Daily Archives: December 11, 2007
ESPN is reporting that the Chicago Cubs and OF Kosuke Fukudome have reached an agreement.
…Update…1:00am…
The deal is worth $48 million over four years.
…fukudome was all the rage in japan and it was rumored that the Padres were going after him hard, but he made up his mind rather quickly after deciding to leave japan…it makes you wonder if anyone else really had a chance…
…i’m certainly interested to see if he can be as successful in the majors as he was in japan - but let’s be honest, i’m more excited to name my fantasy team after him and hear sportscasters mispronounce his name…
In a recent report for SI.com, citing ‘people familiar with those talks,’ Jon Heyman writes…
‘The Mets offered different packages of prospects that included either outfielder Carlos Gomez or outfield prospect Fernando Martinez but not both, declining to include the one extra prospect the Twins requested to clinch the deal according to people familiar with those talks.’
…the way i have heard it, also from people connected to these talks, the Twins want gomez plus four pitching prospects…yes, four…so, based on my understanding, coupled with heyman’s, i think it’s safe to assume that the Mets offered gomez and three pitching prospects, the Twins countered by asking for a fourth pitcher or martinez, and the Mets declined…
…for what it’s worth, over the weekend, i did suggest the two sides were fairly close to agreeing on players for a trade, if they hadn’t already…frankly, i didn’t think it was that close, though…but, wow, i guess it was…
…if this deal could be so close, i am back to having hope again…man, i’m getting dizzy…are you…
…it’s a tough one…i have to assume that at least three of the pitchers are Mike Pelfrey, Phil Humber and Kevin Mulvey, while the fourth could be Joe Smith or Deolis Guerra, though i suppose it could be Aaron Heilman, as well – though he’s far from a pitching prospect at this point…
…it is a lot to give up…it really is, and i can understand the trepidation…but, man, to be that close and pass…jeez…
Earlier today, MetsBlog asked if the Mets should trade Pelfrey, Humber, Mulvey, Guerra and Gomez to the Twins for Santana, who will also require a seven-year contract, and only 56 percent of the 2,400 respondents essentially said, ‘Yes, the Mets should make the trade.’
According to Heyman, while talking to WFAN this afternoon, Boston’s interest is quite ‘cool,’ and – if he had to guess – he still believes that the Yankees will end up acquiring Santana.
…from what i can gather out of people connected to santana, though, is the Yankees have been very, very quiet of late…and, additionally, santana is not too excited about playing in the Bronx, while preferring the Mets then the Red Sox…
…frankly, i think it’d pull the trigger on the pitcher-heavy package, while keeping martinez, and adding Johan Santana to John Maine and Oliver Perez for the next few seasons…my hand will be shaking while doing so, but i think i’d have to do it…
According to the Baltimore Sun, David Segui admitted buying shipments of steroids from his friend, former New York Mets clubhouse attendant and admitted drug distributor, Kirk Radomski - and reiterated he used human growth hormone with a legal prescription from a Florida doctor.
Segui played for the Mets in 1994 and 1995, and retired from baseball in 2004.
Ramdomski worked for the Mets from 1985 through 1995, and admitted to having supplied performance enhancing drugs only between 1995 and 2005.
…of course, that didn’t stop WFAN’s Chris Russo today from repeatedly stating that Radomski worked for the Mets in 2005…which is clearly incorrect…unreal…
…at any rate, there is a public relations tactic that aims to confuse an audience by actually inundating them with the same bad news they are supposed to fear, instead of trying to cover it up, all while hitting the audience with tons of confusing opinion, facts, stats and mixed messaging…in the end, the audience gets fatigued by the confusion and constant pounding, and they actually start to tune out and ignore it all…in short, the audience no longer cares any more, and they just go about their business as though the bad news isn’t even occurring, even though it still is…
…i’m ashamed to say it, but this is what is happening to me with the MLB Steroids issue…
…i can’t tell who is guilty, who isn’t, why they’re guilty, why they’re not, who should be suspended, who shouldn’t, and so on…i’m totally lost…and what’s worse, i don’t even care that i’m lost…it all stinks of hypocrisy and cover up to me, and i can’t make heads or tails of any of it…i understand the moral end, but that doesn’t seem to matter to the people in charge…in the end, i just want to hope it all goes away, which is probably what they are trying to make happen…
Tagged
Steroids |
The Mets have until tomorrow to either sign or release C Johnny Estrada, assuming they are unable to trade him.
…odds are good that he gets released, which is not that big of a deal, since he was acquired a) to be an extreme back-up plan at catcher, and b) to get rid of Guillermo Mota, who is due $3.2 million next season…
…if the Mets cut estrada, they’ll owe him no money…
The Mets held their second-annual Holiday Party for Kids today 
at Shea Stadium, during which John Maine dressed up as Santa Claus, with Mr. Met and Oliver Perez by his side.
