Frayed Knot

Dusty only signed a 2-year deal when they hired him? According to Cot's Contracts, yes: 2 years and only $4 million total. Remember that it was all but announced that the Nats were going to hire Bud Black after canning Matt Williams until that fell apart at the last minute and led to Dusty. Supposedly the snag was that Black wanted a longer deal than they were willing to give. Then go back a few years before that when Davey Johnson resurfaced in the dugout off of some org/scouting type of job when Jim Riggleman walked out in mid-season because the team wouldn't negotiate with him for beyond the current year. I guess either ownership or GM Rizzo has a thing about not giving their field managers too long of a leash. Black now winds up getting three years w/the Rox, as did Lovullo in Arizona.

The Bautista part of the Benson deal came about because the Pirates had been raped in that year's 'Rule 5' draft, losing like four players right off the top including Bautista to the Orioles although within six months he had moved to Tampa and then KC getting a grand total of 48 ABs along the way. But Pittsburgh saw deadline deal season as a chance to get one of their guys back so they stuck one more hurdle on the Mets before agreeing to the Benson/Keppinger trade and that was to go pry Bautista away from the Royals and add him to the package of Wigginton and (RHP) Matt Peterson. So the Mets dealt their Australian born minor league catcher Justin Huber (for a time a middling/good prospect) to get Bautista and immediately flipped him to Pittsburgh. I think the lesson in both NYM deals that week (Benson & Kazmir) is the danger you get into once you decide a player is a 'Must Get' to the point where there's almost no hoop you won't jump through to get him without remembering that there's always got to be at price at which you'll walk away. Not that everyone necessarily knew that Bautista was that guy at the time (as the fact that he bopped around through four orgs., one of them twice, in a seven month span shows) but more as a lesson in general as I think in both cases they decided that Benson & Zambrano were what they wanted and that anything Tampa or Pitt asked for at that point became worth it in the Mets' eyes. Bautista, btw, wound up sitting in the minors for Pitt over most of the next two years before finally becoming a full-time player at age 25. Four years after the NYM deal Pitt sent him to Toronto for a PtbNL (catcher Robinson Diaz who wound up with 139 ML ABs) and it wasn't until two years after that, at age 29, that he broke out by hitting 97 HRs over two season despite having never before topped 16 in any year. Someday maybe someone will study his career and figure it all out ... but it certainly has been an odd one. Anyway, back to modern day business -- From he SNY piece: "Bautista is expected to ask for a six-year deal worth at least $150 million, FanRag's MLB reporter Jon Heyman wrote earlier in the offseason. According to multiple reports, free-agent OF Yoenis Cespedes is looking for a similar deal." While they can ask for anything they want, I don't see Yeonis swinging a 6/150 deal and Bautista, IMO, ain't getting close to that. FWIW, Davidoff in the NYPost is forecasting Cespedes back to the Mets at 4/110 and Bautista back to his current team at 3/65

PLAYERTEAMOFFEREDDEXTER FOWLERCUBSYESKENLEY JANSENDODGERSYESJUSTIN TURNERDODGERSYESMATT WIETERSORIOLESNOYOENIS CESPEDESMETSYESNEIL WALKERMETSYESJEREMY HELLICKSONPHILLIESYESEDWIN ENCARNACIONBLUE JAYSYESJOSE BAUTISTABLUE JAYSYESIAN DESMONDRANGERSYESWILSON RAMOSNATIONALSNOMARK TRUMBOORIOLESYESJASON CASTROASTROS???BARTOLO COLONMETS???DOUG FISTERASTROS???KENDRYS MORALESROYALS???MItCH MORELANDRANGERS???BRANDON MOSSCARDINAL???MIKE NAPOLIINDIANSNOMICHAEL SAUNDERSBLUE JAYSNOLUIS VALBUENAASTROS???EDINSON VOLQUEZROYALSNO

I feel 2B is the easiest spot to cover with our existing personnel (Flores, TJ Rivera, Reynolds, Cecchini, etc.) so that the fall-off shouldn't be too bad and it'll be covered for about $16 million less than if he accepts which hopefully then will be put to good use elsewhere.

