Batter's Box Interactive Magazine - Gone But Not Forgotten: It's Delgado To South Beach

Gone But Not Forgotten: It's Delgado To South Beach

The Carlos Delgado Sweepstakes has finally ended, some six weeks after the Jays had to bow out. ESPN reports that Carlos will now be taking aim at the rightfield seats at the newly-renamed Dolphins Stadium; the deal is with the Florida Marlins for four years at $52 million, plus a vesting option. Considering the contract he ultimately signed, it would have taken one heck of a hometown discount for the Jays to have landed their all-time leading slugger this offseason.

Carlos joins an increasingly star-studded South Florida pro sports landscape that also features Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O'Neal, Roberto Luongo, Josh Beckett and...um...Jason Taylor? More importantly, Delgado gets to continue playing home games in a cosmopolitan, progressive, and comparatively low-pressure city with excellent restaurant and music scenes...with the added bonus of warm weather, a reunion with ex-Jays teammate Al Leiter, a short period of time since his new club's last championship and an even shorter flight to Puerto Rico.

The Marlins, for their part, have both money to spend and a window of opportunity to compete; both are possible because of the youth (and relative affordability) of some of their best talent. They can now safely shift Paul LoDuca back to catcher and send out a reasonably well-balanced lineup, 1 through 8.

Good luck, Carlos; you were a valuable and likeable Blue Jay. Here's a photographic send-off from Batter's Box.

Posted by Mike D on Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 05:27 AM EST.

Gone But Not Forgotten: It's Delgado To South Beach | 98 comments | Create New Account

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

_Not H-Rod - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 05:33 PM EST (#2388) #

No question in my mind - greatest Jay ever. It seems he hit a homer in at least half the games I attended, and I attended quite a few the past few seasons.
JP, you let a legend walk out the proverbial door.

_Andrew K - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 05:33 PM EST (#2389) #

Congrats Carlos, and thank goodness. I can support him as a player now that he won't be beating up the Jays more frequently than the occassional interleague game and the World Series. It also means that the Jays have only had the third worst offseason in AL East.

Seriously, I wonder whether he really has moved to a contending team? Anyone care to predict whether the Fish make it even as far as the NLCS in the next 4 years? (I say no, but I'll only wager 0 pounds on it).

_Jordan - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 05:37 PM EST (#2390) #

http://www.battersbox.ca/archives/00002672.shtml#comments
And the winner of the "Where and For How Much Will Carlos Sign" Sweepstakes is ... nobody, because the Marlins weren't on anybody's radar screen until last week, not even remotely close.

Our co-runners-up, who each predicted the exact four-year, $52 million contract Delgado eventually signed, are NDG (who forecast a Mets signing) and Gitz (who thought, as many Bauxites did, that the Mariners would snag him). Fawaz finishes close behind with a 4-year/$51M Orioles prediction.

_Magpie - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 05:42 PM EST (#2391) #

The best hitter ever to wear the uniform, a fun player to watch, and an easy guy to like.

Thanks for the memories - there are lots and lots of good ones - and good luck in Miami.

_Ron - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 05:44 PM EST (#2392) #

And to think Godfrey actually thought a 2 year offer at 12 mil was a fair offer because of a softened market..........

It's a shame Delgado left the Jays on a sour note (or at least Sloane give the impression he left on a sour note after he blasted the Jays front office) but Delgado is a class act and I wish him nothing but the best in Florida!

_David Wang - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 05:45 PM EST (#2393) #

Florida looks very good now, with Lowell, Cabrera, Delgado, Castillo, Pierre. If Leiter, Beckett, and Burnett can stay healthy, they can challenge Atlanta, but Atlanta just never loses, so they better try for the WC.

Carlos was always my favourite Jay and the best Jay ever hands down.

_Prisoner of Ham - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 05:49 PM EST (#2394) #

Dave Till - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 05:51 PM EST (#2395) #

I'm grateful that he's out of the AL.

He looks like a good fit for the Marlins, and he'll obviously be comfortable in Miami. I hope that he does well there.

_Donkit R.K. - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 05:51 PM EST (#2396) #

Easily, the memory that stands out for me concerning Delgado is the four homer game. Watching that game was incredible - one home run (his third IIRC) had one of the most impressive flight paths I have ever seen a home run ball take. He seemed to hit them four different ways and after number three I was convinced he could have gone 6-for-6 with 6 homers given the oppurtunity. He was *on*. Someone jog my memory - did he get the fifth at bat (I seem to think he did)? What did he do with it?

_Andrew K - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 05:52 PM EST (#2397) #

PoH,

I don't think we would have wanted a heavily backloaded contract: it would just put us back to where we were in 2004, but in 2006-7-8 when it will really hurt because we ought to be contending (hmm).

_Rob - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 05:53 PM EST (#2398) #

I already accepted not having Delgado on the Jays next year, but it sure will be tough to refer to him as the Marlins first baseman. We'll miss you, Carlos. Your goodwill, homeruns, and perfect teeth will never be forgotten.

Well, all that's left now is the Jorge Sosa HR Streak. It has to end sooner or later, right?

