Gerald Williams to TB
Wee Willie Keeler
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Adding yet another bat to their revamped lineup, the
Tampa Bay Devil Rays agreed Sunday to a $5.75 million, two-year contract
with Gerald Williams.
Williams had the best season of his career in 1999, becoming the leadoff
hitter for the Atlanta Braves in the final two months of the season.
Williams, 33, hit .275 and had career highs in homers (17) and RBI (68) as
the Braves went 39-14 when he was at the top of the order.
But the outfielder batted only .176 in the World Series as the Braves got
swept by the New York Yankees.
Williams, who made $1.4 million this year, gets $2.5 million in 2000 and $3
million in 2001. Tampa Bay has a $4 million option for 2002 with a $250,000
buyout.
Last Monday, the Devil Rays acquired third baseman Vinny Castilla from the
Colorado Rockies and agreed to a $34 million, four-year contract with Greg
Vaughn. They join a lineup that already has Jose Canseco and Fred McGriff.
Castilla, Canseco, McGriff, Vaughn and Williams hit 161 homers last year --
16 more than the Devil Rays' team total.
--WK
Arieljoybn
>with Gerald Williams.
What happened to wanting 3yrs/12million?
I can't believe we didn't resign this guy if all it was going to take was
2years/5.75mil.
Looks like we will finally see if Ryan Klesko can hit lefties with a full time
player.....
stack o lee
NOVEMBER 26, 1999 By TSN correspondent Bill Zack Morris News Service
If Gerald Williams leaves as a free agent, the way will be clear for
top prospect George Lombard to step into the lineup as leadoff hitter
and left fielder. There's only one problem.
Lombard, whose first season at Class AAA Richmond was wasted this year
because of a pulled groin muscle that sidelined him for nearly two
months, isn't ready. After a huge season at Class AA Greenville in
1998, he stumbled to a .206 average at Richmond and will start there
next year.
If the Braves were concerned about his development after six years in
the minors, Lombard eased those worries by being named the MVP of the
Arizona Fall League, considered the top developmental league, for
hitting .302 with 11 homers and 37 RBI in 37 games. His home run total
tied the AFL record and his RBI total and slugging percentage (.619)
led the league.
"This year wasn't quite what I expected," Lombard said. "Going in, of
course, I never expected to have a bad year. But it's all behind me. My
leg is finally healthy. I came out (to Arizona) to be healthy and have
fun."
The question the Braves must answer is whether Lombard, who has
averaged more than one strikeout per game during his minor league
career and is an average defensive outfielder with a weak arm, will
live up to former catcher Bob Melvin's prediction.
"I think (Lombard) is going to play in the big leagues for quite a
while in a starting role and as an impact guy," said Melvin, manager of
Lombard's Maryvale team in the AFL. "He had some injuries this year
that kind of held him back a little bit. But he's been healthy here and
he's done a great job for us."
Lombard, whose value is at its highest right now, could be included in
a trade that might bring the Braves a leadoff hitter if Williams prices
himself out of the club's plans. Williams, who was credited with
igniting the lineup when he became the regular leadoff hitter August 5,
wants a contract in the $5 million per year range and it's doubtful the
Braves can afford him at that price.
"We'll keep talking to him, see how the market unfolds, see how our
team looks and see how Gerald fits," general manager John Schuerholz
said. "We may want Gerald back very much, but there's no certainty we
can get him back. Somebody may offer him a better deal." . . .
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Richard Theiling
delude themselves into thinking they have a true lead-off hitter. They
will have to go out and get one. Any suggestions ?
Rick
Chicago
RickTh...@webtv.net (Richard Theiling) wrote:
The Babes Guy
--------------
BabeSites
Who's your Fave?
www.babesites.com
RotisMLB
Now there is no way the Braves can delude themselves into thinking they have a
true lead-off hitter.<<<
Please. They still have Walt Weiss... A veteran hitter who knows how to work
pitchers. He had a slightly off year at the plate due to injuries in 1999.
But, he had posted OBPs of .403, .381, .377 and .386 the previous four years.
Why do they need to get someone else to leadoff?
(...ahh, and you thought delusion was impossible)
stephen
>>>>From: RickTheiling
>Now there is no way the Braves can delude themselves into thinking they have
>a
>true lead-off hitter.<<<
>
> Please. They still have Walt Weiss... A veteran hitter who knows how
to
>work
>pitchers. He had a slightly off year at the plate due to injuries in 1999.
>But, he had posted OBPs of .403, .381, .377 and .386 the previous four years.
>
>Why do they need to get someone else to leadoff?
are you being serious here? (it's an honest question - i think that if they
don't pick anyone up they might as well let weiss try again).
---
stephen davis
kelle...@aol.com
http://www.bowlingforsoup.com
samuel m. hutcheson
>are you being serious here? (it's an honest question - i think that if they
>don't pick anyone up they might as well let weiss try again).
you snipped Rot's final line (bad quoting?!?) where he said, tongue in
cheek:
>(...ahh, and you thought delusion was impossible)
perhaps they'll send bubba trammel instead of a 1st round draft pick.
