Ellsbury is like the opposite of Johnny Damon personality-wise. Damon was an outgoing, gregarious attention whore with verbal diarrhea. Ellsbury is reserved and withdrawn and doesn’t talk much, to the point that Jackie MacMullan wrote an ESPN article late in the season about how teammates were surprised this year because he was actually interacting with them and not hiding off in a corner. Meaning it only took him 6 years to warm up to people. I expect he’ll fade into the background in the Yankees’ clubhouse and be quite happy that way.
They didn’t. They signed Dioner Navarro, then released Arencibia.
Navarro’s decent. They apparently are saving the money for a pitcher (who will get hurt - that’s not the plan, it’s just Toronto.)
Official now, 10M a year they are saying. Good to Dombrowski active, but you always have to worry about the cliff on a 39 year old. Still 2 years limits the worst case, and the last few years prove a closer isn’t just going to fall in your lap.
Once again I approve.
After some hiccups and drama, it sounds like Cano will go to the Mariners for $240 million over 10 years.
I predict Dombrowski will pull a left fielder out of his hat next, of the South Korean variety.
The Mets will sign Curtis Granderson for $60 million over four years.
Hate to see him go, but I never got the feeling he was the “franchise guy,” even if he had the best stats. I think that kind of contract needs to be for a team changer. I like him, but I don’t know that he’s going to make a huge difference to the Mariners by himself.
Brian Wilson will return for the Dodgers as the set-up guy for Jansen next year for a sweet $10 million, with an option for 2015. That means games where the Dodgers lead are over in 7 innings. 
So their fans will start leaving during the fifth?
At least. If we get a couple of good middle relievers, we won’t have to show up at all!
That can’t be good for concessions, since they don’t arrive till the fourth.
I’m ambivalent about Cano’s departure. He’s a great player, but I don’t see where he was worth the money that he wanted. I never got the feeling that he cared a ton about the team.
No. What he’s getting is basically A-Rod’s first mega-contract, and the Yankees were right not to do that. They didn’t have to match that and he’s worth more than $175M over seven years - that’s almost what Ellsbury got, and Cano is better than Ellsbury - but they weren’t satisfied with finding a sweet spot.
I didn’t get that sense, since everybody emphasized that returning to the Yankees was his first choice. Regardless I’d like to loudly state my apathy on this point.
I can’t find the article I read about an hour ago, but I think it was on ESPN’s website. It quoted a “source” that said Cano told his teammates he was going to the highest bidder. That’s certainly his prerogative.
There’s just a smidgen of possibility that the source was Brian Cashman or Randy Levine, or someone speaking on their behalf.
Cano got the most money for the contract, but I wonder how much in endorsement deals he’ll miss out on? I don’t know much about Seattle, is it more of a baseball or football town?
I’m skeptical that the endorsement thing is that big a deal when so many athletes do business with huge multinational companies. And unlike New York, Washington has no state income tax, which could make up for a lot of hypothetical lost endorsements.
An aggressively stupid move by the Mariners. $240 million and 10 years for a player coming out of his prime? Wow. Even in his prime he was no Albert Pujols, though he now has the same contract.
Cano plays the game with zero passion. He perfected the art of appearing not to give a fuck, whether it’s calmly flicking the ball to first or taking lazy swings at outside fastballs. If Seattle ever turns it around, I’m sure they’re hoping he can improve upon his career postseason OBP of .267.
Have you ever read about the way baseball players are taxed? That they have to pay taxes in every state they play in over the course of a season? From this 2009 article:
As for Cano, he’s not exactly Mr. Charisma. I don’t recall him doing a lot of endorsements in NYC.
He doesn’t look like he cares enough and his postseason numbers aren’t great? That doesn’t seem like a good basis for judging the guy. He’s very, very good, and also got a contract that is too big. If anything this emphasizes that the Yankees overpaid Ellsbury, who has less to offer. They really have to bring in a bunch of successful pieces with the money they were offering Cano or else they’ve downgraded their lineup for reasons that seem questionable at best.
It’s true, Cano is very, very good. But he isn’t all that much fun to watch.
I don’t get down on a player who has a couple of bad postseason series, but Cano has playerd in 52 October games and he’s been pretty damn bad.
The Yankee offense is back to mediocre. They really need someone like Beltran, but it doesn’t look like they’ll get him.