Poll

Updated - who does Harper sign with?

Nationals
25 (47.2%)
Phillies
22 (41.5%)
Padres
2 (3.8%)
D'backs
1 (1.9%)
White Sox
3 (5.7%)

Total Members Voted: 53

Author Topic: POLL: UPDATED: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....  (Read 123347 times)

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Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #925: January 02, 2019, 03:22:14 PM »
Yes, But in healthy ownership/management relationships, the big free agent decisions are "yes/no."  Yes/No on whether to pursue the guy and then Yes/No on the terms of the contract the GM negotiated.
The owner stepping in and directly negotiating with an agent is toxic and dumb. And probably appeals to these guys' egos as successful businessmen in whatever arena they made their fortune in.  Boras used to have a couple of guys he could pull this crap with usually to bad results (See: Fielder, Prince). But now that Ilitch is dead he has to rely on the Lerners. 

The last Forbes valuation had the Nats at 1.6 billion. Harper is supposedly seeking 400 million plus- no business owner in their right mind is going to step aside and delegate a salary negotiation equal to a quarter of their business’ vale

Offline Natsinpwc

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #926: January 02, 2019, 03:25:24 PM »
It’s all smoke pay not attention. No one knows what any of it means.

Online skippy1999

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #927: January 02, 2019, 03:25:49 PM »
It’s all smoke pay not attention. No one knows what any of it means.

Exactly.

Offline DPMOmaha

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #928: January 02, 2019, 03:26:05 PM »
If he wants to increase his star power, he needs to have a big October. There's a lot of room for his stardom to grow, though.

Offline bluestreak

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #929: January 02, 2019, 03:28:52 PM »
I'm sure it's a collaborative decision in that that the FO will have input but to imply that any big deal shouldn't have hands is not realistic. Like you said, most of the owners are business people and contract negotiations are right up their alley.

I don't disagree with you. It totally happens. It's just not healthy when they get overly involved and when the owner is telling the GM to sign someone he isn't even interested in, you wind up like the Tigers did.

I would submit that contract negotiation in real estate is likely a completely different animal than baseball contract negotiation.

I'm not a surgeon. But surgery is similar enough to what I do that I could look, act and talk like one and be incredibly dangerous if i convinced myself that that was a substitute for real
experience.

Offline UMDNats

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #930: January 02, 2019, 03:34:05 PM »
The last Forbes valuation had the Nats at 1.6 billion. Harper is supposedly seeking 400 million plus- no business owner in their right mind is going to step aside and delegate a salary negotiation equal to a quarter of their business’ vale

Right. This isn't a run-of-the-mill free agent signing. This is signing a player who will define your franchise for 10 years and cost you half a billion dollars, potentially.

I think they could end up at 10/330 with an opt-out after 4, a no-trade clause and Bryce announces the Bryce Harper foundation or a significant contribution ($1-2 million) to the Nationals Academy in DC. Everyone wins. Harper gets his record-setting deal (slightly more than Stanton), Nats get their star and both get to say, "we're all committed to DC."

Online imref

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #931: January 02, 2019, 03:34:17 PM »
It’s crazy to suggest Rizzo wouldn’t want Harper back.

Offline bluestreak

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #932: January 02, 2019, 03:43:08 PM »
The last Forbes valuation had the Nats at 1.6 billion. Harper is supposedly seeking 400 million plus- no business owner in their right mind is going to step aside and delegate a salary negotiation equal to a quarter of their business’ vale

Oh, I know. I'm just saying it might not be the smart thing to do. Most billionaires are not going to delegate it, even if someone is objectively better than them at it.
(I am actually genuinely curious if Magic Johnson or one of his group is doing negotiations with Boras).

That being said, I think multi billionaires are weird animals that are completely different than the rest of us. I cant imagine the pathology involved in amassing, say, $750 million and then thinking to myself, "you know what, this isn't enough money I need to work to get more." (I fully realize most people do not consider this pathology).
So trying to understand how these guys operate might be a fool's errand.

Offline bluestreak

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #933: January 02, 2019, 03:44:19 PM »
It’s crazy to suggest Rizzo wouldn’t want Harper back.

It depends on the price, doesn't it?


Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #934: January 02, 2019, 03:49:38 PM »
Oh, I know. I'm just saying it might not be the smart thing to do. Most billionaires are not going to delegate it, even if someone is objectively better than them at it.
(I am actually genuinely curious if Magic Johnson or one of his group is doing negotiations with Boras).

That being said, I think multi billionaires are weird animals that are completely different than the rest of us. I cant imagine the pathology involved in amassing, say, $750 million and then thinking to myself, "you know what, this isn't enough money I need to work to get more." (I fully realize most people do not consider this pathology).
So trying to understand how these guys operate might be a fool's errand.

it's not whether or not rizzo is better, it's that the interests of ownership and management dont perfectly align; when the numbers are that close to the actual value of the franchise, the trade off between a liability on the books that large vs. on the field competitiveness is something that's above even a GM's pay grade

Online imref

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #935: January 02, 2019, 03:52:03 PM »
It depends on the price, doesn't it?

maybe, depending on the impact it would have on his budget.  If the Lerners are willing to spare no expense, then it won't matter to Rizzo.

