Daily Archives: December 3, 2007
…the word from Nashville, from a few 
different corners, suggests that the Twins are once again contacting teams, other than the Yankees and Red Sox, to discuss offers for Johan Santana…
…it is sounding to me like a trade with either boston or the bronx may have been close, and ready to be announced tonight, but now it temporarily is off the table…
…additionally, from what i can gather, santana would rather play for the Red Sox, followed by the Mets, then the Yankees, but, still, the Mets may lack the necessary talent to pull off a deal…that being said, if the Twins are moving beyond the Red Sox and Yankees, who knows, maybe the Mets can find a way to squeak back in to this…
Interestingly, according to Amy Nelson from ESPN.com, Santana’s agent, Yankees GM Brian Cashman and Mets GM Omar Minaya were all on the same flight from New York to Nashville today.
…Update…10:47 pm…
According to Pete Abraham from the Journal News, the Yankees and Twins are meeting tonight.
Abraham writes, “It could be a long night. I’ll keep you posted once something happens.”
…Update…11:20 pm…
The Yankees are once again ‘making noise’ that they might pull out of talks regarding Santana, writes Jayson Stark at ESPN.com.
Appearing on ESPN’s Winter Meetings Special, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney made a similar statement to Stark’s.
…based on what i initially wrote in this post, coupled with stark’s report, among other new insight, i am getting the sense that the Twins, Red Sox and Yankees are all getting cold feet…and, frankly, if the Mets are not a player in this, i would love to see the Twins hang on to the guy, which could be a far more realistic option right now than we realize…
…our friend, Joel Lipsky, was able to do a walk-and-chat with Willie 
Randolph a few moments ago, while on route to dinner…
…first off, joel says he seems a big, big difference between post-game willie, and this version of willie, being relaxed and casual…
…willie said he has talked to a lot of his players during the off-season, making personal phone calls to discuss the end of last season…additionally, keeps in touch with Jose Reyes, who intends to call in the next day or so…
…lastly, joel says that willie appears to be very up-beat and positive about next season, mentioning how he cannot wait for next season to begin…
…willie then sat down to have dinner with Rick Peterson…
…i didn’t ask, but i wonder if rick is wearing a jacket…
Tagged Willie Randolph |During an appearance on WFAN, beat-reporter 
Sweeny Murti said, “There is news floating around that the Mets are close on Erik Bedard.”
…Update…8:31 pm…
…from what i can gather, Omar Minaya has been dumping a ton of rhetoric around, back-peddling on his need to acquire a top-line starting pitcher, while suggesting that he may not be in the best position to make such a trade…
…in fact, a few people close to the team have suggested that when minaya said last week that trading Lastings Milledge wouldn’t hurt his chances of making a trade for pitcher, what he really meant was that with or without milledge he could not make a trade for a pitcher because he just doesn’t have the horses either way…
…frankly, i’m skeptical of everything, be it positive or negative…
…Update…8:45 pm…
…earlier, i was sent on a wild-goose chase suggesting that the Mets could be working with the O’s on a deal involving Miguel Tejada, paying his way to a third team, while acquiring bedard, but i don’t sense there is any thing to that…
Mets GM Omar Minaya and Willie Randolph, along with staff from the White Sox, talked to reporters today today about playing the Civil Rights Game in late March.
Minaya called the Civil Rights Game more than just a baseball game, it’s a ‘moment of reflection for a society,’ adding that the Mets have always been close to the legacy of Jackie Robinson and with the Citi Field being a replica of Ebbets Field, they will be even closer to those values now.
According to Minaya, he is fortunate enough to be the GM of the Mets because of Jackie Robinson and his courage, ‘opening the door for all minorities.’
Randolph explained that he still gets goosebumps when he thinks back to the struggle, and where he came from. Being from Brooklyn, he said, this all carries special meaning for him. He can’t wait for spring training, which he’s excited to finish off with this game, and go on to a ‘championship season.’
…thanks to Ken Mandelkern for the listening, and for the info…
…i can’t keep track of Johan Santana any longer…i’m dizzy…
…as of now, from what i can gather, the Yankees are the front 
runners, but the Twins are still holding out for a specific player…basically, if this was the NFL Draft, the Yankees would be on the clock…if they balk, and actually quit by the end of today, as they threatened to do, then it’s up to the Red Sox, who, at that point, should lose all motivation to overpay…i mean, why should the Red Sox part with all of their top prospects if they don’t have to…of course, there are a lot of people who believe that so-called deadline has been a bit overblown…
…so, if the Twins have a specific type of deal they are hoping to get, and they don’t get it, do they give up and keep him for opening day, or do they re-open talks with teams like the Mets and Mariners, who, at that point, may be able to compete again…
According to ESPN’s Steve Phillips, at their blog for ESPN.com, ‘there are rumblings’ that the Pirates and Indians are talking about a potential trade that could include OF Jason Bay, C Kelly Shoppach and LHP Cliff Lee.
…from what i understand, there is also a bit of talk that bay could be moved to the Blue Jays, for, i’m guessing, AJ Burnett, which is the only player who would make sense…
Earlier today, at his blog for ESPN.com, Peter Gammons wrote that by trading Lastings Milledge, the Mets ended any chance of acquiring Lee, who the Indians will listen to proposals for, ‘but won’t trade him unless they get overwhelmed.’
When asked why the Mets are no longer talking about Johan Santana, Gammons told ESPN News, “They have no players.”
…thanks to Peter Wade, MetsBlog’s eyes and ears, for the info…
On WFAN today, SI.com’s Jon Heyman said that Johan Santana wants to play for the Yankees, Red Sox or Mets.
However, according to Heyman, ‘the Mets are out of it.’
Also, Heyman believes that Carlos Gomez, Aaron Heilman and Phil Humber will not be nearly enough to acquire Erik Bedard from the O’s.
Lastly, when asked if any one believes the Mets screwed up by parting ways with Lastings Milledge, Heyman responded by saying, “Yes, the fans. That’s about it.”
In his most recent update for FoxSports.com, Ken Rosenthal reports that the Twins are considering filing ‘tampering charges’ against the Yankees because of Hank Steinbrenner’s public comments about the pitcher.
…yikes…odd bedfellows, should the Twins trade santana to the Yankees, then sue them…somehow, i can’t see both of these things happening, can you…
By the way, in his report, Rosenthal details Nationals GM Jim Bowden’s long love-affair with Lastings Milledge, who he failed to acquire from the Mets roughly two years ago in exchange for Brad Wilkerson.
Rosenthal also writes about the market for 3B Pedro Feliz and Chris Burke, and notes that the Twins may also look to trade their closer, RHP Joe Nathan.
Tonight at 7 pm on the SNY Spotlight, Mets RHP Pedro Martinez spends 30 minutes talking to Kevin Burkhardt while in the Dominican Republic, and talks about the team’s ‘collapse’ from last season, and his expectations for 2008, among other things.
To watch a clip of Martinez talking about the type of impact he can have on the rest of the pitching staff, click here.
During five starts for the Mets last season, after returning from shoulder surgery, Martinez was 3–1 with a 2.57 ERA while striking out 32 batters through 28 innings pitched.
Tagged Pedro Martinez, SNY |
…from what i can gather, the Phillies, Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, Mariners, D’Backs and Angels have all been linked in rumor to O’s LHP Erik Bedard, who most people in Nashville seem to feel will eventually get traded…
…jeez, with these teams involved, among others we are not likely aware of, i’m starting to believe the notion that bedard could end up costing more than Johan Santana…
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