1130 am says pudge will meet the media at 1pm today

[Greenberg03]

yippie skippie!

[DenRam]

I guess we can finally say it's official. Welcome to Detroit, Pudge! Now let's turn this mess around!

[TigerCap]

Any turn-around will be credited to Pudge.

I would have been interested to see the turn-around from Vina, Guillen, Johnson and White.

I am extremely happy to have Pudge, though.

[djhutch]

(Detroit-AP) The Detroit Tigers plan a 1 p.m. EST news conference at Comerica Park.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


P.S. Thanks to whoever merged this thread in with the other. I didn't notice there was another one going.

[elvisontour]

Will it be live , on like fox sports detroit ?

[DenRam]

Originally posted by elvisontour
Will it be live , on like fox sports detroit ?

I'm sure it'll be on FSD and maybe even ESPNews.

[elvisontour]

cool...waited long enough....gotta see it! I am geeked...cant wait to listen to and see some games!


Next do we see movement on inge?

or do we sign a pitcher...?

[Brian]

Well I'm glad Pudge will get all the credit for any turn around. Because he signed himself. DD, & Illitch had nothing to do with it. Right?

[tiger337]

Originally posted by TigerCap
Any turn-around will be credited to Pudge.

I would have been interested to see the turn-around from Vina, Guillen, Johnson and White.

I am extremely happy to have Pudge, though.

This is a good point. Any big improvement in their record will likely be credited to Pudge by the National media. Pudge is only one of many off many off season additions though. I'm sure we'll have plenty of debates regarding this issue during the 2004 season.

[HankusPankus]

Well I'm glad Pudge will get all the credit for any turn around. Because he signed himself. DD, & Illitch had nothing to do with it. Right?

I could care less who got credit for it as long as we improved.

[Cameron]

Yes, Pudge will get a lot of the credit if the Tigers turn it around. Pudge will also bear a disproportionate amount of the criticism if this team continues to lose. No one is going to chastise Vina or White for "taking the money" or "not caring about winning."

Pudge, as a high-profile, superstar in this league, has put himself out there more than anyone else on this team and will reap what he has sown. But don't get me wrong, for $10 million per, he won't be hurting too bad.

[budman]

this taken from ESPN. another shot at how lousy the tigers are / have been. again, i say this is lame cut and paste journalism.

Pudge Rodriguez is making history again. But according to friends who have spoken with him recently, he didn't want to make this kind of history.

Pudge, the reigning NLCS MVP, is one of 101 official LCS or World Series MVPs. Loyal reader David Hallstrom reports that he's only the eighth to change teams the next winter, just the third to willingly sign with a team coming off a losing season and only the second to sign with a last-place team.

But there's a big difference between him and the other MVP to go from penthouse to outhouse. That was Ray Knight, the '86 World Series MVP who went to an Orioles team coming off its first losing season in 19 years. Those Orioles had finished just 16 games under .500. So it's a long elevator ride down from there to the 2003 Tigers.

The Tigers, as if we needed to remind anybody, landed slightly south of that last year -- like around Nicaragua. They were 76 games under. But at one time they were 80 games under .500 -- which would equal how many games below sea level all of Rodriguez's teams finished in his six previous losing seasons combined.

So no wonder he has been telling friends that he's still heartbroken over not re-signing in Florida and that he's taking the Tigers' offer simply because it's the only one out there in the price range he'd set. It's amazing what some guys will give up for money -- such as happiness.

[NiteRider]

Anybody have an definite info on whether the press conference will be on a national station? I guess its wishful thinking that they may put it on ESPN or ESPN2, but I dont get EPSN News.

[Tramfan]

foxsports detroit said they would carry it. However I don't know if it's 1:00 PM ET, 2:00 or 3:00. Does anyone know?

[tim48035]

Originally posted by Tramfan
foxsports detroit said they would carry it. However I don't know if it's 1:00 PM ET, 2:00 or 3:00. Does anyone know?

Fox 2 Detroit News at noon announced a 1 PM Press Conference.

