The 2006 "Hot Stove" thread.

[Figment22]

I will miss Bernie. A little piece of Yankee class goes with him.

With the Yankees re-signing Miguel Cairo as their reserve infielder, that basically fills the 25 man roster, leaving no room for Bernie Williams.

I'm truly sad today.

 

[Missy1961]

The Mets are just about to finalize a deal with lefty Scott Schoeneweis, 3 yrs., $10.8 million. And they are still talking to Willie Randolph about an extension. I hope they get that done. Willie has to stay in Queens!

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseb...,3132167,print.story?coll=ny-sports-headlines
Minaya adds lefty to the pen
BY ANTHONY RIEBER
Newsday Staff Correspondent

January 11, 2007

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Despite saying he is comfortable with his pitching staff, Mets general manager Omar Minaya keeps tinkering with it.

After striking out on righthander John Thomson, Minaya yesterday reached a preliminary agreement with free-agent lefthander Scott Schoeneweis on a three-year, $10.8-million contract, according to a baseball official.

The Mets plan to use Schoeneweis, 33, out of the bullpen, joining lefthanders Pedro Feliciano and Billy Wagner. Schoeneweis spent last season with Toronto and Cincinnati. In 71 appearances, all in relief, he was 4-2 with a 4.88 ERA and four saves.

Thomson, who pitched briefly for the Mets in 2002, turned down an offer to return to Shea and signed with the Blue Jays on Tuesday for one year and $500,000. In a bizarre conference call with reporters yesterday, Thomson said he didn't sign with the Mets in part because he didn't want to pitch to Paul Lo Duca and didn't trust the defense of Cliff Floyd, whom Thomson apparently didn't know is no longer a Met.

"As far as just looking at Paul Lo Duca across the field, I'm not really into how he acts behind the plate," Thomson said. Later, he added, "Just watching the Mets' outfield, if Cliff Floyd is still there, it's not a real good fit for him out there. He can hit the ball, but as far as defense, he's a little shaky."

Floyd is a free agent and has been replaced by Moises Alou. Thomson and Lo Duca never have been teammates.

Extra bases

Minaya said talks are continuing on a contract extension for manager Willie Randolph, who has one year left on his deal. "Still talking to the agent, still having dialogue," he said ... Minaya said he has no interest in free agent Bernie Williams if the longtime Yankee doesn't return to the Bronx. "Right now, I'm going to say no," he said ... The Mets named two minor-league managers: Edgar Alfonzo (Brooklyn) and Tim Teufel (Savannah).

Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.

 

[Missy1961]

The Rangers have offered a minor league contract to Sammy Sosa.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2733168

Rangers offer minor league deal to Sosa
By Enrique Rojas
ESPNdeportes.com

The Texas Rangers have offered Sammy Sosa a minor league contract and invited him to spring training, where the veteran slugger would have the chance to make the major league club.


Sosa

"Sammy seems hungry and somewhat humbled by the last two years,'' Texas general manager Jon Daniels said in an e-mail to ESPN.com. "This is about giving a second chance to a guy who did a lot for the game, and who wants an opportunity to prove he can contribute. We're not setting expectations, and he's not asking for anything other than a chance to compete."

It was not immediately clear how much the deal would be worth if Sosa were to make the major league club, but the source said that a big chunk of the money would be incentive-based.

"We've had productive discussions," Sosa's agent, Adam Katz, told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Sosa worked out for Rangers officials at Ameriquest Field on Monday and later had dinner with Daniels. If Sosa were to come to terms with the team, he would report to Rangers spring training on Feb. 22 in Surprise, Arizona.

The relationship between the Rangers and Sosa would be nothing new. Sosa signed his first baseball contract with Texas 22 years ago out of the Dominican Republic, and after four years in the minors, he made his major league debut with the Rangers at age 20 in 1989. He hit .238 with one home run (off Roger Clemens at Fenway Park) and three RBIs before being traded to the Chicago White Sox.

"This is about giving a second chance to a guy who did a lot for the game, and who wants an opportunity to prove he can contribute. We're not setting expectations, and he's not asking for anything other than a chance to compete."
-- Rangers GM Jon Daniels

Rangers hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo managed Sosa in 1986 for the Rangers' rookie league team.

Sosa, a seven time All-Star and author of three 60-plus home run seasons, has 588 homers in a 17-year career, but he hit just .221 with 14 round-trippers in 102 games with the Orioles in 2005 and did not play last year.

