Toronto Blue Jays move into future with Vernon Wells at centre of franchise
TORONTO (CP) - The "sticker shock" was intense. But the Blue Jays came to feel the US$126-million, seven-year contract extension for Vernon Wells is market value for a franchise player.
And despite the jaw-dropping size of the deal, the Jays believe they still have payroll room to manoeuvre elsewhere while locking up a player some believe, is just starting to become the superstar he can be. The 28-year-old batted .303 with 32 home runs and 106 RBIs last season and won his third straight Gold Glove Award. He's the rare breed of ball player who can win games with both his bat and glove.
He's also a reserved but highly respected clubhouse leader, someone who maintains an even keel in all situations and commands respect from his peers.
Underlining that leadership is the way he structured his contract, which starts in 2008 and gives the Blue Jays the fiscal wiggle room to keep adding more talent.
Wells' deal is the sixth-richest in baseball history. And it's believed to be the biggest ever handed out by a sports team in Canada.
He gets a $25.5-million signing bonus payable in three equal instalments on March 1 in 2008, 2009 and 2010. His salary is just $500,000 in 2008 and $1.5 million in 2009 before climbing to $12.5 million in 2010 and $23 million in 2011. The final three seasons are worth $21 million apiece.
That leaves the Blue Jays with a pricey but manageable core of six players - Wells, Halladay, A.J. Burnett, B.J. Ryan, Frank Thomas and Troy Glaus - that will cost them about $60 million in 2007, $61 million in 2008, $57 million in 2009 and $58 million in 2010.
"I think this will be Roy (Halladay) and Vernon's team as long as they're here," said general manager J.P. Ricciardi. "Roy will always be the guy the pitchers look up to and I think Vernon will be the guy the everyday players look up to."
And he's the player expected to lead them back to the post-season for the first time since 1993.
"The biggest thing was leaving flexibility for this team to get better over the next few years," said Wells. "By no means did I want to sign here and hinder this team from getting better."
The Jays are expected to have a payroll in the neighbourhood of $100 million over that span - the team doesn't plan to publicly announce a figure this season, it was about $76 million last year - so Ricciardi should have enough room to build a solid roster around them.
Wells' salary won't jump until 2011, when he becomes the only Blue Jay under contract.
"We can work around that, which is what we wanted to do," said Ricciardi.
The new deal also contains a no-trade clause and an opt-out provision after the 2011 season.
Wells is under contract in 2007 for $5.6 million - part of the $14.7 million, five-year deal he signed before the 2003 season - and would have been eligible for free agency after the season. He could have commanded even more money on the open market but instead Wells, with the help of his agent Greg Genske, settled on a number and an accepted when offered to him.
"I'm not going out there to try and make a name for myself in that way," Wells said of trying to break the bank next fall.
"For me to be selfish, to be greedy and want more and more, this is plenty. My kids can't spend all this money, this is enough to set my family up for the rest of their lives."
Team president Paul Godfrey said he needed "smelling salts and someone to prop me up to give them to me," when Vernon Wells' representatives first floated the idea of an extension some three months ago.
"We know the contract was going to be high," he said Monday "But it's like going to buy a house or a car, the sticker shock always takes you back. That's why deals aren't made overnight."
It wasn't until this fall's frenzied off-season spending began around the majors that the Blue Jays realized the numbers were simply reflective of an industry awash in cash. The $136-million, eight-year contract the Chicago Cubs gave Alfonso Soriano and the $100-million, six-year deal between Carlos Lee and the Houston Astros were among the key eye-openers.
Once the Blue Jays examined all the facts it became clear that Wells was asking for a fair market price (staggering as it is) and that they'd have to meet it to retain the all-star centre-fielder.
"Soriano and Lee are both great ball players," said Godfrey. "But when you compare their stats to his stats offensively and defensively, Wells is the type of player we thought fit in long-term with this organization."