I would have thought that he'd need a few more miles on him before being considered - and I suspect that he'll be passed over this time for one of his older cohorts (Harrelson, Keiper, etc.) and that the mere consideration will be honor enough for now. But, even if he's not the honoree now, this serves as a great omen that future induction is coming his way.

seawolf17 wrote: Wieters?!? Wow. Tough to be a former catching wunderkind. Weiters was one of the three guys who accepted QOs last year rather than go directly to FA-gency, betting on himself in a way, but then didn't have a particularly good year: .243/.302/.409 which, when park adjusted, comes out to a OPS+ of 87 even if his 117 games played was more than the previous two seasons combined. But, yeah, he'll be 31 in the spring and is certainly past that whole 'Piazza with the bat and Mauer with the glove' label that got put on him back in his prospect days. Not sure what his defense is like these days but I don't know that history is all that kind to the aging of large catchers (6' 5" / 230)

QO info is rolling in but nothing from the Mets as of yet Of those either likely to get, or who might possibly receive, offers: PLAYERTEAMOFFEREDDEXTER FOWLERCUBSYESKENLEY JANSENDODGERSYESJUSTIN TURNERDODGERSYESMATT WIETERSORIOLESNOYOENIS CESPEDESMETS???NEIL WALKERMETS???JEREMY HELLICKSONPHILLIESYESEDWIN ENCARNACIONBLUE JAYSYESJOSE BAUTISTABLUE JAYSYESIAN DESMONDRANGERSYESWILSON RAMOSNATIONALS???MARK TRUMBOORIOLES???JASON CASTROASTROS???BARTOLO COLONMETS???DOUG FISTERASTROS???KENDRYS MORALESROYALS???MICH MORELANDRANGERS???BRANDON MOSSCARDINAL???MIKE NAPOLIINDIANSNOMICHAEL SAUNDERSBLUE JAYSNOLUIS VALBUENAASTROS???

All I'm saying is that, as a FA, Bart has a say in this and it's not going to be easy to look at him with a straight face and tell him how many starts he's likely to get. At least last year there was an implied half-season's worth which unexpectedly turned into a full season. Going into 2017 though, if all of Harvey, deGrom, Syndergaard, Matz, Colon, Wheeler, and Gsellman are healthy at the end of ST then two of them are going to be without a chair when the music stops and from his point of view it'll be tough to sign on thinking you could be the odd man out and from the team's side it'll tough to pay somewhere in the $10-$15 mil range for a middle reliever/spot starter.

I think a big snag is that Bartolo wants to start and that potentially reaching the most wins mark for Latin pitchers is important to him (he sits 12 behind Dennis Martinez and 10 behind Marichal's mark for Dominicans). With that in mind, there are probably a bunch of teams that could offer him a higher assurance of a permanent rotation spot.

So now that the Rockies have decided to 'Take the Black', maybe that means Jon Snow will be the bench coach to Bud Black's Jeor Mormont Also (just one more black joke, I promise) does the fact that his name is Black mean that this qualifies as a minority hire? TEAMMANAGERSigned ThruSTATUSBEGANMETSTerry Collins2017Nov '10PHILLIESPete MacKanin2017 + 2018 optionJune '15NATIONALSDusty Baker2017Nov '15MARLINSDon Mattingly2019Nov '15BRAVESBrian Snitker2017 w/option for '18Removed from interim status - Oct '16May ‘16CARDINALSMike Matheny2017=#00BF40]Extended thru 2020Nov '13PIRATESClint Hurdle2017 + 2018 optionNov '10CUBSJoe Maddon2019Oct '14REDSBryan Price2016Oct '13BREWERSCraig Counsel2017May '15DODGERSDave Roberts2018 + 2019 OptionNov ’15GIANTSBruce Bochy2019Oct ‘16PADRESAndy Green2016Nov '15DBACKS[crossout]Chip Hale[/crossout]2016 + ’17 OptionTorey Lovullo hired, 2017-19Oct '14ROCKIES[crossout]Walt Weiss[/crossout]2016Bud Black hired, 2017 - 2019Oct '13RED SOXJohn Farrell2017 + 2018 optionOct '12YANKEESJoe Girardi2017Oct '07ORIOLESBuck Showalter2018July ‘10BLUE JAYSJohn Gibbons2017Nov '12RAYSKevin Cash2019Dec ‘14TIGERSBrad Ausmus2016 + 2017 OptionNov '13INDIANSTerry Francona2018 + Options for ’19 & ‘20=#00BF00]Extended thru 2020Oct '12ROYALSNed Yost2018May '10TWINSPaul Molitor2017Nov '14WHITE SOX[crossout]Robin Ventura[/crossout]2016Rick Renteria hired - Oct ‘16Oct '16ANGELSMike Scioscia2018Nov '99RANGERSJeff Banister2018 + 2019 OptionOct '14MARINERSScott Servais"Multi-Year" ContractOct '15ASTROSAJ Hinch2018Sep ‘14ATHLETICSBob Melvin2018June ‘11

Today is QO day in MLB - so be sure to have your Qualifying Offers (or Quesadilla Orders) ready to go by the midnight EST deadline. Free Agents can then start signing, with their original team or with any other, as early as tomorrow. Now if this were the NFL it would mean that something like 80% of FA contracts would be in the books by around noon on the first day (never quite understood why that's the case), and if it were the NBA then all the big deals would already been agreed to and widely publicized weeks ahead of the start of their FA period. But for baseball this merely signals the beginning of a long and often slow process that could take some players until late February to latch on with a team.

