Monthly Archives: December 2006
…at this point, based on what we know from the last couple of weeks, if the Mets intend to add a quality starting pitcher to their rotation, as they clearly hoped to do, they now have no choice but to bring him in via trade… …in the last month, the Mets have been rumored to have interest in Sox RHP Javier Vazquez and LHP Jon Garland, A’s RHP Dan Haren, and Indians RHP Jake Westbrook… …the problem in the trade market is that the Mets are not the only team looking to acquire a starting pitcher, like haren, or garland, etc…and, the teams that have this type of pitcher are not going to give him away for free, especially in this current market for pitchers… …the fact is, if the Mets want haren, or garland, or even westbrook, they will have to part with Aaron Heilman, who is very valuable in his role as a set-up man for the Mets… …Omar Minaya clearly subscribes to the popular philosophy that a season, and specifically the post-season, is won or lost in your bullpen…which leads me to believe the team will not trade heilman, which means it will be very difficult for them to acquire a starting pitcher via trade, or at least a starting pitcher worthy of making a serious impact… …not too mention that a team like the Indians will want Lastings Milledge, and probably Mike Pelfrey, in addition to heilman, for a guy like westbrook, considering how the Astros recently sent OF Willy Taveras, RHP Jason Hirsh and RHP Tyler Buchholz to the Rockies for RHP Jason Jennings, who has been less successful than westbrook…by the way, both jennings and westbrook are eligible for free agency after next season… …the thing is, the Mets have a collection of young pitchers, including pelfrey, along with John Maine, Phil Humber and Oliver Perez, among others, who could step up to fill out the rotation, or they could each be a bust…that’s the risk… …the other solution would be to try and sign one of the few remaining free-agent pitchers, such as Tomo Ohka, Tony Armas Jr, Russ Ortiz, Mark Redman or Jeff Weaver, and hope he and Tom Glavine, Orlando Hernandez and two of the team’s young pitchers can string along through Pedro Martinez’s return and the trade deadline at the end of july… …the buzz from st. louis suggests that weaver continues to seek a four-year deal, much like the one given to Ted Lilly… However, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Mets had not contacted any of the above free-agent pitchers as of yesterday.
Given that Barry Zito has agreed to sign with the Giants and not the Mets, I’m re-posting the poll for this week’s MetsBlog Fan Confidence Rating…
Therefore, 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…
In case you are wondering, LHP Mark Buerhle, RHP Bartolo Colon, RHP Freddy Garcia, RHP Jason Jennings, RHP Jake Westbrook and RHP Carlos Zambrano are all eligible for free agency next off-season.
Both Peter Gammons at ESPN.com, and Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com, report that LHP Barry Zito has agreed to a seven-year, $120 million contract with the Giants.
The Associated Press reports the deal includes an option for an eighth year that would make the deal worth $144 million.
…insanity…i think matt may have passed out when he read this, hence the reason it hasn’t been posted yet…
…what’s next omar…you know, i hear Steve Trachsel is available…
…Update…12:57
pm…
…posted by Matthew Cerrone…
…sorry, d.j. was right, i blacked out from utter frustration having
written zito’s name roughly 1,000 times in 30 days only to see him sign with
the Giants, who came late to the party…
…i don’t blame zito…i mean, how can you…and i do not blame the Mets either…they set a value, stuck to it and it was not enough…time will tell if it was the right move…
…as for zito, not only did Scott Boras
get him more than what he was rumored to be seeking, but he’s allowed to
remain home, as well…i mean, he gets $120 million, switches teams, and leagues, and does not even have to pack a bag…
…well played, boras…well played, indeed…
…as for the Mets, the team must now decide whether to stick with
what they have or give up Mike Pelfrey or Aaron Heilman, etc,
in a trade for a starting pitcher…
In the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Paul Hoynes notes that the Indians may approach Jake Westbrook about a new deal before opening day.
Westbrook is eligible for arbitration after next season.
During the Winter Meetings, writing to his blog for the Journal News, John Delcos wrote that Mets had talked with the Indians about Westbrook and RHP Cliff Lee.
