The 2004-2005 Baseball Hot Stove Thread because I get to start one now

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my mulder jersey is in the mail

this trade makes the cardinals rotation very good. mulder who's won more games than ANY lefty, sorry randy johnson, since 2001, thrust into the top of the rotation ahead of carpenter, morris (who had shoulder surgery and SHOULD be better, theres no way he can be worse), suppan and marquis is very good. still need a middle infield and i feel confident that cabrera and polanco will come to st louis, giving the cardinals molina, pujols , polanco, cabrera, rolen, sanders, edmonds, walker ( c - rf). i'll take that.

the only thing i'd like to add is another pen arm, but izzy/tavarez/king/eldred/lincoln is back/ankiel should be able to hold it down. still would like another one there.

finally a legitmate ace.
 
what number is gonna be on it?

he was 20 in oakland, but that number is retired for lou brock in stl
 
wade miller is a very good signing for them. if hes hurt, it was a cheap contract who cares. if he pitches like he's capable, he's their 2nd best pitcher.
 
MrBrau1 said:
Busy week for the Red Sox, they've signed Matt Clement, Wade Miller and Jason Varitek
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i'm sure the boss is shaking in his boots


i still don't know what the red sox are thinking... not resigning pedro, letting pavano get away, trying to trade manny for fucking cliff floyd, not re-signing cabrera, and then trading away Dave Roberts, who is the main reason why the red sox didn't get swept by the yankees, to the padres for frickin' jay payton...

what are they doing? do they think that because they finally won the series they can take a year off, thus making the yankees look even worse for buying this year's title? :shrug:
 
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Headache in a Suitcase said:


i'm sure the boss is shaking in his boots


i still don't know what the red sox are thinking... not resigning pedro, letting pavano get away, trying to trade manny for fucking cliff floyd, not re-signing cabrera, and then trading away Dave Roberts, who is the main reason why the red sox didn't get swept by the yankees, to the padres for frickin' jay payton...

what are they doing? do they think that because they finally won the series they can take a year off, thus making the yankees look even worse for buying this year's title? :shrug:
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Not re-signing Pedro -- unless he learns to throw a knuckleball, the Mets have themselves a $15 million mascot for 2008. And apparently Pedro and Nelson have broken up, making it an even worse deal.

Letting Pavano get away -- this is the one Theo would like to have this one back. Pavano's not that much better than Matt Clement, though.

Manny for Cliff Floyd -- I don't for a minute believe that this was anything other than a rumor.

Not resigning Cabrera -- they got Edgar Renteria, didn't they? Cabrera went for something like $8 mil per year, Renteria for $10 mil. They're both overpriced, but Renteria is the better deal here.

Trading away Dave Roberts -- they were being nice to him here. He's too good to be a fourth outfielder. Count on either Doug Mientkiewicz or Kevin Millar to be traded sometime this year as well.

The Sox are definitely not looking like the favorites for 2005. 2004 was just one of those magical years where all the moves the Sox made were golden (except for signing BH Kim for 2 more years) and all the moves they didn't/couldn't make also turned out for the best.
 
To further Speedracer's rebuttal to Headache's ludicrous assessment that the Sox are "taking the year off"..
Pedro: Sox final offer was 40.5mil over 3 yrs, Mets overpaid for him, and he took the money, claimed he was disrespected (he asked for 3 yrs and 40.5 mil, so the Sox offer was disrespectful how Pedro?)
Pavano: Lets see how he handles Yankee Stadium and 55,000 angry New Yorkers instead of Pro Player and 4,200 placid retirees before declaring this a Yankee coup. Rememebr how well Jeff Weaver and Javier Vasquez have bloomed under the stadium lights.
Manny for Floyd...if there were any truth to this, it was to clear Manny's contract and spend that money on other free agents.
Cabrera...Renteria...no brainer.
Roberts...largely it was a deal to allow Roberts to be an every day player...Headache you say he was traded for "frickin Jay Payton", try looking at the entire deal, the Sox got Payton, who'll be a 4th outfielder, he has a .285 career avg., they also got Ramon Vazquez to be a utility infielder (since Pokey Reese is obviously gone), they got a decent pitching prospect in David Pauley, and they got cash...they took SD to the cleaners on the deal, since Roberts would have been a bench player in Boston.

Now what have the Yankees actually done so far? They have Pavano. We know they are pursuing Unit and Beltran, but they have landed neither, and currently haven't improved much.
The Sox no risk signing of Wade Miller could be one of the brilliant moves of this offseason if he can stay healthy. Clement should be good for 15 wins, and if Boomer's back stays healthy he'll be solid. So as they currently stand, the Sox seem to have the edge on the Yanks, if the Boss lands his 2 big fish, that shifts things, but neither has swallowed the bait yet.
 
