The Dallas Morning News sports columnist Kevin Sherrington (below) says the Tigers spent way too much to solve a one-year problem. That's just sour grapes talking. True, he's a wonderful solution to replace Martinez, but 2013 is a long time away, and the future presents many, many possibilities. There's just no telling that Cabrera, Fielder and Martinez all stay healthy all the time. Do these guys have no-trade clauses in their contracts? Maybe the Tigers could off-load some salary and pick up a pitcher in 2013. There's too much to risk, and besides, we're talking about spending a rich man's money!
Sherrington: Why passing on Prince Fielder was the best move for Rangers
Kevin Sherrington
ksherrington@dallasnews.com
Published: 26 January 2012 09:22 PM
Prince Fielder apparently was starting to have some doubts about his agent, but a nine-year, $214 million deal with Detroit reaffirms that, when you stand trembling before the Pearly Gates some glad morning, you want Scott Boras doing the talking for you.
Jon Daniels resisted Boras’ attempts to plop Fielder in the middle of the Rangers’ lineup into the next decade. For this, any Rangers fan should be grateful.
Not that Fielder isn’t productive or a wonderful teammate. He will be a formidable presence for the Tigers . Of course, so was Victor Martinez, who’s out for the season. Fielder makes up for it and then some, but at a price you could lease Lubbock.
For this year, Fielder makes perfect sense for the Tigers, victims of the Rangers last fall. They have no other viable options to fill the void left by Martinez. Fielder could put them over the top.
Where it really gets dicey, though, is that he won’t get any cheaper over the course of his contract. He won’t get any sleeker, either.
And then there’s this: Unlike football and basketball, you can’t tie up your budget in baseball on one position player, because no matter how good he may be, you can’t put the game in his hands any time you like. He’s only going to get up four times.
The rest of the time, Fielder is just killing grass.
Even Albert Pujols has his limitations, and not just his age, whatever it may actually be. Certainly he was awe-inspiring in Game 3. But check the numbers. The Cardinals would have won the game without him. The rest of the World Series , Ron Washington practically rendered him a nonfactor.
The World Series MVP was one David Freese. The year before, it was Edgar Renteria , who had hardly washed the tickertape out of his hair before the Giants released him.
Before 2010, you have to go back almost a decade, when Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson led Arizona over the Yankees, to find MVPs who were even remotely Hall of Fame-worthy.
Big boppers with bigger contracts in no way guarantee success. Two of the most prolific ever to play for the Rangers are now Yankees teammates. Between them, Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira have helped deliver one World Series appearance, a title in 2009. A-Rod had a great postseason that year. It was an anomaly. He’s hitting .277 in the postseason overall. Teixeira’s average in seven playoff series: .207.
Still, the two postseason underachievers are guaranteed a combined $47 million a year through 2016. And even then, A-Rod will still have one more $24 million season left, at 42.
Even superstars get old. For all we know, Pujols already is. They grow out of shape. Fielder goes three bills at 27. They get hurt. Josh Hamilton has played more than 133 games once in five seasons.
This isn’t to say you shouldn’t gamble occasionally on a contract. But on the dollars, not the length. Eight, nine, 10 years is far too long for any organization, especially one like the Rangers, with replacements waiting down on the farm. Besides, what if the team starts losing? What if it has too many holes to patch immediately? Tom Hicks made the mistake of paying A-Rod disproportionately when the rest of the club couldn’t back him up.
The Rangers have been ready for two years. Their window is now. But it wasn’t a lack of hitting that kept them from beating St. Louis.
They needed more pitching. Even after signing Yu Darvish, they need more. If Roy Oswalt will sign a one-year deal, Daniels should jump.
When healthy last year, Oswalt was still very good. The Rangers could use a pitcher with his track record, not only for the seasoning he brings, but as a mentor for the wide-eyed kids on the staff. They listen to Mike Maddux; they’d idolize Oswalt.
And if Oswalt’s back goes out again? Not a problem. They’d have seven other candidates for the rotation.
Even if Oswalt didn’t get hurt, someone will go on the DL. Someone won’t live up to expectations.
A club can live with disappointments as long as the price is right and comparable replacements are ready. You can’t afford the latter without the former.
Even the Yankees once understood how it works. Back in the late ’90s, when they won four World Series in five years, the lineup, led by Bernie Williams and Derek Jeter, was good. But it wasn’t intimidating, especially by standards of the Steroids Era. It was the Yankees’ pitching — bracketed by Andy Pettitte , Roger Clemens and David Cone on the front end and John Wetteland and Mariano Rivera to the rear — that dominated.
The Yankees eventually forgot what made them great and started listening to Scott Boras. The man can talk. If he’d been Eve’s agent, the serpent wouldn’t have stood a chance.
Ilitch has the money so I think he made a good deal. It would not be a good deal for Kansas City or Pittsburgh. Fielder has been remarkably consistent offensively and by all accounts is a good guy to have on a team and in the clubhouse. I did, however, read an interesting article that said for what the Tigers paid for Fielder they could have signed Jose Reyes, CJ Wilson and Aramis Ramirez.
ReplyDeleteLeftfield sounds good
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