_Donkit R.K. - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 05:54 PM EST (#2399) #

I'm also a fan of his signing with the Marlins... as a Jays fan. As a basbeball fan I think it would have been a blast to watch him alongside the young guns in Texas. How much could he have helped Teixiera? How good would that offense have been not only this year, but in '06? '07? They would have been some serious fun to watch. Mind you, Carlos and Miggy on the same team is also very interesting - I think Beckett and Cabrera's fantasy value just went way up for next season (wins, and RBI/Runs of course).

_Tom L - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 06:07 PM EST (#2400) #

Very depressing day for Jays fans. Its sad to see that management didnt even come close to offering Delgado a respectable contract. It was a complete joke and embarassement. The sadest part is that Delgado still has many productive seasons left in him. Rogers, Godfrey, and JP should really be congradulated on this one. This is just another example of Rogers lack of commitment to the Jays franchise. It would be nice to actually have an owner that cares about there team and who is willing to have at least a league average payroll. Best offensive Jay of all time now gone. As far as I am concerned this has to be one of the lowest points in franchise history!

Goodbye Carlos, and Good Luck In Miami.

_Gabriel - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 06:07 PM EST (#2401) #

I'm glad he didn't go to the Mets. I hate them. Rotoworld wrote this which I wondered about. "Encarnacion is due $4.45 million in the second season of his two-year deal, which is probably twice what he's worth. As a result, the Marlins likely will have to throw in a quality prospect in order to move him. Jason Stokes is a logical choice now that first base is taken for the next four years". If this indeed a possibility, it might be a good fit for the Jays. They can afford Encarnacion's salary and Stokes might be a good long-term 1B option for the Jays. They'd probably have to trade Hinske though to open up room. Another reason why the Hillenbrand thing made so little sense to me. There are a number of these kind of things in baseball, you could use salary room to actually gain prospects instead of trading them.

_Frank Markotich - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 06:12 PM EST (#2402) #

As a Blue Jay fan, Delgado going to Florida was the best-case of the 4 teams in the hunt. Namely:

a) in the National League, and
b) not on the Mets

Not necesarily in that order.

I appreciate the great years he had here, but I'm a fan of the team more than any player, and I don't care if a legend is walking out the door, as someone above said. The important thing is how this team goes forward, and signing Carlos to more than a 2-year deal, given his age and type, is not the percentage move in my opinion.

_Ron - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 06:14 PM EST (#2403) #

http://www.easports.com/games/mvp2005/producerinterview.jsp
To help ease the loss of Delgado I present to you an interview with MVP Producer Ben Brinkman. Too many goodies to mention.

I have a question for all you folks living in Toronto, did Delgado buy up ad space in the local papers to thank the fans once he couldn't reach an agreement with the Jays?

_H winfield Teut - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 06:28 PM EST (#2404) #

4 million in the first year, would really like to know what he would have done if Toronto tried to backload the deal like the Marlins did

Pistol - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 06:38 PM EST (#2405) #

I figured that Delgado has been holding out for a salary in excess of Beltre and Glaus (in terms of average annual salary).

Glaus was $12.25, Beltre was $12.8.

4 years and $52 million will get to $13.0/year, and I suspect that's where Delgado will ultimately land.

Granted, I wrote that this morning, but I only get something like this right once in a blue moon!

Sad to see Carlos go, good to see him in the interesting NL East, although I was kinda pulling for the Mets.

Pistol - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 06:44 PM EST (#2406) #

Apparently he's getting just 4 million next year, with big increases thereafter up to $16 mil in the 4th year. With any kind of monetary commitment from Rogers, Ricciardi could have tried something equally creative.

Then again, I'm not sure Riccardi is equally creative.

Well, last year Batista's salary was a lot less than it'll be this year and next. It's not as extreme as $4 and then $12+, but it was done to squeeze as much out of the payroll in 2005.

However, I'm not sure Rogers is that committed to a $60MM+ payroll in the future.

_groove - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 07:00 PM EST (#2407) #

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B09250TOR2003.htm
COMN for the 4 homer game. 4 at-bats only.

_Mick - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 07:05 PM EST (#2408) #

Here's a caption for the photo ...

Carlos Delgado looks toward his future in Florida while Orlando Hudson steps up and signals he is ready to take over Delgado's leadership role.

Note the numerological significance, as Hudson (#1) steps to the forefront while Delgado (now the 25th man) looks away.

_Jacko - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 07:09 PM EST (#2409) #

Well, last year Batista's salary was a lot less than it'll be this year and next. It's not as extreme as $4 and then $12+, but it was done to squeeze as much out of the payroll in 2005.

"a lot less" is a big of an exaggeration. Batista made 3.6 MM last year, and will make 4.75 MM in 2005 and 2006. Unless he's hurt, he should improve on last year's numbers by quite a bit. I think his ERA will be closer to 4.00 than 5.00.

For approximately the same performance, I'd much rather pay Batista 4.75 MM than Matt Clement 8.33 MM.

_Ducey - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 07:12 PM EST (#2410) #

I am surprised the Marlin's went with the back end loaded contract - especially at $16 million a year later on. I would never want the Jays to do this unless they were caertain playoff contenders and were looking at the series. In the context of the current team this would have been insane.

