All’s quiet on free-agent front
Posted: Monday, December 01, 2008 3:36 PM
It's the first of December and the free agent dam has yet to break. Neither CC Sabathia nor Manny Ramirez, the lead cars in the race for big bucks, has signed and everyone else in the derby for dollars seems to be waiting for the two big dogs to cut their deals and set the market.
Of course, the economy worsens daily, bankers tell MLB owners to be wary and how much longer before some frustrated agent screams collusion?
The McCourts, who own the Dodgers, likely had self-interest at heart but they had a point in their comments last week when they wondered out loud how the team’s fans would accept a mega deal given a player in this economic climate. Now no fan will empathize with an owner -- that's against the American DNA -- but will they embrace the player who gets the loot? I have never wondered about that until now when so much of America is wary, uncertain and concerned.
Not every free agent is Sabathia. Not every unemployed baseball player is looking for a huge contract. This week I came across the list of minor-league free agents and it reads like a trip down memory lane. Here are 15 players, once big leaguers, some prominent, who now look for an invite to spring training:
Victor Zambrano -- part of the worst trade in the last decade – the deal where the Mets send Scott Kazmir to Tampa Bay.
D'Angelo Jimenez -- once a top infield prospect for the Yankees.
Scott Strickland -- an abused setup man/closer who proves that not every pitcher comes all the way back from Tommy John surgery.
Eric Milton -- Former 15 game winner and author of a no-hitter also on the rebound from Tommy John surgery.
Ben Broussard -- lost in the shuffle by Cleveland and fanned on a big chance in Seattle.
Danny Graves -- another burnt-out former All-Star closer.
Jay Gibbons -- A 100 RBI man in 2003 who has crashed under the weight of being implicated in the Mitchell report.
Gookie Dawkins -- Member of the 2000 U.S. Olympic baseball team that won gold, who is still plugging away at age 29.
John Ford Griffin – The Yankees No. 1 pick in 2001. He’s now 29 and has only 23 MLB at-bats.
Tagg Bozied -- A Scott Boras holdout that refused to sign with Minnesota after being drafted in the second round in 2000. He then was selected by San Diego in the third round in 2001 and has never played a game in the big leagues.
Timo Perez -- Who can forget the flighty Mets outfielder on the 2000 NL Champs?
Morgan Ensberg -- Another career crash with no apparent reason.
Jeff Weaver -- How did Scott Boras fare for this client in the last two winters?
John Halama -- Hoping someone sees him at 37 as the next Jamie Moyer.
John Gall -- How many on this list have a World Series ring (St. Louis, 2006) and an Olympic medal (U.S. 2008)?
FIVE MORE SWINGS:
1. I MADE ANOTHER TRIP BY SHEA STADIUM…this weekend and got a look at the nearly-completed Citi Field, which was built right next to Shea. It struck me -- how does this bailout thing work? The taxpayers save Citigroup and the naming rights deal with the Mets remains intact? How long before some politicians make an issue of that? And in San Diego, where $300 million of public funds helped build Petco Park, Padres owner John Moores is stripping down the team because of a nasty divorce.
2. MANNY RAMIREZ IS VILIFIED FOR QUITTING ON THE RED SOX…yet the same actions are unnoticed and unpunished in the NBA. Al Harrington admitted to exaggerating an injury to accelerate a trade from Golden State. Two days after a trade, he played for the Knicks. Not a critical word was heard.
3. ANDRUW JONES HAS A TRAINER AND NUTRITIONIST…paid for by the Dodgers with him this winter. The Dodgers are desperate to salvage something from their two-year investment which was a bust in year one and Jones needs to resuscitate his career. Why does this happen AFTER the man gets his money?
4. WHILE THE YANKEES AND THEIR FANS WONDER...whether Phil Hughes will turn out to be the real thing, Detroit may have the best young pitcher in the game. Rick Porcello fell to No. 27 in the 2007 draft because of "signability." Detroit drafted him, paid him Josh Beckett money and may reap Beckett-like benefits. Porcello led the Florida State League in ERA at age 19. The pitcher, who reminds scouts of Roy Halladay, is on a fast track and there is speculation that he could get to the big leagues sometime in 2009.
5. ORIOLES OWNER PETER ANGELOS…doesn't sign free agents readily and never to long-term deals without a thorough physical. Keep that in mind re: Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett. And keep in mind that Will Clark was poised to sign with Baltimore in the 1990s when Angelos let slip at a dinner with Clark's agent that a physical was needed. The agent excused himself from the table, went to a pay phone, called Texas and accepted a deal for Clark over the phone. Clark had a dicey elbow and his agent knew a physical would be a problem. Clark never lived up to his billing during that Texas contract.
