Daily Archives: November 20, 2007
At Rotoworld.com, the premiere source for fantasy-sports news, the site’s editor, Matt Pouliot, takes a look at 10 off-season trade candidates, while offering up equitable scenarios, in his opinion, under which each player could be moved.
…first off, rotoworld is outstanding…second, pouliot knows the baseball landscape about as good as any one online…
According to Pouliot, in his opinion, possible trades that should interest the Mets could be…
Dan Haren for Lastings Milledge, Fernando Martinez and Aaron Heilman.
Johan Santana for Milledge, Mike Pelfrey and Carlos Gomez.
Joe Blanton for Milledge and Heilman.
Jason Bay for Milledge and Philip Humber.
Dontrelle Willis for Gomez and Humber.
Of the bunch, Pouliot can see the Mets and A’s eventually connecting on a deal for Haren.
By the way, Pouliot does not see a realistic match between the Mets and Giants for Noah Lowry or Matt Cains, with the Marlins for Miguel Cabrera, the Padres for Jake Peavy or with the Indians for CC Sabathia.
Nationals president Stan Kasten, in an interview with XM Radio over the weekend, was blunt in his assessment about what shape Scott Boras’ role has taken as a player representative.
As quoted in Buster Olney’s ESPN.com blog:
“I used to think as Scott as a necessary evil, and now I’ve changed, I no longer think he is necessary … Boras is what he is, and he’s done what he does, and I’ve signed many contracts with Scott, but it makes it difficult.”
“I had this conversation with Andruw [Jones] who was a little put off by the whole situation with the Braves and how his departure was handled, and I was thinking to myself, that he needs to realize that his agent makes things difficult from time to time, and there are some teams that don’t want to deal with it. It’s well known that the last time he [Jones] did a contract with the Braves, he did it without using Scott. We’ve seen at least twice this week when that’s happened, with A-Rod and Kenny Rogers … there are times when Scott is not a plus…”
…wow…boras difficult?…no, it can’t be true…really?…
…even though he has always done good for his players regarding dollars and term, in my opinion, he is bad for baseball business…i hope more of his players realize this and take control of their negotiations and wishes…
In a report for Newsday, Ken Davidoff quotes an American League official as saying Mets RHP Kevin Mulvey is ‘probably’ the team’s most attractive pitching prospect.
In their recent Top 10 Prospects List for the Mets, Baseball America ranked Mulvey as the team’s second-best pitching prospect behind RHP Deolis Guerra, and ahead of Philip Humber, writing…
“He’ll open 2008 in Triple-A, but Mulvey could get a look in the rotation by midseason. He projects as a No. 3 or 4 starter.”
The 22-year-old Mulvey was 11–10 with a 3.32 ERA in 26 starts for Double-A Binghamton this past season.
Following the release of Baseball America’s list, the site’s editor, John Manuel, was asked if Mike Pelfrey would have been ranked higher than Mulvey or Guerra, had Pelfrey still have been eligible, to which Manuel responded…
Tagged Mike Pelfrey |“I don’t imagine he’d rank higher than fourth, and in some ways I’d rather have Kevin Mulvey, who has the fearlessness to throw fastballs in fastball counts and the command to get outs with it. I’m pretty impressed by Mulvey’s season the more I dive into it, though I still see him as more of a No. 4 starter than a No. 3. Pelfrey might end up a reliever if he doesn’t throw more strikes with his fastball.”
In an update to Stadium Page, Steve Rogers has posted new photos from the construction site for Citi Field.
…out of standing, steve…great work…
…thanks to nyj fan for the link…
…sifting through the comments section, you’ll see a lot of criticism over Omar Minaya and company’s handling of the offseason so far..…and unwarranted criticism, in my opinion…
…since the unofficial start of the hot stove season, there have been exactly three trades – none of any significance, unless you count yesterday’s Angels-White Sox deal – and six free agent signings…there are roughly 161 players left in the free agent pool…
…yes, we have watched the Yankees dominant the hot stove by retaining Jorge Posada, Alex Rodriguez and Mariano Rivera, all of whom the Mets weren’t real players for anyways.…and yes, we have seen names from Jake Peavy, Johan Santana, Ramon Hernandez, Joe Blanton, Eric Bedard to Carlos Silva, Livan Hernandez, Yorvit Torrealba, Octavio Dotel and David Eckstein thrown about as possible targets for the Mets, but decisions to mortgage the team’s future on the trade front to handing out high-priced contracts cannot be decided in eight days…and no one should have expected minaya to revamp the 2008 Mets in that amount of time…
…i am sure the Mets want to build a team that makes everyone forget the disappointment of 2007, but we have to give minaya and company the benefit of the doubt for now…i’m not saying that if in the weeks after the upcoming winter meetings nothing has been done significantly to improve the team we should continue to give minaya a pass, but let’s not rush to judgment on minaya’s job to put together the 2008 Mets, at least not yet…
…posted by Matthew Cerrone…
…obviously, i agree with mike…also, speaking as a blogger, who crawls in and around the internets looking for information, i am astonished at the increase in available information compared to just one year ago, be it fact or fiction or something in between…which, i think, leads to a lot of panic, by me included, that so much can be done, but that no team is acting upon it…in reality, realistic options are probably far less, and most everything must take time to work out…
Tagged Mike Nichols, Omar Minaya |The National League’s MVP will be named at 2 pm this afternoon.