Seems a little fishy to me (no pun intended) in the context of the stadium issue. I will be extremely surprised if Carlos plays all 4 years in Florida. I bet Loria is whining in a few years about how Carlos is using up 25% of their payroll. In fact, maybe the Marlin's use him this year at $4 million and then flip him to the Yankees? (this evil option would not be available to the Jays obviously as he is a 10 and 5 guy)

Any way to know if there is a no trade on the Marlin's deal?

_Vernons Biggest - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 07:22 PM EST (#2411) #

COMN for the 4 homer game. 4 at-bats only.

Sad to see there were only over 13,000 fans there to see one of the greatest feats ever accomplished by a Blue Jay. However, remembering the game from tv, i think the fans were pretty into it.

_DaveInNYC - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 07:24 PM EST (#2412) #

EA SPORTS: Is Jon Dowd still roaming the field for the Giants, or did they get their regular left fielder back?

Ben Brinkman: Jon Dowd IS the Giants' regular left fielder, as far as I know. We are pleased to have him because he�s such a positive role model and great ambassador for the game of baseball.

BWHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!

_DaveInNYC - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 07:24 PM EST (#2413) #

_DaveInNYC - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 07:24 PM EST (#2414) #

EWWWW, double post!

That's almost as bad as bitter beer face!

_Ryan Lind - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 07:30 PM EST (#2415) #

Sad to see there were only over 13,000 fans there to see one of the greatest feats ever accomplished by a Blue Jay. However, remembering the game from tv, i think the fans were pretty into it.

Rod Black's call of the fourth homer was almost completely drowned out by the crowd noise.

Bye Carlos.

_Ryan Lind - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 07:32 PM EST (#2416) #

Also, that "read the pitch" feature in MVP '05 sounds awesome. I couldn't hit a changeup to save my life in '04.

When I get '05 I'm going to immediately edit the roster so Carlos is with the Jays. Fuck the Marlins, I don't care.

Mike Green - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 07:42 PM EST (#2417) #

Favourite Delgado moment: the homers off Windows restaurant in his first April in Toronto. He had been heralded as a great one since he hit 30 homers in Dunedin, but there's nothing like seeing it for yourself and wondering whether he was going to peak at 30+, 40+ or 50+ homers. I still am not sure that we know the answer to that yet.

I wish him and the Marlins well.

_Braby21 - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 07:43 PM EST (#2418) #

MVP 05 will be great. They're also making a player named A. Friese or something like that to be Kevin Millar, so you just have to switch his skin color and edit his name. Can't wait til March 1st.

I'm glad Carlos went to Florida, I think I'll find myself chearing for them as my NL team this year.

The Jays don't play them in interleague play do they?

_6-4-3 - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 07:45 PM EST (#2419) #

http://www.easports.com/games/mvp2004/jondowd.jsp
If you think that Jon Dowd comment is funny, COMN for the press release EA did in 2004 to announce their "signing" of Dowd. The sad thing is, if the rumoured licensing deals go down, Dowd will be MVP Baseball 2006's cover athlete.

That interview has lots of great information. I didn't know that they plan on changing the look of the game to mirror the classic stadium that you're in, the better tags are a much-needed addition, and the new ownership / Create a Stadium mode sounds like fun.

As for Carlos, I'm glad he's going to Miami. Had he gone to Texas or *shudder* Baltimore, he would've haunted the Jays for years. And when you look at Delgado's #1 (and to a lesser extent, #2) similar batter on baseball-reference, playing in New York might not've gone well for him.

_ghol - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 07:47 PM EST (#2420) #

I wonder if the Jays could work something out with the Marlins now to get Jason Stokes off their hands - if Rotoworld is correct in saying they may package him with Encarcion...

I wonder if Reed + Towers would be enough to acquire Encarcion + Stokes... Marlins save money and acquire a better 4th outfielder. Jays get an expensive 4th outfielder who's not quite as good as Reed (I'm saying this without checking the stats) but is only signed for this season... and a kick-ass first baseman of the future.

Just a thought.

_Braby21 - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 07:48 PM EST (#2421) #

I've been following MVP 05 a little too closely. But if anyone wants to see video's there's plenty on easports.com gamespot.com and ign.com. You'll be happy to know that the Lefty glitch has been fixed, and a lot more batting stance's have been added. Also Johnny Damon has the beard and all that hair, a bunch of annoying thing's have been fixed in the actual gameplay as well.

_David Wang - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 08:05 PM EST (#2422) #

I haven't played MVP Baseball since 2003, after playing a lot of baseball mogul instead. Looks like they have the minor leagues now, so I guess I may pick up 2005 for more in depth prospects and deeper game.

_NDG - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 08:08 PM EST (#2423) #

Our co-runners-up, who each predicted the exact four-year, $52 million contract Delgado eventually signed, are NDG (who forecast a Mets signing)

I wish I could foretell stock prices like this .....

Pistol - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 08:09 PM EST (#2424) #

"a lot less" is a big of an exaggeration. Batista made 3.6 MM last year, and will make 4.75 MM in 2005 and 2006.

