Looking at the Game of Baseball from all ends of the Spectrum
Apparently, the Mariners’ deal for Erik Bedard is very close.
Mariners OF Adam Jones is the key player in the deal and he’s been ordered to report to Baltimore for a physical.
Assuming this deal goes through, this would give the M’s a rotation of Bedard, King Felix, Washburn, Silva, and uhh, Horatio Ramirez. Some Seattle fans say that might be enough to compete with the Angels.
Pitching-wise, maybe. Offense is another story.
After Curtis Granderson’s breakout season in 2007, the Detroit Tigers have seen fit to lock him up for five years. Granderson’s contract will earn him $30.25 million over that period. With a club option, the contract could be worth up to $43.25 million.
“The Tigers held all the chips and didn’t have to do anything,” Granderson said. “I’m very happy with the way everything happened.”
Granderson hit .302 with 24 homeruns and 74 rbis in 2007 not to mention 23 triples and 26 stolen bases.
Curtis graduated from the University of Illinois-Chicago (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s sister campus) and so far is the the only one from there to make the majors. One thing I didn’t know till today: He graduated with two degrees.
Johan Santana passed his physical making his deal with the Mets official-like.
The deal was announced this afternoon. Matt Cerone of Metsblog updated us as it was happening along with key analysis.
Yes, it’s official… The Mets will win the NL East have signed Johan Santana.
Santana signed a record contract for $137.5 million for six years plus #13.35 mil of the Twins’ contract they will owe him. Seven million of it will be paid out as a signing bonus giving Johan a nice $20 million package for this year.
In short, Johan Santana will be a very rich man.
All this was done with the help of (or in spite of) a two-hour extension past the Friday 5pm deadline.
For the Mets’ sake, I hope Santana will avoid the Zito Syndrome. Last year, Barry Zito signed a then-record $126 million contract with the Giants. In 2007, Zito proceeded to pitch his way to a losing record (11-13) with a sub-par 4.53 ERA.
But Santana is Santana and Zito is well.. Zito.
–Steve Conley has a Q&A with Peoria Chiefs manager Ryne Sandberg for MILB.com on his Questioning Authority segment.
–Jacoby Ellsbury would just as soon be staying in Boston
-Now that the deal is done, it seems that Santana and Mets will have some haggling to do. Jayson Stark of ESPN claims that discussions may last till Friday.
-Speaking of the Santana deal, former Twins pitcher Frank Viola has an opinion or two he’d like to share.
-Finally, I wondered about the possibility of Luis Gonzalez retiring in my interview with MLBTradeRumors’ Tim Dierkes last night. Coincidentally, I find out that Luis signed with the Marlins tonight… on MLBTradeRumors.com.
Bat-girl, an extremely popular Twins blogger retired from the blogging thing last year but Metsgrrl managed to coax an opinion out of her about the Santana deal.
Boy, I almost wish I was a fly on the wall at Kenny Williams’ Q&A at SoxFest last weekend.
“We want answers,” declared one fan among a crowd that swelled to about 150 during the first day of the fans’ gathering.
“You don’t have a starting center fielder” and “somebody’s got some explaining to do,” were the other declarations at the start of a scheduled 30-minute session that was extended to 65 minutes.
To Williams’ credit, he apparently handled everything calmly.
“I will take a risk on a high-ceiling players and jeopardize my reputation if I think that player fits into the equation and leads us to a championship if things go the way we think they will,” Williams said during a five-minute reply that finished with applause.
“If you leave here today, understand this: every move, every decision we make is in an effort to win a championship.”
Thanks to South Side Sox for their round up of media links about SoxFest. I hope everyone who went had a good time.
…as well they should be.
To recap, Johan Santana has been traded to the Mets. In return, the Twins get four prospects, Philip Humber, Carlos Gomez, , Kevin Mulvey, and Deolis Guerra.
You can see a video of an SNY Sportsnite interview of Matt Cerone from Metsblog.com in light of this trade.
Tim Dierkes from MLB Trade Rumors wonders if the Twins took the better offer. One thing is for sure. With the other offers out there (i.e. from the Yankees and Red Sox), it seems the Twins have chosen the path that will take more development. The Twins had deals out on the table that would have gotten them prospects, yes, but prospects that were game-ready. Prospects like Jacoby Ellsbury or Melky Cabrera.
Twins fans might need to be convinced that this is was THE deal. Was this better than paying Santana what he really worth?
Let’s end this post with a quote by centerfielder Torii Hunter who has also left Minnesota this off-season, signing with the Angels:
“I hate to hear that. I mean, I’m happy for Johan, but he meant so much for that organization. I’m sad for the Twins’ organization and all of the fans out there. They loved Johan. This is going to be tough for them to swallow.”
Ouch.
Yesterday, the Dallas Morning News has a nice feature article on Josh Hamilton.
I was beginning to wonder if the Cubs had lost something pretty good there when we lost him to the Reds in the Rule V draft. Then last month, the Reds traded him to the Rangers for pitchers Edinson Volquez and Danny Herrera.
For the Reds, the trade is logical on paper but sometimes talent transcends logic. Not to mention that he’s 6’4 and 240.
Last night, I listened to the MLB.com’s John Marzano and Vinny Micucci interview Nick Swisher about his trade to Chicago. I’ve heard Swish interviewed before and I have to say that based on that, I’ve taken a liking to the Ohio State alum.
When interviewed by the press, some baseball players seem to be measured, watching every word and making sure they say the right thing (I don’t blame them honestly the way some in media treat them). Not Nick Swisher. He gives a great interview. He sounds like a long lost cousin at a family reunion.
Anyway, he’s excited to play in Chicago and doesn’t hesitate to bring up that his dad (catcher Steve) was drafted by the White Sox before getting traded to the Cubs. He’s here to finish the job.
Nick is on the ball. Since the trade to the Sox, he’s already updated his website, nickswisher.net, in a black and white motif.