Hahahaha, DB. But what do I care if Vinny uses the stuff. As long as it works.

DB...you are a FUNNY guy.

Contrary to other grumps around here :rolleyes: The title DOES say "offseason" baseball talk. Can't talk of anyone's home run hitting now, can we - might as well talk of endorsements along with the trade rumors.

You forgot to mention Karros holds the home run record for the LA Dodgers.

And here all I do is say such nice things about Jessica Alba.

DB, that was pretty realistic! Maybe you should have majored in journalism and english lit!

Who says it's fake!

English lit or journalism... Remember, I'm a finance guy! I wrote for the school paper when I was in high school. Just the facts, maam, just the facts!

On plaw's comment, I agree. Is it just me, or do you think that the Mets are just jumping on the Yanks coattails, here? No reason to mess with a phenom, I say. Maybe they're trying to mirror Reyes to Soriano.

Hey, if you are doing something that needs that little blue pill, then you are scoring HOME RUNS.

Did you think they see fireworks at the end? Just like being at the ball-park.

Just found out that Grudz is going to resign with the Cubs. They didn't offer Lofton arbitration, though. Bad move, I think.

The Braves didn't offer arbitration to Javy Lopez nor.......Vinny Castilla.

Uncle Peter, my smelling salts.

I guess they'll be no baseball on my TV next year.

Is there someone hear that can explain how arbitration works and when compensation picks get awarded?

Not me. But I just read on that Vinny MIGHT go back to Colorado. We'll know by the end of next week. Oh, Buufffyyy..I see a trip to Coors Field in our future.

Speaking of Lofton, the Padres are thinking of acquiring him due to weakness in speed and in the leadoff spot. Maddux is another prospect since the Braves did not offer him arbitration.

I'm not exactly sure of all the details and nuances, but I think that most of the following elements are involved:

In cases where a player has enough service time in to file for free agency, when the player's contracr is up, his team has the option of offering him a contract, or not.

If they offer him a contract, and he declines the offer, they are free to continue negotiating, of course. Eventually, however, the team may choose to offer him arbitration or not. In the arbitration process, each side submits a figure, and an arbitrator decides which of the two figures the player should be awarded. No middle ground--it's one or the other. That prevents either side from coming in unrealistically low (the team) or high (the player). Obviously, there is an art in determining how much to offer, and how much to ask for.

In mnay cases, rather than go through the arbitratioon process, both sides continue to negotiate, since there is always the risk for either side that they may end up paying too much, unfairly, or receiving too little, unfairly, if the arbitration figure they submit is unrealistic, and the arbitrator rules for the other side.

Also, both the team and the player hire people to present their case to the arbitrator. They use salaries of other players with comparable stats, etc. to try and influence the decision.


If the player declines arbitration, he becomes a free agent. Compensation, in the form of draft picks, is awarded the team which lost the player, only if the team offered the player arbitration. If arbitration was not offered, and the player signs with another team as a free agent, there is no compensation.

The rationale, I guess, is that if the team didn't offer arbitration, then they must not have wanted the guy in the first place, so why should they get compensation?

In the gary Sheffield case, the Braves are willing to lose Sheffield without compensation because it would seem that they really don't want him. If they offer him arbitration he might accept, and the Braves would probably end up having to keep him and pay him a lot more than they are willing to.

Also, if a team does not offer arbitration, and the player becomes a free agent, his original team cannot negotiate with him or sign him until May 1st.

I think. As I said, I may not have all of this exactly right.

Good Job PeeLarwence

The truth is so many players, they all want too many dollars and it IS all about the MONEY.

Throw in the players EGO and their agents and then the lawyers, mix in the owners and all their people and hit the blender at full speed and what do you get. BLACK GOOOO.

What every happen to "the boys of summer."
Old Fashion Baseball and the way the good old game was meant to played.

Am I the lone Marlins fan?!

That's true, of course.

But it is a free market system, and obviously Major League Baseball's revenue stream supports the paying of these salaries, so if the players weren't getting the dough, then the owners would.

