by Hans on September 12, 2009
Been a while since the last post at the Dugout. At the time, Boston still had the edge on the Yankees, Texas still led in the AL West, and the Mets actually had a shot at the playoffs.
Also of note, on June 21st, Adam Dunn’s average had fallen from his April .310 to .267 while his HR pace had fallen from 52 at the end of May to an un-Dunn-like 36. Some said that strikeouts, a weak surrounding lineup, and a stadium with larger dimensions than the bandbox in Cincy were and would continue to expose him for what he always was – a liability.
Instead, Dunn spent July with a .319 average and a whopping 1.043 OPS. In August, he followed that with a .297 average and a 1.112 OPS and is batting .302 so far this September.
There's no power outage in the nation's capital
He’s now on pace for 43 HR’s and could end the year batting north of .280 – despite having never finished a single season in his career with .267 or better.
All this, Nationals fans got for a 2009 salary of only $8 million. In contrast, other 2009 free agent signings include Cleveland’s Kerry Wood ($10 million 2009 salary), San Francisco’s Edgar Renteria ($7 million) and Randy Johnson ($8 million), New York’s Oliver Perez ($12 million), Tampa Bay’s Pat Burrell ($7 million), Chicago’s Milton Bradley ($5 million – $21 million more due in 2010/2011), and Los Angeles’ Rafael Furcal ($6.5 million – $20.5 million due in 2010/2011).
With this offseason’s free agent class headlined by Jason Bay and Matt Holliday, it will be interesting to see what bargains exist among the Aubrey Huff’s, Orlando Hudson’s, Adrian Beltre’s, and Bobby Abreu’s of the league.
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by Hans on February 3, 2009
Perhaps starting to feel the building pressure of February 14th, starting pitcher Oliver Perez and the New York Mets agreed to terms, extending their relationship another 3 years for $36 million.
No, it wasn’t Valentine’s Day or love that reunited them, but the slowly closing pitching market and the need for a stable starting staff by the time pitchers and catchers report mid-month that probably led to the deal getting done.
But one scout familiar with the contract was quoted as saying, “That’s No. 2 starter money, and he’s not a No. 2.” Earlier this offseason, Derek Lowe spurned the Mets to sign a four-year $60 million deal with the Braves. Perez was their back-up plan, with Ben Sheets and Randy Wolf serving as alternatives.
But Ben Sheets has averaged roughly 150 innings over the last 3 years and is, at any given moment, an awkward movement away from the DL. Wolf is closing in on a contract with the Dodgers and is certainly not a top-of-the-rotation starter.
So you have to ask, is Perez – most likely a No. 3 or No. 4 starter – getting this money because he is a known, albeit inconsistent, quantity? Is the 27-year old southpaw more valuable to the Mets now that rival Philadelphia has a lefty-heavy middle of their lineup?
Either way, it appears as though the Metropolitans are done spending for the winter. And after the love letters and chocolates have been exchanged, the Perez/NY relationship will take the field with their sights set on the post-season appearance missing since 2006.
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