"I think I still have a lot to give in baseball," said Sosa last month, when he began to work out in the Dominican.

Sosa, 38, turned down a non-guaranteed contract worth $500,000 from the Washington Nationals and opted to sit out the 2006 season.

"Now, I would accept an offer similar to that of the Nationals last year," said Sosa recently.

Sosa would give the Rangers a much-needed right-handed bat in the outfield. Three of Texas' current outfielders are left-handed hitters -- Brad Wilkerson, Kenny Lofton and Frank Catalanotto.

Enrique Rojas is a reporter and columnist for ESPNdeportes.com.

 

[Papa Deuce]

If I start a DIS fantasy baseball league, do you have any interest? It will be a simple league, without a lot of rules.

 

[Figment22]

If I start a DIS fantasy baseball league, do you have any interest? It will be a simple league, without a lot of rules.

I'm in. I was too late last year but I'll be back to kick some butt in '07.

 

[jimmiej]

If I start a DIS fantasy baseball league, do you have any interest? It will be a simple league, without a lot of rules.

I'll be playing fantasy baseball, but I prefer the salary cap games like on http://www.sportingnews.com/ You can't get much simpler than that. Hasn't the DIS league been rotisserie (sp?) style?

 

[Papa Deuce]

I'll be playing fantasy baseball, but I prefer the salary cap games like on http://www.sportingnews.com/ You can't get much simpler than that. Hasn't the DIS league been rotisserie (sp?) style?

I never remember the difference. We just pick 5 offensive and 5 defensive categories and do basic stat accumlation.

 

[jimmiej]

In salary cap games, you pick seven players (3 pitchers, middle infielder, corner infielder & two outfielders) & they accumulate pitching/offensive points. You get ~30,000,000 to buy your team. Superstars are worth 9-10 mil each & it goes down from there.

 

[Monte Cristo]

I'll play if there's room. I agree with something easy...

 

[Missy1961]

Mets & Willie Randolph agree in principle to an extension:
http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-spmets0125,0,2690593.story?coll=ny-main-bigpix

Willie gets 3-year deal
The Mets finally made good on their intentions to extend their manager's contract.
BY KEN DAVIDOFF
Newsday Staff Writer

January 24, 2007, 8:54 PM EST

A winter of discomfort will not carry over into the Mets' spring. Willie Randolph will not be a lame-duck manager this season.

Randolph and the Mets agreed in principle Wednesday to a three-year, $5.65-million extension, three people familiar with the situation confirmed. The extension will kick in immediately -- Randolph's $700,000 contract for 2007 was torn up -- and run through 2009, with a team option for 2010.

The 52-year-old will earn $1.4 million this season, $2 million in 2008 and $2.25 million in 2009. The 2010 team option is for $2.5 million.

In securing Randolph's services for the long term, the Mets eliminated an issue that would have, at the very least, dominated media attention during spring training and beyond. Already, the questions had begun about Randolph's future.

Moreover, the contract takes Randolph out of the running for the Yankees' job for 2008, if the Yankees and Joe Torre decide to part ways when Torre's contract expires after this season. Bench coach Don Mattingly is the leading contender to succeed Torre, but Yankees officials have taken note of their popular former player and coach's work in Flushing.

When Randolph agreed to a three-year, $1.875-million contract with the Mets in November 2004, it ended an odyssey of sorts. Randolph had interviewed for 11 different managerial openings, receiving only one previous offer (a lowball deal from the Reds, after the 2000 season), before new Mets general manager Omar Minaya gave him a bona fide opportunity.

It has been a smooth ride since Randolph shifted from the Bronx to Queens. Equipped with an improved roster, Randolph replaced Art Howe and dramatically improved the clubhouse culture. He led the Mets to an 83-79 record in 2005, rallying his players to a strong finish after an early September collapse took them out of the pennant race.

And in 2006, with the player personnel upgraded once more, Randolph embraced the heightened expectations. The Mets built a double-digit National League East advantage by June, and despite a bevy of injuries to their pitching staff, they didn't relent until they had clinched the division -- their first NL East title since 1988 -- in September.

When Pedro Martinez and Orlando Hernandez went down with late-season ailments, Randolph kept his club composed, and the Mets swept past the Dodgers in the NL Division Series before suffering a heartbreaking, seven-game loss to the Cardinals in the NL Championship Series.