Well, that's a 33% increase this year over last year.

If I got a 33% increase in pay this year I'd consider it a lot more.

_Braby21 - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 08:15 PM EST (#2425) #

http://media.ps2.ign.com/media/713/713817/vids_1.html?ui=gamefinder
Sorry to talk about MVP again but COMN for a couple small video's of the game, first Hudson's up, the 2nd one Koskie's up. Does that look anything like Koskie's actual batting stance??

MVP 2004 had minor leagues as well, just AA & AAA though. The player's aren't real unless they've played 1 major league game in the previous year. This year they added A teams as well.

_Lefty - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 08:42 PM EST (#2426) #

Well, I'll tell you. Now that it is official I feel like theres been a hole drilled through my baseball heart.

With respect to the Jays as team this year, call me indifferent. With respect to ownership and management, I have none. Respect that is.

Clearly ownership and management have no respect for the average Blue Jay fan. How could they? All the Delgado money went into tripe and retreads.

This is not so much as baseball team as it is an example of wheelspinning. The team seems to be without a viable plan for the future.

Cleveland and Oakland and even the bloody Rangers have more of a plan. A plan they stick to. One that has a decent chance to bear fruit. Seattle had a last place team last year. I'll take bets they sell 75% of their seats this year as they did all of last season even whilst losing. Because their ownership is committed to their market and just like Beane said in his recent interview in Oakland Nation, you can't expect fans to stay with you year after year of losing.

Yeah, Im pretty bitter. My team is garaunteed to be shite until I'm an old man. A bitter old man.

Kiss my ass Rogers, I'm moving my mobile phone acct. to Telus. They can have my $500 month.

_Jonathan - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 08:47 PM EST (#2427) #

Carlos, all the best. You deserve(d) a whole lot more than Toronto's management could ever low-ball you with.

That's a great lineup, full of power and speed....exciting team to watch.

_Ron - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 08:49 PM EST (#2428) #

http://www.espnvideogames.com/news/screen.php?id=1266&gid=11
COMN for a pic of Doc in a Jays retro uni in ESPN MLB 2k5

BTW 6-4-3, it's already official EA won't be making another Baseball game for at least 7 years. Take Two (makers of the ESPN series) bought an exclusive 3rd party liscense.

The bad part of today's Delgado's signing is that he won't make the cut off date of rosters for some of the upcoming games.

_Braby21 - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 09:00 PM EST (#2429) #

Ron if you have a network adapter, by the time that game's come out, the producer's will have a roster update for each game.

_Ron - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 09:04 PM EST (#2430) #

I don't have a network adapter but I have Action Replay to get updated rosters. I heard the MVP PC mod community did amazing work with last years game and I expect the same for this years game. Too bad I hate PC gaming though.

I can't believe Spring Training is just around the corner. I'm going to be getting ESPN MLB 2k5 and MVP 2005 this year.

_Braby21 - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 09:12 PM EST (#2431) #

Personally I think that ESPN looks bad, really bad. MLB looks okay, and then MVP will be amazing. The PC version doesn't come out for a while. Last year I bought the PC version after I was sick of the ps2 version, mainly b/c of the Lefty glitch. MVPmods is really insane, they can do ANYTHING to the game, it's really amazing.

I'm just as pumped as you about Spring Training and for the video games, I can't wait, I really love Spring time, so much energy in the air.

I need Action Replay, do they sell it at ebgmames in Canada? or would ebay be my best bet?

_Ron - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 09:17 PM EST (#2432) #

I haven't played a Sega baseball game since the Genesis days but I'm going to buy ESPN. Kush games took over as the developer (they make the amazing ESPN NHL series) and they overhauled the game. The presentation for the game is amazing. I'm hoping it comes out at $29.99.

You can buy AR at any EB Games store. The crappy part was that the memory card that came with it didn't work for my EA sport games so I had to fork over another 45 bones for an official Microsoft memory card.

_6-4-3 - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 09:19 PM EST (#2433) #

BTW 6-4-3, it's already official EA won't be making another Baseball game for at least 7 years. Take Two (makers of the ESPN series) bought an exclusive 3rd party liscense.

Yeah, I managed to read that piece of news around 2 minutes after I posted. It's funny, but that piece of news probably makes me more upset than "Delgado to the Marlins". Over the course of my gaming life, I've played Ken Griffey Jr's Baseball, Super Baseball 2020 / 1.000, All Star Baseball, World Series Baseball, and now MVP Baseball. What's great is the variety of games that have existed from the SNES to the N64 to the PS2 era. There's been great licensed, realistic games, and great baseball games with robots who can throw 180 MPH heat. Granted, the unlicensed games are (for now) gone, but there's still always been a great variety of different baseball games with different gameplay, graphics, etc. Now all that's gone, and I'm left wondering of "Jon Dowd 2006" will actually come to exist.

One question about the new MVP: I know that you can build / upgrade stadiums in ownership mode, but is it actually possible to move a team, like in Madden? I wouldn't want to move the Blue Jays, but it might be fun to move the Devil Rays to Mexico City, or to turn the Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles into the Las Vegas Angels of Los Angeles.

