Post by cardsfan643 on Feb 26, 2007 18:58:30 GMT -5
VERO BEACH, Fla. - Jason Schmidt passed up opportunities for a longer, more lucrative deal in the offseason to sign a three-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He made such a decision based on his children.
"My kids are my interest. I've got two and one on the way," Schmidt said. "There were five-year deals to be had. I can see why guys want to stretch out the contract. It was a family thing.
"I did what I felt was right. It wasn't a money thing for me. It was, `Let's try to get a fair deal for market value in a place I was going to be happy.'"
Fair market value turned out to be $47 million over three years.
Schmidt said the divorce of his parents when he was 6 has motivated him to be available as much as possible for his children — a 6-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son. That's always going to be difficult as a baseball player because of the travel involved, so he's reticent to plan too far ahead.
"I just don't want to get locked into something," he said. "I don't know what the future holds — I might want to play three years, I might want to play 10."
The 34-year-old right-hander spent the past 5 1/2 seasons in San Francisco — the Dodgers' biggest rival. He went 78-37 with the Giants and helped them reach the 2002 World Series. But they've fallen off in recent years.
Schmidt said he enjoyed playing with the Giants, and had an excellent relationship with Barry Bonds. But it was time to move on.
"I want that ring. You don't have that, you haven't accomplished your main goal," he said, adding he chose the Dodgers because he believes they have what it takes to win and didn't want to leave the West Coast.
"I love it here so far," he said. "It's been nothing but top-notch since day one. Good guys, and a good team. We've still got to go out and do what we're capable of doing. That's the harder part."
Schmidt, a three-time All-Star, said the Giants weren't very proactive in trying to keep him.
"They pursued it a little bit," he said. "Los Angeles was so aggressive. Everything felt right. Everything lined up from the beginning."
That makes sense, considering the Dodgers' apparent need for a No. 1 starter and Schmidt's track record. The addition of Schmidt and Randy Wolf to go with 16-game winners Derek Lowe and Brad Penny gives Los Angeles one of baseball's best rotations — at least on paper.
"He's just solid," Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said of Schmidt. "You know what you're getting — you're getting a work ethic, you're getting a guy who wants the ball every fifth day. Your key pitchers set the tone for the rest of the staff."
Schmidt said he's not concerned about being the Dodgers' No. 1 starter.
"They just needed another piece to the puzzle," he said. "St. Louis won it all without an ace. It's rising to the occasion and having enough guys to do it."
Teammates Jeff Kent and Ramon Martinez, who played with Schmidt in San Francisco, know what he can bring.
"Jason can be a No. 1 starter. I don't remember him missing many starts," Kent said. "He can be dominating. There's not a whole lot spectacular from him, but there's a whole lot of goodness in what he can do. He's a quality player and a quality person."
Martinez said Schmidt is one of the toughest pitchers he's ever faced.
"Definitely, yeah," Martinez said. "Every time he takes the mound, he gives you a chance to win. You know if you're playing against him, you're going to have to do everything right to beat him. And he's a great guy."
"My kids are my interest. I've got two and one on the way," Schmidt said. "There were five-year deals to be had. I can see why guys want to stretch out the contract. It was a family thing.
"I did what I felt was right. It wasn't a money thing for me. It was, `Let's try to get a fair deal for market value in a place I was going to be happy.'"
Fair market value turned out to be $47 million over three years.
Schmidt said the divorce of his parents when he was 6 has motivated him to be available as much as possible for his children — a 6-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son. That's always going to be difficult as a baseball player because of the travel involved, so he's reticent to plan too far ahead.
"I just don't want to get locked into something," he said. "I don't know what the future holds — I might want to play three years, I might want to play 10."
The 34-year-old right-hander spent the past 5 1/2 seasons in San Francisco — the Dodgers' biggest rival. He went 78-37 with the Giants and helped them reach the 2002 World Series. But they've fallen off in recent years.
Schmidt said he enjoyed playing with the Giants, and had an excellent relationship with Barry Bonds. But it was time to move on.
"I want that ring. You don't have that, you haven't accomplished your main goal," he said, adding he chose the Dodgers because he believes they have what it takes to win and didn't want to leave the West Coast.
"I love it here so far," he said. "It's been nothing but top-notch since day one. Good guys, and a good team. We've still got to go out and do what we're capable of doing. That's the harder part."
Schmidt, a three-time All-Star, said the Giants weren't very proactive in trying to keep him.
"They pursued it a little bit," he said. "Los Angeles was so aggressive. Everything felt right. Everything lined up from the beginning."
That makes sense, considering the Dodgers' apparent need for a No. 1 starter and Schmidt's track record. The addition of Schmidt and Randy Wolf to go with 16-game winners Derek Lowe and Brad Penny gives Los Angeles one of baseball's best rotations — at least on paper.
"He's just solid," Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said of Schmidt. "You know what you're getting — you're getting a work ethic, you're getting a guy who wants the ball every fifth day. Your key pitchers set the tone for the rest of the staff."
Schmidt said he's not concerned about being the Dodgers' No. 1 starter.
"They just needed another piece to the puzzle," he said. "St. Louis won it all without an ace. It's rising to the occasion and having enough guys to do it."
Teammates Jeff Kent and Ramon Martinez, who played with Schmidt in San Francisco, know what he can bring.
"Jason can be a No. 1 starter. I don't remember him missing many starts," Kent said. "He can be dominating. There's not a whole lot spectacular from him, but there's a whole lot of goodness in what he can do. He's a quality player and a quality person."
Martinez said Schmidt is one of the toughest pitchers he's ever faced.
"Definitely, yeah," Martinez said. "Every time he takes the mound, he gives you a chance to win. You know if you're playing against him, you're going to have to do everything right to beat him. And he's a great guy."
