Monday
December 15, 2003
Saddam Hussein Captured
On the weekend of the Winter Meetings, who would have thought that my first paragraph would not have been about baseball? Well, it’s not going to be. I have to at least mention the capture of Saddam Hussein. Congratulations to President Bush and all the men and women in the armed forces who represent this country so well!
Well, I think we all assumed more would happen over the weekend in terms of both trades and signings. But really, there weren’t as many deals (yet) as I would have thought. By the time you read this, there could be a number more.
I think we all assumed the Twins would be more active. Well, Terry Ryan may be active, but it isn’t resulting in anything yet. Jacque Jones is still a Twin. They don’t have a #4 starter. Their middle infield looks the same. They don’t have a closer. We don’t have our veteran catcher who will be able to tutor Joe Mauer (although there are a lot of rumors saying the team could acquire Eddie Perez, which would, in my mind, be an excellent pick up!).
And I’m almost disappointed in the inactivity. I’ve enjoyed watching Mr. Ryan tinker with the team, even if it means fan favorites and players I like watching play are moved. I was hoping for much to happen over the weekend. But, in the long run, I’m glad nothing has happened yet. I would not want Terry Ryan to make a move simply for the sake of making a move. Jacque Jones is a talent. Unless the Twins get something they really need, I am ok with them keeping him. I want them to get a pitcher of the likes of Jake Peavy, a young pitcher who would be with the team for a number of years. There was talk of trading Jones to the Diamondbacks for closer Matt Mantei. The D-Backs would even pay at least half of the $7 million owed to Mantei. But I really don’t like that deal because Mantei would be gone after the 2004 season.
Mr. Ryan has a difficult job, and what makes it more difficult is the fact that everything he does needs to be mentioned along with the fact that he is only doing what owner Carl Pohlad is instructing. He has to build a team under the $56 million salary cap that Pohlad insists upon. So, when Terry Ryan is making moves, please don’t blame him! Everything he is doing is to build the best team possible with what he has to work with.
There are plenty of rumors out there there. The Twins have mentioned that they are putting Cristian Guzman (and his contract) on the trading block. I can’t imagine anyone would want him. But it is a contract year for him, so maybe he’ll have a good year to play for the money! Also, there are reports that Pittsburgh is showing much interest in Doug Mientkiewicz. I still don’t see the Twins trading Doug, but if they get blown away by an offer, you never know. The Twins are also supposedly trying to make moves so they could sign Arthur Rhodes and Jeff Suppan. I would applaud the team signing Rhodes. But I am no Jeff Suppan fan. I don’t see him as worth whatever money he might cost!
But there were quite a few deals that occurred over the weekend. Here’s a quick look:
OK, I lied, Terry Ryan did make one deal last night. He traded OF Dustan Mohr to the San Francisco Giants. At this time, we don’t know who the team received in return, although Lavelle Neal speculates that it could be the backup catcher the club is looking for. (Please be Yorvit Torrealba! Please be Yorvit Torrealba!) If that is the case, great trade for the Twins!
The team is set in the outfield, and it’s good to see that Mohr is the first to go. In my mind, after Jacque Jones is traded, the Twins will be fine with Michael Cuddyer, Lew Ford and Mike Ryan in the RF/4th and 5th outfielder spots.
I have been rough on Dustan Mohr on this site. I don’t know if he reads this site, or if any friends of his do. I do have to say this. There aren’t a lot of players who work harder than Dustan Mohr. You could visually see that he was giving 100% at all times. How frequently did we see him sliding and diving in foul ground to catch balls? How often did he come up with a big home run. He hustled down the line at all times and took extra bases when he could! To be even more fair, I think that a lot of his strikeouts last year came from just trying too hard. Dustan Mohr worked hard to make the Twins team, and when he played, he contributed a lot to the two AL Central Division Championships.
I certainly wish him well in San Francisco. I would think he should be given a shot at the RF job vacated by Jose Cruz, Jr, or at least a spot as a 4th outfielder.
Miguel Tejada off to the Birds
The Orioles filled the first piece to their puzzle yesterday by signing shortstop Miguel Tejada to a 6 year, $72 million contract. I have to admit, I don’t think that Tejada had been offered nearly that much by other teams. I mean, the Mariners offered him a 4 year, $32 million deal, but that was really it. So for the Orioles to open up their pockets like this must have made Tejada jump at the chance to sign. He will do well for them though. He’ll hit in the middle of the lineup and produce. He will play a very solid defense. And he seems to be a good team leader and really enjoy playing.
The A’s will, of course, get a first round pick from the Orioles as well as a sandwich pick for Tejada.