…for what it’s worth, during that time, i recall a few people commenting on how the Indians were intrigued by Lastings Milledge, a number of the Mets young pitchers, as well as 1B Mike Carp…
At MLB.com, TR Sullivan writes that the Rangers have been told that Barry Zito will sign elsewhere.
According to Sullivan, the Rangers expect Zito to sign with the Giants.
Sullivan writes…
“Zito – who resides in San Francisco – has pitched for the Oakland Athletics his entire career and apparently has chosen to remain on the West Coast. The Mets, Mariners, Angels and the Yankees were all interested in Zito.”
In this morning’s New York Post, Joel Sherman wrote that the Giants are ‘very, very interested’ in acquiring Zito, so much so they could exceed the $100 million asking price for his services.
…well, if that’s the case, obviously they’re going to get him…
In the report, Sherman notes that while Zito’s camp continues to demand a six-year deal, the Mets insist they will not back down from the five-year, $75 million area, ‘unless it is for fewer years and more money per season.’
…i have been saying for weeks that this is clearly a race for the sixth year, and if the Giants are going to pony up, all while offering zito the national league, the opportunity to live in the same town he has for the last few years, which is close to his family, and avoid the potential aggravation of pitching in new york, i would not blame him at all…
…in fact, if i were him, even if the Mets matched a six-year offer from the Giants i would still sign in san francisco…
On behalf of Z100, Clothes Off Our Back is auctioning off a t-shirt signed by David Wright.
Proceeds from the auction benefit the emergency relief efforts in Darfur, Children’s Defense Fund and Cure Autism Now.
At Unfiltered, the blog for Baseball Prospectus, Will Carroll explains that at least two teams are interested in Braves 1B Adam LaRoche, in deals that include names such as Tigers OF Curtis Granderson, Marlins LHP Dontrelle Willis and Rangers 1B Mark Teixeira, among others.
In the Detroit News, Lynn Hemming writes that he expects the Tigers to eventually trade OF Craig Monroe, who played left-field and center-field last season for Detroit.
…during the winter meetings, the buzz from orlando was that the Tigers would look to trade Marcus Thames first, most likely for a reliever…if nothing materialized, they would then explore a deal with monroe, also for pitching…
The 29–year-old Monroe is eligible for arbitration each of the next two seasons, at which point he can become a free agent.
His batting average and on base percentage have declined in each of the last three seasons. However, his home run totals and RBI have increased from 18 in 2004 to 28 last season.
Rangers GM Jon Daniels told the Dallas Morning News that his team has made an offer to Barry Zito, but the offer will not be around past the New Year.
…the word from texas is that a) zito will not accept the Rangers offer, which is believed to be a six-year deal worth roughly $14 million per year, and as such, b) they intend to make a bigger push for Mark Mulder or Tomo Ohka, et al…
Meanwhile, according to Joel Sherman in the New York Post, the Giants are ‘very, very interested’ in acquiring Zito, so much so they could exceed the $100 million asking price for his services.
In the report, Sherman notes that while Zito’s camp continues to demand a six-year deal, the Mets insist they will not back down from the five-year, $75 million area, ‘unless it is for fewer years and more money per season.’
Regardless, in the Daily News, John Harper quotes a team involved in discussions as saying Boras isn’t prepared to get ‘serious in negotiations’ until after the New Year.
…man, this is like watching paint dry…
…i get the sense the Mets and boras has been in contact since their meeting in los angeles a few weeks ago…however, it all comes down to that sixth-year…that’s the hurdle…
…the thing is, the last time the Mets negotiated a big deal like this with boras it was for Carlos Beltran, who initially wanted a ten-year deal, which he did not get…in fact, as we all assume to know from multiple reports, boras hit up the yankees at the last minute with a deal for beltran that was less than what the Mets paid…so, i can understand why the Mets may think they should hold out, especially if a) they genuinely believe zito is not worth a six-year commitment, and b) they want to keep up the perception that the organization no longer needs to chase free agents…
