As the No. 1 overall pick in 1990, Chipper Jones signed with the Braves for $275,000.
Even in today's dollars, that's about $450,000 -- or about 3 percent of Stephen Strasburg was guaranteed as this year's No. 1 pick.
And Jones agreed to his deal the night before the draft, while Strasburg came within two minutes of missing last Monday's deadline to sign.
"I think the only way that you're going to get kids signed and get them into the various camps is to put some kind of cap on it," Jones said. "I was always of the belief that you make your money at the big-league level."
That's how the teams want it too. When the current collective bargaining agreement is up in two years, Major League Baseball may pursue an NBA-style slotting system -- with signing bonuses locked in depending on how high a player is picked, as opposed to the current non-binding slot recommendations.
Forty-four pitchers are throwing twice this week (Monday, April 27th - Sunday, May 3rd). All the games are night games on Monday, so no need to rush. Get your lineups set by 7:00 PM ET for the St. Louis at Atlanta game.
Must Start Dan Haren, Diamondbacks - Tuesday vs CHC (C. Zambrano) and Sunday at MLW (D. Bush) Chad Billingsley, Dodgers - Tuesday at SF (B. Zito) and Sunday vs SD (J. Geer) James Shields, Rays - Tuesday at MIN (F. Liriano) and Sunday vs BOS (B. Penny) Gil Meche, Royals - Tuesday vs TOR (S. Richmond) and Sunday at MIN (S. Baker) Kyle Lohse, Cardinals - Tuesday at ATL (J. Reyes) and Sunday at WAS (J. Lannan) Ted Lilly, Cubs - Monday at ARZ (Y. Petit) and Saturday vs FLA (A. Sanchez)
For anybody who watched Brandon Webb get lit up by the Rockies on Opening Day it was pretty obvious that there was something not quite right about the Diamondbacks ace. His velocity was down and he was leaving his sinker up in the zone, allowing Rockies hitters to tee off pretty liberally.
Afterwards Webb and the Diamondbacks said it was just some shoulder stiffness and that it really wasn't anything to worry about, Brandon would be fine for his next start. Well guess what? Webb came to the park today and told the team his shoulder still didn't feel right and now he'll be missing his next start.
After a long offseason searching for the right job offer, Jon Garland has finally signed a contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. According to Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic, Garland has agreed to a one-year contract with an option for 2010. Piecoro stated the deal is likely in the $6-$8 million range.
Garland made $12 million pitching for the Los Angeles Angels last season, and was offered arbitration. He surely would have gained at least a small raise during the process, but he declined.
With the playoff chase coming down to the wire, our MLB editor rounds up the five biggest pennant race stories in Eye Toward October.
- Cracks Beginning to Show: The Rays have been the darlings of baseball all season long, a cuddly teddy bear of a baseball team for the mainstream media to fawn over. But September is here, and it's time to start looking at Tampa Bay as just another serious World Series contender instead of some AL East sideshow. Like every other playoff team, the Rays aren't without flaws.
Their offense is very middle of the road. They rank 12th in the AL in batting average and seventh in slugging, and they're still without Evan Longoria -- the only regular currently slugging over .500. Indeed, it seems 3/4 of the core of their offense (Longoria, Carlos Pena, Carl Crawford, B.J. Upton) is banged up in some fashion with the revelation that Upton has played with an injured shoulder for much of the season.
On the pitching side, most of Tampa Bay's young starting staff is on track to pitch more innings than ever before, raising concerns about fatigue over the finals weeks of the regular season and in the playoffs. The bullpen is strong, but closer Troy Percival's frequent trips to the disabled list raises questions about roles.
All this isn't meant to take away from the Rays -- after all, isn't this what they've wanted all along, to be just another contending baseball club. They are going to make the playoffs and have the type of team that could make a deep run.
But they're going to be tested like never before in the coming weeks -- first by facing the Red Sox in six of their next nine games and then by whoever they draw in the first round of the playoffs. As great as the Rays have been all year, they woke up Monday morning with a worse run differential than the third-place Blue Jays.
Hernandez, who has won four of his last six starts to help the D-Backs into first place in the NL West, will not be resigned and will be free to test free agency this winter, a major league source said Wednesday.
Hernandez (9-8) is making $7 million this season and is likely to command at least that much per year this winter, which prices him out of the D-Backs' range. He is seeking a contract of at least three years. ... The D-Backs' budget is expected to be between $65 million and $70 million next season, and they are likely to attempt to fill Hernandez's spot in the rotation via trade.
