Whine and Cheese

Cry me a river, boys.

Over the last few weeks, and even the past few seasons, more and more major leaguers have been complaining about one thing.

Money.

In baseball, salary arbitration allows a team to hold on to its youngsters at a low salary level for a few years so that skyrocketing contracts don’t get out of hand. What they don’t want is a player who has been in the league for 100 days asking for A-rod type money.

But here they go.

In the past few days, two of the great young players in the game, Cole Hamels of the Phillies, and Jeff Francouer of the Braves have both cried foul after being re-upped by their teams. The Brewers Prince Fielder was also upset at the notion of making just six figures.

Cole Hamels went 15-5 last season with a 3.39 ERA and made what could be the first of many all-star teams. As a player with less than three years of service, the Phillies can give Hamels whatever they want; he is under their control. So what they gave him was $500,000 for the upcoming season.

The following words were uttered from Mr. Hamels: “Low blow”, “not fairly compensated”, and “I want what’s fair”.

What Hamels failed to realize, however, is that his new contract is on par with the rest of the players with his service time and numbers.

And before he makes more of a fool of himself, he should shut his mouth.

Baseball of course is a business and should be treated as such. Yet, when we have near-rookies complaining about compensation, but barely have been out on the field, they need to slow it down.

Granted, Hamels had a sensational 2007 campaign. But the players union agreed to system where this will happen to young players.

Why blame the organization if it’s the players themselves that have incorporated this into the game?

Jeff Francouer and Prince Fielder voiced similar opinions when asked of their new deals.

The Brew crew gave Fielder, one of the best young power hitters in the game, $670,000 for ’08. He went on to say:

“I'm not happy about it at all. The fact I've had to be renewed two years in a row, I'm not happy about it because there's a lot of guys who have the same amount of time that I do who have done a lot less and are getting paid a lot more. But my time is going to come. It's going to come quick too."

Oh, we know Prince. People are starving all over the world, but $670,000 for one more season is a shame. An outrage, even.

Young stars need to get one thing through their minds. Nothing will be handed to them.

Right now, Major League Baseball has rules in place. Players will abide by them, and like it.

Players like Hamels and Fielder, after just one or two seasons, are now among the elite in their profession. But as the old adage goes, good things come to those who wait. And wait patiently.

Hamels and the rest could have went about this gracefully and taken it on the chin, collected their measly salaries now, and cashed in a year from now. With any job, there are uncertainties. But one thing remains true; if you do your job, you will be rewarded.

Last season, Ryan Howard whimpered the same sentiment, while making $900,000. A year later, he turned that into $10 million tears. I mean dollars.

Everyone knows the youngsters will be compensated a year from now, and compensated handsomely. However, they have put a sour taste into a lot of fans mouths with their shameless comments.

It’s quite understandable to be upset after seeing budding stars like Grady Sizemore and Troy Tulowitzki handed multi-year contracts. They are all basically in the same boat.

But again, the team has the control in this situation.

By acting like children, they have put a negative spin on what can be the most cheerful and spirited time of the year; Spring Training.

As we release from the doldrums of winter, we expect to be ushered into spring by the sweet sounds of the diamond.

Not the harsh cries of the stubborn and the spoiled.

Sorry fellas, but you shouldn’t get off easy for this one.