Daily Archives: November 13, 2007
According to ESPN Radio’s Andrew Marchand, citing the player’s agent, the Mets will soon make a contract offer to free-agent C Yorvit Torrealba.
In 113 games for the Rockies this past season, Torrealba hit .255 with eight home runs and 47 RBI, while striking out 73 times in 396 at-bats.
…i’m not completely sure what is so compelling about torrealba and why he intrigues Omar Minaya and company so much…torrealba is a career .251 hitter and hasn’t shown much power…plus, he hasn’t been great defensively, committing seven errors and only throwing out 19.7 percent of runners last season, second worst in the nl…
…my hope is that minaya is simply gauging the market at this point, but eventually turns his attention back to Paul Lo Duca…
…added to by Matthew Cerrone…
…i totally agree, mike…it’s perpexling, to say the least…
…as i have written before, in talking with people connected to the team, i sense ownership and some coaches and players have soured on him, as they feel he was too negative during September, i.e., the team looked to him as an emotional leader, during which he was down and out and depressed - much like you and i…to me, he was probably just reflecting his honesty, which is a good thing to some extent, but i also understand how this can be bad…what’s more, i keep hearing that the team wants a catcher who works better with the pitching staff…
…again, as i have said before, if i had to guess, at this point, i’d say the Mets will pursue other options at catcher, while considering lo duca to be a fall-back position, knowing how badly he wants to return…personally, i’d just re-sign him…i think his heart, pride and intensity is something this club should be built around, but i will understand if they go a different direction…i just can’t believe that direction could be torrealba…
Tagged Mike Nichols, Yorvit Torrealba |
According to the Associated Press, citing ‘two people familiar with the 
negotiations,’ the Mets and Ramon Castro are close to agreeing on a two-year contract, which ‘could be completed sometime soon.’
…as i mentioned this morning, the deal is believed to be roughly $2 million per season…and i’m glad…as long as he can stay healthy during August and September, which has been a problem for ramon during the last two seasons…
Tagged Ramon Castro |…i made 16 posts and wrote 4,000 words today, on a tuesday when no real news actually occurred, which seems like a lot to me…of course, this site logged more than 60,000 page views, so maybe it isn’t…
…nevertheless, i ask the following, because i fear i may be moving at a pace that is too difficult for the average reader to keep pace with, let alone for me to maintain, especially when news really starts flying…
…once you vote, feel free to leave a relevant comment if you have something to add…
[poll=21]
Tagged MetsBlog, Poll |Last week, Baseball America ranked Mets RHP Brant Rustich among the team’s Top 10 Prospects, writing…
“Healthy in pro ball, Rustich showed a premium fastball…He pitches inside to righthanders and uses his size well…Control was a huge problem before and after his finger injury…Rustich has enough stuff to start, but the Mets most likely will have him join Eddie Kunz on the fast track as a reliever.”
Today, at his Mets Minor League Report, Toby Hyde conducts a detailed Q&A with Rustich, who had the following to say when asked if he prefers to be a starter or a reliever…
“Personally, I’d prefer to be a reliever right now, because I’ve been successful doing that. Coming off an injury, I don’t know how my body would handle being a starter after being a reliever for a few years. You know, I’m up for anything. Whatever the Mets really want to do I’m ok with…I’ll be ready for anything come next year. I’m hoping to go Big League camp and kinda be a reliever there. I know they need help up there. I wanna get there as fast as I can and I think relieving would be the fastest route.”
In 10 appearances for Brooklyn this past season, the 22–year-old Rustich was 2–0 with a 2.13 ERA in 13 innings, during which he struck out 11 batters.
Tagged Minors |According to Frank Isola, at his blog about the Knicks 
for the Daily News, Carlos Beltran was booed the other night at Madison Square Garden while attending a Knicks game.
Meanwhile, the crowd cheered Jorge Posada, notes Isola.
…whatever…what’s news here is that people still go to Knicks games…who knew…
…Update…8:01 pm…
In the comment’s section of this post, SNK from You Can’t Script Baseball writes the following…
“I actually was at that game and just want to clarify a few things. 1) they were playing “Meet the Mets” when they showed Beltran on the screen, which is what I attributed most of the booing to (especially since, as many mentioned, the place is generally full of Yankee fans) and 2) from where I was sitting there were certainly more cheers than boos and the boos were pretty much isolated to one section of the arena, and Beltran was smiling and waving like he didn’t hear a thing, so I’m pretty sure they are being blown a little out of proportion.”
…last week, i put forth a variety of polls, which i hoped would reveal a common sense approach from this site’s readers regarding how best to tackle this off-season…
…as such, i asked what our list of priorities are, followed by a series of questions and realistic scenarios about each position, which resulted in 28,000 votes cast spanning eight different polls…
…before i break down the results, please note that this is all in good fun…i’m not endorsing this plan, nor think it will happen, or could happen…the point was to have a fun, and get a general sense of where we are all at, collectively…
…that being said, using a choose-your-own-adventure approach, knowing we value starting pitching more than any other position, the common sense is essentially is as follows…
To start, voters will not sign Alex Rodriguez.
Next, voters will move Orlando Hernandez to the bullpen, where he will join Billy Wagner, Aaron Heilman, Duaner Sanchez, Pedro Feliciano and Scott Schoeneweis, among others, as well as Scott Linebrink, who voters will sign to three-year deal.
