How much is CC worth?

by ajoconnor on Nov 27, 2008 8:01 PM CST Comment 5 comments

Let me start by stating the obvious. If we were to sign CC and he stays healthy for five full years, he is undoubtedly worth the money. However, at what point are the Brewers risking too much of their payroll to try to sign him? To be honest, I'm personally not sure whether 5 years/$100 million is too much or not. I do know that this contract would be tying up somewhere between 20 and 25 percent of the Brewers payroll for the next five years and signing starting pitchers to long term deals is just about the riskiest thing a team can do.

If he pitches like he did last year, then yes, he is worth it. Keep in mind though, the Rockies were saying the same thing when they signed Mike Hampton. Hampton then proceeded to struggle for two years with the Rockies, pitch two average years with the Braves, and then pitch a whopping 15 games and 147 innings in the next four years. It should also be worth noting that before this big contract, Hampton had pitched three more sub-4 ERA seasons and fewer total innings than CC currently has pitched. Similar things can be said about the big contracts and lack of production from Carl Pavano and Barry Zito.

All in all, I think we have to seriously consider what we wish for with CC. As much as we would love to have him back as a Brewer, we must be sure to envision him both as a Cy Young Award winner as well as the next Mike Hampton when we are thinking about the contract situation.

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He did have a few bad games there at the end

but considering how many good games he had and how many short rests he was going on, he was overdue for at least a nominal game. I’m fully confident in the fact that he will continue to play amazingly well if he’s not the only pitcher being used.

"If loving CC is wrong I do not want to be right"
"If lovin’ Braun is wrong, I want to be a repeat offender"

by kirbir on Nov 28, 2008 4:27 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

That is true that he did this while being overused, but

I’m just saying that if you look at his stats with the Brewers (11-2 with a 1.65 ERA), that he is not going to pitch that well for the next five years. He will most likely drift back somewhere near his 3.66 career ERA numbers (maybe take off a little bit if he is in the NL). Even then, if he is somewhere near a 3.50 ERA for five years, I personally think he would be worth the money we are offering, if he stays healthy. I’m was just saying that we have to realize that he isn’t going to maintain a 1.65 ERA for the next 5-6 years and there is a significant chance that he gets hurt, simply because he is a starting pitcher that has thrown a lot of innings.

by ajoconnor on Nov 28, 2008 11:05 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I trust the Brewers

It should also be noted that the Brewers have surely looked into all these different scenarios, and they feel that the upside of what CC would mean to the Brewers if healthy for five years is worth the risk that he could get hurt or underperform. Let’s just hope it works out either way. We either sign him and he dominates for five years or he leaves us and we spend the money elsewhere on quality pitching.

by ajoconnor on Nov 28, 2008 11:12 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

It should also be noted that the Brewers have surely looked into all these different scenarios

Like this thread:

by HRF on Nov 29, 2008 11:05 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah its obvious to some

But my main point is that a lot of Brewer fans love CC so much that they expect him to pitch like he did the second half of last year for the next five years. As awesome as that would be, its not going to happen.
And also, I know it seems obvious that a team would look into all the different scenarios, but that doesn’t mean they will do that, or more specifically, make the best choice from that. You conveniently misquoted me by cutting off the last part of what I said. I’m sure there are some politicians that would be envious. Either way, that is a sweet picture.

by ajoconnor on Nov 30, 2008 8:49 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs