Friday Rockpile - The economy, Steinbrenners' advantage, Rebound for Atkins, and Unkind Kin
by Andrew T. Fisher on Jan 23, 2009 12:00 AM MST
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PrintStruggling economy shrinks payrolls
When the Yankees went on their spending spree this offseason, many people grumbled at the notion that the stumbling economy would not really affect the game of baseball. However, Tracy Ringolsby pointed out yesterday that baseball is feeling the heat just like any other industry.
His main point: in a league consistently marked by inflation, only 11 of 30 major league teams will increase payroll from 2008 to 2009. And no, the Yankees aren’t one of them. Neither are the Red Sox, Angels, Dodgers, Tigers or White Sox.
Yet ironically the Rockies are. Despite shedding All-Stars Matt Holliday and Brian Fuentes, Colorado will actually experience at least a $5 million increase from last year with the current roster configuration. This is due to the net $5 million added to the payroll for the Marquis/Vizcaino swap as well as notable increases in salary for GenR through arbitration and other small free agent signings.
MLB Rule favors Yankees
Ringolsby notes in his Infield Chatter section of the same column that the Yankees’ first pick in the 2009 amateur draft might not come until the 6th round. The Bronx Bombers have already forfeited picks in the first three rounds from signing CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Mark Teixeira. Therefore, signing two more Type A free agents, such as Juan Cruz and Ben Sheets, would result in forfeiting their 4th and 5th round picks.
The end result of this process is that the price of signing a Type A free agent for the Yankees is significantly lower than for any other team. The compensation to Milwaukee and Arizona for losing those players is also much smaller than if Sheets or Cruz signed with another team. This is simply not a fair way to structure the rules. Why should rules provide an anomaly of a team with the funds to monopolize the Type A free agent market a distinct advantage over poorer teams? Why should the rules dictate giving a team a 5th round pick for losing a Type A free agent? The answer for both – they shouldn’t.
How can we remedy this? Simple. Instead of moving down rounds for the upcoming draft, move on to the next year. I am not advocating this procedure for every Type A signed. It would be ridiculous to confiscate all first round picks for the Yankees through 2013 for their spending spree this offseason. Moreover, the price would be too large and scare teams from making multiple plunges in the free agent pool to shore up their roster.
My solution is a compromise of that system and the existing system. A maximum of two (or maybe three) Type A players could be signed before the sequestered draft picks would start in the first round of the next year. This levels the playing field and discourages a team from going on such a spending spree by eliminating the decreased, unfair price.
Atkins poised to rebound?
Brian Joura at Fangraphs expects Garrett Atkins to rebound in 2009, due to increased stability in defensive position and the restoration of his oddly low road BABIP in 2008 back to career levels. He even goes as far as identifying Atkins as a player to target in fantasy drafts.
The BABIP argument I agree with. The defensive position argument I don’t buy. In fact, it could be even more of an issue in 2009. Regardless, Atkins shouldn’t have offensive struggles from moving to his natural position of less defensive importance (first base). I think the biggest key to Atkins’ rebound is remembering how to take a walk.
Rockie backup backstops in SoCal
Former Rockie farmhand Brad Ausmus signed with the Dodgers, where he’ll replace a pair of former Rockies, Danny Ardoin and Gary Bennett, as Russell Martin’s backup. Another former Rockie Henry Blanco signed with the Friars Wednesday.
Love thy brother
Jay McGwire, brother of Mark, gets my early nomination for the most gag- and scoff-worthy quote of 2009. Jay found it necessary to inform the ignorant public that his brother did in fact use anabolic steroids during his home run binge of the 90’s. What a shocker. Jay has begun his noble and selfless quest of truth by trying, unsuccessfully, to sell a book idea that throws his brother under the bus…
"My bringing the truth to surface about Mark is out of love. I want Mark to live in truth to see the light, to come to repentance so he can live in freedom - which is the only way to live."
Oh…and Jay is also just clearing his conscience. Had he not introduced Mark to steroids, you see, perhaps Barry Bonds wouldn’t have felt the need to use them either. I get it! So you, Jay McGwire, are responsible for the spike in PED abuse in Major League Baseball! Now I see that it was you that influenced Major League Baseball even more than your brother! You win. I totally see how all of this was out of love for your brother….Sigh...
Never trust a quote that uses the word ‘trust’ more than once in one sentence...except this one of course.
