Jon Heyman has a piece over at SI.com detailing the worst free agent contracts in history.
Among the things he got right, he wrongly called Jason Giambi's 7 year, $120 million contract the 5th worst of all time.
That's ridiculous enough, but then Heyman gives his reasoning:
Somehow, the millions those two have earned pre- and post-BALCO are not up for consideration (maybe because they don't play in New York at the moment?). All the other steroid users in baseball playing out huge contracts get a pass- Pudge (playing out a 13 million club option) and Sheffield (2 years/ 28 million remaining) leap to mind, and Heyman wrote an article on Angel's 4th outfielder and ousted CF Gary Matthews Jr (4 years/ $40 million remaining).
If it's steroids that Heyman is worked up over, I also resent the intrinsic assumption that Giambi's pre-FA numbers were a good investment. I know it's wrong to criticize Billy Beane, but replace Giambi's otherworldly seasons 1999-2001 with merely a league average 1B, and the A's miss the playoffs in 2000. If steroids are the issue, where is the list naming Giambi's .321/.440/.585 line with the A's among the worst bargains ever?
Is it the dollars that are appalling? Giambi has eaten up 12% of the Yanks payroll the last few years- less than Manny and the Red Sox (15%), Burrell and the Phils (14%), and Morris and Pirates (20%, though he was signed as a Giant and traded), just to name a few.
I know the issue can't be Giambi's production- in the 6 full seasons since he joined the Yanks he has averaged 5.9 wins above replacement each season. I'm not pretending that his .269/.416/.529 line with the Yanks justifies his salary, but that line ranks among the elite hitters in the league. And while Giambi has been injury prone, he's played most games in 4 seasons, and two half seasons, and we knew he was an injury risk when he signed.
To lump him in with the worst contracts ever is absurd.
Among the things he got right, he wrongly called Jason Giambi's 7 year, $120 million contract the 5th worst of all time.
That's ridiculous enough, but then Heyman gives his reasoning:
He apologized for who knows what but hasn't yet apologized for taking all this money, which is, of course, obscene. He's still got $26 million to go in this the final year alone, assuming the Yankees decline the option year for a measly $5 mil.
Let's unpack this. Giambi apologized for being a distract (and, we infer, steroid use) after his name was tied to Gary Sheffield and Barry Bonds in the BALCO case.Somehow, the millions those two have earned pre- and post-BALCO are not up for consideration (maybe because they don't play in New York at the moment?). All the other steroid users in baseball playing out huge contracts get a pass- Pudge (playing out a 13 million club option) and Sheffield (2 years/ 28 million remaining) leap to mind, and Heyman wrote an article on Angel's 4th outfielder and ousted CF Gary Matthews Jr (4 years/ $40 million remaining).
If it's steroids that Heyman is worked up over, I also resent the intrinsic assumption that Giambi's pre-FA numbers were a good investment. I know it's wrong to criticize Billy Beane, but replace Giambi's otherworldly seasons 1999-2001 with merely a league average 1B, and the A's miss the playoffs in 2000. If steroids are the issue, where is the list naming Giambi's .321/.440/.585 line with the A's among the worst bargains ever?
Is it the dollars that are appalling? Giambi has eaten up 12% of the Yanks payroll the last few years- less than Manny and the Red Sox (15%), Burrell and the Phils (14%), and Morris and Pirates (20%, though he was signed as a Giant and traded), just to name a few.
I know the issue can't be Giambi's production- in the 6 full seasons since he joined the Yanks he has averaged 5.9 wins above replacement each season. I'm not pretending that his .269/.416/.529 line with the Yanks justifies his salary, but that line ranks among the elite hitters in the league. And while Giambi has been injury prone, he's played most games in 4 seasons, and two half seasons, and we knew he was an injury risk when he signed.
To lump him in with the worst contracts ever is absurd.