Upon the season's conclusion, Minaya spoke confidently about Randolph's future, speaking of the extension as though it would be easily accomplished. The Mets gave Randolph a significant voice in rearranging his coaching staff, granting his wish to shift Sandy Alomar from first-base coach to Manny Acta's replacement as third-base coach.

Yet the extension took roughly three months, as the two sides haggled over the dollars. While Randolph believed he deserved a premium for excelling in his first two seasons in the New York spotlight, Mets management expressed concerns about keeping Randolph's salary in line with his relatively brief service time as manager.

At one point in the negotiations, according to a personin the loop, the Mets invoked the name of Howe, who managed a total of 12 seasons in Houston and Oakland before signing a four-year, $9.4-million contract with the Mets.

But the Mets came up enough to satisfy Randolph, and now both the club and the manager have one less headache for 2007.

This story was supplemented with an Associated Press report.

Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.


And as we in the NE shiver, it's 3 weeks to pitchers & catchers!

 

[Figment22]

I'm happy for Willie. I think he earned his extension and he seems very happy in Queens. Good for him!

 

[Missy1961]

The Yanks have invited Bernie Williams to spring training, but nothing is guaranteed

An invite for Bernie
Longtime Yankee asked to spring camp, but he's still a long shot

BY KEN DAVIDOFF
Newsday Staff Writer

February 1, 2007

Bernie Williams now has a standing invitation to attend the Yankees' spring training. But he still has no guarantee of a job.

As first reported by SI.com, the Yankees have offered a minor-league contract to their ultra-popular outfielder. Newsday reported first, on Jan. 23, that the Yankees were contemplating such an offer to Williams.

"I'm waiting to hear from Bernie," Williams' agent, Scott Boras, told The Associated Press yesterday. "Once I talk to him, he'll let me know what he's thinking."

The Yankees have only one job among position players available this spring - the righthanded half of a first-base platoon with Doug Mientkiewicz. Andy Phillips and Rule 5 draftee Josh Phelps are the top contenders. Reserve infielder Miguel Cairo could win that job, and that would clear a roster spot for Williams. But that is a longshot.

The team's first full-squad workout is Feb. 20. Williams, 38, has said publicly that he would consider signing with another team, yet friends believe he will rejoin the Yankees or retire.

 

[Missy1961]

And Roger Clemens had some comments on 'retirement':

Clemens: 'I'm failing at retirement'
The 44-year-old right-hander is mulling over his future in baseball, but signs show he will pitch in 2007.

KEN DAVIDOFF
Newsday Staff Writer

January 31, 2007, 8:59 PM EST

"I'm failing at retirement," Roger Clemens said Wednesday, smiling. "Let's just face it. I'm failing miserably at it."

In midtown Manhattan for the St. John's baseball team's first Bullpen Club Winter Banquet, the seven-time Cy Young Award winner didn't look any closer to succeeding at his stated goal.

With the baseball world wondering where Clemens will spend his 23rd major-league season _ virtually no one believes that the 44-year-old is ready to call it quits _ Clemens didn't provide many answers. But his words carried the resignation, sincere or not, that he probably hasn't thrown his last pitch.

"I think all three clubs are planning on winning with or without me," Clemens said, referring to his trio of suitors, the Yankees, Red Sox and Astros. "But if somebody goes down, and I'm feeling good, I just don't know what my decision is going to be yet. I hope that they all get off to a great start and I can just fade away and come and watch some ballgames up here. I don't think that's going to happen."

The Yankees have a clear void in their starting rotation; more money to spend after unloading Randy Johnson, Gary Sheffield and Jaret Wright; and the return of Clemens' good friend Andy Pettitte. They also have two more able and willing recruiters in Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada, presumably the two "ex-teammates" Clemens mentioned he would be seeing shortly (although The Rocket wouldn't confirm any identities).

Of course, the Red Sox and Astros have their own lures, as Boston will always be Clemens' original baseball home and Houston is the right-hander's current actual home. Clemens, who joined the Astros last June 22, said that all three clubs have notified him that they don't want him prior to May. "And that's great," he said, "but I don't have an interest in playing right now in May."

Physically, he looked like the usual athletic yet meaty Clemens of recent years, and he said he threw batting practice Monday and Tuesday at the Nolan Ryan Elite Pitching Camp in Houston. He will spend some of spring training with the Astros _ partly to see his son, Koby, a minor-leaguer in the Houston system, and partly to kick off his 10-year, personal-services contract with the Astros, which begins once Clemens actually retires (if Clemens comes back, then his work will be mere good will).

