I'm someone who thinks pro athletes are extremely overpaid. However, cutting Guthrie $120k is really cheap & miserly of the Orioles. It smacks of being penny-wise & pound foolish.

It's a weird game when a guy like Guthrie gets a pay cut for performing admirably last year, and guys like Hendrickson, Walker, et al get padi millions for being cannon fodder on the mound.

I'm a little perturbed the O's couldn't have at least matched what they paid Guthire last year. Pretty damn shameful to take a cut almost ot league minimum and you're the number one guy in the rotation.

I try really hard to keep up with the arcane vocabulary of baseball contracts, but you've got me here. What's a "zero-to-three signing"?

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Pete's reply: Well, you'll have to try harder. That refers to players who have zero to three years of service time and are not eligible for arbitration.

Pete,

It seems that Freel is making a ton of errors at SS. Does that increase the chances of the Orioles sending only 12 pitchers north? I really don't think that's what Trembley wants to do.

Guthrie (-) pay cut = Oriole BS.

Has any of the reporters contacted Guthrie to get his reaction to the pay cut? It seems that, for $120K, you risk "annoying" your #1 starter. Chump change in the scheme of things. At some point they will want to get him to sign an extension. You don't think he'll remember this pay cut when he's negotiating?

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Pete's reply: He's not that upset, but he's in Canada with the WBC and a little hard to reach right now.

Any idea how much Adam Jones is making?

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Pete's reply: $435,000.

Hey Schmuck.....

Still waiting for that quiz, ha!

The first commente "Dave" kind of summed it up . If nothing else , it just looks like bad PR for O's management .

Does Guthrie's previous contract go back to the Indians and his #1 pick status?

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Pete's reply: Yes. There is pro-rated signing bonus included in the $770,000 figure, so he really didn't make that much last year. He got some of that up front when he signed.

Pete, could you please explain that in your blog. That he really didn't make that much last year.

That the $770 is pro-rated from his singing bonus with the Indians.

There are members of the media that are getting this wrong and purposefully mischaracterizing the situation.

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Pete's reply: I've already mentioned it a couple of times, plus the story I wrote yesterday. Up until last year, a pro-rated portion of the signing bonus was attached to the base salary. I don't know, however, what exactly the base salary was.