Yes, then they can bring in Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown.

What do you mean he's dead?!

BlueJays.mlb.com

Three things: service time, service time, service time.

Sigh. Lugo's a very good defender and he always kills the Blue Jays (he's also hit well vs the Red Sox and O's). No offence at all to Russ Adams, but bringing in Lugo for him would be a huge boost, in my opinion, to the Jays' chances.

Robert Dudek and I had a conversation the other day about the massive role that Adams is being handed as leadoff hitter and everyday shortstop behind a groundball staff on turf. It's exceedingly rare for such an inexperienced player to be tasked such massive responsibility for a supposed contender's performance. We're going to learn a heck of a lot about Russ Adams as a ballplayer this year.

Couldn't touch a lefthanded pitcher. Limited his usefulness pretty substantially, although he was a good player 2/3 of the time.

How is it that Ensberg settles for $3.8 million while Hillenbrand demands $6.7 million? Is the simple answer that his agent is nuts for not taking the Jays' offer and save Shea the time and cost needed for arbitration?

Nor do I understand how Beckett is worth just $4.325 million while Shea is offered $5 million. I don't think I'll ever get it, but the business side of sports seems always intriguingly bizarre.

Teams control players for the first 6 seasons of their careers. That is, a player is unable to become a free agent until after 6 seasons.

Typically, for the first three seasons of a player's career they'll make close to the minimum salary. These players generally have no control over their salary. For the first three years of a player's salary will be be something like $330k, $375k, $425k. This is what makes young players so valuable if they perform.

Following 3 full years of service time a player becomes eligible for arbitration. This will occur for the next 3 years unless a player and team agree on a longer contract.

However, arbitration is not equal. The longer a player has been in the league (service time) the higher his salary will be. Said another way, if you had two identical players but one was entering his 4th year and the other was entering his 6th year the player entering his 6th year would make considerably more.

This was at BPro earlier this year, that referenced a paper written by John D. Burger and Stephen J.K. Walters, from Loyola College in Maryland, which concluded that:

* An arbitration-eligible player entering his fourth year of service time is priced at 44% of his market value;

* An arbitration-eligible player entering his fifth year of service time is priced at 61% of his market value;

* An arbitration-eligible player entering his sixth year of service time is priced at 64% of his market value.

This is why player's salaries will increase each year even if they perform the same (and sometimes they'll still make more if they perform worse like Lilly did this past year).

Take Shea Hillenbrand for example. He's had one year contracts for every year he's played. Following his third year he went to arbitration, and then again after his fourth season (which was last year in Toronto). His salaries have been:

2001 - $  200,000
2002 - $  260,000
2003 - $  407,500
2004 - $2,600,000
2005 - $3,870,000
2006 - $      ???

Hillenbrand has asked for $6.7 million and the Jays have offered $5.0 million. Assuming that they don't agree on a middle ground an arbitrator will decided what contract amount Hillenbrand will make after each side presents their case. And there's no middle ground - it's either one side or the other.

(And using the % above you could conclude that Hillenbrand and his agent feel he's worth $10.5 million on the open market and the Jays think it's closer to $7.8 million.)

Assuming that Hillenbrand and the Jays don't agree on a contract longer than one season Hillenbrand will be eligible for free agency following this season.

from Jeff Blair:

So, knowing Jeff Blair swallows Liberal claptrap whole makes him a better baseball writer how? Possibly a cute segue into a piece on an aging Piazza; but more: unnecessary, alienating, ignorant.

And bringing your political views up here serves what purpose?

Why should it? You don't want your backup catcher at DH. If something happens to Molina, then you're looking at having your pitcher take a few AB's himself. I think we'll be looking at the 2 catchers basically splitting the catching duties 60/40 (Molina/Zaun). That can only be good news to the post-30 catcher's knees.

IF this signing goes through, I think the more important question is what happens to Q. Are the Blue Jay's going to wash their hands of him? Would they be able to make a deal with any team that picked him up off waivers?

Why do you believe this? I think it's very much open for debate, considering how much Molina's defense has declined. Pinto's PMR ratings had Zaun at being better at fielding grounders, and he's much better at not allowing passed balls (10 PB in just 105 games for Bengie.) Both are considered good game-callers, neither are good at throwing out runners, and neither are great hitters although Zaun is better at getting on base.

He may help, but I wouldn't have signed him.