Clemens files for record arbitration numbers

[Skipaway]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...rbitration.ap/

Astros must be very happy they've saved up for this!

[canadiancreed]

is he out to ****in lunch?

[Sweeney29]

What a greedy *******.

[sixto]

That's awesome.

If nothing else it provides a great opportunity for sports columnists to write their semi-annual "either/or arbitration is stupid" columns.

[Sweeney29]

Why is Fite a Pirate now?

[Skipaway]

Originally Posted by Sweeney29

What a greedy *******.

Yeah, you must really hate the Astros GM for offering a vastly under market value $13.5 million. What a greedy team.

[Dagrims]

Originally Posted by sixto

That's awesome.

If nothing else it provides a great opportunity for sports columnists to write their semi-annual "either/or arbitration is stupid" columns.

Those columns are ridiculous. It's the "either/or" part of arbitration that keeps this from happening much more often. If this goes to arbitration, I'd be willing to bet they go with the Astros' number, and Clemens retires. That amount he brought to the table seems like a bargaining chip to me. He'll probably sign a one-year deal for about $18 million.

[Eckstein 4 Prez]

I actually think either/or arbitration is great. If not for that, every player would ask for that much, and every team would counter with a real lowball offer. This gives both sides an incentive to come up with reasonable figures.

[Sweeney29]

Originally Posted by Skipaway

Yeah, you must really hate the Astros GM for offering a vastly under market value $13.5 million. What a greedy team.

Yeah, thanks for assuming that. I see now why you've earned the reputation you have on these boards.

[Sweeney29]

Originally Posted by Eckstein 4 Prez

I actually think either/or arbitration is great. If not for that, every player would ask for that much, and every team would counter with a real lowball offer. This gives both sides an incentive to come up with reasonable figures.

Yep, and I remember seeing a nice discussion of this in a thread recently. This Clemens figure is definitely the exception rather than the rule.

[Skipaway]

Originally Posted by Sweeney29

Yeah, thanks for assuming that. I see now why you've earned the reputation you have on these boards.

Well, I assumed you are blaming Clemens, and just tried to tell you how that doesn't really work.

What did you expect Clemens to do when you called him greedy?

[Dagrims]

Originally Posted by Eckstein 4 Prez

I actually think either/or arbitration is great. If not for that, every player would ask for that much, and every team would counter with a real lowball offer. This gives both sides an incentive to come up with reasonable figures.

I completely agree. In fact, I already did!

[Skipaway]

Originally Posted by Sweeney29

Yep, and I remember seeing a nice discussion of this in a thread recently. This Clemens figure is definitely the exception rather than the rule.

Actually this Clemens figure is the rule. People don't file market value numbers, and most of the time, they settle in the middle before the arbitration actually takes place.

The Clemens number looks strange only because no player as good as he is ever really accepted arbitration. The other high profile cases were mostly not FA eligible players.

[Skipaway]

Originally Posted by Dagrims

I completely agree. In fact, I already did!

Yeah, and I agree your points 100%!!!

[canadiancreed]

Originally Posted by Skipaway

Actually this Clemens figure is the rule. People don't file market value numbers, and most of the time, they settle in the middle before the arbitration actually takes place.

The Clemens number looks strange only because no player as good as he is ever really accepted arbitration. The other high profile cases were mostly not FA eligible players.

Actually id' go with the fact that h'es almost 43 and paying that much for a player of his age and small amount of years available seems to be a bit over the top.

for 22 mill you coudl probably get a decent rotation of guys instead of jsut one.

[rudel.dietrich]

I would like to see him go for 350 wins

[Skipaway]

Originally Posted by canadiancreed

Actually id' go with the fact that h'es almost 43 and paying that much for a player of his age and small amount of years available seems to be a bit over the top.

for 22 mill you coudl probably get a decent rotation of guys instead of jsut one.

However, arbitration doesn't work that way. It's basically a process of looking for most similar players and their contracts in the market. For that purpose, you'd probably come up with Randy Johnson. Now you don't really see the Clemens number as outrageous, since it's only as far from the value arbitrators will see as the Astros number.

[canadiancreed]

guess it's why i'm not an owner, i'd jsut trade him to the yankees since he's too expensive for my taste.

but that doesnt really relate to the thread so

[Skipaway]

Originally Posted by canadiancreed

guess it's why i'm not an owner, i'd jsut trade him to the yankees since he's too expensive for my taste.

but that doesnt really relate to the thread so

Is that another hint why Clemens might be asking for such a huge amount of money?

The Astros can't trade Clemens, and they can't even threat not to sign him. Clemens has been playing the retirement card all along, and he got pretty much nothing to lose here.

What kind of option does the Astros have? It's pretty late in the free agent period, with few useful players left to sign. The Astros could be considered a "loser" so far in the free agent market, and the outlook for next season is not good. Without Clemens, the attendence and the team record would probably take a huge hit.

Clemens is asking for not only the market price, but also a huge part of the extra value the Astros would get by signing him.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by Sweeney29

What a greedy *******.

What an idiotic comment. If he thinks its not worth his while to come back unless he's making $22 million- more power to him.