Money---Money---Money---Honey
This is the time of year that everybody starts out even: everybody is hitting 000, a possible 300 year and every pitcher on the team is going to win 20, if they catch a couple of breaks, well that's why we call it spring training, we dream and hope, that's the reason they come down now in shape, they try to get 1 upmanship on the hitters because hitters don't spend as much time in the batting cage as pitchers do working on their skills during the winter and especially the six weeks prior to spring training.
One great benefit that we have is that we are a "lock" to win our division; there are no significant teams in our division. KC, Minnesota, Chicago and Cleveland.
Is there one of those teams that could be 500 this year, of course not.....so all we do to do is coast, get ready for playoffs now, we actually could be getting ready already for the playoffs. I'm not kidding, that is how brutal our division is at this moment.
Don Kelly
Our announcers were talking about the great change in Don Kelly, he will probably never be a starter in the major leagues, he's going to have to work like hell to get the number of years required to be a member of the pension that's just because Don Kelly is now hitting with a shorter version of his long swing huh?
Don Kelly has never received this much airtime in his entire career, guys pick it up on the broadcasts, do some Jimmy Northrup, tell the stories, get excited, and explain the situations, Don Kelly is a great guy, but his career so far is a hair more exciting than warm milk.
Does that mean that Don Kelly is going to hit .350 or .340 or .330…NOT!! Don Kelly is reliable defensively, there are others on teams that are reliable defensively, I suggest to you what we will wind up needing is runs. What wins ball games is also good defense, in a lot of games the ability to hit and run, the ability to bunt at the appropriate times, those things make up a ball game today.
Justin Verlander
$180 million dollars. WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can anyone be worth this kind of money? Can anyone contribute enough as a pitcher to be worth $180 million?
Folks he's worth every penny cause someone has agreed to pay the money and now has set a new bar in the game for money. NOW he's gotta do the job.
As long as Cabrera, Fielder and Hunter stay healthy, we should walk into the playoffs. But if Cabrera ever gets hurt for a lengthy period of time, all bets are off. I have never seen one player so valuable to a team or any team. He makes everyone in front of him in the lineup much better hitters; no one wants to pitch to Cabrera with men on base. And the guys behind him get better pitches cause he walks so much and you have to pitch to them if Cabrera is walking and is on base.
Now if anyone was watching the World Series you saw what I've been saying for years, great hitters must be pitched inside, do not allow great hitters to extend their arms, when he extends, he is a weapon, the Giants told the world how to pitch Cabrera but on the pitching staff of Cleveland, Minnesota, KC and Chicago who can actually keep their fastballs in on the hands of Cabrera? Who on those teams have enough serious velocity to get it inside hard?
Salaries
NFL
Tony Romo - Dallas: $100 million.....Are you kidding? One playoff win---ONE THAT’S IT!
Erin Rogers – Green Bay:$125-$150 million with about 75M guaranteed, what is going on and they play 16 games!
Time Magazine Reports Team Salaries
New York Yankees $228,995,945
Los Angeles Dodgers $216,302,909
Philadelphia $159,578,214
Boston $158,967,286
Detroit $149,046,844
And the owners of the major league teams are talking about either reducing pensions for staff (not players) or getting rid of them all together. What? Look at these five highest payrolls!
Takeaways
MLB Average Salary: $3,450,000.00 Million Dollars.
A-Rod will this year make (29,000,000.00): more than the entire Astros Payroll of (24.000,000.00)
Johan-Santana will make $24,300,000 million this year on disabled list.
Dodgers will likely pass the Yankees for the top spot next year.
Miami cut its payroll from last season by more than 60 percent.
Miami payroll $39,500,00.00
The Blue Jays will field $37 million worth of Marlins.
Arizona's highest-paid player is a setup guy.
Jack Morris made only $25,500,000.00 Million dollars in his entire career?
Verlander this year $22,000,000.00. Million
Denny McLain Entire Career, $445,000.00 dollars.
Among the NL favorites, the Braves, Nationals, and Reds all show the importance of home-grown pitching. Giants have reached the phase where they've had to pay top-dollar to keep their aces.
Houston' Manager said this: "When we get on the baseball field with whomever the opponent is, they are not sitting there saying: `Well, their players make more money than us so therefore you're deemed a winner and we're deemed a loser.'"
This is true. It's also true that Houston could lose 110 games this year. But Houston sucks big time!
Now let’s see if the Tigers, if not positively clinch the division, at least figuratively clinch the division before August 15.
Thank God Opening Day has arrived!
Denny McLain
