Anyone else find the Fielder situation odd?
The Fielder situation just kind of seems odd to me. No new rumors, nothing.
5 months ago
puckishcubsfan
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I also wonder if there is a team out there that’s talking to him that he would like to sign with that is trying to get something else done first.
Could that team be the Cubs?
For some reason the longer this goes the more hope I have we get him.
And does anyone remember a top free agent lasting until after the new year like this without there being extenuating circumstances?
Nothing happens unless it's first a dream
Andre Dawson?
10-25-2011. Theo Epstein joins the Cubs. Now, the fun begins.
I didn't have to go too far.....
January 5, 2011: The Texas Rangers signed Adrian Beltre as a free agent.
There is nothing odd about it. Boros is playing the various options against each other to get the best deal. I bet the number of serious teams at this point is very small. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is wrapped up in a few weeks.
John Grabow - Who will pay you $4.8 million in 2012?
Well
… it kind of has to be wrapped up “in a few weeks”, because we are now about six weeks away from players reporting to spring training.
I’d be surprised if it went beyond mid-January, about two weeks from now.
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The rules seem to change every year
So, to the extent that things change all the time, it isn’t weird, but this particular set of circumstances is different than other ones.
It does seem that the Rangers are interested only if they can’t sign Darvish. So, Team Fielder may be waiting until there’s some finality with that. Also, so many of the big market teams already have 1bmen in long term deals and aren’t a part of the bidding. It does seem like TheoJed aren’t going to “pay any price” to get Fielder. In addition, the potential Garza trade may impact who the Cubs have at 1b. It wouldn’t make sense for the Cubs to get both Rizzo and Fielder.
Based on all of that, I’m not surprised that the Fielder talks are still going on.
by jerry morales rules on Jan 2, 2012 10:09 AM CST up reply actions
Well, for one, he had to wait for the market to settle after Pujols signed.
Now he’s got some sort of baseline, and the other big names are signed. He’s pretty much the only big fish left, so that’s good news for him and Boras.
"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks
no
Lou Brown: "My kinda team, Charlie, my kinda team..."
by ballhawk on Jan 2, 2012 7:40 AM CST reply actions 1 recs
Boras is waiting on the Rangers
If they fail to sign Darvish, they could be expected to make an offer to Fielder.
Maybe Scott Boras was, you know, taking the holiday week off.
Kind of like most MLB front offices.
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Nope
Where have you gone, Kiko Calero. A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.
No Pujols was a generational player, Fielder is a decade level player
there is legitimate fear his production will drop in 3 years
A friend once told me: "I don't buy the idea that a team learns anything from a loss, the only thing they learn is how to lose games."---Knight
Wouldn't be surprised if the money isn't as high as Boras wants..........
….. and they’re waiting to see if some team or teams increase. Any team who would increase would be foolish. IMO.
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I'm sure that's what's going on
Teams probably have “soft” offers on the table for amounts and lengths far lower than Boras is asking. He’s hoping somebody blinks first, which is why you’re seeing him more and more in the media.
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I read that Fielder wants to play for the Cubs, but Theo/Jed may not want to sign him because they want the Cubs to go through a complete rebuild
That makes it even more odd if it’s true.
Viva la Cubs Révolution!!!
Newsday.
http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/insider-albert-pujols-showed-he-s-human-1.3421208
"I'd rather hit home runs you don't have to run as hard." -- Dave Kingman
by BucknerKongCardenal on Jan 2, 2012 9:49 PM CST up reply actions
except that does not make sense
signing Fielder and rebuilding are compatible
I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.
~Earl Warren
by lookingdeadred on Jan 2, 2012 10:46 AM CST up reply actions
Theo and Jed have made it pretty clear that they don't exactly think so...
THEO!
by wrigleyrocker12 on Jan 2, 2012 11:33 AM CST up reply actions
They have?
I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.
~Earl Warren
by lookingdeadred on Jan 2, 2012 12:34 PM CST up reply actions
From everything I've heard...
Yes.
THEO!
by wrigleyrocker12 on Jan 2, 2012 1:10 PM CST up reply actions
so really you are merely speculating
I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.
~Earl Warren
by lookingdeadred on Jan 2, 2012 1:52 PM CST up reply actions
But does Fielder feel that way?
He may want to compete right away, not sit through a couple down years.
true
I always turn to the sports section first. The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.
~Earl Warren
by lookingdeadred on Jan 2, 2012 1:53 PM CST up reply actions
There's not many options for him that involve competing right away.
He could make the Nats pretty dang good, but they’re in the best division in the NL.
THEO!
by wrigleyrocker12 on Jan 2, 2012 2:48 PM CST up reply actions
Nationals are apparently the new favorites...
There’s always updates if you search hard enough. There is nothing odd about the time this is taking – Boras always takes his time to get what he wants.
I wouldn't doubt if the Nationals aggresively pursued him
Signing him would put that team over the top.
Viva la Cubs Révolution!!!
I really hate
… the terminology “favorites”, as if this were an election or horse race. It just doesn’t work that way.
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How about a Caucus!
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
"Pain is inevitable, suffering is an option." - Dale Sveum
by RiskyBusiness on Jan 2, 2012 11:55 AM CST up reply actions
Please.....I've had enough
caucus stuff thrown at me to last a life time. I can’t wait for it to be over.
At least he didn't say Straw Poll...
