Daily Archives: January 23, 2010
According to the New York Post, Giants C Bengie Molina said during a conference call he would have joined the Mets had committed to another guaranteed year on their offer.
Molina told reporters:
“We were very clear with them at the beginning and very clear with them at the end, when nothing happened…I don’t understand why they didn’t want to commit to another year, with my numbers and my experience and things like that.”
…well, Bengie, i think it has something to do with the fact that you’re in your middle to late 30s, and that usually spells trouble for catchers…
Molina also told reporters he felt the Giants have a better chance at making it to the playoffs in 2010 than the Mets do.
…i thought if the Mets would have landed Molina, they would have had one of the more formidable lineups in the league going into the season…that was of course until Carlos Beltran became sidelined…in the end, he can say whatever he wants, but the Mets made what i felt was a more than competitive offer, and i didn’t think it was unreasonable to make a 30-something catcher earn his second year by simply staying on the field all season…he thought otherwise, so good luck, Bengie…
Molina hit .265 with a career-high 20 home runs and 80 RBI with San Francisco in 2009, and is returning to the Giants on a one-year, $4.5 million deal plus incentives.
According to Bruce Miles of the Chicago Daily Herald, while the Cubs might be the favorite to land free agent RHP Ben Sheets, his current asking price is too high for them.
Miles says the two sides are no where near an agreement, as Sheets current asking price is a one-year deal ranging from $6 million to $12 million which is out of the Cubs price range.
…i think those figures are out of the price range for most teams, although the low end of the range is more in line with what i think he will ultimately sign for…i can’t imagine any team would invest anywhere close to his high range as a base salary after he missed all of last year, plus his durability issues before then…
In a poll to MetsBlog this past week, out of 7,386 votes that were cast, 4,401 people said the Mets should make a competitive offer and hope for the best (60%), 2,251 people said the Mets should overspend to land him (30%), and 732 people said the Mets should look elsewhere or go in-house (10%).
…the upside to bringing Sheets on-board is VERY intriguing, and to be honest, i feel if they can’t land Bronson Arroyo in a trade with the Reds, Sheets becomes the best available possibility for the Mets, as he and Johan Santana could provide one of the best 1-2 punches in baseball, provided he is healthy…however, i wouldn’t go off the deep end with an offer to him because of the durability issues…i think the Mets need Sheets, but they need a healthy and dependable Sheets, so if they were to make an offer, i’d be comfortable with a lower base salary loaded with incentives to make it worth somewhere in the higher range of what he’s looking for if he can achieve those goals…
For more on the Cubs and Sheets, plus other buzz out of Chicago, check out the Daily Herald here.
Jon Heyman of SI.com says Tejada’s deal is for one-year and $6 million, with additional performance bonuses.
…i think it’s noteworthy that most of the contracts being signed this offseason have incentives and milestone bonuses in them…i think it helps to keep these players on the field and playing as much as possible, making it a win-win for both parties…
Original Post, 11:49 am:
The Orioles have signed infielder Miguel Tejada, according to Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun.
…i received a lot of emails this winter asking whether or not the Mets might have interest in Tejada…i never heard the two sides linked in any of the rumors, but in theory, he would have made sense, at least to start in a platoon at first base with Daniel Murphy, and if Murphy struggled, i could have seen it turn into a full time role…i guess the point is moot now…
Zrebiec says the 35 year old Tejada, who is now in his second stint with the Orioles, signed a one-year deal with Baltimore after hitting .313 with 14 home runs and 86 RBI and earning $14.8 million with the Astros in 2009.
The first Mets game I remember was in 1984, when I was nine years old. The majority of my family liked the Yankees. So, in an effort to be different, I picked the Mets, and I immediately took to Darryl Strawberry and Doc Gooden, who were young, exciting, a bit brash and powerful.
Last week, the Mets announced that Strawberry, Gooden, Frank Cashen and Davey Johnson have been inducted in to the team’s Hall of Fame.
I was able to meet up with Strawberry and Gooden at SNY’s studios, to talk about the Hall of Fame, role models in sports, and being my idols growing up watching baseball in the 80s.
To see the full seven-minute interview, click play here; otherwise, scroll down for written transcript:
Kerel Cooper, in a video post for On the Black, is taking a “wait and see” approach to the Gary Matthews Jr. trade.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Met Fan is “100% ok” with the trade for Matthews.
However, Tom from Mets Guide is NOT ok with the deal.
In a post to Mets Merized Online, Joe D wonders who is the better fit: Ryan Garko, or Fernando Tatis.
Anthony over at Hot Foot finds Omar Minaya‘s comments yesterday regarding the Mets starting rotation “disturbing”.
