RichH55
02-18-2002, 12:44 AM
Not sure if this has been posted but here you go.....demand side posting here
Rolen stands by 'principle' in ordeal with Phillies
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By Jayson Stark
ESPN.com
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- It takes a different kind of guy to turn his back on 140 million bucks of negotiable American currency.
In fact, says Scott Rolen, it takes an "idiot."
So guess who did, in actual real life, turn his back on the chance to accept 140 million actual bucks of the Philadelphia Phillies' actual United States money this winter? An "idiot" named Scott Rolen himelf. That's who.
Scott Rolen has hit 25 or more home runs in each of the last four seasons.
It's true, by the way, that technically, Rolen didn't turn down anything -- because the Phillies simply made public what they were prepared to offer him after Rolen broke off negotiations. But it's also true the two sides had talked about contract parameters last spring, so Rolen knew he was walking away from the opportunity to negotiate one of the half-dozen biggest contracts in baseball history.
It wasn't an easy decision. He doesn't need to consult Merrill or Lynch to know it definitely wasn't a financially sound decision. And Rolen is the first to admit that from the standpoint of sheer basic intelligence, "it was a stupid, stupid thing to do."
So how come he also says he wouldn't change a thing?
Not for $240 million. Not for $340 million. Not for any amount of negotiable American currency. That's his story. That was his decision. And he's sticking to both of them.
On "principle."
"I don't play the game to make money," Rolen told ESPN.com in an exclusive interview this weekend. "I play the game to win. And what they offered me -- or didn't offer me, depending on how you look at it -- was money. And that's not enough.
"It's always been about principles first for me. All I've told them (Phillies ownership) is that I want the same commitment from them that they expect from me and from my teammates. And those principles -- let's just say they don't have a price tag on them."
To the shock of many, Rolen is still the Phillies' third baseman as another spring training opens beneath the Florida palms. It is now three months since he told his bosses he wasn't interested in entertaining their contract overtures this winter, three months in which they tried to trade him but never did.
So now here he is, in the beginning of his free-agent walk year. He is Philadelphia's version of Jason Giambi (2001 edition), living life as a lame-duck leader on a team trying to win with a payroll half the size of the favorites in its own division.
It could well be the most difficult year of Rolen's life and career, in part because the always-sympathetic fans of Philadelphia have jumped to numerous conclusions -- many of them half-baked -- about how he got to this point.
So Rolen used both his conversation with ESPN.com and a mass interview with the Philadelphia media Saturday to try to explain, for what he says is the final time, why he cut off negotiations before the Phillies ever had a chance to offer him that $140-million deal:
He knows what people think the reasons are. But in reality, he says ...
“ I looked at this whole thing. I looked at history. I looked at the whole deal. And let's start with a fact. Let's go back 15 years. Thirteen times in the last 15 seasons, (the Phillies have) had losing seasons. That's history. That's fact. And that's a 15-year period. That's a long time. ”
— Scott Rolen
It wasn't about the money.
It wasn't about not wanting to play in Philadelphia, on the east coast or in front of Kobe Bryant's favorite fans.
It wasn't about his relationship with his pedal-to-the-metal manager, Larry Bowa.
It wasn't about a scalding he took on the radio last summer from high-profile Phillies senior advisor Dallas Green.
It wasn't about GM Ed Wade, who Rolen says just "does what he can do" within tough budget limitations.
It wasn't about stale soft pretzels, the lingering shadow of Mike Schmidt, inability to decide whether he liked Pat's Steaks over Geno's, or too few Philadelphia tour stops by the Dave Matthews Band.
It was, he says, simply about a 26-year-old, three-time Gold Glove third baseman who wasn't ready to commit essentially the rest of his career to a team he feels hasn't shown enough commitment in return to make him want to stay.
"I looked at this whole thing," Rolen says. "I looked at history. I looked at the whole deal. And let's start with a fact. Let's go back 15 years. Thirteen times in the last 15 seasons, they've had losing seasons. That's history. That's fact. And that's a 15-year period. That's a long time.
"I'm not just a player. I'm a fan. I'm a fan of the game. And the way I look at this is: Fans deserve better than that. Fans deserve a better commitment than this ownership is giving them. I'm tired of empty promises. I'm tired of waiting for a new stadium (not due until 2004), for the sun to shine."
In a 90-minute conversation, Rolen touched on all this and more. Here are the highlights:
On how he could possibly not have signed a $140-million contract: "You know how much of a (bleep)ing idiot I am?" Rolen laughed. "I'm not happy I didn't sign that contract. It doesn't make me feel good that I turned down $140 million, and a chance to set my family and my family's family and everyone else up for life. I'm not proud of that. That's an insane amount of money.
"I thank the Phillies for being willing to offer that, and I'm an idiot for not signing that contract. It was a stupid, stupid thing to do. It's a ridiculous amount of money. But I've kicked this around 100 times since then. I've said to myself that I should just sit back and enjoy what they offered. But every time I think I should do that, my heart tells me it's just not right."
