baseball: yanks have 24 hours

Cafe Society
21

What is the status of Vlad’s back? I know he’s “back” off the DL, but he missed about 40 games this year due to a herniated disc. After seeing both Edgardo Alfonzo and Don Mattingly succumb to back injuries, I would be a bit wary about Guerrero. Fonzie looked like he was going to be an all star for many years, and Mattingly was on the fast track to the Hall of Fame, but now Fonzie’s batting .240 and Mattingly won’t come close to making the HOF (although he has received votes since becoming eligible due to his dominance with the bat in the mid-80s, not to mention his many gold gloves).

Will Guerrero come back strong and be a dominant player, or is he on his way downhill a la Ken Griffey Jr.?

Before the season started, I figured the Yankees would offer big money for Vladdy when he became a free agent, or perhaps trade for him during the playoff drive for some prospects and then spend a lot of effort to sign him to a long term contract. While the Yankees like to spend a lot of money, they also tend to hold on to their best prospects (Jeter, Soriano, Petitte, Posada, Rivera, Williams, etc.), and I don’t know if the Yanks are willing to part with top prospects for a player who could help them this season but may prove to be a risky re-sign after the season.

How about the Yanks getting Brian Giles? The Pirates would ask for less than the Expos would ask for Vladdy.

Of course, I’m a Mets fan, and from what I can tell, they probably won’t be moving any other high salaried players this season. They unloaded Alomar, Benitez and Burnitz, and their remaining high salaried players, Leiter, Glavine, Piazza and Floyd, are either struggling or injured (although Floyd has played fairly well despite his injuries). Floyd and Trachsel could be possible trade bait, but neither are free agents next year, and the Mets can’t just completely dismantle the team and field a lineup of rookies; they need some proven veteran talent during this transition.

I’m not sure what the future holds for the Mets. Sure, it’s fun to see some young players like Reyes, Wigginton, Duncan and Phillips get playing time and show their potential, but it’s not as if all of them are going to become fixtures at Shea in years to come (See Isringhausen, Wilson and Pulsipher). I just hope that the Mets add some healthy and young free agents and that their prospects pan out. If not, Mets fans are looking at the early 90s all over again :frowning:

Heh… just checked espn.com and saw that A-Rod is now willing to be dealt from the Texas Rangers. Who would be willing to pick up that contract?

22

To be fair, Guerrero hasn’t really been injured before. Griffey has had repeated problems, not all of them related to each other. His last full season wasn’t bad - his average was way down, but his power was there, and he seems to play the outfield just fine. If I was Cashman and I could get Guerrero without giving up a ton, I’d take the chance. I’m not sure what Montreal would want for him, though.

And later, Jay Payton, Edgardo Alfonso, Rey Ordonez…

23

I compared Guerrero with Griffey because Griffey is the most recent example of a great talent being hampered by injury. I didn’t compare them for the nature of their injuries, but the possible effects of their injuries, as a few years ago Griffey looked to be poised to break Hank Aaron’s HR record, but now looks to be unlikely to go much past 500 HRs (and some have wondered if he would retire this year).

I’m more worried about Guerrero having the chronic problems that Mattingly and Alfonzo had, as a back injury could allow for more seasons, but ones of diminishing production.

As for Payton, Fonzie and Rey: The Mets were just happy to see Payton reach the majors after he had surgery on both arms. I already mentioned Fonzie’s rise and fall, but if you look at his numbers before he hurt his back (most notably 1997-2000) and after he hurt his back (2001 to the present), the difference is significant. Rey gave the Mets just what they expected, a great glove. Rey just never learned how to hit, and badmouthed the fans last season. Still, if the Mets didn’t have Reyes impressing in the minor leagues, they might have kept Ordonez.

24

Anyone think this rumored 4-team deal between the Cards, Red Sox, Jays and A’s will actually go down? Supposedly, Casey Fossum and another pitcher go to St. Louis for J.D. Drew, who goes on to Toronto for Escobar, and then Drew goes to Oakland for, in all likelihood, Ted Lilly and a prospect or cash.

Personally, I don’t see why Walt Jocketty would settle for Casey Fossum and potentially another pitcher in exchange for J.D. Drew, especially when the Yankees offered Sterling Hitchcock and cash for Steve Kline.

And, in surprising news, Tino Martinez makes $7.5 million for this season. Want to guess what MVP candidate Albert Pujols is making?

$900,000. He’s gonna get a big check in his next contract.

25

If he is ruling out anyplace where he’ll be in the limelight, he better let his agent know that he’ll be willing to settle for a smaller contract because the only teams that will be able to afford the kind of money he’s currently likely to go for are the the big market teams - LA, both NY teams, and Boston.

I have the perfect solution - he can come here! If your name’s not Schilling or Johnson, you can be virtually ignored by the national media (just ask Brandon Webb).

Speaking of players coming here, I personally believe that the D-Backs would have been better off with the “bag o’ balls” and the platoon player (I don’t think a “bag o’ balls” is an accurate description of Brett Prinz, either. Curt Schilling seems to think pretty highly of him). Mondesi is the perfect example of a potentially spectacular talent that just doesn’t seem to care. He was at one time a legitimite five tool player that could have been a superstar. Instead, he’s an underacheiver and, I believe, a cancer in the clubhouse.

And don’t knock Dellucci. He may be a career .270 hitter with a weak arm, but he will give you everything he has, every time, on the field. Just watch him lay his body out to make a spectacular diving catch a couple of times and you’ll respect his play a bit more.

