» Contract

After the Los Angeles Angels signed Ervin Santana to a four year $30 million deal last Saturday, are the Giants be thinking of doing the same their own superstar, right hander Tim Lincecum?

Maybe, but not on immediate time. Club officials and Luncecum himself said last Sunday that multiplayer deal talks are not active, although everything can change with one phone call.

“Nothing’s going on right now,” Lincecum said Sunday. Generally, he added, the business side of baseball concerns him “very little. I’m just worried about the season. What I hear, I hear about from my agent [Rick Thurman] and I haven’t heard anything. I’m just playing the waiting game.”

Lincecum is the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner. Santana on the other hand, owns a 51-37 career record, an All-Star season, and finished 16-7 with a 3.49 ERA.

Lincecum is 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA and has a ML high 265 strikeouts last season. During the Giant’s opening workout for their pitchers and catchers, Lincecum threw with his usual flair off the bullpen. It was his third throwing session off a mound this year, and can clearly be said that he is still on the verge of “bringing the old out of himself.”

“My dad always says, ‘Find rhythm first,’ so I tried to do that,” Lincecum said.

At one point, Lincecum played with his two-seam fast ball. Guided by Mark Gardner, Lincecum threw one that the bullpen coached liked.  “Atta boy,” catcher Eli Whiteside hollered. “I figured it out,” Lincecum called back, grinning.

Dan Uggla is going to cash in on a big payday.

How much will he be earning is the big question mark.

It was decided on Tuesday that the Marlins second baseman will be hitting $5.35 million this 2009.

Uggala was seeking the said amount, and the Marlins countered him with $4.4 million. In that instance, Uggala’s salary went to an arbitration hearing Wednesday in Arizona. The three arbitrators was forced to decide on to which of the amounts the All Star would be receiving.

The Marlins could have kept their negotiations with Uggla’s agent, Jeff Borris until the hearings began. But the team followed their policy to stop these kinds of talks if no agreement has been made after the said deadline.

“You never want to go to a hearing, win or lose,” Borris said. “You try to settle, but the Marlins have a policy. … Bottom line is the team is trying to make the best deal for them, and you can’t fault them for that. And the player is looking for the best deal for him, and you can’t fault him for that.”
Finding a resolution on this matter in a hearing is not a primary option, since by nature of the said arguments, derogatory compliments and other side comments are mostly conceived. In this regard, the Marlins and Uggla repeatedly said while going to the meeting, is but a business transaction.
Uggla said during the Marlins’ club caravan and Fan Fest last week, that there are no hard feelings. The Marlins felt the very same thing. In that same event, team president David Samson said in a town hall meeting that Uggla was deserving of the amount of money that he requested.

With the issue resolved, Uggla and the rest of the position players are expected for their first workout on Tuesday while Pitchers and catchers will begin on Saturday.

Spring Training will be opening its doors this Saturday at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter Florida.

Uggla, who in 2008 reaped 32 home runs and fellow All-Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez had 33, are the club’s top players, thus forming one of the most prolific middle-infield combinations in the Major Leagues.
Last year, he (Uggla) also set his personal high with 92 RBIs along with a .260 batting average with a .514 slugging average.

Uggla was voted twice as a reserve in the All-Star Game. He was picked as a rookie last 2006 and 2008.
As a Rule 5 Draft pick in December 2005, Uggla has become a stalwart image due to his history of making it into the big league, having steady numbers for a second baseman, garnering 90 home runs in his three seasons in MLB.

2006 NL MVP Ryan Howard signed a three-year contract worth $54 million, on an extension deal with the Phillies, and laid out his final three years of salary negotiation.

What made the deal so intriguing is the fact that Howard and the Phillies franchise seem to be far apart during previous contract extensions, and it seems both parties will continue doing this process until Howard becomes a free agent after 2011.

“We’re pleased to have gotten this behind us,” Ruben Amaro, General Manager of the Phillies said during a conference at Citizens Bank Park. “I think it’s important for the players to worry about playing baseball; to get them ready to defend our title.”

In an estimate, Howard will be earning $15 million this season, $19 million the following year and $20 million in 2011. Only five players earned more than Howard last year: Alex Rodriguez ($28 million), Jason Giambi ($23.4 million), Derek Jeter ($21.6 million), Manny Ramirez ($18.9 million) and Carlos Beltran ($18.6 million).

Considering that Howard will be declared NL MVP over the next season, his current salary will be added $1 million over the next two years. A Gold Glove Award and All-Star appearances will also spell bonuses for Howard and as well as $1 million if he is traded before Nov. 1, 2010.

“I’m happy to have this done and to know that I’ll be in Philadelphia for at least another three years. Both sides are happy, and now I’m just focused on getting the season started and having fun.” Howard said in a statement

The cost for Howard’s signing certainty was significant since the Phillies tried to evaluate free-agent players or which of their players to extend, like they did this offseason for Howard, Hamels, Madson and Werth.

“We know where we’re at with the dollars on him. My job is to try to put a championship-caliber club on the field every single year, and knowing exactly where the dollars are going to be over the next several years on some of our higher-priced players, it helps me a lot.” Amaro said when asked about the $4 million gap on Howard’s request of $18 million as to the Phillies’ offer of $14 million.

Jimmy Rollins also singed with the Phillies until 2010 and a 2011 club option, Brad Lidge through 2011, 2012 club option, Hamels through 2011 and Chase Utley through 2013.

Amaro said that they made contact with Casey Close, Howard’s agent and also with Howard’s family. Now specific agenda was brought out, but he said they talked about several conditions that would convince Howard to signing a long-term deal.

Amaro was asked if he was disappointed that the Phillies couldn’t sign Howard to a longer deal, he said, “I don’t know if “disappointment” is the way to depict it. … It’s three years, and it’s a significantly long time. Ultimately, we came to the conclusion it was the right thing to do.”

There was also some rumors that the parties had reached an standoff on a multiyear contract with Howard believing to be asking a contract similar to New York Yankees’ Mark Teixeira’s eight-year, $180 million contract. Also, there were some speculations stating that the parties weren’t getting along, even though no real evidence of such came out of the public.

Putting those into perspectives, it is safe to say that Howard didn’t agree to a single contract the Phillies had offered him for the last three years.

“No negotiation is simple, but the goal is always the same,” Amaro said. “Get a deal done, and get a deal that is equitable. We’ve been trying to build a relationship with Casey and Ryan and the family, and I think that at the end of the day, we got done what was necessary, and frankly, it was the right thing to do for our organization. … Things that happened prior with Ryan, I don’t know why, but they were being depicted in a different way. They weren’t adversarial. It was just a matter of us agreeing to disagree, and that happens a lot in any kind of business. I don’t think it made us love Ryan any less, and I don’t think Ryan loved us any less.”