3
2013
The Other Side Of Multi-Year Free Agent Deals
An article by 
There is this idea that gets floated around every winter that if you do not sign top free agents, you’re punting the off-season or playing (wait for it) “moneyball.”
In most instances, a free agent hits the market toward the end of his prime years. You’re purchasing an unknown commodity that is likely overpriced and will depreciate the second the deal is done.
There’s no doubt in my mind that free agent signings play a key role in completing a team. However, what I stand firm on is that you do not build a team through free agency. More and more we’re seeing teams lock up their young talent until their early 30’s. Why is that?
The homegrown team wants to get the most bang for their buck. A player (generally speaking) is at their best prior to 31, 32 years old. There’s always going to be instances when you extend homegrown talent past that age. David Wright isn’t the first guy to get a contract that will take him past his prime years.
But what about free agency? I think at times people mistake the lack of interest in spending money on free agents for a desire to not spend any money. That’s not the case at all. If you have $100 million to spend, why do you have to spend it all on aging players?
Why can’t some of that money get invested into the minor leagues, development, scouting and the international market? The problem for executives is that fans can actually see the money being spent when it’s spent on the open market. They cannot see it when it’s invested in the international market until many years down the road.
I wanted to see the success rate of multi-year free agents so I went back to the pre-07 season and focused on the next 5 years. We’ll use ESPN’s Top 50 Free Agents as our research tool.
To take it 1 step further, we will eliminate any player who re-signed with his former team. So yes, this lets GM’s off the hook who may or may not have signed a lefty with control problems.
Finally, as stated above, I’m looking at multi-year deals only.
So we’re talking about roughly $3.2 billion guaranteed to 86 players. So did it pay off?
How do you measure whether a free agents contract paid off or not? Team performance better than the year prior? Overall performance at the level it was prior to the contract? Making the playoffs? I know there are some statistics out there that say a player’s performance was worth X. Frankly, I hardly ever see a player’s performance worth what they are paid.
It’s a very tough measurement because you have to decide what you’re willing to give up for immediate success. For example, Alfonso Soriano signed an 8 year deal. For the first two years of that deal, the Cubs made the playoffs – yet they haven’t since. Also it seems like the Cubs are always in the business of trying to dump him. So, I can’t really say that deal paid off.
If I were to look at the 86 players honestly, I’d say the only ones I wouldn’t be upset about as a fan of that team would be:
Daisuke Matsuzaka ($52m/6yrs with Boston) – Even though it didn’t end well at all, it was a shot worth taking. His 2007 and 2008 seasons were very good, and he pitched in the World Series for the Red Sox. Dice K finished Top 5 in the Cy Young in 2008.
J.D. Drew ($70m/5yrs with Boston) – Again, Drew was on a championship team and filled an outfield need adequately for the majority of his contract.
Torii Hunter ($90m/5 years with LAA) – Hunter became a clubhouse leader in Anaheim and performed to expectations throughout his contract.
Mark Teixeira ($180m/8yrs with NYY) – They won a World Series, and he’s one of the best 1B in the game.
C.C. Sabathia ($161m/7yrs with NYY) – Though he opted out to get more money, the Yankees still got the ace they needed to win a title.
Derek Lowe ($60m/4yrs with ATL) – The end wasn’t pretty but when you compare him to Oliver Perez it just goes to show you how good of a signing this was. Lowe won 31 games in his first two years of this deal.
Adam Dunn ($20m/2yrs with WSH) – An average of 38HR with 104 RBI gets you on this list.
Francisco Cordero ($46m/4yrs with CIN) – Gave them a legitimate closer during the length of his deal before getting dealt in the final year.
Francisco Rodriguez ($37m/3yrs with NYM) – Obviously the vesting option could have drastically altered my view of this deal. While K-Rod gave many heart attacks, he was worth getting.
Jeremy Affeldt ($8m/2yrs with SF) – Has become a top reliever in the game.
Edgar Renteria ($18.5m/2yrs with SF) – Tough to leave a World Series MVP off this list.
Raul Ibanez ($31.5m/3yrs with PHI) – He wasn’t brilliant but his .798 OPS at his age proved adequate for what Philadelphia needed out of LF.
Aroldis Chapman ($30.25m/6yrs with CIN) – I don’t think I need to explain.
Randy Wolf ($29.75m/3yrs with MIL) – He was released in the final year of his contract but in the first two he went 26-22 with a 3.93 ERA in 67 starts.
