Is it me or is Choo crazy? (Update: Choo to Rangers)

[LookinUp]

So you really think Choo turned that down? I doubt it. The Yankees probably leaked this to force Boras' hand and it will likely work.

Yup. I think this report is false.

[LA2]

When it comes to OBP, yes. But the focus will just turn to trying to find another market inefficiency.

Buck is hoping it's TTTP.

[atomic]

He's a nice player and all but how do you turn that down?

You have an offer for more somewhere else? Or you feel the team is willing to pay more. He is only going to get a contract like this once..might as well get as much as possible.

[Tx Oriole]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Sources: Shin-Soo Choo turned down a seven-year, $140M contract from the Yankees, even after Jacoby Ellsbury signed. <a href="http://t.co/LDVEw326wT">http://t.co/LDVEw326wT</a></p>? Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) <a href="

">December 18, 2013</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

He's a nice player and all but how do you turn that down?

Choo is way crazy. You are just a little crazy. We still like you anyway.

Merry Christmas.

[Rene88]

Yup. I think this report is false.

Jen Royale?

[Tx Oriole]

This offseason is blowing my mind, and almost p*ssing me off so much I don't even want to watch the game anymore.

It's sickening to watch these players/agents asking for absurd money. It's going to take the owners getting together and saying "No, we aren't paying these players that money. Let's get out of the hole we have dug and bring these players/agents ego's down a notch"

"No Mr Boras, your player isn't worth 170 million dollars. Why is he? Does he hit .300 30 HR and drive in 150 runs? Do you know how much the player who was the back to back MVP makes??"

Blows my mind that Boras could bulk at that contract, and you know what is really really outrageous? Someone will pay him the money...Until that stops, baseball has very little hope.

I agree with you.

[section18]

Choo is the most over priced and overvalued free agent to ever hit the market place and turn down 20 million per year. Maybe one day players will stop using Boras, use what little common sense they have and represent themselves or get another agent. Choo is not a 20 mill player. He's not even a $14 million dollar player. Boras has lost his mind. Choo? Is he living in Fantasy Land? If so...where is this place? Has Boras secured him a candy bar deal or a drink named after him? Does Choo see himself as a superstar or celebrity made for the big screen someday? Boras is known to almost hypnotise his clients and make them out to be bigger than life. It appears he has done this to Choo. Choo should cut ties with Boras and go back to some teams that have shown interest snd just cut his own deal.

[25 Nuggets]

This. I'm tired of people equating Moneyball to OBP. Moneyball is about constantly exploiting market inefficiencies, OBP just happened to be the inefficiency at the time. Now, it appears Beane has moved on to platoons and defense.

Which, incidentally, is what Dan Duquette is focusing on too.

"We're looking for a left handed bat to (replace McLouth's production at LF) and (platoon with Valencia at DH)" - paraphrasing

Also Buck loves the defense and last year's D was phenomenal.

[weams]

7/$140 for a guy that SLUGGED .265 vs LHP last year. It's a crazy world.

One of theses days his getting hit by pitch will make him Markakis or Roberts. and that would REALLY be some baggage.

[joedogg9999]

This. I'm tired of people equating Moneyball to OBP. Moneyball is about constantly exploiting market inefficiencies, OBP just happened to be the inefficiency at the time. Now, it appears Beane has moved on to platoons and defense.

Then you must have just read the title of the movie and not actually watched it. The idea of playing moneyball is indeed about exploiting the market, but you can only exploit the market if what yoy are exploiting is valuable. The success of billy beane and co.'s "moneyball" most certainly rested with OBP and sabermetrics. Playing the "moneyball" game obviously turned out to be successful (boston red sox) which is now taking the affordibility out of it. Its still the same game being played, but just with less cost effectiveness now.

No one calls the Os recent spending habits Moneyball, they call it being cheap. Thats because what they do doesnt work. You cant play moneyball if the end result isnt successful. The landscape of baseball is changing to where everyone realizes obp is a better judgement of value than batting average. Those players will now earn a ton of money. If you try to save money these days ahead you will simply not contend. Unless of course an entirely new brand of baseball can be invented

[25 Nuggets]

Also, regarding the Orioles not offering Choo a contract: if Chris Davis comes anywhere close to duplicating his 2013 numbers this season, I think he does deserve that $20 mil/year contract (probably looking at $25 mil/year or something) relative to the market. I'd hang on to that "Choo money" for Davis.

Davis is expected to get around $10 mil this year in arbitration. Next year, the team can combine his arbitration number with the $15 mil freed from the Nick Markakis contract to extend him. I believe that is the current plan and I concur with it.

[Babypowder]

Then you must have just read the title of the movie and not actually watched it. The idea of playing moneyball is indeed about exploiting the market, but you can only exploit the market if what yoy are exploiting is valuable. The success of billy beane and co.'s "moneyball" most certainly rested with OBP and sabermetrics. Playing the "moneyball" game obviously turned out to be successful (boston red sox) which is now taking the affordibility out of it. Its still the same game being played, but just with less cost effectiveness now.

No one calls the Os recent spending habits Moneyball, they call it being cheap. Thats because what they do doesnt work. You cant play moneyball if the end result isnt successful. The landscape of baseball is changing to where everyone realizes obp is a better judgement of value than batting average. Those players will now earn a ton of money. If you try to save money these days ahead you will simply not contend. Unless of course an entirely new brand of baseball can be invented

I don't even know what you are talking about here or how it is relevant. I read the book, and didn't care for the movie all that much. There's a reason the book is included reading for business classes in many colleges now. Moneyball is indeed not about OBP and sabermetrics, it's about learning how to exploit the market for undervalued commodities in order to compete with less resources. OBP was the undervalued commodity Beane was able to exploit in that time period. It is now no longer undervalued. The concept of Moneyball still exists for the A's, exploiting OBP is no longer part of it.

[Aristotelian]

According to deadspin today, when trout hits the market, people intghe business are estimating 12 years 400 million. By that standard, 7 yrs 140 million is a bargain. Crazy world that we live in.

[CheeryO]

So you really think Choo turned that down? I doubt it. The Yankees probably leaked this to force Boras' hand and it will likely work.

This doesn't make sense. If the Yankees were still trying to force Boras' hand, then why would they have signed Beltran? The Yankees aren't in on Choo anymore and for good reason -- they've got enough outfielders and Choo/Boras got too greedy. I can believe that Boras would try for a bit more money because he just got Ellsbury the huge deal for $153 million and, well, he's Scott Boras. And if it weren't true Boras should/would be all over the place saying it wasn't true.

[Babypowder]

Choo is the most over priced and overvalued free agent to ever hit the market place and turn down 20 million per year. Maybe one day players will stop using Boras, use what little common sense they have and represent themselves or get another agent. Choo is not a 20 mill player. He's not even a $14 million dollar player. Boras has lost his mind. Choo? Is he living in Fantasy Land? If so...where is this place? Has Boras secured him a candy bar deal or a drink named after him? Does Choo see himself as a superstar or celebrity made for the big screen someday? Boras is known to almost hypnotise his clients and make them out to be bigger than life. It appears he has done this to Choo. Choo should cut ties with Boras and go back to some teams that have shown interest snd just cut his own deal.

This is silly. The guy has averaged 4 WAR over the last 5 years, even including the injury shortened 2011 where he only played 85 games. He was a 5+ WAR player last year. That's easily a 14 million dollar player.