Offline UMDNats

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #936: January 02, 2019, 03:52:36 PM »
I imagine Rizzo told the Lerners he wants Harper back but the idea that they can field a great team AND commit $35 million a year to Harper AND stay under the luxury tax every year don't align. So, basically, "if he's coming back, there has to be an understanding that the budget for the team increases, too, or we're not going to be good enough for a world series."

Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #937: January 02, 2019, 03:59:18 PM »
We’re not going to hit his initial demand and we aren’t west coast or nyc

Money: they will be close
Location: This city compares favorably to NYC or West Coast but I'm not sure what criteria you're using. The whole he wants to be closer to Vegas is silly given charter jet travel and the money he will be making.
What will make him a bigger star: He will be a legend in DC and just another HOF in LA or NYC. And the theory that being in those cities is better for marketing doesn't apply as much with today's national sport media saturation.

Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #938: January 02, 2019, 04:01:25 PM »
I imagine Rizzo told the Lerners he wants Harper back but the idea that they can field a great team AND commit $35 million a year to Harper AND stay under the luxury tax every year don't align. So, basically, "if he's coming back, there has to be an understanding that the budget for the team increases, too, or we're not going to be good enough for a world series."

They're not paying him $35M/year. Leave the stupid money to other teams, unless they can defer payments a la Scherzer.

Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #939: January 02, 2019, 04:03:07 PM »
Location: This city compares favorably to NYC or West Coast but I'm not sure what criteria you're using
:lmao:
Quote
What will make him a bigger star: He will be a legend in DC and just another HOF in LA or NYC. And the theory that being in those cities is better for marketing doesn't apply as much with today's national sport media saturation.

national guys still zero in on the Yankees and Red Sox, toss in the Cubs, Dodgers, and, to a much lesser extent, Cardinals, and that's who gets the most relative air time

Offline UMDNats

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #940: January 02, 2019, 04:11:00 PM »
DC is great but it is absolutely not NYC or LA.

If Harper was actually smart he'd find a way to get a real DC job like a lobbyist or advisor to Nevada legislators and get paid $500k a year in addition to his playing salary. That's the true DC way. I'd say he can send his kids to a DC private school but we all know he ain't raising a family here (he'll do it in Vegas).

Online imref

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #941: January 02, 2019, 04:12:12 PM »
DC is great but it is absolutely not NYC or LA.

Is that why we all live in the NYC or LA area?

Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #942: January 02, 2019, 04:13:58 PM »
Is that why we all live in the NYC or LA area?

We don’t all have $300m+ There is nothing around here comparable to a nice Malibu mansion, but that’s irrelevant on my salary

Offline UMDNats

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #943: January 02, 2019, 04:15:16 PM »
Is that why we all live in the NYC or LA area?

I mean we've all had these discussions and cities come down to personal preference and taste - I've lived in DC and NYC before - and every city has pros and cons. But objectively NYC is the center of the business world and LA is the center of the entertainment world, which are both huge for someone like Bryce. Bigger markets for him, plus each has their own advantages over DC in terms of culture or weather or whatever. If you have $300 million you are living the best life in each city and the best life in NYC or LA is likely better than the best life in DC.

Again, I'm not even disparaging DC as it's awesome and at my level I'd rather live in DC than NYC but at Bryce's level the two biggest cities in the country definitely have their advantages over DC.

Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #944: January 02, 2019, 04:16:20 PM »
We don’t all have $300m+ There is nothing around here comparable to a nice Malibu mansion, but that’s irrelevant on my salary

That's why you don't think DC compares to LA? Sheesh. :bang:

Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #945: January 02, 2019, 04:18:07 PM »
That's why you don't think DC compares to LA? Sheesh. :bang:

Why do you think it does- is the potomac comparable to the Pacific, are you a fan of humidity?

Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #946: January 02, 2019, 04:20:22 PM »
I mean we've all had these discussions and cities come down to personal preference and taste - I've lived in DC and NYC before - and every city has pros and cons. But objectively NYC is the center of the business world and LA is the center of the entertainment world, which are both huge for someone like Bryce. Bigger markets for him, plus each has their own advantages over DC in terms of culture or weather or whatever. If you have $300 million you are living the best life in each city and the best life in NYC or LA is likely better than the best life in DC.

Again, I'm not even disparaging DC as it's awesome and at my level I'd rather live in DC than NYC but at Bryce's level the two biggest cities in the country definitely have their advantages over DC.

How's that working out for Trout and Stanton? Harper is a bigger star than them by far.

Offline Baseball is Life

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #947: January 02, 2019, 04:21:47 PM »
Why do you think it does- is the potomac comparable to the Pacific, are you a fan of humidity?

Is that all you got? Humidity? We have AC now you know.

Think about what might be more important to Harper.

Online imref

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #948: January 02, 2019, 04:22:58 PM »
FWIW:  White Sox reportedly not willing to go beyond 7 years for Harper (or Machado)

https://t.co/yvc0r3wCyo

Offline HalfSmokes

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Re: POLL: Bryce's team in 2019 will be.....
« Reply #949: January 02, 2019, 04:23:34 PM »
Is that all you got? Humidity? We have AC now you know.

Think about what might be more important to Harper.

In what ways is dc better than LA?