Jose Valverde ($14m/2yrs with DET) – He re-upped after the 2011 year, and while that turned out to be a disaster, he was still one of the best closers during the first two years.
Cliff Lee ($120m/5yrs with PHI) – You know, this contract still hasn’t brought Philadelphia the 2nd title they desperately wanted, but it’s hard for me to say this wasn’t a good idea.
Adrian Beltre ($96m/6yrs with TEX) – Still one of the best 3B in the league.
Victor Martinez ($50m/4yrs with DET) – The forgotten Tiger. I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt right now because his 2011 season was very good.
Rafael Soriano ($35m/2yrs with NYY) – Essentially this move saved their 2012 season.
J.J. Putz ($10m/2yrs with ARI) – Sure wasn’t the Putz we saw here in New York. 117 appearances with a 2.48 ERA and 77 Saves.
The contracts not worth the money or years have high profile names like Crawford, Soriano, Zito, Lee, Burnett, Lackey and yes of course, Jason Bay. Combined that’s $735million.
Overall, I found 20 multi-year free agent deals that I’d have a hard time labeling as anything but a good idea. That leaves 66 players who signed multi-year deals where the negative outweighs any positive they bring to the table. That’s just over $2billion that could have been spent elsewhere.
So while free agents represent something shiny and new for teams and fans, they are far from a guarantee.
The game is changing into a game played by younger players. Buying aging talent on an open market no longer appears to be the answer when trying to build your team back up to a respectable level.
All free agency does is give fans and teams a quick fix, while in most cases ignoring the bigger picture until the hole you’ve dug yourself in is so great, that you’re trading a reigning Cy Young winner.
About the Author: Michael J. Branda
My time with MMO began in July of 2009 when I wrote a Fan Post defending Omar Minaya (before it was cool to do that.) I grew up a Mets fan with the mid 1980's teams. My favorite Met of all-time is (and was) Wally Backman. When it comes to sabermetrics versus old school thinking, I like to think I meet in the middle. I believe thinking of new ways to get answers is helpful, especially when the same way has not produced results. However, I think over-thinking certain situations can get you into trouble. I'm excited for the new regime, because I believe they have pieces in place to focus on several aspects of the Mets organization. I've waited this long for a World Series, waiting a few more years for another chance isn't going to kill me.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 23 | 18 | .561 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 19 | .548 | 0.5 |
| Phillies | 20 | 22 | .476 | 3.5 |
| Mets | 16 | 23 | .410 | 6.0 |
| Marlins | 11 | 31 | .262 | 12.5 |
Last updated: 05/18/2013
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I more I read from you, the more obvious to me it becomes, that you’re one of the very few writers that understands you can’t just spend to spend…or to make fans happy, when you have a 100 mill payroll.
Not in this market, not when your team is more then just a few players away from contention.
Why not, if the team can’t compete, invest in the development side of the franchise?
Good post.
Jessep,
Good post. I’m not yet sold on whether they are investing as much as needed in the farm…the Wilpons have a ling history of short-changing that facet of the operation. Also, the do need to spend something on the big leagure roster. They gave several holes that can be filled affordably by competent MLB-caliber players. Otherwise, why should we spend anything on the 2013 product?
List looks good but does this include players who signed last year? How can you judge one year in? Jury is out on Reyes, Pujols, and Fielder but they all had good years last year albeit below their previous years production. Plus where is Matt Holiday. Clean up hitter on 2011 world champs and a consistent force in the lineup
I would agree Holiday deserves to be on the list however that could change as he hits 33, 34, 35. But thus far, good deal for the Cards.
Fielder already was a good move for the Tigers since he helped put them in the WS. Reyes and Pujols are too early to tell since they are only 1 year into the deal. Personally, I dont hold much hope for either contract.
the butt-end of the Pujols deal will be an absolute disaster, as A-Rod’s will be for the Yankees.
which is weird to say because we’re talking about the best right-handed hitter that we’ve ever seen.
But if it gets them a ring or two, it could be worth it.
Could say the same thing about half of the other guys on the list with respect to Holiday. Very few perform every year over the course of the contract. Texeira being a prime example. Agree on Pujols but Reyes is cheap compared to recent signings and is a top 3 at his posiiton and isnt even thirty yet. Will only get better in Toronto with all the protection in that lineup and for the first time he plays in a hitters park. Potential AL MVP this year
Also missing Kyle Lohse
Hi jon – I didn’t included any pre-2012 free agent signings for that reason.
Oh also, Matt Holiday resigned with the team he was on when his contract expired. Which was why he wasn’t on the list. Which is also why players like Castillo or Ollie P were not on the list.
