I SET THE OVER-UNDER ON THIS GUYS CONTRACT AT $75 MILLION - NO DICE-K LIKE BUYOUT FEE TO CASTRO REQUIRED
Now this is MY pet-peeve about the draft. These guys want to further strangle the negotiating ability of American kids, so they can allow more funds to flow to the bottom line AND have more money for SPECIAL situations like this.
NOW, we shall see what the recently demonized Stephen Strasburg was ACTUALLY worth.
This kid here is 21 years old, and a LEFTY with a 102 MPH fastball. The lefty-ness may even make him MORE valuable in an open market situation than Strasburg.
HOLY COW!! These huckleberry owners won't be able to keep their checkbooks in their pants long once they get close to this guy and his agent. (It's got to be Boras).
We will see if my $75 million, back of the envelope calculation rings true here.
I officially declare him comparable to Strasburg. What he gets, Strasburg would have received, give or take a few perks to be named later.
What really roils me is I don't see how players in this situation are not required to be subject to the next player draft. The headline says he is "petitioning" MLB to be a free-agent. I'm not asking them to say NO. But why can't they say, "Sure, you can play here. Your fastball is welcome here, but you are subject to the same rules as other youngsters your age, we'll see you at the next years draft, televised by ESPN." Would the current major league players or the union object? What other constituency would stand up and represent for these guys? The World Future Baseball Players Defector Society?
I don't want to hear from these idiot owners or any of their weeny-whiny media mouthpieces about what needs to be fixed in baseball until they fix the most obvious problem, which is the payroll disparity and it's correlation to teams ability to compete and make the playoffs from year to year. I mean if anything calls for the phrase "level playing field" these two issues certainly do.
SHARE REVENUES BETTER OR IMPLEMENT A SALARY CAP TO EQUALIZE THE CURRENT PAYROLL DISPARITY!!
and
EQUAL TREATMENT OF PLAYERS REGARDLESS OF COUNTRY OF ORIGIN!!
FIX THAT MLB AND MLBPA!!!!
FROM ESPN:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4491904
Aroldis Chapman, the Cuban defector considered to be one of the top pitching prospects in the world, petitioned Major League Baseball for free-agency status recently and is likely only weeks from becoming a free agent, according to his agent.
Early Monday, Chapman's representatives announced that the left-hander has established residency in Andorra, a tiny country of about 84,000 that borders Spain and France.
By establishing residency outside the United States, the 21-year-old Chapman avoids being subject to baseball's amateur draft. MLB must study his residency and legal paperwork before declaring him a free agent.
"We chose Andorra because of its tranquility, its tax benefits for Aroldis, and also being a commercial mecca of sorts, particularly for its size," Edwin Mejia, Chapman's agent, wrote in an e-mail. "We felt that it could translate to unique marketing opportunities for Aroldis in Europe.
"Andorra is a winter playground for the wealthy and powerful residents of Europe, of which, God willing, Aroldis will be as well. Given all our options it became the perfect choice. He even has health insurance, life insurance, and a pension all before he even signs his first major league contract. We are very proud of this."
( The Slav - won't this guy fit right in, he sounds like a Hall of Fame prima dona already. )
The New York Yankees have already shown interest in the lefty, whose fastball was clocked at 102 miles per hour at the World Baseball Classic this year. It's also expected that teams such as the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers will at least show initial interest in Chapman.
( The Slav - what no Pirates, no Royals, no Padres? Don't they need pitching?)
No comments:
Post a Comment