Whether you love or hate Scott Boras (and We Have a reasonable idea of the ticket WHERE much-BUYING public stands), it's only fair to Give the Man His Due for His Ability to take a wrecking ball to the conventional wisdom. Jayson Werth's
$ 126 million contract with Washington WAS roughly 30 Percent Above predictions industry, and you find Many People Who Will not envision Adrian Beltre signing an $ 80 million guaranteed deal with Texas with a chance to earn $ 16 million more. Carlos Gonzalez just signed a seven-year extension with Colorado, and all Boras Needs to do now is find a home for closer Rafael Soriano to get historical top-tier free agents off the board. After
thsaid. "They're championship-caliber players. Owners and general managers know They Have extraordinary Abilities, and They Can Be a force in the locker room and around young players. MOST Are Those Things That Do not offer veteran players. "Manny
clubhouse as mentor and healer? Who Knew? Regardless of the industry perception, the math is daunting. Only 14 of the 30 MLB teams Employ Designated hitters, and Many Of Those Are Already spots filled. You CAN file the Chicago White Sox (Adam Dunn), Boston (David Ortiz), Cleveland (Travis Hafner), Kansas City (Billy Butler), New York Yankees (Jorge Posada), Baltimore (Luke Scott), Oakland (Hideki Matsui) and Detroit (Victor Martinez and Magglio Ordonez) That Appear as teamsBut how much does LXC Have Damon left? His home run total dropped from 24 to eight with the move from Yankee Stadium to Detroit's Comerica Park in 2010, and he's stolen only 23 bases over the past two seasons. Damon can not play center field anymore, and if he's going to log much time in left, it Should Be Ideally in a park with minimal real estate Out There. Damon is best served basis Probably Also staying in the American League Rather Than enduring the shock of a transition to the NL at age 37. (For precedents in this area, see: Anderson, Garret).
"I think he's got one more big 'push' year left in him," Said an AL personnel man, "but he's Than going more on skill toolsIt's no secret HTMLXC in baseball circles That Damon never wanted to leave the Yankees - and That A Lot Of His teammates Wish I Had Stayed in the Bronx. The Yankees Have not Ruled Out The Possibility of re-signing Damon, But sources say it Would Have to Be as a Fourth outfielder. The Yankees think Their outfield is in September from left to right with Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher, and they're Committed to Giving Posada the bulk of Their DH at-bats.
Andruw Jones, Another target for fourth-outfielder Brian Cashman, is more versatile defensively Than Damon and have the Advantage of swinging from the right side. But Damon, a lefty hitter, bats .282 and .289 career vs. lefties and righties Against is a Much Better on-base guy.
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Andruw Jones\n
“He still has value as an extra outfielder who can fill in at all three spots and mash left-handed pitching,” an AL assistant GM said of Jones, who hit 19 homers for the White Sox last year.
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As he approaches his 34th birthday, Jones has regressed defensively in center field but is still above-average on the corners.
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Jones posted a .919 OPS at U.S. Cellular Field compared to .729 on the road. But he did flash a little more bat speed than in recent seasons and slugged .558 against lefties with eight homers in 86 at-bats.
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One advantage that Jones has over Damon and Ramirez is affordability: He’s played for a $500,000 base salary in each of the past two seasons. CHTMLcemented his reputation as a player who can be disruptive when the planets don’t align properly. He needs a manager who’ll give him the latitude to be himself, a tolerant clubhouse and a contract big enough to dissuade him from pouting. But does Ramirez have the luxury to be picky after hitting nine homers in 320 at-bats last season?
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“I think a lot of teams are getting tired of his act,” said a National League assistant GM. “It’s one thing if the guy is hitting .340 with 45 homers. But why would you put up with the headaches if his skills aren’t what they once were? At this age, the guy isn’t going to change.”
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Toronto was mentioned as a potential landing spot for Ramirez earlier this offseason because the Blue Jays’ new manager, John Farrell, knows Manny from their time together in Boston. But the consensus is that Farrell’s familiarity with Ramirez might make a reunion less likely, because he understands the maintenance that Manny requires. At any rate, the Jays are committed to either Lind or Encarnacion as their main DH in 2011.
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Seattle is another team in desperate need of a power bat. But Eric Wedge is in his first year as Mariners manager and trying to improve the tone in the clubhouse. General manager Jack Zduriencik would have to have to be a sadist or have a bizarre sense of humor to drop both Ramirez and Milton Bradley into Wedge’s lap.
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Of the executives we canvassed, Tampa BaThat sists Ramirez is anxious to play and rebound from last year, when to a calf injury limited historical Effectiveness.
"This is a labor of love for Manny," Boras said. "The man has made over $ 200 million in this game."
Actually, Ramirez has made an unofficial total of $ 204,807,769, According To Baseball-reference.com. But hey, who's counting? Jerry Crasnick
is a senior writer for ESPN.com. Click here to purchase a copy of His book, "License to Deal," published by Rodale. Crasnick Can Be Reached via e-mail.
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