I was looking at teams investing in unknown commodity’s
you are right . thanks
So which side are the Mets investing in?
The Jeffy Wilpon Trust Fund…
oh boy. the sh*t just hit the fan.
Or maybe this site is what it’s always said it was – one that espouses all views – and this just happens to be one view you subscribe to?
The shit as you say always hits the fan here, and it’s because it’s the one site that all Met fans flock to unlike other niche sites where everyone gets along and plays nice.
but Jessep, carelessly overspending should be no worry. this is New York.
I mean, the Yankees do it.
(is there a sarcasm font on this site?)
Who ever condoned spending frivolously? I think the majority of fans see the Mets as the only team that has yet to spend any money on a major league free-agent and are wondering why? Are the Mets in such a great position that there is nobody in the free-agent market that can help? This team has more holes than a golf course.
would they have been any happier if the mets had re-signed Torres? He would have qualified.
Andres Torres was a bust, so I don’t think fans would have been happy with that signing.
Right. so just not signing a ML FA is really not relevant, since a bunch of the ones signed 9especially cheaper) were not particularly good.
“Who ever condoned spending frivolously?”
No one condones sending frivolously. Not intentionally, anyway. People just don’t realize that is what they are asking for. When you confront them with it, they run to the whole “Kansas City Mets” fallacy.
How can you unintentionally support frivolous spending? Oh and I like the Kansas City Mets dig….nice one
When you don’t look at what you are actually saying. When you wonder “why oh why aren’t we in the running for all these free agents” after a guy like Pagan gets $40 million or Victorino gets similar money.
Outside of BJ Upton, there really wasn’t anyone who filled enough needs without hurting us someplace else.When you are fondly remembering the days of $140 million payrolls…and still not making the playoffs.
When you say “well, prospects are no guarantee” after we just cut Jason Bay.
When you are more caught up with looking like a “big market” team than actually being a winning team.
You can try and claim we look like the Kansas City Mets, but at least it isa change of pace from being the New York Cubs.
I know exactly what I was saying, but you seem to want to twist my words and try to apply specific unintended meaning so you can try and flex your might in the comment section…its been awhile since I posted on MMO so I forgot that everyone who comments is a baseball expert on this site..anyone who reads a Bill James book thinks they know everything about baseball. Everyone else’s opinions are wrong.
I don’t twist words. I take statements to their logical conclusions. Just because you didn’t fully think it out doesn’t make me the problem.
“anyone who reads a Bill James book thinks they know everything about baseball. ”
And that is just plain lying.
Taking someone’s statements to what you perceive to be logical conclusions are, in fact, twisting their words. For instance in my post earlier:
- my comment about the Royals and Pirates – you twisted it into something negative when all I was trying to do was paint a cautionary tale of how rebuilding can be a trap if teams are not careful. I don’t want to see that happen to the Mets and if they don’t sign free-agents to mesh with the young talent then the rebuilding process will fail.
- my comment about the Mets not signing any major league free-agents – you twisted into me saying I want the Mets to spend and spend and spend which is not what I meant. What I meant was that the team has holes to fill, and some money to spend, and they could have used some of that money to address those needs. I didn’t expect them to sign Josh Hamilton, but it is kinda ridiculous that the Mets are the only team yet to sing a MLFA. Why are we waiting until 2014 when we may be able to compete in 2013? It makes no sense. The team is not far away – a couple of more consistent bats in the lineup and the Mets could contend if the pitching staff pitches the way they are capable of. There is no way the team can be successful on just rebuilding alone. Nobody has ever won a World Series like that – not in the days when free-agency existed anyway.
ahh…Ahhh…AHHH BULLSHIT!
Yes, Donal doesn’t twist words, only nipples.
Newsflash we haven’t signed ANY MLB contract yet….
There is a big difference between spending on big names and NOT SPENDING AT ALL!
‘Why can’t some of that money get invested into the minor leagues, development, scouting and the international market? The problem for executives is that fans can actually see the money being spent when it’s spent on the open market. They cannot see it when it’s invested in the international market until many years down the road.’
Agree. Some fans look at available money to be spent each year and complain if it’s not all spent on the big club. Sometimes, that money is earmarked for the IFA draft and/or possible mid season acquisitions.
JesseP, WE HAVE A CONTROVERSY!!!!!
“Why can’t some of that money get invested into the minor leagues, development, scouting and the international market?”
