Who's right and who's wrong?

I heard about this on the radio driving to Plano today. I vote for the club.

Interesting irony here. Why is it that when a player is paid to play this game he actually has a say in what position he will play, but the amateurs who play this game are told that they will play the position that most benefits the team?

part of the nasty business of baseball.

my first thought was let the new kid play 3rd,then as read on he was a 2nd baseban. maybe a better fit.

either way he won't hurt in the wallet, sounds as though nolan ryan isn't sold on it fully.

I don't follow why the club would treat a team player like Young this way. When they wanted him to switch from 2B to SS, they discussed it with him because they needed him at SS when A-Rod was traded away. Now they want (vs. need) the 11 error gold glover at SS to move to 3B so the 32 error kid from AA can play SS...and instead of discussing it with Young they tell him he's moving, no discussion? The Rangers are trying to dump his high dollar no trade contract by getting Young himself to ask for the trade.

That is a dilema. In most cases I would say "suc it up", in this case, besides the club trying to mislead the public with his approval, he is being treated like a pawn rather than the all-star he is. I would want out also, the ownership screwed up, so why not make a trade for a bonified Third baseman.

Just another high-priced prima-donna with demands. He needs to just shut his hole and do what the team tells him. He's the "employee" not the "employer".

quote:

bonified

I think you meant bona fide.

quote:

Originally posted by rz1:
That is a dilema. In most cases I would say "suc it up", in this case, besides the club trying to mislead the public with his approval, he is being treated like a pawn rather than the all-star he is. I would want out also, the ownership screwed up, so why not make a trade for a bonified Third baseman.

Why make a trade when you are paying a guy $60 million to play A position and you have an up and coming player in your farm system. Isn't that what farm systems are for? I for one am sick of highly priced athletes (who I pay for by the way) demanding a trade when things happen they don't approve of. Honor your contract, PERIOD!!

quote:

I for one am sick of highly priced athletes (who I pay for by the way) demanding a trade when things happen they don't approve of. Honor your contract, PERIOD!!

quote:

Originally posted by dbg_fan:

quote:

bonified

I think you meant bona fide.

I guess Young feels he is getting "bonified".

I haven't followed Pro anything for a few years now. Only go to an occasional BB game and don't subscribe to any sports channels. All the people who do are paying these guys not the BB club.
I prefer amateur BB far more than Pro.
Give me a day at Christie Pitts in Toronto watching the Toronto Maple Leaf BB club any day. Only cost is the gas to get there.

quote:

Originally posted by Danny Boydston:

quote:

Originally posted by rz1:
I would want out also, the ownership screwed up, so why not make a trade for a bonified Third baseman.

Why make a trade when you are paying a guy $60 million to play A position and you have an up and coming player in your farm system. Isn't that what farm systems are for? I for one am sick of highly priced athletes (who I pay for by the way) demanding a trade when things happen they don't approve of. Honor your contract, PERIOD!!

Danny, I really see your point and as I mentioned in most cases I would say "suc it up". I've read only that one article and to me, the Rangers screwed up the way it was released. Now you have a disgruntled leader and all-star and that is not what you want in the clubhouse. Many owners would include their children in any deal that involves a gold glove all-star shortstop.

I'm siding with Young on this... He's been a GREAT player, and leader on this goofy franchise. This kid may have tools, but Young's an ALL-STAR at his position, and is not in decline... He would have a lot of value on the trade market, and there are quite a few contending teams that would gladly give up prospects/blue-chips for his services...

Michael Young is classy guy. But in this case he is wrong. At $60M through 2013 he is blessed to play this game at any position. I do things I don't like for my employer because it is the right thing to do for my company. Why is that different for pro baseball players?

Give me Kevin Youkilis, Chone Figgins, etc... Guys who take the glove you give them and simply perform on the field.

Although I really like Michael as a player, he is wrong. This game is a business, nothing more, nothing less. Sad but true.

You can't say it's a business on the Rangers side of this issue and tell Young he can't approach it the same way. Young's always been a team player. Young's now treating it like a business too...taking his services elsewhere, somewhere where he feels he'll be valued where he can contribute the most.

I am willing to bet there is more to than we know - lot of behind the scenes stuff happening. It's an ugly situtation and will probably get uglier.

Overall, from what I have gathered from the article I am going to side with Young. All I have ever heard about him is how much of a team player he is. He is an established team leader, he's taken one for the team already (on a guy who is no longer there) and he shows up and plays everyday.

I think management should have talked to him first to see how he felt and see if he would go along with it. After that then it becomes a business and you do what you think is best.

What Tx-Husker put it's a business for Young too is a good point. If Young was one of these guys who have been trouble his whole career then I would be inclined to agree he needs to shut up.

Who's right and who's wrong?

Is it really a matter of right or wrong, though? I have to agree with Tx-Husker's reminder that it goes both ways. Earlier today I saw the following from Buster Olney :

Some future Hall of Famers signed this week, but Bobby Abreu is still out of work, and so are Manny Ramirez, Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hudson. With a little more than a month to go until spring training begins, you could start a 31st team with the available free agents and might have a shot at a respectable record:

Lineup
SS Orlando Cabrera
2B Orlando Hudson
RF Bobby Abreu
DH Manny Ramirez
LF Adam Dunn
3B Joe Crede
CF Jim Edmonds
1B Sean Casey
C Jason Varitek

Rotation: Ben Sheets, Derek Lowe, Oliver Perez, Jon Garland, Paul Byrd, Randy Wolf, Mark Mulder

Bullpen: Brandon Lyon, Juan Cruz, Dennys Reyes, Will Ohman

Bench: Garret Anderson, OF; Brad Ausmus, C; Eric Hinske, 1B/3B; Kevin Millar, 1B

Extra Hall of Famers, just in case: Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Thomas, Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez

Then while looking for the link, I saw his comments about Young that began:

Michael Young told the Rangers he'd like to be traded, rather than play third base. This will put GM Jon Daniels in a very tough spot: Young will be extraordinarily difficult to trade because his salary is so high -- he is set to make $16 million for each of the next five seasons -- and he's 32 years old, and he's not a power hitter, and some advance scouts just don't think he can play shortstop anymore. At a time in which teams have been hanging onto their cash, Young is probably as close to being untradeable as anyone in the game, unless the Rangers eat a huge chunk of the contract in the way they ate almost 40 percent of A-Rod's contract to move him.

