Unless you're stuck at work, without a phone or live in a cave, you know by now that the Toronto Bluejays signed Russell Martin to a 5 year contract worth $82 Million.
Great deal for Russell Martin, bad deal for the Bluejays in the long run.
That breaks down to $16.4 million per year.
The Pittsburgh Pirates reportedly offered Russell Martin a 3 year contract worth $48 million.
That breaks down to $16 million per year.
I'm sure that the Pirates could've scraped up $400K if needed to match the dollar figures. This however was about years. The length of the contract. At 32 years of age, this is Russ's last contract and whoever gave him the most years was likely to be the winner. The Dodgers could've easily outbid in terms of $$$$$ same with the Cubs. Both are teams that like to spend with reckless abandon with little to show for it.
Martin wanted job security.
He got it.
3 years was plenty to offer Russell Martin. That would've kept him here until he was 35. He could've mentored Pirates prospect Elias Diaz to take over with Reese McGuire in the background. What the Pirates didn't want is to be paying a catcher at the age of 36 and 37 the remainder of a hefty contract that is likely to be over $10 million per year regardless of how it's structured. The Toronto Bluejays had no problems doing this. It's also why the Blue Jays are never anything more than a 3rd-4th place team in their division.
The Pirates offered the same money. This isn't about being cheap. The internet shouldn't be complaining. This should be about personal decisions made on the length of the contract and if Martin was valuable enough for years 4-5...
.. but that pesky internet!!!! Who didn't see the Bob Nutting whiners??
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First off, the Pirates have stated publicly the last couple of seasons that they will be raising ticket prices annually until they are at League Average. This isn't news.
Secondly, "stupid draft picks" are words Dave Littlefield and Cam Bonifay used to mumble as they fumbled draft after draft to the point that the Pirates weren't just garbage on the MLB diamond, but garbage organizationally. The Draft IS the reason why the Pirates have had a resurgence. It is WHY any small market team can compete. It's Drafting well and make good, smart, sound personnel decisions... Like not signing a 32 year old catcher to a 5 year deal. Somehow, something tells me this person was happy and excited when the Pirates traded for Matt Morris years ago and took on that albatross of a contract... Now that I think of it.. with that Wildcard Game and that trade, the Giants have been bending the Pirates over for the past decade and not even gracious enough to offer any lube...
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That pesky Bob Nutting!!! Always getting in the way of the Pirates making decisions! If it's a good decision, he had nothing to do with it, if it's one that someone doesn't like? Bob Nutting becomes Jerry Jones as the most hands on baseball owner in MLB. Truthfully, Bob Nutting probably gave Neal Huntington and Frank Coonelly the go ahead to make any decision that they wanted and both felt that 3 years length was reasonable.
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My brain hurt so much after reading this.
If winning was about spending money, the Chicago Cubs would've won a World Series in the past Century. If it were all about spending money, the 2000 Pittsburgh Pirates wouldn't have lost 100 games. Winning isn't about spending money... it's about spending money wisely. It's the same approach that one has with their home life. If you're constantly dumping money on bad decisions, you'll end up in debt, cutting back in places that you like just so you can avoid shutoff notices, the repo man and having to borrow money from the mafia.. Okay, the mafia was a stretch.. The Pittsburgh Pirates are no different. They have money to spend but they have to spend every last penny wisely. If they waste money, they'll be "paying" for it in ways we won't like for years to come. It took nearly a decade to pay off Jason Kendall's contract. How long do you think it would take to pay off Russell Martin's if he nose dives at the age of 36 and 37? Money that we could've used in other places to compete, we'd then be using to pay off a bad contract.
The Pittsburgh Pirates made the right decision here. I'd have loved to have see Russell Martin remain with the Pirates, but it's not to be. He was an integral part of the Pirates resurgence the past 2 years. A true leader in the clubhouse and on the field. That leadership will be missed, but it's time for some others to step up and take those reigns of this perennial playoff team.
I was reading an article on MLB.com about the Martin signing. I went to the comments section,while the Blue Jay fans were happy to have him,most if not all thought the contract was excessive.
