Comments on: More Manny Haiku

By: Lyndsay

Lyndsay — Fri, 02 May 2008 21:25:46 +0000

I am telling you, Footsteps in the Sand was written for him too.

his next haiku is going to be about daily hug therapy with Dustin Pedroia.

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By: coley

coley — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:49:42 +0000

Oh, I should mention that I have no idea if the Player’s Union would allow Pierre to opt out of his deal.

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By: coley

coley — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:47:49 +0000

Melissa, I think the only way Pierre gets to play everyday is to go someplace else. And the only way that’s going to happen is 1. The Dodgers eat a BIG part of his salary and trade him or 2. Pierre says to L.A., I want out of this deal.

I’m sure the Dodgers would be more than happy to let Pierre out of his contract. Will Pierre ask out? Probably not. But that’s the only way Pierre can guarantee himself significant playing time this year.

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By: Zvee Geffen

Zvee Geffen — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:12:13 +0000

I don’t know, I think Pierre is getting a bit screwed, though you make a good point about “breaking the contract.” When in baseball do contracts ever get voided? But also, how often do players play 162 games, hit in the .290s, and steal upwards of 60 bases? Pierre really ought to be playing every day. By contrast, Coco Crisp has complained more vocally than Pierre, and Coco has even less ‘right’ to do so. Yet a lot of people are sympathetic to Coco’s situation, while Pierre seems to be getting the cold shoulder.

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By: melissa

melissa — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 14:45:48 +0000

What do you mean by, “..he doesn’t want to break the contract he tried so hard to land”? How can Pierre “break his contract”? He will show up and collect his money regardless of whether or not he plays, he’s not going to retire or allow the Dodgers to void the contract. I don’t understand how a player has a right to complain because a better player is on the field. What the Dodgers are doing here is uncharacteristic, they are playing the better player regardless of the players’ contracts. Shouldn’t fans be glad the Dodgers aren’t compounding their mistake by burying the young player? Pierre is getting paid huge money, I understand he wants to play, but he should keep quiet about it, show up ready to do his job and wait for a trade or injury. That would be the professional thing to do. You are exactly right that Pierre has been consistent and they shouldn’t have expected him to be anything more than that but the contract did not stipulate that they “owed” him playing time as well. There is nothing preventing the Dodgers from eating part of this contract and trading him to a team that could use him as a starter. If the Dodgers want to keep him as a fourth outfielder at what they are paying him, then he should deal with it. The White Sox are a team that might be able to use a guy like Pierre and they have an extra third baseman. He could get dealt, in the meantime it would be nice if he acted like a professional about it. Pierre has always come across as a decent guy and a “team” guy but I think he is wrong in this case. I bet there are a lot of aging mediocre players that wouldn’t mind getting “screwed” the way Pierre has here.

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By: Zvee Geffen

Zvee Geffen — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:52:18 +0000

Coley, I agree that Pierre has a right to be pissed. This situation somewhat reminds me of the fix Julio Lugo may well be in by the end of this season. The Red Sox have a perfectly good shortstop prospect and I’m sure they’d prefer to give him the job. But the ridiculous contract they gave Lugo makes him very difficult, if not impossible, to move. But what are players like Lugo and Pierre to do? Turn down the money? “Sorry Mr. GM, you are way overvaluing me with that offer, and if I accept it, I’ll be impossible to trade once you realize your mistake and want to replace me with someone better.” Somehow, I can’t quite picture it.

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By: Andrew Ryan

Andrew Ryan — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:53:12 +0000

As you say, Pierre has been exactly what the Dodgers were looking for, someone with speed and can hit for good average. Seems best to try to find a trade out there for Pierre at this point. His salary will be tough for many teams to take on, but should be able to get good quality for him…maybe an up and coming third baseman would be in order

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