Best and Worst Free Agent Signings

A mailbag question came in:

So far what do you think are the three best free agent signings, and the three worst? - John

Best

1. Alex Rodriguez - The best, most reliable player in the game. This contract will look better and better as salaries rise.
2. Andruw Jones - Low-risk two-year commitment to a possibly elite center fielder.
3. Mark Prior - Worst case, Prior fizzles and the Padres lose a million bucks.  Best case, they pay four mil for three or even four decent months.

Others I liked: Kosuke Fukudome, Mike Lamb, Masahide Kobayashi, Milton Bradley, Randy Wolf, Eric Gagne

Worst

1. Torii Hunter - Good timing makes Hunter an $18MM player.  Doesn't seem to fill a major need for the Angels, and now they have a glut of outfielders.
2. Kaz Matsui - What does he bring to the table?  Just the speed?  The Astros should've earmarked this money for starting pitching.
3. Scott Linebrink - Four years of a declining middle reliever.

Others I disliked: Luis Castillo, Geoff Jenkins, Tom Glavine

Comments

[Skinner]

Seriously, Mark Prior at #3?

Perhaps that's just indicative of the market this year, but the chances of Prior giving much of anything for the rest of his career, let alone 2008, are not very good.

I'm not sure anyone here is all that clear on just how serious of a surgery Prior had. Labrum surgery is not like TJS. Very few come back from it to be all that successful, and does anybody here honestly think Mark Effing Prior, when one considers his injury history before the shoulder problems, will be one of the few to beat the odds?

[Dev0]

Eckstien was a good sign I think, it filled a glaring weak spot relatively cost affectively.

[Tim Dierkes]

I understand the surgery fully and I don't think Prior would be beating the odds to come back successfully.

[ginandtacos.com]

Um, really? Name three pitchers who have returned to form after a torn labrum.

Hell, name ONE.

[BJays Fan!]

The Bluejays signing David Eckstein was a really good cost effective move by the Jays. I was suprised that it was not listed...

[Teetz]

Maybe because David Eckstein is not good at baseball? At his best, he will be a below average SS for the Blue Jays this year. At his worst, he'll be terrible and play 100 games. No upside to Eckstein, thats why it's not listed on the best signings. It wasn't for a lot of money like the dwarf was originally seekings and that's why it's not on the worst.

[Teetz]

"Um, really? Name three pitchers who have returned to form after a torn labrum.

Hell, name ONE."

Off the top of my head, Chris Carpenter. However, I do agree a torn labrum is the most devastating injury for a pitcher. Additionally, it takes longer to come back from than Tommy John surgery.

[curse_ended]

man you Cub fans are funny. For years weve heard nothing but the tales of woe regarding Wood and Prior and how this will be the year they return to form. Now that Prior signs elsewhere hes a useless bum.
Im not saying he holds much value but theres no way anyone can say this is a bad signing for SD. A million bucks is peanuts.
Also I cant see how the Fukodome signing is so great. True he may be good but Boston got torched last year regarding Dice-K. Of course i realize they paid the extra 50 mil. Now that the Cubs hope aboard the Orient Express, Fukodome is gonna hit 330 with a 400+ OBS

[Teetz]

curse_ended....shouldn't you be at a Klan meeting?

[WestCoastBias]

Mark Prior will go on to have a Chris Carpenter-like career post torn labrum surgery. Hopefully it's with the Padres but I see it being with another team unless Kevin Towers negotiates a 3-5yr deal with Prior in August if Prior gives him 2-3 solid months.

[ArodSucksAtLife]

Worst:
Carlos Silva
Kaz Matsui
J.C. Romero

[Skinner]

If you fully understood the surgery Tim, you would not be nearly as bullish on Prior as you are.

You sound like Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber with your unabashed, quixotic optimism.

"So what would you say the chances are...one in a thousand?"

"More like one in a million."

"So you're saying there's a chance..."

If Prior even contributes at a league average level the rest of his career, that will be something of a big surprise.

And Teetz...how is Carpenter's health now?

Labrum surgery, even if there is that unlikely return, it generally leads to cascading injuries that will likely end up in Prior needing additional surgeries down the road.

And it's not that I don't like Mark Prior, and that I want him to fail, just the opposite in fact, but after seeing Cubs's fans go bonkers over the guy for years and make themselves laughingstocks for the wistful, hopeful garbage about Prior returning and dominating the league once again (has any other player in Cub history fully embodied their slogan "wait 'til next year"?), you would think other fan bases would have learned their lesson.

