Awful Contracts Are Awful

I know the 2014 World Cup draw just happened and I will get to that soon enough. For now, I'm going to be a xenophobic American and talk about things happening in our country.

10 years, $240 million

(Photo credit: Google Images)

So much for my sentiments that no one would give Robinson Cano a ridiculous contract and he would end up with the Yankees on a more "reasonable" deal. The Seattle Mariners have proven to the baseball world that they haven't learned at all from the terrible contracts that have come before this one. Even though it's not the biggest contract in history, it may be the worst. Think about it. Cano will be 41 at the end of the deal. By the end of the fifth year, Cano probably won't even be half the player he his now and this contract will look like more of a joke than it is already. Also, Jay-Z is Cano's agent. How the hell is he going to market Cano in Seattle? Take a look at this observation: Yankee attendance when Cano was the lone star for most of the season because everyone else was injured was abysmal. If he can't put fans in the seats in New York, what makes you think that he can do it in Seattle? He's not that electric, charismatic figure that draws people to games. This entire contract has "mistake" written all over it. But, not for the Yankees. For once, WE DIDN'T shell out the worst contract of the offseason. Now, we can invest that money in pitching which we so desperately need now. However, I have to do something that I hardly ever do.

It pains me to say this, but now I have to concede to my friend in our five-year long argument on which second baseman was better; Chase Utley or Robinson Cano. It was never-ending, and we would talk in circles because it was really six of one, half-dozen of another. Until now... I have to give Utley the upper hand once and for all. This contract proves it because it shows that Chase Utley played for the love of the game and Cano plays for the money. I would rather have someone on my team that plays because they want to win, not just cash checks. In 2007, Chase Utley got 7 years for $85 million when he was in his prime. Cano and Utley are the two best second baseman of this generation. What does Cano bring to the table that makes him worth $155 million more than Utley in his prime? If you find out, let me know because I got nothing.

7 years, $59.5 million

(Photo credit: Jeff Orlando)

I would be remiss not to bash the New York Rangers and their horrible spending habits. Apparently, a goalie that has no cups, only one Vezina Trophy, and is being outplayed on some nights by his backup is worth nearly $60 million dollars. Henrik Lundqvist is about as overrated a goalie as you can find. Everyone has all of these great things to say about him, yet he has nothing to backup all of the praise. To put things in perspective, Martin Brodeur, the greatest goalie of all-time, TOOK A PAY CUT IN HIS PRIME in order to allow Lou Lamoriello and the Devils to go out and build a winning team around him. I don't even think Brodeur EVER made even $7 million per year at any stretch in his career, let alone $8.5 million. I understand that the cap is going to be going up a lot after the huge TV with SportsNet in Canada, but investing that much money in a goalie is always a huge risk. Just ask Mike Milbury. For those that may not get that reference, Milbury was the GM that give Rick DiPietro the 13-year deal that almost crippled the franchise (among other boneheaded moves he made). I can't be mad at Lundqvist for signing that deal. Hell, I would too if I was him. You have to wonder if the Rangers' front office doesn't remember their string of horrible deals, or if they're just total fools.

Jacoby Ellsbury To The Bronx

7 Years, $153 million

That's the contract that Jacoby Ellsbury gets to trade in his beard and the red "B" for a clean-shaven look, pinstripes and the interlocking "NY." When I first heard that the Yanks got Ellsbury, I was ecstatic! I had always hated Ellsbury when he was with Boston, but that was mainly because he always killed us in the field, on the base paths, and at the plate. That's what Ellsbury will bring to this club. He's always in the neighborhood of a .300 batting average, so he gives us a great bat. Ellsbury has always been lauded for his elite speed. He went 52 for 56 last season. Let that marinate. That's an incredible amount of steals, but the efficiency is even more impressive. With both Gardner and Ellsbury, the Yankees now have a one-two punch on the base paths. He's also one of the best defensive center-fielders in the game with a Gold Glove to his credit in 2011. So, on the surface, this move is awesome for the Yankees. Then, you see the contract numbers...

