Comments on: Dodgers pull out of Carlos Lee trade with Astros

By: teambringitstrong

teambringitstrong — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 10:59:49 +0000

Maybe he has a warrant.

By: dwaynehosey

dwaynehosey — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 15:31:59 +0000

The Dodgers should have gotten in on Youk when they had the chance.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 13:10:58 +0000

Point taken.

Then again, it does run under the unified market area claimed by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Azusa, Garden Grove, Ontario, Pomona, Covina, Laverne, Redlands, San Bernardino, Twentynine Palms……

By: stex52

stex52 — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 12:16:28 +0000

I really wish he had gone, but he was perfectly within his rights per negotiation. People also forget that he gave Houston a discount when he came. And I disagree that he performed poorly in Houston; look at the stats. He was pretty much exactly as advertised. They just overpaid. Not his fault.

By: stex52

stex52 — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 12:11:45 +0000

No arguments with anything you said. Lee gave Houston a discount over San Francisco when he came. Unlike most people, I look at the record and say he gave Houston a pretty good performance for five of the six years. It was like the Beltran deal with the Mets; they just gave him too much money.

I really wish he had agreed to go to LA. But he is certainly within his rights under the contract.

By: braddavery

braddavery — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 07:50:04 +0000

He knows he most likely won’t be with a Texas team next season, so what is the point of leaving right now for L.A. Might as well stay by his ranch for the rest of this season and the next off-season, knowing that he most likely won’t be able to with his next contract. That is if he doesn’t decide to just retire and stay on his ranch for good.

By: Reflex

Reflex — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 07:11:54 +0000

Random thought here, but given that a lot of players will take slightly less to play in Texas for tax reasons, wouldn’t accepting a trade from one of the lowest tax states to one of the highest tax states for even half a season put him on the hook for hundreds of thousands of additional taxes?

Lee is possibly unsignable after this season. Regardless of where he wants to play, I have to wonder if there was a financial aspect to this as well.

By: derklempner

derklempner — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 07:08:53 +0000

What about LaHair? I bet the Cubs would be happy to part ways with him for some more starting pitching, although I think Garrett Gould wouldn’t be their choice.

By: sincitybonobo

sincitybonobo — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 07:06:47 +0000

Loney has been consistently and increasingly brutal. In his recent tailspin, he’s developed an aversion to working the count. Frequently, he’s been up there hacking, frequently swinging at the first pitch and making weak contact. The corner IF positions have been a problem for LA ever since Beltre departed. 1B is a position where offensive production and power are simply not optional. Throw in league average production at 1B and 3B, and the Dodgers would still be a few games clear of the Giants. For what other team could Loney start in MLB?

By: nothanksimdriving123

nothanksimdriving123 — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 05:52:40 +0000

You win points for humor, but alas, not for geography, as the SAF does not actually pass under L.A., but off to the east and then north of it. L.A. has its faults, lots of them, but the SAF is not directly among them.

By: sawxalicious

sawxalicious — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 05:19:13 +0000

When players have a list of teams they can veto a trade too, they often list good teams with money they’d like to go anyways…but with the veto rights, they hold the upper hand and can get a more lucrative situation, such as a guaranteed extension, guaranteed option, or more money…not saying Lee did that, ’cause it doesn’t seem like he wants to go anywhere.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 03:48:36 +0000

Just a wee bit. Suck your face right into your mouth.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 03:46:48 +0000

Except that Lee at this point in his career, justifiably, doesn’t give a crap about how he’s perceived. Nor should he. He negotiated the privileges he has. And what’s this garbage about doing what’s best for the franchise? If he didn’t have that clause and didn’t have five-and-ten privileges to fall back on, would the team be nearly as generous of spirit as you seem to expect him to be? Crap, no – if they saw and advantageous trade, they’d send him to the other end of the planet and screw how he felt about it. That’s business.Why should he not act in what he feels to be his own best interests if he knows – everybody knows – that the team wouldn’t hesitate to act in its own best interests if it had the power to do so? That’s just fanboy hypocrisy of the most obvious order.

By: xsherr

xsherr — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 03:44:02 +0000

Can you imagine the Maury episode with the Dodgers and Carlos? That’s good tv.

By: theawesomersfranchise

theawesomersfranchise — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 03:42:32 +0000

Ahhh the ole’ coitus interruptus method, know it well

By: cbking05

cbking05 — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 03:41:57 +0000

Pulling out is not the safest method…

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 03:41:13 +0000

I wonder how many folks need to be enlightened that MILF isn’t another slash-line acrostic…er, no, maybe I better put that another way….

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 03:39:57 +0000

Not as long as the San Andreas remains a slip/strike fault under LA. But if it ever starts subducting, watch out….

By: randygnyc

randygnyc — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 03:36:58 +0000

You’d have to assume, by your analysis, that Lee views baseball as more than a job. We don’t know this, but his decision leads me to believe that’s exactly how he feels. His only obligation is to show up everyday that he is healthy and try his best. If he does that, he fulfills his contract, despite the dollar amounts or the numbers he puts up. Perhaps organizational loyalty/outcomes, don’t matter to some players. I’m sure of it. Players make commitments, outside of their baseball lives, to other business entities, people and family. Being traded might infringe on those commitments, which truthfully, may even be more important than their baseball careers. Ultimately, we don’t know every players ,motivations. Some want to win at all costs and will take less to play for a winner. Others look to maximize their earnings, rings be damned. And even others look for neither of these things, but choose lifestyle and proximity to family as their deciding factors. Again, Lee originally had a reason for adding LA to his list of teams he’d does not want to play for. He’s just exercising his negotiating rights. No one should be upset with this, including and especially the Astros.

By: yahmule

yahmule — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 02:47:30 +0000

Well said.

By: sincitybonobo

sincitybonobo — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 02:31:08 +0000

I will preface this by saying he simply exercised an option that was available to him and broke no rules.

However, at the tail end of a contract that he never came close to justifying, he has a chance to save the woebegone Astros some money, let them pick up a couple of prospects, and make a push for October with a storied franchise.

He’d be spending six extra weeks in the regular season away from his ranch. Half of his remaining games as an Astro will be played on the road.

Weak. If he weren’t ridiculously overpaid, I wouldn’t be so hard on him. Exercising this option is permissible. However, it does not prevent you from being perceived as gutless and selfish.

By: xavier46

xavier46 — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 02:15:17 +0000

Yeah, the headline should be:
“Dodgers pull out of Carlos Lee”

By: stex52

stex52 — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 02:07:08 +0000

Sour grapes??

By: ch0psuey

ch0psuey — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 01:54:56 +0000

Now if only Frank McCourt had pulled out from his Ex Wife….

By: yahmule

yahmule — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 01:45:34 +0000

The Dodgers should give Derrick Lee a call or activate Don Mattingly or pull Steve Garvey off the neighborhood MILF. James Loney was arguably the worst starting 1B in the Majors the previous four years, but he has taken sucking to new levels in 2012. He’s on pace for these numbers in a projected 151 games this season: 4 homers, 36 runs, 43 RBI, .236, 0 SB. These are numbers that would have embarrassed a backup SS in 1967.

By: wj4122

wj4122 — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 01:37:24 +0000

Lee was a questionable quick fix……questionable at best. Kasten will put something together. But the woes for the boys in blue go beyond just hitting they need a solid sp and rp if they plan on making a good run

By: smcgaels1997

smcgaels1997 — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 00:57:23 +0000

Good..proof LA isn’t the end all of destinations.

By: lostsok

lostsok — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 00:53:33 +0000

Good. I wouldn’t WANT a player who’d even have to think about staying in Houston.