Manny to Mets Rumors Rear Their Hideous Heads . . . Again

[Elster88]

HappyRecap wrote: Whatever they give up, if they do a deal, will be too much.

I don't like stupid statements like this. But you're probably just exaggerating so I'll forgive you.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Ortizzle thinks Manny's gone.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/5104878

[Elster88]

I love it when ballplayers make statements that are by no means sure to come true.

[Guest sharpie]

Ortiz was the one who last year said that Pedro "wasn't going to no Mets."

[Centerfield]

Ortiz said exactly the opposite about Pedro last year.

[Elster88]

sharpie wrote: Ortiz was the one who last year said that Pedro "wasn't going to no Mets."

Aha!! He's smarter than all of us. By using the double negative he meant that Pedro was in fact going to the Mets. A tricky genius, that one.

[MFS62]

Here's a link to his comments from a Spanish newspaper.

http://www.elheraldo.com.co/hoy051122/deportes/noti4.htm

Looks like Fox did a direct translation.

But there have been reports (can't find the specific link) that Manny recently told Ortiz that he wants to go to an American League team on the West coast (Angels?) where he could spend some time at DH.

IMO, this has implications for the Mets. The Angels had been mentioned as a possible suitor, and the Mets major competition, for Delgado. If the Angels get Manny, the odds are they won't have money to pay Carlos. This could mean Delgado becomes a Met.

Yes, its premature, and speculative, but its a slow day at work.

Later

[Valadius]

ESPN is reporting that Manny wants to go to a team out west, although not necessarily in the AL.

[Frayed Knot]

In the meantime, these Manny-to-Mets rumors still won't go away.
Both Newsday and the Times (and maybe others) mentioned it in their Sunday editions.

Newsday's Jon Heyman - under a banner headline reading; Minaya Still Wants Manny - keeps the fires burning though really doesn't add much fuel. A second-hand quote attributed to Minaya saying; "I'm going for it", could mean almost anything, while another "mets official" characterizes things as "not impossible" all while admitting to numerous hurdles.
And over at the old gray lady, Murray Chass warns us to "not be too stunned" if/when the stunning event occurs while also tossing in more of the same 'lotsa things need to fall in place first' kind of caveats.


There's likely some truth to this stuff; after all, why shouldn't Omar check into things to see how badly Boston wants to deal?
But I suspect that some of the usual press factors are at work here as well.
1) the usual warning about writers rooting for stories that make their jobs more interesting. Manny would certainly do that and so it's worth it to them to keep the embers warm and their fingers crossed.
2) an attempt by the scribes to not get scooped on this. If it does come through in the future they can always claim that they told us it was in the cards all along. 'See, right there, on November 27th, we said that ... '

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

What bothers me is the way the press frequently dismisses Minaya as if he's a dimwit motivated by a freakish attraction to "big names" while barely acknowledging the "big names" he pursued also happened to be the best players he could afford. Some hack the other day wrote Minaya "lives for the big names."

Oh, stfu.

[nymr83]

since the "big names" are often, but not always, the best players, isn't that a good thing?

i'd rather go for the "big names" like Delgado, Ramirez, Martinez, Beltran, etc. than go for the no-names the Mets have overpaid in the last decade (Cedeno, Vaughn, Bonilla, etc)

[Benjamin Grimm]

Vaughn and Bonilla were "no-names"?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Cedeño also, for that matter.

[metirish]

Klapisch seems to think a deal is close...

]Monday, November 28, 2005 By BOB KLAPISCH STAFF WRITER Omar Minaya spent the entire Thanksgiving holiday working the phones - or, to be more specific, working the Red Sox for a possible deal for Manny Ramirez. According to a National League executive, the Mets made notable progress, a development that was seconded by a club official who said Sunday night, "We have a shot." Ramirez is, and always has been, Minaya's biggest prey, although the hunt until now has been slowed by two obstacles. First, Ramirez' $20 million annual salary was more than the Wilpon family was willing to spend. And second, Ramirez, 33, would almost certainly cost the Mets hot-shot outfield prospect Lastings Milledge. That's one reason Minaya was exploring a deal for Alfonso Soriano - until the Rangers' demands included Milledge, said the NL source. Once the price tag became too steep, Minaya resumed an earlier dialogue with the Red Sox, who were surprisingly receptive. It's still unclear whom, exactly, the Red Sox would demand in addition to Milledge, but Minaya may be willing to convince ownership that with Ramirez in a lineup that already has Carlos Delgado, the East can be conquered outright in 2006. Ramirez seems poised for a trade. Just last week he asked one of his former handlers in Cleveland to join him in New York, if and when a trade finally happens. The friend, who asked to remain anonymous, said Sunday: "Manny's first choice is still Anaheim, because he feels he could play there without fans bothering him too much. He walked around the malls there and no one noticed him. He liked that. "He's not crazy about New York, but he said he would go there if that was the only way to get out of Boston. He's just fed up with people bothering him all the time, showing up at his house." Minaya still will have to lean on the Wilpons to make room on the payroll for Ramirez. With a $30 million offer on the table for Billy Wagner - which is likely to balloon now that B.J. Ryan is finalizing a five-year deal worth $47 million with the Blue Jays - Ramirez could turn the Mets into a $115 million to $120 million investment next year, and that's even if Boston assumes some of the slugger's salary. Still, the temptation to score a blizzard of runs could be great enough to make Ramirez worth any price. Although he batted under .300 for the first time since 1998, Ramirez nevertheless finished third in the American League with 45 home runs and tied for second with 144 RBI. More poignantly, Ramirez batted .358 with runners in scoring position, cementing his reputation as a nearly-uncontainable force under pressure. Indeed, Manny's focus - and lack of it - have become legendary. In 2005, he batted only .237 with the bases empty, but his average zoomed to .346 with runners on. Of course, Ramirez's mood swings and erratic behavior have exasperated Boston officials for years, and the fact that the Mets are moving closer to a deal suggests the Red Sox have had enough of the outfielder's antics. But Minaya believes Ramirez will be happier in New York and therefore less likely to stray. Ramirez's friend also said Manny's friendship with Pedro Martinez, "would make it easier for him [to play for the Mets]." With Delgado in town today for his first press conference as a Met, the talk with be all about the new-look, newly-muscled offense. Apparently, this dialogue now requires an asterisk. It says: to be continued. E-mail: klapisch@northjersey.com