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

From the New York Daily "News":

A deal that would put Randy Johnson in pinstripes appeared to be nearing fruition last night, with the Yankees and Diamondbacks hammering out final details.

Although a gag order was in place with both teams, sources told the Daily News that Johnson informed a few of his Arizona teammates that he was going to the Yankees.


Yankee president Randy Levine and incoming D-Backs CEO Jeff Moorad spoke for the second time in two days yesterday, and there were two scenarios under consideration, according to sources.


Both possibilities involved the Yankees sending Javier Vazquez, prospects and cash to Arizona in exchange for Johnson, but the amount of money the Bombers would ship was contingent on the caliber of the minor leaguers.


In one proposal, the Yanks were to trade Vazquez, Brad Halsey, Abel Gomez and Melky Cabrera (lower-level prospects) for Johnson and include about $12 million to make up some of the difference in money owed to the 41-year-old ace ($16 million this season) and Vazquez ($35.5 million over the next three years).


The other proposal involved the Yankees moving Vazquez and higher-rated prospects Dioner Navarro and Eric Duncan for Johnson, while throwing in significantly less money - around $5 million - to complete the transaction. Once the deal is agreed upon, the Yankees then have to work out a contract extension for Johnson; according to sources, they were talking about adding two years to Johnson's pact at $16 million per.


The Diamondbacks were said to be prepared to accept the results of the physical Vazquez took for the Yankees at the conclusion of last season.
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i just spent the last 10 minutes looking up articles on Carlos Beltran... what does this prove? that i'm an absolute sucker... and once again, despite having my dreams of big time offensive players being shot down time (eh hemmm eh hemmmmmarodhemmm) and time (eh heeehhhhmmmmmmvladmmm) again, that i am again going to let myself get excited over the possability of getting Beltran, when I know full well that the mets will find some way to fuck it up by Saturday... the day when Beltran is expected to make his decision.

i'm as big a douche as fred wilpon and scott boras
 
Has The Boss finally hit his limit?

from the New York Times
ET'S select the five most intriguing stories of the off-season. In this opinion, they would be the Mets' signing of Pedro Martínez, Boston's signing of David Wells, the Yankees' acquisition of Randy Johnson, Oakland's trades of Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder, and Washington's attempt to lose the Expos before it had them.

But if a weekend signal is accurate, the most intriguing story has yet to happen. If it does happen, it will be a nonmove, as opposed to the Martínez, Wells, Johnson, Hudson and Mulder moves.

The nonmove? The Yankees will not sign Carlos Beltran, the most attractive, and expensive, position player on the free-agent market. But it's not just that the Yankees will not be signing Beltran. The story would be that the Yankees will not even try to sign him.

That was the surprising signal from a baseball official over the weekend. The official, who is in a position to hear such things, heard last week that the Yankees did not plan to pursue Beltran.

"Someone told me the other day, if they get Johnson they wouldn't go after Beltran," the official, who refused to be named, said. "Even the Yankees have to have a limit."

No one has ever accused George Steinbrenner of having a payroll limit. What an awful thing to say about the freest-spending owner in the Western world.

Sure, once in a while Brian Cashman, the Yankees' general manager, mutters something about a budget, and he tries to sound sincere. The Yankees, like all teams, are also required to submit a budget to the commissioner's office, which they have done for this year. But just like records, budgets are meant to be broken.

Beltran's becoming a victim of a Yankees budget wouldn't simply be the most intriguing story of this off-season; it would be the most stunning development in years. It would also crush Scott Boras, Beltran's agent, who is counting not only on the Yankees' interest but also on what would be a rare instance of the Yankees and the Mets directly competing for a player.

To have the Yankees yank their interest, just when the Mets are heating up theirs, would be a cruel trick to play on Boras. But then some clubs say Boras has been a cruel trick that has been played on them for years.

Mets officials, including the team's principal owner, Fred Wilpon, met with Beltran in Puerto Rico yesterday. They made no offer but are expected to make one this week.

The Yankees, including Steinbrenner, the principal owner, have met with Beltran, too; they have made no offer. In fact, when Cashman was asked about Beltran last week, he said, "We have to decide if we're going to be a player in this."

The reporters on the conference call who heard Cashman's comment had a hearty chuckle in private; of course the Yankees were going to be a player in the bidding for Beltran, a major player. But Cashman may have been speaking the truth. The Yankees had not decided what they would do about Beltran, who batted .435, slugged 8 home runs and drove in 14 runs in Houston's 12 playoff games in October.

Some Yankees officials know what they would like to do. Giving Beltran $17 million or more a year for seven or more years would be too much money over too long a period.

That thinking is presumably what led to what the baseball official heard about the Yankees' not pursuing Beltran if they acquired Johnson.

The Yankees should have Johnson by the end of the week. With Commissioner Bud Selig's reluctant approval yesterday of the trade with Arizona, the Yankees can begin negotiating a contract extension with Johnson today, under a 72-hour window. When they complete that negotiation, no later than Friday morning, Johnson will waive his no-trade protection.

