A New Bargaining Chip

[love_that_reefer]

The Giants pretty much outbid themselves this offseason for Barry Bonds' services agreeing to a one year, $16 deal. This deal has not been signed as of yet as there is still a lot of "language" to go over. With the recent news that Bonds has tested positive for amphetamines, the Giants should use this to their advantage. No team is going to touch him with a 100 ft pole so why not lower the price to around $10 mil with incentives to reach $15 mil instead of the $16 mil with incentives to reach $20 million? What's the worst that could happen, he doesn't play? With the recent signing of Zito, the Giants can afford to trade some of its young pitching to get a good replacement for Bonds. The fans will show up in San Fran no matter what. Zito has become the new face of the franchise and the All Star game will be played there this season. The Giants now have hand in this relationship and should use it to its fullest.

[love_that_reefer]

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Giants have discussed walking away from the Barry Bonds deal agreed to last month because of the myriad difficulties in finalizing a contract.
That they're having second thoughts is obvious, but the Giants cannot use the failed drug test for amphetamines to walk away from the contract because legally they should not have received the confidential information. Even if the Giants decided to nullify the deal for other reasons, Bonds could argue in a grievance that the drug test was the real cause and win a judgment. There's also the fact that it's just a one-year deal, and it hardly seems likely that the Giants could contend in 2007 without Bonds. The contract will get finalized eventually.

Well here is where they are wrong. The talks with Barry stalled way before the leaked article about Bonds' failed test so Bonds couldn't file a greivance because of this reason. The Giants can simply say that he will not agree to the given contract which is 100% true. There are options out there but nothing to replace Bonds as our #4 hitter. Jacque Jones wants to be traded and Trot Nixon is stilll out there. Jones is a better fielder who possesses more speed. J.D. Drew is still not signed as of yet and he would remain an option.

[brewersfan19]

Maybe the Giants should talk to the Brewers and make a bid for Jenkins. He is a left-handed power potential replacement possibility. Hell they may even throw in Mench too!

[love_that_reefer]

Not really a need for Mench if we got Jenkins since we Linden as our 4th Ofer right now.

[brewersfan19]

The Jenkins part was just a thought, and the Mench part was a bit of a joke!

[browntown653]

You just don't want Mench's massive head floating around Milwaukee, do you?

[brewersfan19]

Nothing against him (Mench), but not really. A couple of years ago, I may have had a different attitude about it, but too many outfielders and he needs to go somewhere where he can play regularly and prove he is as good so his ability will match his head size.

[love_that_reefer]

Mark Trot Nixon of the options list as he has just signed with the Indians.

[love_that_reefer]

Nearly two months after the San Francisco Giants agreed in principle to re-sign left fielder Barry Bonds for the 2007 season, complicated language in the contract has apparently been completed.

"We're getting closer," said Jeff Borris, Bonds' agent, without getting into details.

Pending passing of a requisite physical, the official signing of the one-year, $16 million deal, which would return Bonds to the Giants for a 15th season, is expected to be announced within days.

A Giants spokesman declined to comment, saying only that the announcement of the signing was not expected on Monday. But it is now evident that, barring any physical problems, familiar No. 25 will be back in the cleanup spot this season as Bonds continues his pursuit of Hank Aaron's Major League all-time home run record.

Borris said that Bonds is in good physical condition.

According to The Associated Press, Bonds was in San Francisco on Monday to take that physical. He had surgery to remove bone chips from his left elbow at the conclusion of the 2006 season and is fully recovered from the trio of arthroscopic surgeries on his right knee that shortened his 2005 season to 14 games.

Bonds earned $18 million in 2006, the last of a five-year, $90 million contract.

Bonds goes into 2007 with 734 homers, 21 behind Aaron's magic 755. Bonds hit his 715th to pass Babe Ruth for second place on the all-time list on May 28 at AT&T Park against the Rockies.

The Giants, who have agreed to sign 10 free agents this offseason, had trouble closing the deals with all of them because of guarantee language in the contracts that their representatives found objectionable.

John Boggs, the agent for outfielder Dave Roberts, who agreed to move from San Diego, said recently that the language had been rescinded and that his client had moved forward to close his deal.

Unlike Bonds, the other nine free agents had signed term sheets, binding each player to the club. Bonds, instead, declined to sign a term sheet until all of the language was negotiated, although Borris said that all economic terms had been resolved on Dec. 7, the night Bonds agreed in principle to return to the club.

The unsigned term sheet became an issue when it was reported earlier this month that Bonds had failed an amphetamines test last season. But any failed test is handled under rules of the Basic Agreement and no Major League club can penalize a player above and beyond those rules.

For an initial failed amphetamines test, a player goes into a clinical tract and is subject to increased testing. A second failed test nets a 25-game penalty.

It looks like the Giants didn't take my advice but since when have they? For $16 mil, he better break the record, hit .300 and play 140 games.

[brewersfan19]

I am sorry reefer. Wish they would have spent their money on someone else!

[DravenX]

Bonds wants the HR record. He won't admit it but we all know he does. IMO he should retire now. I will be watching him closely this year and hoping he don't do crap but mess up his legs even more.

[browntown653]

$16 mil when nobody else in the league would come close to him...beautiful. Simply beautiful.

[GiantsFanatic]

Andy Pettitte got 16m
G IP H R H BB SO W L Sv P/GS WHIP BAA ERA
36 214.1 238 114 27 70 178 14 13 0 99.5 1.44 .284 4.20

You guys are making a big deal about Bonds, but when your paying a pitcher the same contract, who didn't do shit last year.

Dont get me wrong, I do believe we overpaid him, the contract should have been like this.

1 year 8-10m
With incentives
30hr-1m
100rbi-1m
100bb-1m
40hr-1m
300ab-1m
500PA-1m
.500OBP-1m
.600slg-1m

[love_that_reefer]

Bonds has admitted to wanting the record.

[browntown653]

Andy Pettitte got 16m
G IP H R H BB SO W L Sv P/GS WHIP BAA ERA
36 214.1 238 114 27 70 178 14 13 0 99.5 1.44 .284 4.20

You guys are making a big deal about Bonds, but when your paying a pitcher the same contract, who didn't do shit last year.

Here's the difference...Houston wanted to bring him back and other teams were interested as well. The Yankees outbid the Astros by $2 million. As for Bonds, the Giants are outbidding everybody by $16 million because nobody else wanted him! The Yankees had to give Pettitte that kind of money in order to lock him up. Meanwhile the Giants didn't have to give him that money because you know nobody else was.