
“Sandy is falsely stating that Johan will get 25 mil ( when at most its 20 )…”
At least you finally got the numbers right. Yes he will get paid no less than $20.5M. He stands to get paid $26M if he can’t make the option a player option.
You are getting hung up on semantics. His contract states he is scheduled to be paid $25.5M so saying this is not a lie as you say. As far as deferred goes it is something that other teams do as well and is something practiced with large contract signings.
How many large contract signings have the Mets had since KRod? One, Jason Bay. Not necessarily indicative of a trend meaning anything other than he did not get one.
Maybe after 1 or 2 large contract signings by the Mets down the road (hopefully at some point) we can see if they indeed have gotten away from it especially since it has been reported that the Mets if I recall correctly used to put that deferred money with Madoff and they can’t any longer. They can still use other options though like the other teams in MLB are using.
Sandy is counting all bonus’ Options in the year they are EARNED not paid.
People don’t seem to understand that the accounting can be done in different ways because while the contract says it is for the next season if the guy is not here he actually will get that money before the season ends.
If he were to PLAY the season he would get paid regularly over the course of the season. If you take the buyout you give him one check at the time he leaves (in most cases not all depends on how they do business) and be done with him.
Sandy has decided to count all payouts towards the year they got earned. And since the Buyout decision has to be determined before the next season has even begun, Sandy is counting it as 2013 money not 2014 expenses.
“Would Attendance have declined as it had is we had not let Reyes go or we re-signed Beltran?”
Yes.
2009 3,154,270 tickets sold
2010 2,559,738 tickets sold
2011 2,378,549 tickets sold
2012 2,242,803 tickets sold
I believe Reyes and Beltran were on the team in 2010 when tickets dropped over 500,000
Then again in 2011 when tickets dropped 181,000.
In fact as you’ll see. The ticket drop from 2011 to 2012 was LESS than the drops when they WERE on the team.
2009 – Banner year despite all the injuries and lack of winning (that should cover the WINS are the only thing that sells tickets line of bull)
2010 – Delgado gone, Beltran not expected to play, No 5th Starter
2011 – No Moves made in the offseason, Santana Hurt all year, Beltran Traded, Closer Traded.
2012 – Top Player in 2011 Reyes let go, Scrap Heap signings only. Top Player in 2009 and 2010 traded away for crap. Santana a question mark.
You believe Beltran was on the team in 2010 but at the time season tickets were sold it was already clear he would NOT be!
Don’t look now but Beltran (a guy you and your friends said was absoloutly DONE!) is currently in the playoffs as thier #2 RBI guy and #1 HR threat
most of those tickets were sold in the winter…
2009 winter..coming off a disasterous year where Wagner, K-Rod, Putz, Delgado, Santana, Beltran and Reyes and everyone not named Luis Castillo suffered season-ending and/or career-ending injuries…we have the most embarrasing year ever…and answer by adding Jason Bay !
this explains the drop-off in 2010….
2010 winter – 2011 …almost no drop-off in attendance from 10 into 11…we cut Omar…add Sandy…fans have a lil bit more faith…
11 winter …we lose Reyes…and Beltran….fans continue to buy less and less tickets…In the 2nd half…ACTUAL attendance is dramaticallly lower than the purchased amount of tickets this year….BY FAR….
what folks dont realize is that the small market teams DEPEND on the big market teams to draw…they all put their money in a big pot…
so when a team in a market of 12 million potential customers is not doing well financially…that owner has a window of time before he figures out how to get fans to come back and put some money back into that pot…
Putting money into the pot is the only concern Selig and the 29 other owners have…
In NYC….Winning = the safest way to ensure that money goes into that pot
You can have a team full of ex-convicts and murderers…and if they win 4 WS in a row, we will forgive them….
You can have a team full of squeaky choir boys…and if they end up in last place…we will not watch them….
its that simple
This.
Not rocket science.
No thats not rocke science it’s just plain and total bull!
As if the players like Beltran and Reyes being there were the reasons Attendance declined and not the fact they were NOT because we traded them away or let them go to fill in holes we have now added to the list of things we need to fill!
Before those guys left we needed a Catcher, a Power RH bat, and Bullpen.
Now we need Catcher, Power RH Bat, Bullpen, Closer, RF, CF and soon to include 3B to that list!
Because we are fllling holes you know!
THIS ___S…
in 2009 you can pin point the new stadium as the reason fans kept showing up, also fans kept tuning in to see santana pitch, and even up to june, the mets actually had afair shot
2010 santana was hurt all year, and Beltran was not around the first 4 months of the season, we had no clear shot at making the playoffs. add the fact that we falter after the break the reason why fans completely tune out.
2011 most our players were there, up until july when all stars were traded and even reyes got hurt for a good period. Fans finally tune out when the FO gave up on the season.
2012 we all knew att was gonna be down. no secrets here
Thank You Alex for pointing out the New Stadium as the draw in 2009 and the Wave Bye Bye to Shea as the reason for the bump in 2008!
