OH, HEY.

A formal apology is due for my neglect of this blog. My finals just ended a week ago, and I also started a new job this month, so I've been a bit swamped. I haven't totally fo'got about this shit. I'll write as ideas come to me, but that usually happens in class. A few general thoughts about contracts;

Alfonso Soriano to the Chicago Cubs for 8yrs/136mil - If the Cubs weren't a team with the potential for 100mil+ contract, this would rank with the all-time worsts. A few that immediately coming to mind; Todd Helton 9yr/141mil, Mike Hampton 8yr/121mil, Alex Rodriguez 10yr/252mil. But because the Cubs can take a financial blow, whether it be taking on a contract or paying out a retarded one of their own, this shouldn't hinder them too much to make deals in the future. Soriano at 39, likely getting 22mil+ (considering the deal is backloaded), won't stop them from competing like it would the A's or Indians. Given his career .325 OBP going to a team that finished dead last in OBP last year at .319, and the value the Cubs expect to get from him simply doesn't add up. He'll hit a few more home runs, but he really won't improve this team as much as his contract might suggest he should. He's not Carlos Beltran, he's not even Chase Utley, and he's getting paid like a offensive juggernaut.

Carlos Less to the Houston Astros for 6yrs/100mil - This isn't as bad as the Soriano deal, but it's still not pretty. The only thing that makes it more attractive is that it's for six years and not eight. Granted, Lee will probably be in terrible shape by the end of his deal and won't be able to hit like he did at 28. I can see him making good for the first three, maybe four years of the contract. Lets put it this way; Pujols signed a 100mil contract for seven years and is twice the player, offensively and defensively Lee is.

Aramis Ramirez to the Chicago Cubs for 5yrs/73mil - A good deal considering the market, given his age and ability. If he misses out on injuries for the next five years and ages relatively well into his mid 30s, the deal will be great for the Cubbies.

Juan Pierre to the Los Angeles Dodgers for 5yrs/44mil - He'll be 29, has a rag arm, and a career 73% SB success rate. Not to mention he's hit 12 HRs TOTAL in his career. HRs. As has been echoed throughout media halls, this may be the worst deal in the majors this year. I won't say in recent history because signing Russ Ortiz to ANY contract is a mistake in itself, but good lord, if the Dodgers want to throw money at people at least wait until there are guys valuable enough to spend it on.

Gary Matthews Jr to the Anaheim Angels for 5yrs/50mil - Oh good-fucking god, the Angels couldn't to anything else to make me hate this team more than I already do. First Darin Erstad for 4yrs/32mil, then Orlando Cabrera for 4yrs/40mil and Steve Finley for 2yrs, coupled with their stupidity and refusal to play prospects, or at the very least project for their arrival (i.e. Brandon Wood blocked by Cabrera and potentially and 3B they're so adamantly pursuing this offseason, Kotchman, for a time being, blocked by their pursuit of Paul Konerko. Obviously neither have happened [in one case, at least not yet] the thought that they're waste their time with it is beyond me). GMJ is just the icing on the cake. His peripherals were all out of wack last year, and the guy will be 32 at the start of the deal. If you're going to throw money around, do it with reason and intelligence not blind faith.

Moises Alou to the New York Mets for 1yr/8.5mil - Now that I look at it, 8.5mil is a lot of money for an oldy like Alou, but initally hearing it I was in love with the deal. 8.5 is next to nothing for the Mets, and filling a corner outfield position with a bat like Alou's is huge. Throughout his career he's raked, but in five of the last seven years, he's failed to top 136 games. If he can stay healthy for the Mets in 2007, he should prove to be an extremely valuable pick up.

There's a pretty large number of foolish contracts already this off-season; DeRosa for 3yrs/13mil, Catalonatto for 3yrs/13mil, Henry Blanco 2yrs/5.25mil. And the potentially foolish; Jason Schmidt for 5+yrs at 34 years old, Barry Zito for 70+mil, and paying Neifi Perez anything to provid negative win shares. It's gotten a little too nuts for my approval of anything, really, regardless of the players talent level. I just hope this forces the trade market to be a bit more interesting because where there's prospects involved it gets a lot more interesting.