(Photo credit: Google Images)

Seven years? Really, Hal? Guess the $189 luxury tax threshold has just been shot to hell, and thank God if that's the case. Last year was one of the worst years I've ever seen from the Yankees since I had starting following baseball (yes, I know the late-80 and early-90s were worse, but I'm only 24). There was no excitement around this team all last year. It's almost like the fans knew the team was going nowhere, and it sure showed in attendance numbers. I can't tell you how many Yankee games I watched and wondered if I was watching a Yankees game or a Rays game. There was no one there! You'd have to think that improves this year. Anyway, back to the contract. This is another one of those "if he stays healthy" type of deals. I have a very current one to compare this to; Ryane Clowe's deal with the New Jersey Devils. He got 5 years/$24.25 million and the first thing I said when I heard about that deal, "It's great if he's healthy." Has he been healthy? No! They never are when you sign them! Clowe has barely played this season. I'm always incredibly wary when one of my teams signs an injury-prone player. The only solace I can take out of his injuries is that one could have been avoided and one was an accident. In 2010, he suffered broken ribs after running into a teammate in the field. In 2012, he had a right shoulder injury from a having a fielder land on him while sliding into second. So, it isn't a string of muscle tears and non-contact injuries. I guess that's a positive. IF ELLSBURY STAYS HEALTHY, we should get four to five years of elite CF play, which is all I'd have signed him for.

Outfield Shift

Brett Gardner was our center fielder for most the year last season because Granderson was hurt. Conventional wisdom says that Gardner shifts over to the cavernous left field of Yankee Stadium and Ellsbury will patrol center. The only question is right field. Alfonso Soriano could shift to right, but he's never played there as a pro and he doesn't have a right-fielder's arm. If they decide to shift Soriano over there, runners are going first-to-third on him regularly. What I hope they do is go out and get another outfielder with a better arm than Soriano and make Soriano a full-time DH. I would love for the Yankees to go after Shin-Soo Choo, but I don't know if they would be willing to pay what he would be looking for. This probably means one or both of Ichiro and Vernon Wells are probably not going to be re-signed. Even if the Yankees decide moving Soriano to left is going to be their plan, the outfield is going to be above average defensively. I'm very excited about that, because that could save us some wins during the year. But as with every signing the Yankees make, the question that is asked is...

What does this mean for Robbie Cano?

(Photo credit: Google Images)

Now, the fact that the Yankees gave Ellsbury seven years means that they can't give Cano less than that. You can't justify signing someone from another team for a longer term than a star player on your own team. So, that basically means that Cano (if he re-signs with the Yankees) is going to get no less than a seven year deal, which would make Cano 38 years old at the end of said contract. Yikes... Those last two or three years will be rough then if that does happen. I still think he ends up with the Yankees, though. It's mainly because no team is going to give him the money he wants and the Yankees seem to be kicking the $189 million limit to the curb. I could see a scenario where the Yankees match an offer a team makes as long as it's not completely absurd. I'm just glad the Yankees aren't currently negotiating against themselves in this case, but who knows really? They could be and we just just don't know it because nothing is publicized. Even with the money the Yankees have invested in Brian McCann and Jacoby Ellsbury, I still think that Robbie Cano will end up signing a deal that will essentially make him a career-Yankee. It looks like the rumors of a $300 million spending spree this offseason were true.

Fantasy Baseball Trade

These guys are trading unis. (Photo credit: Yahoo! Sports)

In a move that feels more like a trade that's made between two buddies in mid-July when they're gearing up for a fantasy baseball playoff run, the Texas Rangers and the Detroit Tigers have agreed to swap star players. 2B Ian Kinsler heads North to the Motor City while Price Fielder now gets to crush balls in the hitter-friendly Ballpark at Arlington. I think all baseball fans were shocked at the deal when it was announced. Any time teams trade star players, it always generates a ton of buzz. Now that the dust has settled, however, you can see that this trade actually makes sense for both sides.