Not even the 86ers with all their winning and dominance drew as many to the park as what came in 2008 to see Shea Stadium for the final time!
And 2009 was also inflated as people were curious to check out the new stadium.
If not for that inflation who can really say nthere would have been a decline at all!
the 700K difference between 2007 and 2009 is a result of two things:
1 – Citi holds fewer than Shea
2 – 2007 was a playoff run with a ton of great players signed and playing well.not to mention the fact it was the year following a playoff run!
And what is the solution we keep hearing from the Sandy side?
It’s the spending that killed us!
Yeah cause when we spent we turned a profit so Madoff funds were not needed and now that we have cut and the team loses money we can’t fix it because madoff isn’t available anymore!
Any port in a storm for these folks….Just as long as the Sandy ship is safe at port!
So now we are talking about how bad a contract is, that actually hasn’t happened and is all based on rumor? Just another thread to rehash the same regurgitated hatred and name calling that is done in every other thread?
Wow it’s going to be a LONG winter.
Hatred and name calling? Did I miss something?
[...] the article: Will Wright's Extension Rank Up There With … – Mets Merized Online © 2012 Agents [...]
Real quick let me point something out:
“Obviously A-Rod was once the best player in baseball, and he’s a lock (barring a PED protest by the writers) for the Hall of Fame. However, Rodriguez’s last two years average out to 110 games played, a .274 batting average, 17 home runs and 60 RBIs. Astros/Diamondbacks third baseman Chris Johnson and his $495,000 salary matched those types of numbers this season”
David wright has average 140 games per season while piling up this stat line”
290-18-82, and his salary has been $47 million… yeah, ask yourself if we wanna pay this man $16 million + per season the next 6 or 7 years just to watch him decline even more..
People can say what they want about A-Rods production but they almost lost thier playoff spot due to all the losing they did when he was out of the lineup.
Wait a minute….weren’t you one of the ones a few years ago willing to trade DWright for ARod straight up, contract and all?
Bottom line is these long 8-10 year contracts usually always end bad for the team on the back end. Rare is the player of Chipper’s caliber who even with that injury riddled body still produced and produced well when he could stay on the field.
I’ll be keeping my eyes on that Pujols contract. Angels didn’t fare too well this year. I think with all the money they spent, they managed just 3 more wins than last season.
And where are the Dodgers with the contracts they took on mid season? On the golf course with the rest of the losing teams.
Yeah.. again, Arod is a draw. he’s a superstar and by now the yankees have made more than what they spent on him wouldn’t you agree? they also got their money’s worth, after all, he did carry them to a WS championships and 9 playoffs app since being acquired in 2004…
Yankees are a special case, how many playoffs and WS do you think they would have made and won without him and spending that money other areas?
Key phrase….
SPENDING THE MONEY!
Could be that they wouldn’t have that money to spend if they didn’t spend it on A-Rod!
Who can say but the issue is still that they did SPEND THE MONEY, Made it all back and have never had a loss in the ledger and at the same time won and went to a lot of playoffs and World Series too!
I could be wrong but I thought I saw for 2011, Yankees lost a little money (4 MIL maybe?) and the Phillies were down 11 MIL.
I know Cashman has stated he’s committed to getting that Yankee payroll under 189 MIL next season so as to not have to pay the luxury tax. Even that organization is starting to realize you just can’t have a blank check book anymore. Especially with the new CBA rules on that luxury tax. It’s some horrendous tax penalty if you go over that luxury tax 2 years in a row now.
Lost little money?? WRONG… playoffs tickets and advertisement takes care of that.. also, don’t forget, if they win today (THEY WILL IMHO) Their profit will be even greater. so no, playoffs help gain money to any franchise, which the yankees do and use it to bring in many more good players..
Published reports following 2011 Alex, not 2012. Kind of hard to publish those numbers yet.
Attendance at their new stadium has been down both in 2010 and 2011, from an all time 10 year high in 2009. I’m sure the economy has something to do with that, plus the high ticket prices since they opened their new stadium.
And that’s with a competing team year after year.
Yes that was the stated amounts or roughly. I never did understand where they came up with it. Obviously the Yankee brand, which would be there with or without Arod is their biggest draw. Again, the Yankees are a special case. If you don’t win the Yankee fan doesn’t show up, period.
Which if you take away the luxury tax payout goes right back into the profit margin.
And the losses you think your seeing is not a loss merely a lesser profit than the year before.
They have declines in attendance the last three years….
90K from 2010 – 2011 (salary went down by 4 MIl)
90K 2011-2112 (not dine yet since they have playoff games to make up the balance) Payroll went down another 7 MIl.
They have reached a point where the Payroll can’t really go any higher due to the Tax ramifications and so have been less aggressive in Free Agency and as a result they have not had attendance increases as they have let some contracts expire.
For THEM some Salary reduction and removing bad contracts makes sense because they can maintain thier profitability but merely avoiding the Luxury Tax.