On the notion that he's greedy or that he's doing this to become a free agent and make even more money: "I don't know why someone would look at it as I'm trying to get more money. I promise you I'm not trying to get more money. I've already told you I'm an idiot, and it's well-documented that I am an idiot. But as idiotic as I am, I'm certainly not stupid enough to risk $140 million for (a chance to make) $145 million or $150 million. I'm not that stupid."
On whether the public criticism he took from management, particularly from Bowa and Green, was his reason for not negotiating: "I'll admit that when I walked out of that clubhouse (at the end of last season), I was very bitter and very upset. I felt there were a lot of issues that made for some anger and some resentment. There were some loyalty issues that got stepped on a little bit. ...
"But at the same time, I realized those were issues I had to get over so I could make a solid contract decision later in the offseason. I needed to get away -- from the game, from the whole process -- to make a clear, open-minded decision.
"So I took three weeks. I went on a west-coast trip and got away from absolutely everything. And the farther I got away from everything, I was able to clear my head and look at things more objectively. ... And I'm over that now."
On the "myth" that he doesn't want to play in Philadelphia because he grew up in Indiana and wants to return to the midwest: "It's not true that I don't want to be in Philadelphia or that I don't want to be on the east coast. I own a house in Philadelphia, and I live in Florida. My parents live in Florida. My sister lives in Florida. I do come from the midwest. And sure, I like it. But I don't live there. I never said that. And I never said I didn't want to be in Philadelphia or that I dislike Philadelphia, because that's not true."
On why he feels Phillies ownership hasn't made a sufficient "commitment" to winning: "There are three points here. One is the players on the field, and what is demanded of the players on the field, which is their utmost every day. Day in. Day out. Their last effort.
"Two is the fans in the stands. The fans in the stands in Philadelphia have a passion about them. Whether they're Flyers fans or Sixers fans or Eagles fans or Phillies fans, they're dying to win. And if those fans don't have that passion, they're not in the stands. ... There's a reason our attendance last year didn't reflect the team we had on the field. And the reason is that these fans are upset (with ownership), and they have every right to be. ...
"So point No. 3 is the backing from ownership, to have that same commitment that they expect from the players. And they expect fans to come to the stadium. So why shouldn't the players and the fans expect that same level of commitment from them?"
“ I understand the gamble and the risk I'm taking. Maybe I'll never have a chance to sign another contract if I get injured. I'm not going to say I'm happy or I'm comfortable with that. That's why I'm telling you I'm an idiot. There are a lot of issues that make it absolutely ludicrous not to sign that deal. The only thing I can hang my hat on is what's right and on principle. ”
— Rolen
Rolen stands by 'principle' in ordeal with Phillies
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Jayson Stark
ESPN.com
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- It takes a different kind of guy to turn his back on 140 million bucks of negotiable American currency.
In fact, says Scott Rolen, it takes an "idiot."
So guess who did, in actual real life, turn his back on the chance to accept 140 million actual bucks of the Philadelphia Phillies' actual United States money this winter? An "idiot" named Scott Rolen himelf. That's who.
Scott Rolen has hit 25 or more home runs in each of the last four seasons.
It's true, by the way, that technically, Rolen didn't turn down anything -- because the Phillies simply made public what they were prepared to offer him after Rolen broke off negotiations. But it's also true the two sides had talked about contract parameters last spring, so Rolen knew he was walking away from the opportunity to negotiate one of the half-dozen biggest contracts in baseball history.
It wasn't an easy decision. He doesn't need to consult Merrill or Lynch to know it definitely wasn't a financially sound decision. And Rolen is the first to admit that from the standpoint of sheer basic intelligence, "it was a stupid, stupid thing to do."
So how come he also says he wouldn't change a thing?
Not for $240 million. Not for $340 million. Not for any amount of negotiable American currency. That's his story. That was his decision. And he's sticking to both of them.
On "principle."
"I don't play the game to make money," Rolen told ESPN.com in an exclusive interview this weekend. "I play the game to win. And what they offered me -- or didn't offer me, depending on how you look at it -- was money. And that's not enough.
"It's always been about principles first for me. All I've told them (Phillies ownership) is that I want the same commitment from them that they expect from me and from my teammates. And those principles -- let's just say they don't have a price tag on them."
To the shock of many, Rolen is still the Phillies' third baseman as another spring training opens beneath the Florida palms. It is now three months since he told his bosses he wasn't interested in entertaining their contract overtures this winter, three months in which they tried to trade him but never did.
So now here he is, in the beginning of his free-agent walk year. He is Philadelphia's version of Jason Giambi (2001 edition), living life as a lame-duck leader on a team trying to win with a payroll half the size of the favorites in its own division.
It could well be the most difficult year of Rolen's life and career, in part because the always-sympathetic fans of Philadelphia have jumped to numerous conclusions -- many of them half-baked -- about how he got to this point.
So Rolen used both his conversation with ESPN.com and a mass interview with the Philadelphia media Saturday to try to explain, for what he says is the final time, why he cut off negotiations before the Phillies ever had a chance to offer him that $140-million deal:
He knows what people think the reasons are. But in reality, he says ...
