2016 MLB thread. THE CUBS HAVE BROKEN THE CURSE! Chicago Cubs are your 2016 World Series champions
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Originally Posted by Proshares
Originally Posted by Winged Wheel
Originally Posted by DaComeUP
Votto is going to get $250mill.. easily.
No he won't and I don't see the Reds winning the central next year either.
Why not? Two years from now and he keeps hitting like this he might crack $300 million.
Detroit has two kids that the Cubs would want for Garza but he isn't worth it. You need to relax and not be a typical Cubs fan.
What good are Turner and Castellanos in 2 or 3 years when you have Cabrera, Fielder and Verlander in their primes in 2012?
The end game is to win now, Garza gets you closer.
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Originally Posted by Proshares
Originally Posted by Winged Wheel
Originally Posted by DaComeUP
Votto is going to get $250mill.. easily.
No he won't and I don't see the Reds winning the central next year either.
Why not? Two years from now and he keeps hitting like this he might crack $300 million.
Detroit has two kids that the Cubs would want for Garza but he isn't worth it. You need to relax and not be a typical Cubs fan.
What good are Turner and Castellanos in 2 or 3 years when you have Cabrera, Fielder and Verlander in their primes in 2012?
The end game is to win now, Garza gets you closer.
I'm not typical Cubs fan, and all I know with this team is patience, please.
I'm merely asking, what kids do they have for us to ask for? I'm not askin for the farm, if we goin all in kid movement, then go ahead and move Garza. I like Garza, and don't want to see him go, but if this is our route, then do it If there are some kids that Detroit won't need, then we should make that call.
Who are they? What are they? Pitching, infield/outfield? We can only get one of them, or both, or what's a fair deal on both ends?
I'm merely asking, what kids do they have for us to ask for? I'm not askin for the farm, if we goin all in kid movement, then go ahead and move Garza. I like Garza, and don't want to see him go, but if this is our route, then do it If there are some kids that Detroit won't need, then we should make that call.
Who are they? What are they? Pitching, infield/outfield? We can only get one of them, or both, or what's a fair deal on both ends?
I'm not typical Cubs fan, and all I know with this team is patience, please.
I'm merely asking, what kids do they have for us to ask for? I'm not askin for the farm, if we goin all in kid movement, then go ahead and move Garza. I like Garza, and don't want to see him go, but if this is our route, then do it If there are some kids that Detroit won't need, then we should make that call.
Who are they? What are they? Pitching, infield/outfield? We can only get one of them, or both, or what's a fair deal on both ends?
I'm merely asking, what kids do they have for us to ask for? I'm not askin for the farm, if we goin all in kid movement, then go ahead and move Garza. I like Garza, and don't want to see him go, but if this is our route, then do it If there are some kids that Detroit won't need, then we should make that call.
Who are they? What are they? Pitching, infield/outfield? We can only get one of them, or both, or what's a fair deal on both ends?
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Originally Posted by Winged Wheel
Originally Posted by DaComeUP
Originally Posted by 23ska909red02
winner: the NL Central Cincinnati Reds
Votto is going to get $250mill.. easily.
No he won't and I don't see the Reds winning the central next year either.
Milwaukee still has the pitching to win the division next season if the staff remains healthy. Detroit will regret giving Fielder that contract...guaranteed.
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Originally Posted by Winged Wheel
Originally Posted by DaComeUP
Originally Posted by 23ska909red02
winner: the NL Central Cincinnati Reds
Votto is going to get $250mill.. easily.
No he won't and I don't see the Reds winning the central next year either.
Milwaukee still has the pitching to win the division next season if the staff remains healthy. Detroit will regret giving Fielder that contract...guaranteed.
dacomeup
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Originally Posted by Winged Wheel
DaComeUP wrote:
23ska909red02 wrote:
winner: the NL Central Cincinnati Reds
Votto is going to get $250mill.. easily.
No he won't and I don't see the Reds winning the central next year either.
dacomeup
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Originally Posted by Winged Wheel
DaComeUP wrote:
23ska909red02 wrote:
winner: the NL Central Cincinnati Reds
Votto is going to get $250mill.. easily.
No he won't and I don't see the Reds winning the central next year either.
GreenNGold89
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Booked my flight to AZ for St. Patty's day weekend. Spring training again.
GreenNGold89
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Booked my flight to AZ for St. Patty's day weekend. Spring training again.
jumpmanfromdabay
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Moneyball nominated for Best Picture
jumpmanfromdabay
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Moneyball nominated for Best Picture
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Moneyball, the movie, was AWFUL.Gotta love a movie where you know Beane doesn't get fired even though the threat of it is a major plot point in the movie.
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Moneyball, the movie, was AWFUL.Gotta love a movie where you know Beane doesn't get fired even though the threat of it is a major plot point in the movie.
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Jonah Hill getting an Oscar nomination for that was the biggest travesty of it all.
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Jonah Hill getting an Oscar nomination for that was the biggest travesty of it all.
DYNAMICS
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Why didn't Prince want to stay in Milwaukee?
DYNAMICS
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Why didn't Prince want to stay in Milwaukee?
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Because it's Milwaukee.
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Because it's Milwaukee.
Originally Posted by Stringer Bell 32
Originally Posted by Proshares
Why not? Two years from now and he keeps hitting like this he might crack $300 million.
Detroit has two kids that the Cubs would want for Garza but he isn't worth it. You need to relax and not be a typical Cubs fan.
What good are Turner and Castellanos in 2 or 3 years when you have Cabrera, Fielder and Verlander in their primes in 2012?
The end game is to win now, Garza gets you closer.
I can understand that argument but they just sacrificed their payroll for a few years I don't see them going to give up their future when after those two, the farm is bone dry. Plus, I think he got a little overrated in the NL Central last year. Coming back to the AL Central isn't that bad considering the other teams but he won't be nearly as good/worth it.
We can only get one of them, or both, or what's a fair deal on both ends?
One pitcher for Garza would be fair. I'd think Theo wants more pieces though.
I meant typical Cubs fan in the way that there is no patience for a rebuild and starting to wonder why they didn't go all in for year 1.
Originally Posted by Stringer Bell 32
Originally Posted by Proshares
Why not? Two years from now and he keeps hitting like this he might crack $300 million.
Detroit has two kids that the Cubs would want for Garza but he isn't worth it. You need to relax and not be a typical Cubs fan.
What good are Turner and Castellanos in 2 or 3 years when you have Cabrera, Fielder and Verlander in their primes in 2012?
The end game is to win now, Garza gets you closer.
I can understand that argument but they just sacrificed their payroll for a few years I don't see them going to give up their future when after those two, the farm is bone dry. Plus, I think he got a little overrated in the NL Central last year. Coming back to the AL Central isn't that bad considering the other teams but he won't be nearly as good/worth it.
We can only get one of them, or both, or what's a fair deal on both ends?
One pitcher for Garza would be fair. I'd think Theo wants more pieces though.
I meant typical Cubs fan in the way that there is no patience for a rebuild and starting to wonder why they didn't go all in for year 1.
Pretty good read here.
How the Los Angeles Angels recrutied Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson.
David Eckstein retiring.
How the Los Angeles Angels recrutied Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson.
Spoiler [+]
IT WAS AROUND 3 A.M. on Dec. 8 in a suite at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas when Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto told C.J. Wilson something that might sweeten the offer. He said there was another guy in the works, somebody good, who may also be signing with the Angels.
Wilson came alive. He started peppering Dipoto with questions, trying to coax an answer, even a clue. Dipoto was stoic. Wilson grabbed his phone, hopped on Twitter and scanned his timeline, searching for rumors until he found one: The Angels were looking to make a move on Wilson and Albert Pujols.
Wilson does impressions, so he jumped up in the middle of agent Bob Garber's suite and mimicked Pujols' batting stance. Wilson knew the stance well; six weeks earlier, he had seen plenty of it during the World Series while pitching for the Rangers. Wilson intentionally walked the Cardinals slugger three of the six times he faced Pujols in October, because, really, why bother against a guy that good?
"So you're looking at me and that guy?" Wilson asked Dipoto mischievously. "The guy with the high elbow, wears No. 5?" Maybe the exhausting days of negotiations had weakened Dipoto's poker face. Or maybe, secretly, he wanted Wilson to know. Dipoto wouldn't confirm anything, but Wilson saw -- or at least imagined -- something in Dipoto's eye that told Wilson he was right.
"Are you for real?" Wilson asked.
"I am absolutely for real," the GM responded.
[+] Enlarge
Art Streiber for ESPN The MagazineThrough his agent, Dan Lozano, Pujols told the Angels what he wanted: to be on a team that would care deeply for his legacy.
A YEAR EARLIER, the Angels, coming off their first losing season since 2003, headed into the off-season with their eyes on a return to first place in the American League West, which is where they had finished from 2007 through 2009. With high-priced players like closer Brian Fuentes and DH Hideki Matsui coming off the books, the Halos were in position to spend. "Hearing Angels have 'piles of cash,'" wrote Jon Heyman, then of Sports Illustrated. A source told ESPN's Jayson Stark that he was "stunned by how confident they were about signing [free agent leftfielder Carl] Crawford."
