All hail the Washington Nationals!
All hail the Washington Nationals!
Doug Pensinger
Why? Well, for one thing, they’re America’s Team. You might even say they’re America’s Superheroes. The next time we send a bunch of people to some far-away land to kill bad guys, I say we send the Nationals (but only after their jerseys have been infused with Kevlar, of course; safety first!).
But also because they’re signing Dan Haren for $13 million. At that price he’s a bargain! I saw it on the Internet! That sore hip that bothered him in 2012? No problem! Right?
Red Sox didn't like what they saw on Dan Haren's medicals on his hip.
— Nick Cafardo (@nickcafardo) December 4, 2012
Hey, where were these medicals when the Red Sox were signing John Lackey?
I kid the Red Sox because I love them. The point is that these things are tricky. And the word “like” is open to interpretation. Maybe the Red Sox didn’t like him at $13 million -- Haren’s reported salary with the Nationals -- but would have been fine with his medicals at $10 million. And these days $3 million is just walking-around money if you’re most big-league GMs.
My real point is that $13 million probably isn't a bargain price. It's probably dead on, with a generally intelligent organization spending a lot of money on a pitcher who might, or might not, be generally healthy and productive next season. At this point, the only clear winner is Haren himself, who's going to earn $13 million pitching for Team America: Baseball Police after getting $3.5 million from the Angels to just walk away.
All hail the Players’ Association!
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