metirish

I just moved to a cablevision town and I hope I don't go through any BS with SNY..

] Mets' moves a turn-on for SNY December 9, 2005 Twelve days of Christmas? Eight days of Chanukah? Why wait? If you are Jon Litner, presents already have been arriving for days, first thing in the morning, printed on dead trees rather than placed under decorated ones. It is likely that no one in New York has enjoyed reading the back pages of newspapers more this autumn. "I guess you could say Christmas is coming early, and Chanukah," he said. More to the point, spring has sprung early for Litner, president of SportsNet New York and thus one of the primary beneficiaries of the Mets' ongoing offseason makeover. Come mid-March, he will be at the helm of an ambitious new regional sports network promising first-rate game coverage and other services, such as a thrice-nightly sports news program. Eventually, ratings and profits will be shaped by the on-field fortunes of the Mets, who own the majority of SNY. (Yankees games on YES crushed the Mets on MSG and FSNY last season.) For now, though, all Litner has to sell is buzz, and the one surrounding the Mets has turned into a din. That should offer valuable leverage as Litner seeks to secure distribution on Cablevision, DirecTV and Dish Network, which is essential to SNY's success. For now, only Comcast and Time Warner, the Mets' partners in SNY, are on board. "We are very confident come springtime, when the red light goes on, all of the viewers in our [market] footprint will have the opportunity to tune in," Litner said. "We know we have to be competitive and put a great product on the air, and we intend to do that." Meanwhile, SNY still is putting together its sales team while other outfits already are selling ad time for 2006. Litner said that would not be an issue and his staff will be "full-speed ahead" next month. SNY surely has been a factor in the Mets' aggressive offseason, but Litner said his only direct contact with management on personnel is when he calls to congratulate GM Omar Minaya after the fact. "I am a fan like all the other great Mets fans in New York," Litner said. "Obviously, I'm delighted and thrilled about the commitment ownership has made to put a winning product on the field. Our job is to tell that story." That story will be central to SNY's profile, far more so than news or Jets features or college events. The goal of making SNY a destination for local sports news is noble but full of potential pitfalls, and there are many non-Mets hours to fill, especially come next autumn. So with both the Mets and Yankees scrapping for pieces of an advertising pie that could shrink as dollars drift toward the Internet, what happens on the field will set the tone in the TV wars. SNY is doing its part with an urgent push toward Opening Day. Gary Cohen was hired for Mets play-by-play, with an analyst, perhaps Keith Hernandez, soon to come. The street-level Manhattan studio, which Litner called "a beacon," is under construction. The news outfit, which SNY insists will be tough and objective in covering the Mets, is being assembled. Still, Minaya and team ownership are doing the most important work, making a big, indirect investment in SNY and giving the channel's boss some pleasure reading over his morning coffee. Said Litner: "We're intrigued, excited and looking forward to spring training." http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-spwatch094545236dec09,0,1963847.column?coll=ny-baseball-headlines

