Saturday, November 27, 2010

EVEN INCLUDING THE BONUS FOR BEING A "TRUE YANKEE":   I'm all for recognizing a premium for Class, Mystique and Aura, but an offer of $15M per year for the ages 37-39 seasons of a shortstop who hit .270/.340/.370 last season and doesn't field well, to me, reflects an appropriate premium.  A fourth season?  Sure, what the hell.  It's Yankee money, which prints itself.

But Derek Jeter's reportedly asking for $23-$24M per year over the next 4-5 years is pretty damn ridiculous.  Jeter can't claim that his existing 10y/$189M contract underpaid him, and I hope the Yankees play hardball at this point. It's in Jeter's own interest not to be seen as the mercenary who could (or did) leave the Bronx to seek fortune as an Oriole, Dodger or (!!!) Red Sock, and everyone knows it. Calculate the value you expect him to provide going forward, and the number of productive years you believe he has left, and round it up a little because of his True Yankee -- winding up pretty close to the Yankees' existing offer.  Can anyone defend what Jeter's reportedly seeking here?

13 comments:

  1. Anonymous3:16 PM

    The premium he's looking for has to be based on his media profile, which in turn is based on his "Mr. New York" identification with the Yankees.  He's not that guy on any other team.  It's something the team does for him, not something he does for them, and he should take a discount for it rather than expecting a premium.  He's not selling any suits, shoes, drinks or tv series as an Oriole.

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  2. as that link and you both point out, from a fan/good for baseball perspective it's not so much about the actual money (this is the yankees, after all), it's about the years. if the team locks up a spot, especially on the left side of the infield, for mega-bucks for 5 or 6 years, that's a big problem. but mega-bucks for 2 years? 3 years? not that big a deal. the first number to slip from yankee camp was 3 years at $7m per, which is perhaps market but is also ridiculous for jeter. the latest is $45m/3. if the story is correct that jeter is at $150m/6, then the negotiation is pretty clear. 3-4 years, $18-22m. posturing in public is unseemly, from both sides, but let's remember that it's posturing.

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  3. "guest" was me.  sorry.

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  4. girard314:42 PM

    At what point do pro athletes recognize what's going on in the world around them and act accordingly? A lot of people, probably even in the Yankees organization, are getting their pay cut and yet he asks for more? Kind of dickish if you ask me.

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  5. isaac_spaceman5:00 PM

    I don't know why everybody is getting so riled up over this.  Both sides know that 3/$45 is the best Jeter can get on the open market, but Jeter's camp sees no downside to rattling swords to see if the Yankees loosen up at all.  Probably not, but what's the harm in trying?  So everybody knows that Jeter is going to sign for 3/$45, and they're just going through the motions right now.   

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  6. But I don't think Jeter can capitulate and accept the offer on the table.  That's the problem.<span> </span>

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  7. isaac_spaceman11:17 PM

    Why not?  Manny did. 

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  8. calliekl12:48 AM

    If Jeter can do for the Sox what Shaq has done for the Celtics, then I'm all in. Although I would acknowledge that it would be a dick move, on his part.

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  9. As a Yankee fan (and yes, a Jeter fan), I'd really hate to lost him to any other team for any reason. I hope they can find some common ground and settle this already as I'm finding all the posturing a tad unsettling. 

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  10. Dan Suitor4:51 PM

    As a Red Sox fan, and a lover of sick justice, I could not possibly be more ecstatic with this situation. All those years of overpaying players and venerating Jeter at deity-like levels have come back to haunt the Yankees. I absolutely agree with djg, in that the money is less of an issue than the fact that Jeter will probably never willingly vacate shortstop.

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  11. isaac_spaceman7:32 PM

    I would very much love for this to be something coming home to haunt the Yankees, but I don't think it is.  The Yankees are in a win-win situation.  They've offered a better deal than Jeter is likely to get anywhere else.  Either (a) he retires, which frees the Yankees up to use a fraction of the Jeter money to get a younger, cheaper, better defensive shortstop and to figure out how to replace his offensive production; or (b) he takes the 3/$45, which they're willing to live with and the premium portion (I'd put it at probably $20MM over the three years) of which they probably figure they'll make back in merchandising or write off to buying goodwill with their fans and in their clubhouse.  This situation is not a result of their prior spending (the Yankees are using the free agent market to demonstrate the correctness of their position) and will not affect the Yankees' free agent spending.  What's $15MM a year to the Yankees?  Pretty much nothing. 

    There is no resolution to this situation that hurts the Yankees.  Even the unlikeliest scenario -- Jeter takes less money to play elsewhere -- makes him look like the bad guy, makes them look good (for making an above-market offer), and may make them a better team. 

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  12. Benner8:11 PM

    One of the free subway papers had the headline, "Will He Walk?"  No, he will not draw any walks, nor has he for some time.

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  13. I quite sincerely hope that Jeter and the Yankees meet somewhere in the middle, that Jeter's skills deteriorate further, and the Yanks end up greatly ruing the contract. 

    What?

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