Monthly Archives: December 2005
Former Mets RHP Ron Darling is finalizing a deal to join Keith Hernandez and Gary Cohen in the booth for SNY’s broadcast of Mets games this season, writes Bob Klapisch in the Bergen Record…
…darling and keith were tight during their days on the mets…along with cohen’s brilliance, this could be a fantastic team…
…i like it…
…first off, hat’s off to gotham baseball for popping the cap off this rumor five days ago…way to be ahead of the curve guys…
At the Daily News,
Bill Madden and Anthony McCarron cite multiple baseball sources as
saying the Mets, Red Sox, Orioles and Devil Rays have talked about a
four-way deal sending OF Manny Ramirez and RHP Danys Baez to the Mets, OF Joey Gathright and SS Miguel Tejada to the Sox, SS Julio Lugo, RHP Kris Benson and RHP Matt Clement to the O’s, while the Rays get 3B Andy Marte, SS Kaz Matsui, RHP Jae Seo and RHP Aaron Heilman…
In the Star-Ledger, Dan Graziano mentions a similar deal, which he describes as being “vague talks” between the four teams…
Graziano also suggests that O’s RHP Jorge Julio could be added to a deal, working off a trade that was rumored about months ago for Benson…
…it’s
just so crazy…i mean, i have seen less complicated trades fall apart in
my fantasy league…yet, it makes some sense for all teams involved…
However, in an effort to add a dash of levity, Madden and McCarron also write…
“An executive with one of the teams called the four-team scenario far-fetched.”…
Yesterday, in the New York Post,
Joel Sherman wrote that the Mets and Devil Rays were finalizing a deal
that would add Baez to New York’s bullpen without Ramirez, in
exchange for a package of prospects along with either Seo or Heilman…
According to Madden and McCarron, a Mets source says the team will not part with Heilman in a deal for Baez…
…which makes sense, since, at this point, they’re essentially the same pitcher, with heilman making less money…
In the Bergen Record, Bob Klapisch quotes a club
official as saying, “We’re not really close to anything right now. We
haven’t talked to [the Devil Rays] since the winter meetings.”…
Devil Rays Spokesmen Rick Vaughn tells Newsday, “It’s
a possibility, but it’s also contingent on a few things that we’re
working on…It could possibly happen, but it also may not.”…
…now that is vague…
In my December 20 Notebook, I wrote…
“Also,
for what it’s worth, the talk from Tampa’s offices is that Baez is very
much against being a set-up man, as he’ll be a free-agent after next
season. This may be something worth considering when negotiating
a trade, since Baez is not known for being the most level-headed,
cooperative of ball players.”…
Predictably, in the St. Petersburg Times, Baez says, “I
don’t know if I want to be a setup guy…I want to be a closer. But if
they trade me I don’t have a choice. If they want me to be a setup guy,
that’s what I’ll do…What I want is to be a free
agent and then I can control what happens…This way, I don’t have any
choice. But whatever happens, I’ll be ready.”…
Baez,
Manny and Tejada are not the only un-happy players involved in this
deal. In Newsday, Jim Baumbach writes that Heilman would like to
be traded if he isn’t going to be a starter for the Mets…
“He’s
been polite but persistent,” Baumbach quotes Heilman’s agent, Mark
Rogers, as saying. “He’s enjoyed the Mets, the city and the people, but
he can do the math. He knows right now there’s no room for him.”…
…more
than anything, next season, when heilman hits arbitration, he’ll be
rewarded money as a set-up man as opposed to a starter…and that will
most likely be a huge difference in pay…
Ultimately,
Ramirez joining the Mets will depend on what Baltimore does with
Tejada. The Baltimore Sun believes the O’s plan to set a deadline
for moving Tejada. According to the Star-Ledger, that date is
today…
However, every team in baseball shuts down their offices through New Years, with most re-opening on Tuesday…
…wow…if
it were only as easy as just writing up a trade proposal, ‘sweetening
the deal’ if necessary, and ‘prying away’ the guys you want from other
rosters…oh well…
…and, by the way, none of these articles mention the name OF Lastings Milledge…which i find very, very interesting…
Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger is reporting that the Mets and Orioles are still discussing the P Kris Benson for P Jorge Julio trade…
…looks like either baez or julio will be in the mets’ bullpen next year…
Graziano goes on to say that the deal could be expanded, but Benson
would still end up in Baltimore and Julio would come to New York…
…unless we get P Hayden Penn in any deal, i don’t want anything to do with julio. he reminds me of benitez in too many ways to count…
Newsday is reporting that Mets P Aaron Heilman has told GM Omar Minaya several times that he would rather be traded than remain in the bullpen…
…please trade seo,benson or trachsel…
…this could explain why the Baez rumors came up yesterday…
Heilman goes on to say the following quote:
“The reason why I went and played winter ball was to prove that I can start.”