Ballots were due to the Baseball Writers Association of America at the end of the regular season.
…i have talked with a lot of writers who were able to 
vote, and not one person mentioned David Wright…so, the odds are good that either Matt Holliday, Jimmy Rollins or Price Fielder will win, which, by the way, is great for baseball…that’s a nice, young group of talent that will be around for a long, long time, including wright…
…i would have voted for holliday, because, in addition to winning a batting title, and leading the league in RBI, hits and doubles, he also hit .450 during the last two weeks of the season, helping his team make up a four-game deficit to get in the playoffs…
During his conference call with reporters yesterday, Tom Glavine said his two young sons were disappointed he left the Mets, for the Braves, because they have become Mets fans, specifically fans of David Wright and Jose Reyes.
…hahahhahahahaha…hi, larious…
For more on Glavine’s comments, check out John Delcos in the Journal News.
By the way, as compensation for losing Glavine before December 1, the Mets will receive a first-round pick from the Braves during next year’s draft.
According to a MetsBlog.com poll of more than 3,200 people, 89 percent of those polled would prefer to have Atlanta’s top draft pick, instead of Glavine, even if the Mets are unable to acquire a top-line starting pitcher before opening day.
Tagged Tom Glavine |
Willie Randolph, speaking at the Bowery Mission in Manhattan yesterday, when asked about Paul Lo Duca, as quoted by the New York Post, said:
“I’m only the manager, not and the general manager and this is a group decision, but Paulie could play for me any day.”
According to Ken Davidoff in Newsday, Lo Duca is seeking at least a three-year deal, worth an annual salary larger than the $6 million he earned last season.
During a conference call with reporters last night, Mets GM Omar Minaya said he recently left a message for Lo Duca’s agent, but had not heard back from him.
…as i understand this, in the days after the season ended, lo duca told the Mets of his contract demands; the Mets were turned off, or not very interested; and so they never responded with a counter offer, which signaled to lo duca that his days in new york are over, especially when it was believed that Yorvit Torrealba would be replacing him…however, the torrealba deal fell through, and since, the Mets and lo duca’s agent have swapped messages, but no substantiative talks have been had…
…my hunch is that the Mets will consider bringing back lo duca, but only if it’s for a short-term deal…the question then is, is that acceptable to lo duca, who clearly wants more security…frankly, i understand both sides, especially since lo duca could possibly sign in colorado, be on a successful, young team, be closer to his family, and pad his stats in Coors Field…at the same time, he loved the Mets and being in new york…
Tagged Paul Lo Duca |The Rangers have designated OF Victor Diaz for assignment.
In 37 games for the Rangers last season, Diaz, 25, hit .240 with nine homers and 25 RBI.
The Rangers have 10 days to trade him, release him or demote him to the minors.
…‘mini manny’ seemed to be oozing with potential coming up with the Mets in 2004 and 2005, but his defense never improved to go along with his bat…nevertheless, if a Carlos Gomez or Lastings Milledge is moved for pitching, i wouldn’t mind bringing him back as a potential right-handed power hitter off the bench…
In the Rocky Mountain News, Tracy Ringolsby writes that the Giants are 
‘looking to move’ C Bengie Molina, who is due $6 million in each of the next two seasons, after which will be a free agent.
Last season, in 134 games for the Giants, the 33–year-old Molina hit .276 with 19 HR and 81 RBI, while throwing out 30 percent of runners who attempted to steal against him.
Meanwhile, at FOXSports.com, Ken Rosenthal writes that the Orioles could ‘resume discussions with the Mets’ about C Ramon Hernandez, ‘but they will need to drop their demand for a top prospect in return.’
Hernandez will earn $7.5 million next season and $8 million in 2009 with an $8.5 million club option for 2010, after which he will be a free agent.
…first off, it’s interesting to note that both molina and hernandez are the same two catchers who were linked in rumor to the Mets two years ago, when both were free agents…instead, the Mets chose to trade for Paul Lo Duca…and now, two years later, with lo duca a free agent, we’re back to reading rumors about molina and hernandez…
…at any rate, from what i can gather out of baltimore, the O’s are asking for a high-end prospect in exchange for hernandez because they are willing to eat a large chunk of his remaining salary…the Mets can certainly afford hernandez’s contract, and do not need baltimore to pick up part of the tab, which could warrant trading away a lower-level player, but that is not what the O’s want to do right now, as they try to re-stock their farm system…
By the way, Ringolsby also writes that the Rockies have re-opened talks with free-agent C Yorvit Torrealba, though they will not ‘back off’ their two-year, $7 million offer. Torrealba had reportedly accepted an offer from the Mets this past weekend, before talks fell apart.
During a conference call with reporters yesterday, Mets GM Omar Minaya would would not answer when asked if Torrealba had failed or even taken a physical with the Mets, nor would he comment on whether an offer was ever actually made.
For more notes from Minaya’s conference call, go here.
Tagged Ramon Hernandez, Yorvit Torrealba | ← Older postsNewer posts →
