Hot Stove League

[metirish]

Deffo want to have Bradford and Mota back....

[Elster88]

Mota's another one that confuses the hell out of me. He got the everloving crap kicked out of him for half a year and then pitched well for us.

'Course, if he doesn't give up that triple in Game 2 we don't lose to St. Looie. But I blame Willie for pitching him two innings that gaeme. If he actually did pitch two innings and I'm not misremembering.

You know what? Fuck him. I still hate that prick for throwing at my boy. I'm glad our World Series team wasn't soiled by that pussy.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Willie left him in a batter too long is all. I thought after Pujols & Edmonds worked him for lo-o-ong ABs he was prolly gassed.

[Guest Edgy DC]

There's also the minor fact of him shaking off his catcher's call.

[RealityChuck]

Elster88 wrote: Mota's another one that confuses the hell out of me. He got the everloving crap kicked out of him for half a year and then pitched well for us.

Turned out he was tipping his pitchers. Pedro noticed it when he came over. Once he fixed that, he pitched just fine.

[metirish]

Yusaku Iriki filed yesterday....he was the only major league player to fail a drug test this season.

[MFS62]

]KENNEDY INTRIGUED BY METS By MARK HALE Adam KennedyOctober 31, 2006 -- Playing for the Mets appeals to Adam Kennedy. Kennedy, one of the elite options among free-agent second basemen this winter, has spent the last seven seasons with the Angels. He filed for free agency on Sunday, however, and yesterday his agent, Paul Cohen, said he has "definite interest" in the Mets. This past year Kennedy hit .273 with four homers, 55 RBIs, 16 steals and a .334 on-base percentage for the Angels. Kennedy, who turns 31 in January, has fared well in the playoffs (he was the ALCS MVP in 2002 and has hit .308 in 25 career postseason games) and although he committed nine errors this year (tied for seventh among AL second basemen), he had the fewest among regular AL second basemen in 2005 (five). Cohen, who said several teams have inquired about Kennedy so far, but the Mets have not. The agent added being on a "winning team" is Kennedy's top priority. According to Jose Valentin's agent, Dave Elston, "The Mets and Jose are talking about Jose coming back." Elston said the free agent second baseman has spoken with other teams, including one that has interest in using him at shortstop. The Mets also have had interest in free-agent second baseman Julio Lugo, who told The Post in September that playing at Shea "would be a dream come true." Another second base option could be Rich Aurilia, whose agent, Barry Axelrod, said, "He's a native of Staten Island and his prime criteria for where he wants to play is to be on a winner and I think the Mets fit that description." * Aaron Heilman's stance remains the same: He wants to be a starting pitcher, either for the Mets or another team in 2007, according to a person familiar with the right-handed reliever's thinking. Heilman has reiterated his desire to start to management already, the person said. According to Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez's agent, Greg Genske, the veteran righty has spoken to the Mets about coming back. "El Duque's preference is to remain with the Mets. He loves New York and has had a terrific experience with the Mets organization," Genske said in an e-mail yesterday. "While we are in discussions about a potential return to the Mets, several other clubs have called to express interest in El Duque."

Later

[smg58]

Elster88 wrote: Mota's another one that confuses the hell out of me. He got the everloving crap kicked out of him for half a year and then pitched well for us.

You can say the same thing about Perez, although Ollie wasn't as consistently good. The Cardinals will happily say the same thing about Jeff Weaver. Sometimes these things happen.

I've got no problem bringing Bradford and Mota back. I'd like to see Owens get a fair chance to compete for a spot, but otherwise I see no good reason to tamper too much with the bullpen.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Guillermo Mota has been good most of his career, and he's a pretty good bet to continue to be good.

Adam Kennedy, elite? I think a typical season for Kennedy would be on the low end of possible outcomes for Jose Valentin.

[metirish]

Kennedy has "definite interest" in the Mets..no shit

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

It's more interesting to know who the Mets are interested in, rather than the other way around.

And we haven't heard anything of substance along those lines yet, have we? Other than that they want to bring Glavine back.

I think November 12 is the date that negotiating can begin. Right now teams are just putting out feelers, and we may not hear a whole lot about who's feeling whom.

[soupcan]

Perhaps I haven't paying enough attention but there are a few names in this article that I haven't heard before...


October 31, 2006
Re-Signing Glavine Is the Mets� Top Priority
By BEN SHPIGEL

With the World Series completed, 29 teams will spend the next four months trying to be like the St. Louis Cardinals. For the Mets, their off-season plans revolve around making sense of a muddled pitching situation headed by Tom Glavine.

Re-signing Glavine, who will be 41 next season, is the Mets� top priority, but Glavine has said several times that only the wishes of his family, who lives in Atlanta, would dictate whether he wins his 300th game as a Met or a Brave.

