I'll start, with an interesting topic I came up with all by myself.
What a suprise - clemens asks for $22 Million. While Houston offers a
reasonable $13.5MM.
Wouldn't it be interesting to see him lose (which he probably would - the
Unit is arguably as good, if not better who just happened to be on a
losing team and just signed a $16MM/year extension) and then walk away and
say he is retiring. Why has there not been more outrage that for the
second year in a row he is being incredibly selfish and not forthcoming,
etc.
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ReplyDeleteI read this post and thought "deja vu." It seemed that for once two people actually agreed on one topic. I was soon disappointed that it was actually I who made the comment and that Jesse, the Earl of Los Angeles was simply getting things rolling. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteSo two things:
1. How would he be bluffing? Asking really high to get Houston to come up to his number (or as many cases, split the difference - $18MM). I guess with Rog, he can leverage it all he wants. "Give me my number (or something close to it) or I retire. I don't need to play anymore, I will retire and spend time with 4 sons, all of who I named with a letter that starts with K because I am a complete loser."
2. There is no way he can win that award, right? I mean doesn't Houston just take the RJ numbers/contract and say case closed. Sure $13.5MM is low compared to Schilling, Pedro, Pavano, Vazquez et al and you have to think an arbitrator with ignore Brown's $15MM from 6 years ago. I'm not sure how you could argue it is closer to $22 than $13.5
Oh well, in less than thirty seconds, for the first time in my life, I will have blogged.
Yeah, sorry about the double-posting thing.
ReplyDeleteI guess I don't know details of arbitration...but if you suggest a number, and the team says "ok", are you then under contract instantly? I'm just wondering if Clemens doesn't want to re-sign -- the Astros have gotten much, much worse since he agreed to arbitration -- he'd simply highball the number enough so that the Astros walk away, and then he can retire. Or sign somewhere else. Or say he'll retire and then sign somewhere else.
This is why I am surprised there is not more outrage over this. Clemens has thrown out a ridiculous number. Utterly ridiculous. Sure he won the Cy Young award, but $22 Million is just silly. I hear what you are saying that he may be using that number because he really does not want to play for them, but if that is the case, he should just retire.
ReplyDeleteBy Clemens accepting arbitration, he can not play for anyone other the Astros. The Astros can not “walk away.” In the NHL a team can walk away from an arbitration award, but not in MLB. They are bound to the number decided by the arbiter. And normally that goes for the player as well. But of course, Roger can just retire.
I really don’t think this is a matter of Clemens being upset that the Astros have gotten worse – I think it is the continuation of him being a greedy SOB. Maybe it is ego – he wants to be the highest paid pitcher ever. Plus, now he figures Houston has some money to spend since they did not keep Beltran.
Tim Purpura, Astros GM, did not seem too bothered by it – saying it was just part of the process and that if Clemens decides he is not going to retire they will sit down and negotiate. I guess he can’t really come out and blast Clemens. But if I’m a GM, I think by Jan 15 I want to know who I have and who I don’t have so that I may plan accordingly.