Payroll Thread
.
=== Contingency Fund ===
Uncle Al sez,
Geoff Baker ... says the M's spent $85M in 2012 is correct but he takes this dollar figure and uses it to base his 2013 payroll on. He doesn't tell you that the $85M amount consisted of a Budget for 2012 that was $80M in payroll for the 25 man roster and another $5M for the Contingency Fund which eventually gets turned into additional salaries during the year. He then says we basically stand at $62M as of now but we are closer to $68M by throwing in the Contingency Fund. You have to add in the Contingency Fund when you talk about the Budget and that is why everybody thinks we have more money to spend than we actually have. The Budget and Payroll within the Budget are two different things at the start of the year.
The contingency fund point has traction, though this line item also is partially discretionary. There are two primary expenses that go under this $5M line item:
- Player performance bonuses
- Mid-season salary adds
The mid-season salary adds contingency can ... contingently ... be spent in March. :- ) In the abstract, if they spend a couple extra mill in March, they can say "all right, no July payroll adds now."
...............
I would like to know, however, how many performance incentives they have for 2013. You probably have those Al? Per this chart, I see only four players on the 40-man who aren't club-controls players (and who even could theoretically have performance incentives).
Felix, Guti, Figgins, and Ackley seem to be the only players under contract. Vargas is an arb player. What would these four guys' performance clauses be? Comparing this chart, it looks like a total of $1.5M would be the max performance bonuses earned, but even there I can't figure out where Cots sees a possible $1.2M in bonuses for Felix?
The Mariners are so young that they seem to be skimming over the issue of player performance bonuses. Cots has the Mariners at $47M after the Iwakuma deal and at that $47M figure, I can't find any player performance bonuses pending.
If that be the case, then the "Contingency Fund" line item becomes a real-world F-500 nonissue. A Josh Hamilton and a Dan Haren come calling, the Mariners have no problem deploying that line item to make the numbers work, and then saying "Don't plan on any July salary adds."
Baker gives these numbers:
- [$48M allocated, after Mr. WBC-san, with a $20.7M figure for Felix]
- $12M for arb players, approx.
- $8M for min-wage players
The contingency fund is a malleable line item unless there are bonuses we're missing.
.
=== Lonnie of MC ===
Follows on with
I ran the numbers and prior to the Iwakuma signing the payroll stood at ~$58M. Figuring that they will approximate the payroll that they had in 2012 (everyone seems to think that this is so), that will give them about $27M to play with. Iwakuma just took a $6.5M bite out of that pie, so now they are down to ~$21M.
If you are wondering, my number is already loaded with a hefty raise for Vargas, Kelley, and Jaso.
Um ... this would come out of the $12M bullet point given by Baker above. If Lonnie's arb numbers don't contradict Baker's, then Baker has them at $60M including arb players and Lonnie at (?) $65M or so.
.
=== Tacoma Rain ===
Then sez,
Per Greg Johns inbox edition from 11/1/12, the Mariners budget for last year was $91 Million. Further, Johns writes that the Mariners plan to increase payroll this year.
Lastly, lest we forget, that EVERY team was basically given $20 Million this year due to the new TV deal, so if the Mariners ONLY spend $100 Million... the Mariners will have broken even with last year's final budget of roughly $83 Million - a figure also supplied by Johns in the article.
As to Rain's last paragraph: Zduriencik's comment to Baker was simply that the Mariners will have at least last year's payroll to work with. "At least" in this case means something between "same amount" and "$20 million more" or something else entirely.
Baker's Exec Sum: "the Mariners are in for a spending spree this winter." As we've noted before, they've got precious few positions at which to deploy this money. Stars & Scrubs bab-eh.
