Chronicles of the Lads

THE WYRD SIGNS WITH CLEVELAND
Ken Rosenthal is reporting that the Indians have signed Paul Byrd to a two-year deal worth $14.25M with a $8M optional third year ($250,000 of that is a buyout if the option isn't picked up).

Remember, the last reported offer that the Angels made to Byrd was two years for $11M, an offer the Angels withdrew when they acted to sign the hot property that was Hector Carrasco.

I think there was a cost at which Paul Byrd became too expensive; I'm not sure where that point is. Having him for one year in the $6M-$7M range would have been fine, and two years, think would have seemed acceptable. So I think the deal Cleveland signed him to is near the top of what he should have been paid.

Byrd reportedly turned down a three-year deal from Kansas City, probably because he wants to play for a competitive team. Would he have made more had the Angels not publicly announced they were dropping out of competition for him? It's hard to say. It appears that the Angels may have been able to sign Byrd to an affordable deal, though that is not certain.

No point in crying over spilt milk. As it stands, we'll be going into Spring Training with a competition between Hector Carrasco, Joe Saunders, and Jered Weaver for the fifth spot in the rotation. No matter who comes out on top in that competition, we are likely looking at a decline from that rotation spot -- in fact, our rotation will likely decline a little bit across the board (except for Ervin Santana and maybe John Lackey) compared to last year, regardless. They'll still be good, but I don't think it's reasonable to expect them to be as sterling as last season.

Anyway, I thought The Wyrd was tons of fun to watch in 2005, and I wish him well in Jacobs Field.