The Angels whiffed, though, landing only setup relievers Scott Downs and Hisanori Takahashi. Perhaps desperate to make a splash, they traded for Blue Jays outfielder Vernon Wells -- and most of the $86 million he was owed -- in late January. "It was weird," Crawford, who eventually signed with the Red Sox, told a reporter. "They said my contract was too much. Then they paid more [per year] to Vernon Wells."
The trade, to put it mildly, was a disaster. Wells hit .218 for the Angels, while Mike Napoli, the key piece used to acquire Wells, was flipped to Texas, where he helped the Angels' division rival return to the World Series by hitting .320 with 30 home runs. After the Angels were eliminated from playoff contention in late September, owner Arte Moreno accepted GM Tony Reagins' resignation and hired Dipoto from the Diamondbacks to replace him.
For a general manager, there may not be a task as complex as pursuing a superstar free agent. We assume that all a club must do is offer the right eight figures, but it's really not all that different from recruiting high school athletes. Pros have emotional buttons just like teenagers, and when it's time to sign a free agent contract, plenty of elements come into play. The GM is forced to balance psychology, ego, economics and the value that a hundred-millionaire places on details so small as to seem utterly meaningless. "Money plays a part, but not all that you think," says Angels outfielder Torii Hunter. "It's more like 60 percent. You're going to get your money. Are you worth $80 million or $100 million? Eh. I grew up with zero."
Dipoto's hiring was announced the first day of the off-season, the day Wilson and Pujols became free agents. To re-energize a winded franchise, Dipoto had to solve a riddle that had stymied the Angels: If it's not just about money, what is it about?
THE FIRST DAY of free agency is typically slow, particularly for the superstars. While a journeyman might sign quickly, guys like Wilson and Pujols are going to have plenty of suitors. There's time for them to decide.
Dipoto, though, couldn't wait. Wilson, an Orange County native, was the centerpiece of the Angels' winter plans. He was the best major league pitcher available, and relocating him to Anaheim would not only give the Angels a third elite starter, along with Jered Weaver and Dan Haren, but it would also deprive their rival in Texas of an ace. Dipoto was the first GM to call Garber, Wilson's agent. If free agency is like dating, Dipoto wouldn't be the guy waiting three days before ringing. He'd be under Wilson's window, holding up a boom box, to hell with playing it cool. "You want to express that this is an important cog," Dipoto says.
Dipoto is a former big league relief pitcher whose background is primarily in scouting and player development. He has the ideal personality for a modern baseball exec: He's curious, comfortable with advanced stats and has credibility with jocks. "You watch Parks and Recreation? He's the Rob Lowe character," says one observer who has known Dipoto since his scouting days. "Literally a super-duper human being."
Dipoto spent three months as Arizona's interim GM in 2010 but never pursued a free agent in that role. He was still figuring out the basic steps of the dance while filling numerous vacancies in the Angels front office. Just signing one big name like Wilson would make the winter a success. Dipoto did call Dan Lozano, Pujols' agent, about a week into the free agency period, just to find out what Pujols was looking for -- due diligence, he says, but more of an afterthought. The conversation wasn't about cash. Lozano told the Angels what Pujols wanted: to be on a team that would care deeply for his legacy. Well, shoot, Dipoto thought, we can offer that.
[+] Enlarge
Dominic DiSaia for ESPN The MagazineJuggling offers, Wilson resorted to a pro/con list. In the pro column: The lefty's screenwriting aspirations and respect for Angels hurler Jered Weaver.
THE ANGELS, the first team to contact Wilson, were also the first to take him out to dinner. Wilson is a famously selective eater, with a personal chef who uses only organic ingredients, and the Angels wanted to be very specific about where they took him. Justin Hollander, the Angels' new director of baseball operations, was tasked with finding the restaurant. After a brainstorming session with team president John Carpino, Hollander suggested West Hollywood's Soho House, which boasts a "farm-to-fork food philosophy." You don't order at the Soho House. You give the chef guidelines, then he prepares a multicourse family-style meal to your tastes.
Wilson showed up early, and so did Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "You're going to like the free agent process," Scioscia told Wilson as they waited in the lobby. "It's pretty fun. Take your time deciding, but know we'd love to have you on the team."
Over the course of three hours, they dined on prime rib, salmon and brussels sprouts. Dipoto had a clear message: You're the Rangers' ace. We're going to take you and beat up on your old team for the next five years. Mostly, though, Dipoto and Garber didn't say much. Scioscia and Wilson carried the conversation. "When do we get to talk?" Carpino joked, but Garber and Dipoto sensed the dinner was going perfectly. Nobody talked about money; nobody turned it into a negotiation.
Lefties have a reputation for being quirky, and there's no doubt that the straight-edge Wilson is not your typical ballplayer. He wants to write screenplays, so being near Hollywood appealed to him. But he also has his own auto racing team, and Miami is like Hollywood for racing -- plus the Marlins offered to sponsor his team. The Angels play near his hometown but, Wilson worried, that came with burdens too, such as dealing with ticket requests from friends and family. He's an art lover and he bonded with Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria over Loria's collection. The Angels had just extended Weaver, and Wilson kept thinking about how pitching alongside a Cy Young contender would spur him on. But the Marlins were signing such great players this winter! And they might end up trading him, as they'd done with stars before. But if he signed with the Marlins, he would get to hit; he truly wanted to hit, always had, and was bummed when the Rangers drafted him as a pitcher instead of an outfielder out of Loyola Marymount, where he posted an .855 OPS in 2001. And if he signed with the Angels, Texans would savage him. The Marlins were offering him five or six years, the Angels only four.
Once, on a plane, Wilson pulled out a yellow legal pad, drew a line down the center and started filling in pros and cons. It was an almost $100 million decision, but all Wilson could think about were these smaller details. A few months earlier at Angels Stadium, he had bumped into former Dodgers star Shawn Green and asked him for advice. "You should go where the most money is," Green said, and Wilson laughed. Wilson wasn't even thinking about money. Just years. And art. And his racing team.
AS THE WINTER MEETINGS began in Dallas in early December, Dipoto again contacted Lozano. "Danny was very up front about it. Albert wanted to be identified with, and tied to, his new organization and make that part of his legacy," Dipoto says. "We realized Albert's desires lined up with us. We wanted to have that kind of marriage. I don't want to shortchange what Albert does on the field -- it's tremendous -- but he does so much more off it."
Dipoto and Lozano brought Moreno into the discussion on Dec. 6, the Tuesday of the winter meetings, and that's when Dipoto realized he was actually pursuing Pujols. "It was too good to walk away from," he says.
The Cardinals had made Pujols and his wife, Deidre, feel almost unwanted with their offers, the first of which was for just five years. The Angels would offer a 10-year playing contract with a full no-trade clause and wanted Pujols for another decade after that on a personal services contract. It's similar to the arrangement Texas once struck with Nolan Ryan, the former Angels ace whose legacy is now more closely tied to the Rangers. It was as though the Cardinals could see only the downside to signing a 31-year-old Albert Pujols while the Angels saw opportunity. "The understanding that we wanted to be part of a deal that exceeded the 10 years was really key," says Dipoto. The Marlins were also pursuing Pujols, but their policy is not to give no-trade clauses, which worked in Anaheim's favor.
Moreno, Dipoto, Lozano, and Albert and Deidre Pujols set up a conference call Tuesday night. Money wasn't mentioned. Rather, Moreno charmed Pujols by stressing the familial nature of the his club: the longest-tenured manager in the game, a stable roster of coaches, a homegrown core that included the recently extended Weaver.
"I only spend five minutes talking to or meeting a guy and I know pretty much," Pujols said after he signed. "God has given me that wisdom. I don't even know [Moreno], and he called me one of his partners. That means a lot."
Pujols talked to Moreno again on Wednesday -- Moreno left a matinee of the apocalypse film Melancholia to take the call -- but still wasn't ready to decide. Moreno offered to get on a jet and fly out immediately, but Pujols simply wanted to pray with his wife about it.
ON WEDNESDAY, Dec. 7, while the team negotiated with Pujols and Wilson, Angels fans ribbed Torii Hunter on Twitter. Stay away from C.J., they told him. Don't call Albert!
Hunter -- beloved by other players, passionate about the Angels -- is the team's most famous recruiter. But as a recruiter, his track record is notoriously spotty. Crawford, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira all resisted Hunter's pursuits when they were free agents. Fans worried Hunter would mess things up if he got involved, that Wilson and Pujols would talk to him and also end up in the AL East. Hunter had mostly sat out the 2011 off-season, but on Wednesday night he sent Wilson two tweets: "come on home to the OC. u would luv it and fans will luv u too. A lot of fun" and "u can also work on ur tan in Cali. I do it all the time dawg. LOL."
Marlins outfielder Logan Morrison jumped in and turned it into a battle for Wilson, an amusing diversion from the shotgun spray of contradictory rumors in fans' timelines. Then Hunter saw a direct message from Wilson: "Call me right now!"
Hours earlier, Wilson boarded a private jet to Dallas from his home in LA, determined to make a decision before the meetings ended the next day. When he landed, he told Garber to get the Angels' best offer on the table by 9:30 that night. The Angels had first offered four years and $60 million; Wilson wanted five. The Marlins, after team execs had run into Garber with Dipoto at dinner that week, had offered six years and $100 million. Garber texted the deadline to Dipoto, who was across the hotel in negotiations with Lozano. Dipoto sent back a text telling Garber to wait. "For what?" Garber replied. "Is it five years?" At 9:13, Dipoto finally replied, "Yes."
