Way back when, there was Homestead.
It was the spring of 1995, and the baseball strike had just ended. And with tons of free agents in need of a job, the players association set up a camp in Homestead, Fla., where they could work out and get noticed.
Now it's 2009, and for very different reasons spring training is fast approaching with many big-name free agents still unsigned.
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| 'I just want to let everyone know I'm ready to go,' Pudge says. (Getty Images) |
It won't work for all of them. It won't work for most of them.
But maybe it could work for Pudge Rodriguez, providing him a showcase to prove that he's worth something close to what he wants.
"I hope that doesn't happen," Rodriguez said Tuesday. "I hope I have a job before that."
Perhaps he will, perhaps he won't. The Marlins are interested, but so far, they're not interested in spending much money. The rest of the market, well, it's not moving.
Rodriguez sounded optimistic Tuesday, but perhaps that was because he'd just watched President Obama's inaugural address.
"I think he's going to be great for the country," Rodriguez said.
But what about for 37-year-old Hall of Fame-bound catchers coming off a bad year and battling an impression that his career is quickly winding down?
Rodriguez isn't asking for Obama's help, but he would like to get the word out that he's available.
"I'm in great shape," he said. "Whoever gets me, it's going to be a lot like hitting the lotto. I'm back in the shape I was in 2004. I'm at 195-200 (pounds), and I'm ready to go.
"I just want to let everyone know I'm ready to go."
He's spent the last two weeks playing in the Puerto Rican winter league. In part, he said, he wanted to help out the struggling league. In part, he wanted to get ready, for the WBC and, he hopes, for the season to follow.
Rodriguez isn't the only free agent set to play in the WBC. Bobby Abreu is on Venezuela's preliminary roster, and agent Peter Greenberg said Tuesday that Abreu plans to play.
But Greenberg said he doubts that Abreu will remain unsigned when the WBC begins in early March.
"I'd like to think not," Greenberg said. "I'd like to think he won't be. I think the WBC could help some players, but not necessarily Bobby. Bobby is still in the prime of his career, and I think everyone knows what Bobby can do."
Certainly, Rodriguez has more to prove. He batted just .219 after his midseason trade from the Tigers to the Yankees, and even with uncertainty about Jorge Posada's health, the Yankees had absolutely no interest in bringing him back.
Rodriguez was better during the first half of the season in Detroit, but he played best when Tigers manager Jim Leyland started using him part-time. Rodriguez, who strongly believes he can still play every day, didn't take well to the part-time role.
Rodriguez was at the end of a four-year, $40 million contract he signed to come to the Tigers in 2004 (he made $13 million in 2008, on the option year of the deal). He's obviously going to have to take a pay cut, but the question is how much.
The Orioles were believed to have some interest, but they signed Gregg Zaun for one year at $1.5 million. Marlins people say they have no money left in their budget, but that it's possible owner Jeffrey Loria could find some for Rodriguez, if he's interested in a cut-rate deal.
Rodriguez has waited out winters before. In 2003, he didn't sign with Florida until Jan. 28, eventually getting a one-year deal for $10 million.
The following winter, he signed with the Tigers in early February, holding out until he could find a team that would pay him the $40 million over four years.
"All my free-agent (contracts) take this long," he said. "Hopefully I'll hear something soon."
Or maybe he'll just wait for the WBC.