�Tom could sit around for months, and the factors aren�t going to change,� said Gregg Clifton, Glavine�s agent. �Nothing new�s going to happen. It�s the same ownership, the same pitching coaches, the same stadiums. He realizes the value and benefits and the unfinished business he has in leading the Mets to the World Series. The only variable is his family, and for Tom, that�s what this is all about.�

Glavine, who has 290 career victories, has two options in his contract with the Mets. There is a player option for $7.5 million that must be exercised by Nov. 10 and a team option for $14 million that must be picked up by Nov. 20, but neither side is leaning in those directions. Clifton said that he intended to persuade Glavine to make a decision in the next few days. �If I�m handicapping it now, I�d say he�s leaning toward New York,� Clifton said.

Glavine is more valuable to the Mets than Pedro Mart�nez, who will be recovering from shoulder surgery through next summer. Glavine could sign a one-year deal in the $10 million-$11 million range.

After Glavine, the Mets have a reservoir of young pitchers who come cheaply, including Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, Oliver P�rez and Brian Bannister. The team will be thrilled if two or three of those pitchers earn a place in the opening-day rotation. But that does not eliminate the need to find a solid veteran to back up Glavine. Orlando Hern�ndez, who filed for free agency and may seek a contract longer than the Mets may be willing to offer, could be an option. More likely, it may be someone who pitched for a different team last season.

Unless the Mets win the Daisuke Matsuzaka sweepstakes, they seem more inclined to upgrade their pitching through trades and fill other holes � second base, left field, the bench � via free agency. Of the two top free-agent pitchers � Barry Zito and Jason Schmidt � the Mets appear to have a better chance at signing Zito, a durable left-hander who worked with the Mets� pitching coach, Rick Peterson, in Oakland. But the Mets do not seem inclined to pay top dollar for someone they view as a No. 2 or a No. 3 pitcher.

The Mets have two first-rate trading chips in Lastings Milledge and Aaron Heilman and may use them, in the same or separate deals, to acquire the pitcher they desire. With their surplus of starting pitching, the White Sox would be an attractive trading partner. Chicago would like to open a rotation slot for Brandon McCarthy and would not hesitate to trade Javier V�zquez or Freddy Garc�a. V�zquez pitched in Montreal when Mets General Manager Omar Minaya worked there.

Whether the Mets part with Heilman may depend on Duaner S�nchez�s recovery from a separated shoulder and their success in re-signing Guillermo Mota, which they intend to try to do. The Mets also want to re-sign Chad Bradford, a valuable and versatile right-hander. His agent, Rex Gary, said last week that Bradford would test the free-agent market.

In Carlos Lee and Alfonso Soriano, there are two right-handed power-hitting free-agent left fielders. The Mets do not figure to get heavily involved in bidding for either one, even though Soriano, who could also play second base, has intrigued Minaya and the Mets. They could also pursue Moises Alou, but that would make sense only if they intend to keep Milledge. Alou, 40, is an injury risk, but he could help until Milledge is ready.

Among free-agent second basemen, Julio Lugo, a native of Brooklyn who played last season for Tampa Bay and the Los Angeles Dodgers, is the most dynamic option, but two other players are also intriguing. Mark Loretta, who committed four errors last season playing for Boston, is the best defensive player of the group and is a career .299 hitter. But there is also Ronnie Belliard, who played for the World Series champion Cardinals and has been where the Mets want to go.

INSIDE PITCH

Carlos Delgado had surgery for tennis elbow on his left arm yesterday, his second operation in eight days. Delgado�s right wrist was operated on Oct. 23 for carpal tunnel syndrome. The Mets said they expected him to be ready for spring training. (AP)

[metirish]

A report in the Newsday today is saying that Schmidt wants to say on the West Coast, his agent of course says the Mets and any east coast team should not count themselves out.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Tennis elbow, it's the new appencitis.

How many times am I supposed to hear about free agents making "playing for a winner" their top priority?

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

They all want to. (Why wouldn't they?)

But what happens if the Mets offer $800,000 to be a reserve for one year and the Brewers offer $3.5 million per for two years to be a starter?

I think that's when they change their tune.

Or they convince themselves that the Brewers are a winner.

[Frayed Knot]

99% of the "news" at this time of year consists of either sportswriter speculation, or player/agent/GM posturing.

I'm paying very little attention to what's being written.

[metirish]

We should at least wait till our guy goes to the winter meetings...

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

When are the winter meetings?

I have a feeling I'm going to miss a lot of news while I'm in Japan the last two weeks in November.

[metirish]

] 2006 & 2007 Baseball Calendar & Events 11-13-2006 General Managers Meeting (Naples, FL) 13 Days 12-04-2006 Winter Meetings (Orlando, FL) 34 Days 12-07-2006 Salary Arbitration Deadline 37 Days 12-07-2006 Rule 5 Major / Minor League Draft 37 Days 01-05-2007 Salary Arbitration Filing (through 01-15) 65 Days 02-01-2007 Salary Arbitration Hearings Begin 92 Days 02-15-2007 Spring Traing : Pitchers & Catchers 106 Days 02-28-2007 Spring Traing : Grapefruit Games Begin 119 Days 07-10-2007 2007 All-Star Game (AT&T Park) 251 Days

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

I guess I won't be missing the Winter Meetings, then.

