Musing From the Bleachers 02.19.09: The Strangest Off-Season

Posted by Frank Fedele on 02.19.2009

Pitchers and catchers have reported all over Florida and Arizona. That is, however, not the conversation in baseball circles. The free agent class, which looked so promising for players, has turned into a bargain basement bin. Established big leaguers, like Bobby Abreu, are only signing for one year and 11 million less than last year. There is also the elephant in the room. Steroids. Specifically Alex Rodriguez. Join us as we try to make sense of it all.

Steroids

Justin Pelletier has already covered this story in length, so I won't dwell on it. If you haven't read his article yet, please do. It is full of the anger and rage that most baseball fans feel with this issue. People cheated to make more money. It really does come down to simple greed. They saw an opportunity to cash in and they took it. We get that part. The part we don't get is the lying and half truths. Am I really supposed to believe that a major league ballplayer that can probably tell you what he ate last Tuesday for lunch and cover in detail his workout regiment doesn't know what he is putting into his body? That a major league ballplayer would take a substance given to him by his cousin, inject himself with it over the course of years and not do the research it to see what it does and the best way to administer it? Really?

But folks, here is the thing. I want this to go away. I want to believe to make it go away. I want to enjoy baseball. I want to listen to the sweet sound of the crack of the bat and the sound a fastball makes when it hits the catchers mitt. I want my game back.

My game, though, is tainted. We will never really know who did what to whom or when. Who was clean, who was dirty. We will have our suspicions. But we will never really know. And that is really a shame.

This is the part of the game I tried to avoid writing about. I didn't write for two weeks because that was the only story out there. I tried to wait on a bigger story to come in and sweep it all away. A baseball story about a free agent or the World Baseball Classic that would take the focus away from it. Something about the game I love to watch and read about. Something that showed the game in all its glory. However, that was not to be. It was and still is part of the game now though. For better or worse. Accept it and move on. That is really the only way to enjoy the beauty of baseball again.

And now on to that very thing…….

Free Agents

The market started out so well for the players. The Yankees, with millions coming off the books and a new stadium set to open, were flush with cash and used it. They spent on pitching and hitting and picked off three of the biggest names on the market. Other players found homes too. The biggest being the Mets making a move for the closer they so desperately needed. Then it all stopped.

Bobby Abreu thought he would top his 16 million from last year. Didn't happen. One year at 5 million. Adam Dunn thought his power bat would make him popular with the contending teams. Nope. He finally went to the Washington Nationals for two years and 20 million, his only chance at a decent payday. The Nationals do not look anything like a contender this year. Then there is Manny. Manny decided to get out of a club option of 20 million for two years because his agent said he had 4 year, 100 million in the bank if he played well. He did play well down the stretch for the Dodgers, but is looking at a one or two year deal for far less.


Bobby Abreu, image courtesy of the New York Post


Adam Dunn, image courtesy of MLB.com

The free agent market was like every other financial market in the US. Tight. There has been talk of collusion coming from the players due to the smaller contracts being signed. That is just not the case this time. The teams that had the money spent it. The Yankees being a prime example. The other teams were more cautious with their limited budgets. There is worry about money coming in, so there was much less going out. Basic economics.

Final Thoughts
Spring training is just starting and next time we will look at signs from the early part of spring. The rookie that will come out of nowhere to make a team or the veteran that will start putting everything together to have his career year. Next time we will talk baseball. Just baseball and I will be much happier for it. Until then, that is my view from my bleacher seat.