Daily Archives: November 29, 2006
The Chicago Tribune reports that the White Sox have talked with the Angels about sending 3B Joe Crede and RHP Freddy Garcia to Anaheim in exchange for RHP Ervin Santana and infielder Chone Figgins.
…from what i can gather out of chicago, if the sox bring back santana for garcia, they will still look to trade another starting pitcher, most likely RHP Javier Vaszquez…
In mid-November, Phil Rogers, of the Chicago Tribune, wrote that the Mets had interest in Garcia, as well as Vazquez, while the Rangers have shown interest in Vazquez and LHP Mark Buehrle.
In the column, Rogers believes a deal from Texas offering John Danks and Nick Masset, two pitching prospects, along with Akinori Otsuka could land Vazquez, who is controlled through 2008.
…yikes…that would be equal to the mets offering Mike Pelfrey, Aaron Heilman and a double-a pitcher for vazquez…
…again, i’d rather start pelfrey or heilman over vazquez, let alone trade both of them for him…
The 30–year-old Vazquez has made at least 32 starts every season dating back to 2000, during which he has posted an ERA under 4.00 only three times. He has spent the last three years with three different teams going 36–37 with a 4.71 ERA. Any team that acquires Vazquez will need to pay just $9.5 million of the $12.5 million owed to him in 2007.
In the Daily News, Adam Rubin cites a team insider as saying the Mets are not interested in acquiring Red Sox OF Manny Ramirez, since they view him more as a designated hitter.
…fair enough, i mean, unless manny can slot in as a number two starter, i have no problem with this news…
At his blog for ESPN.com, Buster Olney tells of a baseball official who is 90 percent certain Manny Ramirez will be traded this off-season.
Olney also notes that by winning the rights to sign Kei Igawa, the Yankees are essentilly out of the running for free-agents Ted Lilly, Gil Meche and Jason Schmidt.
…and by that logic, buster, i have to assume the yankees will not be a player for Barry Zito, as well…
Yesterday, Olney noted that the Rangers are close to re-signing free-agent Vicente Padilla, who the Mets had been rumored to have interest in earlier in the off-season.
…if the Rangers land padilla for a deal at his rumored-about asking price of at least $10 million per season, it makes me wonder just how serious texas will be in pursuit of zito, as well…
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Mets pitching-coach Rick Peterson recently concluded a three-year deal with the Mets, meaning he is essentially a free-agent.
At his blog for the Daily News, Adam Rubin explains why he has no doubt that Peterson will eventually return as the team’s pitching coach next season.
…by the way, i was recently told that peterson keeps his wind-breaker on 
at all times during a game, regardless of how hot it is, because a) it’s more comfortable than a jersey, and b) it is where he stores all his clickers, charts, pads and pens, which, if you watch him in the dugout, are clearly vital to his success as a pitching coach…
…if i may, he could be better suited wearing one of those vest-type jackets with all the pockets and zippers, you know, like the field reporters wear and fishermen wear…
…by the way, as long as i am on the subject, why are baseball managers still forced to wear their team’s uniform…i mean, think of how funny it would be if Bill Parcells ran around on the sidelines in a helmet and pads…why does baseball do this to these poor, older, often out-of-shape men…
…jeez, the winter meetings have yet to even begin and i’m already getting punchy…it’s gonna be a long week…
In a Q&A for the Los Angeles Times, Dodgers beat writer Steve Henson writes that the Dodgers have no interest in signing free-agent Barry Zito.
…i’m a bit confused when it comes to the market for zito…
…let me explain…
…first off, we’ve long been reading that eight teams have serious interest in zito…however, there is increasing buzz that suggests the Cubs, Angels, Yankees and Padres have no intention of bidding up on zito, assuming these teams are interested in him at all…and by bidding up, i mean they will likely drop out if the asking gets in Roy Oswalt’s neighborhood, i.e., a deal worth $73 million over five-years…
…second, let’s just say, for the sake of argument, that the Cubs, Yankees, Angels and Padres eventually do drop out, who exactly will the Mets be bidding against at that point, assuming Omar Minaya has interest…
…by my estimation, if the dodgers are out like the la times says they are, that essentially leaves the Mets in a bidding war with the Rangers…and maybe the Cardinals, if they do not land Jason Schmidt first…
Of course, at his blog for ESPN.com, Buster Olney writes that the Mets top competition for Zito could come down to the Cubs.
