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Howard Wins Record-Breaking Arbitration Case ..

what does the Z stand for?
Zuper?

Zupcic

Phillies lowballed the hell out of him. Probably would have won their case if they offered more than 7 mil.

Why not just sign him to a long term deal and get it over with?

if i was howard i wouldnt accept a long term deal if i was gonna be a superstar, especially since he'll be older then most 4th year players he'll just get 1 or 2 big contracts

Flash3 wrote:Why not just sign him to a long term deal and get it over with?

because you don

He'll probably strike out 12Million times this year.....

studcrackers wrote:if i was howard i wouldnt accept a long term deal if i was gonna be a superstar, especially since he'll be older then most 4th year players he'll just get 1 or 2 big contracts

All the more incentive to sign sooner. If he signs a 5 year deal and continues to produce, he can wiggle out another big time 3-4 year deal afterwards. But if he keeps waiting to sign and going to arbitration over the next few seasons, he is running the risk of not getting that second big time deal. If he works out a 5 year deal this season, he will be 33 when it expires (turning 34). He could still stay productive if he commits to his health and land another big time contract (like Ortiz did). But if he gets hurt around the age of 36, he'll already have that second big contract. If he keeps going to arbitration then he may be in the last year of his big deal and won't get a second whopper. mahalo
~Chach~

what if a team gives him a 7 or 8 year deal though? most likely when he's a f/a he'll be at his highest and say he can get 7 years and those last 2 years will likely be more money then say the 1st 2 years of a new deal if he's 33 (or 34)

studcrackers wrote:what if a team gives him a 7 or 8 year deal though? most likely when he's a f/a he'll be at his highest and say he can get 7 years and those last 2 years will likely be more money then say the 1st 2 years of a new deal if he's 33 (or 34)

Then he needs to sign that 7 year deal like now because no one is going to give a 7 year deal to a large bodied first baseman after he turns 30. If he continues to hit arbitration, it's all like being a franchised player in the NFL except slightly more security. I think the worst that he can be paid is something like 20% paycut. So, at worst, he stands to make only $8 million next season but like being a franchised player, there is no real long term security. If he can land an 7 year contract now, he will have the long term security to weather some sort of injury (perhaps to his knee or back) and he will only be 34/5 when he hits FA again. And it makes sense for the Phillies to sign him long term now because if they give him $15 million a season for 7 years, that will be saving money in arbitration and they keep him for another 4 years past his "cost controlled" years. The only reason to know sign a long term deal now is because he is not happy in Philly and wants out and is willing to roll the dice over the next few years to get the long term deal elsewhere. mahalo
~Chach~

He's only gonna get better