SB Nation User Blog: my dixie wrecked

Ohlendorf studies Draft bonuses

my dixie wrecked — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 19:53:15 -0000

Ohlendorf studies Draft bonuses

Pedro Alvarez NOT signing contract, Boras is prick

my dixie wrecked — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:35:15 -0000

From Pittsburgh Post Gazette:

The Major League Baseball Players Assocation today will file a grievance against the Pirates regarding the signing of first-round draft pick Pedro Alvarez, according to two sources.

The union's contention is that Alvarez agreed to his contract after the Aug. 15 midnight deadline.

UPDATE 1:43 p.m.: The Pirates react by issuing a statement. This is it in full:

"At the Pirates' request, the Office of the Commissioner today placed Pedro Alvarez on Major League Baseball's Restricted List. The Pirates were forced to request that Pedro be placed on the Restricted List because we were informed by his agent, Scott Boras, that Pedro will not sign the contract to which he agreed on August 15. Boras further informed us that Pedro will not report to the Club unless we renegotiate his contract and agree to pay him more than the $6 million signing bonus to which he agreed.

"The Major League Rules provide that a player who refuses to sign a Uniform Player Contract to which he has agreed and report to the signing Club shall, upon a report of the signing Club, be placed on the Restricted List until he signs a contract reflecting the terms to which he has agreed. Such a player may not sign a contract with or play for any other Club. While demanding that we renegotiate his contract and pay Pedro more than the $6 million signing bonus to which Pedro agreed, Mr. Boras has contended that the contract we reached with Pedro was consummated after the Aug. 15 deadline. This claim was not raised on the evening of the 15th when we informed Mr. Boras that Major League Baseball had confirmed that the contract was submitted in a timely fashion. Mr. Boras asserted this claim several days later, after all of the draft signings had become publicized.

"The Pirates are confident that the contract reached with Pedro Alvarez was agreed to and submitted to Major League Baseball in a timely fashion and properly accepted by Major League Baseball. In fact, the contract between the Kansas City Royals and Eric Hosmer, another Boras client, was submitted to the Office of the Commissioner after our contract with Pedro was submitted. Mr. Boras is apparently satisfied with the $6 million bonus that he secured for Mr. Hosmer and has not challenged the validity of that contract. Mr. Boras has been informed that if he pursues a claim that our contract with Pedro was not timely he puts Eric Hosmer's contract with Kansas City in jeopardy.

"The Pirates made several attempts to commence negotiations immediately following the draft and were willing and ready to agree to pay Pedro a $6 million signing bonus from the very outset. Predictably, however, Mr. Boras refused to engage in any negotiations at all until shortly before the August 15 deadline and even then an agreement was reached only after Pedro took control of the negotiations.

"Regrettably, we are not surprised that Mr. Boras would attempt to raise a meritless legal claim in an effort to compel us to renegotiate Pedro's contract to one more to his liking. We are, however, disappointed that Pedro would allow his agent to pursue this claim on his behalf. Pedro showed tremendous fortitude and independent thinking when he agreed to his contract on August 15.

"The Office of the Commissioner has assured us that we have a valid contract with Pedro and that it will vigorously defend any claim to the contrary. Despite our disappointment, we continue to believe in Pedro Alvarez the person and the baseball player and remain excited to add Pedro to our system. We will sit down with Pedro and his family as soon as Mr. Boras' claim is rejected to chart a new and much more productive start to Pedro's career with the Pittsburgh Pirates."

What do you guys think?

my dixie wrecked — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 03:39:38 -0000

I always hear about how the mid-market teams can compete in MLB by signing and developing their own players. The teams that everyone points to as the models for this are the Indians, Twins and A's.
Now, I agree that player development can make the team more competitive. However, what does that really get you? None of the three teams I've mentioned have been in a World Series since 1997 when Cleveland lost. And the last of these three teams to win a World Series was when the Twins won it all in 1991. The highest payroll in 1997 was $59m and the highest payroll in 1991 was $33.6m. Clearly, those were different times. Sure, you can catch lightning in a bottle, like the Cardinals did last year, and win, but you certainly can't count on that. And they all seem to go through the same cycle: build team- struggle- 2-3 year window to reach playoffs- lose players- rebuild- repeat. Imagine what some of these teams could do if they were simply able to keep their own players! It would have changed the outcome of most of the World Series we've seen in the past decade. The teams that are able to spend big money are in the hunt every single year. The only excitement is seeing which of the mid-level teams(if any) were able to catch that lightning. Tragically, I still love it but, MLB is broken.

BA- Appy League top 20

my dixie wrecked — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 19:08:55 -0000

TOP 20 PROSPECTS

Cole Rohrbough, lhp, Danville (Braves)
Cody Johnson, of, Danville (Braves)
David Bromberg, rhp, Elizabethton (Twins)
Neftali Feliz, rhp, Danville (Braves)
Jeffrey Locke, lhp, Danville (Braves)
Nick Barnese, rhp, Princeton (Devil Rays)
Pete Kozma, ss, Johnson City (Cardinals)
Brandon Hicks, ss, Danville (Braves)
Steve Evarts, lhp, Danville (Braves)
Mike McCardell, rhp, Elizabethton (Twins)
Michael Fisher, ss, Danville (Braves)
Jose Martinez, of, Bristol (White Sox)
Estarlin De Los Santos, ss, Elizabethton (Twins)
Loek Van Mil, rhp, Elizabethton (Twins)
Deibinson Romero, 3b, Elizabethton (Twins)
Ozzie Lewis, of, Elizabethton (Twins)
Ebert Rosario, 3b, Greeneville (Astros)
Bradley Tippett, rhp, Elizabethton (Twins)
Kraig Binick, of, Bluefield (Orioles)
Kyle Greenwalt, rhp, Greeneville (Astros)

Which prospect is best?

my dixie wrecked — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 19:54:35 -0000

I have one roster spot open and I need to choose a guy by Friday. There are nice prospects left and I'd like to know which player the group likes best. Here are the players I'm considering;

Carlos Triunfel, Jordan Shafer, Hector Gomez, Matt LaPorta, Brandon Jones, Alexei Ramirez.

Anybody have an opinion? Anybody know projection on Ramirez?

Large markets get out your checkbooks....

my dixie wrecked — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 23:29:55 -0000

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3026151&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines

Baseball agent Jaime Torres told ESPN that Alexei Ramirez, who led the Cuban league in home runs this season as an infielder/outfielder for Pinar del Rio, has left Cuba and intends to file for residency in the Dominican Republic.

Torres, who also represents White Sox pitcher Jose Contreras, said Ramirez expects to apply to Major League Baseball for free agency.

Ramirez, who turns 26 on Sept. 22, played second base for Cuba at the Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro but is primarily a shortstop and centerfielder.

According to Torres, Ramirez has been in the Dominican Republic for less than two weeks and is already attracting attention from scouts. Ramirez's wife is a Domincan citizen who recently completed medical school in Cuba, Torres said, and her citizenship allowed Ramirez to enter the country legally and makes him eligible for Dominican citizenship. The couple has two children.

Ramirez, says the agent, is comparable to Contreras as far as being "major league ready" immediately after leaving Cuba. "Right out of spring training, Ramirez will make a major league club," Torres said.

Torres said that he and Ramirez would address the media at a Thursday news conference in Santo Domingo.