Do you want Nick to sign with the O's; and will he?

[weams]

I want him to sign with the O's a heckuva lot more than I want Torii Hunter or Melky Cabrerea to sign with the O's so I voted yes/yes. My absolute top comfort level would be 3/33 with a vesting option for a fourth year. I would prefer something in the 3/24 range. I think he gets something in the 4/40 range. At that price I'm supremely ambivalent.

I'm really warming to the notion of trading for Kemp.

I think the Orioles offered him 4/34.

[24fps]

I think the Orioles offered him 4/34.

One year too long, but not terrible. Any of it backloaded?

[wildcard]

One year too long, but not terrible. Any of it backloaded?

Any 4 year deal with the O's is going to have deferred money in it. Its been averaging about 2M per year with Jimenez and Hardy.

[section18]

Toronto is interested in signing him. Don't know if they have made him an offer yet. Anyone who goes to Toronto adds another 10-15 homeruns to their totals so they would probably be interested in him. He'll get new bats from their supplier and everyone will say we shouldn't have let him go. If he goes he goes. I like him but we need more power and run production from RF.

[Nevermore]

I voted that I want Markakis to return but he probably won't. I'm a bit old fashioned in that I like to see a bit of continuity with the players on my team. I can see why many players want long term contract. Many of them want to stick with the same team and not switch teams every year. I have a chilling feeling that Nick will go the way of Mussina and end up with the Yankees. :002_ssad:

[24fps]

If the 4/34 offer is correct that means that Nick would have the opportunity to pull a cool $100 million out of the Orioles organization. Sometimes its a good idea to step back from the relativity that so often dominates these conversations and recognize that $100 million is a staggeringly large sum of money for any individual, especially when it's amassed by the age of 35.

The Orioles are now a team genuinely worthy of respect. Wanna still be part of it Nick?

But I mean if $100 million isn't enough, I totally sympathize...

[Nevermore]

I have read that Os management has been pulling back on what they are willing to offer Markakis. Originally, they told Nick during negotiations that 4 years was OK and the only problem was figuring out the exact timing of each year's payment. Now, I've read that Os management has decided that they only want Nick for 3 years. Which is the main reasons why negotiations have stalled. As I've said before, many players want a longer deal so that they can be guaranteed some stability about which teams they will play for -- they don't want to have to switch teams every year. If it's true that Os management has pulled back on their original offer, Nick will look for another team that is willing to make him a long-term deal.