長期契約に関するZimのコメント

　ひとまず１年契約で年俸調停ヒアリングを回避したRyan Zimmermanですが、引き続き、長期契約についての交渉を継続しているようです。これに関連して、Zimmerman本人のコメントが紹介されていました。

"It just gets to the point where you think, 'How much [money] do you really need? How much do you need, and do you really want to be here?' I think that's the most important thing. The whole point of being a free agent and having a negotiating power is to play where you want to want to play. And I don't really need to go into that. I'm happy here. It's just a matter of getting the figures right where it works for me and the team. The economy -- I'm not good at that, so I'll let all those other guys worry about the economy."

　これまでになかったほどの前向きなコメントで、ナショナルズファンとしてはとてもうれしいです。ナショナルズの今後について次のように語っていますが、これも他人事ではなく、自らのこととして話しているように見え、うれしいコメントです。

"We have a good young team, a good core group of young guys, and that's the key. You have to build a core of four of five guys and fill in the pieces of the puzzle around that. I think if you look at every good team, they pay their four or five guys, whether it's pitchers or position players, whatever, and then you piece in around that. That's what we're starting to do here... I really and truly believe it's going in the right direction."

　もっともZimmermanの態度の変化の理由はこれだけではなく、経済状況、このオフのFAマーケットを見て不安を覚えたということも影響を与えたのではないかと思います。

　今こそ好機。フロントよしっかりいい契約を結んでしまって下さい！！