Reading Pile: 11/2/12
Bedlam #1-You can’t really argue with forty-eight pages of pure story with no ad interruption, and for only $3.50. I flip flop on Riley Rossmo’s books because the story tends to be weak while the art interesting, but it looks like Rossmo and Nick Spencer complement each other here because the tone and pacing were pretty sharp. The book leads you into the plot fairly well and sets up a nice twist on a character who is essentially an analog of the Joker. Image is continuing to put out interesting new titles every month and if they keep this up they may be one of the more impressive publishers of the past year. A
A Plus X #1- I’m not really sure if an ongoing crossover anthology will really last, but for a first issue it didn’t suck. Dan Slott and Ron Garney give us a fun Captain America and Cable crossover, while Jeph Loeb and Dale Keown give is a vapid but pretty Hulk and Wolverine crossover. It’s all mostly fluff, and if it wasn’t $3.99 I wouldn’t mind that a bit. Unfortunately it’s also only twenty-one pages of story, and a lot of those are splash pages (Jeph Loeb, remember?). Overpriced fluff with no real plot relevance, so I can quickly see people abandoning ship and Marvel declaring this as a maxi-series. B-
Ghosts One-Shot- All of the past Vertigo specials have been pretty damn solid, and this horror special is no exception as it delivers seventy pages of story for the $7.99 price tag. First and foremost, this anthology features the last story Joe Kubert was working on before he passed away. It’s a great short, and you get to see it in his unfinished pencils, so this makes the entire book well worth the price. The next highlight for me was the first story with art by Rufus Dayglo, who has previously worked on Tank Girl and has an amazing style. Amy Reeder’s Wallflower story is great, as well as the Paul Pope short and the cursed chili piece midway through. On top of it you also get a Gilbert Hernandez story and plenty of other material. My only complaint is that the Dead Boy Detectives story is unfinished and teased to continue in the next Vertigo special. That…….is a chunk of chunk of time to wait for a short story. Despite that, this was a fun book and worth the price. A
Want to work for the next Facebook?
Working at a startup is one of the best ways to get really rich with the wonderful stories of employees making lots of money in an IPO. The key to attracting the attention of a startup is to have soft skills and hard skills such as programming.
There has to be a feeling that anything can be done regardless of the shortage of resources. A go getter who has an entrepreneurial nature will be highly effective in a startup. Since you aren't going to be working for an established firm, you set your own rules. This can be a good and bad thing. The important thing is to be supremely confident in the knowledge you have that will make you a startup star.
One of the procedures to gain insights about what ticks in the Valley is to go onto LinkedIn and have a good look at the skills of the people working at startups across the country. Having a good knowledge of mid and large cap Internet companies such as Netflix, Vistaprint, Zillow, Pandora and Yelp will be extremely helpful. Additionally, reading up on blogs to find out as much as you can about Silicon Valley success stories will work well.
Being a skilled employee in a startup means that you should be able to do business development and software development at the same time. The shortage of workers with necessary skills and the less number of individuals willing to take the plunge at a startup means that any diverse skill set will be much sought after.
The skills is one thing. Marketing these skills to prospective employers and actually finding them is the hard task. Websites such as TechStars Boston and Sequoia Capital will definitely help in this regard.
Talking to friends that you made in college who struck you as having brilliant ideas is another way to getting a piece of the startup pie.
Hands Around the World
If you are familiar with Williamson Kids Can! Books, you already know that they are very child-friendly activity books filled with creative ideas for fun and imaginative play. The book Hands Around the World: 365 Ways to Build Cultural Awareness and Global Respect is just as fun, but obviously even more important than a traditional activity book, as it is centered around helping us raise global citizens with compassion and respect for one another.
Susan Milord’s book approaches art and projects from the perspective of a year in the cultures of the world, with a daily focus on a specific cultural event. There are stories, foods, and arts from all around the world—as well as holidays that children may not be familiar with. I was afraid the book might be a little condescending from a Western perspective—which is always a risk in cultural education programs, no matter their intent—but so far, from using it, I haven’t seen anything like that. Western traditions are included in the book, providing it with a full global perspective rather than an “us versus them” mentality.
That said, the book does follow the Gregorian calendar—while mentioning that there are other calendars, such as the Chinese calendar and Jewish calendar, are also mentioned. Use of a world map is encouraged while learning from and playing with this book.
The book is easily organized like a calendar, which makes it simple to use. Just open up the current day’s date and you can start using it right away. Parents and teachers should know that some activities feature adapted materials when authentic ones will be difficult to locate; for example, there is an activity for making a turban in which most families may want to use any readily available cloth. Most activities are very safe, with a few exceptions that may require adult help with something like an Xacto knife.
Each week in the book features a fun tip or other helpful information pertaining to either that week or the entire program, such as utilizing climate information as well as topographical maps. Not every day features only one culture; for example, six different countries are highlighted on the New Year Celebration entry. Various traditions for New Year’s are also explored on a separate date, given that it’s such a big holiday.
I would recommend this book for any family and classroom. We live in a global community and it’s more important than ever to help our kids connect with and respect the people in not just their own neighborhoods, but in countries the world over entirely.
Travel Air New Zealand for Middle Earth Fun
Holy cow, have you seen this new video from Air New Zealand? Talk about encouragement to actually watch a flight safety video! Those things are horribly boring—unless they feature elves. And hobbits. And a wizard as a pilot.
If you can’t click the link above or watch a video at the moment, you have to bookmark this for later—especially if you are a Tolkien fan, because I can guarantee that it will at the very least make you smile. Your flight attendants are elves and other creatures, and everyone from Gandalf to the One Ring to Gollum himself makes an appearance.
