Daily Archives: October 17, 2007
Former-Red Sox 1B Bill Buckner will make his feature film debut in The 
Comebacks, Fox Atomic’s upcoming sports spoof comedy from the producers of Wedding Crashers.
The Comebacks hits theaters nationwide this Friday, October 19.
Buckner, who reenacts his historical ‘moment’ from the 1986 World Series game in The Comebacks, will appear on ESPN’s “Hot Seat” today, Wednesday, October 17.
On the show, Buckner will discuss his role in the movie, the 1986 World Series and his continued support and love for the Red Sox.
On Saturday, October 20th, David Wright will be appearing at Niketown NY between 12 and 1 pm. Doors open at 10 am.
Wright will supposedly be showing off a new shoe design.
Niketown is located at 6 East 57th St. in New York.
…the offseason appearances for Wright are in full swing i see…
…hat tip to mustangmann for the info…
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |At his blog for the ESPN.com, Buster Olney writes that the A’s may move RHP Justin Duchscherer to the starting rotation.
As Tim Dierkes suggests at MLB Trade Rumors, such a move could encourage A’s GM Billy Beane to consider trading RHP Joe Blanton, among others.
During July’s trade deadline, according to Ken Rosenthal at FOXSports.com, the Mets had ‘kicked around the idea’ of trading for Blanton, but the price was ‘too high.’
If you recall, last December, Rosenthal reported that the A’s had discussed trading one of their players with ‘between zero and three years of service time’ for ‘a bounty of even younger prospects,’ and he used Blanton as an example of such a player.
…the buzz in baseball has long been that the A’s continue to eye the Dodgers, who have a lot of young talent and are in need of a durable starting pitcher…
Meanwhile, at Gotham Baseball, Mark Healey has repeatedly written during the last year that if the Mets are to ever make a deal with the A’s it will only be for Rich Harden or Dan Haren.
…if beane continues to ask for milledge, i agree…
This past season for the A’s, Blanton was 14–10 with a 3.95 ERA through 34 starts, during which he allowed an average of just one walk per start.
He has made at least 32 starts in each of his last three seasons.
He is eligible for salary arbitration this off-season, and eligible for free agency after 2010.
On November 8–9, I will speaking alongside Will Leitch from Deadspin, 
Tyler Bleszinski from Athletics Nation, Rob Neyer from ESPN.com, and Chris Ballard from Sports Illustrated, among others, at the BlogWorld & New Media Expo in Las Vegas.
Sponsored by Fast Company, Yahoo! and others, BlogWorld is the only trade show and conference created for the industry of blogging and new media. It will give participants the strategies, tools and technologies they need to stake their claim in the blogosphere.
If you’d like to learn more, or register to attend the show and the sports blog sessions, click here.
Tagged MetsBlog |At the always-informative MLB Trade Rumors, Tim Dierkes takes a closer look at the Mets luxuries and needs.
Regarding catcher, Dierkes suggests that Rangers C Gerald Laird, Indians C Kelly Shoppach, Giants C Bengie Molina and O’s C Ramon Hernandez could all be available in a trade.
The 30–year-old Hernandez hit .290 during 2005, .275 during 2006, and just .258 with nine HR and 62 RBI in 106 games last season for the Orioles. He has $15 million and two years remaining on his current contract, which also includes an $8.5 million club option for 2010.
Meanwhile, Molina, 32, hit .276 with 19 HR and 81 RBI in 134 games for the Giants this past season. He has $12 million and two years remaining on his current deal.
…it’s still early for this type of talk, but i think it’s a logical assumption that the Mets could have interest in molina or hernandez, if for no other reason than they were on their short-list at catcher two off-season ago, as well…by the way, you’re gonna hear a lot about hernandez’s close relationship to Rick Peterson, dating back their days in oakland…i have no idea yet if this is as true as the rhetoric…
Regarding second base, Dierkes writes that, if the team does not want to bring back Luis Castillo, “I’d first learn the asking price for Orlando Hudson, Mark Ellis, and Freddy Sanchez.”
According to the Arizona Republic, during a radio interview in July, Hudson indicated that he would not be surprised if he got traded from Arizona at some point in the next season or two. He is eligible for free agency after the 2008 season.
The 29–year-old Hudson hit .271 during 2005, .287 during 2006, and .294 with 10 HR and 63 RBI for the D’Backs this past season. He has played in at least 131 games during each of his last five seasons, during which he won two Gold Gloves.
Dierkes also offers up his opinion on the starting rotation and outfield, while noting that the team’s biggest luxury is cash and prospects in the way of Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber, Mike Carp and Fernando Martinez.
Tagged Orlando Hudson, Ramon Hernandez |Yesterday, the Colorado Rockies advanced to the World Series for the first time in the team’s brief 15–season existence.
Rockies bench coach Jamie Quirk, on his team’s second baseman, Kaz Matsui, as quoted by Lisa Olson in the Daily News…
“He’s a dynamic player, a tremendous personality. He gets along great with everybody. His sense of humor fits right in with this ballclub. I would call him a character. He makes me laugh…We only wanted him to play second base and that took a lot of pressure off. Not everybody succeeds in New York. It’s a tough place to play. There might have been some undue pressure with his contract and with the other Matsui on the other side of town.”
…naturally, such as the Daily News column linked above, a collection of racist and mean fans are helping to define the rest of us, which is so irritating…look, fact is, there are lots of Mets fans who are happy for kaz, like me, as well as my fellow blogger D.J. Short, and the people who posted similar comments to his post, and will likely post similar comments in this post…why is that so hard to believe…
…for me, i was glad kaz got traded, and i’m equally glad that he is doing well for the Rockies…sure, i hope he fails when facing the Mets, but that is more because i hope the Mets succeed…i don’t wish ill-will on anyone, except maybe the Philly Phanatic…
…so, good luck in the world series, kaz…smile, you’ve earned it…
In a recent chat at Baseball Prospectus, columnist Steven Goldman was asked if the Mets possess enough young talent to trade for a top-flight 
starting pitcher, to which Goldman responded…
“I suspect one of [Lastings Milledge, Fernando Martinez, and Carlos Gomez] will go, but I’m not sure how much value they’ll bring. Martinez is a heck of a prospect, but he’s far away and had an injury year. Gomez is a pinch-runner. He’s never going to hit well enough to play…Milledge has promise, but the Mets need him.”
…it all depends on the level of pitcher that is being targeted…if i’m comfortable trading gomez, as i am, it suggests that he is not as valuable as i would like to think he is…i also think it could be too early to trade fernando, because it’s hard to gauge what he is all about yet…i like milledge, and i want him to succeed in new york, and i believe he is a winner and has a bright future, but if he can be traded in a package for a top, young, hard-throwing starting pitcher, then milledge has to go…but, he can only go in a deal for a no-brainer acquisition…
Tagged Minors |