Cacti are prickly.
by crackedcactus on Jan 2, 2012 1:30 PM CST up reply actions
The headache officially begins today and lasts for 10 months.
I love politics, an very active in it but this just gives me a headache. And I think the nominees are a foregone conclusion to tell you the truth.
Nothing happens unless it's first a dream
by puckishcubsfan on Jan 3, 2012 2:10 PM CST up reply actions
And I think we need to stop the political discussion here.
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well, it's a bit more applicable in this situation than it was with Yu Darvish.
The bidding process for Darvish was pretty cut-n-dried. There were no “favorites” – there was only a winner, i.e. whoever bid the most.
But in normal free agency, I can see where “favorites” terminology could be used, especially if the player and/or agent are more forthcoming on their preferences or where they are in the process. For example, if Prince had come out and expressed a strong desire to NOT be a DH, wants to play for a team who trains in Florida (where he lives), and play in a dome, then once it became known which teams were in on him, it’d be easy enough to go through and establish a few favorites.
Lou Brown: "My kinda team, Charlie, my kinda team..."
Maybe.
In this case, Boras and Fielder haven’t really said much at all.
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Sure it does, your dislike of this term is nonsensical
There are teams that are more likely to sign someone than others, therefore they are the favorites. There are teams that are more likely to win the World Series than others, so they are the favorites.
Favorites is a term that is used in sports all the time
Regarding winning a game or a series?
Sure.
For signing a player who has not made any public statements? Not so much.
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So.....between say, the Yankees and the Royals
when signing a top flight free agent, the Yankees wouldn’t be the favorites?
Really? it isn’t more likely that they’ll sign them?
Put it another way
Everyone thought the Yankees would be the favorites in the C.C. Sabathia sweepstakes a few years ago. I don’t recall him making public statements about his preference, yet the Yankees were the favorites.
C'mon.
Some situations, like that one, might be obvious.
This one, not so much.
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you sure about that?
Who’s been rumored to be in the PF sweepstakes? In no particular order, I can think of Rangers, Cubs, Mariners, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Brewers, Nationals, Orioles, Dodgers and Giants. That’s ten teams.
Out of that list, you wouldn’t say the Rangers and Nationals are favorites? Normally, I’d include the Cubs but the way TheoJed have been talking, it doesn’t seem likely. Hopefully, that’s just a smoke screen.
Lou Brown: "My kinda team, Charlie, my kinda team..."
I have no idea.
Really. Out of the ten, if I really sat and thought about it, I could probably make a case for any of the 10 to be “favorites”.
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Really?
You could make a case for the Mariners being the favorite? Being able to outspend the Rangers or Nationals? Having a better chance of winning now and/or in the future than the Rangers or Nationals? Having more marketing/endorsement potential than the Rangers or Nationals?
If you can do that, you’re wasting your time here at SBNation. You should be writing for the NYTimes. Or Wall Street Journal (equal time…).
Lou Brown: "My kinda team, Charlie, my kinda team..."
Exactly.
A case? Yes. Which is why I don’t like these “favorite” articles.
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So what you're saying is that SOMETIMES you like the phrase, but this time you don't?
That’s slightly different than what you’ve been saying.
I don't think Scott Boras has great cell phone service
from his private island in the Caribbean. Once he gets back, it will move along.
"Just shut up and play" - Matt Garza
"Pain is inevitable, suffering is an option." - Dale Sveum
Pretty sure he has a sat phone for his island.
Right next to the bat phone.
Cacti are prickly.
by crackedcactus on Jan 2, 2012 1:31 PM CST up reply actions
Not particularly
Not particularly
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by DTJchris on Jan 2, 2012 1:27 PM CST reply actions 7 recs
can it be repeated and upside down
uʍop ǝpısdn puɐ pǝʇɐǝdǝɹ ǝq ʇı uɐɔ
Q: Why did Theo Epstein cross the road?
A: To Dump Garza
by Cubbie-Tim on Jan 3, 2012 8:41 PM CST up reply actions 2 recs
I'm thinking the offers are too soft, teams are lowballing what Fielder/Boras want
We know the personality of Fielder, and we know how Boras manages his clients, so it truly wouldn’t surprise me if teams were talking to him but aren’t making progress or budging their offers because honestly, Fielder could just end up being a massive crash in a couple to a few years. We all know Theo and Jed want to rebuild this organization from the ground up, so IMO, I think they’re trying to work out a deal to bring in Rizzo for the future, instead of Fielder for the present, but that’s just my opinion on the matter…
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Carlos Beltran also signed late (not this year but last time).
Of course like jerry-moralas-rules mentions above, the rules were different then.
And there seem to be rumors all the time, the Nationals being the latest.
"I'd rather hit home runs you don't have to run as hard." -- Dave Kingman
by BucknerKongCardenal on Jan 2, 2012 9:58 PM CST reply actions
Maybe I've missed it...
but where is a transcript of an interview that says TheoJed want us to go through a “complete rebuild?” I’ve seen Kenny Williams’ interview and heard him and Ventura backtrack after he initially said it, but never heard or read TheoJed say it’s “rebuild time” for the Cubs…
Boras didn't put together that binder for nothing.
He’s probably being really stubborn. Plus, I’d guess Prince’s contract will be one of the more complex ones in recent memory because of the body type concerns.
"[The Cubs] have a very famous tradition in baseball, and it will be nice to be part of turning it around." ~ Jamie Quirk, Bench Coach
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