[tiger337]

It says on the official Tiger site that MLB.COM will carry it live.

[NiteRider]

Originally posted by tiger337
It says on the official Tiger site that MLB.COM will carry it live.

Good stuff, now everyone can watch it.

[Yoda]

Originally posted by tiger337
It says on the official Tiger site that MLB.COM will carry it live.

Do you need some sort of subscription to watch it?

[ewsieg]

just go to www.detroittigers.com and there is a link for audio and video right there.

[emj742]

Has it started yet?

[holygoat]

Pudge never looked better than he does in that home white uni with that D on it.

[glik420]

its on now.. he looks good in that white uni and olde D cap on ... dream come true...I already love this guy.. everything he's saying. He wants to win...

[cruzer1]

2004: 7 million
2005: 8 million
2006: 11 million
2007: 11 million
2008: 13 million with 3 million buyout

[mottsi]

Cruzer,

Is that what they said his salary breakdown will be? Sorry I am at work and out of any radio coverage so I can't listen to it or even watch it on the internet. I hope that they replay it later when I can watch it.

Thanks
Sean

[cruzer1]

Yes

[Tramfan]

Originally posted by tim48035
Fox 2 Detroit News at noon announced a 1 PM Press Conference.

Thanks Tim. Helped me plan my day around it.

[emj742]

That's a weird contract. The older he get's the more money he receives. I heard about the contract termination clauses in 2004 and 2005 yesterday, for being on the DL for more then 35 days, for back problems. Are these termination clauses also in 2006 and 2007? Did they say anything about incentives?

I'm in the same boat as Mottsi, so you guys and gals are my first source of info.

[zachcadillac]

Originally posted by cruzer1
2004: 7 million
2005: 8 million
2006: 11 million
2007: 11 million
2008: 13 million with 3 million buyout

He is a bargain for the first two years.

[NiteRider]

Originally posted by ewsieg
just go to www.detroittigers.com and there is a link for audio and video right there.

They cut the feed out early. I wanted to see more of the one on one questions with Trevor and Pudge. Did he end up saying anything interesting? I saw the part right before it cut out that he said Detroit was his favorite team as a kid, but I'm not sure if thats just PR or actually true.

[tim48035]

Originally posted by emj742
That's a weird contract. The older he get's the more money he receives. I heard about the contract termination clauses in 2004 and 2005 yesterday, for being on the DL for more then 35 days, for back problems. Are these termination clauses also in 2006 and 2007? Did they say anything about incentives?

I'm in the same boat as Mottsi, so you guys and gals are my first source of info.

Yes, the termination clauses can be invoked starting after the 2005 season, and the 2006 season as well. It was stated that this clause only covers his lower back, so if he is injured in any other region of his back, the Tigers have to honor the full contract. There is a team option for 2007 with a $3 million team buyout clause. As far as any incentives, I didn't pick up on any being mentioned, nor was mentioned the rumor of the out clause for Pudge if the Tigers don't perform to a certian standard ala Mike Sweeney in Kansas City's contract.

[tim48035]

Originally posted by NiteReiter
They cut the feed out early. I wanted to see more of the one on one questions with Trevor and Pudge. Did he end up saying anything interesting? I saw the part right before it cut out that he said Detroit was his favorite team as a kid, but I'm not sure if thats just PR or actually true.

Really that was the only new thing that was said... Pudge didn't actually say that the Tigers were his favorite, just one of his favorites, the way I heard it. Some of his broken English is hard to understand for me, but he does very well with the language being he started learning it only about 13 or so years ago.

[emj742]

Thank you Tim for some good solid info. DD out did himself on this one. I'm quit impressed with how he dealt with Boras.

[tim48035]

Originally posted by emj742
Thank you Tim for some good solid info. DD out did himself on this one. I'm quit impressed with how he dealt with Boras.

Well I was quite wary of Boros knowing he could be a snake, and I said time and again I'll believe the Pudge deal is done when he puts on that Uniform and models it for us all.

