Prince Fielder… Just accept arbitration

Seriously… it’s time to punt.
The market isn’t there right now.

It must stink to know your big payday isn’t here yet. But the Marlins have spent their money. The Cardinals have closed up their payroll. The Rangers are focused on Yu Darvish and pitching. The Nationals wasted their dough on Jayson Werth and have too many options at first. The Cubs are going to try and see if Anthony Rizzo can cut it. The Red Sox and Yankees have first basemen and the Dodgers and Mets are a mess.

Take arbitration with the Brewers and have a kick butt season and try it again next year.
The fans might boo you. Smack a few homers and they’ll love you.

The Mariners will have money to spend. Rizzo might not have worked in Chicago. The Nationals could be ready. The Dodgers might have a new owner willing to spend and the Mets could have their act together and the Blue Jays might have taken a step towards contending.

Try again next year… put up awesome numbers as usual.
You might have to wait a year for that 9 figure deal.

It’s a nice problem to have.

OK Ross Ohlendorf… time to earn your money

Ross Ohlendorf won one game last year and then matched his win total in arbitration in the off season.

A lot of people made fun of that in the off season, including yours truly. But he is pitching against the Cubs today and can match his 2010 win total in early April.

Everything after that? Gravy.

Ross Ohlendorf’s arbitration arguments

Some people are surprised that Ross Ohlendorf was able to win his arbitration hearing despite a 1-11 record for the Pirates.

But if you look at his arguments, you will see it was a no brainer that he was going to win.

– Hey, I’m a Pirate! We’re SUPPOSED to lose. And who did it better than me?

– Haven’t you heard? We’re not supposed to pay attention to a win-loss record anymore.

– Felix Hernandez lost 12 games and was given the Cy Young Award. I only lost 11. Ergo Felix Hernandez is a bigger loser than I am!

– By having the worst record in baseball, we get the #1 pick in the draft. You are welcome.

– Did you SEE my only win? It was on July 2nd against the Phillies. I threw 7 innings of shutout ball against the 2 time defending NL Champs. Let’s see YOU do that, Mr. Arbitrator!

– You know, I actually had a decent ERA in each of the last two seasons. And fans don’t pay money to see a pitcher win or lose. They just want to see a decent ERA.

– It is important to show Pirate fans that you are committed to putting the same crappy product on the field year in and year out.

– You have to factor in that I had an OPS of .220 as well.

– I played with the Yankees for two seasons, so I actually know players like Jeter and A-Rod. I can get them to sign some memorabilia for you. But that access doesn’t come cheap!

– I can’t imagine how I only went 1-11 with such a great lineup and a lock down bullpen around me!