Last evening, I got an e-mail from Lee Sinnis that said:
The Orioles are about to announce the signings of free agents C Ivan
Rodriguez and RF Vladimir Guerrero.Jayson Stark discusses that scenario today too.
If these events happen, well, what a weekend for the Orioles and their fans. They have added three bats to the middle of their lineup. A huge upgrade. More power, more experience. But that is a lot of money, isn’t it? I mean, I would assume that Guerrero will cost at least $90 million, if not more. Pudge Rodriguez would probably get two or three years at about $10 million per season. That’s a lot of money.
But let’s be honest. They need to compete with the Yankees and the Red Sox. To compete with them for a playoff spot, they have to spend money. They have to make moves like this. So, right now, their pitching staff is the question mark. But if these three sign, I think the O’s become a place where pitchers may be willing to sign. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone like Sidney Ponson would re-sign with them.
So, do these three stars make the Orioles better. Absolutely! By far! But will it get them to the playoffs? Absolutely not! Or at least, not yet. But if they can add a couple of pitchers, they may challenge later into the season.
We’ve only been waiting for Foulke’s decision for a couple of weeks. Originally believed to have been offered a 3 year, $21 million deal, apparently all it took was a little more money. The deal turns out to be a 3 year, $24 million deal for Foulke. So, he leaves the A’s to become the closer for the Red Sox. My how things have changed for Foulke in the past two years. He went from being the White Sox closer, to being demoted to middle relief. After the season, he was sent with others to the A’s for Billy Koch. Foulke had a very good year in Oakland, and it earned him a LOT of money. Free agency is fun, huh?! Another first-round pick for the A’s, this time from the Red Sox, along with another sandwich pick.
JD Drew and Eli Marrero to Braves for Jason Marquis, Ray King and Adam Wainwright
Friday, there was a rumor that the Cardinals were going to send Drew to the Braves for Jason Marquis, but they also wanted left-hander Ray King. I guess the Cards threw in C/OF Eli Marrero, and that got them Ray King as well as big-time pitching prospect Adam Wainright!
What a great deal for the Braves (assuming Drew can ever put together a full, injury-free season)! Drew will step into RF, replacing Gary Sheffield. He won’t hit as well as Sheff, but he can be very solid and play good defense. Getting Marrero is key to the deal as well as the Braves attempt to replace Javy Lopez. The Cardinals don’t do bad though either. To me, Jason Marquis is not a prospect any more. However, he can be a decent 4th or 5th starter for them, lending some stability to the back end of their rotation. Ray King is a solid left-handed reliever.
Wainwright is the key to the deal for the Cardinals though. Although he struggled at AA this season, he is still thought of very highly in baseball circles. The interesting thing with Wainwright is that he started last season at 6-6. By the end of the year, he was 6-8, or even 6-9. Some believe that the continued growth may have affected his pitching mechanics. That is scary to some, but once his mechanics get caught back up to his body, he could still be a potential big-time major league pitcher.
So if I were to grade the trade, I would say that for now, the Braves win big time, assuming healthy from Drew (which isn’t a sure-thing at all). But if Wainwright pans out the way he could, the Cards could get the better of this deal long-term.
Juan Encarnacion to the Dodgers for PTBNL
Juan Encarnacion is a pretty good major league player. However, with the emergence of Miguel Cabrera and the re-signing of Mike Lowell, Encarnacion was likely to be non-tendered next week by the Florida Marlins. The Dodger are in serious need some some offense. It is still possible that they will non-tender him, but they have a week or so to make that determination. If he fits into their plans as a viable outfield option, he will be kept. My assumption is that then the Player to be Names Later would be a better prospect.
And now, it’s official! Torii Hunter is the best defensive centerfielder in the American League. Mike Cameron signed a 3 year deal worth about $21 million. And Tom Glavine rejoiced! The Mets defense has been bad. Their two big offseason deals have improved that. First, they signed Japanese “rookie” Kazuo Matsui, who is touted as a solid defensive shortstop. And we all know that Cameron is as good as Torii Hunter defensively and right in the same neighborhood as the Braves Andruw Jones. Offensively, I wouldn’t expect a lot from Cameron. He has had a couple of decent seasons in his career, but is not a great hitter. And Shea Stadium is not a great hitter’s ball park. But I do think that it is a good move for the Mets.
3 Way Trade: Colorado, Tampa Bay and Toronto Execute Deal
Sunday morning, these three teams traded pitchers in an effort to bolster their pitching staffs by adding bit pieces to their teams. Toronto receives reliever Justin Speier (yes, son of former Twin Chris Speier) from Colorado. He will be a solid performer out of the Jays bullpen. Colorado receives lefty Joe Kennedy from Tampa Bay. Kennedy has shown a lot of glimpses of potential. However, playing in Tampa Bay means that it rarely transferred into wins. Former NBA power forward, Mark Hendrickson, went from the Blue Jays to the Devil Rays. He spent most of the season in the Jays pitching rotation, but with some additions to the Blue Jays rotation (Miguel Batista), Hendrickson became expendable. He should help the Rays rotation, maybe simply from a change of scenery.