Instead it appears the disease is communicable.

[Teetz]

My list:

1. Alex R. - Best player in baseball.
2. Kosuke Fukudome - Good chance to bring more to the table offensively than Rowand, Hunter, and Jones at a much lower cost.
3. Mariano Rivera: The money is silly, but there's no doubt he'll still be among the best relief pitchers in baseball for the length of the contract. Very low-risk signing.

Worst:

1. Torii Hunter. Angels overpayed 20 mil right off the bat since he would have gone there for 70 mil anyways. They'll be trying to move this contract in 2 years.

2. Jose Guillen: Why? The Royals don't have a chance to compete this year and, even worse, won't be able to land a decent prospect for him when they have to eventually trade him because of the size of his contract.

3. Kaz Matsui - He's terrible. I would have put Cesar Izturis here because the Cards got him to be the starting SS, but they didn't give him much money. Same deal with Paul Loduca, not only is he horrible at baseball now, but his really lame e-mails are in the Mitchell Report and immediately brings embarassment to the franchise.

[ReardenTech]

hahahaha

I'm almost completely ignorant of torn labrum surgery so I can't comment, but that Dumb & Dumber analogy was hilarious.

[quintjs]

The problem Tim, is that Prior could be that great bargian, but there is basically no evidence its going to happen, especially with Prior.

Run this situation 100 times, and 95-99 times, the Padres have just wasted 1 million dollars.

At least someone like Matt Clement has been throwing since last September.

[Teetz]

"but after seeing Cubs's fans go bonkers over the guy for years and make themselves laughingstocks for the wistful"

Why would Cub fans be laughingstocks for thinking Prior could return back to form? Up until the beginning of 2007 (the same time most Cub fans gave up on Prior), nobody had any idea Prior had any sort of Labrum injury. He had zero surgeries up to that point and showed zero significant labrum tears in any MRI's he ever took.

I'm not gonna say Carpenter is the rule and not the exception, but for a 3 year span, he was the best pitcher in the National League, end of discussion there. In fact, I do think he was an exception, but I'd take it. A lot of pitchers with labrum surgeries don't come close to Prior's talent so it's tough to judge. As I said earlier, labrum surgeries are devastating for a pitcher.

[nyyfan]

For $1mil it is a great signing. Guys like silva got 10 mil/year or more and to take a chance on a guy with SD roots and ZERO expectations is a good deal. Cubs fans expected him to win every game and actually needed him more than SD will. Maybe not a top 3 signing but def one of the smartest of the offseason.

[wildmike]

I agreed with you until you mentioned Glavine. Here's a guy whose probably the last 300 game winner and who just came off a season in which he pitched over 200 innings and was fifth in the league with 23 quality starts to go along with 13 wins. He signed for a mere 8 million dollars over 1 season and thats a bad signing? I guess a long term contract for 10-12 million a year for guys like Carlos Silva or Ted Lilly would be better right? Wow, is this website like imdb where anyone can post information?

[Twitchell]

Huge thumbs up to the Padres for Prior whether he regains his stuff or not. I didn't think it was possible to buy that kind of upside for $1MM. Thumbs down to the Phils on Jenkins. Apparently, there's a misconception about his production. Last season, he was barely usable as a platoon hitter. Against righties 18 HRs in 355 ABS, okay, but nothing special. Again, from his strong side, a .260 hitter with .320 OBP and .800 OPS. At $6.5MM per year, this guy got 3 times his real worth. At $6.5MM per seaon for a platoon OF, you have to get a hitter that completely mashes RH pitching. Instead, they got a 5th OF at best.

[DrewB]

The Angels may have overpaid for Hunter, but I don't think that necessarily makes it a bad signing. They did need him... they need his bat (although he doesn't solve all of their offensive issues... but no player south of Cabrera would have)... and the glut of outfielders will enable Guerrero and Anderson to spend more time in the DH slot and off their feet....and theoretically lead to greater health and greater productivity. Hunter's defense, added to Matthews, will provide a big boost to the pitching staff (absorbing a little of the sting of losing O. Cabrera). Hardly the worst signing of the offseason... but not enough to push the Angels past the Red Sox, Cleveland or Detroit.