[Valadius]

I had read that his preference was Seattle but the Mariners can't afford him...

[Elster88]

I've now heard and read that his preference was Toronto, Anaheim, Seattle, and Chicago.

Don't put too much stock into what you read.

[seawolf17]

]"He's not crazy about New York, but he said he would go there if that was the only way to get out of Boston. He's just fed up with people bothering him all the time, showing up at his house."

Hey, guess what? You're a celebrity. You don't want people noticing you, then retire and move to Montana.

]In 2005, he batted only .237 with the bases empty, but his average zoomed to .346 with runners on.

What a great stat! I'm too lazy to look up his career numbers, but that's fascinating.

[metirish]

that's Manny being Manny...

[Benjamin Grimm]

At what point do the Mets stop looking like Mets and start looking like the American League All-Star team?

Winning a World Series with Manny, Beltran, Delgado, Pedro, and Molina, plus NLers like Glavine and Benson and Floyd, wouldn't mean as much as it did in 1969 or 1986, when so many of the players were either home-grown or long-timers.

I guess Glavine and Floyd have been around for a while now, but the only players on the team who really seem like Mets are Reyes and Wright, as well as Heilman and Seo.

I do like seeing them get great players, and I'd much rather see them win than lose, but I wonder if we're going to far, if we're getting to a point where we're rooting for a bunch of strangers.

[Valadius]

That's why I'm against trading young talent like we did with Jake-Monster and Petit. I like a team built from within, with chemistry and camaraderie.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I forgot about Trachsel. Trachsel feels like a Met by now too.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Manny would be nice and all, but at this point, I don't think anybody can make the case that we NEED him.

On the other hand, it looks like the Sox might need to get rid of him, which means, IMO, we should sit on our hands until the Sox's price drops below Milledge.

If it never gets that low, we've still got one of the best lineups in the National League, especially if you believe, as I do, that Beltran's likely to improve on his 2005.

Sit tight, Omar. Let the Sox come crawling to you.

[nymr83]

Glavine will always be a Brave to me so put him in a worse category than all these "AL guys."
right now Wright, Reyes, Floyd, Heilman, Seo, Traschel are the only guys i can feel good about.

[Guest Edgy DC]

"Good morning, Manny! Hit me a homah today!"

[metirish]

I can feel good about any player wearing a Mets uni,of recent years Mike Stanton was a guy I didn't like,partly because he came from the yankees but more so because he belittled the Mets after 9/11...

[nymr83]

hey edgy! give us a forum!

[/end hijack]


i think the Manny talk is dead at this point, the Mets are looking for a Catcher it seems. odds are good they will either overpay for a mediocre one or trade too much for a bad one.

[nymr83]

metirish wrote: I can feel good about any player wearing a Mets uni,of recent years Mike Stanton was a guy I didn't like,partly because he came from the yankees but more so because he belittled the Mets after 9/11...

he did? what did he say? i didn't remember this and i'm always looking for anti-patriotic celebrities to make fun of

[Guest ABG]

"More poignantly"?

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Nymr83 wrote: ="metirish"]I can feel good about any player wearing a Mets uni,of recent years Mike Stanton was a guy I didn't like,partly because he came from the yankees but more so because he belittled the Mets after 9/11... he did? what did he say? i didn't remember this and i'm always looking for anti-patriotic celebrities to make fun of

If you recall, after 9/11, every member of the Mets (and even some ex-Mets, like Rick Reed) contributed one day's salary to the relief efforts. The Yankees made no similar effort (I'm sure that many individuals made generous contributions, but it wasn't a top to bottom kind of thing like the Mets did). Stanton, a MFY at the time, belittled the Mets' contribution as being merely a publicity stunt.

Fuck him!

[metirish]

]he did? what did he say? i didn't remember this and i'm always looking for anti-patriotic celebrities to make fun of

I never said Staton was un-patriotic...

thanks SK for explaining that..