I'm sure there will be some baseball news during the two weeks I'm away. I have no idea how out of touch I'm going to be.

[metirish]

I'm sure you'll find plenty of internet cafe's,and your hotel probably will be linked up.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Yancy Street Gang wrote: I guess I won't be missing the Winter Meetings, then. I'm sure there will be some baseball news during the two weeks I'm away. I have no idea how out of touch I'm going to be.

Perhaps we oughta sked the Parody Challenge for this period too, so as to give the rest of us a chance

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

metirish wrote: I'm sure you'll find plenty of internet cafe's,and your hotel probably will be linked up.

Some of my hotels don't even have toilets, so I'm not so sure how wired they'll be.

Even if I do find an Internet Cafe, I don't know if I'll understand the keyboards.

[smg58]

I don't have a problem with simply picking up Glavine's option and keeping Pelfrey in AAA for a year. Glavine's buyout would be for $3M, so for the Mets to bring him back for $11M total would mean Glavine couldn't get $8M on the open market (or at least from the Braves). That's a gamble I wouldn't make. It could easily make things more expensive (i.e., if they have to scramble to get a comparable replacement) in the long run.

The Mets have an abundance of young starters (Bannister, Pelfrey, Humber, Soler, even Williams, plus Maine and Perez). You could deal one or two of them, especially if you re-sign Hernandez or they're in a package for somebody like Garcia. I don't understand why every sportswriter immediately mentions Milledge and Heilman. I wouldn't quickly part with either.

[Farmer Ted]

Glavine's going to get a nice $25 million deal for two years. But Oliver #1 is going to take a look around.

Lefty reliever Darren Oliver filed for free agency.

[Vic Sage]

Kennedy? Loretta?
Puhleez. They're probably 2 of the least appealing options.

2b options:

[u:5260289d03]name (age - - `06 OPS (career OPS)[/u:5260289d03]
Aurilia (35 - R) .867 (.775)
Belliard (31 - R) .725 (.751)
DeRosa (31 - R) .812 (.735)
Jiminez (28 - S) .601 (.727)
Kennedy (30 - L) .718 (.730)
Lorretta (35 - R) .706 (.765)
Lugo (30 - R) .762 (.742)

nobody on this list sparks much enthusiasm or represents an upgrade over Valentin. This, combined with the dearth of talent in our farm system, means 2b will remain a significant question (?) mark this season, unless we sign Soriano or make a significant trade.

[Elster88]

]With the World Series completed, 29 teams will spend the next four months trying to be like the St. Louis Cardinals.

No way in hell do I want the Mets emulating the Cardinals.

"Let's try to win 83 games next year."

[Elster88]

Vic Sage wrote: Kennedy? Loretta? Puhleez. They're probably 2 of the least appealing options. 2b options: name (age - - `06 OPS (career OPS) Aurilia (35 - R) .867 (.775) Belliard (31 - R) .725 (.751) DeRosa (31 - R) .812 (.735) Jiminez (28 - S) .601 (.727) Kennedy (30 - L) .718 (.730) Lorretta (35 - R) .706 (.765) Lugo (30 - R) .762 (.742) nobody on this list sparks much enthusiasm or represents an upgrade over Valentin. This, combined with the dearth of talent in our farm system, means 2b will remain a significant question (?) mark this season, unless we sign Soriano or make a significant trade.

I know it's anathema to say it in front of many of our regular posters...but Soriano seems like a pretty good option. We need a left fielder and we need a second baseman. He plays both. And it would cost us only cash.

PS: Did I use anathema correctly? I need some vocabulary/elitist help.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

="American Heritage Dictionary"] anathema NOUN: Inflected forms: pl. a·nath·e·mas 1. A formal ecclesiastical ban, curse, or excommunication. 2. A vehement denunciation; a curse: “the sound of a witch's anathemas in some unknown tongue” (Nathaniel Hawthorne). 3. One that is cursed or damned. 4. One that is greatly reviled, loathed, or shunned: “Essentialism—a belief in natural, immutable sex differences—is anathema to postmodernists, for whom sexuality itself, along with gender, is a ‘social construct’” (Wendy Kaminer, Atlantic October 1993). ETYMOLOGY: Late Latin anathema, doomed offering, accursed thing, from Greek, from anatithenai, anathe-, to dedicate : ana-, ana- + tithenai, to put; see dh/images/pronunciation/emacr.gif- in Appendix I.

[Elster88]

Thank you. But how 'bout the usage? Fix my sentence.