metirish

Great for Street, Tadahito Iguchi faired very well,Howard beating out the competition by a large number, especially Jeff Francoeur....Kazmir got a vote.....damn you to hell Duke.....

The St Lucie Mets have some great names... Aristides Almenar - Alhaji Turay plays the OF...

He played for the Long Island Ducks this season..

yep, here's the calender... ] Through Thursday � Free-agent filing period. � Today-Friday � General managers meetings, Indian Wells. � Nov. 16-17 � Owners meetings at Milwaukee. � Dec. 5-8 � Winter meetings at Dallas. � Dec. 5-9 � Major League Baseball Players Assn. executive board meetings, Henderson, Nev. � Dec. 7 � Last day for teams to offer salary arbitration to their former players who became free agents. � Dec. 19 � Last day for free agents offered salary arbitration to accept or reject the offers. � Dec. 20 � Last day for teams to offer 2006 contracts to unsigned players.

Yeah I mentioned it a few posts above this one...

Starting today through Friday is the General managers meetings in Indian Wells. Omar and his crew will be big pimping.

WOW the Dodgers are a mess, what was once not long ago a model franchise is now a complete mess.... ] Dodgers' Course Remains Unsettled Tim Brown On the eve of baseball's general manager meetings, I was wondering what Frank McCourt would say to an employee who changed the course of the family franchise, had no alternate plan, and then hid behind the PR people. After, "Get out," I mean. And wondering whether two years ago, had he been offered the organization and its holdings and found it to be in the condition it is today, would he have hocked everything and bought in? Perhaps not. In the last week, the pool of veteran, talented and available general managers has been drained to ankle level, and McCourt is still out there, sloshing around, never having had a shot at Pat Gillick or Gerry Hunsicker. Maybe he can talk Theo Epstein into taking over Paul DePodesta's new mortgage in Santa Monica, but as a friend of both young, unemployed general managers observed, "They're the same guy, cut from the same cloth. The only difference is, one went to the division series and the other went to the World Series. Maybe Theo's got more of an edge to him, but he's not as clever as Paul." Great. Start printing the nameplate. Once, it was one of the golden jobs in the game. Now, the Macy's makeup counter has less turnover. It is McCourt's team. He gets to wear the nice suits and hang the thick glass doors between himself and the help, whatever their names are. He gets to fire his top baseball man on the eve of the free-agent season, nine days before the GM meetings, at a time when, to paraphrase Joe Namath, it's closing time and John Schuerholz just ain't walkin' in. In case it wasn't utterly obvious before, baseball has come to a new era. There's money to be had again, and the current organizational plan is only as good as last night's attendance, and next week's bank statement. It is the secure and steadfast leader who trusts his baseball people. In a $5-billion industry, it takes courage. But some try. As one owner said recently, "I'm not going to meddle in baseball affairs. I'm going to put my faith and confidence in the person I hire, but I'll also hold him accountable. Of course, there will be decisions the GM will want my input on. There will be those rare decisions where I'll be a consultant. But 99.9% of what's done on the baseball side will be handled by baseball professionals." Wait, that was Frank McCourt. Less than two years ago. So far, that 0.1% has included a lot of baseball-professional work, and it's that time of year again, when the baseball professionals do that baseball-professional stuff, such as putting next season's club together. That leaves Kim Ng and Roy Smith to continue DePodesta's vision, create their own vision, or predict the new guy's vision, with the next deadline arriving on the weekend, when teams may begin negotiating with other teams' free agents. The general managers and substitute general managers arrive today in Indian Wells, where they'll spend three or four days considering a thin free-agent class and taking numbers outside Scott Boras' suite. The dearth of free agents is expected to feed a lively trade market and, again, the Dodger baseball professionals will have to wing it. The Dodgers allowed Jeff Weaver to drift into free agency, so they require at least one starting pitcher along with an outfielder, assuming they stand firm on their Milton Bradley decision, and at least one corner infielder. They will find top-end free agents resistant to a franchise that carried 91 losses, front-office upheaval and no manager or coaching staff into the off-season. Their best scenario would be a liberated, thrill-seeking Hideki Matsui, who for the Dodgers would play every day, hit most of the time and become, with Eric Gagne, the face of the organization, but that would take a big-time sales job by somebody. More likely, Matsui returns to the New York Yankees, and the Dodgers look over Brian Giles and, in a lurch, Johnny Damon. Nomar Garciaparra would play third base for them, and they'd be wise to make one more call to Gillick to see how he will resolve the Jim Thome-Ryan Howard issue in Philadelphia. The Dodgers believe help is on the way from the minors, but they can't take another fourth-place hit while waiting. And avoiding that is going to cost them in dollars and, maybe, one or two of those prospects. Interestingly, the most popular franchise representatives in the desert today will come from the Boston Red Sox, who also don't have a general manager, but, for the moment, do have Manny Ramirez. The Angels and New York Mets appear to have the goods and the standing to acquire the slugger, who has the right to veto trades. The Dodgers aren't expected to be players there, but have plenty of other work ahead. In that, and for now, Smith and Ng are on their own. If they're lucky.

