Great article on Oswalt in this week's SI. Kind of makes him out to be a bit of a hayseed (check out the Hee Haw T-shirt), but it's a nice read. Dude has the patience of Job when it comes to deer hunting! (Read the article to see what I mean by that ... )
Holy crap, come on JStark. "Multigazillionairre"?? I am so sick and tired of this STUPID argument. Although there are lots of reasons this situation could have been handled better, this is *not* one of them. Repeat after me, Jayson: it's a business. Now, say it louder: "it's a business." Good. Now, pull your head out of your ass and realize that noone funds a business out of personal wealth. For cryin' out loud, is it *that* hard to get? No, it isn't. JStark, who usually writes better than this, is relying on emotionally charged language to get his point across--a lame-assed gimmick that really isn't necessary for a good writer. Dick Justice needs to resort to crap like that, but typically not Stark.
It is not just a business. That is as wrong as wrong can be in Bagwell's case. If it was just a business Bagwell would not have restuctured contract after contract, played for less money so that the Astros could sign other better players. If it was all about business Bagwell have taken as much money as he possibly could have, because that is the smart business decision. Bagwell would have made millions of more dollars and the Astros would have spent many years in the cellar. But Jeff had loyalty to the team, and wanted to win. It has always been about more than just business.
Bagwell has never played for less money. He has averaged over $15MM per year the last 5 or 6 years, as much as anyone in baseball outside of a few outliers. He was paid market value or more when he signed this contract. He's restructured his contract to delay some of those payments, but that doesn't change the value of his contract (I imagine the payments are larger to account for future value).
You and I agree re:Bagwell. I didn't say it was just a business. (But it is first and foremost a business.) What I said was that there are reasons why this should have been handled differently, but that McLane's net worth is not among them.