Unfortunately you fail to mention that there is a CAP LIMIT on how much you can spend in the
1–Draft
2–International signings
Another thing you forgot to mention is the money that Jeff Wilpon and Sandy Alderson were speaking of–is Money they have SET ASIDE to improve the Major league club. They wouldnt throw those numbers out if it included operational costs for the entire organization.
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3–Also Sandy fired a bunch of scouts and administration people to cut COST, not performance.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203804204577018470148471132.html
A statement released by the Mets read: “Several weeks ago, we made work force reductions in both the baseball and business operations departments, which amounted to less than 10% of our full-time staff.”
The baseball-operations jobs that were cut were a combination of scouting and administrative positions, according to a person familiar with the matter.
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4–They also failed to sign HALF of there 2012 DRAFT CLASS! Including there 2nd Rd pick in which there scouts raved about after selecting him.
http://metsmerizedonline.com/2012/07/the-curious-case-of-teddy-stankiewicz.html
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5–Not to mention they eliminated one of there minor league teams(GCL Mets)…Which was a the prime place that they started to transition in there International signings to America from the DSL not to mention where they started there Highschool draftees who were raw/needed more work
http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/12/mets-announce-they-will-eliminate-st-lucie-rookie-team.html
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****So there goes that talk of re-investing into the MINOR LEAGUES, DEVELOPMENT, SCOUTING & INTERNATIONAL MARKET. He has done NONE OF THE ABOVE!!!!
When will you an others whom praise Sandy Alderson and his plan and own up to the FACT that this organization has failed miserably in numerous situations and they arent being truthful to the fanbase.
Your post is making it seem as if Sandy is the Parent telling his Kids (Mets fans),”its best you dont know what Daddy does with the money whatever im doing it is for your own good just trust me.”….then he lies year after year and you expet the fanbase to continue to blindly follow this administration.
Mets Fans arent asking him to make BIG Free Agent signings they are asking him to improve the team with Major league talent like he said he would. He said he had a couple of trades in mind that were feasible guess that fell through. The Andrew Browns, Colin Cowgills and Jamie Hoffmans of the world whom have had no success arent upgrades they are no better than Loewman was last year and Chin Lun Hu,Eamus prior. PIPE DREAMS
JesseP, WE HAVE A CONTROVERSY!!!!!
“Why can’t some of that money get invested into the minor leagues, development, scouting and the international market?”
Unfortunately you fail to mention that there is a CAP LIMIT on how much you can spend in the
1–Draft
2–International signings
Another thing you forgot to mention is the money that Jeff Wilpon and Sandy Alderson were speaking of–is Money they have SET ASIDE to improve the Major league club. They wouldnt throw those numbers out if it included operational costs for the entire organization.
BBLB, trying to convince this shill of anything that doesn’t fit his agenda, is a far more difficult task than convincing Matt Cerrone he needs to use spell-check.
Met Maniac….Lol….I know it is impossible to convince him of anything that doesnt fit his agenda. If/when Alderson tenure fails he will still have an excuse why it was a Success.
What Im doing is debunking his false statement with Facts in case someone ignorant Mets fans stumbles upon his “SHILL Manifesto” and starts to think “hey he might have a point”
BBLB, there was more fact-based logic in your comment than in his entire library on MMO. LOL
“his entire library on MMO”
Lol….One of the few times you wish you could completely erase something from the internet
You mean like the time you said the Mets should talk to the A’s about acquiring Cowgill then forgetting you said that when you trashed the acquisition? I bet you wish you could erase that
LOL. oh man that is great.
Oh, man that is a LIE!
HA!!! You JesseP are a LIAR!!!
Lol but nice try…… IVE NEVER stated the Mets should make a trade for Cowgill…NEVER!
I did mention the A’s had 6 Outfielders at the time and listed all 6 Outfielders and stated Alderson should target the A’s in a trade never said I wanted that kid in a trade lol…
Please link to that post where I said they should talk to the A’s about acquiring Cowgill!
And if memory serves me right after that trade I was meh about the deal–and stated he shouldve got back more for a young Marte than Cowgill. And if thats Sandys definition of upgrading the Outfield he needs a pink slip.
“The A’s are another team the Mets should try and work out a deal with for one of those Outfielders, they have 6! 1.J. Reddick 2.Y. Cespedes 3.C. Young 4.C. Crisp 5.S. Smith 6.C. Cowgill.”
It’s funny that you didn’t say, the Mets should try and work out a deal for any one of those outfielders EXCEPT Cowgill.
