"Counting the playoffs, Sabathia has thrown 513 innings over the last two seasons. Whoever signs him will dismiss that and talk about what a good athlete he is for his size. But that’s a lot of innings. Make a list of all the long-term contracts for free-agent starters that worked out well. Let’s see there’s … um … Mike Mussina."
Hi, I'm a baseball writer and I've never heard of Randy Johnson (four Cy Young Awards in a row), Greg Maddux, or Roger Clemens.
Or does he mean recent Yankee free agent pitchers only?
You've still got David Cone, David Wells, and Jimmy Key.
3 comments:
To be fair, that says "long-term" contracts, and I don't think any of those guys signed 6 or 7 year deals.
Wow ... I don't know the specifics of the contracts ... but six years is now the definition of long term for a baseball pitcher's contract? I should have read more carefully, I guess.
The point is kind of moot, anyway.
I get that pitchers will get hurt. So will a lot of non-pitchers. So will a lot of young pitchers. So will a lot of inexpensive pitchers. So will a lot of non-free-agent pitchers (usually a pointless distinction between a FA player and a FA-eligible player whose contract was extended or who was acquired via a trade).
Is the conclusion to avoid CC Sabathia? Dumb conclusion. You sign him long-term and you pay him a lot of money with the understanding that he will get hurt at some point. Hopefully, Rogre Clemens Injured instead of Mike Witt Hurt. Or you pitch Dan Giese every fifth day ... and save your money ...
I totally agree with that. They should sign Sabathia. Mussina's is the only 6-7 year deal for a pitcher that actually turned out well, though. Kevin Brown, Mike Hampton, Barry Zito, etc. Santana has a chance to make good on his, but we're only one year in.
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