Dan Uggla: Well Paid to Well, Go Away:

[clydepepper]

SF tour of duty: 4 games, 0-11 with 6 Ks and 3 errors.

for which the Braves still pay him upwards of $13 Million

Good Work if you can get it, huh?

[gregr2]

No kidding, I could retire on that.

[brewing]

He has nothing Bobby Bonilla.

[the 'stache]

I just looked this up on Wikipedia. Bonilla is being paid $1.6 million a year from the Mets until the year 2035. Wow.

From 1992 to 1994, Bonilla was the highest paid player in the league, earning more than $6 million per year. Bonilla is currently being paid approximately $1.19 million by the New York Mets each year. This was part of a deal made when the Mets released Bonilla before the 2000 season while still owing him $5.9 million for the final year of his contract. The deal expires in 2035, at which point Bonilla will have been paid $29.8 million for a season in which he did not even play for the Mets.

[clydepepper]

Originally Posted by the 'stache

I just looked this up on Wikipedia. Bonilla is being paid $1.6 million a year from the Mets until the year 2035. Wow.

Seems like Al Hrabosky got an incredibly long deferred deal from Ted Turner, though BaseballRefence does not list much detail. It was prior to the million dollar contracts, but I seem to remember something like 100K for 25 years or something like that.

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

Seems like Al Hrabosky got an incredibly long deferred deal from Ted Turner, though BaseballRefence does not list much detail. It was prior to the million dollar contracts, but I seem to remember something like 100K for 25 years or something like that.

See, now that is something I did not know.


Turner was going to give him just a normal deal, but the Mad Hungarian gave him one of these looks, and ol' Ted put him on the 25 year plan.

[clydepepper]

Now the guys have great pension plans, so no need to defer.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

I am shocked with how bad Uggla has played. What happened to the guy?

[clydepepper]

I really think after a while it becomes a mental / confidence thing...especially if they deny it.

I never liked his swing though...he may be too muscle-bound.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

I really think after a while it becomes a mental / confidence thing...especially if they deny it.

I never liked his swing though...he may be too muscle-bound.

It certainly seems mental.

[DaClyde]

So is Dan Uggla just the next generation of Steve Balboni or Rob Deer? Or maybe Ron Kittle (since Uggla was actually pretty good for awhile).

[clydepepper]

Originally Posted by DaClyde

So is Dan Uggla just the next generation of Steve Balboni or Rob Deer? Or maybe Ron Kittle (since Uggla was actually pretty good for awhile).

Balboni had more power but lasted longer. Rob Deer was a very good, almost great defensive outfielder.

Kittle's career was much more up-and-down than Uggla's.

I'll have to do some more thinking and research to decide who he most reminds me of.

[clydepepper]

I used BaseballRefeence.Com 's leader board / yearly top-ten / strikeouts

- could not really find a comparable decent in both average and production.

- thinking of his incredibly awkward looking follow-through, I am going to lean more heavily toward his being too muscle-bound. I think you have to be more flexible than he appears to be. I cannot recall what his swing looked like before he came to Atlanta, nor can I remember if his swing was the same during his long hitting streak a few years ago.

I will amend my Rob Deer comment to say that he was a good to very good defensive outfielder...which does not especially show up in his stats.

[CMIZ5290]

Please see my previous post. This guy has been like this for close to 3 years!! B.J. Upton is right behind him.

[KCRfan1]

I think Uggla is too bulked up and cannot get the bat around and follow through his swing. The same thing happened with David Duval, the golfer. He bulked up, and the guy could not hit a golf ball to save his life. He was very good prior to packing on the muscle. The mental stuff came next.

[D. Bergin]

Uggla is 35 years old. Guys who strike out 170 times a year from the time they enter the league, don't usually have long, productive careers.

We're seeing Curtis Granderson really struggling right now, at 33 years old. If you already have that giant hole in your swing, once you lose the slightest bit of bat speed on top of that, you are done.

