Closer - 2006

[Guest cooby]

I have a question:

Is Looper officially GONE? (which would make Thanksgiving that much more meaningful)

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yes and no. He's a free agent, but hasn't signed with anyone.

[Guest cooby]

So there is still some trepidation...

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

If Looper comes back (which I doubt) it'll probably be as an 8th inning guy.

[Frayed Knot]

Elster88 wrote: I'm currently driving the BJ Ryan bandwagon. Would anyone else like to climb aboard?

Fine with me but I suspect that BJR is content to wait until Wagner sets the benchmark with his deal. If Wags can wrangle $12/per then Ryan can ask for $10, if Billy gets $10 then he knows he's shooting for $8, etc.
I think Omar prefers to strike early rather than to bypass Wagner only to wait around for Ryan only to find him almost as expensive and probably with more suitors.

[Guest cooby]

Soon enough to blow the game

[metirish]

No worries Cobby, trepidation could come on the form of Tom Gordon.

[Guest cooby]

Cobby?

[metirish]

LOL..sorry Cooby....

[Valadius]

I've been on the BJ Ryan bandwagon most of the offseason - until I came up with "Nightcrawler".

Well no, actually I still prefer Ryan, but either one looks good to me.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

From the Daily News:

Wagner: It's a 'one-horse race'

Billy Wagner criticized the Phillies' efforts to retain him, telling the Mets' Web site his current team is "taking one step back to take one step forward" and calling the Mets' pursuit a "one-horse race."
The Phillies were believed to have upped their offer yesterday, guaranteeing a third year at roughly $30 million, but seem reluctant to trump Mariano Rivera's $10.5 million salary. The Mets initially offered three years at more than $30 million with an '09 option.

Adam Rubin

[seawolf17]

Great! Omar loves one-horse races. I bet he doubles his offer to Wagner now.

Wags: Well, Omar, I really like your offer, and I think I'm going to accept it.
Omar: Three years, $30 million.
Wags: Sure. That's great. Where do I sign?
Omar: Four years, $70 million.
Wags: No, seriously, I'm ready to sign.
Omar: Five years, $150 million, we name the new ballpark Wagner Stadium.
Wags: Um... I guess so. Can I sign now?
Omar: Okay, fine! Five years, $200 million.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Yeah, I gotta say, when a free agent says "it's a one-horse race" I have two thoughts. Either:

1. The guy is really fucking stupid
2. The guy is desperately trying to shame a second horse into making a push.

I'm guessing it's #2 in Wagner's case.

[Frayed Knot]

Wagner mentioned in an interview the other day that both Boston & Atlanta had expressed interest - but at the same time said he had no plans for more tour-like visits so who knows how strong their "interest" is, or even if it truly exists.
Smart money at this point bleieves he'll wind up in either NY or Philly but stuff like Vlad to Ananheim have a habit of coming out of nowhere.

I'd really like to stay away fom a 4th year, or even a Glavine-like option that can be reached by merely decent performance.

[smg58]

Wagner's trying to push up the Phillies' offer, but it would be a major upset at this point if he doesn't sign with the Mets. Hopefully we won't be paying more per year than the Yankees pay Rivera ($10.5M), but we'll see.

[Guest Edgy DC]

It was a coded message. See, a Phillie is a horse, and a Met isn't.

[Guest abogdan]

The 2006 Met closer won't be B.J. Ryan. The News sez he's going to Toronto, 5 years, $47 million. Wow.

[metirish]

WOW that's some cabbage for Ryan, Toronto said they had lots of money to spend this off-season, I guess they are spending it, what impact will this have on Wagner?

[Guest Rotblatt]

Okay, so that's just crazy. It makes all the other "proven" closers like Wagner & Hoffman & Gordon that much pricier.

In this kind of market, I'd just as soon lay low . . . But we're clearly going balls out for Wagner. I still think he's going to wind up a Philly, though, which means we'll probably wind up with an overpayed Hoffman.

[Frayed Knot]

I wouldn't have thought that Ryan would get that much per year ($9.4) OR that many years ... much less both.

Toronto GM Riccardi, btw, is still denying the numbers or that there's a deal in place -- but that's just prolly because things aren't finalized yet.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Ryan's deal with Toronto will likely drive up the cost of closers. I think Toronto overextended themselves, both in terms of years and annual salary. They will likely regret this deal, but I could be wrong. Time will tell.

I expect Wagner will try to use Ryan's contract to leverage a longer term on his deal. I would like to see the Mets land Wagner, but if they have to garuantee a fourth year, then they should let him go in my opinion. Particularly if they are looking at an annual salary of $11 mil., which I think is absurd.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Still a lot of time left before spring.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Huh. Dude over at Hardball Times thinks Ryan's deal may actually be worth it for the Jays.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/is-ryan-worth-it/

[nymr83]

an interesting article with some interesting points, but my response would be this: even if you want a player, he is only worth $1 more than the next highest bid, and i find it hard to believe that anyone else made Ryan a 4 year commitment, much less a 5 year one at that kind of money.

[Frayed Knot]

Newsday: BoSox reportedly to make offer to Wagner, maybe as soon as today.

[Guest sharpie]

Yeah, but will they take his wife to Phantom of the Opera?

[seawolf17]

Wait. We took Wagner to see Phantom Of The Freaking Opera? Why didn't we just kick him in the nuts and ask him to work in the team store before games?

[Guest Edgy DC]

I believe those were the terms of McEwing's last contract.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

seawolf17 wrote: Wait. We took Wagner to see Phantom Of The Freaking Opera? Why didn't we just kick him in the nuts and ask him to work in the team store before games?

ROFL Wolf!

I agree with you totally (although my 16-year-old disagrees vehemently - she loves that musical).

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Nymr83 wrote: an interesting article with some interesting points, but my response would be this: even if you want a player, he is only worth $1 more than the next highest bid.

That's not entirely true, Namor.

Let's take a fictional player, who likes sunshine, warm weather, and wants to get into the postseason.

The Angels offer him $30 million over three years.

Are you saying that the Brewers could sign him for $30,000,001 over three? I doubt it. They'd have to sweeten the pot quite a bit for him to opt to toil in Milwaukee.

I'm not saying that players aren't mercenary. But other things do factor in as well.

[Vic Sage]

Griffey took less to go to Cinncy.
Paul O'Neil took less to stay in NY.
It happens plenty.

Not necessarily out of altruism, or sentimentality, but out of practicality. Moving your family is a huge pain in the ass, and taking your kids out of 1 school and putting them in another can be devastating for them. Some guys just like to work near where they live, rather than have to live where they work.

Sure, all things being equal, money talks loudest. But all things are rarely equal.