Free agent outfielder Jermaine Dye has the Mariners on the list of teams he'd consider, reports ESPN's Mike Salk. Unfortunately, the interest has not been mutual. Dye's agent Bob Bry had this to say:
"Seattle is a team he focused on this off-season. He was disappointed that there was not more interest from the club."
Salk says Dye would be willing to take less than a full-time role with the Mariners, and guesses that he'd sign for $3-4MM. Dye turned down a $3MM offer from the Cubs a few months ago and recently rejected an unknown offer from the Nationals. He also had talks with the Brewers in late March. Dye suggested to MLB.com's Bill Ladson that many of his offers were in the $1MM range, which he seemed to find insulting.
Rather than sign Dye, the Mariners brought in Milton Bradley, Eric Byrnes, Casey Kotchman, Ken Griffey Jr., and Mike Sweeney for offensive spots. I wasn't a fan of the approach, but the Ms figure to give the group more than eight games before turning to someone like Dye.
So he’s waiting on the team that has made it a point to avoid old right handed power hitters who can’t play defense (Mike Sweeney notwithstanding)? Good luck, Jermaine!
Well, there’s Mike Sweeney from the right side, but there’s Griffey from the left, and Milton Bradley from the right and left. If they’re trying to make a point about avoiding outfielders who can’t play defense, they should be a bit more clear.
Sweeney’s white, right?
Your point?
See previous Dye post
You mean that vague drivel you wrote implying that Hudson feels Dye is inherently a better player than (Thome) based solely on the belief in the inherent superiority of their race?
There’s a reason I ignored it the first time around.
Thank you for getting out your thesaurus to try to set me straight. However, I must point out that my argument couldn’t have been too vague if you were able to quote the example I used. However, Thome was the one example I used, however I could have used Blalock, Giambi (as others did), Rich Aurilia (took a minor league deal for 1mm last year), and a bunch more.
Don’t try to nitpick the arguement to try to form some Aristotelian end. The point stands that Hudson must think that Dye and Shef have something that their white counterparts do not. If I’m a gm do I care what color a guy is, not at all. If I am going to sign an over the hill vet, I’m going to make sure he is a good clubhouse guy and can produce and is a proven winner – and Dye is at least two of those.
One thing we must not lose sight of is that Dye was non-tendered by a black GM and was offered a major league deal. Smells like arrogance, not racism.
I don’t own a thesaurus. I guess I’ll take that as a compliment.
Let me start by saying it is not my opinion that Dye’s unemployment is racially motivated. I’m also disappointed that Hudson would trivialize racism in that manner. If you have followed anything I’ve written on the subject that should have been immediately apparent. But the part about implying Hudson is “racist”, simply because you feel there can be no other reason Hudson believes Dye should have a job, is just garbage. Like Hudson’s own comment, it trivializes the real, serious problem of racism here and all over the world – a problem that has had serious consequences both past and present. In fact, you managed to trivialize the real problem of racism to an even greater degree than Hudson did. Your comment warrants no further response than that, even though you seem to insist otherwise.
Not a compliment.
One racist statement does not make you a racist. I’m not willing to brand Hudson with that scarlet letter. He made a poor statement. We can all agree on that.
More importantly, no person can be a racist despite its adoption as common usage in popular culture. Bigot is the term which applies more appropriately.
Agreed. The word’s been misused and distorted in common usage. Even if one is inclined to hang racial implications on Hudson’s statement (which I am not, for the record), racism is the worst possible choice.
Who’s calling him a racist? Or even that the statement itself was racist? Are you reading my stuff or someone else’s? I don’t agree wtih what Hudson said but I think the idea that his statement is racist is ridiculous and a manipulation of the word’s meaning.
I completely agree with you that it was just a poorly thought out statement, maybe even one made out of frustration, but I completely disagree with those who want to “brand Hudson with that scarlet letter”, as you put it.
So he’s waiting on the team that has made it a point to avoid old right handed power hitters who can’t play defense (Mike Sweeney notwithstanding)? Good luck, Jermaine!
Orlando Hudson: “Seattle is being racist!”
Orlando Hudson: “Seattle is being racist!”
didn’t sheffield get caught cheating?
No he hasn’t… Guilt by association at best (BALCO client). Then there’s that sealed list that’s a had a few leaks in it—still against that thing being released though.
No he hasn’t… Guilt by association at best (BALCO client). Then there’s that sealed list that’s a had a few leaks in it—still against that thing being released though.
didn’t sheffield get caught cheating?