…i like moving el duque to the pen…however, i have had enough of signing relief pitchers to long-term deals, even linebrink, who struggled after leaving san diego last summer…the Mets already have schoeneweis and Guillermo Mota, and that’s enough for me…most all quality bullpens are seemingly built overnight, with mirrors, chewing gum and magic…so, i’d just as soon avoid the big contract, and roll the magical dice on Juan Padilla, Ambiorix Burgos, Eddie Kunz, Willie Collazo, Carlos Muniz, Joe Smith and whomever else finds their way on the edge of the pen…i mean, that’s a 
lot of arms, and a lot of options…
Next, voters will sign free-agent RHP Carlos Silva to a four-year deal, and they’ll then trade Lastings Milledge to the A’s for Joe Blanton.
…i agree on milledge for blanton…i don’t want to do it…it’s not my preferred path, but, honestly, i fear that this team’s paths are few and far between…and so if desperate times call for desperate measures, well, then milledge has to go…plus, blanton is young, healthy, commanding, and he pitches a lot, which will also help out the bullpen…silva worries me…personally, i’d rather give less money and less years to Livan Hernandez…
With Milledge in Oakland, voters will trade Mike Pelfrey to the Pirates for OF Jason Bay.
…this is an odd one…multiple local reports suggest bay will be available, and, the buzz in pittsburgh suggests that the Mets had interest during last season’s trade deadline and the Pirates always want pitching…frankly, my hunch is that it would likely take more than just pelfrey, like Aaron Heilman, as well…this is intriguing…i’m not against it, but i’m not totally for it, either…
Lastly, voters will re-sign Paul Lo Duca and Luis Castillo.
Therefore, according to voters from this site…
The Mets should start Carlos Delgado, Luis Castillo, Jose Reyes and David Wright on the infield, with Paul Lo Duca and Ramon Castro behind the plate, and with Jason Bay, Moises Alou and Carlos Beltran in the outfield.
On the hill, the Mets should start Pedro Martinez, Oliver Perez, Joe Blanton, John Maine and Carlos Silva, who will be relieved by Billy Wagner, Scott Linebrink, Orlando Hernandez and others, while Mike Pelfrey and Lastings Milledge enjoy new careers in other cities.
…it’s a nice team, with a young core that includes wright, reyes, beltran, bay, blanton, maine and perez all under contract through at least the following season…now, back to reality…
Tagged Poll |Indians RHP C.C. Sabathia has ben rewarded the American League CY Young Award, according to the Associated Press.
So far this off-season, there has been a lot of rumors and reports regarding the Twins and LHP Johan Santana, who can be a free agent after next season.
However, the Indians are in a similar situation with Sabathia, who can also be a free agent after next season.
According to the Beacon Journal, Indians GM Mark Shapiro said in late October that he intends to address Sabathia’s contract during this offseason, “with the goal of having things finished before spring training.”
In the report, McManamon writes…
“If (Sabathia) chooses not to re-sign, the Indians owe it to themselves and their fans to listen to trade offers.”
The 28–year-old Santana is 94–33 with a 3.22 ERA during his career, while Sabathia, 27, is 100–63 with a 3.83 ERA.
Today, during a Hot-Stove introduction on his mid-day radio show, WFAN’s Mike Francesa said…
“It sounds like the Mets are gonna sign Carlos Silva.”
…ugh…and then he just keeps talking, as though he hadn’t worded this in such a way that will leave poeple thinking it was news, instead of what it is, which is him either speculating or pulling from something he thinks he read…
…and look, i’m not saying he is wrong, because, i mean, who knows, maybe the Mets will sign silva some day, and, also, i actually believe mike is far more in-the-know than most fans give him credit for, but he makes a comment like this, which is not stated to be buzz, or rumor, but, he makes the comment in a way that comes off as haphazard fact, and then does nothing to back it up or cite a source…
…i normally wouldn’t care, except that, when he and his co-host make comments like this, it makes my job more difficult, because me - and others like me - get inundated with e-mails stating, ‘hey, the Mets signed silva,’ over and over and over again, and we’re then put on a circular wild-goose chase…
…on the other hand, if you listen to them long enough, you get a gem like the followinig…
Francesa, speaking about negotiations between Jorge Posada, the Yankees and the Mets…
“All’s love in war and all’s love and fair and war and in love.”
…which, by the way, i have not stopped laughing about…
According to Tyler Kepner at his blog for the New York Times, the Yankees have offered a three-year, $45 million contract to free-agent RHP Mariano Rivera.
…i mean, if he’s not going back home, where is he going…the only realistic option, assuming he wants to close, at this point, considering budget and opportunity, would be the Astros and Dodgers…i don’t think it would be totally crazy to see him sign in los angeles with Joe Torre, but why…i mean, even if the Dodgers match that offer, it stands to reason he’d just return to the Bronx anyways, meaning the Dodgers would have to beat it, and that’s unrealistic for a 38–year-old pitcher, i think…
…frankly, i still like to dream of my silly two-headed save machine idea with mariano and Billy Wagner, going lefty-righty like Jesse Orosco and Roger McDowell, but with a lot more credibility and success in their sails…i mean, they already share the same music, how about they share the same job…enter sandmen…
According to Baseball America, the Mets have signed minor-league, free-agent RHP Joselo Diaz.
…yes, his name should sound familiar to you, since he’s the other guy who went with Scott Kazmir in the tampa bay deal…
…so, one down from that deal…and one to go…
…hat tip to Adam Rubin for the link…
Tagged Scott Kazmir | ← Older posts
