Steelers head coach Chuck Noll once said his biggest mistake as a coach was sticking too long with the great players who were pivotal in winning him four Super Bowls. It was loyalty. It was comfort. They were proven winners and great guys. It made sense at the time. But they all got old at once, and the dynasty ended. Fast forward to after the 2007 season:
- The Yankees off the negative public outcry from Joe Torre’s exit, felt pressure to placate the fans. Cashman despite taking a hard line against ARod, had Hank Steinbrenner foolishly handed him a 10 year albatross of a contract. ARod should have been resigned, but not double the money another team was willing to offer.
- That same offseason, Jorge Posada already 35 years old used Omar Minaya and the Mets to extract a 4 year contract from the Yankees. It was another illogical signing given his age and likelihood of breaking down, but feeling the “heat” from the NY baseball media and fans that were mostly in Torre’s corner, Hank/Hal as neophyte owners caved to public pressure….Fast Forward to the present:
Hal is now the clear lead owner of the Brothers Steinbrenner and has empowered Cashman to fully run the baseball operations (without having Hank around to botch things up). Jeter has been a great player, but no longer is. Given his captaincy and status on the current team, the Yankees offered Jeter double his true market value. Yet, this offer was deemed “baffling” by his agent Casey Close. What’s truly baffling about this negotiation is Jeter’s/Close’s thinking that they’re deserving of 4-5 years and $85-100M. If that’s the case, the Yankees should avoid repeating their sins of the past by caving to fan and media pressure. Similar to what the great Steelers players meant to Chuck Noll, Jeter represents winning, loyalty and comfort to Yankee fans. However, giving him a “blank check” or paying him an exorbitant amount of money for his past achievements and/or future milestones is bad business. I applaud Cashman and Hal for their stance in these negotiations. Sorry Derek as Michael Corleone said, it’s not personal, it’s strictly business. Hopefully offering to make him the highest paid middle infielder in the game isn’t too much of an insult to Jeter/Close.
What do you think of the current Jeter negotiations? Do you side with Jeter or Yankees ownership?
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M. B. Rozell
Kevin Rozell
Gotta disagree with you on this one, Zell. When Jeter arrived in ’96, the teams net value was ~ $600M. The most recent estimates have it around $1.6B. Is Jeter responsible for all of the $1B gain in that time? No. But at the same time, heKs attributable for a pretty big chunk.
I commented earlier that there’s a plausible middle ground here. Two years guaranteed, around $35M. Have mutual options for 2013-2016 at $12M avg, with the options being picked up if Jeter hits certain performance marks: games played, batting average, etc. Convert the options into a personal services contract, around $7m per and run the PS portion until 2020. Total contract value is between $80M & $140M, with Jeter in pinstripes for another decade. If he performs similarly to other great past hitters of his type at this age (Carew, Rose, Molitor) then the Yanks get him for avg of $14m per season. If not, then the avg is $8m per, or roughly market value for a .270 hitting shortstop.
I still can’t believe Cashman hasn’t thought of this. He seems intent on playing chicken in a contract negotiation for the first time in his life, with the most beloved Yankee in two generations. He blew it big time last offseason and he seems on a collision course with an even worse performance this year.
–Ray
Ray…this was written by Mr. Perez. Haha
Zell
Agree. Love Jeter. He’s already been paid a lot for what he’s done – no need to pay again. Double his value is fair. Next.
I’l preface this with saying i’m a HUGE Derek Jeter fan….but…..
Gotta agree w Eddie. The ridiculous logic by the fans on this one is just that….ridiculous. I’ve heard, “well they paid Igawa X mil for nothing” and “paid Pavano for nothing” “why not overpay for Jeter”. The answer is 3 for $15 per IS overpaying, by a lot. And the logic that you made mistakes with certain contracts in the past as an organization as justification to open your checkbook and break the bank for a light hitting mid infielder with diminishing range is insane.
The Yankees are a successful team/business because they make MOSTLY smart moves, not because of some divine intervention. You can go above and beyond pure performance for Jeter in the contract and they have…by at least double what his stats say he is worth. For Close to call the offer “baffling” is humorous.
To quote Charlie Brown: AAAAUUGH!!!
Sorry about that Eddie & Zell…reading these posts on my phone & missed the by-line.