If you like Hobbit spoofs, Lord of the Rings cartoons, or any other related media, this one is a must for your bookmark collection. And if not, well, you can use it to tease your friends who are into this kind of thing—like this blogger! If you’re familiar with the trilogy, watch for the ending and find a direct quote, which is much more tongue in cheek than its original incarnation! Be sure to pass it on to your fellow Middle Earth fans—or better yet, take the Middle Earth tour and see it for yourself!
Thass What I'm TALKIN About
.
Mr WBC-san a Mariner! YYEEAAAHHHHH!
The Mariners announced that they have agreed to a new deal with right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma that will extend him through 2014 with an option for 2015. Terms of the deal are not yet known.
Seattle had exclusive negoatiating rights with the pitcher through tomorrow night. If General Manager Jack Zduriencik did not reach agreement with Iwakuma by the deadline then the hurler would not have been able to pitch until May 15th.
The M's inked Iwakuma to a one-year, $1.5MM deal last year and did well in his debut MLB season. The 31-year-old 3.16 ERA with 7.3 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 16 starts and 14 relief appearances.
Read more at http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/11/mariners-iwakuma-agree-to-extension.html#668GjdPR0c4GiosW.99
If you click on the Iwakuma SSI hashtag you get ... ulp ... 40 articles on him. I've got to do something about this, man. ::insanely stares into mirror for seven hours tweaking:: That's about 20,000 words on him. Our gopher rate was, we modestly claim, in the 0.8 range...
.
Q. Where does he rank among AL starters?
A. Iwakuma, as a starter, ran a 3.61 xFIP based on 7.4 strikeouts, 2.7 walks, and 1.0 homers with a >50% grounder rate. That 3.61 xFIP, if he'd qualified, would have put him #9 in the American League. Guess who was #8? Yu Darvish. Guess who was #10? Hiroki Kuroda.
Statistically, Iwakuma was a top-12 starter. Going forward, if he's healthy, I've got no problem slotting him #15 or #20 in the league. he's now a proven NPB conversion.
Q. Is the 7.4 / 2.7 / 1.0 slash line repeatable?
A. Basically it's the mid-to-upper projection, yes. The K's and BB's could both drop a bit, and in the new Safeco the homers bear watching. But Iwakuma's bat-missing skills are legit (he had a higher SwStr% than Matt Cain) and he's got a year of NPB-MLB gopher adjustment under his belt. You can be moderately confident about the HR rate and the K rate.
Remember the 13-K wipeout of the Blue Jays right outta the box, once he went into the rotation. You ain't gonna get that outta no Anthony Vasquez. American hitters go up there too aggressive against Iwakuma's screwball, he's going to embarrass them.
.
Q. What was that A game and B game thing again?
A. On a good day, Iwakuma's balance is just right, he pauses at the top a bit more, he steps forward a few inches more and snaps off the wrist a bit better .. the fastball goes by hitters, the slider bites, and the shuuto is icing on the cake. Shutout city.
On a bad day, his footing isn't right, the wrist doesn't snap, the annoyed umps don't call strikes .... but the sense of danger, the intelligence, and the 25-second pitch delays usually cobble together a 7-hit, 3-run kind of day.
.
Q. Who are his comps?
A. Statistically he falls in the Kuroda basket. 7 strikeouts, 2-3 walks, grab bag of legit pitches all used in baffling sequences.
Sylistically, Iwakuma is a change-speed righty, a template that's not understood well. He's got off-the-charts pitchability and sense of danger. Think of Iwakuma as Doug Fister, minus just a biscuit, or the Oakland version of Dan Haren, minus two biscuits.
In fact with Felix, Iwakuma and Erasmo, the M's have a Big Three that remind you of Verlander, Fister and Scherzer.
.
Q. How long did it take to triangulate him?
A. Me, or m'man Eric Wedge? >:- ]
Our last post on him was the Kris Medlen / Erasmo Ramirez article. Our first post on him, last New Year's Day, forecast a $10-12M major league starter that "would be the balm on the Doug Fister wound." That'll do for us today. In between, there were 38 posts with which we had entirely too much fun.
Mr. WBC-san is fragile, but he is a #2-3 starting pitcher as are Kuroda and Fister. The 2013 Mariners go to camp with a Big Three that collectively will xFIP with the best of 'em.
The Christmas Village By Lemax
Finding a unique piece of art is something many people can only dream of doing. However, some people will find the Christmas villages by Lemax are some of the most gorgeous pieces they can ever find. The problem is many people do not know why they should be using these villages or collecting them and avoid them all together.