For a photo, check out Adam Rubin’s for the Daily News.
According to Joe McDonald, texting from Shea to his blog for New York Sportscene, while talking to reporters, Mets GM Omar Minaya sounded as though he is prepared to have a young player be the team’s fifth starer.
At his blog for the Journal News, John Delcos came away from the event writing, “The kids came away happy, but no arm is heading this way.”
Tagged
Omar Minaya |
John Maine was supposed to join Oliver Perez on SNY’s Mets Hot Stove Report, but was unable to attend.
…from what i can gather, his plan was delayed out of 
Virginia…though, i’ll admit, my initial reaction when hearing he was a no-show was, ‘uh oh, i hope he wasn’t traded,’ which fortunately was not the case…phew…
Following Mets Hot Stove, Perez and Maine attended last night’s game between the Knicks and Mavericks at Madison Square Garden, where, according to SI.com, the two pitchers were booed after being introduced on the scoreboard.
…jeez, it’s been a rough couple of weeks for maine in new york…first this, then he’s booed…you know, johnny, that flight being delayed was probably a sign…
Tagged
Oliver Perez |
…well, over the last day or so, i have talked with essentially the same group of people that i normally do, who are connected to and have knowledge of what the Mets are up to, and the sense i get is that while the team still feels confident 
in their ability to acquire Johan Santana, people around santana currently think the Red Sox are back to being the front-runners…which makes me wonder if Boston recently stepped up their offer to the Twins…also, from what i can gather, the Rangers are the third team in this mix, not the Yankees, Mariners or Angels, but i do not believe they have much of a chance to get him anyway…
…at any rate, if there is a sticking point with the Mets, again, as i said over the weekend, it could be that santana wants a seven-year deal, and the Mets remain uncomfortable with that sort of contract for a pitcher…also, despite agreeing and understanding that the Jose Reyes-caliber player is off the table, yet any other player can be had, the Twins now suddenly want more or less every single pitching prospect the Mets have…seriously…last weekend, when i relayed the phrase, ‘the Mets are willing to flood the Twins with prospects,’ i took that to mean two top-pitchers, two top-outfielders, and a player like Aaron Heilman…now though, while i have not heard any specific names mentioned, it is sounding to me like the Twins want Carlos Gomez, Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Kevin Mulvey, among others…so, basically, the Twins want the whole lot…and the Mets are reluctant to do so, and i can’t say i blame them, especially if they are having reservations about such a long-term contract…
…nevertheless, people connected to the Mets still seem positive, though i keep hearing that they’ll continue to ‘monitor the situation,’ which hardly invokes confidence from me…at the same time, people around santana, who prefers to pitch for the Mets, are back to seeing Boston as a likely destination…so, there is a definite disconnect there, which i am having very a difficult time figuring out…what really drives my crazy, speaking as a fan who badly wants to see santana end up in queens, is that every conversation i have had, no matter who it is, always ends the same, which is with, ‘well, you never know, things could certainly change.’…ugh…no kidding…
…by the way, this is why i never got in to investigative journalism…i’m a writer who blogs his experience about being a Mets fan, which now happens to include conversations with people who tend to know what’s up on the inside of this organization…and so i write about it…that said, i’m not going out of my way to research a story…i prefer to just sit back and watch it develop…at the same time, when people contact me, or talk, i listen…and then i write…so, if my account of minaya’s pursuit comes off as flip-floppy, or running in circles, that’s because it is…
[poll=31]
Mets GM Omar Minaya and LHP Oliver Perez were guests during last night’s Mets Hot Stove Report on SNY.
To watch a clip of Minaya’s appearance, click here.
…i was able to run down to the studio and ask him a few questions, before he went on air…keep in mind, i was only allowed five minutes…
Matthew Cerrone…
It was reported in the New York Times, towards the end of the season, that Scott Schoeneweis had been pitching with a severed tendon in his knee. Did he have that taken care of?
Omar Minaya…
A tendon issue?
Matthew Cerrone…
Yes, it was reported that he had some sort of knee issue, and that it may have been the cause of his early-season struggles…
Omar Minaya…
Nah, that was something he had before. It was mostly in his leg, it was nothing major and he pitched through it. It was early in the year and he had problems with the knee, but overall he was fine.
Matthew Cerrone…
He was great against lefties. Did you, or will you guys consider using him only against lefties, or…
Omar Minaya…
Well, I think it’s fair to say you wanna use guys where their strengths are. I mean, Willie will have to decide that. But, his numbers against lefties were very, very good, and when we brought him here we knew that. i think we tried to expand him a bit against righties, but overall his success against lefties was very, very good.