I'm guessing Yusmeiro Petit will have the other spot, that is, if the D-Backs don't acquire another pitcher via trade. They should be just fine next year even without Livan Hernandez. Still, I won't conclude that it's a done deal, considering Arizona wound up shelling out the cash for Eric Byrnes despite persistent rumors they would let him walk.
On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups
Atlanta Braves (64-59) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (71-53)-1:05PM Est.
What was once an incredibly tight four-team race in the NL West is quickly starting to become a three-team battle for second place. The Diamondbacks have won their last four games, and have opened up a 5-game lead on the second place San Diego Padres. It's not only the NL West they lead to, as the Diamondbacks are the only team in the National League with 70 wins on the season, and have a one-game lead over the Mets for homefield advantage in the playoffs. Brandon Webb hasn't given up a run since July, and Micah Owings is not only pitching well, but he's outhitting his opposition as well. Today the Diamondbacks look to complete a three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves, a team they've dominated that last few seasons. Since last season these two teams have met 12 times, and Arizona has come away with a victory in 10 of the meetings. The Braves meanwhile have fallen to 5.5 games behind the Mets in the NL East and are growing desperate for wins. John Smoltz will get the start this afternoon in hopes of stopping the bleeding, but Smoltz hasn't picked up a win in his last four starts. Yusmeiro Petit starts for the Diamondbacks, replacing the recently DFA'd Byung-Hyun Kim.
Randy Johnson's shaky season with the D-Backs finally came to a crashing halt on Friday night when it was announced the southpaw would undergo season-ending surgery. This was not much of a surprise; only a few days ago I pondered whether or not Johnson's career was over given light of all his recent back injuries. His attitude as he tried to rehab from his most recent herniated disk indicated that there was less certainty about his eventual return to the team.
Johnson -- continuing to use his cross the bridge metaphor -- says he plans to try and be ready for Spring Training next year. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the man's career is over. It's sad to see a successful career come to an end because of injury, but I believe that is what we're looking at here. The D-Backs certainly knew the high-risk/high-reward gamble they were taking, and unfortunately, they lost.
On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups
Milwaukee Brewers (52-40) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (49-45)-8:05PM Est.
All the talk in the NL Central seems to be about the Cubs lately, and living in Chicago, I sometimes get the impression the Cubs are already in first place. Don't tell that to the team in Milwaukee, where last I checked, the Brewers were still going strong. The Cubs have gotten to within 3.5 games in the division, but Milwaukee's held them at bay by winning their last three. Claudio Vargas starts for the Brewers tonight and is 6-2 with a 4.52 ERA, and the Brewers haven't lost a game at Miller Park in which Vargas has started. That's good news for Milwaukee, especially after the news they just got on Ben Sheets. The Diamondbacks are in the middle of a division race of their own. They're third in the NL West, but only trail the Dodgers by 4.5 and are 3.5 behind the Padres for the wild card. Yusmeiro Petit once again fills in for Randy Johnson, and I'm sure he'd appreciate more run support in this start. The Snakes have failed to score any runs in two of the three starts Petit has made..
This is becoming a headache of sorts for Arizona. Despite losing three in a row, they're still very much in the thick of the NL West race, not to mention the playoff race as a whole, and now they are placing Randy Johnson back on the DL. Johnson started last week against the Dodgers after missing the previous two weeks because of a herniated disk in his back. He's returning to his familiar spot on the DL because of what's being termed lingering back problems.
The interesting thing will be to see if Johnson is placed on the DL retroactively to last week. If so, he'd be eligible to come off of the DL after the All-Star break. If not, then Johnson will most likely be out of the rotation through the first week following the break. Luckily for Arizona, they have pretty incredible pitching depth in the organization, allowing them to summons Yusmeiro Petit for the start. Now, that Jorge Juliotrade to Florida is looking better and better for Arizona. The D-Backs' rotation is still in good shape, consisting of Brandon Webb, Livan Hernandez, Doug Davis, Micah Owings, and Petit. Not too bad at all.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
Forty-four pitchers are throwing twice this week (Monday, April 27th - Sunday, May 3rd). All the games are night games on Monday, so no need to rush. Get your lineups set by 7:00 PM ET for the St. Louis at Atlanta game.
For anybody who watched 
After a long offseason searching for the right job offer, 
With the playoff chase coming down to the wire, our MLB editor rounds up the five biggest pennant race stories in 
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Randy Johnson
This is becoming a headache of sorts for Arizona. Despite losing three in a row, they're still very much in the thick of the NL West race, not to mention the playoff race as a whole, and now they are 
