Why did L.A. let 25 year old Beltre go? 48/121/.334

They sign Kent, then let Beltre walk:WTF:

Mariners now have Ichiro,Beltre and Sexson at the top!



NEW YORK (AP) -- Prized free agent Adrian Beltre and the Seattle Mariners agreed to a $64 million, five-year deal Thursday, The Associated Press learned.

Beltre's contract is subject to him passing a physical, a person close to the third baseman said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The deal could be announced as early as Friday. Seattle did not comment on the agreement.

A day earlier, the Mariners added another slugger by finalizing a $50 million, four-year contract with free-agent first baseman Richie Sexson.

Seattle finished a distant last in the AL West, going 63-99 for their worst record since 1983. The Mariners was last in the league with only 136 homers and 698 runs.

Beltre, 25, led the majors with 48 home runs for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He hit .334 with 121 RBIs, and finished second behind Barry Bonds in the NL MVP voting.

Beltre also improved on defense last season, committing only 10 errors.

The Dodgers wanted to keep Beltre and offered him salary arbitration. But Los Angeles recently gave itself some protection, signing free-agent Jeff Kent and saying that he could play third base, along with his usual spot at second.

``We're disappointed. It hurts,'' Dodgers general manager Paul DePodesta said. ``Obviously, we would have loved to have him back.''

``I think all of us knew this certainly was a possibility. We feel like we stepped up and made a very competitive offer, actually tried to make it a compelling one by offering a sixth guaranteed year. Unfortunately for us, Adrian decided to go elsewhere.''

Beltre made $5 million last season, and figured to cash in after a career year in which he led the Dodgers to the NL West division title and their first postseason spot since 1988.

DePodesta said the Dodgers' six-year offer to Beltre and agent Scott Boras included an option for a seventh season.

When asked if the Dodgers were given a final say in the matter, DePodesta said: ``Not in so many words. They didn't come back and say if you can do this, he's coming back.''

``Scott did have a sense of urgency, we did try to step up to that. That really wasn't the forum. But then again, I'm not blaming Scott for that, either. Everything he did in this process was above board. There's no villain here,'' he said. ``At the end of the day, Seattle stepped up and made a great offer. We had multiple meetings, face-to-face meetings.''

Beltre became a free agent after the season, filing on the same day he had arthroscopic surgery to remove two large bone spurs from his left ankle.

At the time, the Dodgers said Beltre was expected to complete his recovery from ankle surgery before spring training. He was expected to be able to resume jogging and running in eight weeks.

Beltre made his major league debut in 1998 at 19. He had posted career highs of 23 home runs, 85 RBIs and a .290 batting average before breaking loose this season.

Beltre had 200 hits and 104 runs, and improved his walks-to-strikeouts ratio. In 2003, he batted .240 and struck out 103 times. The Mariners tried a lot of people at third base last season. Scott Spiezio led the team with 65 starts at the position, and batted just .215.

scott boras player. imposible to deal with the guy unless you feel like over paying. why do you think jason varitek and carlos beltran have'nt signed? Boras.

Good point Rob

As an M's fan, I am stunned. They better bring in those fences in left field though, Sexson and Beltre will have a miserable time trying to hit dingers out that way.

Still the team looks competitive again, just a year removed from rebuilding. I am thinking the lineup looks pretty good and I would expect Boone to rebound after having zero protection in the lineup last year:

Ichiro
Boone
Beltre
Sexson
Winn
Olivo
Ibanez
Lopez (Watch this kid, he looks like a superstar in a few years)
Leone/Spezio/Cabrera

Frank Costanza: What the hell did you trade Jay Buhner for?!? He had 30 home runs, over 100 RBIs last year, he's got a rocket for an arm, you don't know what the hell you're doin'!!

Steinbrenner: Well, Buhner was a good prospect, no question about it. But my baseball people love Ken Phelps' bat. They kept saying 'Ken Phelps, Ken Phelps'.

stomie said:

Frank Costanza: What the hell did you trade Jay Buhner for?!? He had 30 home runs, over 100 RBIs last year, he's got a rocket for an arm, you don't know what the hell you're doin'!!

Steinbrenner: Well, Buhner was a good prospect, no question about it. But my baseball people love Ken Phelps' bat. They kept saying 'Ken Phelps, Ken Phelps'.

