Paul Hagen: Young MLB players seem to lean toward secure deals
AROUND THE Texas Rangers, it's known simply as The Talk.
Talented young second baseman Ian Kinsler heard it from All-Star shortstop Michael Young. Young got it from veteran outfielder Rusty Greer. The gist of it is simple: When you approach contract negotiations, take care of your family first. Show a little loyalty to the organization. Worry about playing baseball rather than making every last dollar and everything else will fall into place.
Look, there are no absolutes when it comes to money. Every player has to make up his own mind.
But there seems to be a trend toward rising young stars opting for security even if it means leaving a little money on the table. Or a lot. Rays phenom Evan Longoria recently became the latest to subscribe to that theory, agreeing to a 9-year deal that could be worth as much as $44.5 million.
Now, that's a ton of money for a kid who had played in seven big-league games at the time he signed. So Tampa Bay is taking a real risk. At the same time, if he maxes out, Longoria will earn $11.5 million in 2016, the final year of the contract. That's less than at least 50 players make this year. Of course, at that point, he'll still be only 31 when he becomes eligible for free agency.
As Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman put it: "Some guys prefer to secure at least their first fortune and put themselves in a position to go out and get even deeper in [owner Stuart Sternberg's] wallet."
That, apparently, is the way the Rangers players look at it. Kinsler said that he talked to Young at length before deciding to commit for $22 million over five seasons with just 2 years of big league service.
"A lot of people think Mike took a club-friendly deal [$10 million for 4 years, which he then parlayed into a 5-year, $80 million extension]," he noted this spring. "But the important thing was to make sure he had taken care of his family first and that he could concentrate on just playing baseball. Hopefully this illustrates ... that it's not about dollars."
Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard has been a notable exception to this way of thinking, of course. That doesn't make him wrong. Just that his approach is a little different than a lot of younger players these days.
The hot corner
* Concerns about Braves righthander Tim Hudson's sudden drop in velocity, to 85 from his normal low 90s, proved to be a false alarm. In turns out that he was apparently just suffering the aftereffects of a bad case of the flu.
* Indians Cy Young Award winner C.C. Sabathia is 1-3 with a 10.13 earned run average. He's still throwing 95, but too many of the pitches are up in the strike zone and over the middle of the plate.
* Dodgers manager Joe Torre says centerfielder Andruw Jones is slumping because he's trying to pull everything for home runs. Jones says it's because he's having bad allergy attacks.
Around the bases
* After their 22-inning game in San Diego, the Rockies paid an estimated $3,000 fine to have their charter take off after curfew at Lindbergh Field rather than spend an extra night and leaving the following morning.
* When Fred Lewis homered for the Giants on Monday it was the first by a San Francisco leftfielder since Barry Bonds hit the 762nd and possible final home run of his career last September.
* Mariners closer J.J. Putz came off the disabled list and got a save Tuesday. He thought he avoided getting a shaving-cream pie in the face ... until pitcher Mark Lowe burst from his hiding place behind some shirts in Putz' locker and nailed him. Check out the hilarious video on YouTube.
On deck
CHEERS: For Casey Blake of the Indians. Coming to bat in the seventh inning of a 15-1 blowout of the Royals on Tuesday, Blake needed a triple to complete the cycle. Sure enough, he lined a pitch into the leftfield corner. He could have tried for third. You never know what can happen. Instead, he pulled up at second. "It would have been a dumb play. I would have been out by 20 feet," he said modestly.
Manager Eric Wedge saw it a little differently. "Casey plays the game the right way," he said. "To go for the cycle there would be disrespecting the game. That's not what Casey is about or what we're about."