…either way, i’m starting to think that boras will end up getting his way, with the Mets diving head-first in to zito, either giving a six-year deal worth a bit more than expected, like, say, up to $85 million, or simply doing the full, seven-year, $100 million deal he is seeking…if for no other reason then the Mets need a front-end pitcher and are getting boxed out a bit in the current market, especially if they lose Tom Glavine back to atlanta…
Pedro Martinez tells the Associated Press that his rehab from shoulder 
surgery is going ‘better than expected,’ though he still does not expect to re-join the Mets until midseason.
The report also quotes Martinez on his check-up regimen and whether he intends to adjust his pitching delivery to ease the burden on his repaired shoulder.
…thanks to jd, steve and eli for the link…no, not that eli, he’s still playing pac-man…
Kevin, a reader of MetsBlog, sent in the following question via e-mail…
“If the Mets had to pay Tom Glavine a $3 million buyout and are now offering $10 million, why didn’t they just pick up the $14 million option? Why risk losing him over $1 million.
“I know picking up the option could have kicked it to $16 million, but there’s no guarantee on that. I see Glavine going back to the Braves. It’s obvious he wants to go home.”
…the decision to pass on glavine’s option had little to do with money, and everything to do with respect for the pitcher, who clearly has interest in being home with his family, though i do suspect new york had little interest in unnecessarily paying out a potential $16 million next season for glavine…
…therefore, out of respect for glavine as a father, and as a future hall of famer, the Mets, and especially the Wilpons, who are said to have strong sense of family, felt it was important to allow glavine the opportunity to speak with the braves, who play in atlanta, where glavine and his family live…from what people in baseball have said, especially in new york, the two sides had a gentlemen’s agreement, of sorts, that the Mets would not 
…i know this is tough for us, the fans, to understand, since we tend to think of baseball as though it is a fantasy league, where we move names and stats in trades like pawns on a chessboard…but, the fact is, we are talking about actual people, who happen to be baseball players, who have families and retirement accounts and so on…
…the guy will make a decision soon, that is all we know for fact…other than that, i am cool with waiting for him to decide what is best for him and his family…whether he returns to the Mets for statistically-selfish reasons or because he bleeds blue-n-orange makes no difference to me, as long as he returns…if we are going to treat these guys as pawns, why should it matter what their motives are, as long as they perform…and if he goes back to the braves to be closer to his children, good for him…i mean, i’ll be irritated as a mets fan, but as a son i will totally understand…
…mixed messages are abound today, it seems…this is bound to happen in a cooky-market like we are experiencing these days…
Yesterday, in the San Francisco Chronicle, Henry Schulman reported that the the Cubs have offered a three-year deal worth $44 million to free-agent RHP Jason Schmidt. Later in the day, Jon Heyman, at SI.com, citing ‘two high-ranking baseball people,’ wrote that Chicago’s offer was actually $45 million over three years.
Meanwhile, in today’s Chicago Tribune, Dave van Dyck writes that no such offer was ever made, adding that the ‘Internet report,’ which I assume is aimed at Heyman, is ‘unfounded.’
…i’ll tell you this, these gm’s and baseball sources you keep reading about, be it in newspapers or on the internets, would make George Orwell quite proud…and, in this instance, that’s a compliment…
Yesterday, according to the Associated Press, the O’s and free-agent Chad Bradford reached a preliminary agreement worth $10.5 million over three-years.
Meanwhile, in today’s Daily News, Adam Rubin reports that the Mets and free-agent LHP Darren Oliver have not had any discussions this off-season. Rubin quotes Oliver’s agent as saying, “I’d say right now it doesn’t look good.”
The Mets also have no interest in bringing back free-agent RHP Roberto Hernandez, reports the New York Times.
Also, in the New York Post, Mark Hale quotes the agent for Guillermo Mota as saying, “We’ve had several discussions with several clubs, and the Mets are one of them.” Mota will miss the first 50 games of next season due to a drug suspension.
…the team’s pitching staff is looking a lot like swiss cheese lately…
