Saturday, December 16, 2006

General Stuff...

The latest rumor going is that Melkey Cabrera is the constant in all of the packaged deals being pitched to the Yanks right now. If that were to happen I would be sad. If it happens to be anything except for the emerging star, Mike Gonzalez (Pirates, Lefty, 24 saves), it will be an outrage.

Vernon Wells deserves the jack that the Jays are throwing at him. He's the type of quality person/player Toronto is going to need if they're serious about making a push for a post season appearance.

Recognizing that they run the risk of finishing 3rd or worse in the AL East in 2007, the Bo Sox seem to be spending more than our Federal Government. I thought they over paid for JD Drew, Dice-K is a $100 million question mark, Lugo was an OK signing, but what may prove to be their best move is the acquisition of veteran bull penner Brendan Donnelly. If Jon Lester can make it back, the pitching situation in Boston is looking more formidable by the day.

The Tampa D-Rays signed the much ignored Akinori Iwamura for three years and only $7 million!! By this year's off season standards that is barely minimum wage. This Third baseman posted some serious pipe hitting numbers in Japan last year batting .311 and 32 HRs. And on top of that - he hit .440 in the WBC last year. Year in and year out, there's always one bargain of the year, and this just could be that. Good move for the D-Rays.

Simply put, the AL East is where the action is, and is going to be tough in 2007.

... On an unrelated note, Jeff Bagwell retired from the Stros on Friday. He was a good player, taking down an MVP in the mid-90s. Many say he's HOF bound. If that's true, then you must put the Crime Dog, Fred McGriff in, and give Donnie Baseball another look as well.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sorry I originally posted this in the wrong spot... I apologize for the re-post.

There's big buzz that Melky Cabrerea and a minor leaguer will be dealt to the Pirates for left handed reliever Mike Gonzalez.

Gonzalez converted 24 of 24 save chances and opposing batters hit an anemic .213 against him. Lefties were worse, .163. He missed the final five weeks with tendinitis. He is only 28 years old.

If this deal goes down, the Yankees will undoubtedly bring bank Bernie Williams to be their fourth outfielder.

I don't know much about Gonzlaez..I mean has ANYONE watched an inning of a Pirates game over the last couple of years, but the stats look real good and supposedly he has an electric arm. The NY Post went as far as to call him "a fireballer".

Truth is, Melky's value is probably as high as it's ever going to be. I say roll the dice and make the move. With the Red Sox trading for the reliever from the Angels and signing JC Romero (not to mention the D-Mat deal), they have markedly improved their pitching staff. Melky, while a nice player, is expendable. If Gonnzalez pitches to form, the Yankees will have their best bull pen since the days when Mariano set up for Wettland....and they will have numerous viable options if the unthinkable happens and Mariano goes down with an injury.

old professor said...

Gonzales pitched for the Pirates last season - no pressure there - there were more vedors than fans. 24 saves in Pittsburgh does not necessarily translate to success in New York.

It would be a shame to see Cabrerea go. The Yankees may want to remeber what happened last year when they lost two of the starting three outfielders. If they trade Cabrera and there is a significant injury or two the Yankees do not have immediate help in the minors. It would be nice to see Bernie come back, but the business part of baseball makes that a long long shot.

Boston has been busy with the sleeper pick-up being Donnelly. He was a major player for the Angels a few years ago, but may have logged too many innings on his arm.

As for The Devil Rays signing Iwamura, he is young and may eventually prove to be a star. Great numbers in Japan does not mean great numbers in the US. Ask Tuffy Rhodes - couldn't make it with the Cubs and turned out to be a major home rum hitter in Japan. Matsui it 50 home runs in Japan has not come close to that number in the US. Smaller parks and fewer quality pitchers in Japan means better numbers.

Anonymous said...

Prof,

While Melky certainly was a Godsend last year, the truth of the matter is that on this team he is a fourth outfielder...and therefore, a "luxury".

Damon and Matsui are signed through 2009 and even though Abreu may come off the books at the end of this season, the Yankees are foaming at the mouth to have Jose Tabata be their next right fielder.

Injuries happen, and if they do, you deal with it, but if you can get what all the sports pundits believe to be an "emerging star" in Gonzlaez to be your bullpen anchor behind Mo', and only give up a "fourth outfielder", I think you need to take the gamble that he will be able to perform under the bright lights.

Anonymous said...