My opinion hasn’t changed, though. <}
Ray,
Good thoughts…but i respectfully disagree…Bringing in the team’s value isn’t relevant. The Yankees never drew 4 million until ARod showed up, so does he get the credit for that and the booming revenues of the Yankees and YES?!
Going back to the contract offer, I think offering 2yr/$35M with several options after isn’t plausible middle ground, b/c you’d be paying him 2.5 times more then what his on field performance dictates. The Yankees have paid Jeter $200M over his career and are offering him $5-7M more then his value b/c they recognize his status, going above and beyond that is bad business.
This isn’t the first time Cashman played chicken, he didn’t blink on Bernie, would have moved on from ARod if not for Hank, sparred with Boras on Damon last year, and would have gone to war with Jorge if not for Hank trying to appease the fans…remember how the famous line goes, “If you listen to the fans in the stands, pretty soon you’ll be sitting with them”. What Cashman/Yankees are doing is trying to be practical and logical. Jeter/Close need to come back to reality b/c the Yankees hold the hammer. When Jeter/Close had the leverage they got every dollar they could through arbitration years and his mega contract, this time the the Yankees have the leverage and will use it…as I said in the blog post, its not personal….just business.
Great post. I enjoy your writing/thoughts, Eddie. Would like to see you write more often.
What do you think he would get if he was to shop around? Do you see a team (like the Orioles) in need of a shortstop offering him 3-years, $50 million and if so, what would be the number that would, perhaps, sway Derek to sign elsewhere?
Granted we don’t see him, in the end, going elsewhere, but I am curious as to what you (and others) think would happen if he was to get a 60 million dollar offer for 3 years (or even worse – a 4-year, 65 million dollar)? Would the Yankees then be forced to match it? Eat their words and say, “OK, Derek, your market value is apparently higher so we’ll give you more”? Be hypocritical and say, “Wow, 65 million? OK, enjoy it in Baltimore.”
I guess I’m getting ahead of myself, but I guess this is why I love the Hot Stove Season a tad more than even the regular season.
PS: I’m too lazy to read this over so excuse me If I left out any words or misspelled anything.
I look forward to your response(s).
I completely agree with you Eduardo. The Yankees rumored offer of 3/45 is certainly more than Jeter is worth, and the Yankees have no need to offer him anything more. I doubt that any team would dare even match that offer, and if they do, then they are seriously misled. The Yankees hold the power right now, and eventually Jeter’s agent will have to come back to negotiate with the Yankees.
Thanks Eli,
I don’t see any other team even coming close to 3/$45M and if someone did go to 4/$65M as you wrote in the hypothetical, I would rather they just let him go. But it won’t happen, Jeter will be on the Yankees next year and will have to “settle” for the $45M which is already an overly generous offer…which is why I think Cashman came out blasting. Jeter/Close need to get off Fantasy Island.
P.s. The mere fact Francesa thinks the Yankees are “dumb” for doing this makes me feel even better about the Yankees position! (you know I had to take a shot at Diet coke ;)
I never thought of Jeter as an mercenary until now. He always said it was about the team winning a WS.
It’s not the NY Jeter’s , it’s the NY Yankees, get your ego in check Jeter!!
“Jeter has been a great player, but no longer is”.. a bit dramatic I think. He had un-Jeter like year granted but he’s not done. Only a year ago he had one of his best seasons. No longer is? Come on. I’m a Yankee fan and Jeter fan and I believe this will get resolved soon. I don’t believe he should get a blank check, but I don’t believe that’s what he’s asking for. And has he even said what he’s asking for? All of this is speculation. I’m not happy about his agent’s comments and I’m not happy with some of the things being said by the Yankees organization. Obviously I wish this hole thing was handled better but this is how it is.
Jen,
Sure it’s all speculation as we wait for this to be resolved, but reading the tea leaves it sure does look like Jeter’s asking for the sun, moon and stars. I hope I’m wrong and he bounces back to ’09 form, but given his age yes he longer is a great player…not done…but slightly above average SS who has postage stamp size range at SS….not what I would want to spend $20M on. Remember the Yankees operate around a $200M payroll, so every $ we Foolishly overpay on Jeter it’s less to fix the bullpen and bench.
Fire Cashman!!!!