Future of big name Nats (2012)

[Lintyfresh85]

Throw in- has a team other than the yankees ever ended up not regretting a mega deal

Phillies and Doc Halladay.

[HalfSmokes]

3/60 with a fourth year vesting isn't exactly a mega deal

[Obed_Marsh]

3/60 with a fourth year vesting isn't exactly a mega deal

60 is a mega deal for Lerner land. Better check that with the board. j/k.

[Lintyfresh85]

3/60 with a fourth year vesting isn't exactly a mega deal

I feel that any time you're investing 20 million or over per year in a player... that's a mega deal.

[Kevrock]

60 is a mega deal for Lerner land. Better check that with the board. j/k.

Good point. Word is the board is already split on Harper.

[HalfSmokes]

I guess, but worse case is three years of dead weight, i'mthinking more about Werth or Crawford where you could end up having a huge void for the better part of a decade

[BH34Natural]

Hey BH34 - this is true. 

It's because the first few years of the Nats existence went so poorly.  We're only 1 full season and change removed from losing 298 games in 3 seasons.  Or 387 games in 4 seasons (average of 97 losses a season), or 478 games in 5 seasons (average of 95 losses a season).

A lot of the fans that have been around a while haven't quite gotten over all that losing yet and view the current team's performance through that lens - I don't think the 'new' fans will necessarily get that.  I think it's great that Harper and Stras will bring in new fans, but I think there might be that disconnect between the 'new' and 'old' Nats fans.

So if I am reading things right, it seems that the lack of optimism just comes from a pessimistic stance that "the organization has bobbled things for this long, why wouldn't it continue?" Right?

The fans that are less than 100% optimistic that we keep Harper long-term are the fans who don't think that Ted Lerner and ownership gives Harper the $300 million dollar contract or record deal.... for whatever reason

[BH34Natural]

I don't get the fans who say Lerner is cheap. Deepest pockets in all of baseball as far as ownership groups go. Gave werth $128 million. Rumored to be ok with giving Fielder $200 million.

With Werth off the books, improved attendance, and a MASN tv deal revenue; seems like they could afford to give Harper $300 million if they wanted easily with out batting an eye a few years from now when he hits free agency or the year before. But the question will be at what price, can you still field a competitive team, keep Stras, etc. and give Harper a deal that size.

[Coladar]

Everyone you named is under their initial contract except Zimmerman, and he signed a club friendly deal. We're talking about a 300 million dollar contract.

No, I totally get they are still under their first contract. But my point was, we haven't let one single big name walk yet. I might be mentioning kids that don't have a choice as of yet, but we also could have traded them. But you can't name one the organization has let walk, yet. So the point is, past experience means crap, because the Lerner's still have every big name, and they did offer a mighty nice extension to Zimmerman. So to use the past as an example, there's zero evidence yet that Harper walks.

[Slateman]

Throw in- has a team other than the yankees ever ended up not regretting a mega deal

Phillies and Doc Halladay.

Tigers and Cabrera
Brewers and Braun
Rockies and Tulo

[Lintyfresh85]

I don't get the fans who say Lerner is cheap. Deepest pockets in all of baseball as far as ownership groups go. Gave werth $128 million. Rumored to be ok with giving Fielder $200 million.

We really don't want to go down the rabbit hole of "rumored" offers.

[HalfSmokes]

I don't get the fans who say Lerner is cheap.

I think this sums it up

Since the Lerners bought the team five years ago, no Nats executive has had the financial authority to lick a stamp without clearing it with the Nats' board of directors, which is completely Lerner-controlled with no baseball people at all. Speed and flexibility aren't Nat trademarks.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/01/AR2010120106657_2.html

also

81
63
61
59
54
37
63

(that would be our opening day payrolls since 2006- notice how long it took to even break the 2006 number- and we're still 20th in the mlb, so, yes, some people think they're cheap

[HalfSmokes]

Tigers and Cabrera
Brewers and Braun
Rockies and Tulo

none of those contracts have had to deal with the out years yet, might as well throw in Prince and the tigers if we're judging that early

[MarquisDeSade]

I don't get the fans who say Lerner is cheap. Deepest pockets in all of baseball as far as ownership groups go. Gave werth $128 million. Rumored to be ok with giving Fielder $200 million.

You realize that, outside of the Tigers, no ownership group is dipping into their own pockets to sign FAs, right?

[BH34Natural]

You realize that, outside of the Tigers, no ownership group is dipping into their own pockets to sign FAs, right?

Then why do so many people around baseball point to the Lerner's having such a wealthy impact on the franchise and being able to keep BOTH Harper and Strasburg when the time comes to have to pony up? Just lack of knowledge of the true situation?

[Lintyfresh85]

Then why do so many people around baseball point to the Lerner's having such a wealthy impact on the franchise and being able to keep BOTH Harper and Strasburg when the time comes to have to pony up? Just lack of knowledge of the true situation?

Who is saying that?

I haven't even heard about extension talk about either player... from any media member.

[LostYudite]

Who is saying that?

I haven't even heard about extension talk about either player... from any media member.

Right - if anything, the media coverage to this point has been "They're Boras guys - they'll test the open market."  The only extension talk I hear is from fanbois here and elsewhere who want to pretend that Stras and Harper love the Nats as much as we do.

[BH34Natural]

Who is saying that?

I haven't even heard about extension talk about either player... from any media member.

Knowledgable fans from outside the Nats fan base...

[Lintyfresh85]

Knowledgable fans from outside the Nats fan base...

Well, for either guy I'd say it's premature to speculate on the cost/probability of the Nats re-signing them.

I think it makes for a better offseason topic, as well.

[Kevrock]

Knowledgable fans from outside the Nats fan base...

Like you?

[BH34Natural]

Like you?

Like on Rotoworld... heard of it?

[Slateman]

none of those contracts have had to deal with the out years yet, might as well throw in Prince and the tigers if we're judging that early

What? All of those contracts are guys that got locked up early in their careers. Which is what we're talking about with Bryce Harper

[Tyler Durden]

Knowledgable fans from outside the Nats fan base...

The Lerners haven't earned the benefit of the doubt from Nats fans who have been around a while.  They bungled so much having to do with this team.  They were super rich then just as they are now and they were terrible owners.

I do think that things are improving and they appear to be learning (Gio and Zim extensions were nice!).  But it's too early in that process to assume anything.

[Kevrock]

What? All of those contracts are guys that got locked up early in their careers. Which is what we're talking about with Bryce Harper

Go back to the original question. It's impossible to know if those teams will regret the contracts until the contract plays out all the way.

[MarquisDeSade]

Like on Rotoworld... heard of it?

They obviously haven't followed this team closely.  No ownership group is going to dip into their own pockets to sign free agents.  This isn't the Premier League.