Daily Archives: December 7, 2007
Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports the Pirates traded RHP Salomon Torres to the Brewers in exchange for minor league RHP Marino Salas and RHP Kevin Roberts.
Torres was 2-4 with 12 saves and a 5.47 ERA in 56 appearances for the Pirates in 2007.
Tagged Mike Nichols |
According to CNN, 20,000 readers from MyFootballClub.com have purchased Ebbsfleet United, a professional soccer team in England, for $75 per person.
…thanks to james m for the link…
The Mets are valued at $736 million, according to a report in CNBC, who also lists the club as the second-best investment in baseball behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.
…hmmm, so, if every reader of MetsBlog.com ponied up $30,000 or so, i wonder if Fred Wilpon would sell us the team…
…yes, i’m kidding of course…though it’s fun to dream, isn’t it…
According to Peter Gammons, in a recent update to ESPN.com, the Brewers are going to non-tender Kevin Mench.
…i like mench…i’ve always been a fan, and i think he’d be an interesting fit for the Mets, as he plays hard, and could be a nice option against left-
handed pitchers, instead of Ryan Church…
In 159 at-bats against left-handed pitchers last season for the Brewers, the 29–year-old Mench hit .314 with eight HR and 26 RBI, while striking out just 10 times.
Mench hit .212 against righties last season.
…the thing is, a) i would hope he’ll first try to pursue an every-day job with another team, and b) if the Mets look to fill a bench spot, it’ll likely be for a utility infielder, with better defensive skills than Ruben Gotay, since it appears they plan to use Damion Easley, who hit .371 against lefties last season, instead of church from time to time in the outfield…
In a report by Bob Nightegale for USA Today, according to White Sox GM Ken Williams, ‘one of the biggest obstacles to making trades are the media leaks while trades are being discussed,’ since it allows fans to ‘weigh in with their opinions,’ many times ‘scaring off teams.’
Williams, as quoted by Nightengame…
“Unfortunately, we are in a generation of executives that don’t understand the importance of confidentiality. If the deal you’re contemplating isn’t viewed as fan-friendly, some general managers get fearful of moving on. You’d be surprised how many deals get killed because of that.”
…this is exactly what is rumored to have happened to Twins GM Bill Smith, who was inches from getting fleeced by the Red Sox, in talks regarding Johan Santana…however, when his division rivals, the Tigers, acquired both Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis in the same deal, smith is said to have panicked and went back to the drawing board, for fear of making a poor choice in what is not only the first trade of his career, but 
what could end up being the most important trade of his career…
…that being said, and knowing the type of influence their fans have on how the Twins behave, i’m starting to think that the best way i can help the Mets acquire Johan Santana would be to create a covert, grassroots public-relations campaign among Twins fans…in other words, as Mets fans, we need to convince them that, because of santana’s lofty contract demands, and the popular idea that he’ll only approve a trade to Boston or New York, he’s never going to return the same type of talent as Erik Bedard or Dan Haren, thanks to supply and demand…and so they should cut Twins GM Bill Smith a break and not put so much pressure on him to pull of a blockbuster…i mean, come on, Carlos Gomez or Ryan Church, plus Mike Pelfrey and Aaron Heilman should be more than enough, guys…
Tagged MetsBlog |According to CNBC, Former-Mets OF Lenny Dykstra will soon publish a magazine called The 
Players Club, ‘a magazine by and for professional athletes that will provide the resources to make well-informed financial and lifestyle decisions.’
…man, talk about your niche markets…
In his time since retiring from baseball in 1996, Dykstra has created a successful car-wash franchise, and writes a stock-picking column for Jim Cramer’s TheStreet.com.
Speaking of former Mets catchers, on Newsday.com, Jim Baumbach catches up with Mackey Sasser, who will live in infamy among Mets fans for his inability to release the baseball when trying to throw to second or back to the mound.
In Newsday, David Lennon reveals that the Mets talked to the Giants last month about acquiring LHP Noah Lowry, according to a ‘person familiar with the situation.’
However, according to Lennon, the Giants asked for OF 
Lastings Milledge plus ‘another young pitcher’ in the deal, but when discussions cooled, ‘the Mets shipped Milledge to the Nationals instead.’
…the word from the bay area has long been that the Giants will consider trading one of their young pitchers if it can return them a major-league ready bat…this is why we keep reading of rumors involving Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Alex Rios…as far as lennon’s report goes, i have to assume the Giants wanted a pitcher like Kevin Mulvey or Phil Humber…however, if the Mets feel these two could be needed in a potential deal for Johan Santana, etc, they should not jump to trade them for a pitcher like lowry, who i actually like a lot…
Lennon conlcudes by saying talks could be revisited later in the off-season, according to a ‘team official.’