Earlier in the offseason, before any of this position-change stuff came up, I spoke with several general managers who said they would have no interest in Young because of his contract. "Nice player, awful contract," said one.

It might be a little risky for Young to make too strong of a demand to be traded. With the recent economic uncertainty I have to wonder if all the above unsigned players will get signed for what they are asking. Surely the the owners must have lost a bit in the crash...

...then again, maybe not:
Jeff Wilpon: Bernard Madoff scandal won't affect Mets' bottom line

Full disclosure - I hate the Cowboys. I like the Rangers (but ignore them). I live & die with the Red Sox.

If Michael Young refuses to change position even when it can benefit the team then he becomes to the Rangers what T.O. is to the Cowboys. Me first - team second attitude.

i can't think of to many things i wouldn't do for 16 mill. never mind 16 mill a year for 5 years. but.......that's me.

dbg_fan....Young is nothing like Owens. Owens wanders into the "I like me some me" territory on his own. This is different. This was club initiated, not Young initiated. And, if you read the press it doesn't even sound like the club president, Nolan Ryan, is all that bought into it.

.

quote:

Originally posted by 20dad:
i can't think of to many things i wouldn't do for 16 mill. never mind 16 mill a year for 5 years. but.......that's me.

I found one thing you couldn't do 20dad...for any amount of money. Try throwing this scrumptious bundt cake away. Just try!

I'd discipline the heck out of Young. I'd ship him off to the Red Sox along with Taylor Teagarden for Julio Lugo and a bunch of prospects.

A player should do what the team needs him to do. But a star player deserves the respect of being sat down and having the situation explained early in the process.

I agree with RJM, except that the proper punishment would be to report to Scottsdale for duty with the Giants in exchange for Zito and Keiichi Yabu.

woody,
where did you find that,i've been looking for that size spacley sprocket for year's. wait is that a cogswell cog? that explains it.

rjm
anything to get rid of lugo,we have been struggling at short since nomar. i did like cabrera though. just can't warm up to lugo.

.

I found it in the Grainger's catalogue of course!



You wouldn't believe the great recipes they have in there.

I have always respected Michael Young and presented him as a role model for my son when he was younger.

But the Rangers did try to discuss this with him earlier this winter. The goal of the Rangers is to contend in 2010. I believe the idea is to bring Andrus up this year and let him get adjusted in MLB when they aren't in contention.

Also, switching from shortstop to third during a season is not an easy adjustment. The idea was for Young to start now on the switch, rather than doing it in the middle of the season.

The fact that Elvis Andrus was going to take over at SS is nothing new and it was a matter of it happening this year or next and Michael Young had to know it was coming. All of the discussions were that he was going to move to 3rd.

I hope that he will rethink his position because he has always been a leader and a class act.

If a change is in order, it seems to make more sense moving him back to his natural position...2B...and move Kinsler to 3B. Kinsler's not the 2B-man Young is.

From what I've read/heard, Kinsler isn't anything great in the infield and may be destined for the outfield down the road. I think that may be your best solution....Kinsler to the OF, Young to 2B, because Young's offense doesn't really play at a corner in my opinion.

Why would the Rangers just tell him he's moving to 3rd base without at least sitting down to discuss the rationale behind the move? Either they wanted to trade him, fully expected this reaction and wanted to make him the "bad guy" for forcing the trade; or, they're a bigger bunch of idiots than we in N. Texas all imagined...and that's pretty big!

Andrus is the rookie, why does he get to go to SS? Why not tell him we're bringing you up and your going to start at 3B?

I admit to a double standard here because when the Nats forced Soriano to move to LF I was of the opinion that he needed to shut his yap and go. If I remember correctly though the Nats at least discussed it with him privately before it went public.

What A. Game,

I think you're listening to much to Norm on 1310 The Ticket.

I will say that I thinks there is alot more to it than we are hearing, but I also heard they approached him earlier in the year and mentioned it.

I guess if you're making $16 million a year, you call the shots.

If he truly wants to be traded and no team is willing to pay that kind of money (and they said they weren't) lets not have the Rangers do what they did with A-Rod and pay some of his salary. How about Young taking a paycut enabling him to sign with someone else if he is not happy here. The ball is in his court!

I haven't heard Norm's take on this. I did hear the Hardline suggest that the Rangers were trying to force the trade.

What about the idea of Andrus starting at 3B?

I agree with you, hopefully they don't end up eating a bunch of his salary.

Norm suggested the same thing (forced trade).

He suggested they are preparing for 2010-2011 and thought they might consider throwing a lineup out there that looks like: (Norms Lineup)

Catcher- Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Taylor Teagarden

1st- Justin K Smoak

2nd- Michael Young

SS- Elvis Andrus

3rd- Chris Davis

LF- Ian Kinsler

CF- Josh Hamilton

RF- David Murphy

Of course, that line up is missing what the Rangers are always missing...pitching!

All's well that ends well....I guess!

http://rangersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/01/youn...o-move-to-third.html

Sounds like Young is not happy, but read the tea leaves and understood he was stuck.