HOT STOVE LEAGUE 2K4/2K5

Rumor has it Beane is trying to snooker the Mets out of prospects for Eric Byrnes...

http://doc-baseball.blogspot.com/2004/12/byrnes-baby-byrnes.html

With Moises off the market, things look better for one of the Carloses or Magglio in Queens! (whistling past the Sammy)

Home:
BA: .339/OBP: .405/SLG: .714

Away:
BA: .247/OBP: .316/SLG: .400

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylc=X3oDMTBpcDBuM2RlBF9TAzk1ODYxNzc3BHNlYwN0aA--?slug=ap-mets-galarraga&prov=ap&type=lgns

Hee Seop will be the full-time OBP force at first in LA, LA will get minor leaguers (hope they're worth that $18M/yr).

"My philosophy with regard to the Yankees is, I assume they're going to win about 100 games a year and we have to win 100 if we want to win the division. Our whole gameplan is to try and win 95 to 100 every year to get us to the postseason so we have a chance to win the World Series every year. We spend a lot less time thinking about the Yankees and their moves than you might think. I assume going into every offseason that they're going to land probably the best position player and the best pitcher available because they have the means to do so and they're smart and they usually do. And they haven't won the World Series in a few years. We'll just focus on ourselves."

(The link's to an article about the Red Sox reaction to the Randy Johnson trade.)

Ponson released after a week in jail

Tuesday, January 4, 2005

(01-04) 08:35 PST ORANJESTAD, Aruba (AP) --

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Sidney Ponson was released from jail on Tuesday after being held for a week while police investigated allegations he punched a judge on a beach in Aruba.

Ponson appeared before a judge on Tuesday and prosecutors said they would not oppose his release as he awaits trial, the daily La Prensa reported. The 28-year-old right-hander faces charges of public violence and simple aggression. No trial date has been set.

Under Aruba law, a suspect can be detained for up to eight days without bail while police investigate a crime.

Ponson, who was born on the Dutch Caribbean island, allegedly punched a local judge on Dec. 25 at a beach in Boca Catalina after several people confronted Ponson, accusing him of harassing them with his personal watercraft and operating it recklessly, police said.

The judge was hospitalized with minor injuries, authorities said. Ponson fled the scene but police detained him later in the day, said authorities.

Ponson went 11-15 with a 5.30 ERA in 33 starts and 215.2 innings pitched last season. He has played with the Orioles except for a brief stint with the San Francisco Giants in 2003. He became a free agent after that season and signed a $22.5 million, three-year contract with Baltimore.

He has a 69-80 career record in seven seasons with a 4.67 ERA and 802 strikeouts in 210 games and 1,313 innings pitched.

In 1998, Ponson became the third Aruban to play in the major leagues. In 2003, he was decorated in his homeland as a knight in the Order of the Dutch Royal House.

-- from an Orioles message board re: Sir Sidney

Before I moused over the link, I assumed Gygax! was linking to a Buster Olney pile of crank.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-spbeltran064105719jan06,0,7719557.story

Hey, Buster Olney is appearing at Coliseum Books in NYC this Saturday eve... shall I attend and give him shit?

http://www.coliseumbooks.com/events/010805event.htm

Renteria is an upgrade at short, that I will grant you. Wells and Clement for Pedro and Lowe is about even. Clement has upside, but I think it is just as possible that he could find his ERA balloning in the AL and Wells rubber arm will be 42 in May.

The Braves may have gotten a new closer, but will Smoltz be good at starting once again? Where are they going to make up the offense lost with JD Drew? Has Chipper Jones peaked?

Everyone else seems to have either gotten worse or at best held ground.

xpost

Joe Sheehan provides some doom for Dahlem:

"If it ends up that the Yankees chose Johnson, Jaret Wright and Carl Pavano instead of Javier Vazquez and Carlos Beltran, they deserve what's going to happen to them."

And why all the sudden is Carlos Delgado not looking to "break the bank" with the Rangers after calling Baltimore's offer "an insult?" My guess: he's not going to play for any of the teams mentioned here, and ends up in Boston or Detroit.

http://rotoworld.com/content/playernews.asp?sport=MLB

Free agent Carlos Delgado could pick Texas over Baltimore and the Mets if the Rangers choose to increase their offer.
The Rangers probably have the smallest bid on the table of any of the contenders for Delgado. "Carlos has great interest in playing in Texas, which we have expressed to the Rangers management several times," agent David Sloane said. "We're not looking for any records, and we're not looking to break the bank."

What kind of money has Delgado been offered?

ha, he must be a real piece of work if that's all he's worth.

Pierzynski may be a head case, but I like that signing for the White Sox. It's a pretty minimal risk for them, and gets them back some of the offense they'll lose if Magglio Ordonez moves on -- and at a more important position. He played well in the AL Central as a Twin, and his .729 OPS last year was a bit of a fluke, I think. PacBell doesn't strike me as much of a hitter's park -- Barry Bonds being the exception that proves the rule. And there's always the possibility that the lack of interest showed to Pierzynski in the FA period this year and his inability to secure a multiyear contract will change his attitude.

On another note, my vote for steal of the offseason is the Red Sox nicking Wade Miller after he was nontendered by the Astros. They took practically no financial risk, have him locked down for two years, and if they can fix his funky mechanics to keep him from injuring himself, he could be a legit No. 2 starter down the road. Not bad.