"It's going to be a long night," Garber told Wilson. And that's right around the time fans told Hunter to stop tweeting.
Hunter had been signed four years earlier by a front office that negotiated in a much different manner. Then-GM Reagins met with Hunter's agent in a Del Taco, gave him the Angels' offer and demanded a response within three hours. That take-it-or-leave-it tack used to be the Angels' MO. The idea of being used merely to drive another team's offer higher seemed to offend the club.
Hunter, who signed for $90 million over five years, understands that money is a factor, saying, "You think about your kids' kids' kids' kids." But otherwise, what matters to the players he talks to is mundanely personal: Can I be close to my family? Will they support my charity? Will my wife be happy?
Wilson was still conflicted when Hunter called around 10 p.m., hours before he had vowed to make a decision. "You've got to decide if you need that money or if you want to have fun," Hunter said. "We're going to have fun, man, and I'm going to be diving for stuff behind you." He pointed out that Marlins fans might not show up, that even after a winter spree the Fish weren't as stable as the Halos. The conversation lasted 25 minutes. "Let's relax," Wilson told Garber after he hung up.
After haggling for much of the night over $2.5 million -- Garber jokingly refused to let Dipoto use the restroom for less than $5 million -- Wilson and the Angels agreed around 5 a.m. The deal was for five years and $77.5 million. It took six weeks of courtship, a choreographed dinner, daily conversations with Garber, a four-hour November dinner with the agent, another dinner at the winter meetings in December, a reassuring phone call from the team's captain, pledges to support Wilson's charity, heavy involvement from the team's manager -- "Get it done, Bob," Scioscia would say when he saw Garber at the winter meetings -- and the right geographic location. Most important, it took Dipoto. "If Jerry wasn't the GM, there's no way the deal would have gotten done," says Garber.
For Pujols, meanwhile, it took 36 hours, two phone calls from the owner, a 20-year commitment, zero face-to-face meetings and the one word Pujols needed to hear: partner. At 7:25 a.m. on Dec. 8, two hours after Wilson left Garber's suite to finally get some sleep, Pujols called his agent with his decision. "The Angels are tugging at my heart," he told Lozano. The agent called Dipoto and the news broke soon after, stunning the executives, agents and reporters gathered at the meetings. The final deal for Pujols: 10 years, $240 million.
Each player reportedly turned down larger offers to sign with the Angels. Each agreed to heavily backload his contract so the Angels could afford to sign the other.
THE NEWS CONFERENCES to announce these signings are always optimistic, but long-term deals turn into disasters as often as World Series titles. In 2006, the Astros signed Carlos Lee and Woody Williams on the same day. While not nearly the achievement of landing Pujols and Wilson, the $112 million score was supposed to get the Astros back to the World Series. "This organization is here to win," GM Tim Purpura said at the news conference, but the opposite has happened. Williams was released halfway through his deal. Lee's contract is an unmovable burden. The Astros have been over .500 just once since, and Purpura was fired 10 months later.
The Angels' news conference, on Dec. 10, underneath the giant hat structures outside Angels Stadium, wasn't just optimistic, it was rapturous. Roughly 4,000 fans showed up and chanted "Arte, Arte" and "Jerry, Jerry." But it's far too soon to know if Pujols was worth $240 million and Wilson $77.5 million or if they will be fulfilled in Southern California. That's the thing about recruiting: A team might get its man and the man might get his money, but a contract doesn't guarantee happiness or championships.
"You want to be excited, but it was a hard decision," says Pujols, who had spent his entire career with the Cardinals. "You play for a city for 11 years. I was just a little baby when I came out. They made me into the man I am."
When the contract ends, Pujols will be middle-aged and his legacy will be altered. Wilson's will be too, depending on whether he pitches the Angels to a World Series or flops.
As for Dipoto's legacy, that may take years to sort out. But in his first off-season, Dipoto answered Wilson's question: He is absolutely for real.
Wilson came alive. He started peppering Dipoto with questions, trying to coax an answer, even a clue. Dipoto was stoic. Wilson grabbed his phone, hopped on Twitter and scanned his timeline, searching for rumors until he found one: The Angels were looking to make a move on Wilson and Albert Pujols.
Wilson does impressions, so he jumped up in the middle of agent Bob Garber's suite and mimicked Pujols' batting stance. Wilson knew the stance well; six weeks earlier, he had seen plenty of it during the World Series while pitching for the Rangers. Wilson intentionally walked the Cardinals slugger three of the six times he faced Pujols in October, because, really, why bother against a guy that good?
"So you're looking at me and that guy?" Wilson asked Dipoto mischievously. "The guy with the high elbow, wears No. 5?" Maybe the exhausting days of negotiations had weakened Dipoto's poker face. Or maybe, secretly, he wanted Wilson to know. Dipoto wouldn't confirm anything, but Wilson saw -- or at least imagined -- something in Dipoto's eye that told Wilson he was right.
"Are you for real?" Wilson asked.
"I am absolutely for real," the GM responded.
[+] Enlarge
Art Streiber for ESPN The MagazineThrough his agent, Dan Lozano, Pujols told the Angels what he wanted: to be on a team that would care deeply for his legacy.
A YEAR EARLIER, the Angels, coming off their first losing season since 2003, headed into the off-season with their eyes on a return to first place in the American League West, which is where they had finished from 2007 through 2009. With high-priced players like closer Brian Fuentes and DH Hideki Matsui coming off the books, the Halos were in position to spend. "Hearing Angels have 'piles of cash,'" wrote Jon Heyman, then of Sports Illustrated. A source told ESPN's Jayson Stark that he was "stunned by how confident they were about signing [free agent leftfielder Carl] Crawford."
The Angels whiffed, though, landing only setup relievers Scott Downs and Hisanori Takahashi. Perhaps desperate to make a splash, they traded for Blue Jays outfielder Vernon Wells -- and most of the $86 million he was owed -- in late January. "It was weird," Crawford, who eventually signed with the Red Sox, told a reporter. "They said my contract was too much. Then they paid more [per year] to Vernon Wells."
The trade, to put it mildly, was a disaster. Wells hit .218 for the Angels, while Mike Napoli, the key piece used to acquire Wells, was flipped to Texas, where he helped the Angels' division rival return to the World Series by hitting .320 with 30 home runs. After the Angels were eliminated from playoff contention in late September, owner Arte Moreno accepted GM Tony Reagins' resignation and hired Dipoto from the Diamondbacks to replace him.
For a general manager, there may not be a task as complex as pursuing a superstar free agent. We assume that all a club must do is offer the right eight figures, but it's really not all that different from recruiting high school athletes. Pros have emotional buttons just like teenagers, and when it's time to sign a free agent contract, plenty of elements come into play. The GM is forced to balance psychology, ego, economics and the value that a hundred-millionaire places on details so small as to seem utterly meaningless. "Money plays a part, but not all that you think," says Angels outfielder Torii Hunter. "It's more like 60 percent. You're going to get your money. Are you worth $80 million or $100 million? Eh. I grew up with zero."
Dipoto's hiring was announced the first day of the off-season, the day Wilson and Pujols became free agents. To re-energize a winded franchise, Dipoto had to solve a riddle that had stymied the Angels: If it's not just about money, what is it about?
THE FIRST DAY of free agency is typically slow, particularly for the superstars. While a journeyman might sign quickly, guys like Wilson and Pujols are going to have plenty of suitors. There's time for them to decide.
Dipoto, though, couldn't wait. Wilson, an Orange County native, was the centerpiece of the Angels' winter plans. He was the best major league pitcher available, and relocating him to Anaheim would not only give the Angels a third elite starter, along with Jered Weaver and Dan Haren, but it would also deprive their rival in Texas of an ace. Dipoto was the first GM to call Garber, Wilson's agent. If free agency is like dating, Dipoto wouldn't be the guy waiting three days before ringing. He'd be under Wilson's window, holding up a boom box, to hell with playing it cool. "You want to express that this is an important cog," Dipoto says.
Dipoto is a former big league relief pitcher whose background is primarily in scouting and player development. He has the ideal personality for a modern baseball exec: He's curious, comfortable with advanced stats and has credibility with jocks. "You watch Parks and Recreation? He's the Rob Lowe character," says one observer who has known Dipoto since his scouting days. "Literally a super-duper human being."
Dipoto spent three months as Arizona's interim GM in 2010 but never pursued a free agent in that role. He was still figuring out the basic steps of the dance while filling numerous vacancies in the Angels front office. Just signing one big name like Wilson would make the winter a success. Dipoto did call Dan Lozano, Pujols' agent, about a week into the free agency period, just to find out what Pujols was looking for -- due diligence, he says, but more of an afterthought. The conversation wasn't about cash. Lozano told the Angels what Pujols wanted: to be on a team that would care deeply for his legacy. Well, shoot, Dipoto thought, we can offer that.