I’m interested in Jelena Jensen. I can’t imagine why she’s not calling me.
Funny, I’m hoping for some interest from her too.
Funny, I’m hoping for some interest from her too.
She must be racist!
I’m interested in Jelena Jensen. I can’t imagine why she’s not calling me.
Life rules. It’s 74 and clear outside, would love to be out playing some MSBL baseball right now, but it’s probably a better option for my family to stay at my desk in my sub-50k per year job.
In a completely unrelated note, I think it’s awesome that Dye & Washburn are standing up for their principles, what with those insulting million dollar offers they’ve had…
Life rules. It’s 74 and clear outside, would love to be out playing some MSBL baseball right now, but it’s probably a better option for my family to stay at my desk in my sub-50k per year job.
In a completely unrelated note, I think it’s awesome that Dye & Washburn are standing up for their principles, what with those insulting million dollar offers they’ve had…
I thought someone would take a flyer on Dye but with his huge drop off in the 2nd half of last year I’m not surprised no one is willing to commit big bucks much less any multi-year offers. The market is whatever someone is willing to pay. If he thinks 3 millions bucks is insulting he can go out & try to make that much money doing something else. Players were screwed over by the owners for decades & Marvin Miller & the players union helped change all that. Unfortunately, now you have players who have been paid almost 75 million dollars in their careers who now can’t play defense anymore & post an OPS+ of 63 in the second half of last year who think they are entitled to what? Would 5 million be enough? 10?
Every single dig I wanted to make (Old RH with no defensive ability wants to play for team avoiding both of those things, OMG racism and things I want that I am not getting) has already been covered, some more than once.
So, yeah, I guess my point here is: Those three wise cracks were something I was very interested in making this afternoon and I’m disappointed I could not get the opportunity.
Though for the record, if anyone is interested in me making those jokes, I’d be willing to bust them out in a part time capacity for a paltry three or four million. Don’t insult me with any lowball offers, though. I’ve got my pride, folks.
just what we need to waste a couple more mill on, a hitter that cant hit. yeah we have enough of those….maybe if we didnt have Jr. or Sweeney we would have got Dye…
Of all the places to single out, why would he pick Seattle? They seem like the least likely team to be interested in him. They stress Defense above all else and have had to release/pass on similar COF/1B/DH players because of their stockpiled abundance.
I’m guessing he’s eyeing Seattle because they haven’t hit much and he can platoon at DH with Griffey. I’m not sure who they’d release to make room though…probably Mike Sweeney, another righty who can’t play defense and who doesn’t hit as well as Dye. I believe Sweeney’s main purpose on the Ms is to help Grifey babysit Milton?
“I’m guessing he’s eyeing Seattle because they haven’t hit much”
except
“Seattle is a team he focused on this off-season.”
His interest in them goes back much further then their not hitting now, yet it is still stated he would take less to go there at this point.
As far as who they would release? Sweeney is the logical choice of course, but then you get to this aspect – Sweeney makes 0.65 MM, while Dye was looking for 4+. Now, he said he would take less and above it mentioned 3-4 so lets say he even takes 3 to go there for arguments sake. All of a sudden Dye is really costing 3.65 in hopes he plays better then Sweeney and is content in the very limited role Sweeney has already accepted.
Sticky situation…lots of variables involved. I never thought Seattle was going to hit much anyway, by the way…not this badly, mind you. But they were obviously trying to win with pitching and defense and Dye probably saw an opportunity to hit in the middle of that lineup from the start. The fact that they’re not hitting probably strikes him as an opportunity to capitalize on some growing concerns.
The money thing is a big factor, no question. I imagine at some point there must be a middle ground where Seattle will be willing to pay a little extra for some extra sock in the lineup. I don’t think that middle ground is 3-4M though! Dye’s going to have to come down quite a bit.
“The fact that they’re not hitting probably strikes him as an opportunity to capitalize on some growing concerns.”
But he has to realize they recently released both Garko and Langerhans – two players that could actually field, both of which provided overall numbers better then those of Dye in the second half of 2009.
“Seattle will be willing to pay a little extra for some extra sock in the lineup”
As hinted at above and mentioned below, look again at the most recent Dye –
.179/.293/.297/.590 in the second half
If there is the feeling he could hit like that again, he wouldnt provided extra sock if he was taking the bat out of the hands of a pitcher. Really, even if he were willing to sign for 2 MM, would you pay the 2.65 MM to replace Sweeney with Dye?