_sweat - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 09:20 PM EST (#2434) #

I'm pretty sure MLB cant sell an exclusive baseball license. Ea can make a Baseball game if they want, it just can't have anything to do with MLB teams and/or players. Unless Barry Bonds is still excluded from MLB marketing like he was last year, in which case, EA could make Barry Bonds Baseball. You never know.

_Ron - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 09:31 PM EST (#2435) #

6-4-3: I agree it's bad for the consumer because I would rather have choices and EA has made a top notch MLB game that will be no more. I highly doubt EA will make a baseball game without having MLB players (perhaps except Bonds) because it wouldn't sell to the average consumer. And as far as I know, you can't move franchises in owner mode.

But I would be on the look out for Microsoft as they bought the game engine for High Heat after 3DO folded. Many of the hardcore sim players tell me HH 2004 had the best AI/Gameplay ever in a Baseball game. I wouldn't be surprised to see a new MLB baseball game after Xbox Next launches.

_Hartley - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 09:36 PM EST (#2436) #

I think that Carlos Delgado made a dumb move signing with the Florida Marlins. He should have signed with an American League team. In the AL he could play first base and DH. In the NL he's just a first baseman and available as a pinch hitter. Plus he has to learn all of the different pitchers and parks. He should have stayed in the American League.

Best of luck Carlos; let's see what your stats will be at the end of the season.

_6-4-3 - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 09:53 PM EST (#2437) #

Non-licensed baseball games could be interesting. I almost expect some game developer (like Midway), to take the Slugfest engine, and create an extreme baseball game where everyone's roided up, the spitball's legal, home runs go 700+ feet, and everyone wants to play for the New York Americans.

Barry Bonds Baseball 2005 (or, if you prefer, "Kevin Millar, Cory Lidle, and Frank Menechino present Big League Baseball 2K5") might be a possibility, but I doubt that any game company would think that it's a worthwhile investment.

_StephenT - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 09:59 PM EST (#2438) #

A year of Delgado for $4 million is a steal for the Marlins.

_John Northey - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 10:02 PM EST (#2439) #

Time for predictions for 2005 and Carlos...

265/370/550 with 35 HR's and 115 RBI's

I'm betting on him never again getting to a 1000 OPS or 600 Slg%. He has hit the magic age of 32 (33 in 2005) thus odds are a decline is in order. He is moving to a pitchers park, in a pitchers league. HOF is still possible, heck even probable, but his rate stats will go down and his value to the Marlins will not be $16 million by the 4th year.

_Braby21 - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 10:02 PM EST (#2440) #

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/01/25/news_6117011.html
Yes StephenT, but the rest of the contract is not so much a steal.

Ron I beleive Action replay is only like 10 bucks on ebay, plus shipping to Canada, hmm so ya not that much cheaper haha.

EA sports came out and said that they aren't too concerned w/ losing the Baseball license, b/c Baseball is their smallest market. They even mentioned Nascar, NHL, and a couple other games as more important to them than MLB, which sucks b/c MVP is my favourite game.

COMN for the actual article.

_David A - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 10:04 PM EST (#2441) #

Well, considering EA pulled the same move with the NFL license I'd say turnabout is fair play.

_Ryan C - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 10:07 PM EST (#2442) #

"Kevin Millar, Cory Lidle, and Frank Menechino present Big League Baseball 2K5"

And dont forget, "Featuring Kerry Ligtenberg!". Which makes me wonder, what's the best team of scab players you could make?

_Vernons Biggest - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 10:15 PM EST (#2443) #

I think that Carlos Delgado made a dumb move signing with the Florida Marlins. He should have signed with an American League team. In the AL he could play first base and DH

True, however what I was led to believe was that Delgado wants to play first base primarily. With Texas and/or Baltimore, he may have been DHing alot, but the only option with the NL is first base or... left field ;)

_Chuck Van Den C - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 10:26 PM EST (#2444) #

Here's a caption for the photo ...

Carlos Delgado looks toward his future in Florida while Orlando Hudson steps up and signals he is ready to take over Delgado's leadership role.

"C'mon, somebody pull my finger. Anybody. Carlos said he won't so I'm coming out to the outfield. Hey Alex, ever seen this trick? Pull my finger. Yeah, this one. Very funny, mofo. No, it won't cause my hat to become straightened."

_David Wang - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 10:27 PM EST (#2445) #

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/replacement_players.shtml
COMN for a list of the "scab" / replacement players.

Lot's of former or current Jays here, Lidle, Mr. Fluid, Menechino, Jeff Tam, Pedro Swann. Some good relief pitchers here including Donnelly, Herges and Jaime Walker

_Prisoner of Ham - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 10:27 PM EST (#2446) #

A year of Delgado for $4 million is a steal for the Marlins.

It just hit me. I think there's a very good chance that in 2006, when he starts getting paid big money � New York money � Delgado will be playing for somebody else. And don't be surprised if it's the Yankees.

_David Wang - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 10:31 PM EST (#2447) #

Anyone know why Carlos wasn't pursued by the Yanks, they could easily add 12 million bucks to their payroll, especially after saving on Beltran.

