Wednesday, November 11, 2009

The Nationals have chosen Jim Riggleman over Bobby Valentine to be their manager today, according to MLB.com.

…i hope to see valentine manage the Mets again some day, which you can read more about here… but, i do find it interesting that he was not selected by the Indians, Nationals or Astros, all of whom hired new managers since he returned from Japan… i assume it is mostly because of money… nevertheless, he is still available… so, if the Mets get off to a rocky start, and Jerry Manuel is being questioned, i have to think the local drums will again begin to beat for valentine…

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Jon Heyman of SI.com believes the Tigers might also look to trade C-3B Brandon Inge, in addition to Jackson and Granderson.

…and with that, there is only one thing to say… i like inge… a lot…

Inge hit just .230, .205 and .236 each of the last three seasons, but hit 27 HR last season with 84 RBI, while striking out 170 times.

The 32–year-old Inge will earn $6.6 million next season, after which he can be a free agent.

… i don’t think he’s a catcher any more… he’s had a variety of knee issues over the last few seasons, leading him to play 161 games at third base last season, zero at catcher… also, he strikes out like he’s wearing a blind-fold at times… i’ve never seen anything like it, actually…

Original Post, 5:03 pm:

The New York Post and ESPN say the Tigers are shopping OF Curtis Granderson, who will earn $26 million over the next three seasons.

To read more from this post, click here.

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According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, Omar Minaya is extremely interested in free-agent OF Matt Holliday.”

However, Heyman believes the Mets are still unsure whether to spend so much money on one player, or if they should spread the money around in an effort to patch multiple holes.

…well, i guess that would depend on how much they have to spend… i mean, if they are only willing to spend $20 million, then, sure, i see the dilemma… however, if they have $40 million to spend, then i don’t understand why they can’t do both…

…frankly, i still believe this is just a lot of posturing and dancing around, so not to seem desperate to any one team or agent…

To read more from Heyman, including, among other things, Omar Minaya’s thoughts on Chone Figgins, the Mets interest in Joel Pineiro, and whether the Braves will trade Derek Lowe, click here.

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The Boston Globe quotes Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos as saying he has no issue making a trade with a team in his division.

“We’re trying to worry about the Toronto Blue Jays and what makes us a better team,” Anthopoulos said.

Original Post, 10:17 am:

Jon Heyman of SI.com quotes a person with the Padres as saying, though he wouldn’t totally rule out Omar Minaya’s chances of trading for 1B Adrian Gonzalez, “it wouldn’t be easy.”

To read more from this post, click here.

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Joel Sherman of the New York Post says, ‘The Mets are absolutely in on Chone Figgins,’ according to the words of an involved party.

…like sherman says, having Jose Reyes, figgins and Carlos Beltran at the top of the order would allow for a lot of creative baseball in Citi Field…

In the poll at the end of this post, 53 percent of people who voted said Figgins is not worth $10 million per season.

Original Post, 12:57 pm:

Jon Heyman of SI.com believes the Mets and Phillies will be competing for free-agent 3B Chone Figgins.

Heyman says the Mets feel Figgins can play left field and second base.

To read more from this post, click here.

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Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com believes the Blue Jays and Mariners have discussed sending 1B Lyle Overbay to Seattle.

Earlier this week, Rosenthal said the Mets approached the Blue Jays about acquiring Overbay as part of a three-way sending Luis Castillo to the Cubs.

According to MLB.com, last month, the D’Backs and Blue Jays discussed swapping Overbay for C Chris Snyder, who Joel Sherman of the New York Post said the Mets tried to acquire this week in exchange for Castillo.

…jeez, it sounds like omar keeps busting up potential deals… he obviously has ideas… i look forward to seeing this all play out… in either case, i think it’s pretty clear the Mets are working hard to trade castillo, just like the Jays are trying to move overbay, the D’Backs want to move snyder, and the Cubs would like to move Milton Bradley… good luck, guys…

The 32–year-old Overbay hit .265 with a .372 OBP, 16 HR and 35 doubles in 132 games for the Blue Jays in 2009.

He will earn $7 million in 2010, after which he can be a free agent.