[Darin]

A few years ago, the recovery rate for Tommy John surgery was 85%....Torn Labrum surgery was 3%

[wayne gomes]

I liked the Cliff Floyd signing a lot personally...makes a lot of sense in the clubhouse on that young team, and I think he still has a lot of upside with the bat. Man, this was a bad FA class

[TheBigOne]

A second pitcher to come back from a torn labrum is Gil Meche. A third is Rocky Biddle.

[themfightnwords]

I cant understand why you would be so down on the Glavine signing. The Braves are the best team in the NL east and even though he isn't great, Glavine helps them.

[astralpanda]

Linebrink declining? That's the first I'm hearing of this. He had one bad month and everybody's sh*tting on him. I'm glad we got him for 4 years. Oh and he's a set-up man, not a middle reliever. Your Cubs bias is showing hardcore on this one Tim.

[gatling]

"Linebrink declining? That's the first I'm hearing of this. He had one bad month and everybody's sh*tting on him. I'm glad we got him for 4 years. Oh and he's a set-up man, not a middle reliever. Your Cubs bias is showing hardcore on this one Tim."

Really? Have you not paid any attention to Linebrink the last few years? His WHIP has risen every year since 2004, from 1.04 then to the 1.32 overall WHIP he posted this year. His K/9 rate has dropped every year since 2004, from 8.89K/9 in 2004 to an alarmingly low 6.4K/9 this year. His hit rate and HR rate have spiked the last two years, and his walk rate jumped up this year also.

Linebrink has been trending downward the last few years, so moving from the NL and a pitchers park to the AL and an extreme hitters park isn't likely to help that any. I wouldn't be surprised to see Linebrink to continue to decline. More teams should try and build their bullpens on the cheap, expensive middle relievers/setup men are a bad way to go, ask Baltimore how it went last year.

[nyyfan]

Linebrink is going to be eaten alive in the AL. Middle relief pitchers should not get 4 yr deals.

[Teetz]

Is this the new passing fad? Tim makes a mention of anything negative about any NL Central team or the Sox and it's automatically Tim's 'Cubs Bias'. Yeah Linebrink was a fantastic signing. Hilarious.

[HoratioAlgae]

I agree on the A-Rod signing. Respectfully disagree with the Andruw and Glavine signings. Andruw Jones is a very old 30yo, his body is breaking down quickly. He is not worth the money he is receiving. Tom Glavine will somehow pull together a 12-win season with an ERA around 4.00, and retire on a high note. I'm glad to see him back in Atlanta.

Mark Prior will never have an entirely healthy season again. He will soak the Padres with unfulfilled promise and then sell his "services" to another sucker.

[Franco]

Am I the only fan who has high hopes on Prior? Anyways, the best signings without a doubt have been Prior, A-Rod, Glavine and Bradley. The worst ones have been Jenkins, Matsui, Silva and Linebrink. It's amazing how crazy the market is nowadays with guys like Matsui getting 5 mil a year.

But really, I hope people are wrong about Prior because if they do, we will easily have the best rotation in baseball. Yes I have my doubts about Mark, but I'm confident he will at least last a couple of months as we have a darn good training staff by our side. Last half of the season we were injury-free, the problems came when Bradley arrived.

To astralpanda I'm sorry to tell you this but you're in for a tough ride with Linebrink especially since he is in the AL and on the AL Central. He will definitely get mashed up. The fans in San Diego easily noticed how bad his performance had been going in the first couple of months and I'm glad K.T shipped him for some sharp, young arms. Definitely one of the worst signings this offseason.

[Louis Puma]

Carlos Silva is BY FAR the worst signing of the offseason.

I'd also be willing to bet that the Carlos Silva signing is probably the worst in the history of free agency.

Another one that I'm not crazy about is Jose Guillen. The Royals are not really going to win anything any time soon, with or without Guillen. Not to mention, he's known to have a very bad temper and can cause problems in the clubhouse.

[astralpanda]

We shall see. Prepare to eat those words guys.

This is nothing like what Baltimore did. We signed one high priced reliever, and it was the best one on the market.

You talk about the AL central being so tough. Yet when you take out the Sox, the only two good hitting teams are the Tigers and Indians. And the Indians are only scary at the top of the lineup.

The Cell definitely isn't the best pitchers park. But that hasn't stopped many a White Sox reliever from having good seasons.

I admit, there'll be a short adjustment period. His ERA might even get into the 5s in April. But Linebrink is a pro, he adjusts, he did it at the end of his Milwaukee run and he'll do it with the Sox.