Rob Neyer had some interesting things to say about the Mets this week in "insider" , first the Blue Jays. ] A month ago, one could have easily predicted the New York Mets would be one of this offseason's big spenders. But did anyone predict the Toronto Blue Jays would be the other? Did anybody think the Blue Jays would commit $102 million to lock up two pitchers for five seasons apiece? I didn't, even though general manager J.P. Ricciardi hinted during the season that his club would be active in the free-agent market. In the short term, will the Blue Jays' largesse make a real difference in the standings? Last season they won 80 games, which left them 15 games behind the Yankees and Red Sox. As good as A.J. and B.J. might be, together they're not going to make the Blue Jays 15 games better. But how good were the Blue Jays in 2005, really? Their run differential -- they scored 775 runs and gave up 705 -- suggests an 88-74 record rather than their actual 80-82 record. In fact, according to this article, the Blue Jays were only the third team ever to outscore their opponents by at least 70 runs but lose more games than they won. Like virtually every other team that underperforms its run differential, the Blue Jays fared poorly in one-run games. Worse than poorly -- they were 16-31 in one-run games, worst in the majors. That simply isn't going to happen again, which is a significantly positive indicator for 2006. There's also a negative indicator, though. Actually, there are two of them: The Blue Jays scored 41 more runs than their underlying offensive statistics would predict and they allowed 23 fewer runs than their underlying defensive statistics would predict. So considering the Blue Jays' run differential, they should have won more games ... but their run differential shouldn't have been as good as it was. Which I suppose is an odd combination, if not a particularly uncommon one. A lot of strange things can happen over the course of 162 games. For the Blue Jays, the bottom line is that their good fortune and their bad fortune essentially canceled each other out, and this team was fundamentally a .500 club. And again, it's hard to see Burnett and Ryan lifting Toronto into contention. But of course, we're talking about two long-term moves. Trades or injuries notwithstanding, both Ryan and Burnett will still be pitching for the Blue Jays in 2010. The question about the Blue Jays isn't whether or not they can win 95 games in 2006. The question is whether or not they'll have the talent to win 95 games in 2007 or 2008. And that question, I think, is still an open one. For Mets, better luck next year In "The Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2006", contributor Dan Fox does something that I've never seen anybody do before: He puts together the wins and losses that we would expect from the run differentials and the underlying events that generally lead to runs scored and allowed. I won't present the method in any great detail -- Fox's article runs for several pages, and anyway, you should buy the book (which also contains, among other things, a couple of articles by Bill James and a modest essay by your humble columnist) -- but the results are worth mentioning. First, the five luckiest teams in 2005: Actual Proj Wins Wins Diff Nationals 81 69 +12 White Sox 99 89 10 Angels 95 87 8 Red Sox 95 89 6 Cardinals 100 94 6 The presence of four postseason teams on this list should not be a surprise. Generally, teams that win 95 or more games are lucky; that's one of the reasons most of them don't win 95 or more games the next season. Next, the eight unluckiest: Actual Proj Wins Wins Diff Tigers 71 79 -8 Marlins 83 91 8 Pirates 67 75 8 Rangers 79 86 7 Mariners 69 75 6 Cubs 79 85 6 Orioles 74 80 6 Mets 83 89 6 If you're a fan of one these teams, there's reason for optimism (well, unless you're a fan of the Marlins, but if the Marlins' attendance last season is any indication -- they ranked 15th in the National League -- there can't be many of you). But in terms of 2006, the Mets are the biggest news. Even if they hadn't done anything this offseason, they still would have been legitimate contenders next season, if only because they were unlucky last season and their young players are expected to improve. But the Mets have done quite a lot, adding Carlos Delgado, Billy Wagner, Paul Lo Duca and perhaps Mark Grudzielanek to the roster. Toss in the likely improvements of holdovers Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes and David Wright, and the Mets are, at this moment, obviously big favorites to finally dethrone the Braves. In fact, only one thing can stop the Mets: a precipitous decline of the pitching staff -- particularly, the possibilities that Pedro Martinez's shoulder will give up the ghost and Tom Glavine will pitch like a 40-year-old, which he will be in March. Both could happen, of course. But neither of those possibilities is likely, and it's exceptionally unlikely that both will occur. And even if one of the Mets' starters does go down, the organization has a great replacement in Aaron Heilman (who currently is being wasted in the bullpen). I would like to pick the Braves or the Phillies because that would fly in the face of the conventional wisdom. But the conventional wisdom is usually right (or seems right, based on the evidence). And I can't escape the conclusion that the Mets are now the class of their division, and quite possibly the class of their league. http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/its-the-hardball-times-baseball-annual-2006/