No… you listed him in 1 of the 6 outfielders the Mets should try to get. You wanted Young the most but you said and I quote “the Mets should try and work out a deal with for one of those Outfielders, they have 6″ and then listed Cowgill in the 6 outfielders.
Nice try.
Accusations without links are so rich coming from the liar who posted with dual identities and pretended to be an admin named cleanup and swore he wasn’t Jessep until he forgot to switch his identity and got caught. I bet you wish could erase that!
Oh and just since a link is needed with the exact quote
http://metsmerizedonline.com/2012/12/rule-5-draft-mets-select-lhp-kyle-lobstein.html
“The A’s are another team the Mets should try and work out a deal with for one of those Outfielders, they have 6!
1.J. Reddick
2.Y. Cespedes
3.C. Young
4.C. Crisp
5.S. Smith
6.C. Cowgill”
Your making a judgement based on a comment that really doesn’t go into a lot of detail about Cowgill and he doesn’t really make his opinion very clear about him.
He said that we should target one of the OFers, but it sounds like he was mostly talking about the starting OFers and not the backups since he specifically highlighted Young. He could have just listed the backups just to show that OAK had depth at the position and could trade one of their starters. You don’t know his true feelings of Cowgill because he didn’t go into detail about him.
And you don’t know if at that time if he would be for or against trading Marte for him since he didn’t mention how much we should give up for Cowgill.
Also, it’s possible that after the Mets made the trade for Cowgill, he could have looked at him more in depth and changed his opinion on him. There would be nothing wrong with that.
It seems like your just playing a game of “gotcha” and your doing it based off of a comment that doesn’t really go into a lot of detail about Cowgill. I think that’s really unfair.
Vinny – if you’re going to trash the acquisition of a guy, don’t list him in 1 of 6 possible trade ideas 3 weeks prior.
He didn’t say “they have 6 outfielders and i like 5 of them” he said they have 6 and we should trade for 1 of them and he actually listed Cowgill.
He was interested in Cowgill enough to list him. But the second Alderson acquired him, BBLB turned sour on Cowgill.
Vinny,
All I did was list all of there Outfielders showing there Depth to make my case why the A’s would be an ideal team to target in a trade. Where does he get this notion that I wanted Colin Cowgill??? All year Ive been asking for a major league OF Cowgill is not a major league OF he is at best a 4th OF.
Whats funny is Jessep knows I didnt want Cowgill and that I thought the trade was terrible because as soon as the trade was announced here on Metsmerized. He was the 1st person to comment praising the deal and I was the second person to comment. And I replied to his message ripping the deal.
Below is the link to the post and what I said about the deal in response to Jessep
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http://metsmerizedonline.com/2012/12/mets-trade-jefry-marte-to-as-for-minor-league-outfielder-collin-cowgill.html
SMH…Jessep cut it out…lol…youre embarrassing yourself
You up-sell every move Sandy makes….stop trying to lay groundwork for saying how great a move this is when we all know this move doesnt answer any questions in our Outfield….
We needed at least 1 experienced big league Outfielder and as of today our most Experienced Outfielder is still LUCAS DUDA!!!!
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Mets Maniac was right when he stated above…. Jessep switches everything up to fit his agenda…
classic bait and switch to steer the conversation away from the initial topic of my response to his bogus post of money being allocated to the minors,International signings etc….
You are a Clown Jessep lol….
I listed all of the A’s Outfielders on there major league roster (which were listed by MLB.com depth chart) to show the DEPTH!!!! of that position… To build my case for a potential deal with the A’s
I wanted no part of Cowgill and proof of that is as soon as the trade was made I bashed you for saying how great the deal was
Below is the comment I made immediately after the deal was madein response to you if I wanted Cowgill wouldnt I say it was a good move??? like I did when Alderson traded Dickey for that package? Or when I stated I liked the Beltran trade? Unlike you Im not one sided with my opinions just because I dont like or like a GM.
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http://metsmerizedonline.com/2012/12/mets-trade-jefry-marte-to-as-for-minor-league-outfielder-collin-cowgill.html
SMH…Jessep cut it out…lol…youre embarrassing yourself
You up-sell every move Sandy makes….stop trying to lay groundwork for saying how great a move this is when we all know this move doesnt answer any questions in our Outfield….
We needed at least 1 experienced big league Outfielder and as of today our most Experienced Outfielder is still LUCAS DUDA!!!!
