Jon Heyman of SI.com expects Joe Mauer and Josh Beckett to re-sign with their current teams. Here are the details from his latest column:
- Heyman hears that Joe Mauer and the Twins are willing to work on an extension once the season begins. Apparently Mark Teixeira's eight-year $180MM deal is a comparable for the Mauer talks.
- According to a person involved in the talks, Beckett is seeking slightly more than the five-year $82.5MM deal John Lackey signed.
- Heyman doesn't think the Red Sox can expect the Marlins to pay as much as of Mike Lowell's salary as the Rangers agreed to take on in December. The Rangers were going to take on $3MM of the infielder's $12MM salary before concerns about Lowell's thumb emerged.
markjsunz
A 4.05 ERA as a red sox and he wants more then 82.5 million for 5 years. Major league pitching is so diluted it is not the same game as it was 40 years ago when there were less teams and only the cream of the crop played in the Big Leagues.
ReverendBlack
^Yeah, keep throwing that tired number around.
Greinke 553.2 IP 149 ERA+
Halladay 710.1 IP 141 ERA+
F. Hernandez 629.2 IP 133 ERA+
Lackey 563.2 IP 129 ERA+
Sabathia 593.1 IP 129 ERA+
Beckett 587.1 IP 126 ERA+
markjsunz
What is the point if that is the cream of the crop for 30 teams it is pretty sad indeed.
ReverendBlack
The six best pitchers from the AL since 2007? Yeah, sad group.
P.S. Beckett’s xFIP since 2006 is 3.60.
3.34 since ’07
markjsunz
My point is he has a ERA of over 4 for the red sox and he will have to be paid 18 million a year for that type of preformance. Kind of sad if that happens. If Beckett is worth 18 million a year or more then lincecum is worth 30 million a year or more.
ReverendBlack
My point is just about everyone knows by now that ERA is poor measure of performance and that by at least two better measures, 18 million is reasonable. None of the others in the elite group of pitchers of which he is a part can expect less when their turn rolls around.
markjsunz
Giving up 4 runs a game is not a good measurement into someones worth.? The pitching is so diluted that makes 18 million a year or more fair market value? This is not the golden age of pitching.
ReverendBlack
The most highly valued players should and do tend to make the most money. Econ 101, right?
The best starting pitchers are among the most highly valued players.
Whether or not the “pitching is diluted”, the numbers show that Beckett is one of the best pitchers in his league.
Beckett should and probably will make lots of money. QED
This isn’t hard to follow. Your issue seems to be about the dollars. That’s got nothing to do with Beckett or starting pitching, but with the business of baseball itself: it’s big. If it were smaller, Beckett would still be making a high salary relative to the rest of the league. Because of his numbers.
If you’re confused about the significance of ERA or about statistics as a whole, let me recommend google as a starting point for learning the differences between different statistics in baseball, what they measure, and how & why the things they measure are valued.
Until then, you’re sort of the baseball equivalent of a Flat Earth Theorist.
Cade White
Hard to call Beckett sad my friend, even out of 30 teams. You do realize that in the past 3 years in BOS, he has avg 5.6 WAR? Combined with the stats that Rev presented, Beckett actually is in the cream of the crop and is considered the best post season pitcher of the last 10 years. Well worth Lackey money in my opinion even if he is a slight injury risk.
Mooks
He has had 2 great post seasons but also 2 awful ones.
Cade White
Still considered the best post season pitcher of last 10 years.
ReverendBlack
Curt Schilling on line 3 for you.
markjsunz
If he is the cream of the crop and worth over 18 million a year then the pitching is severly diluted.What is Lincecum going to be worth?
Cade White
Nothing yet, he is not a FA. Remember a guy by the name of Johan Santana? 22mm without hitting FA. Lincecum needs to remain healthy and pitching at his current level for 2 more years, before we calculate his worth. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
And Rev: Schilling, though solid, has not been considered the greatest postseason pitcher of the last 10 years. Beckett has. Both with a WS MVP, but Beckett with a ALCS MVP to go with his WS MVP. This has been common knowledge for quite some time now. Schilling makes an interesting argument though.
BentoBox
I stopped reading at “40 years ago”.
Its already 2010, time to move on.
markjsunz
If you stopped reading why the reply?
Mooks
If you take out all his games against the Yanks that number drops quite a bit.
mike_sox
whats is ERA+ ?
BentoBox
From Hardball Times:
ERA measured against the league average, and adjusted for ballpark factors. An ERA+ over 100 is better than average, less than 100 is below average.
ReverendBlack
IOW, it factors out from the ERA stat everything misleading. Like wins, no one should be paying much attention to ERA.
Jim McGrath
I have no irea why the Sox want to trade Lowell. If the Marlins want him trade him, pay the full salary and get the best minor league catcher in the Marlins system.
BoSoxSam
Because they are paying 12 million for him to sit on the bench. Granted, they’ll pay pretty much all of that just to have him play on another team, but still. Actually, when I think about it, it almost seems as if they have his best interest at heart; wherever he is traded, if traded he will definitely get more playing time with that team than with Boston. Lowell wants to stay with Boston, but I think he also wants to stay with Boston as their third baseman. Since that is clearly not possible, the Red Sox may be trying to trade him so as to give him a place to play where he may start, if only at DH.
I’m not really on either side of this discussion. If Lowell stays, I’ll be glad because he is a class act who is great to have in the clubhouse, and he is a potent bat to have off the bench. If he goes, I’ll be glad because he will get a place to play the number of games he deserves, and it would bring the Red Sox at least one half-decent prospect.
BoSoxSam
To most, when reading the line “he is looking for slightly more than Lackey’s contract”, it sounds like Beckett might get overpaid, but I personally take it as a good sign. If Lackey deserves 82.5m to be our #3 (I’m not saying he does, just if), then Beckett definitely deserves more, as the younger, better pitcher. He doesn’t have any more injury risk than Lackey, and despite his often high ERA is an ace pitcher. Locking him, Lester, and Lackey up for a while is very important to keep a strong core group of players on this team, and I hope he is extended soon.
Cade White
rebound from dice-k is completely possible and one helluva front 4 with a fight for a strong showing at the 5th spot. If only they had a legit big bat….
ReverendBlack
I still say if Beckett gets extended, Clay gets shipped out for a bat.
Jim McGrath
Beckett should get extended and it sounds like Theo is starting to wield some of the excess pitching he stockpiled in the off-season. It appears Boof is on the block and should they decide to put Buchholz in the #5 slot ahead of Wake–you have the long relief guy in Wake with Bonser the odd man out. Shouse to me is the mystery; I think he will probably clear waivers and be available in Pawtucket. Richardson will be a player, as he showed in his short time last season, as the additional lefty out of the pen with Oki.