For me, it all started to unravel on May 31, 2006. Just a day before I had witnessed from my seat at the Skydome a three home run performance and an 8-5 win for the Blue Jays over the Red Sox. Man, Vernon Wells could hit.
Since then, he's had some great games. Later that year, I watched him hit a walk-off homer against Mariano Rivera. There have been several other positive memories along the way. Yet, my level of devotion and adoration has never reached the same heights as it did during that game in May. I can accept that.
When he was signed to a gargantuan 7 year $126 million contract during the 2006 off-season, people quickly began debating whether or not he was worth it. Some were saying that he was the face of the franchise and it would be bad publicity for the Jays to let him walk. Also, he had just turned 29 so many were predicting that his 2006 numbers were just a platform to build on. Here are some reactions from baseball analysts just after the contract was announced.
Peter Gammons, ESPN: "If you're going to give $18 million to somebody, you want them to be as diligent and as reliable as Vernon. If he went out in the market next year, with Andruw Jones, and Ichiro, and Torii Hunter, I really believe that at his age he might be #1."
Jeff Blair, Globe and Mail: "The dollars involved in Wells's extension are an accurate reading of a system flush with cash because of new media riches, labour peace and solid attendance in big markets. Wells would have received $20-million a year as a free agent next year without breaking a sweat. His on-field production - a Gold Glove, .300 batting average, 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in - would not be replaced in time to compete this year in the hypercompetitive American League East."
On the other side, there were some skeptics.
Keith Law, ESPN: "By deferring most of the payments due, Ricciardi keeps more payroll in the 2007-10 years available to pay other players, even if it means killing the team's financial flexibility in 2011 and beyond."
Three seasons later, The Contract is widely derided as the worst in baseball. There's still a debate as to whether it was J.P. Ricciardi's call or if it was pushed through by former Jays' President Paul Godfrey. Some members of the media haven't given J.P. the benefit of the doubt. Joe Posnanski of Sports Illustrated is so enthusiastically critical of our former GM that he's decided to start referring to bad baseball contracts as "Ricciardis". Of the Wells' contract, he proclaims, "This isn't a baseball contract. This is a testament to the power of mankind to do the impossible". He later adds, "This is the most untradable contract in the history of the world".
Nevertheless, amidst all of this hysteria, I'm not that concerned. You know why? I'm not the one paying the bill. If Vernon's annual salary is astronomically above market value, who cares? This only worries me if it hinders the Blue Jays' ability to improve the club over the next few seasons and I'm not certain that it does.
If one takes Paul Beeston and Alex Anthopoulos at their word, then one must believe that Rogers is, in fact, willing to raise payroll if it "makes sense". If the Jays had re-signed Roy Halladay and Marco Scutaro, and brought in John Lackey and Jason Bay, they still wouldn't win the AL East. So I can understand why they're pumping money into other areas, such as scouting. I remain optimistic that Rogers isn't going to bail on this team and will foot the bill of a contender when the time is right.
Suppose the opposite is true and Rogers ends up screwing over the fans by refusing to invest in better on-field personnel. Then I don't think Vernon's contract is the real problem. The real problem would be having awful ownership that has no intention of building a winner. Any good business wouldn't let one mistake dictate their evaluation of their entire business plan. All businesses, even very profitable ones, have to absorb losses at some point. If Rogers isn't going to be flexible with payroll while Vernon's contract is on the books, then they shouldn't own a baseball team. I think they're smarter than that.
Overall, I'm indifferent to the Vernon Wells contract. I can't blame him for taking the money and I believe he does try as hard as he can. I won't pretend that I'm immune to the occasional fit of frustration when he pops one up in the infield, but it's not a very rational reaction. Let's all stop worrying: just enjoy the game, cheer for the guy, and hope he turns it around. All the booing certainly doesn't encourage him to do better. Either way, it's really out of our hands. Relax.
No comments:
Post a Comment