Mets owner Steve Cohen’s signing of Max Scherzer for a record $130 million very nearly matched the $141.3 million he paid for Alberto Giacometti’s famed sculpture L’Homme au doigt.
As of today, the artist on the mound looks as if he may be a value as good or better than the actual art.
Scherzer has tossed one masterpiece after another since he showed up in St. Lucie as the one MLB pitcher ready for regular business, fresh off his winter filled by tough CBA negotiations and frequent South Florida sweat.
In baseball, as in art, Cohen said by phone, he finds it’s better to pay a lot for real quality than to shoot for the bargain. And that looks very true today.
Over on the left coast, the Dodgers-owning Guggenheim Baseball Management, also real quality seekers, brought home Orange County native Freddie Freeman for $162 million over six years, enhancing a crazy-good lineup that now includes seven All-Stars.
Freeman looks at home 45 miles from where he grew up in the city of Orange. And the Dodgers appear more dominant than ever.
A check of the standings heading into Saturday illustrates the value of spending — and honest-to-goodness effort. The Dodgers sported baseball’s best record at 10-3 while the Mets were second-best at 11-4.
The Dodgers are perennially at the top of the heap, but one jealous rival executive predicts: “The Mets are going to win forever — as long as Steve Cohen is there.”
The Dodgers are already doing that, and their payroll is estimated at $286 million while the Mets are slightly behind, at $285 million. Coincidence that the Dodgers lead the Mets by percentage points?
No matter, don’t count Cohen out in the race to spend. That fourth-tier luxury-tax threshold $290 million figure nicknamed for him is no guarantee to hold him.
“What the hell’s the difference? 285? 291? You’re still paying a tax, you’re just paying a different tax,” Cohen said. “If you can’t build a team spending $290 million, you’ve got a problem.”
Anyone who still says money and spending don’t matter isn’t paying attention.
At the other extreme, the Reds, who staged a sorry sell-off, currently are in the midst of their longest losing streak in years. Injuries to Rookie of the Year Jonathan India, Luis Castillo, Mike Moustakas and 11 others have further disabled the former Big Red Machine. Not even Pete Rose would bet on this squad.
Out in Oakland, ownership may be figuring their genius gurus will use Moneyball magic to turn things around quickly, as usual. They’ve started 8-7, but fans are staying away in droves.
The mystery of when and where Frankie Montas will be traded (presumably he’s next!) apparently isn’t enough to excite loyal Athletics fans, who’ve lived through many selling cycles, dating back to the 1970s (Charlie Finley is probably looking down on this drastic sell-off and smiling). The guess here is fans may finally be betting the team will be moving to Las Vegas the first chance it gets.
Anyway, it’s clear. The first lesson of the 2022 season is this: Effort counts.
The Blue Jays, who gave Kevin Gausman and Jose Berrios nine-figure deals and imported Matt Chapman from those A’s, look like worthy AL East favorites. The Mariners, who added Cy Young winner Robbie Ray to their kid mix, appear finally ready to snap two decades of playoff-less futility. And the Padres, who smartly spent on excellent manager Bob Melvin, also of the A’s, after underachieving at a record clip, are back on their game.
So, too, are the Mets. The great Jacob deGrom is out for now, so Scherzer and Chris Bassitt, another of the many former A’s now elsewhere, lead a revamped rotation. Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha (also from Oakland) round out a sterling winter.
“The lineup looks deeper. It has more versatility. They’re hitting in clutch situations. And we are winning games we didn’t win last year,” Cohen said. “The team looks different. It’s fun to watch.”
Meanwhile, the Dodgers, with former MVP Cody Bellinger batting seventh in their scary lineup, are overwhelming teams with top-to-bottom talent. Excellence arrived a decade ago in the persons of Mark Walter, Magic Johnson and company when the regrettable Frank McCourt era was wisely ended by MLB.
Not only do the Dodgers spend, they rarely misstep. When they do, they survive.
They’ve hardly missed Trevor Bauer, who set the annual pay record for pitchers before going on a hiatus that seemingly has no end date. Some think when MLB finally resolves his ugly situation, and likely punishes him, the Dodgers may just cut him (Dodgers people didn’t comment when asked). If they do, word is many in that clubhouse would applaud, then forget he ever wore the historic blue and get back to the winning business.
Meantime, Cohen — who tried to buy the Dodgers, then vowed to become their East Coast twin — is key to the resurgence in Year 2, following an initial, transitional season. It ain’t easy to emulate greatness successfully. But it sure helps if you have $15 plus billion, and what you care about is winning.