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Nice reach though
lol
Exactly. You liked Cowgill til he was actually a Met
“The A’s are another team the Mets should try and work out a deal with for one of those Outfielders, they have 6! 1.J. Reddick 2.Y. Cespedes 3.C. Young 4.C. Crisp 5.S. Smith 6.C. Cowgill”
That’s 6 trade possibilities “for one of those outfielders”
You were intrigued enough by him to list him and then the second the Mets got him – you hoped nobody would remember.
Your still trying to bash someone based off a comment that wasn’t made very clear and didn’t go into a lot of detail. That’s unfair. It seems like your just going after BBLB just because you have something against him personally.
He never said how much he liked for Cowgill or how much we should give up to get him. And if he did change his opinion on him(which you don’t even know if he did), it could have been because he looked at him closer after we acquired him.
You don’t really know if he actually changed his opinion in the first place because he didn’t talk about him in detail, and even if he did change his opinion, you can’t be sure if it was because of Alderson anyway.
And it’s not unreasonable to think that he just listed every OF on their depth chart to show the amount of depth they had at the position. I can believe that explanation. Just because you interpret something a certain way doesn’t mean that’s what he meant. Also reading text off the Internet can be easily misinterpreted anyway, so it’s possible that you just misinterpreted what he was saying.
Your case is very weak: 1: you don’t know what his true opinion on Cowgill was in the first place because he didn’t talk about him and depth. And 2: Even if he did change his mind, you can’t prove he changed his mind because of Alderson. That is just your assumption.
LMAO!!! You are pathetic Jessep…lol
Why would I change my mind negatively towards a player because he became a MET???
Im a Mets fans retard
I like Travis D’arnaud he’s a Met we got in a trade, I like Syndegaard he’s a met, I like Buck he’s a Met, I even like Becerra he’s a Met too…I like Wheeler too…
Intrigued???With Cowgill???lol….Anyone who I converse with here on MMO knows I follow the minors very closely and I do my research on every Teams minor leagues system…Cowgill does NOT intrigue unless you put stock into a 25yr old who is not a power hitter and finally hits above .300 for the 1st time in his career when he plays in the PCL.
FYI Since I didnt make my self 100% clear in that post…..I had/have no interest in Seth Smith either since he cant hit Lefty’s…I did however have minimal interest in Cocoa Crisp but who I really wanted Chris Young…Cespedes would be GOLD but thats a pipe dream…I wasnt interested in Reddick either because he struggles vs LHP and A’s asking price would be too much…Dont get me wrong I’d take him on the Mets in a minute since he does hit LHP for power and he also struggled vs. RHP as well last year…
Hope that clears things up for you
gotta go watch a movie now…Tom Cruise flick called Jack REACHER!!! lol…you should be familiar with it the way youve been REACHING!!! 
i’m probably going to get moderated. But seriously, why hasn’t Joe banned these idiots yet?
BBLB: There is more to a minor league budget and international budget than the contract a player signs is there not? Of course there are. You’re just trying to make it only about the players in hopes of over dramatizing things.
And again you’re bringing up financial decisions that took place when the Mets owners were being sued for 25% of their worth. I still am not sure why you seem to think any business goes on as usual when faced with a $1billion lawsuit.
“You’re just trying to make it only about the players in hopes of over dramatizing things.”
YES the players are the PRODUCT!!! The money they pay scouts are pennys compared to the players.
But I did also mention the Mets firing Scouts for reasons that had nothing to do with Finances… Also Mention them closing a minor league facility. How much money do you think it takes to run that GCL team??? LOL
And if it was so much of a cost cutting move why didnt they close down the TWO Dominican League teams??? Most teams dont have DSL teams if they were so desperate those 2 teams would be closed but they didnt….because it wasnt a cost cutting move it was a miscalculation by the Front office which resulted in them failing to sign half there draft class in 2012 and having to cut a lot of lower level talent…..because they didnt have enough room for them in there lower farm system…Which led them to backtrack and reinstate that same team a year later.
So you can continue to be one sided with your take on this regime all you want and blame EVERYONE but this front office for failures….The highest paid front office in Major league baseball I might add…Cost saving maneuvers my AZZ!
Yes developing and scouting and a cash investment by the front office was why we didnt sign second rounder Teddy Stankiewicz and 20 other draft selections. It was why we let go of 50% of our scouts in November of 2011. It’s why we didn’t check in on Yoenis Cespedis or Yu Darvish or Aroldis Chapman. It was why he shut down the GCL Mets and suffocated the system last season. That’s where the rest of the $100 million is going.
Hey Jessep are you familiar with the term Occam’s Razor?
