Daily Archives: December 13, 2007
The Mets have issued the following statement, regarding today’s release of the Mitchell Report…
“The Mets support Major League Baseball’s ongoing efforts to eliminate the use of illegal performance enhancing substances. We fully cooperated in the Mitchell investigation and commend the Senator for his efforts in issuing his report.”
…i suspect every team is making essentially the same statement…the thing is, after listening to Sen. George Mitchell, it’s fairly clear that every level of the game, short of scouts, frankly, are responsible for the mess they find themselves in today…even we, the fans and media, need to accept a certain amount of responsibility…fact is, this all happened, and all of us need to just forgive and move on, learn from the past, but never forget what transpired to insure that it never happens again…
The goal of the following is to keep Johan Santana from the Twins, while putting him on the Mets.
…thanks to wrightnreyes0507 for creating this game, and sending it to me…well done, man…nice work…
…Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte are mentioned in the Mitchell Report…clemens and pettitte were on the Yankees when they beat the Mets during the 2000 World Series…
…as such, several people have e-mailed suggesting 
that the Yankees should forfeit their trophy…
…clever, but you’ve got to be kidding…i mean, it’s not like the people mentioned in this report are the only people to ever purchase and potentially use steroids…i think it’s fair to speculate that more than a few back-up players from the 2000 Mets were also involved in steroids…and that’s the problem with this list…it only confirms suspicion, it hardly proves guilt, since no actual tests were taken and failed…
…seriously, if you think that only these 50 or so people were involved in this scandal, and not other players who you and i personally cheered for during the same time frame, you’re not being fair…
SNY has been running continuous coverage of The Mitchell Report’s release all afternoon.
To watch Jim Duquette discuss the Report, click here.
To hear Mitchell break down the investigation, click here.
Lenny Dykstra, Todd Hundley, Mark Carreon, Matt Franco, Todd Pratt, Mo Vaughn, Mike Stanton, Scott Schoeneweis and Paul Lo Duca, among others, are all mentioned in The Mitchell Report, which you can download at SNY.
In the section dealing with players who had been in contact with Kirk Randomski, the Report reads…
“Radomski has known Hundley since 1988, when Radomski worked for the Mets and Hundley played in the Mets’ minor league system. Radomski stated that, beginning in 1996, he sold Deca-Durabolin and testosterone to Hundley on three or four occasions. At the beginning of that year, Radomski told Hundley that if he used steroids, he would hit 40 home runs. Hundley hit 41 home runs in 1996, having never hit more than 16 in any prior year…
“In order to provide Hundley with information about these allegations and to give him an opportunity to respond, I asked him to meet with me; he declined.
“Todd Hundley referred Lo Duca to Radomski when Lo Duca played for the Dodgers. Radomski estimated that he engaged in six or more transactions with Lo Duca. In some transactions, Radomski sent the performance enhancing substances by overnight mail to Lo Duca’s home or to the Dodgers clubhouse and Lo Duca sent Radomski a check a week or so later.
“Radomski produced copies of three checks from Lo Duca, each in the amount of $3,200. All are included in the Appendix. Radomski said that each check was in payment for two kits of human growth hormone. Lo Duca’s name, with an address and telephone number, is listed in the address book seized from Radomski’s residence by federal agents. In order to provide Lo Duca with information about these allegations and to give him an opportunity to respond, I asked him to meet with me; he declined.”
Other noteworthy names who are mentioned include Brian Roberts, Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, Chuck Knoblauch, Barry Bonds, Miguel Tejada, and Kevin Brown.
Tagged Paul Lo Duca, Steroids |
According to FoxSports.com, the Blue Jays and free-agent SS David Eckstein are close to agreeing on a one-year, $4.5 million contract.
…first off, back when eckstein was linked to the Mets, the talk was that he had been seeking a similar, but more expensive, deal than the four-year, $24 million given to Luis Castillo…turns out, he gets a one-year, $4.5 million deal…yes, that’s a big difference…fact is, though, the market for his services shrunk, so much so that i am not surprised he had to take a one-year deal…the Mets could not have had eckstein back in november for the same one-year deal, when there were other options and destinations available…the Mets didn’t want to take a chance on waiting, though, so they locked up castillo as quick as they could…i still have no problem with castillo the player, it’s the four-year deal i don’t understand…
…from what i could gather, eckstein essentially turned down the Mets, a) because they were not willing to give him more than castillo, on years and dollars, and b) because he was a bit apprehensive about switching back to second…so, it sounded to me like both sides only had minimal interest at best…
…thanks to jason b for the link…
According to Jerry Crasnick at ESPN.com, as of right now, the 
Phillies have the fourth-best lineup in baseball, behind only the Tigers, Yankees and Red Sox.
Crasnick believes the Rockies are second to the Phillies.
As of now, the Phillies will go to battle with the following:
1. Jimmy Rollins
2. Shave Victorino
3. Chase Utley
4. Ryan Howard
5. Pat Burrell
6. Jayson Werth
7. Wes Helms or Greg Dobbs
8. Carlos Ruiz
9. Pitcher
Meanwhile, the Mets current lineup should look as follows:
1. Jose Reyes
2. Luis Castillo
3. David Wright
4. Carlos Beltran
5. Carlos Delgado
6. Moises Alou
7. Ryan Church
8. Brian Schneider
9. Pitcher
…i don’t particularly care for these sort of arguments, frankly, a) because it’s December, and b) because we’ll know definitively who has the better lineup when these guys actually start swinging at pitches in a few months…
…that said, i’m more than happy with the Mets offense, which is fairly balanced and traditional…i believe delgado is going to have a better year than last – not much better, but better – and i like the idea of an older, wiser beltran settling in to the clean-up spot, with three hard runners with good instincts at the top of the order…additionally, i’d take alou and church over werth and helms any day…
According to ESPN The Magazine’s Shaun Assael, Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte will be mentioned in the Mitchell Report, which will be released to the public later this afternoon.
