Comments on: Blue Jays not expected to pursue Yoenis Cespedes

By: Walk

Walk — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:25:31 +0000

Got some mixed feeling on him myself. On the ones hand he is absolutely raking. On the other hand at a reported 26? he is raking A ball or high A type competition. At that age he should have made his mlb debut but there is some upside to that if you think about it. Teams on low end of the market typically lose their sluggers just after arbitration ends. This happens right in a players prime. The team that gets him may very well get him through his prime. I do not think arbitration applies the same way to international players but geting this guy now at his age may very well force him to take a longer initial contract and may even be at a lower rate just for financial security on his part. I am a bit fuzzy on how arbitration years work for international players and that confuses me some on value of any contract they get but it seems to me that the upside on this contract could be huge and the downside equally daunting.

By: uyf1950

uyf1950 — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:50:46 +0000

cshearing – talk to me when the NFL has 100% guaranteed contracts.

Do you know how many NFL teams for the 2009/10 season had a payroll under $90MM? 3 out of 32 teams.

Do you know ow many MLB teams in 2011 had a payroll under $90MM? 17 out of 30 teams. More than half.

Please don’t bring up the NFL in this discussion. It’s not an apples to apples comparison.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:06:37 +0000

They would still play….yes…but no one would pay to develop the talent….and the quality of the baseball would slowly dwindle, just as it has in Puerto Rico.

By: Francisco (FC)

Francisco (FC) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:00:47 +0000

That’s a bit of an exaggeration. In Venezuela at least they would still play, Winter Ball may not sound exciting to this audience but many a great game gets played down there. It is true that the quality may well slip, but being a player in the professional league is still a pretty decent enough way to earn a living locally.

By: paperlions

paperlions — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:28:57 +0000

*”will completely stop”, not “with completely…”

By: paperlions

paperlions — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:06:26 +0000

If you want Latin American kids to quit playing baseball, then you should be in favor of a world-wide draft. Because MLB teams with completely stop investing in training facilities if that happens….no team is going to pay to develop talent that can be drafted by any team. Without those training facilities there is no one in Latin American to draft.

By: cshearing

cshearing — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:02:24 +0000

Yeah, revenue sharing has ruined the NFL. Oh wait…

By: uyf1950

uyf1950 — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:46:53 +0000

I have a real hard time sympathizing with either the Royals or Pirates or their fans. The Pirates have been awful forever and the Royals for nearly as long. Both these teams have drafted high for years now and to say they are mediocre would be giving them to much credit.

Add in the fact that both those teams play in the Central Division of their respective leagues with mostly other small and medium market teams there can be no excuse for their poor performance over the years relative to their peers other than mismanagement of once proud franchises.

As Utley’s Hair said don’t get me started on the whole revenue sharing subject.

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 06:18:59 +0000

Prepare to be slammed on the whole revenue sharing thing and how small markets can spend all they want, just like the big market teams.

By: nightrain42

nightrain42 — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:54:25 +0000

I think all international players shld be put in a draft, similar to the nfl’s supplemental draft. Makes no sense that guys like this normally go to the big spending teams. No that they hve slotting on the reg draft, poor teams like the royals and pirates really don’t stand a chance. No way the bucco’s get Josh Bell without overpaying

By: Utley's Hair

Utley's Hair — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:37:01 +0000

Is Jose Contreras in his 30s, 40s or 70s?

By: uyf1950

uyf1950 — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:18:54 +0000

The club that signs this guys for anything more then $15 to $20MM total for 4years or more will come to regret it.

They also need to make sure if he bombs they can park him in the minor leagues and not waste a roster spot on him.

By: burm61

burm61 — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:07:08 +0000

This has Cleveland written all over it… bust or 63 years old. Either way they’ll be wrong.

By: whittle79

whittle79 — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:05:00 +0000

His he 26 yrs old or 31 ??

By: bigharold

bigharold — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:59:38 +0000

Aren’t we all at one point or another?

By: cur68

cur68 — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:45:26 +0000

GUILTY!

By: bigharold

bigharold — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:43:30 +0000

” Again, no facts/sound reasoning were used when formulating this opinion.”

That’s about right at least half the time around here.

By: b7p19

b7p19 — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:42:03 +0000

I have no REAL reason to think this, but I feel really good about this kid. Again, no facts/sound reasoning were used when formulating this opinion.