You can’t afford the business, get out, unless of course youn have idiots who will waste their money on your lemon of a product. You better go to every game ms jhessup since you are so infatuated with the team, the owner, and of course the GM. Is he your husband. Nah, even a wife has her own opinions.
Fair enough, but is there any evidence since March 2012 when the Wilpons settled that they have put a dime into development? The whole fiasco of not signing the 75th pick in the draft who would take slot? That happened in July 2012.
What an article. I guess when alderson writes a piece of PR trash and someone steals it he doesn’t get upset and sue for plagiarism.
Dear my main man JesseP,
The point by sensible Mets fans has been this: it is not just about spending, it is about spending wisely. Second, it is about competing, and competing is seriously just being .500 come September; not even having a chance at that, is awful. Third, punting is readying for the third straight losing season and thinking the future is bright when you might have at-best the 15th or 16th best farm in baseball. Thank you.
Love,
Hank
But but but, don’t you know these are the new fans. They don’t care about wins. They just want good beer selection at the morgue. And they want it empty so there are no lines. get your priorities straight. Winning is a thing of the past. The Buccos made a profit with 20 straight losing years. Wilpon alderson jessup will hope to beat that illustrious record.
I see Mitch’s earlier post touched a nerve and as usual when a Nerve is touched that hits that Sandy a followup Moneyball promotional piece will soon folllow in the hopes of drawing attention away from the other….inconvenient truth
Well there is something to be said for consistency….
Metsie – I realize this may be difficult for you to understand, but most writers I would imagine from MMO do not write their pieces in an hour while at work.
I had been working on this for a few days with the research on the players etc.
But thanks for reading!
That’s actually exactly what I do the majority of the time lol it’s closer to two hours though
Hell I have written longer replies than some of his pieces in the space of a half an hour or less! LOL
yes the only difference is, people aren’t dumber after they read Jessep’s.
and boom goes the dynamite
Pay no attention to this little tete a tete between CB and Jessep. There’s an extraordinarily good chance that it’s just Jessep talking to himself again. Boom! There goes the dynamite!
oh I see. Now the other comment makes sense. Now I’m CB?
Want to be membership at MMO on that? I’m sure Joe D can verify. If I’m CB, then Joe will know and I’ll submit my resignation. If I’m not CB, then you go away we’ll say until Opening Day (I’ll be nice)
Put your $ where your mouth is or drop it
Did you guys ever see the original boom goes the dynamite clip? It’s so painful to watch
You know I LOVE JoeD for all he has done but lets be honest here his verifying it really is not anything anyone is going to take as gospel after the whole ruse of saying he had to hire and independent monitoring company to police the Chat and it turns out YOU were that independent monitoring company….
We know your friends and you were trying to help him out but that whole entire incident really hurt the credibility on who gets treated fairly whenever trouble rears it’s ugly head.
As I said previously…When you get into a fight in a Bar they throw both out….
Here it does seem a side gets picked and only one side gets the ban…
And it is never over who started the argument but who lost it first.
Got it – so me attempting to be an anonymous moderator to try and eliminate garbage from a chat room is the same as me being CB, a user who comments on this website. You’re accusations are laughable.
And if you have issues with the site owner and his credibility then perhaps you should go somewhere else. This is the 2nd time I’ve been accused of being another user and it will be the 2nd time you’re wrong.
If you want Joe to supply you with personal IP addresses for both users be my guest and email him. If not – then keep your fingers shut and quit it with the accusations. If you’re wrong have the guts to admit it.
Missed the point I guess….
For the record I didn’t accuse you of being someone else…I merely talk about the time you got CAUGHT doing just that….
I’m sure JoeD meant well but in the end he put the fox in charge of the hen house….I was at first HAPPY to hear Joe got a company to moderate the shoutbox because many of the knock down drag outs that spilled over into the comment section (note I never realy entered chat but did check the posts to see how many times I got trashed by you and your friends in it).
Then was crushed to find out you were this “company” that was hired to police it…
Joe is very fair and open in regards to the content that gets officially posted and Opinions expressed….
It’s just too bad his closest friends and people who have risen to the title of CONTRIBUTOR, who he turns to most often for help in running the site don’t seem to share that openess and instead believe they can take advantage of that friendship and pretty much do and say whatever they want about users.
I am not faulting JoeD here at all, the poor guy has been in and out of Hospitals all year long and had to rely on friends….
It’s just too bad that they take advantage and put JoeD into a positon to have to LIE about who is moderating all because he knows the “FRIEND” he asked to moderate was a Lightining rod for 99% of the arguments and silliness that went on there….