Finally, as part of his “40-man Roster Overview”, Kevin from the NY Hot Corner takes a look at the Mets starter in the bullpen.
According to Buster Olney of ESPN, an executive from another team thought the Mets efforts to acquire Matthews was “baffling”.
In addition, Olney says the reports on Matthews are as follows:
“Matthews is a player to be avoided. Slow bat. Declining range. And above all else, a player who wants to be a regular and will be an unhappy distraction in your clubhouse when he’s not in the lineup every day.”
…like i said below, if his skills are in such decline, and his durability is in question, and on top of that, he can be a clubhouse cancer if he isn’t happy with his role, why would the Mets want to pursue such a player…i mean, i’m no fan of this team acquiring a guy like Randy Winn, but if the Mets had to make a decision, as it appears they did, why wouldn’t they take a guy like Winn who is more versatile both offensively and defensively…he would have cost about the same as Matthews will cost the Mets, and it would have protected an arm out in the bullpen, and i think they would have a better player, hence the right deal…very puzzling…
Original Post, 9:22 am:
Ken Davidoff, in a post to his blog for Newsday, feels the trade that sent Brian Stokes to the Angels for Gary Matthews Jr. was a “very bad trade.”
Davidoff points out Stokes has an rWAR of .1 since the beginning of 2007, while Matthews has an rWAR of -.6 and proclaims Matthews has been “worse than your standard, Quadruple-A player.”
…first off, i think this has nothing to do any of these intricate and complicated statistics and more to do with what the player is on the surface…i don’t think it’s a very bad trade and in the end, i don’t think it’s any different than the Mets adding your run of the mill bench player, but i think the trade is magnified because the player is not what we, as fans, are looking for the Mets to acquire at this time…
…that’s not to say the transaction isn’t puzzling…i’m never for dealing a pitcher, no matter what the role, straight up for a bat, and while i understand the need to build outfield depth, especially with the injury questions surrounding Carlos Beltran and Angel Pagan, as Matt alluded to yesterday, why bring a player into the mix, who has age, durability, and range problems of his own, into a ballpark that requires a tremendous amount of athleticism to master…in the right role, Matthews will do nothing to harm this team, but if he is to get a lot of playing time, i feel he will be an all-around liability, most notably from a defensive standpoint…now, the options may have been thin outside of Matthews, and the financial commitment from the Mets perspective is relatively low, but that doesn’t mean it was the RIGHT deal…
For more on Davidoff’s take on the Matthews trade, check out his blog here.
According to Roch Kubatko of MASN, Orioles GM Andy McPhail believes free agent LHP Erik Bedard won’t be signing a contract anytime soon.
McPhail told Kubatko:
“They’ve sort of told us from the get-go that this wouldn’t be an early decision, that this was something that probably would move closer to the reporting date in spring training. I really don’t know, nor should I know, the scope of other clubs’ interest or necessarily the scope of his interest in the Orioles, though I have no reason to believe we are by any means discounted or his experience here was such that it would preclude him from considering us.”
…i haven’t heard much about Bedard, but i think he is as intriguing as Ben Sheets, and he is a lefty, which i feel makes him all the more attractive…i’m not sure if there is a mutual interest between he and the Mets, but i don’t know how the Mets can consider Sheets without also taking a look at Bedard…of course, i don’t know if the Mets should wait for Bedard if he doesn’t plan on signing until Spring Training…
The soon-to-be 31 year old Bedard went 5-3 with a 2.82 ERA in just 15 starts with the Mariners in 2009.
Lifetime, Bedard is 51-41 with a 3.71 ERA with 801 strikeouts in 822 innings, spanning a seven year career.
Mike Puma of the New York Post believes if the Mets do not re-sign Carlos Delgado, the Mets may look to bring back Fernando Tatis to platoon with Daniel Murphy.
In 340 at bats, Tatis hit .282 with eight home runs and 48 RBI, but also hit into 13 double plays with the Mets in 2009, and hit .285 against left handed pitchers.
…the Mets caught lightening in a bottle with Tatis in 2008, and he really was outstanding…he had a good 2009 season but the amount of double plays he hit into last year were mind boggling…personally, while i understand there might be a need to platoon Murphy at first base, i don’t feel Tatis is a good candidate for the platoon and if it comes to this, i’d rather see what Murphy can do against lefties…i think it’s part of me wanting to move on from certain players, and it’s not that i think Tatis wasn’t good, i just think if the intention is to change the tone around the team, you have to change some of the roster where possible…
Puma says both the Rockies and Mariners have expressed interest in Tatis, while the Mets have yet to contact him.
For more on Tatis, check out the New York Post here.
