Month: July 2008 (Page 19 of 39)

      Top 10 MLB Earners of All-Time

      July 19, 2008 /

      My source for this information only goes back as far as 1985, but really, what players are making now in a single season may have been a career’s worth back then anyway. So here are the top earners of all-time, and naturally there are several active players on here.

      1. Barry Bonds ($188,245,322)—Are you kidding? Almost $200 million over the course of his career? And you surely can’t put an asterisk on that statistic. But how much of Barry’s nest egg has gone and will go to legal fees?

      2. Alex Rodriguez, ($170,416,252)—A-Rod signed that ridiculous 10-year, $250,000 contract with Texas back in 2001, and I believe he’s still honoring said deal with the Yankees. That’s a lot of money spent for zero World Series rings, isn’t it?

      3. Randy Johnson ($152,449,473)—The Big Unit has earned it all, and has been maybe the most feared pitcher in the game over the last fifteen seasons. My favorite stat is that Johnson struck out 1417 batters between 1999 and 2002, an average of 354 per season, and won four straight Cy Young Awards in the process.

      4. Greg Maddux ($143,845,000)—In most areas, a $500,000 home would be pretty freaking nice. If your lifetime salary can afford you 286 of them, that’s just insane.

      5. Manny Ramirez ($143,328,346)—Think about this. Man-Ram is still only 36 and I’m guessing he’s got at least five more seasons left in him. And over sixteen seasons he’s averaged .312 with 40 homers and 132 RBI per season. Holy crap.

      6. Gary Sheffield ($140,682,244)—Sure, this guy has hit the snot out of the ball, but in 2007 Sheff hit .265 with 25 homers and 75 RBI. Is that worth $11 million?

      7. Derek Jeter ($139,630,000)—He’s not a power hitter per se (200 career homers over 14 seasons), but a leader on a consistently great team, and arguably the game’s most popular player today.

      8. Ken Griffey Jr. ($139,070,987)—If anyone on this list has been underpaid, it’s this guy. He currently has 605 home runs and is the epitome of class.

      9. Pedro Martinez ($134,446,234)—Pedro is on his last leg, or make that arm, with the Mets in 2008. But when he was with Montreal and Boston, he had some of the most wicked stuff I’ve ever seen.

      10. Mike Mussina ($133,462,590)—I was going to say that $11 million, his 2008 salary, is ridiculously high. But Mussina is on pace to win 19 games for the Yanks when they need him the most. And he’ll take the Steinbrenners’ money all day long.

      Source: Baseball Reference

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      Whitlock takes issue with Ted Thompson’s handling of Favre

      July 18, 2008 /

      FOX Sports.com contributor Jason Whitlock is a self-proclaimed quarterback expert. He also thinks Green Bay Packers GM Ted Thompson is making a huge mistake with the handling of the Brett Favre situation.

      You don’t discard the Pro Bowl quarterback who came within three points of the Super Bowl just because he’s a 38-year-old diva who doesn’t want to play football in March.

      Here’s my solution. Call a press conference immediately — today, if not sooner. Announce that you’re a huge Barack Obama supporter, you got swept up in the mania and wanted to do your part to show America how far we’ve come in terms of racial equality.

      I know, I know playing through pain, injury and grief for 16 years doesn’t compensate for the fact that Favre acts like a spoiled baby when you refuse to acquire a quarterback’s best friend, Randy Moss. And I know it’s really tough on the franchise when Favre’s aching, middle-aged body and mood swings tell him to retire in March and play in July.

      Get over it. The great ones are always a pain in the ass.

      Seriously, call a press conference today, take the high road by accepting blame for not being more patient with Favre and beg him to return for another season or as many as he wants.

      You have him positioned perfectly now. All the pressure will be on Brett this season. He’ll need to be disciplined and play at a very high level or he’ll take all the heat for putting the Packers in an awful position during the offseason.

      This is all well and good had Favre not retired in March. And then tell the Packers that he was ready to come back – only to change his mind again. And then there’s that possibility that he had been talking with the Minnesota Vikings about playing for them.

      Whitlock always does a nice job of looking at an issue from all sides and he might be dead on when he says Thompson might be making a huge mistake. But in my opinion, Favre put Thompson in this situation – not he other way around. And therefore, Thompson is in control and should have control of his team.

      NFL

      Ramirez was fined ‘six-figures’ in June

      July 18, 2008 /

      The Boston Herald (according to former WBZ sports director Bob Lobel) is reporting that Manny Ramirez was fined a “six-figured amount” last month for an altercation with one of the Boston Red Sox’s traveling secretaries. And per Lobel, Ramirez “sent a message” to the Red Sox in a July 6 game against the Yankees when he took three straight strikes without swinging while facing New York closer Mariano Rivera.

