Off Topic
Moo Considering
Recording Career?
Mendoza, who delivered a brilliant 24 homer, 36 steal, .352/.400/.675, 4.2 WAR season marred by a month off after a pitch broke his foot, is due to arrive at the arbitration table soon, and rumor is that team would like to talk about structuring a deal that would fit their salary cap profile better. “It’s no secret that Yellow Springs has money problems coming up,” said pundit Gayle Combs on the BB Daily broadcast earlier this week. “With the Valle and Ramos deals, and guys like Thum and Pineda coming closer to getting truly paid, you can guess they’re playing multi-dimensional dragon chess trying to figure out how to stuff fifty pounds of turkey into a ten pound box.”
Um.
Yeah.
That’s what she said.
Regardless, the expectation is that the two sides are looking at a sizeable chunk of money spread out over those three arbitration seasons, but front loaded rather than escalating—which would make sense on both sides. From Mendoza’s side of the many coins, who wouldn’t like more cash up front? And the Nine have some cap space available now, so from their view, flaunt it while you’ve got it. If they can pay Mendoza now and taper, perhaps that cash can make a bigger difference to the club in 2044 and 2045.
“Ricardo is a marvelous baseball player,” said GM Ron Collins. “I’m sure he’ll be happy in Yellow Springs for several years no matter what happens, and I’m sure fans will be equally pleased. He’s a joy to watch.”
Mendoza wasn’t available to discuss the situation, and is rumored to be visiting New York with fellow Nine outfielder Rex Foster, something he’s talked about in the past. “I like the music scene there,” he said. “I like sitting back and getting the grind on, and that part of the city has a kid of grit to it that makes it pop.” Mendoza has cut some tracks of his own while he was still in school, and some are suggesting that one of his stops while in the big apple might be a recording studio. "Gotta do something with the cash," he said when asked about it. "I can think of worse ideas."