But a wild card remains in the Beltran business. And the wild card's name is Steinbrenner.

Steinbrenner has said that he likes Beltran, but that he has not said if he wants him. Every other Yankees executive can be opposed to giving Beltran $17 million or more a year for seven or more years, but if the owner says do it, they will ask Boras, "Where do we send the money?"

If the Mets are prepared to offer Beltran a hefty contract, Boras would have no problem putting Beltran into a Mets uniform. Boras's history demonstrates that he is more interested in contract terms than geographical location, and the Mets are serious about wanting to sign Beltran.

This is not a Vladimir Guerrero escapade of last off-season, when the Mets made a ridiculously low offer. The Mets' offer will be competitive. But Boras would still prefer to have the Yankees join the competition.

Steinbrenner could be lured into competing for Beltran because of his hitting, fielding and base-running talents - or because the Mets want him. Historically, when the Mets have done something major, Steinbrenner has tried to counter with a major move. When the Mets signed Martínez last month, the Yankees intensified their efforts to acquire Johnson.

If the Mets were to sign Beltran, the Yankees would probably be left without a major move as retaliation. So the more spirited an effort the Mets make for Beltran, the more tempted Steinbrenner may be to ignore his advisers and go after Beltran himself.

Should Steinbrenner choose to sit out the chase, though, his decision would become the No. 1 story of the winter.
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Where Will Beltran Go?
beltran_73488.jpg
g_beltran_carlos2_ht.jpg
beltran3.jpg


scott boras has stated that "all offers from all involved teams are on the table."

looks more and more like the yankees are, in fact, not going to get involved... which means the carlos beltran sweepstakes comes down to the mets and the astros... scott boras clients ALWAYS go to the highest bidder... so barring any last second surprise by king george, it appears... for now... that the mets might actually pull this one off.


and yes... i am an absolute fucking sucker for getting giddy over this possability, when every time the mets get me giddy they proceed to rip out my heart and eat my children.

i'm an asshole.
 
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The Mets appeared to be closing in on a deal to sign star centerfielder Carlos Beltran early this morning to make him their centerpiece player.

The Mets and Beltran were said to be "only four or five million dollars part'' in discussions that could put Beltran in a Met uniform for seven years. It is believed the Mets deal could be worth between $115 million and $119 million.

The signing of Beltran would cap an extremely successful winter for the Mets. They signed the best free-agent pitcher Pedro Martinez, and looked very likely to sign the best everyday player as well. Beltran hit .267 and had 38 home runs and 42 stolen bases in 2004 and played brilliantly in the postseason to lead the Astros within a game of the World Series.

Going into the week, Mets people were uncertain whether Beltran would sign with them. But they had to feel better about their chances when Boras on Friday sent them a counteroffer to their $112-million bid.

The Mets resumed serious talks after the Astros failed to sign Beltran by their midnight deadline. The Astros and Beltran's agent Scott Boras negotiated right until Houston's deadline, when talks broke off. A few contractual hurdles could not be cleared.

The Mets had been the highest bidder going into the day, but Boras had been hoping the Yankees would get into the mix. The Yankees surprised the Beltran camp by declining to meet his asking price. Yankees president Randy Levine told agent Scott Boras in a 6 p.m. phone call that the Yankees were not ready to go to $16 million per year, or $112 million total. Yankees people stayed by their phone, and it is believed they would have gotten more involved if the price dropped into the $100-million range.

Boras was in contact throughout the day with three teams, the Astros, Mets and Yankees.

A person familiar with the Yankees thinking said that while they liked the player very much, they were concerned about the luxury-tax implications of a $112-million contract, and that the timing wasn't perfect since some big contracts, like Kevin Brown and Bernie Williams, don't come off the books until next year.

George Steinbrenner was in contact with Boras several times throughout the week, and word was that Beltran was very interested in becoming a Yankee. Steinbrenner held a 90-meeting in Tampa Friday to discuss the Beltran situation, and w While his baseball people expressed a concern about Bernie Williams' diminishing skill in centerfield, his "money men'' also had their say.

One person who's talked to Yankees officials said that the Yankees might have considered re-evaluating things if they were able to make a favorable separation settlement with Jason Giambi. However, that could take until close to spring training, and would be an enormous gamble for Beltran to wait it out when he had other $100-million-plus offers on the table.

The Astros bid where few thought they would go to try to beat the large-market teams that vied for Beltran's services. It is believed they bid at least $105 million over seven years.

Astros owner Drayton McLane aggressively pursued Beltran all winter. McLane made it a personal goal to keep Beltran, who excited Astros fans with a monster postseason performance that brought them within one game of their first World Series. Most people never believed Houston would surpass the $100-million mark but it did in the final days, giving itself a fighting chance.
 
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