According to Bob Klapisch in the Bergen Record, citing ‘an industry official,’ no Mets from their current 40-man roster are named in the report
…however, i’m picking up some buzz suggesting that this may not be true, as i have heard two names that could be mentioned, one of which we know about already…i prefer to not discuss the potential players, though, until the list is actually made public…additionally, there will certainly be players who once played for the Mets, who will be on the list…
Tagged Steroids |On Tuesday, MetsBlog asked if the Mets should trade Carlos Gomez, Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra to the Twins for Johan Santana, who will also require a seven-year contract, and 58 percent of the 3,700 respondents said, ‘Yes, make the trade.’
…as i have said, the way i keep hearing it, the Twins want gomez and four pitchers…
Meanwhile, at his blog for the Daily News, Adam Rubin recalled a story he wrote while in Nashville that lists Aaron Heilman as the fourth 
pitcher in question.
So, yesterday, MetsBlog swapped out Guerra for Aaron Heilman, and 64 percent of the 4,200 respondents said, ‘Yes, make the trade.’
…which means either a) we would would rather keep guerra than heilman, which i have a hard time believing is the case, or b) most fans just want santana more now than earlier in the week, and are willing to do what’s necessary to get it done…
…as i have said, i think i’d pull the trigger on the pitcher-heavy package, while keeping fernando, and adding Johan Santana to John Maine and Oliver Perez for the next few seasons…i realize this will cripple the farm system, for now, while also creating a hole in the bullpen…but, if the Mets do not think pelfrey and humber can develop in to a pitcher like santana, who is only 29 years old, then they must pull the trigger since they will always be able to sign a back-end starter on the open market…it’s the ace they can’t find…
…added to by Mike Nichols…
…i agree with cerrone, but i wouldn’t have the hesitation to pull the trigger that he or Mets management do…adding santana at that cost is a no-brainer to me…yes, gomez and martinez, plus the additional pitching prospects is a very hefty price, but, seriously, you’ve got to believe gomez and martinez have more of a chance ending up like Preston Wilson and Alex Escobar than Darryl Strawberry and David Wright…sure, we could sit here and wait for the next few seasons for pelfrey, humber and mulvey to develop into the Mets next influx of pitching stars, but they could also turn out to be the next Generation K…
…if ever there was a time to pull the trigger, it’s now – and the Mets shouldn’t look back when doing it…
Tagged Poll |Senator George Mitchell’s 20-month steroids investigation will be released at 2 pm today at a news conference in New York City.
MLB commissioner Bud Selig will hold a follow-up news conference around 4:30 pm.
The list of players who are referenced in the report will be posted on MLB.com at 2 pm.
According to Bob Klapisch in the Bergen Record, citing ‘an industry official,’ no Mets from their current 40-man roster are named in the report. However, ‘several prominent Yankees will be named, writes Klapisch.
…this is going to be an awkward and embarrassing day for MLB, to say the least…frankly, i sense that most fans don’t really care, at least to the extent that attendance will suffer…
…i mean, it’s hardly news at this point that baseball players did steroids during the last 10 or so years…
…personally, i’m far more interested in the report’s recommendations about how to keep this from ever happening again…i’m also eager to see what role, if any, the league and the teams played in all of this…
…that said, i am a bit curious to see how MLB treats the active players who are listed, because there will not be proof that any player actually used the drugs, or failed a test, the report will only show that they were ordered or purchased…which will make punishment a bit tricky…
At his blog for Newsday, Ken Davidoff lists five questions he would like to ask Mitchell and Selig while traveling around New York between press conferences today.
Tagged Steroids |Last night, 43 new players joined the free-agent market after being non-tendered by their former team, including:
RHP Mark Prior, 3B Dallas McPherson, RHP Kiko Calero, RHP Josh Towers, RHP Akinori Otsuka, OF Emil Brown, RHP Chad Durbin, SS Adam Everett, OF Kevin Mench, 2B Aaron Miles, LHP Mark Hendrickson, C Miguel Olivo, 3B Morgan Ensberg, OF Jason Lane and 1B Brad Eldred.
For a complete list, go to MLB.com.
…in several cases, like with prior, there is a good chance he ends up just re-signing with the old team, most likely with a minor-league contract…
In 236 career relief appearances, for Texas and San Diego, Otsuka has a 2.44 ERA having struck out 217 batters through 232 innings pitched.
He finished the year with an ERA under 3.00 during three of his four major-league seasons.
…during last year’s trade deadline, there had been a lot of buzz around baseball linking the Mets, Braves, Phillies, Tigers and Brewers to otsuka…
…otsuka would be an interesting addition to the Mets bullpen, since he is quirky, disciplined and keeps the ball down in the zone…however, his mysterious arm and elbow injury, which is said to be much better of late, is a bit alarming, which is clearly why he was non-tendered…
…he’s intriguing, as is prior, calero, hendrickson, and a few others, though i’m not on board with guaranteeing any money or roster spots to any of these guys, frankly…
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