Both you and Joe KNOW how wrong it was to put you in charge of moderating that chat, Why else was the subterfuge and secret identity needed? If you were truly a good choice then you shouldn’t have had to hide who you were…So you knew at the time what you were doing was a bomb that would hurt the moderating credibility and screwed it up to boot!
It’s not important for me to know the IP address of posters here and truth is thats not proof of anything because even banned people come back and post with other names….
But even if JoeD posted the IP list to defend you from these Spoofing charges in the end whose to say those IPs don’t point to an Independent moderating company as well….
He is your Friend dude and this is not about JoeD…It’s about you “FRIENDS” who seemingly think that gives you license to do and say anything and can attack anyone because your friendship means JoeD will always give you the benefit of the doubt.
And to be clear you have been MUCH IMPROVED on not doing that since the moderating fiasco happened than other “Friends” have recently, Don’t think I have not noticed that and that I do not commend you on that.
Now guys like CB and Task are pretty much doing what you guys hated when the folks who got banned did it….Anyone who disagrees is an idiot….
But because they agree with you I notice not a peep about people attacking folks in the comments….
If you REALLY were a true and loyal friend to Joe you would step up and moderate them as quick as you were to moderate the chat when it was your enemies you were charged with moderating. Without the need to hide behind a super secret identity this time…
That is if your REALLY interested in helping JoeD and TRULY CARE about the way conversations degenerate into insult fests around here. Then you will take your cue from JoeD and be as aggressive in slapping down the attacks on people you agree with as you were when you were moderating those you mostly got into arguments with.
And thats the last I’m going to say on this subject because it really shouldn’t be here either and if you want to continue it further ask JoeD for my email as I have no problems with you having it.
Lets get back to baseball shall we?
I will start by apologizing for accusing you of COUNTER POSTING whenever an article that makes Sandy look like he is not doing as you and others suggest you posting a counter piece to draw attention away and lower the previous article on the front page display list….
Well if your talking about from your perspective there is a DUMB AS ROCK bottom you just can’t go beyond….
And your there!
Yah I’m sure you had that all written up and merely posted it the second Matts Piece came out….
I bet you would have preferred to find more names but ran out of time as well….
Doesn’t matter Jeesup it’s so obvious that whenever a writer for MMO has a piece that doesn’t paint Sandy in a good light you can always expect a piece like this from you two-three hours later without fail!
Just about everyone knows this as true….
What’s funny is this piece has nothing to do with Sandy Alderson. You’re making it about him.
I wasn’t even at a computer when this post was published. If you’d like to get a note from my wife’s doctor I can ask nicely.
If not you’ll recognize I responded directly to Mitch on his post as my reply to… his post.
This has nothing to do with my view of Mitch’s post.
Why am I getting dragged into this…he said Matt not Mitch!
he first said “I see Mitch’s earlier post touched a nerve” who knows what he’s talking about really
Yes it wasn’t about Alderson….
Just a propaganda piece to justify his inability or refusal to sign anyone to an MLB contract…
Yes I mistyped and Mitch really has nothing to do with this…He wrote a good piece it’s not his fault that Jessup can’t bare to see a post that takes Sandy to task get any play and rushed to post on of his Canned Propaganda to try and deflect attention away from thoughts he would prefer did not propagate around here….
Is it true you worked on that urinal dividers piece for almost two weeks? lol
That took three considering the amount of water he needed to drink in between his testing….
Ha! Good one.
All the spatting aside, the general idea is reasonable.
Signing veteran free agents often doesn´t work out, because you´re investing in mostly “past-their-prime” players.
So, it only makes sense when the upside is higher than the risk.
That being the case if you have a team already in or close to contion in place and are merely a piece or two away. In that case, adding a significant free agent on a longer than 2-year-deal makes plenty of sense – even if the odds that the deal looks bad eventually are high.
Of course, as the market continues to explode, eventually trading for former free agents – and thus shortening the risk & time frame – like Toronto did with the Marlins this winter – may be a smart way to proceed.
However, again, only if you already have the nucleus of a contender in place and a realistic window of opportunity. Toronto played this exactly right.
The Mets as of today are quite a bit away and are waiting for a new core of players to settle in, hopefully in 2013. For now, signing any free agent to a multi-year-deal makes little sense.
That said, adding a veteran SP, a veteran reliever or two or a veteran OF or two on a 1-year-deal or maybe 2-year-deal shouldn´t be an issue. Neither from a team building strategy nor in terms of risk management.