Hardy avoids arby, signs 1yr 4.65 mil

[DSFastball55]

http://sports.yahoo.com/m...amp;prov=ap&type=lgns

[razzzorsharp]

One down.

[brewtank34]

Glad to see! It's too bad that we couldn't get a long term contract for him. Fielder gets at least double that!

[jjfanec]

Looks like a good deal for the Brewers. That is up 2 million from what he received last year but less than the 5 to 5.75 million dollar deals I had seen estimated.

[zzzmanwitz]

Hardy needs a longterm deal signed this year or he is as good as gone next offseason, and that is sad to see.

[bklynbrewcrew]

This is the guy to get signed long term. hardy is one of the best shortstops in baseball, is a great guy from all accounts, is a team leader, and most of all wants to be in Milwaukee. I also get the idea that he would be reasonable in his contract demands unlike a guy like Fielder. We really need to make Hardy the face of the Brewers along with Braun.

[3Putt]

Considering Counsell got only a mil less last year this seems like a great deal. Does this signal that the club officially doesn't have JJ in their plans for next season? Would it make sense to sign him to a multi-year contract in order to have more trading options? Appreciate any insight.

[And That]

That's a little more than one million less than I thought he'd get - seems like a good value for the Brewers. That it got done this early before the arbitration hearings gives me hope that they are working on a long term deal off of this one.

 

That he's getting paid about $2.2 mil less than Bill Hall is kind of absurd to think about.

[logan82]

Kind of surprising considering his deal last year got done hours before the arbitration hearings. Hopegully this is an indication that Hardy is going to sign a long term deal.

 

When do the arbitration hearings start by the way?

[BrewCrewForever]

That is cheap. I hope to see JJ sign long term at some point. I guess it depends how the whole Escobar situation plays out.

[Tbadder]

This kind of contract, which is less than he could've got, shows that JJ wants to be here. I'd sign him long term as soon as possible. Thanks JJ.

[TheCrew07]

I'm not sure that him being underpaid in Arby means that he's willing to sign longterm with the Brewers. I would love it if he did, but he's one of the top 5 SS in the game and would get big money going into FA and it seems like professional athletes tend to take the best deal regardless of other factors.

 

I wonder why it's so low, he should have been pushing 6 mil in Arby.

[jjfanec]

Hardy made comments when he was in trade speculation about wanting to stay a Brewer. I echo the thoughts of other people that the fact that this got done early and for less than what was anticipated gives hope that there could be a long-term deal in the works.

[Invader3K]

Yeah, this seems to be a positive sign. I'd be careful to read too much into it, though.

[bobbledude25]

Sounds like the Brewers are going to see how Escobar performs this year and if he plays well then deal Hardy the next year for pitching. Just my opinion

[Invader3K]

To be honest though, if they could sign him to a deal similar to Braun's he would probably be considered relatively affordable and thus pretty tradeable later on if necessary.

[Ennder]

I think any speculation on what this contract means is going to be pretty futile. It could mean just about anything.

[And That]

Well, it means that he has a contract for 2009, and has plenty of time before spring training to think about an extension. As players seem to tend to want to think about contract extensions before spring training starts (for whatever reason that may be), and as the contract seems to be favorable in the Brewers' interest (as in, J.J. is willing to play for a fair amount), it seems to me that there would be many more scenarios in which an extension wouldn't happen.

 

I realize it's like looking at tea leaves, but this is certainly a better sign than an acrimonious contract/arbitration dispute.

[endaround]

People need to keep in mind that Hardy only scores really well in one area arbitrators tend to look at, home runs. He "only" hit .283 and had less than 100 RBI. Add in his low base from last year and this isn't too far out of range. It also likely didn't help Hardy that Furcal signed for $10m per year.

[KCBrewerfan34]

Fielder won't double this #. Seems like a good number for the Brew. I don't think it means anything long term either way.

[kramnoj]

Signing early does seem surprising to me, but I can think of one explanation, however off the wall it may be. Hardy may understand that the Brewers budget is somewhat tied up by the uncertainty of arbitration. By agreeing to this deal early, Melvin has just a little more certainty than he did yesterday. I thought there was a chance Hardy might get $6M or so, so this is $1M less than I thought was possible. That is maybe $1M more that Melvin now gets to spend on a pitcher.

 

That would be quite the selfless act if that is what is going on, but I can see Hardy and his agent using this as a point in their favor in the hopes of a contract extension, or for arbitration negotiations next year. I think it's even possible that Braun's deal had a somewhat small influence on this, but that is probably a little too kum-ba-yah.

[brewmann04]

I like this deal and see the brewers get a long term deal here wishing we can get Hart done long term.

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

6/48 get it done

[zzzmanwitz]

i'm thinking it'll be closer to 5/48 or 4/42

[endaround]

Much closer to 4/48.