hot stove boils over!
Twins resign Brad Radke to two years, $18 million, and offer Koskie arbitration. Also offered arbitration: Henry Blanco and Terry Mulholland. Now, Blanco already signed with the Cubs, so the Twins just offered arbitration to get draft picks (Blanco was a type B free agent, ~3rd round pick).
I'm ecstatic about the news. The Radke contract is an entirely fair one, considering he made more than $10 million this year and had a career year. The money is about right and the years certainly are. If his performance drops, the Twins have a stable of young arms that should be able to contribute in two years. If he's still going strong, the financial situation may be clearer. I'm also pumped about offering Koskie arb.--in all likelihood, this means that they'll strike a multiyear deal before the arbitration deadline, but now even if he's not signed the Twins will get compensatory draft picks. I sure hope he's back, I think it's hard to replace what he brings to the team, and I don't want my Koskie jersey to go obsolete yet. The Mulholland arb offer....well, I can live with that. I think he brings some things to the team and it's certainly a more sensible move than the earlier Juan Castro signing.
What a great turn of events! Jacque Jones is certainly done with the team now, which is a little disappointing because I wouldn't be surprised if he's got a couple monster years in him before he's done. He's just too expensive and too maddeningly inconsistent to play in a stocked MN organization. Rivas is probably on the out, too--hope the door doesn't hit his ass on the way out.
On non-baseball-geek issues, my Mayo application is done. UCLA is next, since it is due in exactly one week. I've decided to apply to Johns Hopkins and Minnesota as well, which will bring the list to an even half dozen. Fun times!
I'm ecstatic about the news. The Radke contract is an entirely fair one, considering he made more than $10 million this year and had a career year. The money is about right and the years certainly are. If his performance drops, the Twins have a stable of young arms that should be able to contribute in two years. If he's still going strong, the financial situation may be clearer. I'm also pumped about offering Koskie arb.--in all likelihood, this means that they'll strike a multiyear deal before the arbitration deadline, but now even if he's not signed the Twins will get compensatory draft picks. I sure hope he's back, I think it's hard to replace what he brings to the team, and I don't want my Koskie jersey to go obsolete yet. The Mulholland arb offer....well, I can live with that. I think he brings some things to the team and it's certainly a more sensible move than the earlier Juan Castro signing.
What a great turn of events! Jacque Jones is certainly done with the team now, which is a little disappointing because I wouldn't be surprised if he's got a couple monster years in him before he's done. He's just too expensive and too maddeningly inconsistent to play in a stocked MN organization. Rivas is probably on the out, too--hope the door doesn't hit his ass on the way out.
On non-baseball-geek issues, my Mayo application is done. UCLA is next, since it is due in exactly one week. I've decided to apply to Johns Hopkins and Minnesota as well, which will bring the list to an even half dozen. Fun times!