A great reason why these Christmas village pieces are so collectible is they are highly crafted art pieces. Typically the village pieces people will end up getting are made from plaster, which these are as well. However, these pieces are crafted to the point they look more like a highly crafted and delicate art sculpture.
Something else that many people should consider with the Christmas village by Lemax is it will allow people to add additional pieces each year. When people are able to add these pieces each year, they are able to have the best collection around and know it will be suited to the needs and desires they have each year.
Another aspect people should consider is that these pieces are lighted and with the LED lights the Christmas village is using. It allows the people to have some lights on, but not have their typical lights on. Without this, a person may have to use their normal lights or even worse deal with no lighting at all.
It is important to enjoy and decorate your home during Christmas. However, many people need to know more information about why they should be using the Christmas village by Lemax instead of any of the other types of Christmas ornamental villages.
Make college affordable
Affording college can be hard to do for many people. However, you may not know about why you should be working hard at getting all the different scholarships which are available to you. This can be a mistake as hundreds of thousands of dollars of scholarship money goes unspent each year.
The main reason you should do the proper research on the scholarships is they are available for all different types of situations. Since these are available for all different situations you will be able to get the proper one for your needs and know that some people may not qualify for this degree because of what they do not have.
Another reason you should be looking at the different scholarships is that multiple scholarships go unfilled year after year. However, you will need to make sure you look at this and do the proper research because some of these are not well known which is why they go unfilled so often.
Something else you will like with the scholarships is you can often apply for more then one at a time. Since you can apply for more then one at a time, it is easy for you to get several scholarships and possibly not have to pay for any aspect of your college education.
Getting into college is the start of something you will really like to do because your future career may hinge on it. This is when you should know more information about how you can afford college, even if it means applying for multiple scholarships at once.
Stand mixers for baking
Baking the best brownies or cakes is a great thing to do, but it can be harder then what you imagined if you do not have the right stand mixer. This is when you should know more information about what good a stand mixer will do for you. Without any of this information, you may have trouble in convincing people as to why you should get this, instead of relying on the hand mixer.
The first reason people should be using the stand mixers is they make the mixing jobs go a lot faster then what you can experience elsewhere. Since the work will be done faster then what you are used to, you will be able to have the best work done and be able to move onto some of the other jobs you have to get done around your home.
Another reason people should consider the stand mixers is that they are affordable compared to what they used to cost. With the prices coming down on these and more people cooking at home, they need to realize this allows them to get the best work done and know they can afford to buy these instead of the other mixers, which can start to burn out.
Buying the best stand mixer and using it for your cooking can be a great thing. The problem that you may encounter is not knowing about why you should be using the stand mixers and why you should convince people to let you buy these. Once you know about the time savings that you have and the amount of money these save you over time, you will want to make sure you get the stand mixers right away.
The Basque Tradition of Aizkolaritza
Competitive wood-chopping has found a place in festivals and fairs around the world, but few do it with more intensity than those in the Basque region of Spain. For more than a hundred years, the Basque people have been coming together to try their hands at the sport known as Aizkolaritza, a wood-chopping contest that pushes the limits of the participants’ endurance while at the same time testing their speed.
Though the sport has been going on since the 19th century, it was only in 1997 that it started to become more organized. With the formation of the “Golden Axe” event, the cream of the crop had a place to gather to decide who was truly the best. Nowadays, more than 30,000 people show up to Golden Axe to watch and the event is broadcast on television as well as being covered by radio stations. All this has caused Aizkolaritza to spread beyond its roots in Spain and people are practicing the sport in locations all around the world. To become true champions, however, they still must come and prove their skills at Golden Axe.
In order to compete, people either sign up as individuals or in teams. Both men and women are allowed to participate and try their hand at winning a substantial cash prize. Each person stands on top of the wood they are going to chop and then hacks at it with an axe that has a rounded blade. They are racing their opponents to see who can chop through a certain amount of logs the fastest.
Fastest doesn’t mean a few minutes for this sport, however. The logs are much bigger than other wood-chopping competitions, the minimum diameter measuring more than twice that of more standard contest logs. And the numbers of logs they need to chop in half sometimes number up to 20, which means they often take at least a half-an-hour and some events have been known to go on for well over an hour. Sometimes as a bonus event, a log of more than 100 inches across is brought out to test the skills of competitors.
Over the Basque Country of Spain, one can find these types of contests happening on a regular basis, all throughout the year. Or, if you’re interested but can’t make it overseas, look around for a local event. Aizkolaritza now finds its way into many of the cultural festivals that are thrown throughout the world.