"Anyone expressing surprise over the kind of money Linebrink received just hasn't been paying attention. Danys Baez got a three-year, $19 million contract last year and wasn't any better of a bet. Linebrink has declined the last two years, but he's remained healthy and he still turns in scoreless innings most of the time. Even though he'll give up a bunch of homers at U.S. Cellular Field, he'll be a solid enough setup man for Bobby Jenks, at least through the first half of the deal."

At least.

[allonthefield]

Nothing on Aaron Rowand, huh? As a Giants fan, I think it's a decent signing. You always hate to sign a guy after a career year, because logic tells (most of) us that we will likely never see those numbers again. But he plays hard, can swing an above average stick, and man centerfield at the spacious ATT Park, so in today's market, I'd call it an average to above average signing. Thoughts?

[Tim Dierkes]

No one is counting on Prior for anything. The odds are stacked against him. It's much more likely than not that he busts. Most of us know all of this. However there is simply no downside to spending a million dollars to find out. Teams spend that amount on players with negative value routinely.

If the recovery rate on labrum surgery was 3% four years ago it's probably 5-10% now. For a MILLION DOLLARS, that is still low risk high reward. What's the success rate of a million dollar draft pick?

[quintjs]

What about Mike Lowell? The Red Sox signed him for less than everyone expected, and everyone knew the Sox would offer far less than the market (which they did)

A return to career norms makes that contract pretty good, anything above, is great.

A career-year proof contract.

[Tim Dierkes]

I don't love the Rowand signing...but I don't hate it. Average sounds about right. If I was running a team, especially the Giants, I wouldn't do it. However you will definitely find harsher critics of it than me.

Carlos Silva, definitely not the worst free agent signing ever. Not even in contention for that.

[gatling]

"This is nothing like what Baltimore did. We signed one high priced reliever, and it was the best one on the market."

Being the best middle reliever/setup man on the open market isn't really a huge accomplishment, there's a reason the best relievers are usually closers. Overpaying for the "best guy" isn't a good strategy, but you can look at it how you choose.

"You talk about the AL central being so tough. Yet when you take out the Sox, the only two good hitting teams are the Tigers and Indians. And the Indians are only scary at the top of the lineup."

Well first off, it's not just the AL Central, but the AL as a whole that's the issue here. As for the Central, the Tigers aren't merely a "good" hitting team, they have probably the scariest lineup out there. The Indians are better than you're giving them credit for also. I wouldn't sleep on the Twins core of Mauer/Morneau/Cuddyer/Delmon either, and Kansas City has a very talented young offensive core, and adding a solid vet like Guillen is a bonus.

"The Cell definitely isn't the best pitchers park. But that hasn't stopped many a White Sox reliever from having good seasons. I admit, there'll be a short adjustment period. His ERA might even get into the 5s in April. But Linebrink is a pro, he adjusts, he did it at the end of his Milwaukee run and he'll do it with the Sox."

Sure, guys can have a good year or two there, but with a guy like Linebrink who has declining peripheral stats, inlcuding fast rising hit, walk, and HR rates, that's not a good combo one of the two best, if not the best hitters park in the AL. I wouldn't expect him to "adjust" so easily like you suggest.

That's a nice little blurb from Rotoworld about the signing, but just because Baltimore was stupid and overpayed last year for Baez doesn't mean that Linebrink was a bargain or a even a good signing. I don't have a problem with almost $5 million a year if you have the cash to spend, but you don't sign relief pitchers to 4 year contracts. It's crazy, as relievers are a fickle bunch and almost impossible to know when they're going to really fall off. The length of the deal is what makes this a bad signing, and in at least 2 years, if not sooner, you will realize that.

[jimmie]

Mailbag question for Tim:

With the looming return of Nick Johnson to the Nationals, the glut of outfielders in Austin Kerns, Elijah Dukes, Lastings Milledge, and Willy Mo Pena, and the contract Dmitri Young signed last summer, who becomes the odd man out? I know Dmitri Young can play OF, but with the three new acquisitions this past 6 months in Dukes, Milledge, and Pena, does this make Johnson expendable? Do you think if this is the case, is there a matchup between the Nats and Giants for Johnson?

[DrewB]

I think the Jose Guillen signing is the worst this season. Who in their right mind would give a multi-year deal to a guy who's been with 8 teams in 9 years? This is one of the worst teammates in the game, and he's the guy the Royals are literally banking on to attract others to KC... and to mentor kids like Gordon & Butler?