I would rather have Mia Hamm for the outfield.

Some info on Ishii and others, Kaz has a hell of a buyout $...I hope Bert stays.. ]Mets aiming to close with Wagner By JOHN DELCOS jdelcos@thejournalnews.com THE JOURNAL NEWS (Original publication: November 5, 2005) Having declined the option on closer Braden Looper earlier in the week, the Mets expressed interest in one of their premier free-agent targets: Philadelphia Phillies left-handed closer Billy Wagner. The Phillies retain exclusive negotiating rights until Nov. 10, so Mets general manager Omar Minaya could not talk money during his reported meeting with Wagner this week in Virginia. The Mets did not confirm the meeting. A catcher, a power-hitting first baseman and a second baseman are the Mets' other priorities. The club announced yesterday that it had declined to pick up the $2 million option on left-hander Dae-Sung Koo. Koo, 0-0 with a 3.91 ERA in 33 appearances last season, remains property of the Mets. He made a $400,000 base salary last season. Koo's shining moment remains his double against Randy Johnson and the Yankees on May 21. Koo then scored from second on a bunt. The Mets also said they have until Nov. 15 to decide whether to exercise the options on pitchers Kaz Ishii ($3.25 million with a $2.2 million buyout) and Felix Heredia ($2.5 million option with a $200,000 buyout). Heredia will serve a 10-day suspension at the start of next season after testing positive for steroids. Right-handed reliever Roberto Hernandez, whom the Mets hope to keep, filed for free agency.

The NY Times reports that Joey Eischen from the Nats is on the Mets radar... ] By BEN SHPIGEL Published: November 5, 2005 As the Mets continue their pursuit of the free-agent closer Billy Wagner, their top priority this off-season, they have reached out toward improving other areas of their bullpen. They have inquired about the left-handed reliever Joey Eischen, who spent last season with the Washington Nationals, Eischen's agent, Alan Nero, confirmed yesterday. Eischen, 35, was used primarily as a situational left-hander last season, when he went 2-1 with a 3.22 earned run average in 57 appearances, and he may have made an impression on the Mets with how he handled Cliff Floyd. Eischen would be expected to be a situational left-hander for the Mets, and possibly work as an occasional set-up man for their new closer. It is no secret that the Mets would love for that to be Wagner, and several Mets executives visited him and his agent, Bean Stringfellow, at his Virginia home on Wednesday to prove their keen interest in him, according to a baseball executive familiar with the meeting who did not want his name used out of concern that it might affect the competition for Wagner's services. Wagner is the top closer on the market, but the Mets cannot offer him a contract until Nov. 12 because the Phillies have exclusive negotiating rights with him until then. Wagner is believed to be seeking at least a three-year deal. Nero also said the Mets have expressed interest in another of his clients, the free-agent catcher Bengie Molina, who played for the Los Angeles Angels last season. More Articles in Sports >