On Dec. 8, Wells' 28th birthday, the Blue Jays called their marquee man and told him they would meet his contract demands. Talks gained momentum last week, with an agreement in principle reached late Thursday and the contract completed Friday, tying him to the franchise through 2014.
The agreement dwarfs the Blue Jays' previous largest contract, a $68-million, four-year pact with Carlos Delgado in the fall of 2000, and more than doubles the richest deal ever handed out by Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi, the $55 million over five years given to pitcher A.J. Burnett last winter.
Among contracts in Canada, it eclipses the $94-million, six-year deal the Toronto Raptors gave Vince Carter in the summer of 2001, which at the time was believed to be the biggest deal north of the border.
Compared to his peers in the majors, Wells' deal ranks behind only those given to Alex Rodriguez ($252 million for 10 years), Derek Jeter ($189 million for 10 years), Manny Ramirez ($160 million for eight years), Todd Helton ($141.5 million for 11 years) and Soriano.
He's the 13th player to get a nine-figure contract.
Wells' first reaction was shock when the Blue Jays called him and told him they were willing to meet his price and hanging up the phone, it hit Wells that he was on the verge of becoming a very, very rich man.
"I got emotional just because this was actually happening, you're actually sitting back and thinking about the situation and what they're committing to you, it's a lot of money," Wells said. "You start thinking about your kids you start thinking about everything else."
Wells is unconcerned with the added expectations his new-found wealth will bring.
"Once I get on the field, money doesn't matter," said Wells. "I go out and play the game no matter if I'm making the minimum or making whatever I'm going to be making. I take pride in this game. I'm going to struggle and I'll be the first to tell you if I'm doing poorly ...
"I'll take the good with the bad and hopefully everybody will do the same. If not, I can deal with it. I'm a big man and I can take the criticism."
Aside from buying a house in suburban Toronto, Wells has no big expenditures planned. He will make a $1-million donation to the team-run Jays Care Foundation over the duration of the deal and plans to deepen his involvement in other charitable causes.
Other than that, he's just glad he's another step closer to finishing his career in Toronto.
"This gives me the possibility of doing that," he said. "It would be great to be a Blue Jay for life and hopefully to win some championships and to maybe don a Blue Jay hat one day in the Hall of Fame."
New CD Releases, Dec. 19: Nas, RBD, Bow Wow
Nas "Hip Hop is Dead"
Nas spent years feuding with hip-hop king Jay-Z. On his latest album, "Hip-Hop is Dead," the 33-year-old Long Islander buries the hatchet and performs with Jay-Z on the track "Black Republican." Some view that collaboration as one of the true events of the year in hip-hop.
Jay-Z isn't the only rapper who shows up to trade verses with Nas on this album; Kanye West also joins the party on the song "Still Dreaming."
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RBD "Rebels"
RBD, one of the biggest pop bands in Mexico, releases the highly anticipated English-language CD "Rebels." The group has sold more than five million records to date worldwide
The band got its start in the popular telenovela "Rebelde," a series about six prep-school students who start a band. The series did so well that the group of actors-turned-musicians--Anahi Puente, Maite Perroni, Alfonso Herrera, Christian Chavez, Christopher Casillas and Dulce Espinoza--began releasing actual albums..
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Bow Wow "The Price of Fame"
The Ohio-born rapper--who will turn 20 in March--returns with the follow-up to 2005's "Wanted." In keeping with typical hip-hop protocol, Bow Wow is joined by a bevy of guest stars on this release, including Lil Wayne, Pimp C and Chris Brown.
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Neil Young "Living with War--Raw"
This special-edition CD/DVD presents a stripped-down--or "raw"--look at Young's critically acclaimed "Living with War" album. Most of the frills (such as the choir work) that originally dressed up that album are missing here. In trade, Young cranks up the guitar on this 10-song set.
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Styles P "Time is Money"
The 32-year-old Queens-born rapper finally delivers his long-delayed sophomore album. The disc, which follows 2002's "A Gangster and a Gentleman," features guest appearances by Flipsyde, the late Gerald LeVert, Talib Kweli and Mario Winans.
