MLB Bullets Is Looking For Big Money

I'm sick as a dog right now. So today's bullets won't be quite the masterworks the last two were.

• I'm sure you've probably heard, but Clayton Kershaw signed a seven-year, $215 million contract extension with the Dodgers, making him the highest paid player in the game.
• David Schoenfield thinks that despite Kershaw being the first $30 million a year man, the contract is "reasonable." [italics mine]
• Before the deal was announced, Dave Cameron suggested that a fair market value for Kershaw was seven years, $230 million. So the Dodgers got a bit of a bargain.
• Except that Kershaw can opt out of the deal after five seasons. Cameron also examines the pros and cons of the opt-out clause.
• Ken Rosenthal also agrees that the contract is a good deal for the Dodgers, except that they're going to blow past the luxury tax threshold.
• Mark Saxon says that Dodgers fans can now relax, even though there is some risk in the deal.
• Marc Normandin says that with all the TV money coming into the game, you can expect more mega-contracts like the one Kershaw signed.
• Jack Moore thinks that the new local TV contracts are widening the gaps between the haves and the have-nots in baseball.
• Jonah Keri says the real losers in the Kershaw deal are small-market teams, that may soon find themselves priced out of the market for top talent.
• What does the Kershaw contract mean to Max Scherzer's contract negotiations?
• As has been noted on this site yesterday, MLB approved expanded replay for 2014 yesterday.
• Jayson Stark explains how the system will work and adds that it's designed to correct the "big misses" rather than get every detail right.
• David Schoenfield applauds the new replay system.
• As does Jon Paul Morosi, adding that the announcement takes away some of the oxygen from the Alex Rodriguez story.
• Matt Snyder says the best part of the new replay system is that all the decisions will be made by a group of umpires in New York.
• Rob Neyer believes that even though the "neighborhood play" is exempt from replay under the new system, he doesn't expect that exception to last very long.
• Back to the A-Rod mess, the US Anti-Doping Agency said that Alex Rodriguez's PED use was "probably the most potent and sophisticated drug program . . .that we've ever seen."
• Rodriguez said that his suspension may turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Seriously, what world are you living in, Alex?
• Even though most people think the Yankees got lucky when Rodriguez was suspended, owner Hal Steinbrenner said "when he's on and he's healthy, he's obviously an asset."
• One of the reasons that MLB allegedly came down so hard on Rodriguez was that he allegedly tried to obstruct the investigation. But there is some evidence that the "bribe" that Rodriguez was alleged to give to Tony Bosch to keep quiet was actually a billing error.
• David Waldstein thinks the arbitrator's ruling gives the commissioner's office powerful new and arbitrary powers.
• The late journalist Richard Ben Cramer wrote biographies of Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. But when he tried to write a biography of Alex Rodriguez, he went down a rabbit hole he never came out of.
• A lawsuit against Ryan Braun connected to his PED use will go forward.
• David Price avoided arbitration by signing a one year, $14 million deal with the Rays. It's not $215 million, but I'd take it.
• The Brewers are trying to sign Mark Reynolds.
• Do veteran pitchers get the benefit of the doubt from umpires?
• Manny Machado's recovery from surgery is 6-8 weeks ahead of schedule.
• Bobby Parnell says he's still the Mets closer.
• Chone Figgins has impressed scouts in workouts as he attempts to make a comeback in baseball.
• Jose Abreu is a big man.
• Three of the four remaining quarterbacks in the NFL playoffs were drafted by MLB teams What kinds of baseball prospects were they?
• Gabe Kapler made the final out in Dallas Braden's perfect game and hit the ball that DeWayne Wise robbed of a home run in Mark Buehrle's perfect game. He says that being on the losing team in a perfect game "sucks."
• Jayson Stark says that an "amazing" number of owners think that the Cubs will end up signing Masahiro Tanaka. How's that for burying the lede?
• Finally, if you want to see all 30 major league parks in 30 days this season, Will Leitch plans out your itinerary and tells you how much it's going to cost.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.