For Detroit, this gives them a ton of monetary flexibility. Fielder was to be owed $168 million over the next seven years. The Tigers are sending over $30 million to help offset the cost of the trade. Texas will then pick up the rest of the tab, a cool $138 million. Kinsler's contract is more manageable in comparison at $62 million over the next four years. So, the Tigers save $76 million over the next four years. That should turn out to be huge for them going forward because Cy Young award-winner, Max Scherzer, is a year away from free agency and I'm sure Detroit would love to keep him there past this coming season. Miguel Cabrera is also nearing the end of his contract (2015), and this move allows the Tigers to keep both of their stars that are nearing the end of their respective deals.

For Texas, this gives them power-hitting lefty they needed in the their line-up. They have a formidable lineup now with Fielder and Adrian Beltre patrolling the middle. Sluggers love playing in Texas, and Prince probably won't feel any different with his new home being more conducive to the long ball compared to the cavernous Comerica Park in Detroit. By moving Kinsler, the Rangers have finally relieved the logjam in their middle infield by freeing up second base for their hot-shot prospect, Jurickson Profar. Profar was always mentioned every time the Rangers were mentioned in trade rumors because Kinsler was a mainstay at second for the Rangers. Now that he's not in Texas any more, Profar should slide into the starting role. The reason I say "should" and not "will" has to do with the most talked about free-agent on the market this offseason.

This guy. (Photo credit: New York Times)

You can't talk about the MLB offseason this year without mentioning Robinson Cano. So naturally, as soon as this deal goes down, the next thing out of the analysts' mouths is, "How does this affect both teams in the Robbie Cano sweepstakes?" In my opinion, it takes both teams out of it. For the Tigers, they have their second baseman now in Kinsler. He's one of the best in the business. The Rangers are now out of it because they can finally let Profar fill that void Kinsler left at second and become a full-time major league player. There's just one catch there, though. Let's say the Rangers still want Cano. What do they do with Profar? I think then what you see is the Yankees do a sign-and-trade with Cano to get Profar from the Rangers in an equal, if not bigger, blockbuster deal. I know the Yankees have kicked the tires on just about every free agent out there this offseason, and no disrespect meant to Brandon Phillips, but the Yankees need to start building for the future. If Cano does leave, I hope the Yankees go with the sign-and-trade route to land Profar so he could play second in the Bronx for many years to come. At the end of the day, however, I think the Rangers hold on to Profar and they don't pursue Cano.

The Devils Are Frustrating

Over their last two games, the New Jersey Devils have scored a whopping zero goals. Yes, the Devils have been shutout two games in a row. Remember when the Devils used to be on the opposite side of that? I remember that fondly, and it feels like a long time ago. Rational Devils fans have always known this kind of season was going to come at some point. Marty is in the twilight of his career, our traditional offensive powers are old, and it's time to transition to more young players up and down the roster.

As bitter as we are, we do miss Parise. (Photo credit: Google Images)

That all being said, I still didn't think that our record would be this bad at this point of the season. It's become painfully obvious from an offensive standpoint that we definitely miss both Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk. On the defensive side of things, Pete DeBoer needs to keep letting the young guys play. It's unfortunate that Jon Merrill got injured in his first game in New Jersey because we have such high hopes for him. However, there is no reason not to continue playing Adam Larsson and Eric Gelinas. They have played well despite the team's record, and they'll only get better the more that they play. Luckily, goaltending isn't really and issue. Cory Schneider just got healthy again and Marty has played pretty well in his absense, all things considered. You can't really expect the goalie to bail you out EVERY night when your team is not scoring. But right now, it's the offense of the New Jersey Devils that needs help.

Devils fans are bitter about Zach Parise leaving, especially the irrationally passionate one like myself. However, if Zach Parise somehow came back to New Jersey, we would all welcome him back with open arms and root for him like it was 2012 all over again. With Ilya Kovalchuk, I don't know if any Devils fan will ever welcome him back after how badly he screwed us over for this year. That being said, there is no doubt that we as fans miss his offensive prowess; this team could definitely use some of it right now. I bring up these two guys because it speaks to a much larger issue for the Devils that's starting to become more and more pronounced as the years have gone by, and it has nothing directly to do with the players on the ice.