…after last season,he didn’t need to prove anything. he
pitched exceptionally as a starter and out of the pen. why the
organization has little faith in him is beyond me…
At Sheriff Sully, a Red Sox blog, Jeff cites a variety of sources as saying the reason why Manny Ramirez wants out of Boston is because he was allegedly caught cheating on his wife…
…ouch…
Jeff pieces the rumor together with a variety of quotes from journalists, radio hosts and Sox executives…
…i
normally don’t post this sort of stuff…but a) i am impressed with how
this guy researched this, and b) it is semi-relevant to how motivated
manny may be to get out of boston, which impacts the mets, to an extent…
…and thanks to will from deadspin.com for the link…
Readers,
According to SiteMeter,
MetsBlog.com logged more than one million page views for the month of
December, with a high of 70,000 unique readers on December 7…
As
expected, readership in the baseball blogosphere has tapered off since
the Winter Meetings ended, and further softened with the holiday season
upon us. However, I hope for continued success as the New Year
begins, and we finally move closer to Spring Training…
…i’m getting quite antsy, and am very eager to start talking about actual baseball…
Thank you very much for your support over the last year…
This site would be nothing without your loyalty, participation, readership and passion for the Mets…
I look forward to another great year, capped off, hopefully, by a World Championship at Shea…
Thanks, again, and have a healthy and happy New Year…
Matthew Cerrone
MetsBlog.com
Robert z asks…
“I was curious, in all of your talks with MLB insiders about the OF Manny Ramirez-for-SS Miguel Tejada
deal with the Mets possibly being involved, was there ever any
discussion of the Mets just being the middle-man in such a deal as
oppose to them trying to get Ramirez?”…
…from what i can gather, omar has no interest in being just a bridesmaid…
…if
he makes another move, it will be to upgrade, not replenish the farm
system.., or help facilitate a deal between two other teams…which is
too bad, because you are right, robert, this could be a way for the
mets to buy some young talent back, ala the Mike Hampton from Colorado through Miami to Atlanta deal…
Baseball Prospectus takes a look at the Mets, dissecting the deals for Carlos Delgado and Paul Lo Duca at the expense of a crop of young pitchers…
BP notes that the Mets will feature the oldest starting rotation in the National League…
…this
is technically not a problem…the problem is that if a starter gets
hurt, they have very few pitchers in the minor leagues that are ready
to step up and fill in…
In the New York Post, Joel Sherman writes that the Mets and Devil Rays are finalizing a deal that would add RHP Danys Baez to New York’s bullpen…
According to Sherman, the Rays would receive a package of prospects along with either RHP Jae Seo or RHP Aaron Heilman…
On December 20, I wrote the following…
“In exchange for Baez, the Rays not only keep asking the Mets for RHP Aaron Heilman,
they also want another minor league pitcher, as well as a top position
prospect, which the Mets really don’t have, outside of Milledge…“Also,
for what it’s worth, the talk from Tampa’s offices is that Baez is very
much against being a set-up man, as he’ll be a free-agent after next
season. This may be something worth considering when negotiating
a trade, since Baez is not known for being the most level-headed,
cooperative of ball players.”…
…if
seo is on the table, my question is: who are the prospects being sent
with him…given the mets system, i’m not too worried about who those
players may be, but i would hate to see the mets overpay for a guy who
is in his walk-year, who is known to not have interest in being a
set-up man and who has only succeeded in tampa bay…i mean, bring him
here, because he is very talented, but don’t go bananas to get him…
In Dan Grazinao’s column in the Star-Ledger, two baseball officials confirm that the Mets, Orioles and Red Sox have talked about a three-way deal sending RHP Kris Benson to Baltimore, OF Manny Ramirez to the Mets and SS Miguel Tejada to the Red Sox, with several other players, prospects and cash swapping hands, as well…
…point is, where there is smoke there is fire…
…obviously, the wheels are in motion, things are happening, talks are being had, etc…
…and until a trigger is pulled, this rumor mill is going to become quite monotonous…
For more on the I-95 Rumor Mill, check out my latest Notebook, featuring a lengthy break-down of the Tejada-Manny talks…