…if all else fails, i.e., santana, Erik Bedard, etc, i’d be open to trading one of the young pitchers and Ryan Church for lowry, if for no other reason than lowry is a semi-proven commodity, and beggars can’t be choosers…
…the thing is, late yesterday, as SI.com’s Jon Heyman pointed out while speaking to WFAN, the Giants have approached the Yankees about OF Hideki Matsui, while offering up one or both of lowry and RHP Jonathan Sanchez…
In 26 starts this past season for the Giants, Lowry was 14–8 with a 3.92 ERA, during which opponents hit .265 against him.
However, he had been 9–6 with a 3.33 ERA at the All-Star break. He missed all of September with a sore elbow, on which an MRI revealed a mild strain and no structural damage.
Lowry will earn $2.25 million in 2008, and $4.5 million in 2009, after which he can be a free agent.
Next Monday, John Maine and Oliver Perez will be in-studio guests during SNY’s Mets Hot Stove Report, which airs live at 6:30 pm and will re-run at 11 pm.
The following day, Maine will play Santa Claus, while Perez will be an elf, during the team’s Holiday Party for Kids at Shea Stadium.
Tagged Oliver Perez |…i did not post a Confidence Rating poll during 
the last two weeks, because it just didn’t seem right with the rapid-fire pace of rumors coming at us…
…that being said, please answer the following question, while considering the team’s ownership, current management, talent, minor-league system, and new stadium and network, etc…
[poll=30]
Tagged Poll |…during last year’s Winter Meetings, i heard a lot of positive comments about Mets Double-A 1B Mike Carp, which has seemingly dropped off following his slugging season…
…this year, i noticed a lot of unexpected excitement surrounding Mets Double-A RHP Kevin Mulvey, Single-A LHP Nathan Vineyard and Double-A RHP Bobby Parnell…
In their recent Top 10 Prospects List for the Mets, Baseball 
America ranked Mulvey as the team’s second-best pitching prospect, behind Deolis Guerra, while Vineyard checked in at seven and Parnell at eight, behind Eddie Kunz, Phil Humber, Jon Niese and Brant Rustich, who MetsBlog’s Jordan Zakarin recently interviewed, which you can read by clicking here.
Regarding Vineyard, Baseball America writes…
“The Mets believe Vineyard can be a future No. 3 starter and has as much upside as anyone in their 2007 draft class.”
Meanwhile, in the New York Times, Ben Shpigel traveled to the Dominican Republic and profiles Mets OF Carlos Gomez and OF Fernando Martinez, both of whom have been mentioned quite a lot in trade talks this winter.
…first off, this is a fantastic column and a must read…second, i am clearly a sucker, because, while i was ready to trade both of these guys last week, after reading this, i am convinced 
both will win an MVP and go to the Hall of Fame…jeez, i’m so easy…nice job, shpigel…
…seriously, though, i’m starting to be more of a believer in gomez, who, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark, could more attractive to the Twins than Red Sox OF Jacoby Ellsbury…also, over the last week, my own ears have heard martinez compared to a young Juan Gonzalez and Sammy Sosa…so, of the two, i can understand why fernando is viewed as the most untouchable of the lot, but people do like gomez, more so than i initially realized…
…it’s interesting, in that teams appear much more reluctant to trade these young players, and understandable so…the sense i keep getting is that, finally, teams believe it makes far more sense to trust a collection of triple-a pitchers from their own system, who may bumble around a bit, but will eventually find their way, as opposed to overpaying for some aging veteran on the back-nine of his career…both of whom may give the same results, but at least the younger player will earn less money and not bog down the roster for years to come…as such, prospects are being valued a lot of higher, which is slowing down the trade market…which is a good thing, actually…
According to the Boston Herald, it remains a ‘near certainty’ that the Twins will eventually trade Johan Santana before opening day, most likely to the Yankees or the Red Sox, ‘with the Mets a distant third right now.’
However, in Newsday, Ken Davidoff writes that Twins GM Bill Smith may not be bluffing when he hints at keeping Santana through opening day, adding, “Some officials 
from opposing clubs agree with me. Others, not so much.”
Nevertheless, according to the Daily News, ‘There was a sense among rival executives that the Mets had made themselves viable.’
During his appearance on WFAN late yesterday, SI.com’s Jon Heyman said, ‘The Mets do seem confident in their efforts to trade for Santana,’ adding, ‘If you ask them if they have a shot, they say they have a shot, or at least a decent shot. So, maybe they know something we don’t know.’
…as i said last night, the way i see it, the Mets can acquire santana if a) the Twins truly committ to trading him, b) the Mets come to grips with offering a six– or seven-year deal, and c) they offer the Twins a package such as Carlos Gomez, Kevin Mulvey or Fernando Martinez, Mike Pelfrey and Aaron Heilman…
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