“ I looked at this whole thing. I looked at history. I looked at the whole deal. And let's start with a fact. Let's go back 15 years. Thirteen times in the last 15 seasons, (the Phillies have) had losing seasons. That's history. That's fact. And that's a 15-year period. That's a long time. ”
— Scott Rolen
It wasn't about the money.
It wasn't about not wanting to play in Philadelphia, on the east coast or in front of Kobe Bryant's favorite fans.
It wasn't about his relationship with his pedal-to-the-metal manager, Larry Bowa.
It wasn't about a scalding he took on the radio last summer from high-profile Phillies senior advisor Dallas Green.
It wasn't about GM Ed Wade, who Rolen says just "does what he can do" within tough budget limitations.
It wasn't about stale soft pretzels, the lingering shadow of Mike Schmidt, inability to decide whether he liked Pat's Steaks over Geno's, or too few Philadelphia tour stops by the Dave Matthews Band.
It was, he says, simply about a 26-year-old, three-time Gold Glove third baseman who wasn't ready to commit essentially the rest of his career to a team he feels hasn't shown enough commitment in return to make him want to stay.
"I looked at this whole thing," Rolen says. "I looked at history. I looked at the whole deal. And let's start with a fact. Let's go back 15 years. Thirteen times in the last 15 seasons, they've had losing seasons. That's history. That's fact. And that's a 15-year period. That's a long time.
"I'm not just a player. I'm a fan. I'm a fan of the game. And the way I look at this is: Fans deserve better than that. Fans deserve a better commitment than this ownership is giving them. I'm tired of empty promises. I'm tired of waiting for a new stadium (not due until 2004), for the sun to shine."
In a 90-minute conversation, Rolen touched on all this and more. Here are the highlights:
On how he could possibly not have signed a $140-million contract: "You know how much of a (bleep)ing idiot I am?" Rolen laughed. "I'm not happy I didn't sign that contract. It doesn't make me feel good that I turned down $140 million, and a chance to set my family and my family's family and everyone else up for life. I'm not proud of that. That's an insane amount of money.
"I thank the Phillies for being willing to offer that, and I'm an idiot for not signing that contract. It was a stupid, stupid thing to do. It's a ridiculous amount of money. But I've kicked this around 100 times since then. I've said to myself that I should just sit back and enjoy what they offered. But every time I think I should do that, my heart tells me it's just not right."
On the notion that he's greedy or that he's doing this to become a free agent and make even more money: "I don't know why someone would look at it as I'm trying to get more money. I promise you I'm not trying to get more money. I've already told you I'm an idiot, and it's well-documented that I am an idiot. But as idiotic as I am, I'm certainly not stupid enough to risk $140 million for (a chance to make) $145 million or $150 million. I'm not that stupid."
On whether the public criticism he took from management, particularly from Bowa and Green, was his reason for not negotiating: "I'll admit that when I walked out of that clubhouse (at the end of last season), I was very bitter and very upset. I felt there were a lot of issues that made for some anger and some resentment. There were some loyalty issues that got stepped on a little bit. ...
"But at the same time, I realized those were issues I had to get over so I could make a solid contract decision later in the offseason. I needed to get away -- from the game, from the whole process -- to make a clear, open-minded decision.
"So I took three weeks. I went on a west-coast trip and got away from absolutely everything. And the farther I got away from everything, I was able to clear my head and look at things more objectively. ... And I'm over that now."
On the "myth" that he doesn't want to play in Philadelphia because he grew up in Indiana and wants to return to the midwest: "It's not true that I don't want to be in Philadelphia or that I don't want to be on the east coast. I own a house in Philadelphia, and I live in Florida. My parents live in Florida. My sister lives in Florida. I do come from the midwest. And sure, I like it. But I don't live there. I never said that. And I never said I didn't want to be in Philadelphia or that I dislike Philadelphia, because that's not true."
On why he feels Phillies ownership hasn't made a sufficient "commitment" to winning: "There are three points here. One is the players on the field, and what is demanded of the players on the field, which is their utmost every day. Day in. Day out. Their last effort.
"Two is the fans in the stands. The fans in the stands in Philadelphia have a passion about them. Whether they're Flyers fans or Sixers fans or Eagles fans or Phillies fans, they're dying to win. And if those fans don't have that passion, they're not in the stands. ... There's a reason our attendance last year didn't reflect the team we had on the field. And the reason is that these fans are upset (with ownership), and they have every right to be. ...
"So point No. 3 is the backing from ownership, to have that same commitment that they expect from the players. And they expect fans to come to the stadium. So why shouldn't the players and the fans expect that same level of commitment from them?"
“ I understand the gamble and the risk I'm taking. Maybe I'll never have a chance to sign another contract if I get injured. I'm not going to say I'm happy or I'm comfortable with that. That's why I'm telling you I'm an idiot. There are a lot of issues that make it absolutely ludicrous not to sign that deal. The only thing I can hang my hat on is what's right and on principle. ”
— Rolen