If you know my love for the Devils, then you know that Lou Lamoriello is my idol. If I ever become a general manager (which is looking less and less likely by the day, but that's a whole different story), he is who I want to model myself after. However, for all of Lou's strengths, his weaknesses are KILLING the Devils right now. His biggest weakness is apparent total lack of a willingness to negotiate with star players during the final year of their contract. At this point, saying that we've lost star talent doesn't suffice. We have been HEMORRHAGING talent in the last decade.

Careful, Lou. Your weaknesses are showing. (Photo credit: NY Daily News)

Some of the guys we've let go haven't looked like bad decisions (Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta, David Clarkson). However, we lost Zach Parise solely because Lou didn't feel it was necessary to negotiate during the season. Oh? Because I'm pretty all Zach wanted was Lou to talk with him during the season to get the deal done. How many times does he have to say to the media that he wants to stay in New Jersey for you to get the hint, Lou?! He'd still be a Devil if Lou had come to him after Thanksgiving and told him he wanted to get an extension done, but can't possibly be bothered with in-season negotiations. I can't blame him for the Kovalchuk fiasco, there was really nothing he could there without making that situation worse than it already was. I remember thinking that losing Paul Martin wasn't going to be so bad, but I kind of wish we had him now.

Lou also can't seem to ever manage the salary cap. I don't understand some of the contracts he gives out. They always seem like they're either too expensive, too long, or both. He also mismanages the prospects. Yes, I'm talking about Adam Larsson again. I'm sure you're all tired of hearing me talk about him, but the kid needs to play if he has any hope of turning into the defenseman we all know he could be. And it's not only the mismanaging of prospects, it's also drafting the wrong kind of prospects. I wish Lou and co. would stop drafting guys who project to be third line checking forwards! You don't have to draft those guys! They're available every year in free agency, usually on one-year deals! Start drafting guys with offensive talent. We need to fill the farm with guys that can light the lamp on a semi-regular basis. Outside of Reid Boucher, who else in the minors has any sort of offensive touch? If you're struggling to find an answer, that's totally normal. People have been saying that Pete DeBoer needs to be fired. It's not his fault. We've seen what he can do with a legitimate hockey roster. We just need to get the proper players in place, and that responsibility falls on Lou.

Rutgers' Issues Are Two-fold

So, two weeks ago when Louisville lost to UCF, that put Rutgers right back into the race to win the AAC. But as we all know, when Rutgers can control its own destiny is when they are at their worst. Remember what happened last year? We had the Big East in our grasp and we lost two crucial games to Pitt and Louisville, thus ending our chances to win the Big East and go to our first ever BCS bowl. It happened once again with the humiliating loss to Houston last week. We're now behind the 8-ball once again thanks to Gary Nova. How many times is he going screw us? Almost every time he has an opportunity to be great, put his demons behind him, and take the next step in becoming a great quarterback, he falls flat on his face and drags the entire team down with him. Quite frankly, its not fair to his teammates. We have guys all over this team who have NFL potential. It's not like Nova doesn't have any weapons to help him succeed. Our offensive line gives him the protection he needs, we have a very skilled group of receivers, our running game is one of the best in the league, and our defense (last week notwithstanding) keeps us in games when the offense is struggling. It's gotten to the point where he has become THE reason we're losing football games.

However, reports have surfaced that head coach Kyle Flood is going to start giving Chas Dodd first team reps in practice. Because we all know how well that works for a head-case quarterback (see also: the circus known as the New York Jets before this year). For me, now another issue begins to creep into the back of my mind. Can Rutgers win anything substantial with Kyle Flood at the helm? I used to think this was solely a Gary Nova issue. Now, I'm not so sure. I understand that the players on the team love Flood, and that's great. The problem is that he's not getting the job done as a play-caller when it matters the most. Runs and three-yard passing plays when we have seven or more yards on third down, not targeting Brandon Coleman enough, and playing not to lose as opposed to playing to win. That last one burns me so much! I think the last time Rutgers stepped on a team's throat was against Louisville in 2008 when we won 63-14. We'll get a lead, then Flood decides to go conservative with the offense. I've seen him do this in the second quarter sometimes! It's getting to the point where I no longer think we'll be able to succeed in the Big Ten with Kyle Flood as our head coach. He's a great guy, but I don't know if he is the coach we need to take that next step. I think it's time for Rutgers to go out and get a big-name coach for this team so we can finally take next step as a program.

