Randy Johnson update

[splitterpfj]

The Arizona press wants him back...

 

www.azcentral.com/sports/columns/articles/1226dbacks1226.html

 

The New York press wants him gone...

 

www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/483262p-406776c.html

 

It's funny to see the difference of opinions. If I were NY, I'd be more than willing to move him too.

[splitterpfj]

I'm not going to add 3000 links to one story, but one of the Johnson articles mentioned Dana Eveland as one of the young pitchers the Yankees have asked about.

[UWRyan428]

I doubt this happens, as it seems like NY fluff to encourage their fans to believe the Rocket is making a NY return. I would put NY third on his list behind Bo-town and Houston. I could even see Arlington being in a better position. And what is up with NY asking for too much? Then again, imagining Fatty Eveland in slimming pinstripes does make me smile.

[Invader3K]

The question is, how much does a 43 year old Randy Johnson, recovering from back surgery, have left in the tank? I'm honestly asking, because I don't know. I'm assuming he's only got one or two more seasons left in him, at best.

[brettac1]

I'm not sure if it's mentioned in either of the articles, but apparently the Padres are interested in him, too.

[Invader3K]

It is...just hard to imagine that much interest in a pitcher that old. I loved watching Johnson pitch, but it's hard to imagine a big guy like that coming back from a back injury.

[pogokat]

rotoworld suggests that randy just wants to move back to his home...

 

hey, i understand that completely...

 

i hope the yankees dont get anything good in return for him..

[splitterpfj]

The Yankees are refusing to pick up part of the tab for Johnson, so the team that gets him will pay him 16 million next season. The Diamondbacks have reportedly offered a package of three players, including "one major leaguer" and AZ has said they'd like a few days to negotiate an extension with Johnson if a deal is reached.

 

Wow.

 

Just how thin is the pitching market?

[backup catchers]

$16 million for a 43 year old who showed signs of his age last season can't really be all that attractive can it? Even if he is a sure fire hall of famer he had and ERA of 5 last year. His strikeouts dropped below 200 and his walks increased. If that doesn't lead one to believe there is little or nothing left in the tank I don't know what does.

[rluzinski]

Doesn't Johnson have almost negative value at $16 mil? You wouldn't think the DBacks would have to give much of anything back.

[rpmeehan]

I think with Randy, the biggest issue is health. If he is healthy, I really don't see last year as being as much of a decline as the numbers would indicate. His WHIP was still fairly low, and if you take him out of the AL East, and put him back in the NL West, with some of their ballparks and putrid offenses, I think he could easily come back next year to post an ERA in the low- to mid-3.00's. Again, the question is health.

[aracko]

So Cashman paid, 9 million dollars, Nick Johnson, Randy Choate, Juan Rivera, Brad Halsey, and Dioner Navarro for Randy Johnson. Also remember that the Yanks gave him a 30+ Million dollar 2 year extension upon acqiring him.

 

Thats frickin hilarious.

[RyDogg66]

I still can't believe that any team is interested in Johnson at the age of 43, that they'd give up ANYTHING to get him, and that they would pay any more than half of his 16 million dollar price tag.

 

Oh, and the extension part is just hilarious.

[robfuhr]

10,000 additional Fans

x 17 home starts

 

=

 

170,000 fans

 

X

 

$25 ticket price

 

=

 

$4,250,000 in added ticket Revenue

 

10,000 fans

 

X

 

17 Home Starts

 

=

170,000 additional Fans

 

X

 

$25 concession money

 

=

 

$4,250,000 in additional Concession revenue

 

 

 

Not to mention Jersey and Souvenir sales....For $10,000,000 a year or less in most cities...Randy Johnson will be adding revenue to the team not subtracting.

 

He probably can still finish above .500 and if you move his starts around a bit, you can probably manage 20 home starts.

 

 

It is a good business move to acquire Randy Johnson....and an OK baseball move

[bsglorydays]

Jersey sales don't help the home team much. Jersey sales go into a league-wide pool, which is divided evenly among the 30 teams.

 

I see your point though. However, if Johnson doesn't stay healthy (which is probably more likely than him making 34 starts IMO), acquiring him could actually hurt the bottom line more than it helps.

 

Also, is the concessions average really $25 per fan? That seems waaaay high. But, I don't want to split hairs - I'm just curious if that is an actual figure or not.

[AJAY]

USA Today is reporting that the Yankees and D'Backs have agreed on the players and that a deal is expected this week once the finances have been worked out.

 

www.usatoday.com/sports/b...rade_x.htm

 

On a side note, this could be great for the Brewers because the Yankees are expected to go heavily after Roger Clemens and that might result in him leaving Houston.

[TooLiveBrew]

Robfuhr-----

 

GREAT post, that's definitely a slant we don't take into consideration too often of BF.net. Even with the concession (pardon the pun) that he may not pitch a full season, although I think 25-30 starts is a reasonable projection, he generates a lot of money at the gates.

 

Again, great outside-the-box thinking, and great post!

[rluzinski]

If big names paid for themselves in additional fan interest, teams would pay more for them. All I've ever read is that winning draws fans, not superstars.

[pitchleague]

Randy Johnson, for some reason, does add interest in the Diamondbacks. I remember one off day, I went to work with my cousin, who works in media relations with the D-Backs. In the span of 8 hours, he must have fielded about 100 phone calls from fans who were wondering on which days Randy Johnson was scheduled to pitch. I guess the ticket office had my cousin's number to transfer any team related questions like that.

 

Granted, this was 2001-2002 ish, when he was really in his AZ hey-day, but still. I would anticipate it being like that again. He really did bring in 10,000 extra fans when he pitched. It was amazing.

[thefutureishere2006]

any chance sutton is included in the deal to new york? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Riebes24]

Per CNN, the deal to Arizona is supposed to go down in 24 hours.

 

Going to NYY:

 

Luis Vizcaino, shortstop Alberto Gonzalez and pitching prospects Ross Ohlendorf, Micah Owings and Dustin Nippert. AZ is probably getting some amount of cash as well. Decent deal for the Yankees if they can get Clemens.

[brewmann04]

yanks totally rob ther diamond backs

who running that team

 

Luis in the bronx well at least i get to see him pitch as mariano Set up man.

[Brew Man Dan]

Three pitching prospects, who alone would most likely do better than Johnson in his waning years, then you send Vizciano and a SS too. I think this was a bad deal for AZ.

[reillymcshane]

Quote:

---

I think this was a bad deal for AZ.

---

 

Most folks are agreeing with you. The prospects aren't anything great, but Luis V. helps the pen, and the Yanks free up $14 million and clear out a personality that didn't seem to fit well.

 

In Johnson's defense, I read that he had a 1.24 WHIP last year. That's pretty solid. Not awesome, but solid. And if the back surgery he had helps him, he could be a decent player. Coming the NL will help too - but he does have to pitch as at a hitter's park half the time.

 

Still, $14 million for a 43/44 year old coming off back surgery is scary. Righthanders seem to be sitting on his too - he gave up a lot of long balls last year to them - and at AZ, that might get worse. Big risk for the Dbacks.

 

It does allow the Dbacks to sell lots of tickets as Johnson goes after 300 wins (assuming he stays healthy the next two years).

 

Better to sell tickets than be good! That's the Cub way (at least for most of their existance)! And now the Dbacks.

[endaround]

The Yankees actually save more than $14 million since it comes off the top. Less luxury tax to pay. So the Johnson deal probably cost the Brewers $500k in revenue sharing.