Who would you guys take and why? Alfonso Soriano or Carlos Lee I like Soriano- speed and power *Ooops my bad with the Derrek Lee selection, I meant Carlos
Same money, same contract length, I'd take Soriano. Realistically speaking: Carlos Lee (Better Contract) vs. Soriano (Worse Contract) In the realistic scenario, I think I prefer to have Carlos Lee. There is something to be said about a guy that really wants to play here as well. I think with him, you don't have to worry about rash trade demands whereas Soriano seems like he can be a headcase at times.
me too...and not just because he resembles Purpura i just never saw him as a superstar...but he does put up the numbers
Carlos Lee. Same age. Identical career OPS, but Lee is .015 higher on OBP. And Soriano was caught stealing 30% of the time last year, which, if some are to be believed, is detrimental to his team's success.
Both would be upgrades, but you will have to overpay for either. It seems to me that the astros can use that money more efficiently elsewhere. I have a couple concerns about Lee. Paying 10+ mill to a guy on the wrong side of 30 with a career 340/495 line seems a bit excessive. I think you can get the same production out of scott for 1/25th the price and use that money in other areas of need. Also in baseball players with certain body types and skill sets tend to age better than other. We know we'd get solid production out of lee the next few year, but i'd really be worried about how he'd perform at the tail end of at 4-5 year deal. The astros can't operate like the yankee and redsox. If they make a 50-60 mil dollar mistake it will severly hamper their ability to compete downt he road. For the astros, its about being about to use their money efficiently. With scott and pence (eta 2007 looks like) I think can more efficiently use their money either else or with a surer thing (dunn).
Soriano's OBP was still only .351... and that was a career high for him, by far (career average of only .325... worse than Willy Taveras) In comparison, Lance Berkman's career OBP is .416. Soriano's strength would be batting behind Berkman... so teams couldn't pitch around him. Also, batting Soriano in front of Berkman would negate his base-stealing ability.
Is it really overpaying if that's what the market bears? I understand that the Rangers' contract to A-Rod was overpaying if the reports about the rival offers are to be believed. But if these guys are offered in the $15-$17 million a year range by multiple clubs, is it really overpaying?
There are two ways to look at this.... are you paying the player because they're actually worth it, are you paying them simply because they're the best free agents available. Are Carlos Lee and Soriano going to live up to their big deals like Berkman and Pujols? Or are they going to plateu/decline like JD Drew and Adrian Beltre? Too often, teams get enamored by the best available, and get clouded by what the player actually brings to the table. Neither Soriano or Lee are better than Berkman... but they're likely going to get paid as much (if not more) than him. Frankly, its rare that the guys live up to their "big contract" (after arbitration years) like Lance and Albert have thus far. Guerrero was on track before he started getting hurt. Griffey, Giambi, Beltre, and Drew have not been worth it. Jury is still out on Beltran after one horrible year, and one good year. A-rod is exempt from this analysis because he'll never be "worth it" with his deal.
When making a decision i think that you have to look at the market as more than just the free agent pool, but rather the player market as a whole. The issue isn't whether these guys will give you production on the dollar relative to the rest of free agent market, but rather what will these guys give you relative to your own needs and your own ability to meet those needs through the players available through trades, free agency, and your own minor league system. In this instance it comes down to i don't think the lee or sorianio is a big enough upgrade at the corner of positionto to justify spending a fifth of our bankroll at the expense of upgrades at pitchers and other key members of our team.
For the money, Lee is the best option, IMHO...Soriano is a good bat, but is he a great OF, or does he want back at 2nd...Why have the drama, go with the sure thing...$10/yr, for sure, but anything more than that, you run the risk of not living up to the contract, ala Hidalgo (although he didn't get paid quite that much)...