And the hot stove league is officially underway !!! The Tigers are a team said to be looking to shed payroll this winter, and it appears that may be right as they deal OF Cameron Maybin to the Angels for a minor league arm of seemingly no great promise - Victor Alcantara. Though a CF most of his career up to now, Maybin -- the soon to be 30 y/o who was the #10 overall draft pick by the Tigers back in 2005 and on his second go-around with them after stops in Miami, San Diego, and Atlanta in between -- is due around $9 million for 2017 and is expected to be installed as LAA's everyday LF.

The DiamondBacks have yet to announce it, but former Boston bench coach Torey Lovello is said to be their new manager. Prior to coaching, the now 51 y/o Lovello played pieces of eight ML seasons for seven different teams from 1988 - 1999 while totaling less than 800 ABs Also a couple of teams have '20/20' vision when it comes to their existing skippers. TEAMMANAGERSigned ThruSTATUSBEGANMETSTerry Collins2017Nov '10PHILLIESPete MacKanin2017 + 2018 optionJune '15NATIONALSDusty Baker2017Nov '15MARLINSDon Mattingly2019Nov '15BRAVESBrian Snitker=#FF0000]2017 w/option for '18=#FF0000]Removed from interim status - Oct '16May ‘16CARDINALSMike Matheny2017=#00BF40]Extended thru 2020Nov '13PIRATESClint Hurdle2017 + 2018 optionNov '10CUBSJoe Maddon2019Oct '14REDSBryan Price2016Oct '13BREWERSCraig Counsel2017May '15DODGERSDave Roberts2018 + 2019 OptionNov ’15GIANTSBruce Bochy2019Oct ‘16PADRESAndy Green2016Nov '15DBACKS[crossout]=#FF0000]Chip Hale[/crossout]2016 + ’17 Option=#FF0000]Torey Lovello hiredOct '14ROCKIES[crossout]=#FF0000]Walt Weiss[/crossout]2016=#FF0000]Resigned Oct '16Oct '13RED SOXJohn Farrell2017 + 2018 optionOct '12YANKEESJoe Girardi2017Oct '07ORIOLESBuck Showalter2018July ‘10BLUE JAYSJohn Gibbons2017Nov '12RAYSKevin Cash2019Dec ‘14TIGERSBrad Ausmus2016 + 2017 OptionNov '13INDIANSTerry Francona2018 + Options for ’19 & ‘20Extended thru 2020Oct '12ROYALSNed Yost2018May '10TWINSPaul Molitor2017Nov '14WHITE SOX[crossout]=#FF0000]Robin Ventura[/crossout]2016=#FF0000]Rick Renteria hired - Oct ‘16Oct '16ANGELSMike Scioscia2018Nov '99RANGERSJeff Banister2018 + 2019 OptionOct '14MARINERSScott Servais"Multi-Year" ContractOct '15ASTROSAJ Hinch2018Sep ‘14ATHLETICSBob Melvin2018June ‘11

CF, I can't possibly follow your earlier post and at this point have totally lost track of what your point is. Specifically the part about how you think this is about me bragging about being right as I made no predictions about what was going to happen so wouldn't be right whether the team lost Cespedes, resigned Cespedes, or gave a multi-year deal to Vladimir Putin. 1. It's a year later -- yes, and the covers of nearly a year ago brought the topic of Cespedes back up 2. It's unprovoked, in a nice little thread about tabloid covers -- I wasn't "provoking" anything, I was observing how at-the-moment off-season speculation often looks in hindsight 3. I was right! -- I have no idea what you were right about unless the team adding Walker, Cabrera, and then re-adding Cespedes is somehow proof that last off-season was destined to be Zobrist or nothing

Look, I don't want to log up the Tabloid thread with a lot of strategy talk (so if someone wants to spin this off then fine). This isn't about who was right or wrong nor about things said on this board specifically. My point is that there is A TON of speculation every winter and MOST OF IT winds up wrong. Even the insider media who are there are often speculating about what they think is going to happen (Mets don't seem to have a Plan B) and then fans speculate off that speculation and wind up treating whatever they saw/read last as if the gospel truth. So when leading sub-headlines like 'Cespedes not Right for Mets' get dangled on back pages it tends to get combined with often pre-conceived notions (ie. more speculation) about what ownership can or will spend and many fans (I'd say MOST - including some here) just KNEW that Cespedes would never be a Met again, a fact which was true right up until it wasn't precisely because nobody knows how things will play out. So while I'm sure the brass was disappointed when Zobrist took Chicago's offer, the fact that the writer there sensed that there was no 'Plan B' doesn't mean there wasn't and when they wound up with a different switch-hitting 2B with a near identical career OPS (and five years younger) a mere 24 hours later it indicates that just maybe going home and drinking a bottle of bleach wasn't the only alternative to the dream girl turning down the prom invitation.

