This is Soriano's first ever big multi-year deal. Will he be a guy who lives up to his contract? (Berkman, Pujols) Or will he be a guy who gets a little two comfortable after getting p-a-i-d. (Hidalgo, Shawn Green, Matt Maloney, Kelvin Cato, Moochie Norris). Even if he produces at a decent rate... he will never be worth that gigantic contract. All this big spending will have the owners crying again by the time the next CBA is up for renewal.
Soriano for 17 mil a year or trying to trade for Manny for 20 mil a year...I'd take Manny. Now I just hope Lee doesn't look at this as a litmus test on how much he should demand.
The Cubs were 3rd worst in the majors in runs scored last year. Pitching wasn't much better, but the hitting definitely needed improvement.
Point taken, Major, but Derek Lee was out most of the year. Adding Soriano and De Rosa will definitely beef up their line-up, but will it get them anywhere with that staff? They might be like the Mets were this year.
That depends on where the market goes. If the market keeps increasing, then a few years from now, $17MM might seem perfectly reasonable. That's why Beltran's contract is not bad *if* he stays healthy. Signing a guy of that caliber 5 years from now may cost $20 or $25MM per year. At some point, we have to realize the market dictates prices and they are rising. We can choose to continue to just say everyone is overvalued and that we're happy the Astros don't sign them, but then we can't complain if/when the Astros offense sucks next year. Carlos Lee is likely going to cost us $13-$15MM a year for similar production, worse defense (Soriano has the tools and improved with experience; Lee is just going to get slower as he gets older), and much less flexibility (he has to play LF, nowhere else). If I had my choice of Lee in LF for $15MM (with Willy T playing CF) or Soriano in CF for $17 MM (with Luke Scott playing LF), it would be a tough call. Willy T's defense would be sorely missed in the latter scenario, but with our pitching up in the air, and with Ausmus/Everett taking up offensive spots, and Biggio being likely to only get worse, a Willy T just for defense might be a luxury we don't have this year. The real benefit of Lee is that he probably will only get a 4 or 5 year type deal so there's a bit less risk there, but he also has a weight problem according to some. I think both are overpriced, but if you want to compete, that's a decision you have to make - pay the price, or just accept not improving much. It would be better to build from within, but that's a multi-year time frame. The Cubs want to compete now, so they pay the extra price. Same thing the Mets did with Beltran and it worked pretty well for them. As a side note, the CBA's not going to come up for renewal for a long time, I don't think. I think they already agreed to renew it without a major battle because everyone's happy with it, which is stunning to me.
I think the Cubs would love to duplicate the Mets if they could. They were wire-to-wire the best team in the NL. Had they not lost Pedro at the end, they would have easily been the favorites to make the World Series. That said, they still do need to improve their pitching as well if they want to get in the mix with the Astros/Cardinals. If they are counting on Prior/Wood staying healthy, they are going to waste another year.
Everybody talks about Lee's weight problems and defensive issues which result (Dodger GM Ned Coletti called him an "American League Player" in a phone interview this week), but I don't get it. Sure, he looks a bit pudgy, but the guy has reached double-digits in stolen bases every year except one with a career success rate of 75%, which is excellent. I understand that SB aren't directly dependent on speed, but it does say to me that he is a very good athlete.
I agree - but A-Rod was paid far more than anyone at the time (and now). Soriano's really not. Berkman's making $15MM. Manny Ramirez makes $20. Beltran makes $17. Bagwell made $17 last year, etc. There are lots of people in his price range. His worth will of course depend on whether he improves or regresses, but his contract's not really out of line with market values except for the length of it (8 years).
Yeah - I have no idea the validity of that complaint. I don't see Lee enough to really have an opinion, but I just see a lot of people saying he's destined to be a DH in the long-term. Hopefully that's not the case!
At the very least, I hope the Astros contributed in getting that contract to 8 years & $136 million. The Cubs are at it again. Yes, they needed some offense but they need pitching much more. It may help them win a few more games, but Soriano is just going to remain what he is becoming. A very good player on very bad teams. Has he had a winning season since he left the Yankees? I think he would have fit well in Houston and would have made a winning team better. Instead, he makes a crappy team just a little less crappy.
Man. Soriano, Lee, Ramirez might be the best middle lineup in baseball. Im gonna hate seeing them rolling into MMP.
It wouldn't surprise me if the cubs land Carlos Lee as well. While I know that there's something fundamentally wrong with how much these teams are paying (or should I say overpaying) for these players, you have to pay to get talent and the Astros don't have enough of it as they are right now.
Even if the contract is too long, or too much per year, Soriano is a very very good baseball player, and it sucks that the Cubs get him. Geez, can you imagine if the Cubs win next year....total suckage.
When Vlad signed for 5 years 70 million, that should have set the market for years to come. There is no freaking way Carlos Lee should get more than Vlad.
All valid points... I still say you don't pay a player that much money unless they're the type of player that is a perennial MVP candidate, doesn't have major deficiencies in the batters box, and has a projected performance that could land him in cooperstown one day. Tons of players had "that", and got the big contract they were worth... Griffey, A-Rod, even Bagwell. Pujols got a cheaper deal, partly because of his makeup, and partly because of his really young age (he'll get another huge deal at the end of this one). Berkman actually IMPROVED his overall numbers after his big deal. Manny Ramirez has also lived up to it. Beltran has had one mediocre year, and one good year... he's still got a ways to go to prove he'll be worth his deal (and taking to account the loss of speed and defensive skills as he gets older, I still don't see that happening). Soriano is a little older than all the above players were when they got their big deal. He also strikes out a ton, and has the lowest career OBP of all of them. Finally, he really doesn't have a position on the field that he can call "his". In summation... I don't think he's worth it, and I couldn't think of a better team for him to hamstring.