Rutgers Does it Again

Last night was a disappointment for Rutgers. We could have beaten Louisville. It was a typical Rutgers loss - the defense did every thing they could to win the game while the offense was doing everything they could to blow it. This time, the offense prevailed. Louisville was doing everything they could to gift-wrap us the game. They kept turning the ball over and getting stopped by the Rutgers defense. Yet, when we would get the ball, we would either turn the ball back over to Lousiville, or we wouldn't be able to move the ball at all on Louisville. Gary Nova fumbled the first snap of the game, and it was an omen of things to come. He threw FIVE interceptions. You can't win a football game if you throw five picks, I don't care how good your defense is. After a while, your defense has spent so much time on the field that they just can't keep up. We were within seven points, but we couldn't close the deal. I'm not shocked, but there are a few things that irked me about the fan reactions once the game ended.

1. The Dave Milewski fumble recovery

I can't believe how many people made a huge deal about Milewski not scooping up the ball and running the ball in for a touchdown. Would it have been nice? Absolutely! Are we going to really say that Dave Milewski cost us a chance to win this football game? Give me a break! First of all, if your number is 90 or above, you have every right to just fall on the football. How many times have you seen a player try to scoop up a fumble, but end up booting around and having the other team recovering. Had Milewski tried to scoop it up and failed, and Louisville recovered, the same people saying he should have ran with it would have said that Milewski should have just fallen on it. Come on, people! Think about what you say before you say it. Speaking of that...

2. Gary Nova

Let me set the record straight, I hate Gary Nova. He cost us our season last year, and he's the main reason we lost last night's game. Watching him play quarterback in torturous at times. He's inaccurate, a poor decision-maker, and he can't read defenses. That all being said, CHAS DODD IS NOT THE ANSWER! It's six of one, a half-dozen of another! Dodd can't help us win anymore than Nova can. Don't talk to me about him not getting first team reps either. It's like going to the driving range with a bad swing and no guidance. You just keep repeating bad habits until they become almost irreversible. Reps won't either of these guys because they are just that bad. I don't know if we have an answer this year. One thing is for certain, Chas Dodd is not going to help us.

3. Fan expectations

Some Rutgers fans say that you should just be happy with a 8- or 9-win season and a bowl game that's no on New Year's Day. For the next few years in the Big Ten, I agree that we should temper our expectations because we're going to get demolished by the most of conference. But, why should I be happy with only 8 wins? Because I'm a Rutgers fan? Sorry, I'm not the kind of fan that "settles." I expect this team in a crappy conference to win 10 games and go to a better than average bowl game. I hate that "I'm a Rutgers fan, so I know that my team will fall short of expectations so I'm going to be happy with mediocrity" mentality. Maybe if the fans change their attitude, the team might be able to handle controlling its own destiny. Whenever we have control of our destiny, we always shoot ourselves in the foot no matter who is on the team. Part of that has to be the players feeding off the fans. We don't think we can do it and we think that we'll blow it if given the chance. I'm not going to apologize for actually believing this team can be something special.

NFL Week 1: 3 Things I Noticed

The NFL posts will work the same way as the college football posts. I pick at least three things that stood out to me over the weekend and talk about it. One will always be about my team, the 49ers, unless they are on bye. And we're off!

1. San Francisco is not playing around.

I don't know if there is such a thing as a statement win in Week 1, but the Niners might have just invented it. The Niners/Packers game was arguably the best game of the weekend. It had everything you could want in a football game - big plays, solid defense, down-to-the-wire drama, and even some snarl. Colin Kaepernick beat the Packers with his legs last year in the playoffs. This time around, he beat them with his arm. Kaepernick was 27/39 for 412 yards, 3 touchdown's and more importantly, no picks. If he can keep that up all season, the Niners  look to be a lock to come to the Meadowlands in early February. Anquan Boldin was an absolute monster in his San Francisco debut; 13 catches for 208 yards and a touchdown!