_Ryan C - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 10:35 PM EST (#2448) #

I believe Carlos' agent said the he would have been Yankee bound if they could have gotten out of Giambi's contract otherwise, even with their deep pockets, they could not afford the luxury tax.

Craig B - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 10:48 PM EST (#2449) #

I'll miss him more than any other Blue Jay, ever.

Farewell.

_Jacko - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 10:49 PM EST (#2450) #

"a lot less" is a big of an exaggeration. Batista made 3.6 MM last year, and will make 4.75 MM in 2005 and 2006.

Well, that's a 33% increase this year over last year.

If I got a 33% increase in pay this year I'd consider it a lot more.

Pistol, you're the one who compared Batista's deal to Delgado's deal, and then talked about how "backloading is bad".

Delgado's new contract:

2005: 4 MM
2006: 13.5 MM
2007: 14.5 MM
2008: 16.0 MM
2009: 16.0 MM vesting option or 4MM buyout.

Delgado gets a 237% raise in 2006.

Now _that_ is what I call backloading...

jc

_Jacko - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 10:50 PM EST (#2451) #

BTW, there's a pretty good reason for the backloading -- Mike Hampton comes off the books at the end of 2005, which frees up a lot of $$$ in the budget.

_Ryan Day - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 10:52 PM EST (#2452) #

I'll miss Carlos - the best Blue Jay hitter ever, one of my all-time favourites, and just a fun guy to watch on the field.

Florida's probably the best of all outcomes: He won't be battering the Jays on a regular basis, and I can hope he does well with Florida.

My favourite memory of Delgado has to be that home run he hit off Pedro (at that point, still the Pedro) at the Dome two or three years ago. I remember watching that game on TV, and I just about bounced off the ceiling when he hit it.

Here's hoping for an MVP-calibre season and maybe even a ring - unless, of course, the Jays somehow manage to find their way to the Series.

_John Northey - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 11:00 PM EST (#2453) #

What would've been fun would've been if Delgado could've gone to Colorado. Then my guess for his stats would've been much different. Of course, whenever I play fantasy games on my computer I like to be Colorado and then trade for Barry Bonds and watch 80 HR's occur :)

Seriously, I'm glad Delgado is in the NL as we won't have as much in the papers about how Delgado hurt the Jays again and how terrible that the Jays didn't offer $50 million to him. He was a great player, top 5 for my personally favorites (Tony Fernandez #1, Roberto Alomar #2, Mark Eichhorn #3 [love sidearm stuff])

_gv27 - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 11:12 PM EST (#2454) #

I have to admit to an embarassing truth. I was at Delgado's four homer game against Tampa Bay with my girlfriend. She's not a baseball fan, and had pushed me to go for dinner instead. To compromise, I told her we'd leave early, and head for a nice restaurant. Oh, we left alright. I saw the first three, and listened to the fourth on the radio. Must be the only knucklehead to actually walked before four. Thanks a bunch, Lance Carter.

_gv27 - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 11:20 PM EST (#2455) #

By the way, John. You like the side-arms. Does Chuck Hartenstein make your list? Geez, there haven't been many side-winders in Blue Jays history, at least as far as my memory allows.

_Braby21 - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 11:34 PM EST (#2456) #

John Northey

I love you how said Delgado is in your top 5 Jays and then you name the top 3, is there a contest to name the 4th?

Funny Stuff

Pistol - Tuesday, January 25 2005 @ 11:42 PM EST (#2457) #

Pistol, you're the one who compared Batista's deal to Delgado's deal, and then talked about how "backloading is bad"

I didn't say anything about backloading (at least recently).

Mientkiewicz apparently is being sent to the Mets as the Delgado domino has fallen now.

_dp - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 01:05 AM EST (#2458) #

I heard from a friend in the industry that the EA/ESPN liscence won't mean anything for 3 years from a practical sense. Gaming is really complicated in terms of subcontracting and who actually develops the games, so there's still hope that MVP-type games could still be pumped out...

_DaveInNYC - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 01:11 AM EST (#2459) #

Geez, there haven't been many side-winders in Blue Jays history, at least as far as my memory allows.

** Thinks of Mike Nakamura **

** Thoughts enduce hurl **

** Promises to never think of Mike Nakamura EVER AGAIN. WORST. PITCHER. EVER **

_DaveInNYC - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 01:11 AM EST (#2460) #

_DaveInNYC - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 01:11 AM EST (#2461) #

_Braby21 - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 01:14 AM EST (#2462) #

Wow DaveInNYC please stop thinking of him....

_greenfrog - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 01:22 AM EST (#2463) #

Carlos was a feared cleanup hitter and really a class act. One memory: the all-star game (I think it was his first) during his amazing 2000 season. If memory serves, he subbed in late in the game and got only one or two AB. At first he looked a bit anxious but then rocketed a double off the right-field wall that nearly cleared the fence on a line, jolting the US announcers out of their sleepy All-Star game reverie.

Watching Carlos when he was locked in--which was often--was a beautiful thing. He will be missed. I think he's a risk for the Marlins at 4 years, $52M, but the warm weather might lessen the chances of injury.

