metirish

From what I read last night Marte could be flipped to the D-Rays for Lugo.

I know nothing about what Toronto gave up to get Overbay but they sure are spending that money, expanding payroll by $30 million is a hell of a lot.So Overbay basically replaces Delgado.

So this should be interesting, Soriano by all accounts hated playing for Showalter, Buck being a stickler for playing hard and so on, let's see how he likes playing for Frank Robinson.

Looks like they tried to sign him...from Newsday.. ] Piazza's departure was expected but Hernandez's leaving was a bit of a surprise. Because of the escalating market for relief pitchers, they were unable to sign Hernandez by Wednesday's midnight deadline . . .

He has that porn-stache going...

Ok I have never liked Jeff fucking Nelson, I hope he's not coming to Queens.

It's confusing to say the least that article...anyway I can't wait to see King Kong.

] BY DAVID LENNON STAFF CORRESPONDENT DALLAS -- The Mets' whirlwind visit to these winter meetings had yet to land them Manny Ramirez or Barry Zito, but general manager Omar Minaya still worked feverishly to make a deal or two before heading back to New York today. Minaya's top priority was trading Kris Benson, and the Mets were moving closer to that goal yesterday with the Rangers after talks with the Royals broke down Tuesday night. A baseball official with knowledge of the discussions said the most recent proposal involved sending Benson to the Rangers for outfielder Laynce Nix and righthander Juan Dominguez. Late last night the Rangers traded Alfonso Soriano to the Nationals for Brad Wilkerson, giving them a surplus of outifelders. Texas is hungry for pitching, and the Mets are anxious to subtract one of their starters, particularly Benson, who is due $15 million over the next two seasons. Ideally, Minaya would like to clear Benson's salary in order to make other moves, with an eye toward acquiring the Athletics' Zito or the Diamondbacks' Javier Vazquez. Minaya talked with Oakland GM Billy Beane this week about Zito's availability, and was eager to make a deal. But the Mets apparently were discouraged by the asking price, and were left with the impression that Beane plans to wait before trading him, perhaps well into the season. That's not to say Zito won't remain on Minaya's radar, and it helps that the A's lefthander has told friends he would welcome a trade to New York, an encouraging sign should the Mets need to negotiate an extension before making the trade. As for Vazquez, the biggest obstacle is money, with two years and $24 million left on the contract he originally signed with the Yankees. Now that Minaya has spent his $30-million surplus on three players -- Carlos Delgado, Billy Wagner and Paul Lo Duca -- there is pressure to trim more payroll before he can add any more pieces. The easiest way to do that would be to trade Benson, or better still, Kaz Matsui, who is proving to be nearly impossible to move because of his $8-million salary this season. Minaya spent much of yesterday trying to find a taker for Matsui, but may be coming to the realization that the Mets could be stuck with him this year. Minaya is asked by reporters about Matsui's status on a daily basis here at the meetings, and either he plans on having Matsui in his Opening Day lineup, or, to say it nicely, he's bluffing other teams into believing that. "Matsui's going to be our second baseman," Minaya said. If only by default. The Mets are among the teams pursuing free agent Mark Grudzielanek, and the Red Sox dropped out of the bidding yesterday when they traded backup catcher Doug Mirabelli to the Padres for Mark Loretta. It's unclear if the Mets would sign another second baseman with Matsui on the roster, but that may convince him to drop his limited no-trade clause and embrace a change of scenery. His contract states that he can be traded to only three teams: the Yankees, Angels and Dodgers. "You know I'm fine with Matsui," manager Willie Randolph said. "He still needs to work very hard on his defense. But I'm not one of those guys saying that he can't play for me, or we need a second baseman. I haven't gone there with that because I still think he can play." Piazza, Hernandez gone. The Mets did not offer arbitration to any of their 11 free agents, including Mike Piazza and Roberto Hernandez. The Mets can't sign either of them before May 1, effectively ending their tenure with the Mets. Piazza's departure was expected but Hernandez's leaving was a bit of a surprise. Because of the escalating market for relief pitchers, they were unable to sign Hernandez by Wednesday's midnight deadline . . . Reliever Jeff Nelson, looking for a job at the meetings, talked with Minaya Tuesday and said he would consider a return to New York, only this time in Queens. Nelson, 39, was 1-3 with a 3.93 ERA for the Mariners last season.

I'm certain they do that Elster, Star Wars would have to be ajusted to beat out Shrek I would think.

Yes that's my fault, his review was the day before, a 4 star one.

]Unless this puts us on the Manny hunt again, then bad. yep , I bet that's the angle the media will take ...

Just heard it now Elster, and I second what you say.

Despite an uncertain ownership situation, the Washington Nationals have made a splash at baseball's Winter Meetings. The Nationals have acquired Texas Rangers' second baseman Alfonso Soriano in exchange for Brad Wilkerson, Terrmel Sledge and a minor-leaguer to be named later, ESPN's Peter Gammons reports. The deal is pending physicals. Soriano hit .268 with 36 home runs, 104 RBI and recorded 30 stolen bases last season. During his seven-year career, Soriano has a .280 average with 162 home runs, 465 RBI and 169 stolen bases. With Jose Vidro already entrenched at second base, it's believed that the Nationals would move Soriano to left field. www.espn.com

The Redsox are apparently looking to trade Renteria to the Braves in a three-team deal that would send Devil Rays shortstop Julio Lugo to Boston. http://www.prosportsdaily.com/mlb/mlbrumors.html

Did you hear that from your people in Dallas Edgy?

