BrandoFan

It's not an exact science. Like I said....arbitors are behind the times. S-metrics is something they have not completely adopted yet. Veyr conservative, convention-respecting folks these people are. On one hand it would be stupid not to consider the entire career at some point. Was Brady Anderson deservant of a huge raise based on 1996 season? Then again, it would be quite STUPID to look at Gagne's first year as a starter and count it as much as his 2002-2003. He is simply a different pitcher. I mean....Guilermo Mota will be making BIG money if he repeats 2003 performance. BUT, if you were to go by his CAREER #s (whether it be OPS-against or win-losses, whatever) he is a BELOW average reliever. Based on his career, Gagne might not deserve 5 Mill. Based on last year, he should make AT LEAST 7-8 Mill.

--Lee away from Pro Players can go toe to toe with Klesko --Sosa is much, much better than Nady --Ramirez over Burroughs the way he hit with the Cubs. --Walker/Grugz platoon is only maginally worse than Loretta if that. --Patterson smokes Coors baby Payton or whoever plays CF if he can come close to the form he was showing last year. --Giles is better than Alou --Gonzo and Vasquez are a wash. Gonzo is better defensively and more powerful with all the fastballs he'll likely get, while Vazquez is faster, with better OBP. --Hernandez over Barrett. Depending on how Ramirez and Patterson progress, you could make a case for either team.

Given that he is 34, I wouldn't give him 8 Mill over 3, let alone 2. He has 2 solid years left, tops. But we both know, if Jose is half-way decent hitting from LS against LHP, overall OPS would take off. Remember, he barely scatched 400 OPS as a RH last year, and his swing is incomparably better from the LS. He'd probably come very close to 30 HR/85 RBI barrier, which like it or not impresses a lot of people, including some GMs. Given his instincts, he'll probably be a solid baserunner until he is 45 and could make a solid 2B as he ages. I bet some GM from a winning team would give him 3-4 Mill a year/1 year. I was among those who hoped he would re-sign for 1-2 Mill this off-season. He returned for 5. That tells you about the demand side in MLB.

Why wouldn't he do it? Because he did DIDN'T after last season-- which was his worst in terms of RISP. We all thought he would be re-signed for 2.5 Mill (Jason had him placed at 1-1.5). He signed for 5. In 2004, he won't be allowed to hit RH, so his OPS would be inflated (last year his LH OPS was 890 and his 4-year average is 855). As soon as he goes 1-for-10 as a RH hitter, Ozzie will either bench him or offer to LH exclusively. Ozzie knows HIS job is at stake and if he could call Frank to the mat, he would Jose if need be. I believe the RISP numbers would be closer to 2000-2002 (.300+) than to 2003. If his D is close to what it was in 2003, and he has an inflated OPS because of LH at bats along with 85+ ribbies a solid RISP would net.........He would get more than 2 Million on the market.

What about Cubs? Grudz/Walker Patterson Lee Sosa Alou Ramirez

I reiterate.

What did expect? Despite being consulted by STATs, Inc, Bill James, etc..... the panel uses such near-meaningless benchmarks as W-L, HR, etc/ They are behind times. How can they give Millwood 11 Mill and only 5 to Gagne? Makes no sense. Also makes me question qhat Mark Buerhle would have gotten in his first try,

Exactly. You d be suprised how many options even poor teams can have provided they don't have a brain-dead egomaniac for a GM. Convince Jose to hit LH exclusively (rot on the bench being the other option), give him 5 mill over 2 years and all is good. If Tejada is worth 12, Jose is easily worth 2. If he doesn't agree, then bye-bye.

Where did what come from?

Mark Twain can do no wrong. Evah.

I always talk about "interistic value" this and "% of the payroll" that.... Eric Gagne IMO is the ONLY closer in baseball who deserves a 7-8+ Mill salary. They were wrong.

It all depends on 2004. If Maggs has a 1100 OPS season, drives in 140 runs and leads us all the way to ALCS......then Sox may have to shell out 13-14 Mill for his services. But if he has a 920 OPS/115 RBI season and Sox are in 2nd/3rd place, then these is no point to re-signing him as the team would be in a major re-building mode anyway I'd rather see what Borchard/Reed/Rowand could do in RF for bare minimum.

That's why we didn't re-sign Flash. He is making almost 4 Mill a year, can't hold a candle to Gagne, is much older and injury prone. one of the few things KW did right this off season.

At 7+ Mill, C-Lee is close to being overpaid as well. As far as production....once again.....Derek Jeter would be one of the more productive players on this Sox team. Doesn't mean we should pay 19 Mill a year for him...does it?

the Juice Era refers to not only steroids, but also: -superior conditioning programs -vitamins, supplements, etc -juicied up baseballs -shrinking ballparks -watered down pitching that allows someone with Jim Parqua's modest talent to actually start the opening game of a playoff series. 32 homers is what 22 homers used to be prior to 1993. League average for every day players is like 25.

You hate taht about as much as I love giving overrated players on the wrong side of 30 5/75 Mill payolas....when the entire team budget barely stays over 50 Mill year in and out.....even when the team owner "goes for it". But hey....32 homers in the Juice Era.....that's, um, something.

It's only annoying when you're on the receiving end. Otherwise, you'd be b****ing about stupid ADD-riddled customer care specialists....who the hell do they think they are!

How dare you malicously mis-spell 'opening' while quoting my post. That makes me look bad in front of the Soxfolk.

While it may not as extreme as I made it out to be, you really havem to inquire about how records and archives are kept in 3rd world countries. Birth certificates are "lost", doctored, switched, etc. Nastasia Kinski was believed to be 3 years younger than she really was and it wasn't uncovered until decades later. And she is from Germany, a 1st world country. Not Dominican or Congo. Black people in particular often look 5-7 years younger than they really are. Soriano look all of 16.

If you say it enough times....you still won't believe it, Tex. The 70's are over. Check out 2000 attendance. Subtract freebies/half price s*** that pad the numbers. Check out TV and radio ratings and merch sales. That's what I thought.

Juan Cruz could be 30 for all we know. Zambrano looks like he could be 30 as well.

You still have not accounted for the gratuitous "--" use.

Mimi

I believe Woody is man enough to give up his 2nd spot for Maddy. Also, dusty would be smart to break up his two power throwes and a solf-tosser. Maddux will be very good this upcoming year and will unfortunately outpitch Kerry Wood anyway. Prior Maddux Wood Zambrano Clement By far the best rotation in baseball. If one struggles, the ever-electric Cruz slides in. Wellmeyer and Guzman will be on the lookout as well. I hope I am wrong and Cubs implode by April 10th.

No s***. Pam Anderson = overrated HOF