MLB hot stove/ Free agency

[MaineDolFan]

I am kinda surprised about how violently you can turn on a guy you used to vehemently defend.

Whoa.  Show me one time I've "vehemently" defending Jason Varitek?

[dolfan13]

maybe at some point americans will wake up and just not take this freaking shit anymore. this is not an out of the ordinary example. it is just a reflection of today's america...

in miami, while the city is going into the toilet, the taxpayer foots the bill for a $609 million dollar stadium. jets & giants fans are looking forward to $50,000 psl's just so they have the option of getting season tix, all this while there was a good amount of public financing used to build the new stadium (dallas is going to be the same, maybe more).

unnamed corporate ceo made 10 million this year, plus another 50+ million in exercised options, all while announcing major US layoffs.

have you seen the salaries college football coaches are pulling in lately?? good grief... the budget for one big time school athletic department will exceed $100 million this year alone. all while tuition hikes up 15% year over.

sports is just big corporate business, thats all. it deserves the same amount of scrutiny and public outrage as projected on oil, auto, financial companies, etc... and probably even more so.

[Tepop84]

It is pretty hilarious how fast boston fans can turn on their players.  I don't know why any player would ever want to play for a boston team.

[MaineDolFan]

^I understand that bandwagon hopping fans find it hard to understand the passion that goes into following a team for a long time.  I am quite sure that you wouldn't be able to name the starting line up of the Devil Rays in the year 2000 without pulling it up on google.  I could.  I know you couldn't.

So ease up on the "Boston fans" thing.  I'll forgive the ignorance behind the comment - especially seeing that you missed the entire nature of the post.

[Tepop84]

^I understand that bandwagon hopping fans find it hard to understand the passion that goes into following a team for a long time.  I am quite sure that you wouldn't be able to name the starting line up of the Devil Rays in the year 2000 without pulling it up on google.  I could.  I know you couldn't.

So ease up on the "Boston fans" thing.  I'll forgive the ignorance behind the comment - especially seeing that you missed the entire nature of the post.

LOL great argument champ.  You are right that I couldn't name the Devil Rays 2000 starting line up.  Mostly because I have never liked the Devil Rays, therefore I will ignore the ignorance behind your comment.

[MaineDolFan]

^I actually started to confuse you with a member that isn't a moron, my apologies to tenshot on that one.  My bad.

[Brian Fein]

I like the direction of dolfan13's post.  He's right. 

In this situation, I can't imagine what MORE Varitek is looking for.  Does he want a long term deal, or more money?  Really, he has to realize that his hitting numbers aren't stellar.  It has always baffled me why Red Sox fans in general were so in love with this guy.  Maybe its just me...

[Fau Teixeira]

as long as he doesn't come to the marlins i'm cool .. if we wanted a nover the hill catcher we could just sign lo-duca again

[MaineDolFan]

It has always baffled me why Red Sox fans in general were so in love with this guy.  Maybe its just me...

Generally because of his hard nosed approach to the game.  Always prepared.  Always professional.  He sprints the same way whether he's hit a double or home run.  He always punches in and gets to work.  Boston, after all, is a blue collar town.  Same reason they loved Trot Nixon, a lifetime .270 hitter that wasn't anything special.  The guy played his heart out and fans appreciate that.

The thing that gets me with any athlete is the sense of entitlement.  One of the great things about football contracts is the lack of guaranteed money.  Perform or you're gone.  Varitek is not a five million dollar a year player anymore and his "feeling insulted" by that amount is staggering - especially when the people paying his salary, ultimately the fans (the same people that have been cheering for the guy) are struggling as much as they are.

[SportsChick]

Maine - How much of this is Tek and how much is Boras? I am not pulling blame from Tek, this situation is BS (Also remember he declined arbitration which would have paid him somewhere around $10 Mil) but Boras being Boras, I wonder if that's playing into this shitty-ass'd situation.

As for turning on him Brian - there's a difference between Tek, Manny and Damon. Damon bolted for the sworn enemy. Period. End of story. Manny QUIT ON THE TEAM multiple times, the most serious being this last year. It wasn't a matter of turning on him but waking the F up and seeing what was going on.

Tek, as Maine said, is a professional who is always prepared and ready to play. He's been with the Sox for 11 years. This is a shitty situation, but no, I'm not going to turn on him.

[MaineDolFan]

Maine - How much of this is Tek and how much is Boras?

Jason is a grown man that can make his own decisions.  I don't think it's right to hide behind an agent.  I say it is 100% Varitek because he is the one that has final say.

[EDGECRUSHER]

I never liked Varitek because he wears a C on his chest for captain. Dunno, always found that annoying. That, and he fought A-Rod with his mask on. Hard to make Alex seem like the manlier of the two during a confrontation, but he succeeded.

Theo has been more than fair with Jason, even letting him try to make more money elsewhere and still have an offer for him. But enough's enough, threatening to sit out a season? You hit .220 and are 37 years old. Be grateful they are offering you so much money and sign the contract.

[SportsChick]

My bio-dad just called. Said ESPN is reporting on the radio that Tek signed a two year deal - guaranteed for both years. I don't see anything on ESPN.com about it though

Boston.com is reporting it's a one year deal with an option however,
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2009/01/varitek_sox_agr.html

[MaineDolFan]

Crap.

There goes my dream of getting Salty and dumping Buchholz all at once...

[Sunstroke]

You know what that 'C' on your chest should stand for?  'Cock gobbler.'

The sign of a great line... Ten years from now, when I see a player come out of a dugout with a C on his chest, I'm STILL going to be laughing at this.