Ratto: Uribe to the Dodgers? Just business

Nov. 29, 2010RATTO ARCHIVEGIANTS PAGEGIANTSVIDEO
Ray RattoCSNBayArea.com

So Juan Uribe has apparently warmed to the idea of bolting to Los Angeles for more money, additional payments and bonus lucre. Plus years. Okay, fine.

Dodgers Offer Uribe Long-Term Contract
Just so you understand that the lesson here is that atmosphere loses to money every time, and if the Giants wanted him to stay so badly, it was on them to kick up the offer.Yes, a World Series ring is nice, and the atmosphere that comes from never losing when it matters is even more gratifying, but winning means getting paid for most players. After all, Aubrey Huff signed with the Giants for a lot of reasons, starting with the 10 million per year. A 233 percent raise is always a good thing.Giants Re-Sign Aubrey Huff
Uribe's raise isn't that -- barely. He got his three years, according to reports, and his raise is barely 115 percent, from 3.25M to 7M per. But it's good money. The best money he's ever seen, and the Giants didn't match.You may now be sad for 15 seconds. Good. Now stop it.Don't romanticize the process. Uribe was for sale, the Dodgers needed a utility player whom they will probably turn into their everyday second baseman, and the McCourts' shattered comedy of a marriage wasn't so destructive that Ned Colletti couldn't get the money to sign Uribe.The Giants had a chance to match or even better the deal, and they passed. They knew the risks, they accepted them, and they apparently have lost. They will get over it.Now you have to.Yes, it will be fun for you to boo him his second at-bat April 11 and thereafter. But he didn't walk on you, or even the Giants. He went to what is a better deal for him. He's going to be 32, more or less, and the time to get paid will never be better. He's never had a multi-year deal before, and while the Giants would do that, the money seemed to be the breaker.So it goes. He has his needs, and you have yours. Take one of those percocets you didn't use after your gall bladder surgery and relax. As Abe Vigoda said to Robert Duvall in The Godfather, "Tell Mike I always liked him. It was just business."