I just watched Gamons on ESPN Motion and he talked about the options for Asshead, he could retire, a team like the Redsox might say here's $15 million come pitch for us, back to the Bronx, or what Gammons thinks might happen, Asshead will pitch for the USA in the WBC and then see weather he wants to play for anyone, oh and the rangers could be players for him, like Ryan he could follow that road.

Interesting stuff...wasn't David Wright a Rule 5 pick up?

King Kong is getting rave reviews...the industry is talking Titanic type box office for it...Jack Mattews from the Daily News is very excited... Climbing to the top? The terrific 'King Kong' could be very, very big – maybe the all-time No. 1 In assessing this year's Oscar race last month, I wrote that if Peter Jackson's "King Kong" turns out as well as his three "Lord of the Rings" movies, you can count it in as a Best Picture nominee. I should have been more optimistic. Now that I've seen it, the question is whether it can top 1997's "Titanic" as the highest-grossing movie of all time. The short answer is, probably not. "Titanic's" box-office performance is in an orbit of its own. It sold $600.8 million worth of tickets at home — $140 million more than No. 2 "Star Wars" — and $1.8 billion worldwide, more than $700million better than the last "Lord of the Rings" episode. But "Kong" is the first film to come along in years with at least a shot at the No. 1 spot. "The pedigree of the filmmaker and the scope and breadth of 'Kong' lead me to believe it's the first movie that could remotely challenge 'Titanic' in cultural and box-office impact," says Paul Dergarabedian, president of the theater trend-watching Exhibitor Relations Inc. "Kong," which opens nationally next Wednesday, is as good a movie as "Titanic," and it would seem to have a broader audience. You'll remember that "Titanic's" spectacular run was fueled by teenage girls smitten by the ill-fated love of Leonardo DiCaprio's Jack and Kate Winslet's Rose. "King Kong" has its own love story — two, if you count the one between humans — and its run will be ­fueled largely by teenage boys smitten by the action on Skull Island. It is there that Kong, while protecting blond actress Ann Darrow ­(Naomi Watts), takes on herds of dinosaurs, squadrons of giant bats and scores of pesky humans before succumbing to chloroform bombs and being hauled back to New York for his disastrous Broadway debut. As we have seen with the "Star Wars" movies — which hold three spots in the all-time box office top 10 — teenage boys will risk even repetitive-stress injury clutching tickets to the same action movie. And "Kong," whose budget is in the $200 million range of "Titanic," offers those kids a lot more bang for the buck. Watching the Titanic go down in the second half of James Cameron's movie is visually and viscerally stunning, but Kong scaling the Empire State Building to swat at fighter planes is sheer inspiration! Just as importantly, "Kong" is also very sentimental — not just in the ­famous last scene, where he lies dead in the street next to the Empire State Building, the victim not of planes or bullets but of beauty. In Jackson's movie, which he wrote with his "Rings" collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, beauty is more than blond-deep. It's the sense of life, love and freedom. Women, as my swooning colleague Jami Bernard has already attested, are going to fall hard for this Kong. Watts' Ann Darrow is far friendlier to the ape than the wiggly, screeching Fay Wray was in the '33 film. She gives out a few early hollers, but after being saved several times by Kong — and sensing a refreshing gentleness in this non-New Yorker — she might be house-hunting on Skull Island if it weren't for her boyfriend, Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody), and the film crew tracking her into the jungle. In the scene where Ann wakes up in Kong's paw to see Jack motioning for her to slip away, there is a look of disappointment on her face, as if she wants to say, "Sorry, Jack, I'm with him now." Sentiment is an essential element of blockbusters. Once "Star Wars" got going, teenage boys kept it going, but in the 1977 original, which ranks second behind "Titanic" on the box-office chart, there was the irresistible sexual tension between Han Solo and Princess Leia. "Shrek 2," the third-highest ­grosser, was fueled by the audience's enchantment with the sublime romance between the ogre and Princess ­Fiona. And, of course, with "Gone With the Wind" (the most popular movie in history in terms of ticket sales adjusted for inflation), the power of love has passed the test of time. So has the power of the timeless tale of the beauty and the beast, which has made King Kong Hollywood's greatest and most sympathetic monster. Jackson's remake will only enhance his reputation, and I'll be surprised if it isn't seen by ­everyone who has ever heard of him. A monster boost for the box office Regardless of whether "King Kong" ends up challenging "Titanic" for all-time box-office champ, analysts think it — along with "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (which opens this weekend) — will take the gloom off Hollywood's slumping year. After being down from 7%-10% through the year's first 10 months, the U.S. box office has rallied under the Hogwarts banner of ­"Harry Potter," and is now down only 5.5% from last year. With more than $229 million in ticket sales since its Thanksgiving Weekend opening, ­"Harry" has boosted Hollywood to a 10% increase over the same period in 2004. "It's a moral and psychological victory for Hollywood," says box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "It won't pull us completely out of the slump, but we'll end the year on a very positive note." However the numbers turn out, Dergarabedian and others believe America's movie ­habits are changing. With home entertainment systems, moviegoers are willing to wait on all but the most appealing films for the DVD releases. "We're getting to the point where people only want to go out to see movies that are as big as the screen," says Dergarabedian. "They want to see 'event movies' like 'Kong.' The rest they'll wait for."

I'll just go with whatever you guys choose...

Clems work, does he have a website?

Any link to help us?

]DALLAS -- Trevor Hoffman will stay with the San Diego Padres, agreeing Wednesday to a $13.5 million, two-year contract that includes a club option for 2008.

That Tigers team was bad, but looking at the link and the position players were young, as was the pitching.Still 43 wins..ouch. edit:...that 62 team had alots of young players too... http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/1962.shtml

Nice piece , certainly an interesting life.

WOW, Estrada for those two...they have that kid catcher though, right?