Oh, and Sweeney hit .281/.335/.442/.777 last year while providing a .311/.372/.500/.872 line in the second half.
You’re not really trying to tell me that Sweeney is a better offensive player than Dye, are you?
Where did I say that? But without knowing for sure what Dye can do anymore, can you honestly say he is much better?
We do know Sweeney hit as well as Dye last season. And there isnt much saying he cant do it again this season. And even if one feels he cant, is Dye 5+ times better then Sweeney like the cash increase would indicate?
And getting past that, part-time DH is hardly an area of need for the M’s, and Dye not really representing a clear improvement over what they have to begin with means its a big added expense just to hope that Dye might be a slight improvement over the minimal amount of PA he would be asked to play.
And when the question can also likely be posed like this
just Dye OR Sweeney + Washburn
the answer starts becoming a no brainier.
Seattle can take the money and improve areas they really need it, or that can spend 3+ million (plus the cost of the released player) to hopefully (but not necessarily) upgrade the projected 200 PA of their 6th OF/2nd-3rd DH/Back-up 1B (which by the way, Dye has never played) In the end, foolish move on their part if they make it. Makes little to no sense from their side. But with Dye apparently having had contact with them prior, and their apparently expressing little to no interest, they seem to already know this…
What they really need is offense…maybe another SP, but it really isn’t hard to see where the weakness is on this team. I’d rather take my chances with Dye coming back (if I can get his price down a little) then settle for Sweeney’s replacement level production, just because it comes at a replacement level salary.
Ian Snell is their #2, and you think they dont need pitching more then a 3rd DH?
Sweeney has less then 4% of the clubs plate appearances, tied for fewest game appearances on the club and on pace for a merely 216 PA over the season. Yet you feel he needs to be upgraded over?
And their club isnt hitting with Jose Lopez and Jack Wilson being the biggest offenders – correct me if I’m wrong, but I dont think Dye plays Short or Third.
But sure, they should spend an extra nearly 4 MM to upgrade the guy that is least likely to even get playing time, let alone affect the outcome of the season. It makes sense… Because when one thinks about a team that has a DH depth chart of Griffey then Bradley then Sweeney – replacing the third DH with a guy that hit just as poorly as him last year is clearly the most logical way to upgrade the club.
I don’t quite get it either. They’re going to give him 3-4 million to split a platoon with Griffey? Doesn’t make much sense. The Mariners already have 3 DH types (Sweeney, Griffey, and Bradley). There are tons of teams Dye makes sense for. The Mariners wouldn’t seem to be one of them.
Maybe Dye should start thinking about which teams might actually need him, rather that just ones that would be cool to play for?
Yeah, who needs a righty power hitter when you’ve got the dreaded Mike Sweeney? At 3-4M Dye is too expensive, but if they can get him on a low base, performance-incentive laden deal, why not? It’s not like releasing Sweeney is going to cost them any ballgames.
.297 SLG and .590 OPS over 250 second half plate appearances – Talk about your Babe Ruth-ian performances… And all for only 3-4 MM? Lol, sign me up!
And on a side note, that .590 was hit in Chicago – a park notorious for inflating power. Where, of course, Seattle is a park which suppresses it. In fact, the neutralized batting on Dye’s 2009 says he would have lost yet another 20 points off his OPS if he had played in Safeco; dropping him down to .243/.330/.440/.770 overall. That, of course, in comparison to the .296/.352/.457/.809 Sweeney would have hit in Chicago. And one can risk this possible downgrade for the nominal fee of 3-4MM? Cant believe they arent tripping over themselves there…
I think that The Giants would be perfect fit for Jermaine Dye on a one year contract as
he would add one more loaded bat to this Giants aresenal. If you get Jermaine Dye, you
can play him at 1st base and in Right-field or Left-field. Also, I would put him as a no.5
hitter as he would fully strenghten Aubrey Huff and also Mark DeRosa..
There is no place for Dye. DeRosa, Rowand, Bowker are the OF.
I think that Jermaine Dye is better than what you think. Bowker looks like a
step away from Fresno(PCL). Rowland is mediocre at best and DeRosa is a so so
outfielder. With this is mind, Jermaine Dye can hit over 30 home runs and can drive
In people. Bowker hit well in Triple A so did Giants one time farmhand Daniel Ortmeier. DeRosa needs to be tweeked at different positions.. If you want to win the
NL West you need a guy who can produce asap.. Your Argument doesn’t fly when
The Giants offense needs another bat in the line-up.. I would sign Jermaine Dye now. with Dye you have a solid no. 5 hitter behind Aubrey Huff and you can move
Bengie up to no. 6 and then bat DeRosa..
