Mora has minor shoulder surgery; Roberts & Markakis talks slow

[Sports Guy]

Sounds to me like MacPhail is saying that Markakis' side isn't really into signing an extension right now. And with the money he can make in three years, I wouldn't blame him given this team's direction. Who wants to be part of a rebuilding team? As long as he stays healthy he can bolt for a contender in a few seasons for 15+ million a season.

Make some moves to show you are serious about winning soon, and then Markakis may be a little bit more motivated to get something done.

As usual, I think you are reading into things...This is straight from Markakis:

Asked if he'd like the negotiations to move faster, Markakis said, "It doesn't matter to me whether it's done fast or slow. I just want it done right."

IE, I don't care when it gets done but I want what I deserve. He wants to sign here, there is no questioning that.

[hoosiers]

I could care less about the pace of negotiations as long as it gets done.

I do not believe the duration of the contract is a five minute conversation, but it might not take too long if both sides have done their homework. It's really about what Markakis wants - does he want to buy-out one year of free agency or more - perhaps significantly more? Will he give a team option?

These are not terribly difficult questions, but they do require some reflection by the player and the team.

[Moose Milligan]

]

IE, I don't care when it gets done but I want what I deserve. He wants to sign here, there is no questioning that.

Yes.

Seriously, it should go like this:

MacPhail: "Alright, Nick...how long would you like your next contract to be for?"

Nick: "You know, I was thinking, you know, I'd like to sign for, you know, I think 6 or 7 years, you know."

MacPhail: "Okay, based on that length, we're willing to give you 'x' per year..."

Length of contract should not be hard to hammer out. I'm really annoyed by this.

[McNulty]

In this context, can someone explain to me the difference between length and duration? They are one in the same, to me anyways.

[Sports Guy]

Why, because you want it to be? You are always so quick to point out when anyone else is seeing what they want it to see, even when they couch it in "it seems like" or "I think," yet you present your wishes as facts. The only thing Markakis has stated publicly about his desires is that he wants to be compensated fairly.

Well, here is what I get that you don't seem to...It is obvious who he is going to be looking at in terms of what type of offer he deserves....That would be Alex Rios.

It is also relatively obvious what he is going to make, in arbitration, in the next 3 years...You can pretty much count on him making somewhere in 21-25 million range over the next 3 years.(Rios didn't even make 19 million, so that may be high)

So, all you really need to negotiate is the FA years...How many does he want to give up? 1? 2? 3? 4?

Once you know how many he wants to give up, you set the contract up accordingly..Rios is making 12, 12, 12.5 in his first 3 seasons of FA. I would guess we may have to pay a little more than that but generally speaking, you can bank on him wanting somewhere between 35-45 million for those 3 years(if he wants to sign for that many).

So, a contract of anywhere from 4/36-7/80 should get it done...All you have to figure out is the years.

This isn't complicated...The day Rios signed that deal was the day this was made a whole lot easier.

[clapdiddy]

In this context, can someone explain to me the difference between length and duration? They are one in the same, to me anyways.

I dunno...but I do get a lot of e-mails that discuss both. :wedge:

[nadecir]

I could care less about the pace of negotiations as long as it gets done.

I do not believe the duration of the contract is a five minute conversation, but it might not take too long if both sides have done their homework. It's really about what Markakis wants - does he want to buy-out one year of free agency or more - perhaps significantly more? Will he give a team option?

These are not terribly difficult questions, but they do require some reflection by the player and the team.

If I would to guess, I would guess the duration of the extenstion is the crux of the present negotiation. I imagine Nick would only like to extend one year, and the Orioles want more years with an extension.

Nick would be a very rich man if he signs a four year deal now, and then he could pick his team and get a huge deal in free agency after four years.

The Orioles would like to lock up Markakis for a longer period than four years. Perhaps Markakis is not interested at the present time for an extension longer than four years.