Matthew Cerrone…
I know you guys won 88 games last season, and I know you’re proud of that, but the end of the season was obviously disappointing. That being said, what did you learn about yourself and about the job, you know, what could you have done differently, given how difficult that ending had to be.
Omar Minaya…
Yes, the ending was disappointing. When you’re a General Manager, you look back and think, ‘What could I have done different.’ You know, the truth is, Matt, all I can think of is to be very supportive of the manager, and be supportive of the players.
Umm, you know, that’s a good question, though.
I mean, all you can do is put the best team on the field and it always goes back to pitching and defense being so important. You always have to keep improving the pitching, and I’ll always believe that. But, when you look back at our pitching, and when you look at the division, we were probably better off than most teams in the division and our relief pitchers did a good job, they just didn’t do a good job at the end of the season.
Matthew Cerrone…
Lastly, I know you guys gather at the end of the year to create a game-plan for the off-season, and decide how best to improve the club for next season. That said, on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being ‘everything is going perfect, you’re hitting everything out of the park,’ and 1 being ‘everything is going wrong, nothing is working, we’re striking out left and right,’ how do you feel your off-season plan is going so far?
Omar Minaya…
So far, I wanna say that we’re doing fine, that we’re doing good, but at the end of the day, in this market place, there is always a need for that big-name…If we are able to improve our starting pitching, and can go out and get that front-line starter than we can say it’s been a successful winter. So far, it has not, I can say that it has been good, but it could be better.
Matthew Cerrone…
Do you sense the hype from fans, that we want that front-line starting pitcher? Do you feel we expect anything?
Omar Minaya…
I think people expect it, but - we have a very educated fan base - and they understand that in the free-agent market there is not that guy, so the only way to do it is in trade. And, when you’re talking about trades, you know, sometimes it’s just the timing of it that makes it work. You can’t force it. You cannot go out there and give up the whole thing, you know, six or seven players for one guy - and I think most fans understand that, and it makes no sense to give up a Jose Reyes for one of those aces.
Tagged
Omar Minaya |
At Metsradamus, John posts a photo of next year’s newest political team from DC, who, along with Manny Acta, will unite to cause problems for the Mets.
…first off, i’m glad for milledge, as a person, because i think DC and the nationals, with acta, will be a good spot for him to develop…on the other hand, Jim Bowden is his GM, who has some weird addiction to piling up outfielders, who get angry at him because that can’t get enough playing time…i mean, he did it with the Reds, when he formed a logjam with Austin Kearns, Wily Mo Pena, Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey Jr, and refused to trade one of them for pitching, despite having endless opportunities, year after year, to do so…now in DC he has milledge, Elijah Dukes and, again, kearns and pena…
…as for lo duca, i can’t lie, i am a fan and so i am disappointed he ended up in the NL East again…i wish him luck, just not on days he is playing against the Mets…
…for what it’s worth, having talked with a few people who mingled in Nashville, as well as people connected to the team, i believe lo duca’s exit and destination panned out as follows: the Mets were a bit disappointed in him, ranging from how he communicated to the team about his health to his diminishing defensive skills to his public comments about Willie Randolph; at the same time, his agent explained that he was looking for a three- or four-year deal, while the Mets only had mild interest in bringing him back on a one-year deal; so, instead, they took time to look around the market place for a better defensive, younger, short-term catcher; the Mets eventually pursued Yorvit Torrealba, than acquired Brian Schneider; and without the Mets in the market, lo duca’s options dried up, to the extent that he had to weigh one-year deals from the Blue Jays and Nationals, neither of which offered a full-time starting job; and so he latched on in DC, where he’ll get the bulk of playing time alongside Jesus Flores…
Tagged
Paul Lo Duca |
According to the Arizona Republic, the D’Backs have added dollars, not years, to their initial three-year, $27 million contract proposal to Japanese free-agent RHP Hiroki Kuroda.
…as i had been writing for a while now, the buzz around kuroda 
had been that he’ll seek around $45 million…i assume that’d be for four years, but maybe it’ll be over three…
Last week in the New York Post, Mark Hale wrote that the Mets once had ‘legitimate interest’ in Kuroda, and even reached the ‘second round of bidding,’ but, ‘as it turned out,’ they are no longer ‘of the four finalists.’
…additionally, the buzz around kuroda has long been that while the Royals, Mets and Cubs may have interest, he prefers to pitch on the West Coast…though they said the same thing about Kei Igawa, last off-season, who ended up pitching for the Yankees…
According to MLB.com, Kuroda is seeking a four-year deal.
For more on Kuroda, check out ArmChair GM.
By the way, Japanese free-agent OF Kosuke Fukudome told the Associated Press on Tuesday that he will sign his next contract with a team in MLB.
…it was sounding like a forgone conclusion from people in Nashville that he would eventually sign a deal with the Padres or Cubs, though i suspect his official decision to play in America may now draw in a few new teams…
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