Memo to Matt Holliday: Happy birthday, bubba.
Make that a belated happy birthday. The shoulda-been National League MVP turned 28 on Tuesday.
I know what you’re thinking. If only the Monfort Bros. had gift-wrapped him a long-term deal that would ensure his presence in LoDo for years to come.
For the record, they thought about it. But the offer they were considering — four years, $60 million — wouldn’t have gotten them past “Thanks, but no” from super-agent Scott Boras.
Thus, all signs are pointing to Holliday playing two more years for the Rockies, then hitting the free-agent trail. Only a contract offer in the seven-year, $125 million to $140 million range could conceivably keep it from happening.
The Monforts have been accused of being cheap, but not so much that they don’t have cable. They know all too well what the going rate is for a player of Holliday’s stature, a.k.a one of the two or three best players in the league.
They’re just not going to pay it.
Why? Because they’ve been there, done that, and gotten burned in the process.
I get that. What’s the old saying? If you don’t learn from your mistakes, you’re doomed to repeat them?
The Monforts have taken a stand that they’re not going to hand out any more $100 million-plus deals, as they did with Todd Helton and Mike Hampton. There’s a certain security in that, but, at the same time, there’s an inherent danger, too.
It’s one thing to recklessly roll the dice. It’s another to make a long-term investment, even one that stretches your budget to the breaking point, if it makes sense to do it. And signing Holliday makes all the sense in the world.
Yes, Helton’s contract has proven to be a disaster. But he’ll fall off the books after the 2011 season. Given the financial windfall that figures to follow their Rocktober run, the Rockies could pay them both for the next few years.
The problem with letting Holliday walk is this: He plays left field, where you need a big bat to compete. The Rockies would have to overpay to replace him with somebody who is a fraction of the player Holliday is. And that doesn’t take into account the off-field stuff. Holliday is the perfect fit for the Rockies in every way. A great player, and a great kid who enjoys raising his family in Colorado.
Enough already with all this talk about money. Now for something you couldn’t put a dollar figure on: the goodwill that would be generated by wrapping up Holliday long-term.
