posted on Wednesday, January 25, 2006 10:35 PM
by
Jim
Frank packs bags, Bags talks frank
If all the parallels between the careers of Frank Thomas and Jeff Bagwell weren’t strange enough, it seems as though their tenures with their original teams are coming to a similarly rocky close.
As noted in the
previous entry, Thomas felt slighted by the Sox organization that didn’t offer him a contract after the season ended and before the Sox’s window to bargain with him closed. Fortunately, Thomas seems to have the less hairy of situations with the only employer he had ever known, if this
article by Jose De Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle is any indication.
To sum up the situation: Bagwell stands to make $17 million this season. He also has a shoulder that’s not in one piece. Therefore, the Astros would rather Bagwell not pay and let the insurance company pay him his multi-millions.
You can’t blame either side – Bagwell, like Thomas, is not a lock for the Hall of Fame, and he still has something to prove. Unlike Thomas, he doesn’t have a World Series ring yet, so he’s still after that, too. Plus, he doesn’t owe the team anything after delaying his payday in order to help the Astros’ payroll in the mid-1990s.
Then again, last time we all saw Bagwell, he was horrendously overmatched in the batter’s box. He collected one hit in eight at-bats (and that only hit came when Bobby Jenks threw him a belt-high fastball), and looked painful swinging the bat. It’s hard to tell if he’ll ever get better, and that’s a lot of money to sink into somebody who might not be able to play. The Astros need to file an insurance claim by January 31 (happy birthday, Dad!), so they’re not in a position to wait until Spring Training.
These quotes sum up the two sides’ positions:
Houston GM Tim Purpura: "From a technical point of view right now, (Bagwell) is a disabled player. He can't play professional baseball — certainly not in the National League at this point."
Bagwell: "To me more than anything else, it's just amazing how bad they don't want me to play. “Anything else said — it's just not the truth. They just want to collect their money. It's an awkward situation."
Yikes. Makes the Thomas-Sox breakup seem downright smooth.
Since this situation appears utterly irreparable, let’s put this on the Thomas-Bagwell Board! Here's where it stands:
- They were both born on May 27, 1968.
- They are both first basemen.
- They both have names that are 11 letters long.
- They both played their first full seasons in 1991.
- They both won MVPs in 1994
- They both lead their franchises in career homers and RBI.
- Thomas hit 448 homers for the Sox; Bagwell has hit 449 for the Astros
- Both have over 400 doubles, 1,400 walks and 2,000 hits.
- They both reached their first World Series in 2005.
- They both were injured when it happened.
- Since 1991, both their teams have had winning percentages of .530
- BOTH EXPERIENCED UGLY FALLOUTS WITH THEIR THEN-ONLY TEAMS.