Homer Bailey Deal: Twitter Reaction
By Matt Niehaus
Feb 15, 2014; Goodyear, AZ, USA; Cincinnati Reds pitcher Homer Bailey throws during team workouts on the practice fields of Goodyear Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
A report on Monday indicated that the Cincinnati Reds and Homer Bailey were close on a reported 6yr $100M deal that would pay Bailey roughly $16.7M a year although it is likely a back ended deal. Of course the news of a deal was welcomed by Reds fans, the amount and the length though had twitter in an uproar.
Lets start with the doubters/haters/uninformed/emotional Reds fans out there:
Kershaw, Verlander, Hernandez, Sabathia, Tanaka, Grienke, Darvish, and Cain all make $100 million +, Homer Bailey isn't in this class! #Reds
— Justin Wolfe (@_JustinWolfe) February 17, 2014
Homer Bailey does not deserve $100 million.
— Korey Weber (@weberk45) February 17, 2014
Homer Bailey is no where near worth 100m
— mikey (@mikeyp1717) February 17, 2014
Im hearing that the Reds are close to a 6 year, $100 million deal with Homer Bailey... Wow
— Matt McPheron (@MattMcPheron) February 17, 2014
$100 million contract for Homer Bailey? Good one reds
— Dylan Harner (@Swaggy__D) February 17, 2014
6 years and 9 figures for Homer Bailey? Am I the only one who thinks that's a tiiiiiiiinny bit crazy?
— Nick Grayson (@_Ceyzey) February 17, 2014
While I love Homer Bailey, I can't see spending $100 million on him...then again, I buy my clothes at Wal-Mart. #Reds
— Scott Livesay (@thescottlivesay) February 17, 2014
Homer bailey: from "bust" to $100M man. #nevernevertrustbighype
— patsfb (@patsfb) February 17, 2014
As you can see people are not exactly excited with the Reds. Reds “fans” seem to be focused on Bailey’s wins and losses over the last two seasons. They fail to acknowledge the fact that the Reds offense provided him with little run support. To each their own though, they likely criticize Joey Votto for his lack of RBI without acknowledging the fact his OBP is through the roof. While there are plenty of unhappy people there are numerous people that are very happy:
Honestly, signing Homer Bailey long term kind of would save this @Reds offseason for me.
— Ben Wietmarschen (@benwietmarschen) February 17, 2014
Officially getting a Homer Bailey jersey ⚾️
— Emily Harrison (@emcat_17) February 17, 2014
I love this @reds & homer bailey deal. Unless it means we loose Latos. Then I'll be pissed.
— Country_Girl (@Countryredsgirl) February 18, 2014
So the chicks love Homer staying in Cincinnati, after all he does look like Christian Bale. That last tweet brings up a good point though. The only downside to Homer’s deal is the fact that the price for Mat Latos now skyrockets, it will have to be in the $140-$150M range now. That is in the future though.
For everyone saying this is a bad deal here is the Reds thinking on the deal. If Homer has a great year this season he gets to test free agency, driving up his price because another team that needs a quality pitcher will overpay for him. Why not sign him now, pay a little more and bank on the upward trend to continue with Bailey.
To be fair the deal isn’t even official yet, stay tuned.