Betemit FINALLY Signs... w/Ravens

[Born4RF]

OK, normally I wouldn't make a post about something like this but this board gets to a crawl this time o' year and NH isn't helping by extending his personal "Holiday Season" out past MLK... lets hope he starts picking up the phone again by Valentines' Day... or Opening Day!  Oh, here's the BIG NEWS:

11:59pm: The contract is for two years plus an option for 2014, tweets Connolly.

8:55pm: The Orioles have agreed to sign Wilson Betemit to a one-year, Major League contract, reports Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).  The deal is pending a physical.  Betemit is represented by the Wasserman Media Group.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

Notice how a Pirates-Betemit signing was a given during the winter meetings but the second we picked up Navarro we lost his number?   WBete is no slouch so this clearly indicates that, on their depth chart, Navarro IS the backup/maybe-someday starter infielder they want on the end of the bench instead of Ciriacco.

Another interesting note from MLBTR regarding a guy a lot of fans would like to see us sign:

Derrek Lee could retire if he doesn't find "a perfect situation," tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  Yesterday, Joel Sherman of the New York Post said Lee could be in for a Jermaine Dye-esque "forced retirement" since no team would be willing to meet his desired price.

Sounds like a player we could get back into with the right check BUT..... do we want him if he is only still in it for the check?   I think I would rather see what MEGA-Heeeeeee  can bring to camp before I commit to the Big DL.

[Xiga]

The thing that would suck about D Lee retiring is, as was brought up on Tim's Twitter, if he retires the Pirates don't get the compensation pick. I kind of forgot about the little detail that he actually needs to sign somewhere else for the Pirates to get that pick.

[Pirates2014Champ]

The thing that would suck about D Lee retiring is, as was brought up on Tim's Twitter, if he retires the Pirates don't get the compensation pick. I kind of forgot about the little detail that he actually needs to sign somewhere else for the Pirates to get that pick.

Only the flippin Pirates 

[ECBucs]

The thing that would suck about D Lee retiring is, as was brought up on Tim's Twitter, if he retires the Pirates don't get the compensation pick. I kind of forgot about the little detail that he actually needs to sign somewhere else for the Pirates to get that pick.

Only the flippin Pirates 

Yeah, I can't believe Ludwick gets signed and Lee is still out there.  Maybe he will go to Texas if Fielder doesn't sign there.  It would be good situation, contender, good hitters park.

[Born4RF]

...
Only the flippin Pirates 

LOL.... seriously laughed audibly !

Problem is DLee thinks he is still a GR8 playa and nobody with a fat checkbook agree.   Derrick dissed the Pirates enough that they traded an irreplaceable 7th inning eater for his replacement.   Pena took a 25% pay cut to stay in the game and he is a very good comparison.  Ludwick is still playing because he took a steep pay cut.

If I was Derrick, I would be telling the Rangers that I'd play for free for the chance to bat in that lineup, in that stadium.   That he isn't tells me he just needs to cover old bills from old marriages.

[Xiga]

I'd hope the Pirates no longer have interest. He clearly doesn't want to be here and would only be coming here for the paycheck. An old, past-his-prime guy just playing out a season for one last paycheck doesn't sound appealing. In fact, it's something the Pirates have gotten burned with numerous times in the past.

[CentralCABucsFan]

I personally think people here are giving Lee a bad rap and are painting him to be something he isn't.  Lee has never bad-mouthed Pittsburgh, and is well known as a great guy on and off the field.  We always complain about money hungry athletes that are playing for a paycheck.  It seems Lee is valuing his family time, his desire to win a championship, and his pride above getting the best paycheck possible.

I think behind the scenes, Lee made it known to Huntington what his priorities were and it wasn't a fit for him and the Pirates.  Huntington went another direction with McGehee, and that likely closed the door on Lee coming back. I would like to have Lee play for the Pirates next season, but that just isn't in the cards.  I don't feel the need to dislike or bad-mouth Lee.

[slider]

I personally think people here are giving Lee a bad rap and are painting him to be something he isn't.  Lee has never bad-mouthed Pittsburgh, and is well known as a great guy on and off the field.  We always complain about money hungry athletes that are playing for a paycheck.  It seems Lee is valuing his family time, his desire to win a championship, and his pride above getting the best paycheck possible.

I think behind the scenes, Lee made it known to Huntington what his priorities were and it wasn't a fit for him and the Pirates.  Huntington went another direction with McGehee, and that likely closed the door on Lee coming back. I would like to have Lee play for the Pirates next season, but that just isn't in the cards.  I don't feel the need to dislike or bad-mouth Lee.

I disagree a little bit here.  I don't dislike Lee but he did the exact same thing last year and then signed a late deal with the Orioles, who were not considered contenders.  Lee has made it clear he wants three things.

1)  Big money, he turned down 8 million from the Pirates and I don't think he gets half of that on the open market

2)  A home park that helps pad his offensive numbers-  He made a point last year of saying that he didn"t want to play in a park that was tough on RH hitters.

3)  To play with a contender (don't think Baltimore met that criteria last year)

So if D.Lee is honest with what he wants, he would sign with Milwaukee for 2-3 million per year.  It won't happen because he thinks he is entitled to "big" money and he won't find it on the open market.

Slider

[ECBucs]

I personally think people here are giving Lee a bad rap and are painting him to be something he isn't.  Lee has never bad-mouthed Pittsburgh, and is well known as a great guy on and off the field.  We always complain about money hungry athletes that are playing for a paycheck.  It seems Lee is valuing his family time, his desire to win a championship, and his pride above getting the best paycheck possible.

I think behind the scenes, Lee made it known to Huntington what his priorities were and it wasn't a fit for him and the Pirates.  Huntington went another direction with McGehee, and that likely closed the door on Lee coming back. I would like to have Lee play for the Pirates next season, but that just isn't in the cards.  I don't feel the need to dislike or bad-mouth Lee.

This seems reasonable to me.  If he wants to play for a contender or nobody that is his choice to make. 

He tried playing for Baltimore last year and I'm sure it wasn't a fun experience - which he may value more than money at this stage of his career.

[bradlej31]

Per Baseball Reference, Lee has made $91M in his career.   

[TNbucs]

If he is serious about retiring he should sign a token deal with the Cubs so that he can retire as a Cub.  The Pirates and Cubs can then work out a deal where the Cubs are compensated for providing the Pirates a draft pick.

That said, I still expect him to sign somewhere now that Fielder has signed.