[chicagobubbleblog]

What's with your "man love" for Mike Lamb Tim? He's a corner infielder with a career .766 OPS. He's a nice pinch hitter to have but that should hardly earn him honorable mention for best free agent signings.

[ArodSucksAtLife]

"Carlos Silva, definitely not the worst free agent signing ever. Not even in contention for that."

You definitely whiffed there.

4 years and 12 million at pop for a guy whose skillset can be found in most minor league systems in baseball.

Great comment from USSMariner the other day.

"the Mariners are signing Carlos Silva because they believe that his combination of no walks, no strikeouts, and some groundballs will lead to him not giving up many runs.

At the exact same time, the Mariners have built an offense that doesn’t walk, doesn’t strike out, and hits a lot of groundballs, believing that having a bunch of guys with that skillset will lead to the team scoring a lot of runs.

I wonder if they’ve even noticed that, much less tried to reconcile those two conflicting beliefs."

[ArodSucksAtLife]

Thought you said this year, apparently I should read what I'm quoting. He's the worst this year, all time not even close.

[IowaCubs]

Wow! A steroid-free Eric Gagne at $10 million?

I'd almost take Turnbow for a lot less, but then again I'm a Cubs fan, so I look forward to many blown saves.

[Tim Dierkes]

U.S.S. Mariner routinely says free agent signings and various acquisitions are for players whose equals are freely available at Triple A. I have never agreed with it. For every diamond in the rough Jack Cust there are a million Quad-A guys. I don't want to put words in their mouth but I have been reading there for a while as they've pimped guys like Chris Snelling and Tim Redding, free talent guys who aren't Major Leaguers. There is a big difference between "Silva is overpaid" to "Silva's equal can be acquired for nothing as a minor league free agent."

Carlos Silva tossed 202 innings of 4.19 ball in the AL. This guy can be found in the minors for cheap? Really? Then name me 10 freely available minor league hurlers who are his equal and we will track their progress.

All that said, I don't LIKE the Silva signing. I would not do it if I was GM. It's just not one of the three worst for me.

[Bleacher_Buddha]

I think with the Carlos Silvas of the world we are missing the big picture.

He is over paid for what he brings. BUT that is what the market allows. So that being said its a Market Contract. Remember that next time your at the stadium in $35 seats in upper upper deck eating your $4 hotdog having a $6 glass of beer after spending $10 to park.

When did Kirby Puckett break the 1 million per year barrier? It wasn't that long ago. Now we have guys making 28 Million per year? And Pitchers making $18 Mil + and that is just until Santana gets his extension...

So Tim is absolutely correct. Its not that he is a bad signing its just we don't like the numbers.

[Smoltz's Beard]

Tim - could you paraphrase what you dislike about the Glavine signing?

[Cold Golden Falstaff]

Boy this one isn't Cub-biased, much...

Prior at #3? Please. He won't pitch until May or even later as his agent claims...

Also, Linebrink is a top 10 set-up man, not a "declining middle reliever". I agree the Sox payed too muchfor him , but he'll play a large part in stabilizing the Sox bullpen.

As for #2 bad signing, Matsui to Houston -another Cub rival, he's a good defensive player too, and should hit fairly well in the similar hitters park to Coors, Minute Maid.

Just think how this would had read if the Sox got Torii too... :)

[ginandtacos.com]

Wow, I think it proves my point that no one ever comes back well from Labrum surgery that you had to dig up ROCKY BIDDLE as your third example.

So let's recap: here are the ML pitchers who have come back (and pitched well again) after a torn labrum.

1. Chris "DL" Carpenter
2. Gil Meche
3. Rocky f*&^ing Biddle

Right. Timmy Dierkes might want to ask his mom what a torn labrum is before proudly announcing that he "understands (it) fully." You nailed it Tim, the odds are really in Prior's favor!

[jakec]

A-Rod as number one? Makes no sense.

If any team other than the Yankees signed this deal with him, it would be a huge risk. So, I am assuming that you are factoring in the fact that the Yankees have a limitless budget, so regardless of what they pay, then if they sign the best player, then that's the best signing.

But, even if that's the case, the the Posada, Pettite, and Rivera signings should be right there along with A-Rod. In fact, since the Yankees could probably afford to lose Posada less than they could afford to lose A-Rod, you'd have to make him the best free agent signing (since apparently money is no object).

