Tim Lincecum, the two time Cy Young Award winner, is going to be arbitration eligible for the first time in his career. He obviously deserves to get paid, and there really isn’t any reason for him NOT to demand boat loads of money. The Giants wanted to give him $8 million in his first year of arbitration eligibility, but Lincy’s camp wants around $13 million. We debated in an e-mail chain what the Giants should do. We had someone that isn’t a part of Doin Work crew, but is a huge fan Giants fan, and is under the name Lincy Lover.
Lincy Lover: They should give him $40 plus million, in essence buying out his arbitration, and move on.
Cali4Dre: I’m curious what the Linecum’s team countered with when they say over $40M…
Lincy Lover: It’s really a matter of what the 2 years after this one are worth, since he’s not getting a dime more than $13m this year, no matter how things shake out.
Cali4Dre: If Lincy wants 3yrs/40M, I think the G’s should offer $80M over 6 years and be done with it… Maybe that would meet his expectations, and they could sign him long-term all at once (at a discount in the latter years)
Lincy Lover: That’s less money than Felix and Verlander got, so it’d have to be more like 6 yrs. for $90m, but I like where you’re going with his contract…
Cali4Dre: I realize it’s less money than the other contracts, but the G’s need to at least be diligent in their pursuit of the best deal possible, which it seems they are doing by going to arbitration, otherwise they would have already made a better offer… and do we really think the Verlander/Felix contracts will have a huge say in the outcome of Lincy’s hearing? Tough to say…
Dyslecix: Would this already be done if Zito wasn’t on the books ($90M plus over 6 years)? I’m going to say yes, the Felix and Verlander contracts have a huge impact on Lincy’s deal.
Cali4Dre: Ah, Barry Zito’s contract… The gift that keeps on giving (headaches that is) Well, based on ML experience, both have been in the league longer than Lincy, so it’s not a perfect match for the situation. The thing that makes the difference is the CY’s (ie. multiple)
Lincy Lover: I’m guessing it would be more if Zito wasn’t in play, but yes, it becomes a no-brainer if Zito’s not in the mix. Zito’s deal is also a problem because his contract is heavily back-loaded, so as Timmy makes more, so does Barry. I don’t see it as huge for the hearing, but if those contracts (along with Zito) are a baseline for any long-term negotiations.
Dyslecix: I’ve been reading a lot more SI of late…and saw this last week… I think the main point is the market has been set by those two, and Lincy, with his two Cy Young Awards, has all of the leverage at the table. I see that being the biggest thing.
Cali4Dre: I think besides the two Cy Young Awards, maybe a major piece but not the only one, you would also have to look at years in ML (3 to 5-JV and 5-FH) and starting point of their first year. For JV and FH, according to your article, it was only $7M in year one… He’s in arbitration year one with the Giants offering $8M and Timmy asking for $13M.
Lincy Lover: The reasoning to lock him up now is to hopefully save money down the road, when he could hit the open market and be too expensive to keep, but you’re right, they don’t really have to do anything for 3 years.
Dyslecix: If they wait, his value will only increase….He’s a super star, and will only get better. Lock him up now at whatever the cost.
Cali4Dre: Wouldn’t they just keep going back to arbitration though, with Timmy probably winning it every year? Might as well have more certainty, and less ill will with your Star… What would it cost the Giants to just waive Zito? I assume a lot, but not all of the money is guaranteed obviously…
Dyslecix: Interesting…I thought all of Zito’s contract was straight up guaranteed. I heard them going on and on about this a while back when he was shitting on the mound every 5 days, and were discussing waiving him. It’s been forever since I heard that though…
Lincy Lover: Right. Any long term deal is basically buying out his arbitration and pushing back his free agency, but it seems like the Giants are going to be very careful with any hearings and stick to numbers and precedent, so not sure how much ill will can build up. All money in baseball is gauranteed, and zito’s due about $83m over the next 4 years, and i think there’s even an option for another year that the giants would buy out for $7m. f-me.
The Marlins are giving away $2,500 towards a mortgage or rent payment for 11 Saturday’s this season. They are also giving away free tickets on Monday night games to any person with proof that they were laid off. Baseball, more than other sports, is driven by ticket sales, and this year has shown that even the mighty Yankees and Red Sox aren’t immune to the recession, as many games aren’t selling out the way they have over the past decade and a half.
So far it’s shaping up that way. The Red Sox, Phillies, Giants, and Mets seem like the only teams that are willing to take on a significant amount of salary. The economy has made GM’s much more cautious. Even if there are trades made, I doubt it will be much more than a 7-9 hitter or a 4th or 5th man in the pitching rotation. I hope we see some fireworks from one or two teams before it’s all said and done. I need something to look forward to, since my A’s were placed on the sellers list a month ago by positioning themselves firmly in last place in the AL West. Hopefully they can get a few parts via trade, that can be immediately inserted into their D rated offense for one of their proven players (their old guys or Holliday).
the rumors on how so many NBA teams are losing money, and are definitely going to have even more troubles with their payrolls next season. Money is the most valuable part of every organization and it seems that more teams are interested in shedding cap space, than making their teams better to compete for a title. Trade offers aren’t even about talent as much as who is getting the player with the big contract that expires next year. 12 teams accepted the leagues offer to borrow between 
But, he is definitely one of the reasons the league needs to review the collective bargaining agreement before the seemingly imminent lockout in 2011.
Were the Warriors making a money dump like the Kings did when they gave away Brad Miller to save themselves millions off the cap in the long run? I feel like I can’t trust any move my team is making this offseason without wondering, was this done just for the pocketbook or did they really try to improve the team to make them a contender…
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