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Orioles deal with Grant Balfour Cancelled


Greg

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Did you understand what I was saying about the contracts being insured?

I think you are missing that if the injury looks bad enough, the contract won't be insurable or the premium will be prohibitively expensive.

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Did you understand what I was saying about the contracts being insured?

I was just going off on my own tangent actually, not sure why I quoted you. But I actually didn't know that all contracts are insured. In the back of my mind I remember something about Albert Belle's contract being insured and that that was somewhat unique. That was also quite a long time ago. Do all owners insure their contracts?

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There's no logical reason for ownership to hold up a signing because of a physical. The contracts are insured.

The reason these things get held up is because management needs the player to be on the field helping the team win. If the doctors tell DD that there's a significant risk that Balfour won't be out there for the full two years, then DD makes the call in the best interests of the team.

I'm not at all convinced of this. Got a link?

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I'm not at all convinced of this. Got a link?

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2008/05/Issue-162/Leagues-Governing-Bodies/MLB-Teams-Insure-Long-Term-Deals-To-Protect-From-Player-Injury.aspx

I dug this up, which ironically references Belle. But this quote was relevant:

But MLB and insurance industry sources indicated that policies "often exclude areas of the body that have been seriously injured before." Also, position players are "less expensive to insure than pitchers."

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http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2008/05/Issue-162/Leagues-Governing-Bodies/MLB-Teams-Insure-Long-Term-Deals-To-Protect-From-Player-Injury.aspx

I dug this up, which ironically references Belle. But this quote was relevant:

But MLB and insurance industry sources indicated that policies "often exclude areas of the body that have been seriously injured before." Also, position players are "less expensive to insure than pitchers."

Thanks for the link. Very interesting, but it is 5 years old.

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Fernando Rodney is a doctor nightmare

2004 - missed the whole season with a tricep injury

2005 - missed 57 games with right shoulder inflammation

2007 - missed 46 games with neck, shoulder and forearm injuries

2008 - missed 68 games with right shoulder tendonitis

2011 - missed 33 games with a back injury

Chris Perez

2013 - missed 28 games with right shoulder injury and didn't pitch well for the last two months or the season.

Tommy Hunter

2010 - missed 20 games with an oblique strain

2011 - missed 86 games with a strained groin

If pitch has been pitching for a while he has probably had injuries.

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Man really hoping the medical folks have bailed out DD from a bad signings

I mean look at Balfour's second half, look at his away splits, and tell me how he is worth 7.5 million marbles.

This team can't afford to waste this money on a closer... and I don't think Balfour will be particularly effective in the AL East

Go Docs!!! Kill this deal!!!!!

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Nah it's good info. Just not sure if it still applies. Or it it applies differently nowadays.

Absolutely....seems like the kind of thing that changes a lot. Another interesting article from 2013:

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/63192/why-mets-did-not-insure-johans-contract

Across baseball, outside insurance has “declined tremendously,” according to one baseball official.

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