Sullivan: Cubs Likely to Offer Pierre $24M Over Three Years
I'd
be really interested to know Paul Sullivan's source (don't ask him; I've
tried that before; he doesn't take
kindly to such requests). Or, if he even has a source.
A little over two weeks ago, Sullivan
reported in the Chicago Tribune that the "Cubs are desperately hoping
to re-sign center fielder
Juan
Pierre." Sullivan further suggested that Pierre will be able to get a
multi-year contract on the open market worth more than $10.5M per year (more
than double what Pierre is making this season).
Sullivan now reports:
The Cubs won't consider Rafael Furcal's three-year, $39 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers relevant.
Instead, they're likely to point to the five-year, $40 million deal [Jimmy] Rollins signed in June 2005, which made him the highest-paid leadoff hitter in the National League at the time.
Pierre probably will be offered about $24 million over three years.
Sullivan's statement is not attributed to a source. It's possible he does not have one, though on another occasion when he had a nonsourced statement he indicated to me in an email that he had a source, he just wouldn't divulge the identity of the source.
I did a search to see if anyone else was reporting what Sullivan has now reported twice. The only thing I found was an August 20 article by Kevin Baxter in the Miami Herald: "Pierre's recent surge was enough to stop the Cubs from trading him at the July 31 trade deadline, although he is eligible for free agency at the end of the season and it could cost Chicago $10 million to re-sign him." Again, no source.
In any event, Sullivan has come down in a matter of two-and-a-half weeks from $10.5M to $8M per year on Pierre's next contract. But that amount, for that length of time, continues to be unjustified. Pierre has a career .256 EqA with a .248 EqA this season. And he's no more than an average defensive centerfielder (he's not rated better, it seems to me, because of his arm).
As I mentioned previously, "I like Pierre. I like his attitude, the way he plays the game, and his disposition. Mostly, I like cheering for him." Additionally, if the Cubs are unable to make a play for Vernon Wells in the offseason, I'm not sure if there will be an available centerfielder (Torii Hunter?) much better than Pierre for 2007 (suggestions in the comments section below welcome). But the Cubs simply cannot commit to Pierre for that long for that amount of money.
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I think there are plenty of
I think there are plenty of occasions when it's legitimate to use an unnamed source in a story, but the frequent practice among sportswriters -- Sullivan, especially -- of writing as though they are getting their information out of thin air or perhaps consulting a fortune teller is really irritating.
The sources who tell reporters things without being named have motives. Perhaps this is a trial balloon to see how the news media and Cubs fans react. Perhaps it's an effort to show fans they're making an effort to sign Pierre and somehow affect negotiations. Who knows?
Sullivan not only doesn't tell us, but doesn't even indicate he has a source. As readers, we are entitled to additional information about the sourcing of a story (identifying the role of the person who gave the info if not the name) and the motive for not wanting to be ID'd as the source. This can help us evaluate this stuff. Otherwise, what are you left with? What does it mean? "Wait and see if I'm right" is not an adequate response.
--
Kevin B. O'Reilly
http://www.kboreilly.com/howl/