That being said....

PUDGE IS A TIGER!!! PUDGE IS A TIGER!!! WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO

[DTroppens]

My biggest concern with a four-year deal was his health and if he'd be able to deliver or become a sort of mix between Dean Palmer and Bobby Higginson - a player with a heavy contract that really doesn't produce or is unable to produce the way you want him to due to injury. Because of that I really didn't want more than three years for $30 mil and really just 2 for $20 mil to buy us some time. I can live with this deal a little bit more knowing that some of the injury concern is covered with the deal - even if the chances of him producing the way we need him to in 2 years for the amount we will be paying him doesn't correlate at all.

It will be hard to unload him at $11 mil without picking up some of the contract value in those two $11 mil years if we ever thought that could be an option in two seasons.

[OldTimey]

Originally posted by DTroppens
My biggest concern with a four-year deal was his health and if he'd be able to deliver or become a sort of mix between Dean Palmer and Bobby Higginson - a player with a heavy contract that really doesn't produce or is unable to produce the way you want him to due to injury. Because of that I really didn't want more than three years for $30 mil and really just 2 for $20 mil to buy us some time. I can live with this deal a little bit more knowing that some of the injury concern is covered with the deal - even if the chances of him producing the way we need him to in 2 years for the amount we will be paying him doesn't correlate at all.

It will be hard to unload him at $11 mil without picking up some of the contract value in those two $11 mil years if we ever thought that could be an option in two seasons.

Make sure to never be happy about anything.

[tim48035]

Originally posted by DTroppens
My biggest concern with a four-year deal was his health and if he'd be able to deliver or become a sort of mix between Dean Palmer and Bobby Higginson - a player with a heavy contract that really doesn't produce or is unable to produce the way you want him to due to injury. Because of that I really didn't want more than three years for $30 mil and really just 2 for $20 mil to buy us some time. I can live with this deal a little bit more knowing that some of the injury concern is covered with the deal - even if the chances of him producing the way we need him to in 2 years for the amount we will be paying him doesn't correlate at all.

It will be hard to unload him at $11 mil without picking up some of the contract value in those two $11 mil years if we ever thought that could be an option in two seasons.

My thoughts are that if he's making $11 million in 2006 and 2007, he may not be in the top 50 salaries in MLB, being that salaries keep ballooning. Heck, A-Rod may not be the top paid player in 2006, who knows? Don't forget, too, that the Tigers have the out-clauses in his backloaded contract...doesn't that show you that DD thinks that injury may recur in year 3 of the contract and that's why it's so backloaded?

[Mark The Shark]

Originally posted by DTroppens
My biggest concern with a four-year deal was his health and if he'd be able to deliver or become a sort of mix between Dean Palmer and Bobby Higginson - a player with a heavy contract that really doesn't produce or is unable to produce the way you want him to due to injury. Because of that I really didn't want more than three years for $30 mil and really just 2 for $20 mil to buy us some time. I can live with this deal a little bit more knowing that some of the injury concern is covered with the deal - even if the chances of him producing the way we need him to in 2 years for the amount we will be paying him doesn't correlate at all.

It will be hard to unload him at $11 mil without picking up some of the contract value in those two $11 mil years if we ever thought that could be an option in two seasons.

But what if he continues to excel over the space of the next five years? With modern workout techniques and improvements in medicine, the fact that other catchers have declined after 33 does not necessarily mean Pudge will.

Plus, Pudge WOULD NOT HAVE COME HERE FOR TWO YEARS. He all but said the reason he came to Detroit was because we gave him a four-year contract.

[cruzer1]

Salaries aren't going up, they're rapidly declining.

[kpking3032]

"Pudge said to me, 'I know that division. That division could be mine,'"

[tim48035]

Originally posted by cruzer1
Salaries aren't going up, they're rapidly declining.

Ummmm...can you say Vlad Guerrero, Miguel Tejada, Pudge Rodriguez (earning $11 million in 2005 & 2006, $13 in 2007)