Not necessarily. It also came down to a no-trade clause, which was (according to his agent) a major reason he walked away from Houston. Sad that after all that, we did give the no-trade clause to Lee the following year.
Carlos Lee, You were fat and didn't live up to your contract. For that I am happy you are no longer clogging the base paths at MinuteMaid. However, you played the game with a smile on your face and seemed to be a decent clubhouse guy. I wish you the best of luck in Miami and a happy post-baseball life.
we can go on speculating back and forth, but if he's begging the yankees to sign him and offering a $19MM discount, i'm pretty sure it's safe to assume he's not adding "i'll give you a 19MM discount, but only if you let me have a no-trade clause as well".
Why not? One of the key things he demanded (and got from the Mets) was a full no-trade clause. It was one thing Drayton wouldn't budge on. Beltran said that he didn't want to be uprooted and wanted stability yada yada yada. I assume whatever he was offering to the Yankees also included that same demand. Given that the Yankees were interested in him, that might also be why they declined (pure speculation here). Regardless of the reasons and what may or may not have happened behind the scenes, he took the best known contract offer, both in terms of money and his other demands. So that's not really an example of free agents shunning Houston.
Here's the article: http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/a...beltran-119-million-eighth-year-no-trade.html Considering the higher cost of living and taxes in New York, Boras said the deals were essentially the same. One of the sticking points, Boras said, was the Astros' unwillingness to give Beltran a no-trade clause. Boras also wanted an eighth year. "(Astros owner) Drayton (McLane) really made a very, very competitive offer," Boras said. "He really was completely available time and again. We had close to 25 discussions about Carlos' contract. "When it came time for the Astros to measure up and advance (in the negotiations), he did. But one of the compelling aspects was the no-trade clause." McLane said Sunday night the no-trade clause was one of many factors that killed the deal. "That just wasn't it," he said. "He kept throwing different things at us at the last hour. We never got a bunch of things resolved." Both sides agree the no-trade clause was part of it, though there are disagreements on what else was involved.
http://www.baylorfans.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-69583.html "I'm very satisfied because we reached a deal," Beltran told the Puerto Rican newspaper Primera Hora. "The Mets showed genuine interest all the way and were willing to commit the way I wanted them to. "I hope the Houston fans understand, because I'm very grateful to them. This was a very difficult process. The reason we could not reach a deal with the Astros was because of a no-trade clause. "The Astros offered me a seven-year contract, but they would not give me a no-trade clause. At this stage in my career I want stability. To be in a city during all the duration of my contract. New York offered me that stability that Houston did not offer."
i think there's enough evidence that it can be deduced that if all 3 teams offered the same deal, we'd have been 3rd on his list. either way, i guess, in my original post, rather than saying that people complain that we can't attract big free agents, i would have been better off saying that people complain that we don't pursue big free agents. or people would be more accurate using that as their complaint, rather.
neither of those articles really prove anything. i interpret them as a bunch of floundering from boras and beltran in efforts to take the blame off themselves for leaving the team high and dry who made him a household name. the comment by drayton is pretty telling, in my opinion. he simply didn't want to sign here.
Back to Carlos, he did pretty much what we expected his entire stay here. Good hitter, horrible fielder, diminished with age. It's not his fault Drayton gave him $100 mil contract and a no-trade clause, and he wasn't going to save this franchise from its eventual nosedive. Good luck to him, and I'll just be satisfied with the 2 decent prospects we got in return.
I remember when he took out Adam Everret by running into him, oh well his 2008 season was going to be spectacular, but be got injured. Lee was not a bad player at all....he just wasn't worth that much money