As for the idea that salaries will continue to increase- I would guess that baseball is a year or two away from a huge downward re-adjustment in salaries (same as the last time Vlad was a free agent). All these middling players getting huge deals is only going to drive up the price of arbitration eligibles, which means all of the sudden everyone in baseball is going to be over budget again in a couple of years, not to mention gun shy when some of these contracts go boom.

[Bleacher_Buddha]

Well Said jakec. A BIG adjustment is coming. Corporate boxes,stadium advertising, and naming rights can only go so far. If they keep raising prices fans will stop coming.

[cubsfankillme]

well prior at 3 isnt a bad pick i mean look at where hes coming from, the cubs. theres a good chance he wins the cy young 3 outta the next 5 years

[DentalPlan]

Jose Guillen is nearing replacement level on his career, a .774 OPS. Come on. $12 million a year for a .774 OPS, cancerous right fielder who was one of the worst defensive right fielders in baseball in 2007 according to the Fielding Bible? Yes, blather on about Guillen's arm, he was a BUTCHER in the outfield in 2007. That's a crap signing. So much for Dayton Moore's free pass, this reeks of like when the Oakland A's signed Esteban Loiaza hoping to trade him when contracts went up for something valuable and it never panned out. Same thing here. Who the hell did the Royals outbid? Was some other team bidding, say, 2 years, $24 million and the Royals had to add a 3rd year? Were they just bidding against themselves? Give me a break. I'd rather have the Geoff Jenkins contract, easy. It's not just crap, it's total crap.

I like the Brewers signing David Riske.

The Torii Hunter signing is bogus. $18 million a year for a guy who is among the most overrated defensively at his position, not a good basestealer, a high strikeout guy, and oh yeah, his career OPS is under .800. Give me a break. How do you sell that? Can you really protect Vlad with a career .793 OPS guy? Give me a break. It's the first time a hitter with a career OPS under .800 has made $15 million a year, much less $18. Okay, sure. This'll fix the Angels.

Sorry, Linebrink is declining, get over it and stop making hometown excuses. Is this a game of "just lie to yourself?" Check your calendar, this is not the year 2005 any more - act accordingly. His 2006 was mediocre considering where he pitched. His peripherals went all the wrong directions in 2007, he posted a high ERA in San Diego and a high WHIP in Milwaukee. A mid 3s ERA in the NL does not make you that good. Oh yeah, he's definitely a Rafael Betancourt-Pat Neshek type. Give me a break.

[cachhubguy]

It is understandable that White Sox fans are raving about the Linebrink signing. They were crazy about the Erstad signing last year too. And they will be just as happy with the Linebrink performance at the end of this year as they were with Erstad after last year. Ouch! Maybe KW should just stop trying to fix his bullpen. He doesn't seem to know how.

[nrmax88]

The Braves are not the best team in the NL East themfightnwords. You say it like it is common knowledge. They just came off their second consecutive 3rd place finish, and didnt really get better. It is funny how Glavine was a choker and done, while he was a Met but now back with Atlanta he is back to Cy Young Tommy. Anyway, the Braves lost Andruw and Renteria, and gained Glavine, not much improvement. The Phillies won the division, making them the best in the NL East right now. The Mets actually slightly improved over the team they sent out every day in 07, whether anybody likes it or not. Church>Green, Schneider> Lo Duca, no matter how anybody tries to spin it. It may be a bad trade, but still improved the team over the one from one year ago. I think the Braves are the 3rd best team in the NL East, thats just me. Not saying they cant win it, because it is a 3 team race no doubt, but still I dont think they are better then NY or Philly.

[nrmax88]

"Andruw Jones is a very old 30yo, his body is breaking down quickly. He is not worth the money he is receiving. Tom Glavine will somehow pull together a 12-win season with an ERA around 4.00, and retire on a high note. I'm glad to see him back in Atlanta."

Like this, Andruw is obviously an old 30 years old, he is washed up and done, it was a horrible signing because he left ATL. If Atl signed him to the exact same deal, this dude would be trying to blow his load on the keyboard. Somehow Glavine is like 40 something years old though, cant pitch out of the 6th inning, but he is a great signing. Awesome. I wouldnt have minded Glavine coming back, but would rather have the 18th overall pick and a sandwich pick for him at this point. Glavine's m.o. last year was 5 good innings, and just could not get out of the 6th. Dont even bother trying to get 7 out of him.