[+] Enlarge
Dominic DiSaia for ESPN The MagazineJuggling offers, Wilson resorted to a pro/con list. In the pro column: The lefty's screenwriting aspirations and respect for Angels hurler Jered Weaver.
THE ANGELS, the first team to contact Wilson, were also the first to take him out to dinner. Wilson is a famously selective eater, with a personal chef who uses only organic ingredients, and the Angels wanted to be very specific about where they took him. Justin Hollander, the Angels' new director of baseball operations, was tasked with finding the restaurant. After a brainstorming session with team president John Carpino, Hollander suggested West Hollywood's Soho House, which boasts a "farm-to-fork food philosophy." You don't order at the Soho House. You give the chef guidelines, then he prepares a multicourse family-style meal to your tastes.
Wilson showed up early, and so did Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "You're going to like the free agent process," Scioscia told Wilson as they waited in the lobby. "It's pretty fun. Take your time deciding, but know we'd love to have you on the team."
Over the course of three hours, they dined on prime rib, salmon and brussels sprouts. Dipoto had a clear message: You're the Rangers' ace. We're going to take you and beat up on your old team for the next five years. Mostly, though, Dipoto and Garber didn't say much. Scioscia and Wilson carried the conversation. "When do we get to talk?" Carpino joked, but Garber and Dipoto sensed the dinner was going perfectly. Nobody talked about money; nobody turned it into a negotiation.
Lefties have a reputation for being quirky, and there's no doubt that the straight-edge Wilson is not your typical ballplayer. He wants to write screenplays, so being near Hollywood appealed to him. But he also has his own auto racing team, and Miami is like Hollywood for racing -- plus the Marlins offered to sponsor his team. The Angels play near his hometown but, Wilson worried, that came with burdens too, such as dealing with ticket requests from friends and family. He's an art lover and he bonded with Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria over Loria's collection. The Angels had just extended Weaver, and Wilson kept thinking about how pitching alongside a Cy Young contender would spur him on. But the Marlins were signing such great players this winter! And they might end up trading him, as they'd done with stars before. But if he signed with the Marlins, he would get to hit; he truly wanted to hit, always had, and was bummed when the Rangers drafted him as a pitcher instead of an outfielder out of Loyola Marymount, where he posted an .855 OPS in 2001. And if he signed with the Angels, Texans would savage him. The Marlins were offering him five or six years, the Angels only four.
Once, on a plane, Wilson pulled out a yellow legal pad, drew a line down the center and started filling in pros and cons. It was an almost $100 million decision, but all Wilson could think about were these smaller details. A few months earlier at Angels Stadium, he had bumped into former Dodgers star Shawn Green and asked him for advice. "You should go where the most money is," Green said, and Wilson laughed. Wilson wasn't even thinking about money. Just years. And art. And his racing team.
AS THE WINTER MEETINGS began in Dallas in early December, Dipoto again contacted Lozano. "Danny was very up front about it. Albert wanted to be identified with, and tied to, his new organization and make that part of his legacy," Dipoto says. "We realized Albert's desires lined up with us. We wanted to have that kind of marriage. I don't want to shortchange what Albert does on the field -- it's tremendous -- but he does so much more off it."
Dipoto and Lozano brought Moreno into the discussion on Dec. 6, the Tuesday of the winter meetings, and that's when Dipoto realized he was actually pursuing Pujols. "It was too good to walk away from," he says.
The Cardinals had made Pujols and his wife, Deidre, feel almost unwanted with their offers, the first of which was for just five years. The Angels would offer a 10-year playing contract with a full no-trade clause and wanted Pujols for another decade after that on a personal services contract. It's similar to the arrangement Texas once struck with Nolan Ryan, the former Angels ace whose legacy is now more closely tied to the Rangers. It was as though the Cardinals could see only the downside to signing a 31-year-old Albert Pujols while the Angels saw opportunity. "The understanding that we wanted to be part of a deal that exceeded the 10 years was really key," says Dipoto. The Marlins were also pursuing Pujols, but their policy is not to give no-trade clauses, which worked in Anaheim's favor.
Moreno, Dipoto, Lozano, and Albert and Deidre Pujols set up a conference call Tuesday night. Money wasn't mentioned. Rather, Moreno charmed Pujols by stressing the familial nature of the his club: the longest-tenured manager in the game, a stable roster of coaches, a homegrown core that included the recently extended Weaver.
"I only spend five minutes talking to or meeting a guy and I know pretty much," Pujols said after he signed. "God has given me that wisdom. I don't even know [Moreno], and he called me one of his partners. That means a lot."
Pujols talked to Moreno again on Wednesday -- Moreno left a matinee of the apocalypse film Melancholia to take the call -- but still wasn't ready to decide. Moreno offered to get on a jet and fly out immediately, but Pujols simply wanted to pray with his wife about it.
ON WEDNESDAY, Dec. 7, while the team negotiated with Pujols and Wilson, Angels fans ribbed Torii Hunter on Twitter. Stay away from C.J., they told him. Don't call Albert!
Hunter -- beloved by other players, passionate about the Angels -- is the team's most famous recruiter. But as a recruiter, his track record is notoriously spotty. Crawford, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira all resisted Hunter's pursuits when they were free agents. Fans worried Hunter would mess things up if he got involved, that Wilson and Pujols would talk to him and also end up in the AL East. Hunter had mostly sat out the 2011 off-season, but on Wednesday night he sent Wilson two tweets: "come on home to the OC. u would luv it and fans will luv u too. A lot of fun" and "u can also work on ur tan in Cali. I do it all the time dawg. LOL."
Marlins outfielder Logan Morrison jumped in and turned it into a battle for Wilson, an amusing diversion from the shotgun spray of contradictory rumors in fans' timelines. Then Hunter saw a direct message from Wilson: "Call me right now!"
Hours earlier, Wilson boarded a private jet to Dallas from his home in LA, determined to make a decision before the meetings ended the next day. When he landed, he told Garber to get the Angels' best offer on the table by 9:30 that night. The Angels had first offered four years and $60 million; Wilson wanted five. The Marlins, after team execs had run into Garber with Dipoto at dinner that week, had offered six years and $100 million. Garber texted the deadline to Dipoto, who was across the hotel in negotiations with Lozano. Dipoto sent back a text telling Garber to wait. "For what?" Garber replied. "Is it five years?" At 9:13, Dipoto finally replied, "Yes."
"It's going to be a long night," Garber told Wilson. And that's right around the time fans told Hunter to stop tweeting.
Hunter had been signed four years earlier by a front office that negotiated in a much different manner. Then-GM Reagins met with Hunter's agent in a Del Taco, gave him the Angels' offer and demanded a response within three hours. That take-it-or-leave-it tack used to be the Angels' MO. The idea of being used merely to drive another team's offer higher seemed to offend the club.
Hunter, who signed for $90 million over five years, understands that money is a factor, saying, "You think about your kids' kids' kids' kids." But otherwise, what matters to the players he talks to is mundanely personal: Can I be close to my family? Will they support my charity? Will my wife be happy?
Wilson was still conflicted when Hunter called around 10 p.m., hours before he had vowed to make a decision. "You've got to decide if you need that money or if you want to have fun," Hunter said. "We're going to have fun, man, and I'm going to be diving for stuff behind you." He pointed out that Marlins fans might not show up, that even after a winter spree the Fish weren't as stable as the Halos. The conversation lasted 25 minutes. "Let's relax," Wilson told Garber after he hung up.
After haggling for much of the night over $2.5 million -- Garber jokingly refused to let Dipoto use the restroom for less than $5 million -- Wilson and the Angels agreed around 5 a.m. The deal was for five years and $77.5 million. It took six weeks of courtship, a choreographed dinner, daily conversations with Garber, a four-hour November dinner with the agent, another dinner at the winter meetings in December, a reassuring phone call from the team's captain, pledges to support Wilson's charity, heavy involvement from the team's manager -- "Get it done, Bob," Scioscia would say when he saw Garber at the winter meetings -- and the right geographic location. Most important, it took Dipoto. "If Jerry wasn't the GM, there's no way the deal would have gotten done," says Garber.
For Pujols, meanwhile, it took 36 hours, two phone calls from the owner, a 20-year commitment, zero face-to-face meetings and the one word Pujols needed to hear: partner. At 7:25 a.m. on Dec. 8, two hours after Wilson left Garber's suite to finally get some sleep, Pujols called his agent with his decision. "The Angels are tugging at my heart," he told Lozano. The agent called Dipoto and the news broke soon after, stunning the executives, agents and reporters gathered at the meetings. The final deal for Pujols: 10 years, $240 million.
Each player reportedly turned down larger offers to sign with the Angels. Each agreed to heavily backload his contract so the Angels could afford to sign the other.
THE NEWS CONFERENCES to announce these signings are always optimistic, but long-term deals turn into disasters as often as World Series titles. In 2006, the Astros signed Carlos Lee and Woody Williams on the same day. While not nearly the achievement of landing Pujols and Wilson, the $112 million score was supposed to get the Astros back to the World Series. "This organization is here to win," GM Tim Purpura said at the news conference, but the opposite has happened. Williams was released halfway through his deal. Lee's contract is an unmovable burden. The Astros have been over .500 just once since, and Purpura was fired 10 months later.