In another move by Tampa, they acquired 3B Geoff Blum from the Houston Astros. This really is a good move for both teams. First, Blum will probably make about $2 million next year. If the Astros want to sign Roger Clemens, they need to make some salary moves. For some reason, Blum continued to get playing time in Houston even though Morgan Ensberg was having an incredible season. The move ensures full-time status for Ensberg in Houston. 3B is a question mark area for the Rays. They have Jared Sandberg, but he has not developed as hoped. Maybe they can work a platoon situation between them there. Houston receives reliever Brandon Backe who they hope will be able to make the team and fit into the bullpen.
JOSE CRUZ/REY SANCHEZ Sign with D-RAYS
It was a busy day for the Devil Rays! Along with acquiring Mark Hendrickson and Geoff Blum in separate deals, they also signed a couple of veteran free agents. SS/2B Rey Sanchez was signed to a one-year deal. That makes sense as BJ Upton could be ready to take over the shortstop position for the Rays. Julio Lugo will probably play SS with Sanchez at 2B. That’s not a big signing at all. Getting Jose Cruz signed to a two-year, $6 million deal though makes a lot of sense. He will fit into the Rays lineup very well. He will take over in RF, with Aubrey Huff probably becoming their DH. He still has that potential to hit 25 or more home runs. Somehow, he won a Gold Glove last season. That could prove to be a great signing!
And I think that pretty much leaves the Rays team complete for the 2004 season, at least the lineup. C- Toby Hall, 1B- Tino Martinez, 2B- Rey Sanchez/Marlon Anderson, SS- Julio Lugo, 3B- Geoff Blum/Jared Sandberg, LF- Carl Crawford, CF- Rocco Baldelli, RF- Jose Cruz, DH- Aubrey Huff. That’s a pretty solid lineup. Now they just need some pitching! And, let’s not forget which division the Rays play in. It will still probably be a long season for them!
The Detroit Tigers spent some more money in their attempt to be a real major league team. Yesterday, they signed outfielder Rondell White to a two-year, $6 million deal. Last year, he started in spring training with the Yankees, but was traded to the Padres. He was given a chance to play every day and represented the team at the All-Star game. Before the traded deadline, he was dealt to the Kansas City Royals. He will get plenty of playing time in Detroit, so it is a good deal for both teams… as long as White stays healthy!
Speaking of the Royals, they signed former White Sox utility infielder Tony Graffanino to a two-year contract. This is pretty much a ‘who-cares’ move. Essentially, Graffanino will continue to be a utility player, although he could battle Desi Relaford for playing time at 2B. It was a cheap signing, so it can’t be a bad signing for the Royals. When given the opportunity to play, Graffanino did well for the Sox. I think the Royals are stilling showing that they will attempt to compete for the AL Central title.
Center Michael Olowokandi had surgery on his right knee and is expected to be out for eight weeks. Mark Madsen is unable to play because of severe back spasms. Kevin Garnett is needing to play far too many minutes at the center position. Over the weekend, the Minnesota Timberwolves signed a big man; a real big man! Former first-round pick out of Arkansas, Oliver Miller signed with the Wolves.
He will be playing for the Wolves tonight when they play in Boston against the Celtics. He is down to 334 pounds (from the 375(?) pounds he had been at), using a low-carb diet. He had been playing for the Dakota Wizards of the CBA. You may have seen him at times playing on TV for the Harlem Globetrotters.
Will this be a big acquisition for the Wolves? I don’t know. The assumption would be that it wouldn’t. However, if he can run the court, play some defense and grab some rebounds, it’s a great pick up. With Olowokandi out for so long and Ervin Johnson as the only real center option, Miller is probably the best option. He’ll be fine. KG, Spree and Cassell will lead the way.
What do you think of the Wolves’ move to pick up the Big O? Any thoughts on the Wolves? E-mail me.
Vikings Lose, Tied With Packers
Going into yesterday’s game, the Vikings really needed to win against the Bears. Next week, they host the offensive machine that is Priest Holmes, Trent Green and the Kansas City Chiefs. I certainly don’t expect a win. And, we can assume that the Vikings should win their final game against Arizona, or we would like to assume. Had the Vikings won two of their final three games, they would have won the division and been in the playoffs because they had all tie-breakers over the Packers.