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LMFAO...classic Seinfeld

let him go?

they offered him the same exact offer as seattle except close to 3/4 of a million less each year.

also to understand why we were hesitant in keeping him, please see his rookie year up until this past one. absolutely dreadful.

instead we save a lot of money for what i hope will sometime soon be locking down gagne for life, and more importantly a chance at either clement, beltran, drew, or ordonez.

for one second i did not think we let him go. its boras for christs sake, he convinced us to sign darren driefort to one of the worst signings of all time. 6 years 53 million. DD has been hurt each year so far.

aint gunna let that happen again.

He's a contract year player. Unless LA could have signed him to 5 straight one year deals then it wasn't worth it.

I hate players that only perform when it's payday; with the salaries they all make they should go all out EVERY season.

Bad move, LA done

I know I was dreaming at 6Am this morning when I heard on the radio that LA traded Green. Please tell me I was sleeping.

jjgold said:

Bad move, LA done

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LA done? ok...

The General said:

I know I was dreaming at 6Am this morning when I heard on the radio that LA traded Green. Please tell me I was sleeping.

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this may sound conceited but, from some of my people on so cal (where im from) - trade will not go through because it was contigent on beltre staying with the dodgers and green waiving his no trade clause. you have to realize that greens mother and father both live in orange county and run a batting cage - (ive been there numerous) - actually now that i think about it, they might have sold it, none the less he is a cult icon for the jewish population of southern california. that was one of the reasons he was so excited about being a dodger - the jewish community accepts him as their role model.

to uproot and move to AZ is very difficult to agree to in a day or two days.

quote from depodesta when asked if all these trades were speculation on a salary dump by the dodgers who according to jjgold are , , , done

"We are going to have a big payroll," he said. "We certainly will have the highest payroll in our division. I think we will have a competitive team."

and a final quote regarding adrian beltre leaving the team

"We didn't let Adrian walk, Adrian chose to leave," DePodesta said. "Even if we offer more money, it doesn't necessarily mean we get the player."

Dr Pepper..are you saying you think the Dodgers are making good moves?

Get use to those 3 run offensive explosions L.A. fans were so accustomed to beofre this past year...L.A.'s offensive will be back in the toilet...its no wonder they haven't won anything going on two decades...I don't think Beltre will hit 40+ homers every year but the guy is only 25, it could be that this was his breakthru season...

Journeyman said:

Dr Pepper..are you saying you think the Dodgers are making good moves?

Get use to those 3 run offensive explosions L.A. fans were so accustomed to beofre this past year...L.A.'s offensive will be back in the toilet...its no wonder they haven't won anything going on two decades...I don't think Beltre will hit 40+ homers every year but the guy is only 25, it could be that this was his breakthru season...

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you just answered your own question. do i think they are making good moves, no. do i think they quite possible could be making smart moves? yes, yes, and yes. exactly! i was so SICK of 3 run average output by the dodgers, it was beginning to eat away at my soul. in fact im for the first time (sigh)im beginning to lose a lot of hair, and im certan that a large portion of it can be found in the land of lost runs. and guess which players contributed to that? before beltre's "look at me" season, he was part of the problem. we would have dave roberts on first - izzy would sacrifice him to second or he would steal a base. and then the following would happen 11 times out of 10.

shawn green, weak bouncer to the pitcher.
beltre, swung on and missed, strike three.

or how about this scenario? this was my all time worst dodger moment.

bases loaded. izturis on third, someone on 2nd, someone on 3rd. we are playing the dbacks. i believe burnitz was up. he hits a blooper to center field. thats right a base hit. izturis doesnt realize this and stands on third. finley throws home and they tag izturis out on a base hit to center field 10 feet up the line from home.

thats the kind of crap ive been though. and i personally can attest it to shawn green and beltre (minus last year) -- we've had the same problems for two or three years. great pitching, unclutch hitting.

so what do you do about that? keep same players? change pitching? - you mix it up, as painful as it LOOKS. shawn green is due 16 million this year, or in dodgers terms, he gets paid close to 18,000 for every double play he hits into. or, 20% of his salary.

this is why im ok with it. when i wont be okay with it, is when they ask a nobody to do what a somebody couldn't do. alla, hey Mr. Rookie, please do better than Shawn Green. That's why Kent at first, second, or third ....for now. is fine.

Journeyman said:

Dr Pepper..are you saying you think the Dodgers are making good moves?

