Zito to the Giants

[$heriff Tom]

I mean, Holy friggin' Crap. Insane money here. But again, money is so out of control, it means nothing in baseball anymore. Mostly thanks to the Yankees and their busted out payroll, but I digress. As a Yankee fan, I am thrilled they passed on this retard, money not even entering into it.

By the way, is there a better city for a hippie like Zito to play?


Free-agent left-hander Barry Zito and the San Francisco Giants have agreed to a seven-year, $126 million contract, according to baseball officials.

Zito, the 2002 American League Cy Young Award winner with the Oakland Athletics, considered offers by the New York Mets, Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners before relocating across the Bay.

The contract surpasses Mike Hampton's eight-year, $121 million deal signed with the Colorado Rockies after the 2000 season. Roger Clemens, the seven-time Cy Young winner, earned $22 million last season with the Houston Astros, the highest one-year contract in baseball history.

[MSBNYY]

I'm surprised you haven't blamed the Yankees for the death of James Brown. Or Chris Brown.

If Gil Meche is earning $11 million per season over 5 season, then Barry Zito got what he is worth. It's sick. The Giants are morons. But all this does is prove that the luxury tax is malarky. These teams all have the resources to keep up with the Yanks--even the Royals, who were able to commit $55 million to Gil Meche.

The Yanks may make more money total, but these other teams have the revenue to afford much higher payrolls than they have previously let on.

I just hope Zito tanks dramatically. Let the Giants feel the pain we felt with Giambi.

[9]

Seven years, $126 million? Wow ... just wow.

[grover]

Holy crap!

Glad we didn't get him.

[9]

I'm still stunned by this deal. I mean, this isn't the NFL, where you can reach injury settlements or just flat-out cut guys. What if he blows his arm out, or just loses his effectiveness, two or three years into the deal? Wow.

[MSBNYY]

If that happens, he's a pitching version of Giambi. There may be insurance, but I don't know if they insure long term deals anymore.

[Chris]

It's funny how things are spun in the media. Peter Gammons is on ESPN radio right now saying he knows for a fact that the Yankees were approached by Boras about Zito and the Yankees dismissed any interest at all in Zito some time ago, and that the Mets weren't anything even remotely close to what could be categorized as "aggressive" in pursuing Zito.

Yet, all we've been hearing is how hot the Mets are on the tail of Zito, and the Yankees weren't too far behind....as if the Yankees were scattering to move Johnson to make room for Zito.