We have cut plenty and all it has affected is our Bottomline and Revenues. We draw less and with all the cuts we STILL have yet to turn a profit.
And if Attendance drops further it will wipe out all those monies due Bay and Santana you expect to start spending with and you will be stuck in that hole you dug with no way to get out of it!
Not sure how they can spend more in other areas…they pretty much go after the top player when they have a need for that position or not..
1B – Texiera
2B – they already have Cano
SS – they already have Jeter
C – they TRIED Mauer…they will never get a chance at Yadi Molina
SP – CC – highest paid SP of all time…and then they signed AJ to a disastrous contract…then they tried going after Cliff Lee to one up CC
all that was done WITH A-ROD’s contract on their books…
laughable as it may be…but w/o A-Rod in 2004-2009….who plays 3B for the Yankees?
The Yanks havent groomed a good 3B from the minors since Greg Nettles…lmao….
The Yanks havent groomed a good 1B from the minors since Don Mattingly…lmao….
The Yanks havent groomed a good CF from the minors since Bernie Williams
The Yanks havent groomed a good RF from the minors since….
well u get the point
I agree about ARod as a drawing card, initially.
However….have you read any of the Yankees game threads or blogs during Sep and this post season? Man….more than half those folks commenting seem to really hate ARod. If they could dump that contract on anyone they’d do it in a NY minute. They actually wanted him and Granderson benched for yesterday’s game. They were mostly cheering when they pinched hit for ARod again last night.
Bottom line is he’s worn out his welcome. When it comes down to it, fans want to see a winning team. ARod is the poster boy right now with the failure of offense for the Yankees, when it’s not just all about him. Swisher is like 0 for 35 with RISP, Granderson is on his way to setting a record on strikouts so far, Tex hasn’t gotten it done either, etc. etc. Seems like only Jeter is exempt b/c right now he’s one of the few that is at least getting on base.
They hate him right up until the time he hits a HR that wins them another Playoff game!
it’s a classic case of what have you done lately…
They had no issue with him when he was helping them retain thier lead in the division and lost when he got hurt and missed a ton of games.
Oh, from listening to MLBN and fans calling in, Tex is the next one they are going to hang out to dry.
Alex, David Wright is a draw too! Mets attendance has gone up four years in a row! Oops nevermind I was reading it upside down.
lmao, the only time you should associate draw and wright in the same sentence is when you talk about OBP as in drawing a walk will raise your OBP
LOL Mainiac….But ask yourself how much it would have gone down this year if we had traded him last offseason?
You have to admit he IS a draw but being the ONLY draw is not enough to maintain the attedance from when you had Beltran, K-Rod and Reyes winning games with Wright’s help.
A few things that stand out here is that if by mid 20′s one means (24, 25, 26) then none of the players mentioned in the Athlon article were in their mid 20′s. If by late 20′s one means (27, 28, 29) then out of the ten less than half fall in that category 4 to be more precise. From the 10 listed in that Athlon article six of them were either 31 or 32 on the Opening Day of the start of their contract.
*Alex Rodriguez was 32 on the Opening Day when his contract began.
*Albert Pujols was 32 on the Opening Day when his contract began.
*Ryan Howard was 32 on the Opening Day when his contract began.
(30 when he signed extension)
*Jayson Werth was 31 on the Opening Day when his contract began.
*Alfonso Soriano was 31 on the Opening Day when his contract began.
*John Lackey was 31 the Opening Day when his contract began.
*Vernon Wells was 29 on the Opening Day when his contract began.
(28 when he signed extension)
*Carl Crawford was 28 the Opening Day when his contract began.
*Mark Teixeira was 28 the Opening Day when his contract began.
*Joe Mauer was 27 the Opening Day when his contract began.
(27 when he signed extension)
As far as how Wright’s contracts will rank compared to the 10 listed I personally need to see what he signs for 1st and then once I know what the actual dollars and guaranteed years are I can form a better opinion because my opinion is it would not be smart to guarantee years beyond the age of 36 in regards to Wright.
Even then though I think taking a negative approach that it can possibly when all is said and done be among the worst is not how I would approach it since I think the smart move is to sign him to begin with.
In what qualifies as “stating the obvious” his health and play will be what determines how the contract is weighed and I believe Wright has shown enough right now where he is among the best 3B in MLB and with health I there is no reason for me to believe he can’t continue to be that heading into the future.
7 of those 9 position players have the option of going to the DH…
Mets have no such luck
There is no reason to believe they will need to.
The next CBA will include a National League DH and an international draft.
I agree that the DH in the NL is inevitable. Well, they could eliminate it in the AL in theory, but they have to standardize, and we all know the odds are 995 that the NL gets a DH.
Joe D. Nothing to worry about…..you keep forgetting that Fred W. said Wright will not be getting Carl Crawford money and Fred don’t lie!!
How ironic would it be if the Mets end up getting Carl Crawford from the Dodgers
I could see that if LA pays some of the loot and he proves to be healthy.
Sandy isn’t stupid and will not sign wright to a stupid contract.