All the best, Carlos!

_Magpie - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 01:23 AM EST (#2464) #

ESPN now has a computer-generated shot of Delgado in a Marlins cap.

Gulp.

He signed with the Jays when he was sixteen years old, in December 1988. He's spent half his life as part of the organization.

Looks really, really weird...

DaveinNYC - pacify your mind with pleasant thoughts of Mark Eichhorn in 1986. A Blue Jays sidewinder, an ERA of 1.72. Good times...

_Jacko - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 02:09 AM EST (#2465) #

I didn't say anything about backloading (at least recently).

Mientkiewicz apparently is being sent to the Mets as the Delgado domino has fallen now.

Sorry about putting words in your mouth.

Over at Baseball Primer, people are wondering if the Mets should bother with Minky and instead sign someone like Travis Lee. Given how badly he has been playing lately, he's not really worth signing.

I'm not sure if there's even room for a 1B in NYC. Aren't Piazza and Jason Phillips doing at C/1B platoon again? And Cliff Floyd could play 1B if need be. I don't quite get it.

_DaveInNYC - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 02:11 AM EST (#2466) #

Alright, what the heck is going on with my comp. That's about the 3rd time today where I've had a double post and this time even worse, the dreaded TRIPLE POST! People in charge, PLEASE, clean up this mess! I beg of you!

DaveinNYC - pacify your mind with pleasant thoughts of Mark Eichhorn in 1986. A Blue Jays sidewinder, an ERA of 1.72. Good times...

Magpie, thank you so much... now Nakamura drifts into the back of my mind, never to return... with visions of Eichorn now fully in the forefront.

Good times indeed

_J.D. Clubbie - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 02:12 AM EST (#2467) #

Man, how I wished this day had never come. It really hurts to see Carlos sign with another club, although I wish him nothing but success.

I have to hand him one thing: Carlos was one of the few players who rocketed through the minors collecting MVPs and big numbers, then lived up to every ounce of that potential in the majors.

_JackFoley - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 04:47 AM EST (#2468) #

I'm sad to see Carlos go but can't think of a better place for him to be (other than TO, of course).

I, for one, hope Delgado feasts on NL East pitching.

_Jimbob - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 04:55 AM EST (#2469) #

I just wanna say its hard to see him go, but given the circumstances this is about as soft a landing as we could've hoped for as Jay's fans.

Early talk was of a trip to Baltimore, jeez, that would've sucked.

Then recently talk of the Skankees ditching Giambi's contract and being in the market for a slugging 1st baseman... we would be burning effigies in the streets if that had happened.

The Mariner's were strong contenders which meant we still would've probably had to deal with a few home runs from our favourite son against our pitching next season.

Finally another (less likely, but still alarming) scare was that he would signing for 10 per or something smallish which would really turn up the heat on our own GM.

But happily he's gone to the other league, for a price none of us would want our team to have to pay, unless we had a bump in budget to compensate.

It may not be fun but given the market of baseball I think I can accept this.

So long Carlos, hope you can help knock the Braves off their perch.

_John Northey - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 08:03 AM EST (#2470) #

For those too young to remember (God I feel old) one of the best non-playoff moments was watching Eichhorn strike out the heart of the Boston Red Sox order in '86. Jim Rice swinging away at pitches a foot outside was great fun to watch. Eich actually could've won the ERA title as a reliever that year but told Jimy Williams not to force the issue in the last two games (doubleheader to end the season) as he didn't want to steal the pitching triple crown from Clemens in a 'cheap' fashion. Someone else won the strikeout crown though so Clemens didn't get the triple crown till he joined the Jays.

As for the 4th of my top 5, my wife came in and ... well ... some things are more important/fun than posting :)

_Braby21 - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 10:12 AM EST (#2471) #

As for the 4th of my top 5, my wife came in and ... well ... some things are more important/fun than posting :)

She made you do the dishes eh? ;)

_Mike in CT - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 10:21 AM EST (#2472) #

This day and age in professional sports you just can't root for players, you can only root for the uniform. Since that's the case, Carlos is gone so I no longer care about him. They won nothing with him so hopefully they'll be better off without him. I'm not going to sit here and cry over losing him or what they could have or should have done. All I can do is root for the players the Jays have and hope for the best.

_Lee - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 10:26 AM EST (#2473) #

I can support him as a player now that he won't be beating up the Jays more frequently than the occassional interleague game and the World Series.

Somebody's optimistic...

Thomas - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 10:54 AM EST (#2474) #

That picture of him on the ESPN frontpage is an image that it will take a long time to adjust to.

He's an incredibly classy man, a great player and he will be deeply missed.

_dp - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 11:30 AM EST (#2475) #

I'm not sure if there's even room for a 1B in NYC. Aren't Piazza and Jason Phillips doing at C/1B platoon again? And Cliff Floyd could play 1B if need be. I don't quite get it.

