Avert your eyes, NatsTown. While the Nats were announcing the signing of Brad Lidge to a one year deal, the Tigers were welcoming Prince Fielder to Detroit for the next nine.
We're still in shock over what Scott Boras convinced Mike Illitch to do...especially since Illitch probably didn't need to go a day over 7 years because he didn't require the trap doors and vesting options Ted Lerner wanted for a deal beyond 5 (at last, that's what a person who knows stuff and is usually right tells us). Did Boras tell Illitch there was an 8 year deal on the table? We're convinced of it: no matter what Mike Rizzo says about the Nats dropping out, if not for an injury to V-Mart, that photo above would have been Boras, Prince, Rizzo, and Lerner, and we'd be welcoming the big guy to Washington for the next ~5 years. And from what we're hearing, Lerner was willing to go big money - somewhere between 24 and 25 million per year. Time to put the "Lerner is cheap" thing to bed once and for all.
The Dodgers were supposedly willing to go 7 at $140 to $160 million if you believe what you read on the internet.
Sounds like the Nats were very comfortable going large at 5 & with attachments past 5.
When the Orioles name was brought up last week you knew Boras was trying to push the Nats. Lucky for Boras that Illitch really jumped in and lost his mind.
When a post-mortem on the Prince deal is done 10 years from now, I wonder what everyone is going to say?
@NatsEnquirer, thanks for keeping us so informed.
Posted by: Andrew | January 26, 2012 at 10:45 PM