MetsCitiBlog

A's having a press conference today at 1pm, signing Sheets?

According to Mychael Urban, the A's have scheduled a press conference for 1pm today.  Have they signed Ben Sheets?  Obviously this is just rumors and guessing, but it is a real possibility.  Sources have also confirmed to Urban that the A's offer to Sheets is definitely in the range that Sheets is looking for. 

I am leaning to thinking that this conference is related to a Sheets signing.  I am not trying to be pessimistic, it is just how I am feeling.  Tim Dierkes of MLBTR relates one scouts opinion that the A's are in a great position as well as Sheets because they get a great pitcher that, even if they tank in the AL West, they could trade by the deadline for prospects. Stay tuned for 1pm.

DeRosa close to signing with the Giants, Mets safe

At FoxSports, Ken Rosenthal writes that the Giants are close to signing Mark DeRosa.  The deal is believed to be for two years at $6 million per.  That is a good bit of money for DeRosa.  He has shown the ability to play many positions and hits for a little power.  He has been linked with a lot of teams this off season, Mets included, but did not get the long term deal he was originally looking for.

All off season, I have been sweating this guy.  I thought he was exactly the type of ballplayer that Minaya would overpay simply to get another hitter.  He is decent, but I do not think he would have been an upgrade for the Mets and I do not see him worth multiple years.  If you had told me he would have taken a one year deal, I would have been interested, but next year's crop being what it is, why get hamstrung with multiple years this off season.

Side note, I coach baseball at Bergen Catholic High School in NJ, where DeRosa went to school and starred if baseball and as quarterback of the football team.

Yankees closing in on Vazquez

All the top guys (Rosenthal, Sherman, et al.) are tweeting that the Yankees are close to getting Javier Vazquez from the Braves for Melky Cabrera and others.  Vazquez is a solid vet with a track record for throwing lots of innings and keeping his teams in ball games.  This would be a great catch for the Yanks to save their bull pen and secure the strongest 1-4 starters in the league.  Also, this allows them to keep one or both of Chamberlain/Hughes in the pen.

The problem for the Mets with this deal is it frees up cash for the Braves to get the big stick they need.  Is this why Bay and Holliday are waiting?  Sure, the Braves represent another team to bid, and force the Mets to decide whether they are going to pony or or wave goodbye to them.  Not good.

Yankees working hard on pitching pickup?

Buster Olney is tweeting the Yankees are working very hard on an acqusition tonight regarding pitching.  He eludes to the possibility of Aaron Harang since he was looked at by the Bombers last summer.

As long as its not Ben Sheets, Cliff Lee, or someone's ace, fine.  I am really hung up on Sheets and if the Yankees trade for like Zambrano, or Josh Johnson out of the blue, I will go nuts.  I know what you are thinking, that's crazy.  But in the back of your mind, you cannot rule it out since we are talking about the Yankees.

Stay tuned

P.S.   I don't even like that color blue on my site, it makes me sick.

Marquis sign with the Nats, does it matter?

The Nationals have signed Jason Marquis.  Several agencies reported it, I read it here first.  A two year deal for $15 million and the Nats have themselves a solid, middle of the rotation guy that should win his 13-15 games and lose his 10-12 games. 

Mets fans everywhere are not happy.  Another guy they wanted, gone, and this guy wanted to play in New York!  But, before we jump to conclusions and hang Omar, let's take a look at the facts.  First, yes, I think this guy has a good makeup for pitching in New York.  He doesn't shy away from taking the ball, is relatively healthy, and throws 200 innings a year.  However, he is a mediocre pitcher that, although he has made it to the playoffs every year for like nine or ten seasons, never gets to pitch in the post season.  He has 23.2 innigs total in post season pitching.  Andy Pettite had 30.2 this year alone.  Not a fair comparison, Carl Pavano has 26.1 in only 2 seasons worth of post season pitching. 

Marquis would have been fine in the back end of the Mets rotation, I would have been o.k. with him throwing 200 innings for us.  Why spend $15 million on him though when there are several more so-so pitchers out there that you could possibly land for $5-7 million?  I am fine with this too. 

If the Mets want to save a few bucks to drop on a big ticket, sounds good to me.  Doug Davis, Jon Garland, Joel Pineiro, Ben Sheets, and Justin Duchscherer to name a few.  Some will get more, some will get less.  At the end on 2010, the discussion will be who picked the winner and who picked the dog, and all the  rest will be in the middle.

Cubs finally dumping Milton Bradley

Larry Stone is reporting by Tweet that the Cubs and Mariners have agreed to swap Carlos Silva and Milton Bradley.  Silva was a pitcher that showed flashes here and there and never has put it together over the course of a season.  Somehow he managed to get the Mariners to pay him a ton of money a couple years ago and it did not work out.  Bradley, if he could just shut up & play hard, would do very well.  The problem is, he is always a problem.  He hits and gets on base well. 

