Sunday, November 30, 2003
SHEFFIELD TO THE YANKEES
3 years, $36-38 million
Oh. My. Goodness.
That's a huge signing for the Yankees in my opinion. Original, I know.
Yes, Gary Sheffield is an ass. But who cares. But M's CEO Howard Lincoln does. Let me remind y'all of the infamous quote Mr. Lincoln said of Sheffield back in March 2001. This was when there were rumors of Ichiro being traded to the Dodgers for Sheffield:
"Why," said Lincoln, "would you want to trade a man whose highest ambition in life is to play for the Mariners at Safeco Field for a mean-spirited man who has trouble understanding contractual obligation?"
It was a good thing that the M's didn't trade Ichiro. He only won the AL MVP in 2001. But at the same time, you think of the old saying "what might have been?". Imagine if Sheffield's bat was in the M's lineup in 2001. Just imagine.
He is willing to spend money - he paid $13 million just for the rights to Ichiro - but won't give it to players who aren't excited about playing here or whose demands don't fit into the salary structure. He was willing to make an exception for Rodriguez, offering him $95 million for five years.
"The rumors about Sammy Sosa coming here or us trading for Sheffield were absurd," Lincoln said. "We're trying to do what makes sense and not fall into the trap of trying to do something just to juice ticket sales."
The Lincoln plan is simple. Move carefully. Don't throw the payroll out of whack. Think long-term. Keep Safeco Field filled with the hope that the Mariners will always be competitive.
"It's a risk," he said. "You plan on drawing 3 million fans. What if you don't? I'm confident we have a good team this year, that players like David Bell and Al Martin will step forward and have good seasons. But what if we have injuries?"
Hey, at least the guy is still consistent.
But in all seriousness, if the Mariners want to continue to bring 3 million fans to Safeco Field, they have to have a productive offseason. So far, Raul Ibanez does not equal a productive offseason. I'm going to keep harping on the fact that Miguel Tejada is a better fit for the Mariners than Kazuo Matsui. To me, K-Matsui is just Ichiro, infield style.
I don't care if every single Seattle Mariner player is a nice guy or not. That is no way to run a professional sports team. Maybe the soccer moms and the Queer As Folk dads do, as well as the 7th Heaven 16 year old daughters. But I don't.
I'm tired of seeing inferior cities like Phoenix and Miami celebrate championships. Why not Seattle? I'm not up in the Northwest right now, but it's still a huge part of me. I could live the rest of my life in Arkansas and it wouldn't feel like home to me as much as the Northwest does.
Unfortunately, I don't see the M's brass giving a damn about what I think. I'm already dreading the Baldwin-like signing of Pokey Reese. Sad, isn't it?
FIRE UP THE MIGGY HOT STOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh. My. Goodness.
That's a huge signing for the Yankees in my opinion. Original, I know.
Yes, Gary Sheffield is an ass. But who cares. But M's CEO Howard Lincoln does. Let me remind y'all of the infamous quote Mr. Lincoln said of Sheffield back in March 2001. This was when there were rumors of Ichiro being traded to the Dodgers for Sheffield:
"Why," said Lincoln, "would you want to trade a man whose highest ambition in life is to play for the Mariners at Safeco Field for a mean-spirited man who has trouble understanding contractual obligation?"
It was a good thing that the M's didn't trade Ichiro. He only won the AL MVP in 2001. But at the same time, you think of the old saying "what might have been?". Imagine if Sheffield's bat was in the M's lineup in 2001. Just imagine.
He is willing to spend money - he paid $13 million just for the rights to Ichiro - but won't give it to players who aren't excited about playing here or whose demands don't fit into the salary structure. He was willing to make an exception for Rodriguez, offering him $95 million for five years.
"The rumors about Sammy Sosa coming here or us trading for Sheffield were absurd," Lincoln said. "We're trying to do what makes sense and not fall into the trap of trying to do something just to juice ticket sales."
The Lincoln plan is simple. Move carefully. Don't throw the payroll out of whack. Think long-term. Keep Safeco Field filled with the hope that the Mariners will always be competitive.
"It's a risk," he said. "You plan on drawing 3 million fans. What if you don't? I'm confident we have a good team this year, that players like David Bell and Al Martin will step forward and have good seasons. But what if we have injuries?"
Hey, at least the guy is still consistent.
But in all seriousness, if the Mariners want to continue to bring 3 million fans to Safeco Field, they have to have a productive offseason. So far, Raul Ibanez does not equal a productive offseason. I'm going to keep harping on the fact that Miguel Tejada is a better fit for the Mariners than Kazuo Matsui. To me, K-Matsui is just Ichiro, infield style.
I don't care if every single Seattle Mariner player is a nice guy or not. That is no way to run a professional sports team. Maybe the soccer moms and the Queer As Folk dads do, as well as the 7th Heaven 16 year old daughters. But I don't.
I'm tired of seeing inferior cities like Phoenix and Miami celebrate championships. Why not Seattle? I'm not up in the Northwest right now, but it's still a huge part of me. I could live the rest of my life in Arkansas and it wouldn't feel like home to me as much as the Northwest does.
Unfortunately, I don't see the M's brass giving a damn about what I think. I'm already dreading the Baldwin-like signing of Pokey Reese. Sad, isn't it?
FIRE UP THE MIGGY HOT STOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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