Interesting article in N&O today....

Actually, the more I think about it, who is to say it is greed. Is he not finding the market value of his skills? It's not like he is TO with a contract he refuses to live up to. I asked for more money from a fortune 500 company than I necessarily needed to survive with and got it. Is that greed? What if he tithes 10% to his Church as I do? Is he still greedy? What if he gives to charity as I do? Still greedy? I don't think I am one to decide who is and isn't greedy based on what I know right now. If he signs a contract and then demands more money, I think he would have moral issues like I think TO does part of which is greed and part of which is an inability to live up to a commitment. Again, he is going after the market value of what he believes his skills to be. I did the same thing in the professional world. I think his market ought to be changed but face it, it is us fans who create the very market that pays him for his skills.

For this reason, I am removing any place where I agreed that it was greed especially since I don't know him personally and he hasn't done anything different than anyone else would on here (if you don't want your next raise, please pm me and I will give you an address to send it to. ). Not my place to discount the market place in this area!

 

I talked to a player at Louisburg online tonight about this very thread and some of the comments made about Upton on here. Here is his response:

" lol they havent yanked nobodys scholly and all the guys want upton to be here, he is a great guy and very outgoing and everybody on our team wants him to come to louisburg, i havent heard any negative comments from any of the guys on our team"

 

I guess if they were to pull the offer and he has to settle for college and risk not getting the same offer next year you could call it greed...
I dont care if the kid gets the money or not..
But i can tell you this.. if he is being offered baseball money to attend louisburg then someone else got baseball money pulled from them...or another player was left totally off the roster.

 

Well, if he attends classes, he will play for Louisburg this year.

On another note, Cameron Maybin has til Sunday to make up his mind whether to sign or not; or he will be attending Lake City Community College.

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050826/NEWS01/50825049/1001

 

It would be ashame to miss out on a pro career because of money.
First fall practice in college could result in torn acl, broke leg, etc... hope not but if it does what kind of money would be offered next year ???
Not alot i would bet...

 

Intimidator, you are assuming of course that he gets money to attend LC. With a #2 pick overall as a brother and a very successful Dad, you think there might be the case that he doesn't need money to attend LC. No one has lost any money in this deal.

I love how you people are making these assumptions trying to justify your pre-determined judgement of a kid you have never met. Others are losing money and he won't get a better offer later, etc.. More than likely, he will get a better offer so that the D'Backs don't lose his rights next year much like the O's did with Loewen. And, from a player's mouth, no one has lost any money.

So, am I greedy for asking for, and receiving, more than I need to survive on? Do you get paid more than you need to survive? Does that mean you are greedy? If you think you are, pm me and I will tell you how to get your excess money to me so that you can feel less greedy and not be a hypocrite. Otherwise, drop the greed claims because you are greedy to if you ever been paid more than you need (unless you want to try justifying certain levels of greed and that would be a fun slippery slope to go down). Using your logic of course. I say let the market take place naturally and if you don't like it, stop being a sports fan. If enough like you revolt, you could shut down the market of greed by stop watching baseball on TV, stop going to games, stop buying baseball equipment, stop going to High School games which are a feeder to the very market you are claiming is greedy, stop buying team gear, stop supporting college baseball teams which are also a feeder to the market of greed, and stop buying any product endorsed by any player who has benefitted from said greed market.

Reality: complain all you want but the above scenario won't happen and these kids will continue try to maximize their market value. Sort of like most people do when they sell their home. They try to get as much out of their home as possible. Explain the difference. They get an offer. They typically counter-offer for an amount higher than the original offer. Much in the same way that Upton has. They offered an original amount. He counter-offered for what he wants. More than likely, they will meet somewhere in between but no one is forced to sell a house for less than they want. In the same way, why should he take less than he thinks he is worth when he has plenty of options?

 

You could die driving to work. Would be a shame for that to happen so why work at all? You could get hit in the head by a foul ball and suffer brain damage at a baseball game. Would be a shame so why not refrain from going to baseball games. Hypotheticals are so much fun.

That is the risk he will take. He and his family have been through this before with BJ and will evaluate that risk versus the additional payout. If he played at Louisburg and gets hurt, doubtful the D'Backs would give up his rights. They would probably still give him a couple million as most of those injuries are overcome all the time these days or he can go right back into the draft or have another year to recover at Louisburg and have his education. Might lose a million or two but is still doing well for himself. On the flip side, he could have a good year at Louisburg and get an additional 1.4 million like Loewen did. Life is all about risks and weighing risk against reward. I will respectfully let that decision rest with him and his parents and won't criticize him in any way. I hope he shows up to Louisburg but will easily understand if he doesn't and nobody feels used at all in this situation from either side. Louisburg is getting a ton of exposure from this (ESPN.com type of exposure) and Upton has bargaining power. Great situation for both!

 

Thats what makes message boards go round... opinions and conversation dont cost a dime.

i could care less about the school part... but if he does not sign and instead goes to school and play, then get hurt as i said earlier.. his shot at that type of income would most likely be lost.

you take the money now.. if he is not successful in pro ball then he has the money to go anywhere to school you want .

 

I agree with that but I would add, don't see yourself short. Like I said, would you sell your house for 100K if you could sell it for 200K?

 

i'm thru..