Daily Archives: November 9, 2006
…the buzz from new york is that the MLB Commissioner’s office has informed the Seibu Lions of the highest bid total for rights to negotiate with RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka…
…the buzz from japan is that the Lions are currently reviewing the offer, and will announce a decision to accept or decline within the next 24 hours, even though they are not required to do so until tuesday…
On Monday, November 13, at 6:30 pm, SNY will debut Mets Hot Stove Report, a weekly show covering all the off-season news, notes and rumors surrounding the Mets.
The show will be hosted by Matt Yallof, who will be joined each week by a revolving panel of experts, players and management personnel, from Jeff Wilpon to Ron Darling.
Mets GM Omar Minaya will be a guest on Monday, November 20.
At SI.com, John Donovan explains that signing a starting pitcher to a contract worth at least four-years is foolish, noting that of the 15 such contracts given to free-agent starting pitchers over the last six seasons only 
five have posted an ERA under 4.00 since inking the deal, one of which is Mets RHP Pedro Martinez.
…the buzz around baseball is that, thanks to Roy Oswalt, most pitchers are seeking a minimum of four-years, with pitchers like RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka, LHP Barry Zito and RHP Jason Schmidt aiming for more…
…it’s going to be interesting to see if the league’s general managers can show any sort of restraint…on one hand, they must know it is a huge gamble to lock in so many seasons on one arm, yet quality pitching is such a rare commodity the price is justified in going up…
…more than ever it will be important to be thorough with who a team signs…for instance, maybe the most talented pitcher is worth more to a small-market team than, say, to a big-market team, simply because of how the public will receive a flop signing…or, maybe that big-market team must overpay so to insure they win a world series, which their fanbase is getting restless for…
…the early buzz around free-agent LHP Barry Zito suggests he and his agent, Scott Boras, are seeking a contract worth $14 million a year with a guarantee of at least five-years…
…in standard boras fashion, he is referring to zito as an ace and a pitcher still in the upside of his career…
the thing is, most insiders point to teams viewing zito as a number-two starter, who may actually be on the decline…both sides are full of rhetoric, of course, but the facts remain as follows…
…zito is a lefty, he’s under 30, he won a cy-young award just four years ago, he’s been to the all-star game three times, he has post-season experience and 102 career wins under his belt…
…this resume will cost a lot of cash, regardless of how you interpret it…
…from what i can gather, the mets like zito a lot, though most mainstream reports suggest otherwise…i don’t, however, get the sense they like him at five-years, $70 million, though i am sure once push-comes-to-shove they may see it differently…
…also, most baseball experts have long believed zito will eventually sign a deal with a national league team on the west coast, such as the dodgers or padres, who are seen as the market’s front-runners…
…in short, i can see a scenario in which the mets make a serious pitch for zito, but do not overpay, instead using the excitement of new york, their young up-and-coming team, the city’s endorsement opportunities, the new stadium, and Rick Peterson, as more than enough extra incentives to sign with them…
…for what it’s worth, most people in baseball believe the yankees have no interest in zito…so if chooses new york, he’s choosing shea, i guess…
At his blog for ESPN.com, Buster Olney writes that the Mets have checked in on the availability of free-agent 2B-3B-OF Mark DeRosa, as have the Reds, Orioles, Red Sox, Cardinals, Cubs, Giants and Phillies.
Olney provides a great profile of DeRosa, who has worked hard to improve his hitting and versatility in the field.
Last season in 520 at-bats for Texas, DeRosa, 31, hit .296 with 13 HR and 74 RBI with 102 strikeouts and 40 doubles, during which he played first base, second base, third, short and left and right field.
…i’m still formulating my prference for second base, but derosa is higher up on the list than you’d think…
Click here to view the new Arizona Diamondbacks uniforms, and here for the new logo.
…the uniform is odd, but the logo is pretty slick…
…next up, tampa bay…
Go to The Metropolitans for a list of Irrefutable Facts about Endy Chavez.
…such as…
…Endy Chavez doesn’t climb over walls to catch the ball, he leaps over them in a single bound…
…unreal…
…good for you, endy…he’s hit icon status, while getting just 353 at-bats…that’s not easy to do…
The Padres are “very confident” they’ll sign free-agent OF Alfonso Soriano when the free agent signing period begins on Sunday, reports KNSD, an NBC affiliate, in San Diego…
…hat tip to mlb trade rumors for the link…
…by the way, buzz around soriano is that he will not settle for anything less than seven-years, $100 million and a no-trade clause, which Phillies GM Pat Gillick is adamantly opposed to…also, he still wants to play second base…
…he should ask to be queen of england, as well…
…anyway…
Yesterday, the Padres traded 2B Josh Barfield to Cleveland for two minor leaguers, leaving San Diego in need of a starting second baseman for 2007.
Last week, at FOXSports.com, Ken Rosenthal reported that the Padres are one of several clubs talking with the Braves about 2B Marcus Giles.
…there have also been rumblings through print media that the padres could look to trade RHP Jake Peavy, who is signed through 2008, with an option for 2009……
Though Peavy combined for a 2.60 ERA during 2004 and 2005, he was 11–14 with a 4.09 ERA last season for the NL West Champions. In five seasons he has struck out 850 batters through 864 innings pitched.
…the padres are said to still have interest in Mets LHP Oliver Perez, viewing him as a power-arm for the bullpen…the padres initially traded perez to the pirates with OF Jason Bay for OF Brian Giles…
…my sense is that any deal for a starting pitcher must wait through a) the situation with RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka, then b) a round of legit talks with florida about RHP Dontrelle Willis…once these other events are behind them, i suspect the mets will turn their attention to pressing on guys like peavy and free-agent LHP Mark Mulder and LHP Barry Zito…
In 25 starts against National League teams that do not reside in Queens, Dontrelle Willis was 7–9 with a 4.55 ERA last season for the Marlins.
Also last year, Willis was 2–1 with a 5.18 ERA against the Braves, who hit .292 against him, and 1–2 with a 6.30 ERA against the Phillies.
At MLB.com, our friend Tom Singer writes that talks between the Mets and Marlins involving LHP Dontrelle Willis may be “warming up.”
Singer breaks down what the Mets have learned since last season’s trade deadline and how it could help them navigate talks about Willis this off-season.
…as i wrote last night, from what i can gather, if the marlins do trade dontrelle this off-season, it will be for at least a major-league ready, potentially all-star-type outfielder…also, if he gets traded, it will most likely be to the d’backs or dodgers, since most people believe miami fancies a specific collection of players from these two organizations…
…of course, Omar Minaya is capable of going out and getting the extra prospect to ship to miami, since the guy is crafty that way – and seems to enjoy making a good trade over a free-agent signing – however, that’s a lot of maneuvering…
…it’s such a natural fit, though, isn’t it…take the 7–train to the d-train, i mean, wow, talk about a marketer’s dream…oh, and willis can pitch, too…
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