That's some funny stuff right there Subby. Not too late for HotY submission in sports.

he would fit right in with all the other mets on the dl next year

While he's damn good when he's healthy, the thought of adding an injury-prone guy after the carnage of this season makes me cringe.

I heard that he comes with his own MRI machine, which is nice

I was going to give you a +1 on the headline subby but I strained my finger.

Someone's absolutely going to give Sheets a league-min contract. If he's asking for more, not so much.

Daniels: Someone's absolutely going to give Sheets a league-min contract. If he's asking for more, not so much.

low base with lots of guarantees for innings. he's an ace when he stays healthy, gotta entice him to play

He's been rehabbing in Arlington. As long as we get our ownership situation figured out, then he could be a Ranger!...yeah, not going to happen :(

bhcompy: low base with lots of guarantees for innings. he's an ace when he stays healthy, gotta entice him to play

I'm always surprised there's not more incentive-laden contracts in such a statistics-heavy sport as baseball.

zarberg: bhcompy: low base with lots of guarantees for innings. he's an ace when he stays healthy, gotta entice him to play

I'm always surprised there's not more incentive-laden contracts in such a statistics-heavy sport as baseball.

It's because teams might end up having to resort to some pretty petty things in order to not pay their players. It lets money affect a manager's decision, and the players probably don't take too kindly to it, either. A few local examples off the top of my head:

Kerry Wood - Has an $11 million player option vest if he finishes 55 games. Last year, people were thinking that they kept him out of certain games specifically to stop this from happening. They might have

Brady Quinn - In a season where everyone knew the Browns weren't going to be competitive, they kept out Quinn for the hilariously bad Derek Anderson, possibly because of his escalators. Quinn wasn't good at all in his first few starts, so it's hard to say that his benching was because of the contract, but the fact that it may have come into play is why the incentives aren't really appealing to players. And the MLB has a strong union, so players (for the most part) dictate the contract negotiations.

I'm actually friends with Ben Sheets, so I'm getting a kick out of these replies.

zarberg: bhcompy: low base with lots of guarantees for innings. he's an ace when he stays healthy, gotta entice him to play

I'm always surprised there's not more incentive-laden contracts in such a statistics-heavy sport as baseball.

The collective bargaining agreement doesn't allow for incentives as with other sports. Baseball contracts are very similar to each other, the only thing that is usually negotiated are years and $$$.

tophergartman: zarberg: bhcompy: low base with lots of guarantees for innings. he's an ace when he stays healthy, gotta entice him to play

I'm always surprised there's not more incentive-laden contracts in such a statistics-heavy sport as baseball.

The collective bargaining agreement doesn't allow for incentives as with other sports. Baseball contracts are very similar to each other, the only thing that is usually negotiated are years and $$$.

There are various players with escalators based on appearances and at bats. They exist, just not widely used(or publicized)

bhcompy: tophergartman: zarberg: bhcompy: low base with lots of guarantees for innings. he's an ace when he stays healthy, gotta entice him to play

I'm always surprised there's not more incentive-laden contracts in such a statistics-heavy sport as baseball.

The collective bargaining agreement doesn't allow for incentives as with other sports. Baseball contracts are very similar to each other, the only thing that is usually negotiated are years and $$$.

There are various players with escalators based on appearances and at bats. They exist, just not widely used(or publicized)

What's B.S. are the escalators based on voted awards. For example, Curt Schilling's contract used to have an escalator for an extra 100K for a single Cy Young vote (iirc - might've been different amount, might've been MVP). All he has to do is call Bob Ryan and say "toss me in Bobby, and I'll cut you a check" and there's nothing the Red Sox could do about it.

Also, the CBA limits what escalators can be in contracts. For example, they can't be performance based, such as hitting .300 or getting 40 HR. They can be based on games, innings, or post-season awards (including All Star). I think they're limited in amount, as well, having to do with a percentage of the yearly salary. The limited amounts don't apply to vesting options, though.

As far as Ben Sheets to the Mets: They have to sign somebody. Who's in that rotation, anyway? Santana, Perez, and Maine? I know they had other arms last year, but I'm thinking most of those sucked or were hurt. They could always jump into the Doc Halladay bidding war.