The Angels' news conference, on Dec. 10, underneath the giant hat structures outside Angels Stadium, wasn't just optimistic, it was rapturous. Roughly 4,000 fans showed up and chanted "Arte, Arte" and "Jerry, Jerry." But it's far too soon to know if Pujols was worth $240 million and Wilson $77.5 million or if they will be fulfilled in Southern California. That's the thing about recruiting: A team might get its man and the man might get his money, but a contract doesn't guarantee happiness or championships.
"You want to be excited, but it was a hard decision," says Pujols, who had spent his entire career with the Cardinals. "You play for a city for 11 years. I was just a little baby when I came out. They made me into the man I am."
When the contract ends, Pujols will be middle-aged and his legacy will be altered. Wilson's will be too, depending on whether he pitches the Angels to a World Series or flops.
As for Dipoto's legacy, that may take years to sort out. But in his first off-season, Dipoto answered Wilson's question: He is absolutely for real.
David Eckstein retiring.
Spoiler [+]
In case you missed this news earlier in the week, David Eckstein is leaning toward retirement. He hasn’t officially declared yet, but considering Eckstein didn’t play at all last season — and he doesn’t seem too excited about the offers he has received — it appears that it’s only a matter of time.
Sooooo… does David Eckstein belong in the Hall of Fame? Don’t make me laugh. But if I were constructing a Hall of People-Who-Were-Important-To-Sabermetrics, Eckstein would be one of the first players I’d add.
I first became aware of Eckstein back in early 2008. When I say aware of him, I’m not saying that I didn’t know who he was. As an avid fantasy baseball player through the 2000s, I knew exactly who he was: a middling infielder who was a last-ditch option if my starters got injured. He wouldn’t put up spectacular numbers, but he also wouldn’t tank your team’s average.
But in 2008, I learned that there was another side to Eckstein that I had never noticed before: David Eckstein, Cultural Icon. He was King of Grit. The Little Player Who Could. The Scrappiest Player You Ever Laid Eyes On. Sports writers loved him and waxed poetic about his positive traits. He played the game The Right Way. He always had a dirty uniform. His heart was so big, it threatened to consume his entire body.
Why did I finally become aware of this fact in 2008? That’s the year I started reading Fire Joe Morgan, a Hall-of-Fame-worthy baseball humor blog that thoroughly torched slipshod and lazy sports writing. And due to the nature of sports writing at the time, David Eckstein was one of their favorite targets:
Sooooo… does David Eckstein belong in the Hall of Fame? Don’t make me laugh. But if I were constructing a Hall of People-Who-Were-Important-To-Sabermetrics, Eckstein would be one of the first players I’d add.
I first became aware of Eckstein back in early 2008. When I say aware of him, I’m not saying that I didn’t know who he was. As an avid fantasy baseball player through the 2000s, I knew exactly who he was: a middling infielder who was a last-ditch option if my starters got injured. He wouldn’t put up spectacular numbers, but he also wouldn’t tank your team’s average.
But in 2008, I learned that there was another side to Eckstein that I had never noticed before: David Eckstein, Cultural Icon. He was King of Grit. The Little Player Who Could. The Scrappiest Player You Ever Laid Eyes On. Sports writers loved him and waxed poetic about his positive traits. He played the game The Right Way. He always had a dirty uniform. His heart was so big, it threatened to consume his entire body.
Why did I finally become aware of this fact in 2008? That’s the year I started reading Fire Joe Morgan, a Hall-of-Fame-worthy baseball humor blog that thoroughly torched slipshod and lazy sports writing. And due to the nature of sports writing at the time, David Eckstein was one of their favorite targets:
Pretty good read here.
How the Los Angeles Angels recrutied Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson.
David Eckstein retiring.
How the Los Angeles Angels recrutied Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson.
Spoiler [+]
IT WAS AROUND 3 A.M. on Dec. 8 in a suite at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas when Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto told C.J. Wilson something that might sweeten the offer. He said there was another guy in the works, somebody good, who may also be signing with the Angels.
Wilson came alive. He started peppering Dipoto with questions, trying to coax an answer, even a clue. Dipoto was stoic. Wilson grabbed his phone, hopped on Twitter and scanned his timeline, searching for rumors until he found one: The Angels were looking to make a move on Wilson and Albert Pujols.
Wilson does impressions, so he jumped up in the middle of agent Bob Garber's suite and mimicked Pujols' batting stance. Wilson knew the stance well; six weeks earlier, he had seen plenty of it during the World Series while pitching for the Rangers. Wilson intentionally walked the Cardinals slugger three of the six times he faced Pujols in October, because, really, why bother against a guy that good?
"So you're looking at me and that guy?" Wilson asked Dipoto mischievously. "The guy with the high elbow, wears No. 5?" Maybe the exhausting days of negotiations had weakened Dipoto's poker face. Or maybe, secretly, he wanted Wilson to know. Dipoto wouldn't confirm anything, but Wilson saw -- or at least imagined -- something in Dipoto's eye that told Wilson he was right.
"Are you for real?" Wilson asked.
"I am absolutely for real," the GM responded.
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Art Streiber for ESPN The MagazineThrough his agent, Dan Lozano, Pujols told the Angels what he wanted: to be on a team that would care deeply for his legacy.
A YEAR EARLIER, the Angels, coming off their first losing season since 2003, headed into the off-season with their eyes on a return to first place in the American League West, which is where they had finished from 2007 through 2009. With high-priced players like closer Brian Fuentes and DH Hideki Matsui coming off the books, the Halos were in position to spend. "Hearing Angels have 'piles of cash,'" wrote Jon Heyman, then of Sports Illustrated. A source told ESPN's Jayson Stark that he was "stunned by how confident they were about signing [free agent leftfielder Carl] Crawford."
The Angels whiffed, though, landing only setup relievers Scott Downs and Hisanori Takahashi. Perhaps desperate to make a splash, they traded for Blue Jays outfielder Vernon Wells -- and most of the $86 million he was owed -- in late January. "It was weird," Crawford, who eventually signed with the Red Sox, told a reporter. "They said my contract was too much. Then they paid more [per year] to Vernon Wells."
The trade, to put it mildly, was a disaster. Wells hit .218 for the Angels, while Mike Napoli, the key piece used to acquire Wells, was flipped to Texas, where he helped the Angels' division rival return to the World Series by hitting .320 with 30 home runs. After the Angels were eliminated from playoff contention in late September, owner Arte Moreno accepted GM Tony Reagins' resignation and hired Dipoto from the Diamondbacks to replace him.
For a general manager, there may not be a task as complex as pursuing a superstar free agent. We assume that all a club must do is offer the right eight figures, but it's really not all that different from recruiting high school athletes. Pros have emotional buttons just like teenagers, and when it's time to sign a free agent contract, plenty of elements come into play. The GM is forced to balance psychology, ego, economics and the value that a hundred-millionaire places on details so small as to seem utterly meaningless. "Money plays a part, but not all that you think," says Angels outfielder Torii Hunter. "It's more like 60 percent. You're going to get your money. Are you worth $80 million or $100 million? Eh. I grew up with zero."
Dipoto's hiring was announced the first day of the off-season, the day Wilson and Pujols became free agents. To re-energize a winded franchise, Dipoto had to solve a riddle that had stymied the Angels: If it's not just about money, what is it about?
THE FIRST DAY of free agency is typically slow, particularly for the superstars. While a journeyman might sign quickly, guys like Wilson and Pujols are going to have plenty of suitors. There's time for them to decide.
Dipoto, though, couldn't wait. Wilson, an Orange County native, was the centerpiece of the Angels' winter plans. He was the best major league pitcher available, and relocating him to Anaheim would not only give the Angels a third elite starter, along with Jered Weaver and Dan Haren, but it would also deprive their rival in Texas of an ace. Dipoto was the first GM to call Garber, Wilson's agent. If free agency is like dating, Dipoto wouldn't be the guy waiting three days before ringing. He'd be under Wilson's window, holding up a boom box, to hell with playing it cool. "You want to express that this is an important cog," Dipoto says.
Dipoto is a former big league relief pitcher whose background is primarily in scouting and player development. He has the ideal personality for a modern baseball exec: He's curious, comfortable with advanced stats and has credibility with jocks. "You watch Parks and Recreation? He's the Rob Lowe character," says one observer who has known Dipoto since his scouting days. "Literally a super-duper human being."
Dipoto spent three months as Arizona's interim GM in 2010 but never pursued a free agent in that role. He was still figuring out the basic steps of the dance while filling numerous vacancies in the Angels front office. Just signing one big name like Wilson would make the winter a success. Dipoto did call Dan Lozano, Pujols' agent, about a week into the free agency period, just to find out what Pujols was looking for -- due diligence, he says, but more of an afterthought. The conversation wasn't about cash. Lozano told the Angels what Pujols wanted: to be on a team that would care deeply for his legacy. Well, shoot, Dipoto thought, we can offer that.
[+] Enlarge
Dominic DiSaia for ESPN The MagazineJuggling offers, Wilson resorted to a pro/con list. In the pro column: The lefty's screenwriting aspirations and respect for Angels hurler Jered Weaver.