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Other new releases:
Aventura, "K.O.B." (Sony)
DJ Clue?, "The Professional, Pt. 3" (Roc-a-Fella)
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, "Sings Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs" (Nonesuch)
Tony Orlando, "Halfway to Paradise: The Complete Epic Masters 1961-1964" (Ace)
Trick Daddy, "Back by Thug Demand" (Atlantic)
Various Artists, "Ibiza: The Sound of Renaissance, Vol. 3" (Renaissance)
Lenny Welch, "A Taste of Honey--The Complete Cadence Recordings 1959-1964" (Ace)
Soundtracks and scores:
"Blood Diamond" (Varese Sarabande)
"Happy Feet" (Atlantic)
"Night at the Museum" (Varese Sarabande)
"Pan's Labyrinth" (Milan)
"We are Marshall" (Varese Sarabande)
Van Halen reunion rumors gain steam
Rumors of Van Halen reuniting with original singer David Lee Roth, which have swirled around the group for years, have taken a turn toward reality now that guitarist Eddie Van Halen apparently has invited the motor-mouthed frontman back to the group.
"I'm telling Dave, 'Dude, get your ass up here and sing, bitch! Come on!'" Eddie recently told Guitar World magazine. "As it stands right now, the ball is in Dave's court. Whether he wants to rise to the occasion is entirely up to him, but we're ready to go."
That revelation appears in the February issue of Guitar World, according to managing editor Jeff Kitts, who said that the guitarist will also be featured on the cover of the magazine's March issue.
Roth--who for years has publicly campaigned for the gig--has remained uncharacteristically silent since news of Eddie Van Halen's remarks surfaced last week.
Eddie's comments follow last month's revelation that Van Halen is currently in the studio writing and rehearsing for a 2007 summer tour. Should Roth return to the helm for that outing, fans still won't be seeing the original Van Halen lineup; as previously reported, Eddie recently announced that bassist/vocalist Michael Anthony had been bounced in favor of Eddie's 15-year-old son, Wolfgang Van Halen.
"Wolfgang breathes new life into what we're doing," Eddie said during the recent Guitar World interview. "He brings youthfulness to something that's inherently youthful. He's only been playing bass for three months, but it's spooky. He's locked tight and puts an incredible spin on our s---."
One of the few people who has heard Wolfgang Van Halen's work with the band is photographer Ross Halfin, whose latest encounter with Eddie Van Halen took place last week.
"Edward is in a great mood, he's easy to work with," Halfin wrote in an online diary entry about the Dec. 13 photo shoot. "And I'm not saying who or what I shot, but I will tell you Edward played a couple of CDs which I thought were from 1978 (it was from two days ago) of Van Halen rehearsing with Wolfgang Van Halen on bass. It was jaw-droppingly amazing. They played 'On Fire,' 'I'm the One,' 'Atomic Punk.' I'm not listing the rest, but I will tell you the band sounded untouchable.
"It was as exciting as the first time I saw them," Halfin continued. "They will come back and destroy the world. ... Having Edward's son on bass has rejuvenated them."
Despite Halfin's rave, it remains to be seen how the group's decision to oust Anthony--a fan favorite whose background vocals are widely recognized as a defining element of the band's signature sound--will impact the success of any reunion tour.
Van Halen last toured in 2004, at which time estranged singer Sammy Hagar--who replaced Roth in 1985, and then split with the group himself in 1996--returned to the fold. That outing ended with more bad blood between Hagar and Eddie Van Halen, and Anthony has since said that the Van Halen brothers had fired him before negotiating a discounted deal that allowed him to participate in the 2004 run.
Earlier this year, Anthony teamed up with Hagar for a summer tour that featured Hagar performing one set with his solo band, and a second set with his drummer, guitarist and Anthony. Billed as The Other Half, the quartet's setlist was comprised entirely of Van Halen tunes.
