Rico Brogna, Good Fit (and other ex-Met updates)

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Wow, Ty Wigginton released by the Pirates.

He was a fun player, but I knew that too much was being made of sending him to Pittsburgh. He never seemed like a guy who'd be good enough to play regularly for a winning team.

Now it looks like he's not even good enough to play for the Pirates.

[Guest MFS62]

Yancy Street Gang wrote: I'm a quartogenarian myself, '62. It's funny how a 35-year-old baseball player seems old to me, but a 35-year-old I meet in person seems like a kid.

LOL!
I know the feeling.

Later

[Guest Elster88]

Yancy Street Gang wrote: Wow, Ty Wigginton released by the Pirates. He was a fun player, but I knew that too much was being made of sending him to Pittsburgh. He never seemed like a guy who'd be good enough to play regularly for a winning team. Now it looks like he's not even good enough to play for the Pirates.

I can't fucking believe this. I recall continually hearing that the loss of Wigginton in the Benson deal was terrible. How could the Pirates cut him?

I'm ripping on too many things. Happy thoughts.

[Guest metirish]

I was pissed when Ty got traded, things never did work out for him there, wasn't he sent to the minors last season?

[Guest Valadius]

Yeah, he really stunk up the joint last year.

[Guest rpackrat]

Should the Mets consider Ty for a bench spot? IIRC, he can play 1B, 2B and 3B.

[Guest Valadius]

The Pirates released him to claim a player in the Rule V Draft...

Ty Wigginton: Released by Pirates
RotoWire.com Staff - RotoWire.com
Thursday, December 8, 2005

Update: The Pirates officially released Wigginton to claim a player in the Rule 5 draft, which takes place Thursday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Recommendation: Wigginton struggled with the Pirates after coming over in a 2004 trading deadline deal involving Kris Benson. Wigginton batted .258 in 57 games for Pittsburgh in 2005, hitting seven home runs and driving in 25 runs. He spent most of the season playing for Triple-A Indianapolis, where he hit .293 with 14 homers and 52 RBI.

[Guest metirish]

]Should the Mets consider Ty for a bench spot? IIRC, he can play 1B, 2B and 3B.

Go for it,I'd like to see him back.

[Guest Valadius]

Either he comes back here or I'd love to see him join Bobby V, Benny Agbayani, and Matt Franco on the Marines.

[Guest Elster88]

metirish wrote: I was pissed when Ty got traded

Really, or is this a high SC? I never understood how losing Ty was a huge loss, except that at the time he was an option for first base for us and that it was fun to watch him steamroll catchers. That's more of a statement about the state of the Mets at the time then a statement that Ty is a quality major leaguer.

[Guest metirish]

I just liked the way he played, of course the Mets got back good players and Ty was never a great player, but I was pissed to see him leave, more for the person than the talent.

[Guest sharpie]

Signing Jose Valentin makes Wigginton a non-possibility.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Not really. Valentin is just going to show up at spring training and compete for a job. Wigginton could do the same. (I don't expect it, but it's not outside the realm of possibility.)

[Guest heep]

Is anyone else bothered by the notion that Mets brass will not consider Wally Backman for the AA managerial position, after all the time he gave the organization?

I am..

[Guest Valadius]

If he gets his personal life in order, then sure. That comes first.

[Guest Edgy DC]

]Is anyone else bothered by the notion that Mets brass will not consider Wally Backman for the AA managerial position, after all the time he gave the organization?

It's not like (a) he really gave them his services, or (b) we have any evidence that he actually wasn't considered.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Didn't we just see somewhere where he actually WAS being considered?

edit answering my own question, yes...

Daily News 12/7:

The Mets have continued to speak with Wally Backman about their Double-A managerial opening, even though Backman - who is at the winter meetings - recently expressed pessimism they would extend an offer...

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

We do know that the Mets were at least talking to him.