THE ANGELS, the first team to contact Wilson, were also the first to take him out to dinner. Wilson is a famously selective eater, with a personal chef who uses only organic ingredients, and the Angels wanted to be very specific about where they took him. Justin Hollander, the Angels' new director of baseball operations, was tasked with finding the restaurant. After a brainstorming session with team president John Carpino, Hollander suggested West Hollywood's Soho House, which boasts a "farm-to-fork food philosophy." You don't order at the Soho House. You give the chef guidelines, then he prepares a multicourse family-style meal to your tastes.
Wilson showed up early, and so did Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "You're going to like the free agent process," Scioscia told Wilson as they waited in the lobby. "It's pretty fun. Take your time deciding, but know we'd love to have you on the team."
Over the course of three hours, they dined on prime rib, salmon and brussels sprouts. Dipoto had a clear message: You're the Rangers' ace. We're going to take you and beat up on your old team for the next five years. Mostly, though, Dipoto and Garber didn't say much. Scioscia and Wilson carried the conversation. "When do we get to talk?" Carpino joked, but Garber and Dipoto sensed the dinner was going perfectly. Nobody talked about money; nobody turned it into a negotiation.
Lefties have a reputation for being quirky, and there's no doubt that the straight-edge Wilson is not your typical ballplayer. He wants to write screenplays, so being near Hollywood appealed to him. But he also has his own auto racing team, and Miami is like Hollywood for racing -- plus the Marlins offered to sponsor his team. The Angels play near his hometown but, Wilson worried, that came with burdens too, such as dealing with ticket requests from friends and family. He's an art lover and he bonded with Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria over Loria's collection. The Angels had just extended Weaver, and Wilson kept thinking about how pitching alongside a Cy Young contender would spur him on. But the Marlins were signing such great players this winter! And they might end up trading him, as they'd done with stars before. But if he signed with the Marlins, he would get to hit; he truly wanted to hit, always had, and was bummed when the Rangers drafted him as a pitcher instead of an outfielder out of Loyola Marymount, where he posted an .855 OPS in 2001. And if he signed with the Angels, Texans would savage him. The Marlins were offering him five or six years, the Angels only four.
Once, on a plane, Wilson pulled out a yellow legal pad, drew a line down the center and started filling in pros and cons. It was an almost $100 million decision, but all Wilson could think about were these smaller details. A few months earlier at Angels Stadium, he had bumped into former Dodgers star Shawn Green and asked him for advice. "You should go where the most money is," Green said, and Wilson laughed. Wilson wasn't even thinking about money. Just years. And art. And his racing team.
AS THE WINTER MEETINGS began in Dallas in early December, Dipoto again contacted Lozano. "Danny was very up front about it. Albert wanted to be identified with, and tied to, his new organization and make that part of his legacy," Dipoto says. "We realized Albert's desires lined up with us. We wanted to have that kind of marriage. I don't want to shortchange what Albert does on the field -- it's tremendous -- but he does so much more off it."
Dipoto and Lozano brought Moreno into the discussion on Dec. 6, the Tuesday of the winter meetings, and that's when Dipoto realized he was actually pursuing Pujols. "It was too good to walk away from," he says.
The Cardinals had made Pujols and his wife, Deidre, feel almost unwanted with their offers, the first of which was for just five years. The Angels would offer a 10-year playing contract with a full no-trade clause and wanted Pujols for another decade after that on a personal services contract. It's similar to the arrangement Texas once struck with Nolan Ryan, the former Angels ace whose legacy is now more closely tied to the Rangers. It was as though the Cardinals could see only the downside to signing a 31-year-old Albert Pujols while the Angels saw opportunity. "The understanding that we wanted to be part of a deal that exceeded the 10 years was really key," says Dipoto. The Marlins were also pursuing Pujols, but their policy is not to give no-trade clauses, which worked in Anaheim's favor.
Moreno, Dipoto, Lozano, and Albert and Deidre Pujols set up a conference call Tuesday night. Money wasn't mentioned. Rather, Moreno charmed Pujols by stressing the familial nature of the his club: the longest-tenured manager in the game, a stable roster of coaches, a homegrown core that included the recently extended Weaver.
"I only spend five minutes talking to or meeting a guy and I know pretty much," Pujols said after he signed. "God has given me that wisdom. I don't even know [Moreno], and he called me one of his partners. That means a lot."
Pujols talked to Moreno again on Wednesday -- Moreno left a matinee of the apocalypse film Melancholia to take the call -- but still wasn't ready to decide. Moreno offered to get on a jet and fly out immediately, but Pujols simply wanted to pray with his wife about it.
ON WEDNESDAY, Dec. 7, while the team negotiated with Pujols and Wilson, Angels fans ribbed Torii Hunter on Twitter. Stay away from C.J., they told him. Don't call Albert!
Hunter -- beloved by other players, passionate about the Angels -- is the team's most famous recruiter. But as a recruiter, his track record is notoriously spotty. Crawford, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira all resisted Hunter's pursuits when they were free agents. Fans worried Hunter would mess things up if he got involved, that Wilson and Pujols would talk to him and also end up in the AL East. Hunter had mostly sat out the 2011 off-season, but on Wednesday night he sent Wilson two tweets: "come on home to the OC. u would luv it and fans will luv u too. A lot of fun" and "u can also work on ur tan in Cali. I do it all the time dawg. LOL."
Marlins outfielder Logan Morrison jumped in and turned it into a battle for Wilson, an amusing diversion from the shotgun spray of contradictory rumors in fans' timelines. Then Hunter saw a direct message from Wilson: "Call me right now!"
Hours earlier, Wilson boarded a private jet to Dallas from his home in LA, determined to make a decision before the meetings ended the next day. When he landed, he told Garber to get the Angels' best offer on the table by 9:30 that night. The Angels had first offered four years and $60 million; Wilson wanted five. The Marlins, after team execs had run into Garber with Dipoto at dinner that week, had offered six years and $100 million. Garber texted the deadline to Dipoto, who was across the hotel in negotiations with Lozano. Dipoto sent back a text telling Garber to wait. "For what?" Garber replied. "Is it five years?" At 9:13, Dipoto finally replied, "Yes."
"It's going to be a long night," Garber told Wilson. And that's right around the time fans told Hunter to stop tweeting.
Hunter had been signed four years earlier by a front office that negotiated in a much different manner. Then-GM Reagins met with Hunter's agent in a Del Taco, gave him the Angels' offer and demanded a response within three hours. That take-it-or-leave-it tack used to be the Angels' MO. The idea of being used merely to drive another team's offer higher seemed to offend the club.
Hunter, who signed for $90 million over five years, understands that money is a factor, saying, "You think about your kids' kids' kids' kids." But otherwise, what matters to the players he talks to is mundanely personal: Can I be close to my family? Will they support my charity? Will my wife be happy?
Wilson was still conflicted when Hunter called around 10 p.m., hours before he had vowed to make a decision. "You've got to decide if you need that money or if you want to have fun," Hunter said. "We're going to have fun, man, and I'm going to be diving for stuff behind you." He pointed out that Marlins fans might not show up, that even after a winter spree the Fish weren't as stable as the Halos. The conversation lasted 25 minutes. "Let's relax," Wilson told Garber after he hung up.
After haggling for much of the night over $2.5 million -- Garber jokingly refused to let Dipoto use the restroom for less than $5 million -- Wilson and the Angels agreed around 5 a.m. The deal was for five years and $77.5 million. It took six weeks of courtship, a choreographed dinner, daily conversations with Garber, a four-hour November dinner with the agent, another dinner at the winter meetings in December, a reassuring phone call from the team's captain, pledges to support Wilson's charity, heavy involvement from the team's manager -- "Get it done, Bob," Scioscia would say when he saw Garber at the winter meetings -- and the right geographic location. Most important, it took Dipoto. "If Jerry wasn't the GM, there's no way the deal would have gotten done," says Garber.
For Pujols, meanwhile, it took 36 hours, two phone calls from the owner, a 20-year commitment, zero face-to-face meetings and the one word Pujols needed to hear: partner. At 7:25 a.m. on Dec. 8, two hours after Wilson left Garber's suite to finally get some sleep, Pujols called his agent with his decision. "The Angels are tugging at my heart," he told Lozano. The agent called Dipoto and the news broke soon after, stunning the executives, agents and reporters gathered at the meetings. The final deal for Pujols: 10 years, $240 million.
Each player reportedly turned down larger offers to sign with the Angels. Each agreed to heavily backload his contract so the Angels could afford to sign the other.
THE NEWS CONFERENCES to announce these signings are always optimistic, but long-term deals turn into disasters as often as World Series titles. In 2006, the Astros signed Carlos Lee and Woody Williams on the same day. While not nearly the achievement of landing Pujols and Wilson, the $112 million score was supposed to get the Astros back to the World Series. "This organization is here to win," GM Tim Purpura said at the news conference, but the opposite has happened. Williams was released halfway through his deal. Lee's contract is an unmovable burden. The Astros have been over .500 just once since, and Purpura was fired 10 months later.
The Angels' news conference, on Dec. 10, underneath the giant hat structures outside Angels Stadium, wasn't just optimistic, it was rapturous. Roughly 4,000 fans showed up and chanted "Arte, Arte" and "Jerry, Jerry." But it's far too soon to know if Pujols was worth $240 million and Wilson $77.5 million or if they will be fulfilled in Southern California. That's the thing about recruiting: A team might get its man and the man might get his money, but a contract doesn't guarantee happiness or championships.