Eddie expressed displeasure with the Hagar/Anthony outing during a September telephone interview that aired on "The Howard Stern Show." For their part, Anthony and Hagar have claimed that Eddie's alcohol consumption derailed the group's 2004 reunion.
Yogi Bear creator Joe Barbera dies at 95
LOS ANGELES - Joe Barbera, half of the Hanna-Barbera animation team that produced such beloved cartoon characters as Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear and the Flintstones, died Monday, a Warner Bros. spokesman said. He was 95.
Barbera died of natural causes at his home with his wife Sheila at his side, Warner Bros. spokesman Gary Miereanu said.
With his longtime partner, Bill Hanna, Barbera first found success creating the highly successful Tom and Jerry cartoons. The antics of the battling cat and mouse went on to win seven Academy Awards, more than any other series with the same characters.
The partners, who teamed up while working at MGM in the 1930s, then went on to a whole new realm of success in the 1960s with a witty series of animated TV comedies, including "The Flintstones," "The Jetsons," "Yogi Bear," "Scooby-Doo" and "Huckleberry Hound and Friends."
Their strengths melded perfectly, critic Leonard Maltin wrote in his book "Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons." Barbera brought the comic gags and skilled drawing, while Hanna brought warmth and a keen sense of timing.
"This writing-directing team may hold a record for producing consistently superior cartoons using the same characters year after year — without a break or change in routine," Maltin wrote.
Warner Bros. Chairman and CEO Barry Meyer called Hanna and Barbera's characters "not only animated superstars, but also a very beloved part of American pop culture."
The team's cartoons spanned "the Stone Age to the Space Age and from primetime to Saturday mornings, syndication and cable," Meyer said. "While he will be missed by his family and friends, (Barbera) will live on through his work."
Hanna, who died in 2001, once said he was never a good artist but his partner could "capture mood and expression in a quick sketch better than anyone I've ever known."
The two first teamed cat and mouse in the short "Puss Gets the Boot." It earned an Academy Award nomination, and MGM let the pair keep experimenting until the full-fledged Tom and Jerry characters eventually were born.
Jerry was borrowed for the mostly live-action musical "Anchors Aweigh," dancing with Gene Kelly in a scene that became a screen classic.
After MGM folded its animation department in the mid-1950s, Hanna and Barbera were forced to go into business for themselves. With television's sharply lower budgets, their new cartoons put more stress on verbal wit rather than the detailed — and expensive — action featured in theatrical cartoons.
Like "The Simpsons" three decades later, "The Flintstones" found success in prime-time TV by not limiting its reach to children. The program, a parody of "The Honeymooners," was among the 20 most popular shows on television during the 1960-61 season, and Fred's shout of "yabba dabba doo!" entered the language.
The Jetsons, which debuted in 1962, were the futuristic mirror image of the Flintstones.
"It was a family comedy with everyday situations and problems that we window-dressed with gimmicks and inventions," Barbera once said. "Our stories were such a contrast to many of the animated series that are straight destruction and blasting away for a solid half-hour."
The show ran just one season on network TV but was often rerun, and the characters were revived in the 1980s in a syndicated show. Barbera said he liked the freedom syndication gave the producers, with none of the meddling from network executives.
"Today, Charlie Chaplin couldn't get his material by a network," he once said.
Even so, the influence of Hanna-Barbera was felt for decades. In 2002 and again in 2004, characters from the cartoon series "Scooby-Doo" were brought to the big screen in films that combined live actors and animation.
Hanna-Barbera, meanwhile, received eight Emmys, including the Governors Award of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1988.
"Joe Barbara was a passionate storyteller and a creative genius who, along with his late partner Bill Hanna, helped pioneer the world of animation," said friend, colleague and Warner animation President Sander Schwartz. "Joe's contributions to both the animation and television industries are without parallel — he has been personally responsible for entertaining countless millions of viewers across the globe."
