Daily Archives: November 14, 2006
According to the Los Angeles Times, there is ‘a chance’ the Dodgers could bring back C Mike Piazza to serve as a back-up to C Russell Martin, while also making the occasional start at first base.
…odd, i don’t know why, but i am very uncomfortable with the idea of mike returning to the dodgers…
As it stands, the Mets are in need of a starting left-fielder, since it looks unlikely that the team will re-sign free-agent OF Cliff Floyd.
…the buzz around OF Dave Roberts suggests that the the brewers may make a big push to sign him…if they do, they will likely trade one of OF Kevin Mench or OF Geoff Jenkins…if mench becomes available, the word from naples is that the Mets, Dodgers and White Sox will be interested…
According to Ken Rosenthal at FOXSports.com, the Brewers and Orioles have discussed a swap of Mench and O’s RHP Rodrigo Lopez.
…this would suggest the market for mench is open, i guess…
…while i have zero interest in jenkins, who it appears the mets have no interest in, as well, i am very intrigued by mench, who struggled in his switch from the american league to the national league last season…
In the 1810 at-bats prior to being traded from Texas to Milwaukee, the 28–year-old Mench hit .274, averaged a home run every 23 at-bats and 22 percent of his hits were doubles. After being traded, in 40 games for the Brewers, Mench hit just one home run and six doubles while batting .230.
For his career, he has started 926 games in left, 20 games in center and 741 games in right, with a .261 average against right-handed pitchers, and a .308 average against left-handed pitchers.
He will be a free-agent after next season, in which he is expected to earn roughly $4 million through arbitration.
…more than all of this, he is known around the league for his hard-nosed attitude and hustle…
…the buzz from naples suggests that free-agent RHP Danys Baez has no interest in being a set-up man again, as a free-agent he intends to seek out a job as a closer…
As a closer for Tampa Bay in 2004 and 2005, Baez logged 71 saves while posting a 3.21 ERA.
As a closer for the Dodgers through April last season, he was 9 for 11 in save opportunities with a 1.32 ERA. In 45 appearances as a set-up man, in Los Angeles and then in Atlanta, he was 5–5 with a 5.79 ERA.
The Mets and RHP Orlando Hernandez have agreed to a two-year deal worth $6 million, reports Jon Heyman at SI.com.
…as i wrote this morning, i can see how fans may react poorly to this…the thing is, i would say half of that money is for el duque’s physical ability, the other half is for his experience, his leadership, his moxie and the fact that he wants the ball as much as possible in a big spot…and he’s worth it…
…after having read a variety of newspapers and blogs, and listened to a variety of experts, be it in person, on the phone or on talk radio, it appears the three teams most likely to sign free-agent OF Alfonso Soriano are the Cubs, Phillies or Angels, and one of these teams will do so with a minimum deal worth $80 million over six years, or a deal worth as much as $100 million over seven years with a full no-trade 
clause…
…the more likely scenario is that he nets a deal much like the one recently signed by 3B Aramis Ramirez and the Cubs, in which the player has no-trade protection over a set number of years, but can be traded later on in the deal while getting compensated for the move, either with an option, more money, etc…
…either way, if you’re a mets fan, i would take soriano off your wish list…i get no sense, from any corner of the baseball world, that the mets have an interest in this guy…
…people talk about how Willie Randolph has this great relationship with soriano because he was the kid’s mentor at second base in the bronx, but i get the feeling that while willie worked hard for the kid to be a great yankee, he did so because he had to, it was his job, and that he has no interest in dealing with this type of player, again, in his own clubhouse…
…plus, it does not appear the mets have an interest in having two outfielders locked up with extremely expensive, long-term contracts, the first being Carlos Beltran…
If you’ve yet to do so, be sure and vote in this week’s MetsBlog Fan Confidence Rating by using the poll to the left…
…thanks…
Believing that free-agent RHP Jason Schmidt has no desire to pitch in New York, the Mets intend to make a ‘strong play’ for free-agent LHP Barry Zito, writes Jon Heyman at SI.com.
…the buzz from naples suggests the mets will start with a deal worth roughly $40 million over four years, significantly less than the seven-year, $98 million that zito’s agent, Scott Boras, has hinted at…
In the New York Post, Mark Hale and Joel Sherman write that the Mets, however, know that if they want Zito it will take a deal worth at least five years, $73 million.
…it should be noted, however, that, according to the Daily News, the mets bid $38 million on the rights to speak with Daisuke Matsuzaka, who would have then likely cost an additional $60 million over five years…in other words, the mets and Omar Minaya are comfortable with the idea of spending nearly $100 million on a pitcher who had never thrown from a mound in america, let alone has 100 career wins, has never been hurt, has had a successful relationship with Rick Peterson, is left-handed, under 30 years old and has a ton of post-season experience like zito…
Minaya, as quoted by the News Tribune:
“Almost everyone needs pitching, so it’s hard to trade for what you want. The market is what it is.”
…in other words, in this market, if you want a quality, top-notch pitcher you’ll have to overpay on the open market…
The Red Sox bid $50 million to speak with Japanese RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka, reports the Daily News, SI.com, and others.
According to the News, the Mets bid $38 million, good for second place, while the Yankees bid around $30 million.
…wow…i am very impressed…
Multiple reports, including the Kyodo News Service, have reported that Matsuzaka’s team, the Seibu Lions, have accepted the bid, news which will be officially announced at an 8 p.m. joint press conference tonight.
According to the New York Post, the Mets are very close to completing a two-year, $6 million deal with free-agent RHP Orlando Hernandez.
Hernandez was 5–3 with a 3.00 ERA in nine starts for the Mets at Shea Stadium.
While pitching for the Mets last season he lost back-to-back games only three times in 20 starts. In 12 of his 20 starts he pitched at least six innings and allowed three runs or less.
In the Bergen Record, Steve Popper notes that Mets 2B Jose Valentin, who re-signed with the Mets yesterday, denied offers to play shortstop, his natural position, to return to the Mets.
Valentin’s agent told Popper, “He had a great year with the Mets, loved the fans, loved the team, the front office, the manager. Of his 14 years in the major leagues this was the most enjoyable year he had.”.
According to multiple reports, Valentin and the Mets have agreed on a one-year deal worth $4 million. The deal holds an option for 2008 based on a set number of at-bats in 2007.
…the mets had to do this…i talked with a reporter yesterday, who knows the market well, who suggested that Omar Minaya has a very aggressive strategy, and prefers to lock in an option as soon as possible, even if it isn’t the ultimate solution…by doing so, he knows he can count on valentin, who the team knows, respects and genuinely wanted back…however, he can still pursue other infield options, without fear of having to scramble later in the off-season, which is essentially what happened last year…
In Newsday, Ken Davidoff writes: “Valentin won’t necessarily be the Mets’ starting second baseman next year.”
Quoting Willie Randolph, Davidoff suggests that Valentin could be a super-utility man, starting at a variety of positions throughout the season.
…the buzz this off-season had already linked the mets to Rafel Belliard, Adam Kennedy, Rich Aurilia, Mark DeRosa, Mark Loretta and Julio Lugo…
…the more i think about this, the more intrigued i am about having valentin, as well a player like either free-agent Craig Counsell or derosa…between the two super-utility players, the mets could kill a whole bunch of birds with two stones…the thing is, valentin has proven he is not a bench player, but in this scenario he doesn’t have to be…he could start at second, and while he starts at short, or third, or left or right, the other guy could start at second, and so on…subsequently, they would always be fresh and ready to go should the need to ride the pine for a day, which is a goal willie certainly applies to his back-up players…