[wondo]

"Dan Uggla: Well Paid to Well, Go Away:"

Like a Charlie Sheen hooker.

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by I Only Smoke 4 the Cards

It certainly seems mental.

He's doing his best Steve Blass, only with a bat.

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

I will amend my Rob Deer comment to say that he was a good to very good defensive outfielder...which does not especially show up in his stats.

I would say Rob Deer was a fairly good outfielder. I saw him more than a few times at County Stadium. He was sort of a Gorman Thomas v 2.0, though Deer was a right fielder and Thomas played center (he used to go crashing into the center field wall. Baseball Reference lists him as 6'2" 210 lbs. I think it was being a little kind as far as his playing weight was concerned). And when he left Milwaukee, he immediately had a very Uggla-esque season at age 30, hitting 25 home runs while setting a Major League record with the lowest batting average ever for a qualifying player. He hit .179 in 539 plate appearances. He bounced back the next season to hit 32 home runs and a robust .247.

Here's an odd fact. Rob Deer never had 500 at bats in a season, though he had 3,381 at bats in his career.

[clydepepper]

Nicholson, Stuart, Kingman, Dunn, Cust, Reynolds, etc.

When they were hot, nothing was more exciting...

When you were hot, they provided fans...

[Davino]

What the hell did he do to warrant a huge contract like 13 Million? The salaries that these players get is unreal.

[rjackson44]

Whos dan uglla ll

[itjclarke]

And give this man his ring!!

Admittedly, I really don't get with the "all hit (and all power at that), no field" type player, but this being said can't get too down on any of these guys. They're better than most/any of us could've ever dreamed to be. They're also human and susceptible to the same doubts, anxieties, downs as any normal person, and think this poor guy just ended up in a rut he could never dig out of. Part of me is happy he'll get a ring and then be able to disappear back into normal life with some nice money and a lot of great memories. Good on anyone that achieves their lifelong dream and makes a living out of it... Sports of whatever.

[Runscott]

Is the ring automatic? 0-11, rejects re-assignment to minors, becomes a free agent on August 11.

[itjclarke]

Originally Posted by Runscott

Is the ring automatic? 0-11, rejects re-assignment to minors, becomes a free agent on August 11.

Pretty sure anyone who played, and/or was on 40 man gets a ring, and then players vote on % series share for guys no longer on the team. Expect a guy like B Hicks who's power was critical in April and May would typically get much more than a guy like Uggla, but think it's totally up to the players.

[packs]

I think you're right: anyone who was on the 40 man roster during the season receives a ring.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by itjclarke

And give this man his ring!!

Admittedly, I really don't get with the "all hit (and all power at that), no field" type player, but this being said can't get too down on any of these guys. They're better than most/any of us could've ever dreamed to be. They're also human and susceptible to the same doubts, anxieties, downs as any normal person, and think this poor guy just ended up in a rut he could never dig out of. Part of me is happy he'll get a ring and then be able to disappear back into normal life with some nice money and a lot of great memories. Good on anyone that achieves their lifelong dream and makes a living out of it... Sports of whatever.

Most people forget how much talent it takes to be a "shitty" professional athlete.

[itjclarke]

Originally Posted by I Only Smoke 4 the Cards

Most people forget how much talent it takes to be a "shitty" professional athlete.

Absolutely, 100% true statement

[CMIZ5290]

Originally Posted by itjclarke

Pretty sure anyone who played, and/or was on 40 man gets a ring, and then players vote on % series share for guys no longer on the team. Expect a guy like B Hicks who's power was critical in April and May would typically get much more than a guy like Uggla, but think it's totally up to the players.

If that is not the most pathetic thing I have ever heard, I really don't know what is....Dan Suckla (I mean Uggla) with a World Series ring? What's wrong with that picture??

[clydepepper]

Hey, Little Leaguers get Participation Trophies too.