5 million a year for Farnsworth?!?!

[frostwyrm]

One year ago Farnsy's stock was in the toilet, then he has one good season, now he's getting 3yrs. $15M. This market has a relief pitcher bubble in it. I can't see these prices being sustainable, especially for the middle relief.

[Balsa]

Is the only choice Farns love vs. Gutless, choking dog?

 

Because I would think that the truth lies somewhere in between. He's been inconsistent with flashes of brilliance his whole career.

 

I would wager my bank account that this summer was the exception to the rule, and that he'll revert back to the statistical norm soon enough. There's been no indication to me that he's "finally figured it out" and now he's the next Billy Wagner.

 

That being said, I would not want him on my team, regardless of whether he'd been on it before. My prediction is that he'll just be one more "if only he'd gotten his stuff under control" pitcher.

[waffle]

good for farnsy if he gets it. Other teams are intrigued by the same crud that kept him percolating but not boiling for the cubbies for oh those many years. He's just not worth it.

 

I was very happy with both bullpen signings so far, length, $$$ and the players themselves. I appear to be in the minority on that.

[MeatampPotatoesMan]

How does $5M for Farns make Hendry look good? Hendry is the primary culprit in creating these ridiculous prices, so it seems silly to me to cite the byproduct of his stupidity as a cause for praise.

 

I think it was stupid of Hendry to overpay for Eyre and Howry since we have a limited budget and many holes besides the pen, but it was genius (if intended) to run up the prices on the competition (who doesn't need pen help?) by making pre-emptive strikes into the marketplace by getting Howry and Eyre while everyone else tried to get bottom dollar.

 

I may have to change my avatar if you keep this up, Hendry.

[BigbadB]

When you look at all the relievers who ever played the game, there are very few that stand out as being good year after year after year.

 

A few years ago, Mike Stanton, Tim Hammond, Paul Quantrill, Steve Kline, Ray King, David Weathers, Scott Sullivan were the hot names being tossed around as the can't miss relievers to give 3 year deals to.

 

How many of them would you want now? Steve Kline might have been the hottest middle reliever available last year. What did he do this past year? His ERA was 2.50 WORSE than his previous year. He had a 4.28 ERA last year.

 

Name just one guy who is a true "middle reliever" that has been good every season.

 

It's not that the Eyre and Howry signings were not good. It's the money and the years that is ever so ridiculous. The Ryan deal and the Farnsworth deal do NOT make the Eyre and Howry signings look better.

 

Let's break down Paul Quantrill. I liken him to Howry. He was quite successful with Toronto, but was going to start to be too expensive to retain, so Toronto looked at a way to trade him for something in return instead of leaving via free agency with basically nothing more than a draft pick. They traded him to LA along with Cesar Izturis for Luke Prokopec and another minor leaguer and neither was ever seen or heard from again. Quantrill was lights out for 2 years in Los Angeles. Along came the big money Yankees after Quantrill's best major league season ever (in his free agent year) for a 3 year deal worth nearly 10m. What did Quantrill do for the Yankees?

 

His first year with the Yankees, his ERA went from 1.75 to 4.72. The next year, his ERA was 5.35 with 3 different teams, and New York picking up most (if not all) of the tab. He probably won't be back on a team in 2006, but he'd only be 37 next year.

 

My point in all of this is why lock down a guy who you should have a pretty good idea will be inconsistent for 2/3 of his contract. Why waste a roster spot with a guy who may not be any more consistent than a guy you have down on the farm making much less money.

 

Howry is currently twice the pitcher that Novoa is. However, Novoa has just as good a chance of being the better pitcher of the two in 2006. The same could be said about Wuertz. When I look at these relievers, there is nothing that sticks out as consistent with these guys. One year they are lights out, the next year they are horrible.

 

Look at what Felix Heredia did in his years following the disaster known as his tenure with the Cubs. He was lights out for the Yankees, and then he sucked again.

 

What the Cubs should have done was wait for teams that needed to shed payroll and deal prospects to fill relief holes. The Florida Marlins are now talking about trading Mota. Houston is talking about trading Lidge. Otsuka has been mentioned in trade rumors in San Diego. We have all these guys being unprotected in the minors and instead of using a couple of them to get a Howry or Eyre-like replacement at the major league level, we are throwing money at them like there is a never ending budget.

 

If the Cubs end up with Preston Wilson or Juan Encarnacion or Jeromy Burnitz or the like in RF in 2006, I'm going to be extremely LOUD each time I see Scott Eyre or Bob Howry give up a lead or each time Burnitz strikes out with runners on base, knowing all along we could have had a GOOD RFer rather than another mediocre bullpen arm.

 

If Hendry shocks me and gets Giles or the like, I'll shut up and applaud his offseason. But, at this moment I'll just wait and see what happens.

[USSoccer]

BBB,

 

Mota was sent to Boston along with Beckett and Lowell. They got him added in for nearly nothing.

[BigbadB]

BBB,

 

Mota was sent to Boston along with Beckett and Lowell. They got him added in for nearly nothing.

 

Whoops. I've been away for the last week. Mota was a truly hot commodity while he was in LA last year. Now, he's a throw in. I rest my case.

[Guest]

Given the fact that Eyre and Howry each received $11-$12 million over three years I can easily see Farns commanding $15 over the same span. All three haven't exactly had the most consistent careers, though recently they have enjoyed success. Farnsworth's blowups tend to be more spectacular than the Cubs' newest middle relievers, though it has been argued those are mostly due to the ways his managers use him than anything else. When Kyle's at his best, though, he's better than Howry and far better than Eyre.

 

Do I think $5 million a year is overpaying for Farnsworth? Yep, but it's no worse than the money thrown to Eyre, Howry, or Ryan. It seems as if the market for relievers is extremely tilted in favor of the players this year.

[XZero771679666304]

Yankees GM Brian Cashman yesterday dismissed a rumor that he was close to signing Mike Myers and Kyle Farnsworth.

The New York Post says the club is making a hard push for both. The Red Sox would probably just as soon keep Myers, but since he's a Type B free agent, they'd also benefit if he decided to leave. For what it's worth, Myers said he does not yet have an offer from the Yankees. The Mets and A's have also talked to him. Nov. 29 - 3:09 am et

 

Farns + NYC = Total disaster