Um…
What doesn’t fly about a 1st place 6-1 record?
What doesn’t fly about the Giants scoring 5 runs, 3 runs, 10 runs, 5 runs, 2 runs, 3 runs, 9 runs so far?
– ROWAND, not Rowland makes 12 million a year. He won’t be benched.
– DeRosa was just signed. Sabean won’t admit any mistakes. He won’t be benched.
What doesn’t hold water is YOUR saying Bowker could be another Ortmeier and Dye could hit 30HR’s……I could easily counter with Bowker could be a solid, serviceable 15-20 HR guy while Dye could pull a hammy and be out the remainder of the year.
Right now the Giants have chemistry. It’s working. No need to tinker now. Dye’s defense alone with ATT’s huge OF is enough to stay away.
Dang, go get ’em Tiger. Couldn’t have said it better myself.
In Responding to an Einstein.. Jermaine Dye is a quality player and is an asset to any
contender.. I think that John Bowker has to prove more than hit.240 in the big leagues
to justify his existence. What I say about Bowker is a guy has had some major league appearance and he couldn’t hit his weight. The Giants have had a great start but reality sets in by the 2nd or 3rd week. Aubrey Huff has to start hitting the baseball with authority. Rowland needs to hit consistently to show me his real value. In 3 weeks from now When The Offense is slowed down what are you going to do? Bring in
Travis Ishikawa to save the day. I know the messian will be Fred Lewis.
LOL…
Are you Jermaine’s mom?????
Once again you give an ENTIRELY circumstantial answer. You seem to think that Dye will stay healthy and is guaranteed to hit 30 HR’s even though NOBODY not named Bonds has done it at ATT. And of course NOBODY on the Giants current roster will hit.
You also obviously don’t watch many Giants games. Huff has been getting on base by way of walks, HBP, triples, and today and inside the park HR.
Bowker hasn’t had a full season in the bigs. At some point you HAVE to give the kids a chance. Otherwise what is the point of having a minor league system?
ALSO, Dye has turned down offers reported to be up to $4 mill!! Which means he will bring a prima donna attitude in with him. The team now is gelling and having fun. NO NEED TO MESS WITH IT.
If you love Dye so much, why don’t YOU sign him?
Stop it. That was the old, Sabermetrically challenged Sabes. Not new Sabes.
Why weren’t the Rays ever interested in Dye? They should release Burrell and sign Dye
There’s definitely an idea. 3 million might be a bit high for their liking, but if he’d take 2 + an incentive, I think they’d jump at that if Burrell plays like this for another week.
so in essence pay Dye 12-13 MM in hopes he plays better then Burrell?
Releasing Burrell would be 9 MM thrown away. Signing Dye at 3-4 MM means you really just spent 12-13 MM. Now take into consideration Dye hit .179/.293/.297/.590 in the second half last season.
Would you spend 12-13 MM to have the guy who who hit .179/.293/.297/.590 in the second half over the guy who hit .212/.292/.383/.675 in the second half?
hopefully he doesnt view the bad offer as racist
Poor O-Dog. How quick to flip the race card. I guess he missed the point that Dye turned down jobs because he was asking for too much money? O-Dog is probably thinking the Rays signed Pat Burrell for a 2 year gig and Pat was gonna rake in more dough than Dye but you can bet the Rays know this was a bad deal and will never offer that much money to any player in their 30’s again. Baseball is getting younger and cheaper.
Some of these baseball players need some better agents who understand the game and the teams a bit better.
Seattle would be one of the last places that would want Dye because of his defense.
I can’t believe there are so many Dye supporters on this board, a group consisting of individuals w/ a more devout following of sabermetrics than a teenage girl does for the Twilight Series.
Responding to your comments.. Orlando Hudson has some validity to his comments.
As a Sportswriter, I’ve seen some players not picked up by teams due to both racism
and greedy and nasty ownerships.. Baseball still has it problem with racism and
owner collusion. Your comments are so 1950’s that it doesn’t matter what you say.
Don’t light any crosses!!
what happened to Hudson ?– Glad the Dodgers traded him
Dye was an idiot–how much did he make this year?–Has nothing to do with race–many teams talked to him-he just said no-so blame him not race!- I wanna win-even if the whole team is black-who cares!–Remember when the Pirates started 9 black players in 1971? didnt they go to the world sieries that year?–Dye and Hudson are idiots!