Yes, higher prices for everything that comes in contact with baseball including your cable rates.

Thanks, Plaw!

Ha, I have DirecTV satellite. :p

Free market system at work again.

If I think my cable rates are too high because the cable company has to pay to carry sports, and they pass the cost along to me, then I have an option: Cancel my cable.

But I don't, because I make choices about how to spend my money, and the fact is, as expensive as it is (with internet access, HBO, and 4 TV sets, I pay about $110 per month), I choose to spend my money on that, rather than something else.

When the day comes that we, the fans, decide to stop paying the sometimes ridiculous prices that we do to watch sporting events either in person or on TV, then revenue will fall along with player salaries.

Even the stuff on "free" TV....Paid for by advertisers, who charge us more for their products because they build the advertising costs into the price.

Some of you guys have it real good, Try being a Tigers fan

Oh well at least we have the Pistons and Red Wings

You are right Pee- someone is ALWAYS paying for it. Directly or indirectly, but you can be sure as hell that someone is paying for it. Sooner or later it will all be just in the hands of the people who have it and those who don't get what they can beg, borrow or steal.
Your cable bill alone would be more then a third to half of what some low paid workers make during the avg. work week. Never mind that guy taking a family of four to a ballpark with the tickets, parking, a program and something to eat and maybe a treat or a souvenir for the kids. I guess he is really getting a great deal then. He gets a whole months worth of TV for what one may blow on a night at the ball park.

Yes, kids, that is right. The man swinging the bat makes more money then your father does all month, each time he swings that piece of wood.

Thank God we can still play baseball in the park for free. Or can we, Dam budget cuts!

Sorry, no more soap box talk. Like I say: Isn't that a shame!

Sooooo..Colon is going to The Angels. That stinks! :p I think only a select few of us will get that remark.

Now that The Braves have let go Maddux, Sheffield, Castilla and Lopez who do they have left? The Jones boys and the midget? :rolleyes:

Good one, Crabby!

Just caught that Guardado went to the Mariners too. The Twins bullpen is getting purged.

Pettitte close to signing with the LASTros...

Crabby, you probably already know this, but your Vinny just finished signing with Colorado. 1 year, $2.1 million.

Yes, I know. I've been reading up. They just needed to wait for his physical for it to be complete. It's still bad news for me cause I'll never get to watch him play.

Deal officially done... Pettitte to Houston. Now the Yanks really need Vasquez. I have a feeling Ponson will be wearing a Yankee uniform next year.

The talk is a Jeff Weaver for Kevin Brown deal with the Dodgers is very close to happening.

The New York sports radio talk shows are abolutely ripping Steinbrenner for letting Pettite go.

One guy, Michael Kay, who hosts a show on ESPN is also a Yankee radio anouncer, and he prefaced his remarks by saying he might get fired for saying what he was about to say, and then went on to state that the only reason Pettite didn't re-sign (his desire to play in Houston, closer to home, notwithstanding) was that Andy felt that the Yankees didn't appreciate him, that they disrespected him by not making a serious offer early in the negotiation process, and the Yanks simply took it for granted that he wouldn't ever want to play for any other team.

I was upset at first about Pettite, but look what we're getting: Kevin Brown (14-9 with a 2.39 ERA w/ LA last year - a poor hitting team) and getting RID of that bust Jeff Weaver.

Damn Brown is 39 -- another old timer -- that's the only thing that sucks...

And we signed Vazquez already. If we can get Sheff in right field, and get a decent bullpen together, the Yanks will be set regardless of what the BoSox do.

I'm a Yankee fan, but somehow I would like to see George with a big glob of egg (really shit) on his face at the expense of a losing season. This Sheffield thing might blow up. Pettite's gone. What if Joe decides to shove it? Wouldn't that be fun to see how George tap dances out of that one. I could hear him now, "I was gonna fire him anyway."

Geoff, keep telling yourself that. This is NEW YORK and Old Georgie Boy has a way of hurting us somehow.

39 is old enough, but not over for sure.

Two many big headed egos is a city that doesn't sleep is a problem just waiting to happen.