Eat. Drink. Be Merry. But the above FanPost does not necessarily reflect the attitudes, opinions, or views of Purple Row's staff (unless, of course, it's written by the staff [and even then, it still might not]).
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I had intended
on actually waiting until morning to post this but blundered a keystroke and accidentally put it up already. So you owls out there get an early peek.
I played around with formatting a bit, decreased the number of links and added a little more original commentary. So a bit of a different style from last time. Comments most certainly appreciated.
by Andrew T. Fisher on Jan 23, 2009 12:13 AM MST reply actions
Darn
I missed one extremely juicy piece of news I would have loved to sink my teeth into with this Rockpile. I’ll have to make a FanShot instead.
by Andrew T. Fisher on Jan 23, 2009 12:44 AM MST reply actions
Erm...
I don’t think anyone will notice if you go back and edit it…after all, like two people have seen it at this point.
I liked the format a lot too, as well as the content. I might have to experiment with that in the future. It was a slow news day but you made the best of it.
Eschew Obfuscation!
by Jeff Aberle on Jan 23, 2009 12:48 AM MST up reply actions
Yeah but...
….it’s already so long! Check out the FanShot. It’s a whopper.
by Andrew T. Fisher on Jan 23, 2009 12:54 AM MST up reply actions
The Yankees do have a first-round pick, #29.
They failed to sign Gerritt Cole, their first-rounder in 2007, and that pick can’t be given away in compensation.
"If we never try, we shall never succeed." - Abraham Lincoln
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
Really?
I’m a little confused about this quote then…
They already gave up their top three picks for left-hander CC Sabathia, right-hander A.J. Burnett and first baseman Mark Teixeira, so they would only be giving up a fourth- and fifth-round pick for Sheets and Cruz.
Did the Cowboy get confused again?
by Andrew T. Fisher on Jan 23, 2009 8:14 AM MST up reply actions
Well, my mistake
is that Cole was taken in 2008. But as far as I know, Ringolsby is incorrect.
"If we never try, we shall never succeed." - Abraham Lincoln
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
And that his first name has only one 't' in it.
"If we never try, we shall never succeed." - Abraham Lincoln
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
You are correct.
Picks that are awarded because a team failed to sign a player the previous year are protected from the FA comp process. So technically they still have that pick from failing to sign Cole, but lose their 2009 picks.
Inequality in the System
The FA compensation system is one more inequality in the system that favors big-market teams. For teams like the Red Sox and Yankees, which deal in high-dollar players, they can actually improve their draft position by simply letting one or two of their Type A’s walk, while signing FA’s of their own. As an example, when A-Rod was a FA a couple of years ago, there were reports he’d sign with Boston, who would then let Lowell walk. In that situation, Boston would’ve given up a late-1st, but gained a first and a comp pick for Lowell. In the end, they would’ve received an extra comp pick for signing arguably the best player in the game. That’s probably the extreme example, but I couldn’t help but think about how unfair that would be at the time.
Bad system
Not to mention the fact that the Elias rating system is seriously flawed. Among other things, a catcher’s fielding percentage is a factor.
What has the biggest impact on a catcher’s fielding percentage? The number of Ks his pitchers get … since the catcher gets a putout on a strikeout.
There are countless other flaws, of course :)
I think giving up
first and second rounders, since thats where a lot of people (casual fans) expect the “quality” players to get picked, should be the normal compensation for the Type A’s.
Once they’re gone for this year, roll it over to next year. If there is a rollover, the compensation picks for unsigned draftpicks should be thrown in as well.
Did anyone catch the Jeff Kent retirement yesterday?
He talked about PEDS and how it has brought down the integrity of baseball. Kent would have had a good insight into the effects that it brought to the game. He also said “Winning is the only thing that makes me happy. Ask my wife. I don’t get happy about anniversaries or birthdays. I don’t care about that. Just winning.” Bill Marshall has an interesting point about his Hall of Fame worthiness in his blog.
Keepin' warm by the hot stove season.
Poor wife
Should Kent benefit from playing at an offensively inferior position if he was only average at best defensively? Sure, he has great numbers for a second baseman, but if that’s what gets him into the Hall alone, we could put any strong hitter with average or slightly below average and he goes from a decent corner IF player to a Hall of Famer….
Let’s put Ian at 2B…he’ll go to Cooperstown.
by Andrew T. Fisher on Jan 23, 2009 1:57 PM MST up reply actions
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