      “Manny was fined six figures to go to a charity,” Lobel said this morning on sports radio WEEI. “That got [Manny’s] attention … he became a petulant child by being punished. No matter what the crime was, pushing an employee, that was the issue … he acted out [after they fined him]. They got his attention. He doesn’t like to be punished in any way, shape, or form… ”

      “The thing that most people are forgetting and haven’t talked about is the strikeout in Yankee Stadium,” Lobel said. “The bat on the shoulder for the three pitches from Mariano Rivera. That was a big [expletive] to the Red Sox after the fine. I’m just telling you … there are things in the front office that are perceived … I’m saying that there is a strong feeling that that [three-pitch strikeout] was the message to the Red Sox and it’s a strong feeling that that’s unacceptable … there’s a feeling that he didn’t give it his all, let’s put it that way … I’m just saying the front office has not forgotten that moment. It’s akin to Nomar sitting on the bench [in a game in which Derek Jeter dove into the stands at Yankee Stadium in 2004]. It’s the same thing. It’s an at bat that resonated very strongly in the front office.”

      All seemed relatively quiet on the Manny-Red Sox front over the past two years, but now the drama has apparently heated up again. I distinctively remember watching that Sunday Night Baseball game against the Yankees and wondered out loud why the usual free-swinging Ramirez never took the bat off his shoulders. Conspiracy theories in sports annoy me, but this one seems like it has legs.

      MLB

      Deron Williams re-signs for four years, $70 million

      July 18, 2008 /

      A couple of weeks ago, Chris Paul re-signed with the Hornets. Now it’s Deron Williams’ turn.

      According to league sources, Williams agreed to a three-year extension with a player option for the fourth year. The deal will pay Williams the maximum allowed by the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement and the earliest he can become a free agent would be the summer of 2012.

      Williams’ extension is similar to the one New Orleans point guard Chris Paul agreed to just 10 days ago. Lance Young, Paul’s agent, said Paul agreed to a three-year extension with a player’s option for a fourth year. The total value of Paul’s deal is $68 million.

      Although the exact value of Williams’ extension won’t be determined until the NBA sets its salary cap next July, the Tribune reports Williams will earn approximately $50 million for the first three years of the deal and as much as $70 million if he exercises the option.

      “I know everybody has worked very, very hard toward reaching an agreement,” McClaren said. “It’ll be fun to talk about it tomorrow.”

      I’m not an agent, but how “hard” is it to agree on a max contract? Is McClaren trying to justify his existence in Williams’ life?

      In recent years, the three-year deal with a player option for the fourth has become a popular choice among some of the league’s elite players. Paul, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade all went with the three-year plan, with James and Wade signing their deals in the summer of 2006.

      Players that sign these shorter deals are giving up the extra security of another year (or two) of guaranteed salary, but they have the flexibility to opt out and leave early if the franchise isn’t headed in a direction that suits them. It also allows their respective salaries to grow along with the NBA. Every so often, a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is reached, and it usually means raises across the board.

      I love Williams’ game, but I only think there are 8-15 players worth a max contract, and I’m not sure he’s on that list. However, it’s not worth the risk to piss off your superstar to offer him a contract worth slightly less than the max, just to save a little dough. This is a good signing by the Jazz.

      NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      The Detroit Tigers – your second half sleepers

      July 18, 2008 /

      After acquiring the best player the Florida Marlins ever produced (Miguel Cabrera) and the National League wins leader in 2005 (Dontrelle Willis) in an offseason trade, many thought the Detroit Tigers were the club to beat in 2008.

      Then young star Curtis Granderson got hurt. Then they lost seven in a row to start the season. Then they lost slugger Gary Sheffield for half of June. Then they lost 10 of their first 12 games. Then all of a sudden, they were in the cellar of the AL Central and everybody was left to wonder, “What has happened to the perennial World Series favorites?”

      But after stumbling to a 23-32 record entering June, the Tigers started to play more like the preseason favorites. Detroit finished 19-8 in the month of June and started to move up the standings in the Central. Now entering the second half of the season, the Tigs are just 6.5 games behind the first place Chicago White Sox.

      So are they back? One indication they are is that ace Justin Verlander has completed turned around his season. After starting the year 1-7, he’s now won five of his last seven starts with two no decisions, and is 3-0 in his last three outings. The club is also getting quality starts from 26-year old Armando Galarraga (7-3, 3.27) and although he’s been inconsistent, Kenny Rogers has lasted at least seven innings in seven of his last nine starts.

      The Tigers’ pitching staff still a ways to go, but the lineup picked things up towards the All-Star Break and they’ve gotten production out of one-time role players like Marcus Thames (leads the team with 18 HRs). And don’t undervalue how much Joel Zumaya – who finally looks healthy again – brings to the bullpen. He just might be the key to Detroit’s revival.

      Nobody should fall asleep on this club, because the Tigers look primed for a major second half.

      MLB

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