Neither Hanna, born in 1910, nor Barbera, born in 1911, set out to be cartoonists. Barbera, who grew up in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, originally went into banking. Soon, however, he turned his doodles into magazine cartoons and then into a job as an animator.
Hanna, who had studied engineering and journalism, originally went into animation because he needed a job.
Although not the hit factory it was in the '50s and '60s, the Hanna-Barbera studio remained active through the years. It eventually became a subsidiary of Great American Communications Co., and in 1991 it was purchased by a partnership including Turner Broadcasting System, which used the studio's library when it launched cable TV's Cartoon Network in 1992. Turner is now part of Time Warner.
Funeral arrangements were pending, Miereanu said. In addition to his wife, the animator is survived by three children from a previous marriage, Jayne, Neal and Lynn.
Perform with Timberlake at the Grammys
SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Justin Timberlake may have said "Bye, Bye, Bye" to his 'N Sync bandmates, but he's looking for a partner to sing with at the Grammys.
The Recording Academy, together with CBS Corp. and Yahoo Inc., is holding a contest to find an unsigned artist to perform with the 25-year-old "SexyBack" singer at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards, to air live on CBS from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Feb. 11.
Contestants are being asked to submit a 60-second video clip of them singing one of nine songs selected by Timberlake, all of which have won Grammys.
A panel will whittle the contestants to 12, and then much like "American Idol," regular people will be able to vote online to narrow the field to five, then three.
The three finalists will be announced during Super Bowl weekend, and will attend the Grammy Awards ceremony. During the show, the winner will be announced and hop on stage to sing with Timberlake.
The songs to be performed for the audition tape are: Alicia Keys' "If I Ain't Got You," Luther Vandross' "Dance With My Father," Melissa Etheridge's "Come to My Window," Timberlake's "Cry Me a River," Faith Hill's "Breathe," Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do With It," Aretha Franklin's "Respect," Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" and Mariah Carey's "Vision of Love."
'Rocky and Bullwinkle' writer dies a 81
BEVERLY HILLS, California - Chris Hayward, an Emmy-winning television writer who helped develop the bumbling animated Canadian Mountie Dudley Do-Right and other offbeat characters for the Rocky and Bullwinkle TV show, has died. He was 81.
Hayward died of cancer Nov. 20 at this Beverly Hills home, his wife, Linda, told the Los Angeles Times in Sunday editions.
Hayward contributed satire, wordplay and puns for "Rocky and His Friends," a witty cartoon that built a large adult following. The show debuted on ABC in 1959 and was renamed "The Bullwinkle Show" when it moved to NBC in 1961.
Besides its titular flying squirrel and moose, the hit show featured segments including Mr. Peabody, a time-traveling dog with a boy companion, and Dudley, a klutzy hero always in pursuit of his nemesis Snidely Whiplash.
The first episode Hayward co-wrote for the two lead characters was "Rue Britannia," according to "The Moose That Roared" (2000), a history of the show. In the episode, Bullwinkle has to stay in the Abominable Manor in England.
"Shucks, I've been livin' in an abominable manner all my life!" the moose says.
Jay Ward, whose studio produced the show, gave very little instruction to Hayward when it came to reinventing the Do-Right character, which had been around since the late 1940s.
"It's about a stupid Mountie. Just have fun!" Hayward recalled.
The character was voiced by Bill Scott, who also was the voice behind Bullwinkle.
With partner Allan Burns, Hayward later helped create "The Munsters," and in 1968 the pair received an Emmy for their work on the CBS sitcom "He & She."
Born in Bayonne, New Jersey, Hayward moved to Los Angeles at age 17. He took a night class in scriptwriting at a local high school and went into television in the 1950s. He worked on "Crusader Rabbit," the first cartoon show created specifically for television, as well as "Get Smart," "My Mother the Car" and "Barney Miller."
In addition to his wife, Hayward is survived by his children, Laurel, Victoria and Tony, from a previous marriage that ended in divorce.