Post by Rog on Mar 26, 2014 9:41:20 GMT -5
It is probably indicative of the injuries to Pablo, his weight problems, and just flat-out negotiating that the Giants offered Pablo Sandoval just 3/$40. I'm sure they knew he would snag that offer about as quickly as teams picked up Ryan Vogelsong after he left the Giants.
How much will Pablo get? More than anything else, that will depend on how Pablo fares this season. It will also be greatly affected by whether he goes to the open market. The giants are trying to keep Pablo off the market while limiting their risk. As the old song went, "Nice work if you can get it." The difference is that the song went on to add "And you can get it if you try."
The Giants flat-out weren't going to get it (a signed contract by Pablo), and their offer makes on wonder just how much they actually get it (an understanding of today's salary market). As mentioned, this is likely mostly a negotiation ploy.
The Giants need to re-sign Pablo, and they need him to play well enough to come at least close to justifying the contract. It strongly appears they only way they could replace him is by trading away a fair chunk of that valued young pitching. While it's hard to believe that the Pablo fruit wouldn't fa ll off from its shear weight, players like Pablo don't grow on trees.
There are two traits that tend to define good teams. Either they are able to spend big bucks, or even more importantly, they are able to develop good young (read inexpensive) talent. The Giants have won two World Series in four years primarily by developing good young talent (Posey, Bumgarner, Cain, Lincecum, Belt, Romo -- AND SANDOVAL). Now the biggest problem is how to afford to keep it.
It may be that the Giants feel it is too expensive to hedge their bets with Pablo now. But they will likely pay even more later, either in players in trade or an even bigger contract for Pablo.
I'll be honest. I'm not sure it will be worth the big bucks to re-sign Pablo. His injury status has been up and down as often as his weight. But the question does arise: Whom else are the Giants going to get?
The Giants are caught in a bit of a catch 22 here. If they sign Pablo now, they will almost certainly overpay based on the inconsistency of his career. If they don't sign him now, they have to hope for a bad or injury-filled season, so they can still afford him on the open market. The problem is that if Pablo has a poor or injury-filled season, the Giants certainly aren't likely to make it three World Championships in five seasons.
If they lose him though, their chance of adding to that World Championship total any time soon declines like Pablo's weight this past off-season.
This is a darn tough situation, and its resolution will likely have a heavy (pun intended) impact on the Giants' fortunes for several seasons to come. The question becomes, is it a better gamble to pay the big bucks in the hope that Pablo continues to be a slugger and a .300 hitter -- and stays healthy and slim enough to benefit the Giants with it? Or is it better to gamble on a free agent such as Chase Headley, who could also become a very expensive commodity? Or is it better to trade away a healthy chunk of the fine young pitching in order to fill the huge (pun intended) hole losing Pablo would create on the infield?
I'm leaning toward not overpaying too much, but I'm really caught on the fence on this one. Anybody got some good ideas?
How much will Pablo get? More than anything else, that will depend on how Pablo fares this season. It will also be greatly affected by whether he goes to the open market. The giants are trying to keep Pablo off the market while limiting their risk. As the old song went, "Nice work if you can get it." The difference is that the song went on to add "And you can get it if you try."
The Giants flat-out weren't going to get it (a signed contract by Pablo), and their offer makes on wonder just how much they actually get it (an understanding of today's salary market). As mentioned, this is likely mostly a negotiation ploy.
The Giants need to re-sign Pablo, and they need him to play well enough to come at least close to justifying the contract. It strongly appears they only way they could replace him is by trading away a fair chunk of that valued young pitching. While it's hard to believe that the Pablo fruit wouldn't fa ll off from its shear weight, players like Pablo don't grow on trees.
There are two traits that tend to define good teams. Either they are able to spend big bucks, or even more importantly, they are able to develop good young (read inexpensive) talent. The Giants have won two World Series in four years primarily by developing good young talent (Posey, Bumgarner, Cain, Lincecum, Belt, Romo -- AND SANDOVAL). Now the biggest problem is how to afford to keep it.
It may be that the Giants feel it is too expensive to hedge their bets with Pablo now. But they will likely pay even more later, either in players in trade or an even bigger contract for Pablo.
I'll be honest. I'm not sure it will be worth the big bucks to re-sign Pablo. His injury status has been up and down as often as his weight. But the question does arise: Whom else are the Giants going to get?
The Giants are caught in a bit of a catch 22 here. If they sign Pablo now, they will almost certainly overpay based on the inconsistency of his career. If they don't sign him now, they have to hope for a bad or injury-filled season, so they can still afford him on the open market. The problem is that if Pablo has a poor or injury-filled season, the Giants certainly aren't likely to make it three World Championships in five seasons.
If they lose him though, their chance of adding to that World Championship total any time soon declines like Pablo's weight this past off-season.
This is a darn tough situation, and its resolution will likely have a heavy (pun intended) impact on the Giants' fortunes for several seasons to come. The question becomes, is it a better gamble to pay the big bucks in the hope that Pablo continues to be a slugger and a .300 hitter -- and stays healthy and slim enough to benefit the Giants with it? Or is it better to gamble on a free agent such as Chase Headley, who could also become a very expensive commodity? Or is it better to trade away a healthy chunk of the fine young pitching in order to fill the huge (pun intended) hole losing Pablo would create on the infield?
I'm leaning toward not overpaying too much, but I'm really caught on the fence on this one. Anybody got some good ideas?