Arenas and Guzman

A couple of DC-centric sports stories to blog about.

One is the Wizards signing Gilbert Arenas to a six year contract for $111 million, roughly $15 million less than the maximum the team could have offered.  The Wizards also resigned Antawn Jamison, so the good news is the core of a team that is talented enough to make it to the Eastern Conference finals is coming back next year.

Arenas, who negotiated his own contract without an agent, agreed to less money so the team could sign Jamison and have more money to spend on a free agent, perhaps a power forward like Elton Brand. He was famously quoted as saying 'there's nothing I can do for my family with $127 million that I can't do with $111 million,' an interesting quote when it's coming from an athlete.   Countless fans say the same thing about every free agent signing, especially for stars who leave a team after years of service for a few more million a year (i.e. Johnny Damon).

The other good news is that Arenas is an elite player and personality, someone who creates buzz for the Wizards and unlike Chris Webber (who I really liked) has been able to sustain that buzz for a few years.  Arenas made the Wizards a big time team, both in DC - a great hoops town with deep and real hoops roots - and in the NBA by being talented but more importantly winning games and leading his team into the playoffs.  And with Butler and Jamison, along with an improved Haywood, this is a very good team and one that is generally fun to watch.

Of course, there is another shoe; 'this is a good team' . . . when healthy.  And Arenas has not been healthy for two years now.  Washington is taking a huge risk on a player whose knees have given out on him in consecutive seasons.  Even if he is healthy, as Michael Wilbon pointed out in today's Post, for that kind of money a team expects a championship.   

Who knows, stranger things have happened in sport, but I doubt this Wizards team can win a championship.   But with Jamison turning 31, and Butler and Arenas each having injury problems, the pressure is on this team to win now (or at least soon).  And that's the rub here; the Wizards had no choice but to sign Arenas: he's their best player, the face of the franchise, and a marquee talent.  

But when you look at his history of injuries, and the likelihood of this current team winning a championship, the signing of Arenas to a $111 million contract seems like a mistake (even if the team saved $15 million).   

Christian Guzman is an all-star

Not sure if this is a sign of the apocalypse or not, but you have to hand it to Christian Guzman for making the All-star team.  Granted, there was no one else on the team remotely resembling a star player; Guzman is the only starter hitting over .300, and though John Lannan has an All-star team worthy E.RA his lack of run support has left him with a losing record.  But Guzman is currently riding a 14-game hitting streak, has a respectable .340 on base percentage, and has batted .328 for the last month, so he kind of earned it.

Folks probably remember that four years ago Guzzy had one of the worst seasons at the plate in the modern era. He was hitting below .200 for 5 months before a late surge raised his average to .219 for the year.  He lost a year due to injury, but hit .328 last year in 50 games before getting hurt again.  You have to hand it to him for coming back from two injuries and a dreadful 2005 to become an All-star.

This season has prompted Jim Bowden, the Nationals' hopeless GM, to offer Guzman a two-year contract extension.  There is no way the Nats should resign Guzman; he's 30 years old and doubtful to get better.  And .340 is not that respectable for an on-base percentage.  But bottom line, this guy is not going to get better.  Save the money and sign a legit power hitter this off season.

He's been good, but you also need to be lucky, and Guzman would not be an All-star if he wasn't lucky enough to play for such a bad team.  Things are likely to get even worse for the Nats with Elijah Dukes and Lastings Milledge hurt, and Jesus Flores in a dreadful slump.  But at least those guys - along with Ryan Zimmerman, Lannan, Chad Cordero, and other young pitchers - are all under 25.  Ideally, those five or six players will lead the Nationals to the playoffs within the next 3 or 4 years.    

Hopefully, Stan Kasten will fire Bowden, and hire a GM who knows how to put together a legit major league roster, not one full of Expos-era rejects.  This team has money to spend. More importantly, the Nationals play in a weak division.  One or two smart free agent signings ideally of power hitters, coupled with the continued development of their starting pitching - which has actually been pretty good - and the young talent this team has could land them in the playoffs.  

Hey, if Christian Guzman can make the All-star team anything is possible.

Quick Wimbledon Note

I watched the end of the Nadal-Federer final today, and it was pretty good stuff.  A five-set match is usually pretty epic, and this one was.  To play that hard for that long is impressive.

Tennis players are underrated athletes.  It is hard to do what they do, and when you look at Nadal and Federer in particular, those guys look like line backers or A-Rod.   Big time athletes.

Finally, a great fortnight for Spain: a Wimbleton champ and the Euro 2008 championship.  I would type a lame Spanish phrase here, but will fight the temptation.