Blanton gets 3yrs/24mil

Nice. I can't wait to see the Braves light him up for the next three years.

over 2 years ago nick9314 18 comments 0 recs |

Comments

Overpaid for just an average pitcher. Sure, he’s durable, but that doesn’t mean he’s good. I really don’t see why Philly didn’t dump this guy and keep Cliff Lee. Lucky for us, they failed at their chance to become the NL powerhouse. I’d still say Cardinals are better.

by BigG1392 on Jan 21, 2010 6:09 PM EST reply actions

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"My team of nine guys who hit like Albert Pujols and never ever bunt just beat your team with one Shane Victorino 472 to 3."

by justincredubil02 on Jan 21, 2010 6:11 PM EST reply actions

Other people's stupidity makes me joyful

You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the goddamn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all. ~Earl Weaver

by GoBravesNY on Jan 21, 2010 6:29 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

YES THISSS

MATT DIAZ IS THE F**K*NG MAN.
They made me change my signature...

by nick9314 on Jan 21, 2010 9:39 PM EST up reply actions

OK, so why again was no one willing to pay Lowe 45/3?

by Mr. Sanchez on Jan 21, 2010 9:50 PM EST reply actions

Great question…apparently, we didn’t have much leverage in that situation.

"My team of nine guys who hit like Albert Pujols and never ever bunt just beat your team with one Shane Victorino 472 to 3."

by justincredubil02 on Jan 21, 2010 9:56 PM EST up reply actions

Why wouldn't someone pay Lowe almost double what Blaton is getting?

Because Lowe is turning 37 next season and pitched well below the value of his contract last season.

by Lennox on Jan 22, 2010 2:13 AM EST up reply actions

And Blanton will pitch well below his contract for its duration.

Lowe is a proven guy, Blanton – not so much.

Lowe will give you 200 innings with good numbers every year. Blanton – not so much.

Lowe is a good pitcher. Blanton – not so much.

"My team of nine guys who hit like Albert Pujols and never ever bunt just beat your team with one Shane Victorino 472 to 3."

by justincredubil02 on Jan 22, 2010 8:57 AM EST up reply actions

Blanton has been above 2 WAR each season of his career.

Blanton has pitched at least 190 innings each season of his career.

Blanton is 7 years younger than Lowe.

Blanton, and this is the most important part, makes $8 MM a year to Lowe’s $15 MM.

He’s a bit overpaid, but his contract doesn’t have near the potential to be an albatross that Lowe’s does if he doesn’t perform considerably better than he did last year.

by Lennox on Jan 22, 2010 9:29 AM EST up reply actions

agreed

"If I have asthma, they won't let me scuba. And if I can’t scuba, then what’s this all been about?? What am I working toward??"

by Doghnut on Jan 22, 2010 10:22 AM EST up reply actions

Lowe is a better pitcher.

Lowe even with his bad season, pitched better than Blanton and closer to his contract value.

Lowe is one of the best pitchers in the game.

I would rather pay Lowe $15M than Blanton $8M any day.

"My team of nine guys who hit like Albert Pujols and never ever bunt just beat your team with one Shane Victorino 472 to 3."

by justincredubil02 on Jan 22, 2010 2:38 PM EST up reply actions

I’m sorry, but what do you base the idea that Lowe was closer to his contract value than Blanton last year on? Lowe was the 9th or 10th highest paid pitcher in baseball last season, and he certainly wasn’t one of the 10 best pichers in the game last year (fangraphs has him as the 56th or so ranked starting pitcher last season by WAR).

As for Lowe being a better pitcher, sure he is. But, once again, he’s much older and makes nearly twice as much money and he certainly wasn’t worth twice as much as Blanton last year.

Blanton isn’t a great pitcher, but he has put up solid numbers for a mid rotation pitcher for his entire career and consistently given his team innings each season. He had a higher WAR than Kawakami last year, and his contract is almost the same as the one KK signed last year, so I’m really not sure where the idea that he’s grossly overpaid is coming from.

I mean, hell, if Blanton continues on at the pace he’s been at for the last two years, for Lowe to be worth the differences in their contracts over the next 3 seasons he’ll have to be a 4 WAR pitcher each year, which is quite a lot to expect of a guy that turns 37 next season.

by Lennox on Jan 23, 2010 1:36 AM EST up reply actions

IIRC, Lowe pitched to a $12M value…Blanton could never dream of that.

I also don’t believe that he was the 10th highest paid pitcher in the game. I can think of 3 Yankees off the top of my head that made more, so I am willing to bet that Lowe was not a top 10 in terms of salary.

Let’s go back to that first point though (if that number is correct) Lowe, in his career worst year, was worth $12M. Think about that for a second.

"My team of nine guys who hit like Albert Pujols and never ever bunt just beat your team with one Shane Victorino 472 to 3."

by justincredubil02 on Jan 23, 2010 2:14 AM EST up reply actions

And according to fangraphs Blanton has “worth” at least $9.7 MM each of the last 4 seasons, and was “worth” $8.4 MM in his first season. Think about that for a second.

I guess it means that Joe Blanton is underpaid at $8 MM a year (having produced a greater value that that in every single season of his career), those Phils sure are shrewd, locking Blanton in well below his “value”.

Of course that’s not how fangraph’s value stat is intended to be used, and, as such, their value is greatly inflated over the real world value of a particular season.

by Lennox on Jan 23, 2010 3:01 AM EST up reply actions

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/salaries/top50

Lowe was #8 pitcher in terms of salary last year.

Oddly enough, Blanton is projected by FG to have the WAR and $ Value this season that Lowe had last year. I know I’d rather have Blanton at this price than 2009 Lowe for $15 mil but thats just me…

"If I have asthma, they won't let me scuba. And if I can’t scuba, then what’s this all been about?? What am I working toward??"

by Doghnut on Jan 24, 2010 1:28 PM EST up reply actions