Whether he was a serious candidate, or it was just a courtesy, is another matter.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

The news piece expresssing Backman's reservations, and presumably, heep's contention that the Mets are to be condemned for not talking to Backman, I would guess each relate to the Mark Healey interview linked and argued about here a month or so back.

[Guest smg58]

Yancy Street Gang wrote: Wow, Ty Wigginton released by the Pirates. He was a fun player, but I knew that too much was being made of sending him to Pittsburgh. He never seemed like a guy who'd be good enough to play regularly for a winning team. Now it looks like he's not even good enough to play for the Pirates.

In fairness to Wiggy, his numbers for last season in limited at-bats wound up being more or less in line with his career totals. A bigger problem resulted from the Pirates having too many young infielders fighting for spots, and the Pirates couldn't afford to keep playing the slumping player with other similarly qualified people fighting for time.

He'll make a useful righty reserve for somebody, but he fills the same niche as Nady and now Julio Franco is probably coming too. If I were him I'd find a place with a more obvious need for him.

[Guest Valadius]

Todd Pratt goes from one division rival to another...

Braves sign C Pratt to one-year contract

ATLANTA (Ticker) - Unable to reach the postseason in the last 4 1/2 seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies, veteran Todd Pratt has joined a team with 14 consecutive division titles.

On Friday, the Atlanta Braves signed the reserve catcher to a one-year contract.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but Pratt made $750,000 with the Phillies in 2005.

As the primary backup to Mike Lieberthal, Pratt batted .251 with seven homers and 23 RBI in 60 games this past season. His home run total was one shy of the career high he set in 2000, when he was a member of the National League-champion New York Mets.

Pratt, who made his major league debut with Philadelphia in 1992, was re-acquired by the Phillies for fellow catcher Gary Bennett in July 2001. He has batted .255 in 600 career games with the Chicago Cubs, Mets and Phillies, who came within one game of the NL wild card in 2005.

The Braves, who lost to the Houston Astros in the NL Division Series, on Wednesday traded catcher Johnny Estrada to Arizona. Brian McCann is expected to be Atlanta's starting catcher to begin the season.

[Guest metirish]

Good signing for the Braves, Pratt will help the kid.

[Guest smg58]

Why Todd, why (sniff)?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Florida actually is signing some Major League players, bringing back Brian Moehler and Lenny Harris.

[Guest sharpie]

Mike DeFelice and Alberto Castillo both sign minor league deals with the Nats.

[Guest MFS62]

DeFelice and Castillo gone?
Sound like Scarlett's kid, Joe Hieptas might get a shot at AAA.

Later

[Guest Valadius]

Tim Bogar the new manager at Class AA Akron...

[url]http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-indians-bogar&prov=ap&type=lgns[/url]

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Former Met gets $12M loan for Brooklyn project

Former New York Met Mo Vaughn and his company, Omni New York, will use a $12 million affordable housing loan from the city to buy and renovate two apartment buildings in Brooklyn.

Omni will use the funds from the Housing Development Corp. to revamp 168 apartments in two buildings at 272 Pennsylvania Avenue and 2060 Pitkin Avenue in East New York, Brooklyn. Earlier this year, Omni used a $28.6 million HDC loan to buy and renovate nearly 300 low-income units in two buildings in the Bronx.

HDC also approved $100.8 million in loans to help pay for the construction of six new buildings in the Bronx and an affordable housing development in Brooklyn that will contain 558 apartments for low income residents.

Two affordable housing buildings, comprising 213 apartments, will get a $14 million loan from HDC to help with renovations and refinancing.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Yeah, I got news on that back in November. Pretty excellent that Mo is using Wilpon's money to go into Wilpon's business in Wilpon's borough, after first building in Steinbrenner's borough.

I hope Steinbrenner lands on one of Mo's properties while he has a hotel on it, and then George'll have to mortgage all his holdings to pay Mo off.

[Guest Bret Sabermetric]

[Johnny Carson] May George Steinbrenner land on you after a heavy meal [/Johnny Carson]