To clear this up again, the Mets needed a 1B badly. Piazza didn't field or hit well when he played there. He was incredibly bad. Phillips is a good defensive catcher, but bad at 1B. And he hit horrible last year. Cliff Floyd could play 1B, but would rather not. If you've ever seen the video of him breaking his wrist there, you can understand why he might have an aversion. The Mets have a really young left side, and Matsui's a career SS who couldn't handle the position on grass and is being moved to 2B, so the Mets wanted to have a "natural" 1B there, having learned their lesson (which the Mets never seem to do) after playing Valent, Piazza, Phillips and Zeile there last season.

I'd rather have Lee and keep the prospect. That seemed like a lot to give up for a guy who hit so poorly last year...

Mike Green - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 12:09 PM EST (#2476) #

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/around-the-majors-marlins-sign-delgado/
Lee Sinins ran a nice career Runs Created Above Average chart for first basemen in today's THT. Delgado stands ninth, but only Gehrig, Foxx and Frank Thomas are realistically out of reach for him. COMN.

_Joe Wiebe - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 12:26 PM EST (#2477) #

http://www3.telus.net/bigfeet/home.htm
Time to buy a Marlins cap, I guess. Does anyone have J.P.Ricciardi's email address? I'd like to send him an email telling him just how badly he has handled this situation... and almost everything he's done since he took over. I'm so glad Carlos went to the NL -- not only does it mean I don't have to worry about conflicted emotions very often (are the Jays playing the NL East in interleague play this year?), but also it gurantees no DH dilemma for him. Excellent choice. And of all the NL teams out there, the Marlins are very fun to watch, what with all their speed, solid defence, and good young pitching.

_Mike in CT - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 12:35 PM EST (#2478) #

Time to buy a Marlins cap, I guess.

Why? You are a Blue Jays fan, right? Root for the Jays no matter who they have out there, not the Marlins.

Named For Hank - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 12:51 PM EST (#2479) #

Joe, in what respect are you saying that the situation has been badly handled? I can't think of any way that the Jays could afford Delgado for an average of $13 million per season, except for maybe with a huge attendance upswing and much better TV ratings, leading to stronger revenue.

_John Northey - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 01:22 PM EST (#2480) #

http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=tor&m=6&y=2005
Checking the schedule (COMN) the Jays seem to be playing the NL Central this summer, plus 'regional rival' Washington (expect that to change for 2006). I suspect the NL East is next year as the NL West was last year but this is MLB so who knows.

_jason - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 02:35 PM EST (#2481) #

Sad to see, and sadly inevitable. A two time runner up for the MVP is a great player. A home grown, two time runner up for the MVP is an even better player. He will be sorely missed. That said I wonder if he will be worth the money paid him in the future. The knees, the poor defence and the drop in production due to age... I wonder. Still the best Blue Jay hitter and a fine figure of a man; I wish him well.

_Tom L - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 02:36 PM EST (#2482) #

Joe it wasn ot only JP who butchered this but also Paul Godfrey and Ted Rogers. Fans should send emails to all three of them, and personally thank them for the total lack of effort they put forth in attempting to sign Delgado.
For once I agree with a Griffin article. Today in the Star he talks about how the Jays seem content on being mediocre, and as sad as it sounds I think he hit it right on the nose!
The Jays current management seems to be building a team without any direction or plan.

_Caino - Wednesday, January 26 2005 @ 06:28 PM EST (#2483) #

This is fantastic news. My internet has been down, and I've been out of the loop knows as Western Civilization. I would have become extremly depressed had Delgado signed with Baltimore.

Best of luck Carlos, hope to see you play my Jays in a World Series sometime soon... Only to loose, of course, by virtue of a nine inning two hit shut out by Dustin McGowan. zzzz... What? What happened??? I think I was dreaming for a second there. J.P. you were there, and Paul, you were speaking at a parade...

_Michael - Thursday, January 27 2005 @ 03:41 AM EST (#2484) #

Well I think this is better for the Jays than an AL team, but not as good as if he had signed with the Mets. The Jays long term are served best if/when the Mets actively take more of the Yankees market share by becomming (for a while) the better NY baseball team. An offseason of Pedro + thick!Carlos + thin!Carlos would have been killer for the Mets on and off the field (at least over the first few years of their contracts).

And I think the Jays are best of not signing Carlos for this kind of money *if* you agree that the Jays need to stick to the 50-60 million dollar budget over the next few years. I disagree with that notion (that the Jay's payroll needs to stay in the 50-60 mil range), so I think the Jays should have resigned Carlos. But because it is the payroll budget I'm disagreeing with, not how to allocate it once it has been set, I blame this on ownership not GM. The part I think we can blame the GM on is not offering Carlos arbitration. A 1 year deal for Carlos for ~$14M was the downside risk and since it was only one year, and Carlos was likely worth nearly that much anyways, and was not certain to take it, I would have taken that risk. With the market correction this offseason it becomes even more of a no brainer (although I advocated arbitration in advance of the correction), since Carlos got 4 years at nearly that price.

_Ice Cream Jonse - Friday, January 28 2005 @ 05:07 PM EST (#2485) #

http://www.caltrops.com
Long-time lurker, but just wanted to get in on the love for Carlos. Hope he tears it up in Florida.

Not offering arbitration for the greatest player in Jay history, though -- wow. Just wow.

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