Daily Archives: December 26, 2007
At MLB.com, Marty Noble conducts a light-hearted Holiday Q&A with Mets RHP Joe Smith, who, when asked what we wants for Christmas, says, “A call from Carrie Underwood.”
…by the way, in case you’re wondering, and i suspect you are, pitchers and catchers is seven weeks ago…
…i have been sent a few e-mails and IMs today asking about the state of talks regarding Johan Santana…
…frankly, it’s quiet - and though i have talked with people connected to santana, as well as people connected to the 
teams involved, nothing has really changed all that much…
For a wild ride, click here and read back on all of this off-season’s Santana posts from MetsBlog.
…as i have been saying for weeks, though - and like others have started writing today - the Twins want Phil Hughes from the Yankees…plain and simple…it doesn’t matter if he is paired with Ian Kennedy…it’s all about hughes…the problem, though, is that Brian Cashman has no interest in trading him…
…my sense is that the Twins are simply baiting the Yankees in to giving up hughes by flirting with the Red Sox…i mean, on two occasions during the last two weeks, people close to santana were under the impression that he was inches from heading to boston…yet, nothing happened…i even heard a rumor that santana had rejected a deal to the Red Sox, which people connected to him have denied…to me, that stinks of minnesota-spin, hoping it would shake out hughes…and so far, it hasn’t…
…meanwhile, boston’s current offer is about as far as they’re willing to go…frankly, the sense i get, as i have written time and time again, is that the Red Sox are only really interested in santana to the extent that the Yankees are interested in santana, and vice-a-versa…which, as a Mets fan, is quite frustrating…i mean, if he can be had for a minimal-effort package, i’m sure the Yankees and Sox would happily take him, but if santana is going to cost a major talent i believe these two teams would just as soon see him on the Mets…
…again, as i have said before, the Mets best bargaining chip is a) santana wanting to be in the National League, specifically on the Mets, and b) the Twins preferring he be out of the American League…the thing is, above all else, including which league he ends up in, the Twins have to get back some serious talent, which is why they’re most likely going to milk this while trying every possible way to get a player like hughes before they’re forced to make an ultimate decision - be it with the Mets, Red Sox, or whomever…
…honestly, the team i worry about is the Angels…i have not heard them mentioned at all, and have no real reason to fear them, but they’ve been so quiet - and they have the young talent and money to make a deal happen…
…as i said a while back, from what i can tell, if santana doesn’t end up on the Mets, it most likely means that either a) he and the Mets could not agree to the terms of a contract extension, b) the Twins simply chose to keep him for one more opening day, or c) the Twins had no choice but to skip over the Mets to accept a much-better offer that they couldn’t refuse, like getting hughes from the Yankees, and santana did not stand in their way, which all is still very possible…
According to Buster Olney at ESPN.com, free-agent RHP Mark Prior has agreed to sign with the Padres.
…Update…1:37 pm…
The deal is for one year, reports Ken Rosenthal at FOXSports.com.
Last week at ESPN.com, Olney explained that Prior may prefer San Diego because he currently lives there, which could be 
appealing, ‘in what figures to be a transitional year in his career.’
Prior was born in San Diego, and attended Southern Cal.
Meanwhile, later that day, also for ESPN.com, Jerry Crasnick added…
“San Diego is a natural fit for Prior, for lots of reasons other than the weather. Prior went to high school in the city and his family still lives there. Petco Park is a great pitchers’ park, and San Diego’s coaching and training staff has a reputation for working well with pitchers.”
In six relief appearances for the Mets last September, LHP Willie Collazo allowed four runs through 5.2 innings pitched.
…for what it’s worth, collazo has so far been used as a starting pitcher during this winter’s Dominican League…
In 11 appearances, one in relief, 10 as a starting pitcher, Collazo is 3–2 with a 3.02 ERA, during which opponents are hitting .301 against him.
…thanks to bill for the stats…
At Faith and Fear in Flushing, Greg Prince 
compares today’s cartoonish, ‘post-Seinfeld’ Keith Hernandez to the ‘pre-Seinfeld’ version who played for the Mets.
…i understand what greg is saying…i just assume that keith defeated many of the demons that troubled him during his younger days…and for that i am happy for him…i mean, sure, i miss the disturbed, serious, hard-working ball player from the 1980s, but i also miss seeing new episodes of Cheers every Thursday…things change, you know…which is why i just enjoy knowing that keith is happy, and just being himself…even if he is a bit goofy at times…frankly, as long as he has the mustache and fur coat, which he does, he’s still an icon to me…
…please answer the following question, while considering the team’s ownership, current management, talent, minor-league system, and new stadium and network, etc…
[poll=36]
Tagged Poll |Over the weekend, O’s Pres. Andy McPhail told reporters that it is very unlikely that his team will trade LHP Erik 
Bedard before opening day, reports the Baltimore Sun.
According to the report, the Reds will not include top outfield-prospect Jay Bruce in a deal for Bedard, while the Mariners remain unwilling to trade OF Adam Jones or RHP Brandon Morrow.
…as i wrote during the Winter Meetings, the O’s had been shopping bedard in hopes of getting back a very specific set of talent, and would just as soon start the season with him now, allowing more time to try and work on a contract extension, than trade him just to trade him for parts and pieces…my sense that when the Dodgers signed Hiroki Kuroda, and refused to trade Matt Kemp or Jonathan Broxton, bedard was essentially off the table…
The Mets had offered Aaron Heilman, Carlos Gomez and Philip Humber to the O’s for Bedard during early December, according to ESPN.com and MLB.com, among others, but it was rejected.
In the Journal News, Mike Dougherty takes a closer look at the wonderful off-field charity work being done by the Mets and Yankees, as well as other local sports teams, not just during the holiday season but all year long.
…i’m actually quite impressed by how much charity work is done by these players, aside from their work with the team…
…for instance, David Wright held his Foundation’s Gala in early December, Jose Reyes recently conducted a charity event in the Dominican Republic to help build Little League fields, and Carlos Beltran just wrapped up an event for his charity last Friday, just to name a few…
At Y2K: Promote the Curse, Sippy takes a look back at the 
year that was, not just at Shea, but also in music, movies and YouTube clips.
John, from Metstradamus, sends along a Christmas wish, courtesy of Derek Bell.
Lastly, David from MetsMerized Online cites a quote from Mathematically Alive, i.e., ‘the Mets fan documentary,’ to help point out a parallel between baseball and life.
…by the way, to learn more about Mathematically Alive, or to purchase a DVD, click the icon in this site’s left sidebar…