Klapisch can be quite a funny read....]DALLAS - The shortest measure of time in this hurry-up world has been the millisecond between a light turning green and the guy behind you leaning on the horn. That's how long it took for George Steinbrenner to devise a battle plan to pry Roger Clemens away from Houston's baseball community and set up one of the greater comebacks in modern Yankee history.The engines are already humming. One Yankee official says, "It's only a matter of time" before the first phone call is made to Clemens' camp.The Boss can - and will - court The Rocket with money (anything you want, Rocket), by playing on his vanity (we've never really replaced you, Rocket), and his legacy (can the Astros really take you back to the World Series?). All this unfolded Wednesday night, when Houston owner Drayton McLane severed his ties with Clemens. By not offering the right-hander arbitration, the Astros are now back burnered until May 1, and while a majority of baseball insiders think Clemens will still end up in Houston, the four-month-plus window gives Steinbrenner a chance to fill three needs at once.First, Clemens would give the Yankees' rotation an immediate upgrade and allow them to send Carl Pavano packing. Despite general manager Brian Cashman's insistence that Pavano is an integral part of the Bombers' machinery in 2006, the unhappy pitcher's attitude continues to be a problem. A.J. Burnett said this week that Pavano is "miserable" pitching in New York, and has told a number of friends - including Burnett, his former teammate in Florida - he wants to be traded. Clemens' presence would make Pavano expendable, assuming someone would actually pay $10 million for an injured sinkerballer with diminished velocity.If Cashman can pull off a deal for Pavano, he deserves early consideration for Executive of the Year. But the Yankees clearly need a pitching response to the Red Sox and Blue Jays, both of whom are now stronger at the front of the rotation.Clemens and Randy Johnson are obviously fragile fortysomethings, but The Rocket was arguably the National League's best pitcher in 2005. If healthy, he would create a match for Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett, as well as Roy Halladay and Burnett.Finally, Clemens would give the Yankees a boost in the clubhouse, where he's still popular two years since his departure. The Rocket stays in touch with Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada, who e-mailed him advice about pitching to the White Sox during the World Series.In his very first day back in pinstripes, Clemens would replace Johnson as the Yankees' ace and eclipse Johnson's angry, dark aura. The Unit is a loner at his locker and appears just as isolated when he's on the mound, even during his best games. The Rocket has an other-world quirkiness about him, but the Yankees universally considered him a great teammate. Not one has ever said that about Johnson.Perhaps there's one other factor Steinbrenner should consider, too. The Yankees need to appear active this winter, if only because the Mets have stolen New York's attention. Actually, it's not a stretch to say the Mets now have a clearer path to the playoffs than the Bombers, which in itself is a sign of the apocalypse.True, the Yankees deserve credit for waiting out Johnny Damon, and they're wisely resisting the temptation to trade for the talented but troubled Milton Bradley. But the Bombers have otherwise allowed themselves to appear inert - while raising their top tickets prices to $100.For all the reasons Clemens makes sense, the question, of course, is whether his return to New York can actually happen. The Yankees will start probing the matter with Clemens' agents, which means finding out how much it will cost (at least $15 million, even for a May 1 start) and what concessions Clemens will be asking for.So far, no one has the answer, maybe not even Clemens himself. The Astros couldn't afford to wait any longer while The Rocket wrestled with career, family and health issues.Obviously, he's tired, still beat up from the '05 season, which ended with a disastrous appearance in Game 1 of the World Series. It's hard to believe Clemens has made peace with the image he projected walking off the mound - limping with a strained hamstring, unable to get past the second inning.Clemens, who intends to pitch in the World Baseball Classic in March, might retire if he's still sore after the international tournament. Or he might need an extra two months to recover. If so, it's possible Clemens will return to the Astros on May 1 as if nothing had changed. But no one in Clemens' camp could give McLane a definitive answer. Agent Randy Hendricks told ESPN.com, "I'm not sure what the future holds, but Roger has his own decision, and he'll make it - in late January or early February."Unlike the Yankees, the Astros don't have $15 million to $20 million to hold in reserve while Clemens weighs his option. That money has to be budgeted and spent in the next two months. Conversely, the Bombers are flush with cash, always their most potent weapon.In this case, money is no object, considering the Yankees are projecting a 2006 budget that's at least $20 million lighter than in '05 (assuming they don't sign Damon). Writing a last-minute check won't cause Steinbrenner any financial pain.It might even be the smartest cash withdrawal he's ever made.E-mail: klapisch@northjersey.com

I think most of us would agree that Tejada would be an upgrade over Reyes, just as he would be the better player no matter who he might replace on whatever team, the way I read this thread was that while Tejada is the better player trading Reyes for him would be seen as a step too far for some fans.

What kinda blows my mind about the Franco signing is that Omar wouldn't go two years for Marlon Anderson, I realize Anderson probably is better off in DC but still.

I really don't think Diaz should get traded just yet, we're not exactly stocked for RF and Victor no doubt is working hard this winter at his defence, not that I don't think he's a DH but I'd keep him .

That trade would help both teams in a big way, one thing, didn't the Sox use Hanley to get Beckett?