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In a post to his new Twitter feed, Buster Olney of ESPN.com says the Reds are preparing to unload players.

“They’ll probably have to tie valuable young players to expensive veterans in order to move salary,” he explains.

…hmmm… i wonder if there is a way for the Mets to acquire Brandon Phillips and one of those pitchers, while giving up prospects and a player like Luis Castillo, which would end up being a net-gain in terms of money on Cincinatti’s end…

Original Post, 2:02 pm:

Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse believes the Reds could look to trade 2B Brandon Phillips or pitchers Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang, as they try to cut payroll for 2010, according to a major league source.

…i would love to see phillips starting at second base for the Mets… he’s a spray hitter, but will also hit 15 to 20 home runs… he’s a smart baserunner and he’s aggressive… and, though he is not the best defensive second baseman, he’s better than Luis Castillo…

Phillips will earn $6.75 million in 2010 and $11 million in 2011, after which he can be made a free agent, or the team can pick up a $12 million option for 2012.

…even at that money, in terms of production, defense and his position, i think phillips is bargain… more important, he is consistent… because of the way he handles the bat, and the fact that he hits left-handed pitching well, he tends to do the same thing, month after month, never dominant, rarely in a funk, he has never been on the disabled list, ever, and i think the Mets could benefit from that type of sound, balanced, reliable player…

In 2002, when he was GM of the Expos, and there was talk of Montreal being ‘contracted,’ Minaya traded Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Phillips, who were all prospects at the time, to the Indians for Bartolo Colon.

Speaking of second base, in a post to Amazin Avenue, Sam Page asks, “Is Orlando Hudson the answer at second base?”

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Carlos Beltran was a guest on WFAN this morning, working to promote his charity gala in San Juan on Nov. 21, which will raise money for his Foundation.

To listen to Beltran’s entire interview, go to WFAN.com.

During the interview, Beltran said his knee is feeling good.

“Last year for us was bad,” he said, noting that it was the first time he has ever seen a team forced to deal with that many injuries in one season.

Nevertheless, Beltran said, even as is, he believes the team has enough talent to compete with the Phillies.

Beltran said he has never and will never lobby the front office to acquire specific players.

He said there is no truth to rumors of a cultural divide in the Mets clubhouse.

“We have a great group of guys, and when things go wrong people pick on things,” he explained.  “I don’t think that is the problem.  The problem last year was a lot of people got injured, and we didn’t accomplish our goal.”

Beltran said he is happy being on the Mets. 

“That first year was difficult for me,” he said, having come from Kansas City to New York.  “Now, I love it.”

“It makes me push myself to the limit, and you have to play at a certain level, and that’s good, because the people here are very demanding, they’re passionate and I love the pressure.  I honestly do.”

He says, it’s not that he didn’t like New York at first, he just wasn’t prepared, noting, “There was a learning process for me.”

Beltran said he only watched three games of the World Series.  He hopes the Mets use what the Yankees did as motivation. 

He talked to Jose Reyes two days ago.  Beltran says Reyes is doing great, not feeling pain, and he will be ready for next season.

The radio host, joking around, asked Beltran if he is bothered by the amount of time Mike Pelfrey spends licking himself on the mound.

Beltran laughed, and said:

“You know what, he’s crazy.  But, he’s a great guy.  Brother, he works hard.  I have never met a pitcher who works as hard as he works… But, everybody’s different.  I make fun of him when he does that, though.”

In the end, Beltran said, each of the last three seasons are equally disappointing, because, “When you are not able to accomplish something you know and the team knows you can do, it’s frustrating.”

To learn more about the Carlos Beltran Foundation, go here; and to follow him on Twitter, click here.

To listen to Beltran’s entire interview, go to WFAN.com.

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Adam Wainwright told KSLG Radio in St. Louis that Matt Holliday will eventually re-sign with the Cardinals, adding:

“I think he’ll be back… I know Matt, I know his family, and I know he wants to back.  It’s going to take a perfect situation to get him to leave.”

…hat tip to Rotoworld for the link and quote…

In a post to his blog for the New York Post, Joel Sherman explains why he believes the battle for Holliday will come down to the Mets and Cardinals.

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