"You want to be excited, but it was a hard decision," says Pujols, who had spent his entire career with the Cardinals. "You play for a city for 11 years. I was just a little baby when I came out. They made me into the man I am."
When the contract ends, Pujols will be middle-aged and his legacy will be altered. Wilson's will be too, depending on whether he pitches the Angels to a World Series or flops.
As for Dipoto's legacy, that may take years to sort out. But in his first off-season, Dipoto answered Wilson's question: He is absolutely for real.
Wilson came alive. He started peppering Dipoto with questions, trying to coax an answer, even a clue. Dipoto was stoic. Wilson grabbed his phone, hopped on Twitter and scanned his timeline, searching for rumors until he found one: The Angels were looking to make a move on Wilson and Albert Pujols.
Wilson does impressions, so he jumped up in the middle of agent Bob Garber's suite and mimicked Pujols' batting stance. Wilson knew the stance well; six weeks earlier, he had seen plenty of it during the World Series while pitching for the Rangers. Wilson intentionally walked the Cardinals slugger three of the six times he faced Pujols in October, because, really, why bother against a guy that good?
"So you're looking at me and that guy?" Wilson asked Dipoto mischievously. "The guy with the high elbow, wears No. 5?" Maybe the exhausting days of negotiations had weakened Dipoto's poker face. Or maybe, secretly, he wanted Wilson to know. Dipoto wouldn't confirm anything, but Wilson saw -- or at least imagined -- something in Dipoto's eye that told Wilson he was right.
"Are you for real?" Wilson asked.
"I am absolutely for real," the GM responded.
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Art Streiber for ESPN The MagazineThrough his agent, Dan Lozano, Pujols told the Angels what he wanted: to be on a team that would care deeply for his legacy.
A YEAR EARLIER, the Angels, coming off their first losing season since 2003, headed into the off-season with their eyes on a return to first place in the American League West, which is where they had finished from 2007 through 2009. With high-priced players like closer Brian Fuentes and DH Hideki Matsui coming off the books, the Halos were in position to spend. "Hearing Angels have 'piles of cash,'" wrote Jon Heyman, then of Sports Illustrated. A source told ESPN's Jayson Stark that he was "stunned by how confident they were about signing [free agent leftfielder Carl] Crawford."
The Angels whiffed, though, landing only setup relievers Scott Downs and Hisanori Takahashi. Perhaps desperate to make a splash, they traded for Blue Jays outfielder Vernon Wells -- and most of the $86 million he was owed -- in late January. "It was weird," Crawford, who eventually signed with the Red Sox, told a reporter. "They said my contract was too much. Then they paid more [per year] to Vernon Wells."
The trade, to put it mildly, was a disaster. Wells hit .218 for the Angels, while Mike Napoli, the key piece used to acquire Wells, was flipped to Texas, where he helped the Angels' division rival return to the World Series by hitting .320 with 30 home runs. After the Angels were eliminated from playoff contention in late September, owner Arte Moreno accepted GM Tony Reagins' resignation and hired Dipoto from the Diamondbacks to replace him.
For a general manager, there may not be a task as complex as pursuing a superstar free agent. We assume that all a club must do is offer the right eight figures, but it's really not all that different from recruiting high school athletes. Pros have emotional buttons just like teenagers, and when it's time to sign a free agent contract, plenty of elements come into play. The GM is forced to balance psychology, ego, economics and the value that a hundred-millionaire places on details so small as to seem utterly meaningless. "Money plays a part, but not all that you think," says Angels outfielder Torii Hunter. "It's more like 60 percent. You're going to get your money. Are you worth $80 million or $100 million? Eh. I grew up with zero."
Dipoto's hiring was announced the first day of the off-season, the day Wilson and Pujols became free agents. To re-energize a winded franchise, Dipoto had to solve a riddle that had stymied the Angels: If it's not just about money, what is it about?
THE FIRST DAY of free agency is typically slow, particularly for the superstars. While a journeyman might sign quickly, guys like Wilson and Pujols are going to have plenty of suitors. There's time for them to decide.
Dipoto, though, couldn't wait. Wilson, an Orange County native, was the centerpiece of the Angels' winter plans. He was the best major league pitcher available, and relocating him to Anaheim would not only give the Angels a third elite starter, along with Jered Weaver and Dan Haren, but it would also deprive their rival in Texas of an ace. Dipoto was the first GM to call Garber, Wilson's agent. If free agency is like dating, Dipoto wouldn't be the guy waiting three days before ringing. He'd be under Wilson's window, holding up a boom box, to hell with playing it cool. "You want to express that this is an important cog," Dipoto says.
Dipoto is a former big league relief pitcher whose background is primarily in scouting and player development. He has the ideal personality for a modern baseball exec: He's curious, comfortable with advanced stats and has credibility with jocks. "You watch Parks and Recreation? He's the Rob Lowe character," says one observer who has known Dipoto since his scouting days. "Literally a super-duper human being."
Dipoto spent three months as Arizona's interim GM in 2010 but never pursued a free agent in that role. He was still figuring out the basic steps of the dance while filling numerous vacancies in the Angels front office. Just signing one big name like Wilson would make the winter a success. Dipoto did call Dan Lozano, Pujols' agent, about a week into the free agency period, just to find out what Pujols was looking for -- due diligence, he says, but more of an afterthought. The conversation wasn't about cash. Lozano told the Angels what Pujols wanted: to be on a team that would care deeply for his legacy. Well, shoot, Dipoto thought, we can offer that.
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Dominic DiSaia for ESPN The MagazineJuggling offers, Wilson resorted to a pro/con list. In the pro column: The lefty's screenwriting aspirations and respect for Angels hurler Jered Weaver.
THE ANGELS, the first team to contact Wilson, were also the first to take him out to dinner. Wilson is a famously selective eater, with a personal chef who uses only organic ingredients, and the Angels wanted to be very specific about where they took him. Justin Hollander, the Angels' new director of baseball operations, was tasked with finding the restaurant. After a brainstorming session with team president John Carpino, Hollander suggested West Hollywood's Soho House, which boasts a "farm-to-fork food philosophy." You don't order at the Soho House. You give the chef guidelines, then he prepares a multicourse family-style meal to your tastes.
Wilson showed up early, and so did Angels manager Mike Scioscia. "You're going to like the free agent process," Scioscia told Wilson as they waited in the lobby. "It's pretty fun. Take your time deciding, but know we'd love to have you on the team."
Over the course of three hours, they dined on prime rib, salmon and brussels sprouts. Dipoto had a clear message: You're the Rangers' ace. We're going to take you and beat up on your old team for the next five years. Mostly, though, Dipoto and Garber didn't say much. Scioscia and Wilson carried the conversation. "When do we get to talk?" Carpino joked, but Garber and Dipoto sensed the dinner was going perfectly. Nobody talked about money; nobody turned it into a negotiation.
Lefties have a reputation for being quirky, and there's no doubt that the straight-edge Wilson is not your typical ballplayer. He wants to write screenplays, so being near Hollywood appealed to him. But he also has his own auto racing team, and Miami is like Hollywood for racing -- plus the Marlins offered to sponsor his team. The Angels play near his hometown but, Wilson worried, that came with burdens too, such as dealing with ticket requests from friends and family. He's an art lover and he bonded with Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria over Loria's collection. The Angels had just extended Weaver, and Wilson kept thinking about how pitching alongside a Cy Young contender would spur him on. But the Marlins were signing such great players this winter! And they might end up trading him, as they'd done with stars before. But if he signed with the Marlins, he would get to hit; he truly wanted to hit, always had, and was bummed when the Rangers drafted him as a pitcher instead of an outfielder out of Loyola Marymount, where he posted an .855 OPS in 2001. And if he signed with the Angels, Texans would savage him. The Marlins were offering him five or six years, the Angels only four.
Once, on a plane, Wilson pulled out a yellow legal pad, drew a line down the center and started filling in pros and cons. It was an almost $100 million decision, but all Wilson could think about were these smaller details. A few months earlier at Angels Stadium, he had bumped into former Dodgers star Shawn Green and asked him for advice. "You should go where the most money is," Green said, and Wilson laughed. Wilson wasn't even thinking about money. Just years. And art. And his racing team.
AS THE WINTER MEETINGS began in Dallas in early December, Dipoto again contacted Lozano. "Danny was very up front about it. Albert wanted to be identified with, and tied to, his new organization and make that part of his legacy," Dipoto says. "We realized Albert's desires lined up with us. We wanted to have that kind of marriage. I don't want to shortchange what Albert does on the field -- it's tremendous -- but he does so much more off it."
Dipoto and Lozano brought Moreno into the discussion on Dec. 6, the Tuesday of the winter meetings, and that's when Dipoto realized he was actually pursuing Pujols. "It was too good to walk away from," he says.
