Lazy Saturday Night Links
Typically, I reserve link dumps for a Lazy Sunday … but with the west coast games not starting until 9:00pm EST, I figured now would be an opportune time to round up all that has happened in Blue Jay land.
Almost out of nowhere, the Blue Jays officially announced a contract extension for Ricky Romero to the tune of $30.1 million dollars over five years. That locks Romero up all the way through 2015 with a club option for 2016.
Romero also has the distinction of being awarded the largest contract for a pitcher with less than two years of service time. Although Ricky hasn’t quite completed his second season in the majors, I think it was a wise move Alex Anthopoulos to hold off on giving Romero an extension to see if he’d have a sophomore slump.
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Need I remind folks what happened when the Blue Jays rewarded the 2002 Rookie of the Year Eric Hinske to a fat contract after his breakout inaugural season.
With 52 starts and 331 innings logged over the past two seasons, I think the Blue Jays have a pretty good idea what Ricky Romero is capable of. Good on management to lock up a key member of the starting rotation for the next five years.
Speaking of franchise players, did you know that Vernon Wells is only one of 11 players in baseball who has played with the same organization for 10 years or more? I answered some questions about Vernon Wells over at The Sports Journalists for their piece on MLB’s Lifers.
While not necessarily a link, I thought I’d share an interesting encounter I had at a local watering hole from last night. There was a band playing and I happened to notice the lead singer was wearing a B.J. Ryan Blue Jays shirt. After their set, I approached him and said “it takes balls to wear a B.J. Ryan shirt”.
We took solace in the fact that The Beej is still being paid $10 million dollars this year, and then reminisced about other Blue Jays from days gone by like Troy Glaus and Eric Hinske.
I told him the Atlanta Braves were definitely going to the World Series this year because they have the only player who has played in all three of the previous fall classics.
1) I like the Romero deal a lot. As long as he maintains his current production, it's a good bargain, and there is still some projection left with him. Sure, he's a pitcher, and there is always a 1-in-something chance that he just abruptly shits the bed. But $30 million isn't much of a gamble over five years.
2) The BJ Ryan deal was insane at the time, and it still looks insane now. I'm sincerely hoping the Sox dodge that bullet with Papelbon next year. Over the past 20 years, there have been two closers worth a long-term contract: Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman. Even Eck only had five REALLY dominant years, followed by five he just racked up saves in, Bill Koch-style.
Steve, I think it's a good deal because if Romero continues to put up similar numbers the next few years, that contract wil become a bargain.
As far as B.J. Ryan goes, you're right – the contract was crazy, especially for a player who only had one year of experience as a closer. In my mind, closers should never be paid more than 5 million a year because the position is overpaid IMO.
I for one love the RickRo deal. I anticipate some similar contracts offered to Morrow and Cecil next year provided they hold up their end of the bargain. Must say I am really enjoying this AA regime. Get the young arms under control longterm for reasonable numbers and then fill in around them.
As for the Pig Fucker the sox would be wise to let him walk or deal him in the near future. Bard is ready to close by the looks of it and Pap appears to be regressing into a run of the mill closer. Last thing they need is a BJ 2.0, but at least they could swallow the buy out a little easier.
Anon, I think slowly but surely we'll see the Blue Jays dish out some long term contracts to the rest of the starting rotation. It's a smart idea to lock them up long-term, which means there's only the fifth spot to really worry about (which will probably be occupied by Drabek eventually).
If the Red Sox are smart, they'll let Papelbon go after this year. Can you really justify paying him more than $9 million a year when Bard can do the same job for just over league minimum salary? Seems like a no-brainer to me.
Ricky's worth every penny. Love that kid. And, believe it or not, his flat-brimmed hat. East LA, STAND UP!!!1
eyebleaf, I love that he doesn't waver with that hat. Unlike his pitches, that brim is totally flat.