Madness? This is Amaro!
Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2010 9:35 pm
So Ryan Howard gets 25 million per year through his mid 30s. What a horrible, horrible thing to do. First of all, Howard may not be worth that money right now. Howard has put up 19.2 WAR over the past 4 seasons. Is a five win player worth 25 million? Choo was a five win player last year. Would anyone be comfortable with paying 25 million for that? That brings us to the main problem. If Howard isn't really worth the money now, how ugly is that number going to be as he ages? He's a TTO kind of player, so I don't imagine that he'll age gracefully. This contract has unmatched albatross potential.
This extension also calls some of Amaro's other moves into question. Amaro traded Lee for a less than exciting prospect haul. Supposedly, it needed to be done to save money and replenish the farm system. Clearly, the money issue is crap. No team that has its back against the wall would be willing to take this kind of financial risk. Lee's $8 million salary could not have been that big of a deal, seeing as how the Phillies gave Blanton a 3 year, $24 million deal. Sure, Blanton's deal is a little backloaded, but come on. If the Phillies had held onto Lee, they could have dealt Blanton to make space in the rotation. They would not have gotten a package as good as Aumont, Ramirez, and Gillies, but they wouldn't have done that much worse. Teams are holding onto elite prospects, but the B/C+ types are still readily available. Long term money to keep Lee would certainly be available.
The Phillies could have put together a very, very good team and kept it in place for the long haul. Instead, they chose to get cheap right before they decided to splurge on the next David Ortiz. Atlanta should send them some kind of thank you note.
This extension also calls some of Amaro's other moves into question. Amaro traded Lee for a less than exciting prospect haul. Supposedly, it needed to be done to save money and replenish the farm system. Clearly, the money issue is crap. No team that has its back against the wall would be willing to take this kind of financial risk. Lee's $8 million salary could not have been that big of a deal, seeing as how the Phillies gave Blanton a 3 year, $24 million deal. Sure, Blanton's deal is a little backloaded, but come on. If the Phillies had held onto Lee, they could have dealt Blanton to make space in the rotation. They would not have gotten a package as good as Aumont, Ramirez, and Gillies, but they wouldn't have done that much worse. Teams are holding onto elite prospects, but the B/C+ types are still readily available. Long term money to keep Lee would certainly be available.
The Phillies could have put together a very, very good team and kept it in place for the long haul. Instead, they chose to get cheap right before they decided to splurge on the next David Ortiz. Atlanta should send them some kind of thank you note.