Get use to those 3 run offensive explosions L.A. fans were so accustomed to beofre this past year...L.A.'s offensive will be back in the toilet...its no wonder they haven't won anything going on two decades...I don't think Beltre will hit 40+ homers every year but the guy is only 25, it could be that this was his breakthru season...

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sorry for requoting. ok so lets get into beltre a little more.

if beltre can continue his amazing pace of homers, RBI's and hits for three years. three straight years - without falling off, then the remaining two he somehow resorts back to his pre "look at me, im on a contract year" - years. is he worth the 64 million dollars? maybe

or is he worth approx. close to 15 million a year in his final two seasons on any team? no of course not because he is untradeable

now lets say he hits 25 homeruns a year, is he worth 5 years at 64 million. yes and no. if the mariners do yankee like things, then yes. if they are average with a couple 25 homer players - then he is overpaid and no better than hidalgo, biggio, koskie (blue jays get kudos for getting him so cheap), casey, and even tino martinez.

so if he does what he did for his first 4 years - is he worth 64 million? without a doubt NO. in fact the team would be a laughing stock of MLB signing again!! (See darren driefort)

i know this is hypothetical - but you really are investing quite the $ bill to sign this 25 year old KID to such money after only showing he can handle it ONE year.

its a risk that their doomed if they dont take, and their doomed if they do take. yes the potentials on either side of the line are scary - but...that money can go elsewhere. such as more financially sound investments.

there is REALLY something to be said for signing players to short contracts - it forces them to WORK and EARN their potential. and so moneyball goes....

Good answers Dr.P- I feel your pain, and see your points...On ESPN last night Jeff Brantley was almost literally laughing at Seattle for throwing a ton of money at Beltre, so perhaps he will be a one year wonder...

I actually started wondering if it (the lack of scoring) had anything to do with that ballpark...I mean whoever comes to L.A. anymore, usually loses 20% of their offensive abilty almost overnight...Around baseball the Dodgers have not been a serious threat since, hell I don't even know when? Even in '88 they were a horrible offensive team...its safe to say they are not really that close, even coming off of a very solid '04

Could you project at 2005 starting lineup for us?

absolutely. i enjoy talking dodger baseball, as ive follow them too closely to be called a fan.

ill give you my real lineup (what i think will happen)

1.izturis (ss)
2.cora (2b)
3.drew/green (rf)
4.kent(1b)
5.bautista(3b)
6.werth(lf)
7.bradley(cf)
8.pyrzinkski/leiberthal (c)

now in a world of imagination

1.izturis
2.drew
3.beltran
4.kent
5.werth
6.bradley
7.bautista
8.lieberthal
*putting beltran in their kind of kills my whole save money preach.
**dont listen to a thing brantley says, even if it might be right, he doesn't know a thing - to be honest, the majority of the baseball tonight guys are clueless. they talk to talk. i use to believe them - now i laugh at them. they dont know what they are saying 9x out 10.

i have to say though, its tough down there.its hard to play in a pitchers park. think of the coors fields' power and runs - then divide that by almost a million. thats your dodger stadium, chavez ravine output. until we can put up yankee or rockie scores - well always be stepchildren to the lakers (showtime) - we're doing it with defense and pitching, two of the most unfun ways to go about your business. and who can rationalize paying someone in the millions for playing defense? not a fan, only a GM.

Throw in Beltran and its a wonderful off season...But what are the chances?

One more thing about L.A. being the graveyard for power...I never did understand how Shawn Green exploded offensively that one year ... I have always heard Dodger Stadium is so tough on batters once the sun goes down..

It does seem to cost players 20% of past performance, Murray, Strawberry both come to mind...

They once asked Tommy LAsorda who was the greatest player he ever managed and much to my surprise he said Eddie Murray...My point being Eddie didn't exactly tear it up out there, but throw in the Dodger Stadium factor and I guess he was still pretty solid...He was my favorite so if you could tell me what were your impression was of him as a Dodger I would appreciate, I didn't get to see much of his Dodger days, pretty much just from the newspaper boxscore...I would go buy the paper just to see what Eddie did the night before...lol alot of 1-4's ugh

I agree Brantley is a talking head..I just had to mention that as he was almost laughing outloud at Beltre ... I found that somewhat peculiar since Beltre is 25 not 35..