Daily Archives: July 28, 2008
In a report for Newsday, in which he explains why Manny Ramirez is not an option for the Mets, Ken Davidoff writes 
that the Mets ‘appear’ to have the most interest in Mariners OF Raul Ibanez.
However, according to Jon Heyman at SI.com, the Mariners have been asking for LHP Jon Niese, whom the Mets consider to be ‘untouchable.’
The thing is, as Joel Sherman writes in a report for the New York Post, “Rival clubs describe the Mets as making too many prospects untouchable, which also severely diminishes the chances for a trade.”
According to Sherman, not only are Niese and Fernando Martinez considered ‘untouchable,’ so are RHP Robert Parnell, RHP Eddie Kunz and 3B-2B Dan Muprhy.
Sherman also discusses Ramirez, Jason Bay and why the Mets may be willing to trade Mike Carp.
…from what i can gather, the Mariners were scouting the Mets all weekend at Shea Stadium, which would suggest a deal for ibanez may not only include minor-leaguers…
The left-handed hitting Ibanez, 35, is batting .275 with 14 HR and 61 RBI for the Mariners this season, while hitting .307 against lefties and .262 against righties.
…not that i want him, and not that the Mets even have room for him, but i wonder, if the Mets were to take on Jose Vidro and his $8.5 million contract, could they get ibanez and vidro from seattle while giving up less talent in return…
Speaking on Niese, Joey DeMayo has a good Q&A with the left-handed prospect up at NYBaseballDigest.com.
Tagged Randy Winn, Raul Ibanez |In yesterday’s New York Post, Jay Greenberg wrote:
“The Yankees beat the Mets to Xavier Nady.”
…in other words, they got to him first and made the trade…
…frankly, that’s a very disingenuous way 
of framing why Yankees GM Brian Cashman acquired nady and why Mets GM Omar Minaya did not…
For instance, in Sunday’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Dejean Kovacevic writes:
“If the Pirates could have traded Nady and Marte straight up for Jose Tabata last winter, Pirates GM Neal Huntington said, ‘We would have done it in a heartbeat.’”
…the Yankees acquired nady because they offered a better package of prospects, whom the Pirates were very excited to get…the Yankees did not ‘get’ nady because cashman was quicker to the draw, or because he beat minaya in some sort of virtual foot race to the finish line, which, frankly, should be rather insulting to the Pirates…as if they’re going to only conduct business based on who knocks upon their door first…
…also, from what i can gather, the Mets totally backed off their pursuit of nady when the Pirates would not relent in their request of Jon Niese…and so, the Mets turned their attention to Casey Blake, who was subsequently traded to the Dodgers…
[poll id="147"]
On Saturday, FOX reported that Red Sox GM Theo Epstein would explore trade options if Manny Ramirez would be willing to waive his no-trade rights.
Yesterday, Ramirez told ESPN that he will not object if the Red Sox decide to trade him, i.e., he will waive his no-trade clause.
Ramirez, as quoted by ESPN, said:
“Boston is not stupid. They’re not going to do it, they can say whatever they want. But when it comes to making a deal they’re not going to pull the trigger because they know what they’ve got here. I’m happy, but enough is enough.”
In the Star-Ledger, in-the-know Dan Graziano writes that talk of trading Ramirez ‘might be more serious than it’s been in the past.’
According to Graziano, citing an ‘official with one of the teams involved,’ the Mets and the Phillies are both in ‘serious pursuit’ of Ramirez, ‘but a deal was probably too complicated to get completed before Thursday’s deadline.’
That said, in SI.com, Jon Heyman writes, “While Mets GM Omar Minaya is a longtime admirer (of Ramirez), it appears the Mets have little or no interest.”
In the Daily News, Adam Rubin writes that team officials do not foresee any dialogue taking place with Boston regarding Ramirez.
Lastly, according to Jason Stark in a post on ESPN.com, citing a Phillies official, there is ‘no substance whatsoever’ to any rumors involving Ramirez and the Phillies as well.
…my hunch is that ramirez sticks with boston…but, i would not be surprised to see these talks spike up again in august, since manny is a prime candidate for passing through waivers, and thus getting squeaked through in a deal after the deadline…
Just a reminder, the non-waiver Trade Deadline is set to expire at 4 pm on Thursday, July 31.
Yesterday, at Mets Minor League Blog, Toby Hyde talks with Ike Davis, asking the outfielder about his favorite TV show, music and food, among other things.
According to Davis, his favorite athletes are Deion Sanders, Steve Finley, Kevin Johnson and Barry Bonds.
…neon deion and bonds…oh, boy…now that’s a combination…
…i’m gonna like this ike davis, i can tell…
Jerry Manuel told reporters yesterday that Pedro Martinez will first need to pitch either a bullpen session or to batters in practice prior to officially returning to the mound for the Mets, which could happen as early as Friday against the Astros.
…the word from shea is that pedro will pitch workout this week in Port St. Lucie, then meet up with the team as it leave Miami for Houston…when he starts, though, has yet to be determined…
However, Manuel noted, the Mets could also choose to skip Martinez - and the need for a fifth starter altogether – since they have an off day on Thursday.
Tagged Pedro Martinez | Newer posts →
