$4M = boatload?!?!? Hardly. Not for Griff. I imagine we will also try to trade him - to an AL team that could use him as a DH.
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$4M = boatload?!?!? Hardly. Not for Griff. I imagine we will also try to trade him - to an AL team that could use him as a DH.
PEACE
-BLEEDS
Griffey would have to put up some career season numbers for me to pick up that option.
That's because the rest of the personel was handled so poorly. The Reds signed 2 players for their fair market value (maybe a little more for BL) and they tried to cut back in other areas. The Reds payroll when they moved into the new ballpark was nearly the same as it was in 1995. Linder didn't care about winning, he cared about making money. He knew that Jr and Larkin put butts in the seats... He never made an attempt to improve the team in other areas. The Reds were never strapped for cash, and with revenue sharing and the new TV/radio deals they have more money than ever. The only harm Larkin and Griffey's money did was it gave Reds ownership an excuse (even with a new ballpark) to not go out and spend money.
Still doesnt change that with out Griffey and Larkin we could have had a better team while being cheaper.
Who was better? Who was cheaper? The Reds wouldn't have signed anybody with their money. I don't see anyway the Reds, even as bad as they wer, would have been better without these two players. They would have signed scrap heap players and placed the blame on the fans for not showing up and supporting the Reds.
I realize they were injured, but who's to say that their replacements would not have been hurt? I will give you that Larkin should not have been signed to that contract. That was a Sean Casey situation, only Dave O. did the right thing and moved the mayor before he declined anymore. Griffey was still in his prime and had some terrible luck, but Griffey should have been moved after the 2006 season. He was mostly healthy and showed his bat was still dangerous. But I still insist that trading/signing Griffey was not even close to a bad move, nor do I regret the Reds making that move. Milton, Cormier, Stanton, Castro, Freel's extension are bad signing's, KGJ was not.
The Griffey deal has not been even close to the problem holding this franchise back the last 15 years or so. As Nasty said too many horrible deals like the guys he listed cost this franchise far more than Junior has.
For a team like the Reds, who don't have boatloads of money to spend, locking up Dunn long term is not the best of ideas IMO. He is one of the best power hitters in baseball, there is no doubt. But for the money you would pay him, you are basically making him the centerpiece of the franchise. He doesn't have the all around game to justify making more money than anyone else on the ballclub.
Milton made about 2 mil more than KGJ last year.
http://content.usatoday.com/sports/b...er=Salary+desc
I know its tough to change people's way of thinking, but the Reds HAVE money! We are used to the old ownership talking about not having the money to spend on players while they continued to finish in the black every year. Now the Reds don't have the money to throw 5 mil at Stanton, 9 mil at Freel, and other marginal player's but the Reds have plenty of money to give their best offensive player. I would love to see the Reds sign Dunn for 3-4 years 50-60 million. A guy like Dunn should be the face of your franchise. He's homegrown, he's well like by teammates, he's not a trouble maker, he plays everyday, and he could end up hitting 600+ HRs... I don't see the downside.
I dont think resigning Dunn is a bad idea but you have to see that he doesnt have much shelf life left after his next deal. Anything more than 5 years for Dunn doesnt seem like a good idea.