Odds and Ends: Crisp, King, Sweeney

$20 says King ends up on the Sillies

And is 4 years really considered a "long-term" contract?

Of course four years is a long term contract.

Wow they even put Buerhle's 3 year deal on the list.

Maybe it's just me, but when I hear "long-term", I tend to think 5-6+ years.

Say what you will about him, and I know he has this stigma because he is not what he used to be, but Mike Mussina's original 6 year 88 mill deal w/the Yankees was a Grand Slam.

He made 197 starts in 6 years an average of 33 starts per season. He was 92-53, an average of 15-9 each season roughly.

His ERA and WHIP were 3.80 & 1.18 and he had 1047 Ks in 1200.2 IP.

That means his average year was 15-9 3.80 1.18 175 Ks and 200 IP.

With how bad some pitching contracts have been, that is as good as it gets.

Ask the Rockies how great Helton's deal is in 2011 when he's making $19.1 million. Even the $16.6 million he'll be getting every year until 2010 seems crazy to me. He's a good player, but he certainly doesn't terrify anyone anymore.

Todd Helton's seems out of place, considering monetary value is one of his factors. He hasn't been bad, but I don't think he's lived up to the money. Not to mention just a year ago the Rockies thought it was a bad contract and were trying hard to get out from under it.

Mussina's 6 year deal with the Yankees has to rank up there. I can't think of another contract for a pitcher for more than 5 years that worked out well. Obviously the 2 year contract he signed after that hasn't worked out well.

But two biggies I can think of - Greg Maddux's first contract with the Braves. 4 years, 3 Cy Young awards and 5th place the other year. ERA in the 1.5 range half the contract, 2.5 the other half. All that for a below market rate (he signed for much less than the Yankees offered him).

And Clemens with Toronto was pretty good too, 2 completely dominating Cy Young seasons, then traded to the Yankees where he helped win the World Series two years in a row. Again at a below market rate. Well, if you ignore the overpriced extension he demanded as part of the trade.

In 2 years Longoria will likely be on top of the list. Gotta believe Friedman gives a prayer of thanks to the baseball gods that Longoria didn't hitch his wagon to Boras.

Stellar,
No way I'd take your bet as King could likely be a Phil.They only have one lefty in the pen and even though they have Steve Kline down in AAA if they want another lefty, Kline hasn't been getting out lefties the way King does. King is horrible against righties, especially the last couple years, but still dominates a lot of lefties particularly power hitting lefties.

ARE YOU GUYS CRAZY!?!?!?! There is no doubt bonds' first contract with the giants is the bar for best contract EVER. It was 6 years/$43.75M (1993-98). In case you were wondering, Bonds' OPS was 1.135 his first year in '93. Don't forget that he also went 40/40 during that contract. Couple MVPs, few gold gloves. Case closed

Let's go with Chipper Jones. 6 yr/$90MM with 2 $15MM options. He's stepped up and reworked it a few times too, to allow more spending freedom for the team. Between the good deal and the flexibility he's allowed with it, it's gotta be up there.

This was a very strange list. I agree with about 3 of the players.

You could definitely replace Helton with a lot of the ones you guys mentioned here. Maddux and Bonds are great calls.

I think one also has to look at the era in which the contracts were signed. When Bonds signed with the Giants, that was absolutely huge money and Baseball was not nearly the revenue machine it is now. Not that it was a bad deal. 6 years and $100 million even back then would have been a good deal for one of the 5 best, if not THE best, players in the history of baseball.

I do think that Maddux signing for below market was a great deal for Atlanta, and his production facilitated their transformation into an absolute juggernaut. It is amazing what Turner did with that team when you think about it.

I do completely agree with the Guerrero deal. That is insanely cheap for a perennial MVP contender, even if the article writer screwed up on the lowest home run total (he only hit 27 last year). You don't need home runs to drive runs in and his 125 RBI last year shows that. His nearly .327 batting average and the fear he puts in every pitcher because of his ability to hit any pitch at any time is what makes him worth the money.

Another contract that wasn't mentioned is the 3 year, $10.5 million deal the Angels signed with Chone Figgins to eat up his arb years. They could have easily been on the hook for twice that if they took him to arbitration each year. I think they may have cheap options on that one as well.