Word on the street is… it’s on again. Contract extension talks broke down Sunday morning, which put the trade in jeopardy. Gonzalez reportedly wanted an eight-year deal but the Red Sox offered only six. That is no longer a sticking point; Gonzalez will head to Boston without an extension, and the two sides can talk money at some future date.
Ignore this. Read this. Up next, a really long article that was written while all the drama was taking place and that would have been irrelevant if the trade hadn’t happened. Good times…
Glad to see that all parties took the wisest path: (1) After all of this, Adrian didn’t need to come back here as a lame duck; (2) The Padres can now move on, acquiring much needed young talent to bolster their farm system (if all goes well, Rizzo and Kelly could make a September debut with Castro); and (3) the Red Sox wisely got their man. I’ll miss Adrian. Clearly with Gwynn, he was the best position player in team history. I’m glad I got to watch him these past 5 seasons, but it was clear to me that he didn’t want to be here long term.
Theo has a recent history of wanting short contracts, e.g, Bay, Martinez. Since the contract is just now being written, it should be limited for 2010 to the 6Mil range, not heavily effecting negotiating position for other trades this year. So, length of contract is probably the hangup. When you are in the 50% tax bracket, it doesn’t make too much difference to delay payment some.
@Bruce: Agreed on all points. I’m glad to see Hoyer et al. act so decisively on what must have been a very difficult issue for them.
It’s official! My entire Padre bobblehead collection now plays for other teams.
@Geoff. I very much like that the front office has a plan, and I like even more that they are sticking to it by recognizing that this past season was unlikely to be repeated. I’m willing to take some short-term pain if it means that Jed and co. can continue to build a long-term foundation for sustained success.
Mmm, I don’t know about being the best position player in team history. Unless you mean after Gwynn and not “with Gwynn.” Adrian’s first three seasons were solid, but not special. I’d also put Winfield in the discussion for second after Gwynn, who is clearly number one due to his longevity with the franchise if not on peak alone. Unfortunately we’re not going to get near as much of Adrian’s career and peak as we did of Winfield’s. Boston is likely going to be the lucky recipient of his best years, or at least more of his best years than we received.
. . .
In looking at the franchise batting leaders, it occurs to me we have a curse in effect. The Colbert Curse. Anyone who gets too close to the career HR record held by Nate gets traded/released/leaves via free agency. Who will be the lucky player to break the curse?