One thing I missed last night was how that Michael Martinez guy who wound up making the last out for Cleveland got into the game. He wasn't PH'ing but rather had been brought in an inning earlier in a defensive switch replacing Coco Crisp (Martinez went to RF, Guyer moved from RF to LF) right after Heyward stole 2nd then took 3rd on the over-throw [one out, tie game, top 9]. I assume Francona made that move for defensive purposes, probably on the idea that Crisp has a weak arm compared to either Martinez or Guyer and they were guarding against the Sac Fly with Baez at the plate (that's the AB where he wound up bunting the 3rd strike foul) ... but, Geez, wouldn't you have rather had Crisp up with your season on the line and the tying run on 1st than a career utility player with a sub-.200 career BA? In a series where the Indians OF didn't exactly distinguish themselves defensively or offensively (except, y'know, for the Rajai Davis HR) Crisp was maybe their best guy out there and went 4/12 w/2 doubles plus had a big HR in the previous series.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I just noticed that text at the bottom of TOP HAT: SANDY: CESPEDES NOT RIGHT FOR METS Just a reminder about all of the speculation last winter [Cespedes not right, not in the budget, Zobrist or dick!] and none of it was correct.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: The last minor league logo I remember liking was this one [fimg=170]http://content.sportslogos.net/news/2015/04/h5or8ve6suueamimfur27v2rt-1.gif[/fimg] because I liked the way it incorporated the major league club's logo. But I didn't spend a nickel on that one either ... Not even a Buffalo nickel?

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: And boy I couldn't give less of a fuck what hat he wears. I passed over all 'HAT' covers for the same reason.

I look at it this way: the Mets were the last team to knock the Chicago out of the playoffs during a two year span where the Cubs won 200 regular season games plus another 15 in the post-season. Baseball Prospectus breaks down the managerial moves during Game 7

I don't seem to find the Cubs any more annoying than any winner not named the Mets, and certainly not as much as some here seem to. Maybe I'll get there eventually (particularly if this becomes an annual thing which some are acting as if already assured) but I don't now have a problem with them winning this. That said, a brief listen to 'Mike & Mike' this morning heard them praising the Cubs not just for their youth and talent and Maddon & Theo but for them being mostly 'home grown'. Let's see now: not Rizzo, not Ross, not Montero, not Lester, not Lackey, not Arrieta, not Fowler, not Heyward, not Chapman, not Strop, not Zobrist, and not Hendrix or Russell either if we're counting organization of origin and not just their first [u:nqzfqlvw]ML[/u:nqzfqlvw] team. Having said all that, I don't think it matters really, that there's some kind of right or wrong way to build a club, and their young core that really is home-grown -- Baez, Bryant, Contreras, Schwarber, Almora, Soler (although the jury is still very much out on several of those) -- are certainly a promising bunch. But it's ESPN so I'll give them a pass since this is the only week of the year they pay attention to baseball anyway. Forget it Jake, it's Bristol, Connecticut.

Maddon in particular seemed to get very picky about which relievers he used. Travis Wood (L) & Pedro Strop ® appeared in 77 & 54 games during the season and both pitched to sub-3.00 ERAs and low WHiPs - but then both seemed to be left by the side of the road the deeper into post-season they got. Strop pitched all of 2 innings in the WS spread across 3 games and mostly in mop-up duty even though he gave up just 1 hit and 1 walk. Wood totaled 1.2 IP, also in 3 different games, and allowed a single run. But then somehow neither of these guys were to be trusted in Game 6 until the 5-run lead with two innings to go became a 7-run lead with one inning left. And then in game 7 he went first to Lester even if it meant swapping out his starting catcher (although Ross then HR'd so that turned out OK) and then going to the whip with Chapman before eventually being forced into rookie Carl Edwards and his grand total of 40 ML innings to close it out. Not sure if that's over-managing or under-managing ... but it's certainly interesting managing.

Chad Ochoseis wrote: That wild pitch in the 5th that scored two runs...I only saw part of the field and had no idea what happened. I'll still have to try to find a replay of it to understand it. The pitch hopped up and struck Ross flush in the mask which, when combined with him getting his feet tangled under him, knocked him back on his ass. So between it taking him a sec to recover and get up added to the direction and distance the ricochet, it simply wound up taking the Cubs too long to go fetch the ball. And of course good aggressive running by Kipnis.

And so begins THE VOID.

All those guys wearing blue have already paid for their final drink in the city of Chicago for the rest of their lives.