26

I remember that after Ordonez bulked up a lot, before the 2002 season I think, his fielding (range in particular) went downhill. Oddly enough, away from New York, he seems to be having a power surge. :stuck_out_tongue:

Luis Gonzalez gets attention. Actually, the young, surprise fill-ins on the Diamondbacks roster have been the toast of Peter Gammons and ESPN’s Baseball Tonight for months. Just so you know someone’s paying attention.

I’m not sure the Yankees will take J.D. Drew: they’ve had bad luck with guys named Drew. :smack:

27

You mean the famous Louis Gonzalez? :wink: (see Selig, Bud, re: 2001 all-star game).

No, in all seriousness, you do have a point, Marley. I guess I’m still a bit irritated after being innundated by everyone screaming about the injustice of Dontrelle Willis being left off the all-star team (before he was a late addition) with almost no mention of Webb, despite the fact that he had started with a longer string of quality starts than any rookie in the last 30 years.

28

And the Yankees strike again. They picked up Aaron Boone for Brandon Claussen and cash.

Not to fear Sox fans - The Kid made a trade of his own. The BoSox have picked up Suppan and Lyon and a minor leaguer for Freddy Sanchez and Mike Gonzalez. Which means they get back the reliever they traded to Pittsburgh a week later. Good for them.

OK, everyone. Discuss.

29

Oakland got itself a bat by trading with Cincy for Jose Guillen, so I doubt they’d be interested in such a trade.

30

And they excised that ex-Met Robin Ventura for some no-name players. Personally, I would have preferred to see Zeile go and Ventura stay, as Ventura is far superior defensively.

31

And the Orioles trade away a pitcher with 14 wins for someone (someones?) I’ve never heard of ::rolleyes::
…So when are the Expos coming to DC/Northern Va anyway?

32

The Orioles made out very well.

Ainsworth is considered one of the top prospects out there. Even though he is on the DL right now, he will really help your team next year. And the good thing is that he isn’t really a minor leaguer but you got a big leaguer.

Moss also not as good as Ainsworth, but definitely a decent pitcher.

Your team could be a serious contender next year with the addition of these 2 guys.

San Fran got a pitcher that might just be having a career year. Plus he is a free agent at the end of the season, so if they can’t sign him, they paid a huge price for a pitcher they rented for a couple of months. My officemate is a Giants fan and he insists the only way the Giants would even consider this trade would be if they had a guarantee of Ponson signing w/ them for a long term contract. But I have seen him to wear rose colored glasses. Plus with me being an Angels fan, it made for some tense moments last year :slight_smile:

33

Given how close the Giants came to winning it all last year, it’s not a bad risk to take the rent-a-pitcher route. And Ponson might surprise everyone and re-sign with the Giants – after all, Karl Malone and Gary Payton are willing to take pay cuts for a shot at an NBA championship.

34

The O’s also picked up Harraman in the Ponson deal. He’s in low A ball right now, I believe, but he’s registering something like a K an inning. He could be really good in a few seasons. Moss is an OK pitcher and Ainsworth could be special, but that’s a shoulder injury. At least those never come back to haunt a pitcher, though. They’re like a basketball player with an ankle injury or a RB with a knee injury, they tend to be one and done things.

35

Good riddance to Raul Mondesi. Sometimes you add by subtraction. As a Yankee fan, I’d rather see two journeymen platoon in right field than have a very good player that thinks of himself before the team. I hate to see Ventura go, he’s a class act and will be missed. But you have to think long term and Boone has the better career in front of him. Where the Yanks needed help most was in the bullpen, and they’ve shot themselves in the foot this year. Come on, Benitez? The guy has stuff, but gets himself into too much trouble time and time again. Adding 46 year old Orosco wasn’t a move for the future, either. Still, as a whole this team is solid- excepting a hole in right field and a shaky bullpen.

36

Getting rid of Raul Mondesi is itself a huge improvement. Trust me; anything you get in return in a huge bonus. When Toronto dumped him on the Yankees last year the Jays GM was quite open in saying that getting rid of him was the best move they’d ever made. He’s a crummy hitter, his arm doesn’t make up for his nonexistent range, he’s lazy, slow, doesn’t stay in shape, and he doesn’t give a shit about his team. I would throw in players and give them away for free just to get rid of him. I would trade you three Raul Mondesis for one David Dellucci. Actually, the more Mondesis you’d take for Delucci, the better.

The Jays trading Shawn Green away to acquire Mondesi, which included giving Mondesi an enormous contract extension, was among the worst trades in the history of baseball.

37

Howyadoin,

David Dellucci:
7 for 37 since the trade with 8 Ks, batting .189

Aaron Boone:
4 for 48 since the trade with 9 K’s, batting .125

Jeff Nelson:
Given up 2 ER in 2.2 innings over 4 appearances since the trade, ERA of 6.75

Bret Prinz:
Given up 4 ER in 2.0 innings over 2 appearances since the trade, ERA of 18.00, WHIP of 4.50, opponents batting .500

The Yankees were trying to improve their team, right?
muahahaha…oh, sorry, that’s rude… MUAHAHAHAHA!!

Although I guess we’ll see if Jeff Suppan, the starter the Red Sox picked up, is ready for prime time tonight, eh? He hasn’t shown any indication yet, but we’ll see. Williamson and Sauerbeck have looked pretty good from the bullpen.

Go Sox!

-Rav

P.S. In case you were wondering:

Armando Benitez:
Given up 1 ER in 3.1 innings over 3 appearances since the trade, ERA of 2.70, WHIP of 0.60, opponents batting .167

Raul Mondesi:
15 for 49 since the trade with 10 K’s, batting .306

38

Suppan has sucked in 2 starts so far for the Sox.

0-1, 11.1IP, 13H, 12ER, 4HR, 3BB, 8K, 9.53ERA

Sox are only 3 back. Tonight would be a great night for him to get his stuff together…