Comments on: Marcus Giles and the Hometown Discount http://sports.outsidethebeltway.com/2006/12/marcus-giles-and-the-hometown-discount/ News and commentary on the world of sports. Wed, 07 Sep 2011 16:33:12 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5 By: Ennuipundit http://sports.outsidethebeltway.com/2006/12/marcus-giles-and-the-hometown-discount/comment-page-1/#comment-40759 Ennuipundit Wed, 20 Dec 2006 16:43:29 +0000 http://sports.outsidethebeltway.com/2006/12/marcus-giles-and-the-hometown-discount/#comment-40759 Absolutely true. I am inclined to agree with Bradbury’s notes regarding recent personal moves and their limited benefit to the Braves. Was Renteria the right guy to play shortstop? Keeping the less expensive Betemit at short, would have allowed them to pay Giles more, and they would have retained Andy Marte. I think the jury is still out on Marte, but lately Schuerholz has been dealing too much youth for the wrong veterans. Dan Meyer, Juan Cruz, Jose Capellan, Zach Miner and Roman Colon have all been dealt in the last couple of years, for Tim Hudson, Dan Kolb and Kyle Farnsworth. Kolb and Farnsworth are gone, but Hudson is not worth the salary he is drawing. And that impacts how much the other players get.

I know they can’t keep all the talent they develop. But they can do a better job of major league scouting to make sure the higher priced talent they bring in is going to perform.

You suggested a firmer salary cap, but I don’t think that’s the answer for the Braves. Giles signed with the Padres for less than he made last year in Atlanta. The solution for Atlanta would be a bigger budget.

]]> By: James Joyner http://sports.outsidethebeltway.com/2006/12/marcus-giles-and-the-hometown-discount/comment-page-1/#comment-40641 James Joyner Wed, 20 Dec 2006 15:36:46 +0000 http://sports.outsidethebeltway.com/2006/12/marcus-giles-and-the-hometown-discount/#comment-40641 But Giles was a homegrown player, as is Andruw Jones, Chipper Jones, Brian McCann, and a whole array of their other starters. The problem is that they can’t afford to keep all these guys when they get free agent eligible. More on that here.

It’s true that the NFL has had more repeaters in recent years than MLB. Mostly, I think, it’s because the Pats have figured out how to manage the cap better than other teams (although that gap is eroding) and the Pats got lucky with a 6th round pick on Tom Brady and have locked him up to a long term deal. One player can’t carry a baseball team like a QB can a football team.

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