Daily Archives: November 29, 2009
In a report in today’s Daily News, Anthony McCarren and Bill Madden suggest that a bidding war is on tap between the Yankees and Red Sox for Roy Halladay.
…interesting how the Mets aren’t mentioned at all here, yet i think they have the money and the prospects to get a deal done for Doc, and they were the one’s that swooped in and landed Johan Santana two years ago over these two clubs…not that one has anything to do with the other, but it’s possible that the Mets are quietly pursuing Doc at the moment…
McCarren and Madden believe that for the Yankees to acquire Halladay, the centerpiece of the deal would have to be Jesus Montero, who scouts believe can hit 40 home runs in the Major Leagues, and would also likely have to part with another prospect such as Austin Jackson and either Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain.
…one thing that i do know is the Yankees do an outstanding job at hyping up their prospects…Montero did have a good season for single-A Tampa, but he is just 18 and has a long way to go…
On the flip side, McCarren and Madden wonder if the Yankees would be willing to part with such talent and then sign Halladay to a five year extension in the range that both Johan Santana and CC Sabathia signed for, and potentially be paying both Halladay and Sabathia $46 million when both are over 34 years of age.
…it’s the same reservation i have with the Mets acquiring him…it’s a scary proposition to be paying Halladay the bulk of the contract after age 36…if he would be willing to take a shorter term contract, say in the five year range with an option based on merit, i’d be somewhat more comfortable…
…the one thing that Boston and both New York teams need to consider is this very problem…the question isn’t how he will perform in the next three seasons, it’s how he will perform in the seasons that follow and whether or not he will be effective, let alone productive…when it comes to talent that Doc possesses, i’m not really concerned that he will flame out all of a sudden, but the risk, at that dollar amount, has to be considered for anyone that wants to acquire him…
For more on Halladay and the Red Sox and Yankees, take a look at the Daily News here.
Tagged Roy Halladay |
Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe says Derek Lowe wants to stay in Atlanta, and doesn’t want to be traded.
According to Cafardo, the Braves haven’t told Lowe anything regarding a trade, but he has heard to buzz in the media about the Braves looking to deal him for offense, telling Cafardo:
“I know they have holes they want to fill, and I know, from my perspective, when you pitch as poorly as I pitched, and given the caliber of the starting pitchers we have, I wouldn’t be surprised by something like that…But in terms of whether someone called me to tell me, ‘Would you be interested in being traded somewhere?’ No, I haven’t received that call.’’
…i like Lowe and believe he was the better choice than re-signing Oliver Perez a year ago, but his last two months worry me…i don’t see a scenario where the Braves would trade Lowe to the Mets or any team in the National League East…i’m not sure at this point, the commitment to dollars or the cost in talent is worth acquiring Lowe anyway…
Lowe, who does not have a no-trade clause in his current four year, $60 million contract, went 15-10 with a 4.67 ERA for Atlanta in 2009, but pitched poorly in August and September despite going 5-3.
Meanwhile, Cafardo says that while a lot of teams are interested in Carl Crawford, there may come a time when “Rays ownership bites the bullet and says this is one player they need to keep and works out a long-term commitment.”
…what this comes down to is how much Crawford will ultimately command and whether or not the Rays can afford him, so i’m not sure if Tampa has the ability to just ‘bite the bullet’ so to speak…it wouldn’t be wise to commit all available funds to Crawford if they intend to retain guys like Evan Longoria and Matt Garza for a long period of time, because then they will be handcuffed by a commitment to Crawford with no depth around him…
For more on Lowe, Crawford and other buzz from around the Majors, check out Cafardo’s article here.
In a post to his blog for Newsday, Ken Davidoff says that free agent Yorvit Torrealba is keeping contact with the Rockies, but has also spoken to the Giants and Blue Jays.
In addition, Davidoff says both the Marlins and Rays “are on the periphery.”
…Torrealba would be a good fit for the Mets but given what happened a couple of years ago when they pulled their contract offer and Torrealba apparently still being upset over the ordeal, I would be amazed if the Mets jumped into these sweepstakes…
For more on Torrealba, check out Davidoff’s post here.
Tagged Yorvit Torrealba |
Roberto Alomar is eligible for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010, and despite his struggles after his arrival in New York, I think he was undoubtedly a Hall of Fame caliber player.
I thought the trade that brought Alomar to the Mets was a great move by Steve Phillips at the time, as I felt he would bring a combination of great defense and all around offense to a lineup that desperately needed it in 2002, but I never would have predicted his skills would diminish the way they did when he arrived in Flushing, even though he was 34 at the time of the trade.
I remember he had one standout game for the Mets and it came in April, 2002 against the Expos when he hit two home runs and I remember thinking that he had finally broken out of his early season haze and he would be fine the rest of the way.
I was wrong – Alomar was nothing more than mediocre at best both offensively and defensively for the Mets, and the trade proved to be a bust in the end.
None the less, I think Alomar was the standard of excellence at second base and he has ten gold gloves to prove it. He also was a 12 time All Star with four silver slugger awards, finished in the top ten for the batting crown five times, and despite not winning an MVP award, he finished in the top ten in voting five times.
He also finished with two World Championship rings and an even .300 career average with over 2700 hits and 1100 RBI, proving to me that he was an offensive force throughout his career.
Tagged Roberto Alomar |
Joe D from MetsMerized Online is happy Bud Selig is stepping down as commissioner in three years.
…i don’t really know how i feel about it…i think i am indifferent, but then again, i do feel that baseball needs fresh blood with fresh ideas on how to continue to evolve the game, not to say that baseball isn’t doing well today…
…i wonder what all of this means for Pete Rose…
Speaking of commissioners, Mike from New York Baseball Digest thinks baseball needs another Kenesaw Mountain Landis.
Meanwhile, Andrew from The Ropolitans polled his readers, and they chose Matt Holliday as their choice for the Mets to sign this winter.
Finally, in a post to Mets Today, Joe Janish wonders what bat the Mets might have to offer in a deal for Roy Halladay.