But, apparently they didn’t want to do that. I didn’t understand that game plan of the Vikings. Clearly it was to run-run-run, which is great. But at some point, you run to set up the pass, right? And I don’t think the Vikings ever did that. Onterrio Smith was incredible! 148 yards on 27 carries.
But that bears another question. When Moe Williams and Michael Bennett were starting, they never came anywhere near 27 carries in a game. Now, I understand that Bennett was inactive, but why did they give so many carries to a rookie in such a big game? Why didn’t Moe Williams get more carries? Why didn’t they pass more? I think that this loss can be very much attributed to the play calling of Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan.
The reasons, well, because the team did execute the plays that were called. They ran well and Culpepper performed very well. Randy Moss was great when he got opportunities So, something must have been wrong.
But, it is most frustrating because, even with all of this, the Vikings had a chance to win the game at the end. And the right play was called. And it was a good pass by Culpepper. And Randy Moss did all he could do to catch it. But, Charles Tillman made an absolutely amazing interception, taking the ball away from Randy Moss. There was really nothing that Moss could do.
The big picture though; the Vikings are now tied with the Green Bay Packers, but really they aren’t. The Packers now have the tie breakers. In other words, the Vikings need to win both remaining games and hope that the Packers lose once. If the Vikings lose once, then the Packers need to lose twice. The odds can not be good! However, due to the poor play recently by the Seattle Seahawks and other teams, the Vikings still have a shot at a Wild Card spot, and probably a first-round date with the Packers!
But hey, I’m going to the game on Saturday against the Chiefs. Hopefully I’ll see a Vikings win. If not, well, I just hope I see a high scoring game!
Any thoughts on the Vikings? E-mail me.
Well, apparently this week, the games were a little easier to pick. We are going to have a four-way tie for the weekly winner this week. Through last night’s games, 8 of the 9 panelists correctly picked 13 of the 15 games played. Of those 8 teams, four picked the Dolphins to win tonight, four picked the Eagles to win tonight. We’ll have to see who wins. But here are our results and up-to-date standings:
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Week 15* |
Overall |
||||
|
Name |
Website |
W |
L |
Pct. |
W |
L |
Pct. |
|
Aaron Gleeman |
Aaron's BB Blog |
13 |
2 |
86.7% |
152 |
71 |
68.2% |
|
Ben Jacobs |
Universal BB Blog |
13 |
2 |
86.7% |
151 |
72 |
67.7% |
|
Mike Brasel |
FFB Guru |
13 |
2 |
86.7% |
145 |
78 |
65.0% |
|
Anthony Fox |
The Bad Twin |
13 |
2 |
86.7% |
144 |
79 |
64.6% |
|
Seth Stohs |
SethSpeaks |
13 |
2 |
86.7% |
142 |
80 |
64.0% |
|
Vic Quick |
KDUH Sports |
13 |
2 |
86.7% |
142 |
80 |
64.0% |
|
Michael Labuda |
ChiSox Daily |
13 |
2 |
86.7% |
140 |
82 |
63.1% |
|
Missy Olson |
Seth Speaks |
13 |
2 |
86.7% |
132 |
90 |
59.5% |
|
David Lee |
Braves Buzz |
11 |
4 |
73.3% |
128 |
95 |
57.4% |
|
|
|
115 |
20 |
85.2% |
1276 |
727 |
63.7% |
|
Complete thru Sunday night's game |
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Oklahoma QB Jason White won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night. I wanted Minnesota native Larry Fitzgerald, the WR at Pittsburgh, to win, but if you look at White’s numbers, they’re hard to deny!
St. John’s defeated RPI 38-10 to advance to next week’s Division III title game. The win gives them the opportunity to play against Mount Union, the traditional Division III powerhouse who beat Bridgewater 66-0! Good luck!
In the Division II championship game on Saturday, the University of North Dakota was defeated by Grand Valley State in a low-scoring, 10-3 game.
So Sandra is the winner. And I’m happy! We all know that Johnny Fairplay probably wasn’t winning because he blatantly lied and deceived. We assumed the Lil wouldn’t win because she put on the act of being nice and forthright, while doing many of the same deceitful things as everyone else was. Sandra deserved the money. I’m glad she won.
I always enjoy the reunion shows. The funniest part may have been the interview with John’s Living Grandma. The segment on Rupert was pretty good too.
Now, I can’t wait for the next Survivor, which will be an All-Star version of the show. It will have 16 former castaways all competing. That should be fun to see!
Well, that is it for today. The Rule V draft will be held today, so tomorrow, we will probably discuss how the Twins were affected by it, whether they chose to draft someone, or if they lose any players. I hope that they are able to draft 2B Jake Gautreau from the San Diego Padres!
But there were a number of moves. If you have any questions or comments on anything you’ve read, please feel free to e-mail me.
Have a great week!