True enough that earning a save for the Pirates does mean he'll be up to the task for pressure situations in NYC.

I'm just saying, if Melkey goes, I'd like him to go for pitching if anything else.

Anonymous said...

Mets are doing the dog and pony show with Zito - what a scam - the deal is already done and they're just doing this to avoid league complaints on collusion.

Anonymous said...

Who cares what the Mets do? Besides, Zito is terribly overvalued. They will be sorry if the give him 6 years

Crash said...

Zito is very over rated. I'm knid of interested in what exactly is meant by "collusion". As a free agent, you can meet with anyone, everyone, or no one. If there's a deal on the table they're under no obligation to tell anyone what the deal is or they could tell everyone the details.

The only time you hear the word collusion in baseball is when 2 or more owners/teams agree to pay (or not to pay)players a certain amount of $.

I guarantee with Boras involved they have not finalized (or agreed in principal) any deal. He will dance Zito around and follow the $$. Given the history (please reference ARod and Chan Ho Park contracts...both Boras guys) Texas will grossly overpay.

Whoever gets him will be sorry they signed him after 2 years and will be looking to dump him half way through 3 years.

Anonymous said...

what I mean by collusion is that the deal was done prior to the end of the season as a quid pro quo to open up future deals to the Asian players.

Maybe I'm wrong, or am just having short term memory problems, but I think the last West Coast player to make it in the Big Apple was Sparky Lyle and the Fish back in the 70s.

Zito and his surfer dude mentality will crumble in NY and will have similar, awful numbers at home the same way Beltran does.

Anonymous said...

I find it hard to believe that the front offices of clubs like the SF Giants, the LA Angels and the Seattle Mariners (who actually had Zito in to meet with them personally), would not have access to the sources that you seem to have regarding Zito's deal being "already done" with the Mets . Do you think MLB would not get wind of this if it were true? I mean they are like the CIA for goodness sake.

I'm not saying Zito is NOT going to the Mets, in fact I think he is; but it was not done before the end of the season, and it's not done yet. If word ever got out that Boras sold a client up the river by not letting the free market place determine where that client wound up, he would never work again.

old professor said...

Boras has a way of convincing owners there is more interest in his clients than in some instances there really is. This could be the case with Zito. The Mets, apparently, may be having some second thoughts because they have started to talk with Jeff Suppan.

Regardless of where he lands, Zito will be overpaid. When it is all over, he may end up with the Mets just so they can get some of the media coverage the Yankees have gotten with their recent signings.

Anonymous said...

I think JD Drew is going to be the downfall of the Sox.. He's already causing problems.

Crash said...

I highly doubt that Zito/Boras had an agreement with the Mets before the end of the season. Boras would never do it. If you have ever seen a Boras interview, or read anything about him, you would know he plays no favorites to teams, he goes for the best deal for the player and himself. He goes where the money is going to be. And for the record that's not collusion, it's tampering. If there was any hint of that Boras would be investigated, lose all of his players, lose his license (yes you have to be licensed to be an agent) and would be banned from all baseball activities. That's just the Boras side, I would imagine the Mets would be faced with pretty stiff penalties as well. Think about it like this...if you recall when the Cubs introduced Pinella as the manager, at a press conference he couldn't even say he would like A-Rod on his team because it would be considered tampering and basically kill any possibility of deal.

JD Drew to the Red Sox is a deal that will land on the 2 extremes. He will either be a complete bust or a complete stud. It mostly depends on his health. If he's healthy (500-600 at bats), look for him to have his best year. I would guess .300 30 hrs and over 120 RBIs. If he starts getting hurt (or saying that he's hurt) look for a Pavano-esque relationship in Boston.

Tony LaRussa said he's never seen anyone in MLB with less heart than JD. He has great talent but no drive and no interest in anything about the game.

Anonymous said...

Caught Yankees Hot Stove on YES. They threw out the idea of Johnson willing to waive the no trade to get out of NY, and that the Yanks might be secretly be in the Zito market.

Not entirely sold on any of these Japan signings.

Right now the projected AL East Standings are: NY, Tampa, Toronto, Boston, Baltimore.

Anonymous said...

Mid,

Johnson will probably go to the Dodgers or Padres and go 24-4 LOL

I like your projected standings, but don't you think the O's can overtake the Red Sox? I mean they ARE thinking about signing Cliff Floyd...LOL

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