The Cardinals had made Pujols and his wife, Deidre, feel almost unwanted with their offers, the first of which was for just five years. The Angels would offer a 10-year playing contract with a full no-trade clause and wanted Pujols for another decade after that on a personal services contract. It's similar to the arrangement Texas once struck with Nolan Ryan, the former Angels ace whose legacy is now more closely tied to the Rangers. It was as though the Cardinals could see only the downside to signing a 31-year-old Albert Pujols while the Angels saw opportunity. "The understanding that we wanted to be part of a deal that exceeded the 10 years was really key," says Dipoto. The Marlins were also pursuing Pujols, but their policy is not to give no-trade clauses, which worked in Anaheim's favor.
Moreno, Dipoto, Lozano, and Albert and Deidre Pujols set up a conference call Tuesday night. Money wasn't mentioned. Rather, Moreno charmed Pujols by stressing the familial nature of the his club: the longest-tenured manager in the game, a stable roster of coaches, a homegrown core that included the recently extended Weaver.
"I only spend five minutes talking to or meeting a guy and I know pretty much," Pujols said after he signed. "God has given me that wisdom. I don't even know [Moreno], and he called me one of his partners. That means a lot."
Pujols talked to Moreno again on Wednesday -- Moreno left a matinee of the apocalypse film Melancholia to take the call -- but still wasn't ready to decide. Moreno offered to get on a jet and fly out immediately, but Pujols simply wanted to pray with his wife about it.
ON WEDNESDAY, Dec. 7, while the team negotiated with Pujols and Wilson, Angels fans ribbed Torii Hunter on Twitter. Stay away from C.J., they told him. Don't call Albert!
Hunter -- beloved by other players, passionate about the Angels -- is the team's most famous recruiter. But as a recruiter, his track record is notoriously spotty. Crawford, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira all resisted Hunter's pursuits when they were free agents. Fans worried Hunter would mess things up if he got involved, that Wilson and Pujols would talk to him and also end up in the AL East. Hunter had mostly sat out the 2011 off-season, but on Wednesday night he sent Wilson two tweets: "come on home to the OC. u would luv it and fans will luv u too. A lot of fun" and "u can also work on ur tan in Cali. I do it all the time dawg. LOL."
Marlins outfielder Logan Morrison jumped in and turned it into a battle for Wilson, an amusing diversion from the shotgun spray of contradictory rumors in fans' timelines. Then Hunter saw a direct message from Wilson: "Call me right now!"
Hours earlier, Wilson boarded a private jet to Dallas from his home in LA, determined to make a decision before the meetings ended the next day. When he landed, he told Garber to get the Angels' best offer on the table by 9:30 that night. The Angels had first offered four years and $60 million; Wilson wanted five. The Marlins, after team execs had run into Garber with Dipoto at dinner that week, had offered six years and $100 million. Garber texted the deadline to Dipoto, who was across the hotel in negotiations with Lozano. Dipoto sent back a text telling Garber to wait. "For what?" Garber replied. "Is it five years?" At 9:13, Dipoto finally replied, "Yes."
"It's going to be a long night," Garber told Wilson. And that's right around the time fans told Hunter to stop tweeting.
Hunter had been signed four years earlier by a front office that negotiated in a much different manner. Then-GM Reagins met with Hunter's agent in a Del Taco, gave him the Angels' offer and demanded a response within three hours. That take-it-or-leave-it tack used to be the Angels' MO. The idea of being used merely to drive another team's offer higher seemed to offend the club.
Hunter, who signed for $90 million over five years, understands that money is a factor, saying, "You think about your kids' kids' kids' kids." But otherwise, what matters to the players he talks to is mundanely personal: Can I be close to my family? Will they support my charity? Will my wife be happy?
Wilson was still conflicted when Hunter called around 10 p.m., hours before he had vowed to make a decision. "You've got to decide if you need that money or if you want to have fun," Hunter said. "We're going to have fun, man, and I'm going to be diving for stuff behind you." He pointed out that Marlins fans might not show up, that even after a winter spree the Fish weren't as stable as the Halos. The conversation lasted 25 minutes. "Let's relax," Wilson told Garber after he hung up.
After haggling for much of the night over $2.5 million -- Garber jokingly refused to let Dipoto use the restroom for less than $5 million -- Wilson and the Angels agreed around 5 a.m. The deal was for five years and $77.5 million. It took six weeks of courtship, a choreographed dinner, daily conversations with Garber, a four-hour November dinner with the agent, another dinner at the winter meetings in December, a reassuring phone call from the team's captain, pledges to support Wilson's charity, heavy involvement from the team's manager -- "Get it done, Bob," Scioscia would say when he saw Garber at the winter meetings -- and the right geographic location. Most important, it took Dipoto. "If Jerry wasn't the GM, there's no way the deal would have gotten done," says Garber.
For Pujols, meanwhile, it took 36 hours, two phone calls from the owner, a 20-year commitment, zero face-to-face meetings and the one word Pujols needed to hear: partner. At 7:25 a.m. on Dec. 8, two hours after Wilson left Garber's suite to finally get some sleep, Pujols called his agent with his decision. "The Angels are tugging at my heart," he told Lozano. The agent called Dipoto and the news broke soon after, stunning the executives, agents and reporters gathered at the meetings. The final deal for Pujols: 10 years, $240 million.
Each player reportedly turned down larger offers to sign with the Angels. Each agreed to heavily backload his contract so the Angels could afford to sign the other.
THE NEWS CONFERENCES to announce these signings are always optimistic, but long-term deals turn into disasters as often as World Series titles. In 2006, the Astros signed Carlos Lee and Woody Williams on the same day. While not nearly the achievement of landing Pujols and Wilson, the $112 million score was supposed to get the Astros back to the World Series. "This organization is here to win," GM Tim Purpura said at the news conference, but the opposite has happened. Williams was released halfway through his deal. Lee's contract is an unmovable burden. The Astros have been over .500 just once since, and Purpura was fired 10 months later.
The Angels' news conference, on Dec. 10, underneath the giant hat structures outside Angels Stadium, wasn't just optimistic, it was rapturous. Roughly 4,000 fans showed up and chanted "Arte, Arte" and "Jerry, Jerry." But it's far too soon to know if Pujols was worth $240 million and Wilson $77.5 million or if they will be fulfilled in Southern California. That's the thing about recruiting: A team might get its man and the man might get his money, but a contract doesn't guarantee happiness or championships.
"You want to be excited, but it was a hard decision," says Pujols, who had spent his entire career with the Cardinals. "You play for a city for 11 years. I was just a little baby when I came out. They made me into the man I am."
When the contract ends, Pujols will be middle-aged and his legacy will be altered. Wilson's will be too, depending on whether he pitches the Angels to a World Series or flops.
As for Dipoto's legacy, that may take years to sort out. But in his first off-season, Dipoto answered Wilson's question: He is absolutely for real.
David Eckstein retiring.
Spoiler [+]
In case you missed this news earlier in the week, David Eckstein is leaning toward retirement. He hasn’t officially declared yet, but considering Eckstein didn’t play at all last season — and he doesn’t seem too excited about the offers he has received — it appears that it’s only a matter of time.
Sooooo… does David Eckstein belong in the Hall of Fame? Don’t make me laugh. But if I were constructing a Hall of People-Who-Were-Important-To-Sabermetrics, Eckstein would be one of the first players I’d add.
I first became aware of Eckstein back in early 2008. When I say aware of him, I’m not saying that I didn’t know who he was. As an avid fantasy baseball player through the 2000s, I knew exactly who he was: a middling infielder who was a last-ditch option if my starters got injured. He wouldn’t put up spectacular numbers, but he also wouldn’t tank your team’s average.
But in 2008, I learned that there was another side to Eckstein that I had never noticed before: David Eckstein, Cultural Icon. He was King of Grit. The Little Player Who Could. The Scrappiest Player You Ever Laid Eyes On. Sports writers loved him and waxed poetic about his positive traits. He played the game The Right Way. He always had a dirty uniform. His heart was so big, it threatened to consume his entire body.
Why did I finally become aware of this fact in 2008? That’s the year I started reading Fire Joe Morgan, a Hall-of-Fame-worthy baseball humor blog that thoroughly torched slipshod and lazy sports writing. And due to the nature of sports writing at the time, David Eckstein was one of their favorite targets:
Sooooo… does David Eckstein belong in the Hall of Fame? Don’t make me laugh. But if I were constructing a Hall of People-Who-Were-Important-To-Sabermetrics, Eckstein would be one of the first players I’d add.
I first became aware of Eckstein back in early 2008. When I say aware of him, I’m not saying that I didn’t know who he was. As an avid fantasy baseball player through the 2000s, I knew exactly who he was: a middling infielder who was a last-ditch option if my starters got injured. He wouldn’t put up spectacular numbers, but he also wouldn’t tank your team’s average.
But in 2008, I learned that there was another side to Eckstein that I had never noticed before: David Eckstein, Cultural Icon. He was King of Grit. The Little Player Who Could. The Scrappiest Player You Ever Laid Eyes On. Sports writers loved him and waxed poetic about his positive traits. He played the game The Right Way. He always had a dirty uniform. His heart was so big, it threatened to consume his entire body.
Why did I finally become aware of this fact in 2008? That’s the year I started reading Fire Joe Morgan, a Hall-of-Fame-worthy baseball humor blog that thoroughly torched slipshod and lazy sports writing. And due to the nature of sports writing at the time, David Eckstein was one of their favorite targets:
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