(i personally would rather have the DRays 1st round draft pick than
gerald williams, much as i think milwaukee's 1st rounder is more
valuable than jose hernandez. and arizona's is much more valuable
than russ springer, in the long run. as long as they're used
intelligently. and last i checked, chuck lamar was screwing up
another team these days.)
s/
****
"I emerged to find the world broken and stuuuuuuupid."
DexTor
timan...@mindspring.com
Do the Braves really get a 1st round pick for Gerald? I thought he was
classified as a class c free agent. Do they bring 1st round picks?
robert moris
> (i personally would rather have the DRays 1st round draft pick than
> gerald williams, much as i think milwaukee's 1st rounder is more
> valuable than jose hernandez. and arizona's is much more valuable
> than russ springer, in the long run. as long as they're used
> intelligently. and last i checked, chuck lamar was screwing up
> another team these days.)
I could be wrong but, I am under the impression that a team drafting in the
first 15 picks does not forfeit their first round pick. Instead, the team
that loses the free agent will receive sandwich pick(s) between the first
and second rounds for type "A" free agents.
robert
Paul Morabito
<rmor...@mindspring.com> wrote:
>
>
>
With all of there recent signings of offensive players, and no
pitching, TB is starting to resemble a poor man's version of the
Cleveland Indians.
Paul
Alan Honeycutt
> With all of there recent signings of offensive players, and no
> pitching, TB is starting to resemble a poor man's version of the
> Cleveland Indians.
Yeah, they're kind of like Cleveland...Cleveland without hitting.
Holly Sommer
>
> On Mon, 20 Dec 1999 03:03:40 -0500 (EST), RickTh...@webtv.net (Richard
> Theiling) wrote:
>
> >It may be a blessing in disguise. Now there is no way the Braves can
> >delude themselves into thinking they have a true lead-off hitter. They
> >will have to go out and get one. Any suggestions ?
>
Good grief! And what rationale did he offer for that??
-Holly, Astros fan
samuel m. hutcheson
>> Then again, Cox said having a leadoff guy with a high OBP is overrated.
>Good grief! And what rationale did he offer for that??
well, rationale might be a strong word for it, but his argument is "i
had a team in montreal that didn't have a leadoff guy worth a shit,
and we still won, so guys that take a lot of walks are really
overrated, as you can obviously win without them." bobby seems to
have confused being **able** to win without a true leadoff hitter with
the winning itself.
bobby's a bit of a wanker on a few of these subjects, IMHO.
timan...@mindspring.com
> well, rationale might be a strong word for it, but his argument is "i
> had a team in montreal that didn't have a leadoff guy worth a shit,
> and we still won
Not that it is any better, but I believe that was Toronto.
samuel m. hutcheson
John W
did win 100+ last year, they yet again fell short. Gerald will probably
never be a great player anyway, and this also will reduce the payroll.
Lombard will get what, the league minimum for his first full season? Lets
give him a shot, we might get a pretty good leadoff guy for very little
money--and we won't lose anyone in a trade.
I have no ida if the Phillies would consider this, but how about trading
for Doug Glanville or Desi Reliford? Neither has power, but both can hit
for avg, and play good defense--in positions (OF, SS) that we could use
some help in. Glanville is also one of the fastest men in baseball. I
think both would make good leadoff hitters if you are simply looking for
speed and someone who can dump a lot of singles and doubles to start off a
game or an inning and then steal a base.
We could probably get one of them, espically now that the Phils have lost
Schilling for some time and need help. Would it be worth giving up a
pitching prospect? (Glanville and Reliford are both young.)
J.
RotisMLB
Lombard will get what, the league minimum for his first full season? Lets give
I'd rather see him *earn* that shot.
>>>Gerald will probably never be a great player anyway<<<
A safe bet, to say the least. But, he did help the Braves... and not every
player must be great.
>>>this also will reduce the payroll.<<<
I guess... but unless that money is spent in some other way that helps the
Braves more than keeping Williams would have... it's a bad thing.
The Baseball Junkie
play the game? but to these 4 BOZOS all braves players are the greatest
ever to play the game!!!
RotisMLB wrote in message <19991220234014...@ng-cn1.aol.com>...
RotisMLB
Well according to Pete,Joe,Don and Skip he (G Williams) is one of the
greatest ever to play the game?<<<
I don't recall any of the Braves announcers saying anything close to that.
Dick Sidbury
Rotis,
Go to Deja and look up the history of "The Baseball Junkie". It pretty
much
fits the definition of Troll. Even at this time of year, Trolls should
not be fed.
ds
--
Dick Sidbury Phone: (570) 941-6109
Department of Computing Sciences Fax: (570) 941-4250
University of Scranton e-mail: sid...@cs.uofs.edu
Scranton, PA 18510-4664 http://www.cs.uofs.edu/~sidbury