White Sox ink Fukudome
Baseball Betting Lines
02/14/2012 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago White Sox on Tuesday signed free- agent outfielder Kosuke Fukudome to one-year contract with a club option for the 2013 season.
Under terms of the deal, Fukudome will receive $500,000 in 2012, while the Sox hold a $3.5-millon option for 2013, including a $500,000 buyout.
Fukudome combined to hit .262 with 27 doubles, eight home runs, 35 RBI and 59 runs scored in 146 games between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland in 2011.
"Kosuke adds to our outfield depth and gives [manager] Robin [Ventura] another left-handed bat to mix into the lineup based on matchups," said White Sox assistant general manager Rick Hahn in a statement. "He can play center field and right and provides flexibility to our roster."
The 34-year-old left-handed hitter has appeared in 572 career games with the Cubs (2008-11) and Cleveland (2011), posting a .260 average with 110 doubles, 42 home runs, 191 RBI and 262 runs scored.
Prior to his MLB career, Fukudome played nine seasons with Chunichi of the Japanese Central League (1999-2007).
Kansas City, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Kansas City Royals have picked up the option on manager Ned Yost's contract for 2013. Terms were not disclosed. Yost was named the Royals manager on May 13, 2010, replacing Trey Hillman, and two m
<< Morehead State to host six, but faces tough road schedule
Morehead, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Morehead State football will play six home
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part of a 2012 schedule announced Tuesday.
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Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff will
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<< Rounding Third: A's take a big chance on Cespedes
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Cuban outfielder Yoenis Cespedes.
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<< Morehead State to host six, but face tough road schedule
Morehead, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Morehead State football will play six home
games for the first time in four years and make a trip to Eastern Kentucky as
part of a 2012 schedule announced Tuesday.
The Eagles, who were 3-8 a year ago, last pla
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The salary arbitration case between the Brewers and pitcher Jose Veras was ruled in favor of club on Tuesday. Milwaukee will pay Veras a $2 million salary in 2012 instead of the $2.375 million he re
Rams name Snead general manager >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Rams have named Les Snead as
the club's new general manager.
Snead spent the past 13 seasons in the personnel department with the Atlanta
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Boca enjoys successful start to Clausura campaign >>
Buenos Aires, Argentina (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After winning last season's
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Clausura on Friday with a 2-0 win at home against Olimpo.
Dario Cvitanich scored
Blue Jackets activate Letestu >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated
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Letestu has missed the last 17 games due to a hand injury suffered at San Jose
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Bombers re-sign Morley >>
Winnipeg, MB (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have re-signed
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Morley appeared in all 18 games at guard for the Bombers last season, as well
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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
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