That's deep Edgy, I'd rather not trade Reyes either as he is such an exciting player and home grown and all that, it's certainly important to have players like Reyes, Wright, Heilman and others coming through the system,it helps us identify more with the team and it's kinda cool to see players make an impact like Wright and Reyes have done. Like any team you need to sign FA players and trade for others, but there has to be a balance and the right mix, else you end up like Real Madrid with an All-Star team that's not a team at all.

Tejada is not happy... ] Associated Press SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- Baltimore Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada said Thursday he's unhappy with the team's direction and wants to be traded. "I've been with the Orioles for two years and things haven't gone in the direction that we were expecting, so I think the best thing will be a change of scenery," Tejada told The Associated Press during a telephone interview in his native Dominican Republic. Tejada signed a $72 million, six-year contract with the Orioles before the 2004 season. He hit .304 with 26 home runs and 98 RBI this year, but Baltimore finished 21 games behind the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the AL East. "I've done many things with this team and I haven't seen results, and the other teams are getting stronger while the Orioles have not made any signings to strengthen the club," said Tejada, the 2002 AL MVP while with Oakland. Orioles owner Peter Angelos and team executive vice president Mike Flanagan did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Yeah of course, what was I thinking....

I should stop digging up old threads about trades.

The Yankees trade Lofton to the Reds for a pair of 24-year-old prospects and are close to signing Mike Myers. The prospects are infielder Kevin Howard and outfielder Ben Himes.

So, is this announced anywhere besides Deadspin? ] BY DAVID LENNON STAFF CORRESPONDENT December 8, 2005, 5:16 PM EST DALLAS -- The Mets have agreed to terms with Julio Franco on a two-year contract worth $2 million, according to a baseball official. Franco, 47, was not offered arbitration by the Braves by Wednesday's midnight deadline and general manager Omar Minaya acted quickly to steal him away from his division rival. Franco batted .275 last season for the Braves with nine home runs and 42 RBIs in 108 games. The deal is expected to be announced on Friday. "I know Julio for a while," general manager Omar Minaya said. "Pretty good numbers over the years." Franco would fit well as a right-handed hitter who could occasionally spell new Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado, a left-handed swinging slugger. Jose Valentin also joined the Mets in a reserve role Thursday, agreeing to a $912,500, one-year contract. "Veteran guy, he wanted to come here," Minaya said. "He can play anywhere in the field." Minaya envisions the 36-year-old Valentin stepping into a role similar to the one filled last season by Marlon Anderson, who signed a $1.85 million, two-year contract with the Washington Nationals. Anderson excelled as a pinch-hitter for the Mets. Valentin hit .170 with two homers and 14 RBIs in 56 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. He was sidelined from May 4 to July 31 with torn ligaments in his right knee after a collision at home plate with Washington catcher Brian Schneider. Valentin is playing center field this winter for a team he owns in Puerto Rico, Minaya said. A .241 career hitter with 228 homers and 736 RBIs, Valentin hit at least 25 homers every season from 2000-04 with the Chicago White Sox. The GM said the Mets have also heard from free agent Jeff Nelson, and the former Yankees reliever is interested in returning to New York. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Great stuff, some great pics....

I think the Wilpons get a lot of bad press and fan scorn , some valid but most not, part and parcel of being team COO/CEO/OWNER.

With this being NY Julio should be able to cash in on his egg white eating habits, sales might go through the roof.

] The Baltimore Orioles and catcher Ramon Hernandez reached a preliminary agreement on a $27.25 million, four-year contract. Hernandez hit .290 with 12 home runs and 58 RBI with the San Diego Padres in 2005. The Orioles' 2005 catcher Javy Lopez hit .278 with 15 home runs and 59 RBI. The deal is subject to a physical and probably won't be finalized until next week.

I think Omar's strategy is to overwhelm every FA , even ones that are who knows what age.

Good stuff Yancy.

Here we go, cue stories about egg whites , can we assume Julio is really about 52 so a two year deal sounds a bit much, still he'll help.

I'm sure Fielder is a great prospect but he's had 59 AB's in MLB so lets not go touting him as a great hitter

How much money did the Sox eat to make this trade, Renteria was a terrible deal looking back, I doubt Schurholz took it all on.

Williams should just take what the yankees offer(1 year $2m +) and finish out his great career.

I'd look hard at Mike Myers,and Reggie Saunders, but a guy like that should get a full time job easily.