It seems not many people want the Dodgers GM job but that could be good for Kim Ng..do I remember correctly that Duke wanted to bring her to the Mets a few years back, wasn't this the same person that one of the Mets "super scouts" insulted the year before? ] GM search might lead to historic hire By Tony Jackson, Staff Writer The list of people who don't want to become the next general manager of the Dodgers continues to grow. Although owner Frank McCourt was scheduled to speak by telephone on Friday night with former Texas GM John Hart, there were indications Hart's interest in the job was tepid, at best. That could leave Dodgers assistant general manager Kim Ng as the leading candidate for the job. Ng, who would become the first female GM in major-league history, will be interviewed for the position. When asked for her reaction to getting that interview during Friday's media conference call to discuss the signing of outfielder Jose Cruz Jr. to a one-year contract, Ng declined to address the matter. "We would rather comment on other stuff as opposed to my situation," she said. Hart, who remained with the Rangers as a consultant after stepping down as GM last month, would join Pat Gillick, Gerry Hunsicker, Kevin Towers and possibly Theo Epstein as veteran GMs and possible candidates for the Dodgers job who weren't nearly as interested in the Dodgers as the Dodgers were rumored to be in them. Rather than wait to hear from the Dodgers, Hunsicker accepted a front-office position with the woeful Tampa Bay Devil Rays. That speaks volumes about the decline of what was once one of baseball's proudest franchises, one that now seems to be in such a bizarre state of disarray that the ongoing search for a GM has become a buyer's market. Cruz returns: The switch-hitting Cruz, who batted .301 after the Dodgers acquired him from Boston on Aug. 9 for minor-league infielder Tony Schrager, agreed to terms on a one-year contract with a club option for 2007. Terms were not disclosed, but the deal is believed to carry a $3.2 million guarantee. Cruz was eligible for free agency, but hadn't filed. The move probably cements the anticipated end of Milton Bradley's turbulent stint in Los Angeles, because it likely means Cruz will be the everyday right fielder with J.D. Drew moving to center, which was Bradley's old spot. The Dodgers are expected to try to trade Bradley. But if they can't, they are expected to non-tender him and allow him, his surgically repaired left knee and his anger-management problem to test the free-agent market. "It's something we still have to decide on," said Roy Smith, the Dodgers' vice president of scouting and player development. "Milton has to get healthy, especially physically. There are some issues there. As far as where his rehab is right now, we're pleased." Cruz, who will turn 32 in April, will receive a 2006 salary of $2.91 million. The club option is at $4.5 million, with a $300,000 buyout.

The 17 stolen bases caught my eye....and his defence did get better.I know we laugh at Fran Healy but his mantra in regards to Wright all season was that his defence would get better because it was something he could work at and with Wright's work ethic that would not be a problem. long live Wright.

Just in time for the winter...a Mets snowsuit..the seller says...

Jon Heyman should have his own humor thread...Mark Hale says the Mets front-office types visted Wagner at his home in Virginia... ]November 4, 2005 -- The Mets cannot offer Billy Wagner a contract yet, but they are doing just about everything else they can do right now to show the star closer their interest. The latest step in Wagner's recruitment came on Wednesday, when several Met executives traveled to Virginia to meet with Wagner at his home, according to a person familiar with the meeting. The meeting included Mets GM Omar Minaya, as well as assistant GM John Ricco and special assistant Tony Bernazard.

Does he have a winning record as a Mets pitcher?

They look like good moves to me, remember last season there was talk of Bowa coming to the Mets as a bench coach, I like Bowa and I remember on Baseball Tonight he talked about how coaching 3rd base is one of the toughet jobs in baseball. I think Guidry is a terrible choice fro pitching coach if they choose him, being around the game during Spring training does not make you a coach these days, I'm surprised they don't try for Dave Righetti .

Was Lawrence a big time prospect at one time?.

I can't believe you guys haven't got this player yet, yeah so I cheated earlier today and found his name but still....a crate of schaefer to the person that gets him.

You mean Dave Mlicki 62, and for that game pitched against the MFY's I agree.

Well I did admit to it, and I didn't post the answer and then claim like I knew it all along.....LOL

I found the answers and one I would never have guessed.......not exactly what you might expect from a Polish name...

I think Franco will be a Mets coach in a few years, in the system of course, maybe in Brooklyn to start and in perhaps five years he'll be coaching with the big club.

I think Cards fans are still bitter over the blown call in 85,anyway this is dumb...the "best fans in baseball" should no better.

A good read...Mark Grace is funny.... ]"Cairo's hitting better, he's better with the glove, and he's one of the top players in all of baseball in advancing the runner. Other than Matsui making $6 million more a year, this is a no-brainer. Go with Cairo." one of the top players in all of baseball in advancing the runner.......he wasn't even a great bunter for Christs sake..

Well that was a good laugh..I guess KK never jumped the shark then, did he do more that a few last season, I only remember one show.