Anquan Boldin had an amazing 49er debut. (Photo credit: Google Images)

That's one way to quickly endear yourself to the 49er Faithful. We're going to need him to be huge until Crabtree and Manningham come back from injury, but that doesn't mean that Boldin is our only weapon. Vernon Davis showed why he is the best tight end in football right now making 6 catches for 98 yards and 2 scores. Seems that any questions about his and Kaepernick's chemistry were answered in a big way on Sunday. Two things concerned me on Sunday. One of them was the running game. Gore and Kaepernick couldn't really get anything going on the ground all day. I don't know if the Packers defense keyed in on it or the offensive line wasn't doing enough to open up holes for our backs. Either way, the ground needs to get going if we're trying to get back to the Super Bowl this season. We also could have held the Packers to fewer points if our tackling was better. There were plenty of times our corners couldn't make a simple tackle and their receiver would break for a big gain. That can't happen. I like were this team is headed and I'm really looking forward to next week's game in Seattle.

2. The Ravens need help.

I knew the Ravens were going to have a rough time this year because of all of the players they lost (thanks for Boldin, by the way). I didn't think they were going to get stomped like that by Denver.

Tough times ahead for Flacco. (Photo credit: Google Images)

Peyton Manning was in some kind of zone on Thursday. He TORCHED Baltimore for 7 touchdowns; first time that's happened since 1969. Granted, Baltimore was leading at the half, but then Denver completely controlled the second half. That was helped by injuries to Jacoby Jones and Michael Oher, two huge losses for the Ravens. This pretty much leaves Joe Flacco with two offensive weapons, Ray Rice and Torrey Smith. Simply put, if opponents can slow the Ravens' run game and successfully double-cover Torrey Smith, the Ravens are going to have a hard time winning football games this year. If we get halfway through the season and Baltimore has a losing record, everyone's attention turns to Joe Flacco's insane contract. Is it fair to blame Flacco? Not really. Think about it this way - if you were him and Ravens ownership pushed that contract in front of you, would you sign it? If you said no, that's the wrong answer. It's not Flacco's fault if ownership that he was worth way more than he really is. So, if anyone is to blame, it's the Ravens' front office. I still think the Ravens will be in the hunt for a wild card spot, though. Their division is pretty bad this year outside of Cincinnati. They may be able to sneak into the playoffs at 9-7.

3. Week 1 overreactions are funny.

Three of the most over-reactive fan bases had their teams win this week. The Jets, the Eagles, and the Cowboys all are starting 1-0 this year. However, based on the reactions from the fan bases, you would think that they had just punched their tickets to the Super Bowl. I am not going to single anyone out, I'm speaking of the fan bases as wholes. So, if you didn't overreact, sorry, but you're getting lumped in with your crazy brethren. Jets fans are trying to think that they weren't handed their win on a silver platter from Tampa. If Schiano actually taught his players not to hit people when they're already out of bounds, you wouldn't be sitting here saying Geno Smith is going to lead you to the playoffs. Cowboys fans, you only beat the Giants by five even after they incessantly turned the ball over. If David Wilson could just hold on to the ball, you guys would have lost your fifth straight game to the Giants in "The House That Jerry Built." You can't only beat a team by five if you force THAT many tunrovers. You've got to capitalize on those chances and make them pay by scoring, even if it's a field goal. And judging by the reaction by Eagles fans, they just won the Super Bowl and Chip Kelly just got inducted into the Hall of Fame. You won a game no one thought you could win. Congrats, I guess. As teams watch more tape on as the season goes on, you guys will come back down to Earth. Maybe we'll even here clamoring for Nick Foles at quarterback and for Chip Kelly to be fired. I hope not because I like Chip, but Philly fans have a habit of overreacting, you can't argue with me there. Temper your enthusiasm, fans of teams that are 1-0. You've got fifteen games left; anything can happen.