Lofton Still Wants To Play

Makes me wonder how much cash Buster gets on the side, for for trying to get these guys jobs..???

I bet Lofton still thinks he should be making $5 mil or more and thats why he hasn't signed.

I don't think Atlanta needs Lofton. They're struggling to find Gregor Blanco and his .407 OBP somewhere to platoon.

San Diego on the other hand, most definitely. Even Jake Peavy wants him, and he doesn't even play everyday.

Houston should take a flier on Lofton. Bourne has tremendous potential, but Lofton can help the Astros now, while helping prepare Bourne for the future.

Didn’t we hear that he turned the Cincy job down because he wanted more guaranteed playing time instead of just a platoon/fill-in guy?

As an Indians fan ~ I loved having him at the end of last year, but he isnt the same. I also think GMs might be a tad concerned over the fact that he did hit rather well, but had rather drastic splits

.305 / .395 / .470 in Tex
.294 / .347 / .377 everywhere else

.301 / .386 / .431 in 1st half
.290 / .343 / .394 in 2nd half

.313 / .386 / .452 vs RH
.223 / .290 / .255 vs LH

…Youre left with a 41 YO who you cant play daily, cant play the full year, cant play vs Lefties and are best to use in extremely hitter-friendly locations. If he would accept a smaller role for only a bit of money I would do it, but if he wants real playing time and a big salary…

Back when Lofton was with Atlanta for that one year they asked him if he would welcome a new contract with the team. He declined saying that the atmosphere wasn't condusive to him and that he felt the team focused too much on pitching...Doesn't seem like anyone else has had a problem with Bobby Cox and his "headphones" only clubhouse except Kenny.

“I have no idea if thats true or not. If so by May 18th I'm sure he's changed his tune.”

…Not so sure… This is from March 20th:

"From what I've done in the past, it should warrant me getting a real offer, a real understanding about what I've done on the field," Lofton, who turns 41 on May 31, said in a telephone interview. "I feel like I went out last year and did what I was supposed to do to show people that even though I'm at a certain age, I can still get the job done. Do people respect what I do on the field? It seems like maybe not."

"Not too many guys who hit .290 don't have a job. I've seen guys hitting .250 get a lot of money. I've seen guys hitting .220 get a lot of money. But a guy who hit .290 can't get a real offer like a guy who hit .250? I don't understand it.”

The story:
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7934832/Time-running-out-on-Lofton's-'08-hopes?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=49

…Doesn’t sound like a guy that will ever really “change his tune”, does it?

""Updated: March 20, 2008, 2:08 PM EST" by Ken Rosenthal."

...yeah, thats what I said.

At that point he had turned down two jobs (one from Cincy, one from TB) and was saying “(I warrant) a real offer”, “I can still get the job done”, “I'm a leadoff hitter, a guy who gets on base, gives the team what it needs out on the field”, “I felt like with Cleveland, I helped them get where they did last year. I thought I was a big part of it.”, etc… Doesn’t seem a tad full of himself?

And you think only a month later he is really going to accept a similar bit-part with a club just to get to play at all? I mean, doesn’t his rift with Torre come from the fact that Joe wouldn’t play him enough for his liking? I love him to death, and always will, but he does have an inflated ego (always has) and doesn’t mind fighting, burning bridges, and I imagine sitting if he doesn’t get his way or what he thinks he deserves.

Is there a team out there willing to give him like 75% of the CF/LF playing time? If not, then I don’t think we see Kenny…

This makes me wonder if this is a club-house issue. Didn't he clash with teammates in LA? Maybe GM's don't want his club-house presence. If this has nothing to do with it, the Astros should push hard and get him full circle.

I think Houston's offense is just fine right now. No sense in getting Lofton at this point. Bourne still plays tremendous defense, and when he gets on base, he'll be at second base one way or another.

I don't think he can continue to hit .190 the rest of the year, can he?

The Cubs may end up that they have to sign Lofton. The "if Jim Edmonds doesn't pan out" scenario may go 8 days! (Edmonds is a guy I wished the Cubs would have nabbed when he left the Angels. As always, they get the veteran after his best years are gone.) Lofton could bat against righties, Reed Johnson vs. lefties. Although Johnson wouldn't see as much playing time, and who knows how well the guy could produce when he only plays every 4th or 5th day.

XD23 makes a good point about Lofton fitting in well with the Pads. While the San Diego faithful rue the impending stint of J.Peavy on the DL, they should take comfort in Jake's strong words of confidence in Kenny's potential for energizing what has morphed like a genetic experiment gone wrong into a lackluster Padre peformance of epic proportions. The Pads are sloughing off FA's like a dermatitis patient, so there has to be some room for negotiation here for a small budget team to emphasize the non-cash compensation benefits of living, playing and working in America's finest city. Heck yes!