Tag Archives: Money

Indians Pick Up Option on Jimenez, Decline Hafner, Hernandez

On Wednesday the Cleveland Indians decided it was time to move on from the Travis Hafner and Roberto Hernandez era, while exercising the option on Ubaldo Jimenez who they acquired in a trade in 2011 from the Colorado Rockies.

While his time in Cleveland hasn’t been what the Indians expected, manager Terry Francona and general manager laid out why they feel keeping Jimenez was the right move.

“We’ve talked about every player extensively,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “Obviously, Ubaldo is a huge part of that. We’re looking forward to him kind of returning to form — the reason the Indians traded for him.”

“It stems from our belief that he will be better moving forward than he was this past season,” Indians general manager Chris Antonetti said. “But there was also a buyout associated with the option. So the net value was $4.75 million. Had we declined the option, and tendered him a contract through the arbitration process, he would’ve earned far more than $4.75 million.”

Jimenezs’ time with the Indians he’s posted a record of 13-21 with an ERA of 5.32. He’s been on a constant decline since his Cy Young Award performance season in 2010 when he went 19-8 with a 2.88 ERA.

The Indians decided to not pick up the contract options on Travis Hafner and Roberto Hernandez. In 2011 he played 94 games batting .280 and hit 13 home runs, but was hampered by injuries and he only played 66 games due to injury and batted .228 on the season after another injury riddled season. Hafner who was paid a hefty sum was supposed to be the cornerstone of their offense, but since signing his big contract in 2007 has not played more than 118, and hasn’t hit more than 16 home runs in a season.

Roberto Hernandez bka Fausto Carmona was thought to be a serviceable replacement to the loss of CC Sabathia was never able to recapture the magic that saw him go 19-8 in 2007.  Hernandez  after 2007 never posted a winning record in a season with his second best season as an Indian being 13-14. His average ERA since the 2007 season was 5.66. Hernandez only appeared in 3 games after having his visa revoked. In January he was arrested in the Dominican Republic for providing a false identity, and  wasn’t able to obtain a visa until late July and had to serve a three week suspension from MLB.

Source Cleveland Indians

Marcus Lattimore Suffers Dislocated Knee and Ligament Damage

On Saturday standout running back Marcus Lattimore suffered a gruesome knee injury that could potentially end his football career. According to an Associated Press report Lattimore suffered a dislocated knee, and ligament damage. However, according to South Carolina team doctor Jeffery Guy he suffered no broken bones or fractures and his left knee suffered no injury as well.

Coach Steve Spurrier spoke on his star running back saying he’d rather have him on the field, but they’ll let prayers and the doctors do their work.

”Marcus has already begun the process of prehabilitation prior to surgery and to his eventual return to football. We’re optimistic his football days are ahead of him, he knows what the road ahead is, we’re all hoping and praying he’ll be back. We’d rather have Marcus on our team, that’s for dang sure; In life, sometimes you’ve got to move on with whatever hand you’re dealt. We’ll just go a day at a time and allow the doctors and Marcus and a lot of prayers do their work,” Spurrier said.

Injuries like these are what make some push for the financial compensation of players. All it takes is one freak hit to end your athletic career and affect the way you go through the rest of life. Yes, they receive a college education, but nothing beats the value a true dollar. Hopefully we get to a point where universities see fit to share the loads of money they make with the labor that allows them to turn such a profit.

If you haven’t seen the play, here it is below.

Cavs Pick Up Contract Options on Irving and Thompson for 13-14 Season

In a move that was expected, the Cavs have decided to exercise the 2013-2014 contract options on Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson which means they won’t be free agents until the summer of 2014.

The Cavs have decided to build their team around a core of Irving and Thompson, while adding pieces through free agency that keeps them a contender for years to come.

The Cavs signed CJ Miles in the offseason to add some scoring and a veteran presence among a team with an average age of 24, with only 2 players older than 27 ( Anderson Varejao 20, Luke Walton 32).

H/T RealGM

OKC Thunder Trade James Harden to Houston Rockets

After being unable to reach a deal with the reigning 6th man of the year, the Oklahoma City Thunder decided to trade away James Harden to the Houston Rockets.

Along with Harden the Thunder send center Cole Aldrich and forwards Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward to Houston. In return the Thunder will receive guards Kevin Martin, rookie Jeremy Lamb and two 2013 first round picks and a 2013 second round pick.

All summer both sides had been negotiating and attempting to come to a compromise. The Thunder last offer to Harden was a 4 year deal worth $53-54 million, while Harden was looking for something closer to $58-60 million.

The deadline for teams to sign their players to contract extensions is October 31, but the Thunder felt it was best to end negotiations and move forward with Harden so the contract talks wouldn’t become a distraction.

”We wanted to sign James to an extension, but at the end of the day, these situations have to work for all those involved. Our ownership group again showed their commitment to the organization with several significant offers. We were unable to reach a mutual agreement, and therefore executed a trade that capitalized on the opportunity to bring in a player of Kevin’s caliber, a young talent like Jeremy and draft picks, which will be important to our organizational goal of a sustainable team.” said Sam Presti.

While the Thunder do lose 17 points and 4 assist that Harden provided off the bench, they receive a professional scorer in Kevin Martin who’s averaged 18 ppg his entire career along with a sufficient ball handler in Jeremy Lamb who helped lead the UCONN Huskies to a 2011 NCAA Championship.

The Rockets are expected to sign Harden to a 4 year contract extension worth $60 million, the max he can receive under the new terms of the CBA.

Source Yahoo! Sports

Former Jaguar Fred Taylor Forgives Agent Who Stole Millions from Him

Former NFL running back Fred Taylor who was the victim of a series money scams by his former agent Tank Black, has turned over a new leaf and forgiven his former agent for what he did.

Taylor told Yahoo! Sports that he had to forgive Black.

“I had to forgive him, I was pissed for a while. I was pissed for a long time.”

Along with offering his forgiveness, he also thanked Black for making him the man he was today.

Now, this may appear odd to some, but an act like this requires one to show a lot of maturity and growth. While you may say now that you couldn’t do it, forgive someone who stole millions from you, actions like that show you that Taylor has moved on from what has happened. So what’s the use to holding on to the grudge anymore? It’s not going to bring back his money. Black is in jail, so what else was there to do besides forgive him and leave what happened in the past?

This should remind not only professional ball players, but people in general that you should watch who you entrust with your money. No matter what their credentials are, ask questions, ask for explanations, and self educate yourself.