[Fan4Life]

Once you know how many he wants to give up, you set the contract up accordingly..Rios is making 12, 12, 12.5 in his first 3 seasons of FA. I would guess we may have to pay a little more than that but generally speaking, you can bank on him wanting somewhere between 35-45 million for those 3 years(if he wants to sign for that many).

So, a contract of anywhere from 4/36-7/80 should get it done...All you have to figure out is the years..

Good post. But where did you arrive at the arbitration $$$? And does his arbitration years start in 2009?

[Peace21]

Ummm whats this beginning stages stuff? I thought they made Markakis an offer over the summer. Shouldnt it be the middle stages?

[Moose Milligan]

Not to derail this thread, but it's stuff like this that makes me think we have a very small shot at signing Tex.

If we're this slow at dealing with our own guys, what's it gonna be like for a FA? If this is the pace that MacPhail goes with when making offers, we're really asking for someone like the Sox or Yanks to swoop in and take Tex.

We've got enough working against us as it is. No one likes dealing with a slow negotiator.

[Sports Guy]

If I would to guess, I would guess the duration of the extenstion is the crux of the present negotiation. I imagine Nick would only like to extend one year, and the Orioles want more years with an extension.

Nick would be a very rich man if he signs a four year deal now, and then he could pick his team and get a huge deal in free agency after four years.

The Orioles would like to lock up Markakis for a longer period than four years. Perhaps Markakis is not interested at the present time for an extension longer than four years.

Let's say you are right....Personally, I would think Nick would like 2 years of FA eaten up but lets go with your theory.

If it is right, then the contract should still be done...They apparently talked in July...I am sure they(the Markakis camp) made it known then how long they wanted to sign for.

If that hasn't changed in 4 months, then you extend him for 4 years and move on the next thing and hopefully in those 4 years, you can talk him into extending again.

One thing is for sure...You CAN NOT go to arbitration with him this offseason...that may very well end the idea of him being here beyond his 6 years.

[clapdiddy]

Not to derail this thread, but it's stuff like this that makes me think we have a very small shot at signing Tex.

If we're this slow at dealing with our own guys, what's it gonna be like for a FA? If this is the pace that MacPhail goes with when making offers, we're really asking for someone like the Sox or Yanks to swoop in and take Tex.

We've got enough working against us as it is. No one likes dealing with a slow negotiator.

I can certainly see this point of view. For some reason, I just get the feeling that Tex is getting signed pretty quickly, and we need to make it happen quickly or it ain't happening at all.

I believe that we either have an offer out there to him already, or we know he's going to be priced out of our ballpark.

Again, I still see him with LAA, Boston, or NYY.

[Sports Guy]

Good post. But where did you arrive at the arbitration $$$? And does his arbitration years start in 2009?

Yea, he starts his arb years in 2009...Based off of other contracts, I would assume him making 3-4.5 million in 2009, 6.5-8 in 2010 and 10-11 in 2011..Something along those lines...Again, they are rough figures..approximations.

Either way, a million here or there can easily be worked out when you are talking about a 50-80 million dollar contract.

[Moose Milligan]

I can certainly see this point of view. For some reason, I just get the feeling that Tex is getting signed pretty quickly, and we need to make it happen quickly or it ain't happening at all.

I believe that we either have an offer out there to him already, or we know he's going to be priced out of our ballpark.

Again, I still see him with LAA, Boston, or NYY.

It just shows someone how bad you want them. If you're taking too long on your negotiations while someone else is hammering away and really showing interest, it says a lot.

[Sports Guy]

Not to derail this thread, but it's stuff like this that makes me think we have a very small shot at signing Tex.

If we're this slow at dealing with our own guys, what's it gonna be like for a FA? If this is the pace that MacPhail goes with when making offers, we're really asking for someone like the Sox or Yanks to swoop in and take Tex.

We've got enough working against us as it is. No one likes dealing with a slow negotiator.

Well, there are 2 ways of looking at this.

One way says Tex wants this done ASAP and that either is too quick of a timetable for AM or it makes him move quickly.

The other way is Boras wants to drag this out as long as possible and AM is the perfect guy to wait him out.