I like this trade more for the Mariners, as Bradley can perform pretty well even while being a D-Head.  Silva on the other hand is not much.  Maybe the switch to the NL will do him good.  Seattle gets another good bat, does this take them totally out of Bay?  Where does Chicago go now for a hitter?  Although they got rid of Bradley, the salary was not dumped since Silva is owed roughly the same over two years.  Perhaps they go after Marlon Byrd.  I don't see them entering the Bay/Holliday sweepstakes, as they are still looking to spend on pitching/relievers.

Coming Scenarios to look for in the MLB

Today was a big day in Major League Baseball.  John Lackey got $85 million from the Red Sox, the Phillies got Roy Halladay, and the Mariners apparently got Cliff Lee in the Halladay deal.  In minor deals, Hideki Matsui left the Yankees to sign with the Angels for $6.5 million and the Red Sox signed Mike Cameron for $15.5 million.  Boston reportedly has a $15.5 million deal out to Aroldis Chapman as well (major league contract). 

So, what can we expect from the rest of the market?  I have put together a list of some things that may or may not happen, that could develop into some major moves for several teams, including the Mets.

• Watch out for the Yankees!  As the suitors for Matt Holliday dwindle, Cashman's eyes begin to light up.  Could free up Melky and Brett for trades.
• Angels need pitching and hitting.  Mentioned as a landing spot for Derek Lowe, do they trade Juan Rivera for him & let Matsui play LF with Abreu in RF?  Not likely, How about Bay or Holliday.
• Cardinals getting closer to an affordable Holliday deal, or will they sign DeRosa and move on?
• You know its going to happen.  What team, out of no where, will jump in the mix for Bay/Holliday and will they be successful?

The Mets, I think are in a good position.  I know all Mets fans everywhere are screaming for a signing, but hold on for a minute and let's try to use this to our advantage.  I think the above scenarios could prove costly to the Mets if they go certain ways, but could help us if teams fail to act aggressive.  More about the Mets in the next post. 

Lackey to Red Sox, Mets better move on Holliday or Bay

Joel Sherman says the Sox have signed John Lackey for 5 years around $85 million.  Lots of money and years, but the Sox made a bold move to add pitching.  I am wondering if this will free up some of their prospects to send to San Diego for Adrian Gonzalez.  Theo Epstein is tough and I could see him and his buddy Jed Hoyer hooking up on a quick deal.  Obviously, Hoyer is going to get a good amount for Gonzalez, but who has a better chance to get him that the old boss Epstein. 

I think its time for the Mets to step it up.  I am sensing furious movement now because several teams are in the fray for the final two big pieces.  Holliday (my first choice) and Bay are the last two big pieces available.  Let's go Hot Stove!

Phillies getting closer on Roy Halladay?

Andy Martino is saying that Roy Halladay and his agent are in Philly.  Apparently, the idiots are close to getting Halladay and there is a rumor that Cliff Lee may be part of the deal.  He may be going to a third team for prospects and the Phillies turn around to deal some or all of the prospects for Halladay.  As far as I am concerned, Lee or Halladay, both are a headache for the Mets.  I do not see Roy Halladay as that important of an upgrade for the Phillies.  Cliff Lee can be a moster.  He is lefty and 31 years old.  I know what Halladay has done, but there are a lot of innings in that arm too.

I would be much more afraid if they had acquired another big bat.  The Phillies will be very strong again, but how strong, and how do the Mets bounce back next year are really the main questions?  Also, what do the Phillies get from Raul Ibanez?  He was nasty in the beginning of the year and then fell hard.  He ended up with good stats because of how strong he started.  Can Jayson Werth repeat what he did?

To me, there are a lot of questions regarding the Phillies as well.  Let's hope the answers to the Mets questions are good and not so good in Philadelphia.

Adam Bostick signs minor league deal with Royals

In a blurb on Rotoworld.com, it seems that the lefty, Adam Bostick, has signed a deal with the Royals.   Bostick was once a member of the Marlins traded to the Mets in the Matt Lindstrom deal.  He came to the Mets with a lot of promise and never really panned out as the starter he was supposed to be.  However, in a post by Ed Ryan on MetsFever in August, Ed explains that in Bostick was used as a reliever in 2009 and was having great success and Ed was calling for him to be called up. 

Bostick had good numbers in a combined season of AA/AAA.  His era was 3.05 and he had 63 strikeouts in 56 innings.  Most important though, he had only 22 walks in his 56 innings.  Control had been a trouble spot while he was starting in the minors. 

I guess I wish the Mets didn't give up on the lefty after he had such a decent season.  One would think he was worth a split deal like they just gave Dessens.  Really, how much would it have cost them?  If he was another righty, then fine.  Pedro Feliciano needs a lefty buddy down in the pen.