He intends to watch Pettitte pitch in Yankee Stadium, although he never quite answered the question of whether Pettitte's homecoming means a Clemens migration to Yankee Stadium is more likely. It's not unusual for Clemens to talk around such questions. And to leave everyone wondering what will come next.

"I'm going to listen, like I always do, but when all y'all turn these cameras off and walk away and I'm out there by myself, I take a big, deep breath," Clemens said. "… I don't know what tomorrow is going to bring."
Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.

 

[Missy1961]

As a Mets fan, I think I want to cry about this:
http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-sppark0210,0,6758410.story?coll=ny-sports-headlines
Mets to sign Chan Ho Park
BY DAVID LENNON
Newsday Staff Writer

February 9, 2007, 1:15 PM EST

The Mets are in the final stages of adding Chan Ho Park to their rotation derby for spring training, a person familiar with the situation confirmed this morning. The Associated Press reported this afternoon that the two sides agreed on a $600,000, one-year contract.

General manager Omar Minaya said on Thursday that he had confidence in the potential of his young starters, such as John Maine and Oliver Perez, but he's clearly hedging his bets. The Mets signed Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele in the past month to increase their depth in the back end of the rotation -- buying time for prospects Philip Humber and Mike Pelfrey -- and Park would be another calculated risk.

Park was to take a physical Friday in the Los Angeles area, the final step before the deal can be concluded. In addition to his base salary, he could earn $2.4 million in performance bonuses based on innings.

Park, 33, went 7-7 with a 4.81 ERA in 24 games (21 starts) for the Padres last season, but has never regained the form he showed during his best seasons in Los Angeles. Park went 18-10 with a 3.27 ERA and 217 strikeouts for the Dodgers in 2000, and two years later, his career plummeted after signing a five-year, $65-million contract with the Rangers. In 3 ½ season in Texas, his ERA was never lower than 5.46 and Park never won more than eight games.

Park's contract with Texas was negotiated by Scott Boras. He recently switched agents, and his deal with the Mets was worked out by Jeff Borris.

This story was supplemented with Associated Press wire reports.

Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.

 

[jimmiej]

And Roger Clemens had some comments on 'retirement':

I'm fed up with Roger. We need to move on without him. I appreciate what he did for the Astros (I'll never forget his gutsy bullpen performance in that 18 inning playoff game vs. the Braves), but it's time to forge ahead. Go Astros!

 

[Missy1961]

I'm fed up with Roger. We need to move on without him. I appreciate what he did for the Astros (I'll never forget his gutsy bullpen performance in that 18 inning playoff game vs. the Braves), but it's time to forge ahead. Go Astros!

I think a lot of Yankee fans feel the same way. Not all, but a lot.

 

[Figment22]

I think a lot of Yankee fans feel the same way. Not all, but a lot.

I'd definitely be in the "Fed up with Roger" group. I'm delighted to have Andy Pettitte back in the Bronx but Roger? Not so much.

I don't know how many caught this nice story:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/20....ap.bbn.citizen.pujols.2nd.ld.writethru.0397/

Pujols becomes U.S. citizen
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Albert Pujols has won an NL MVP award, a Gold Glove and a World Series. He added a perfect 100 on his U.S. citizenship test to his resume this week.

The St. Louis Cardinals' star became a U.S. citizen Wednesday during a ceremony at the Eagleton Courthouse. Pujols' wife, Deidre, arranged to have about two dozen relatives and friends watch U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber swear in Pujols.

Chester Moyer, the officer in charge of the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service office in St. Louis, said Thursday that Deidre Pujols served as her husband's tutor. Moyer said the 27-year-old Pujols spent about a year preparing for the citizenship exam.

"He even answered a bunch of additional questions and gave us more answers than we asked,'' Moyer said. "He clenched his fist and said, 'I got 100 percent!'

"He just had a grin from ear to ear,'' Moyer said. "He was thrilled to become a citizen.''

Pujols' agent and officials with his foundation, the Pujols Family Foundation, did not return telephone calls seeking comment.

The ceremony was open to the public, but there was no publicity about Pujols' participation. He was the only person sworn in Wednesday.

Pujols grew up in the Dominican Republic, moved with his father to the Kansas City area when he was 16, was graduated from Fort Osage High School in Independence, Mo., in 1998. He was selected by the Cardinals in the 13th round of the 1999 amateur draft after playing baseball at Maple Woods Community College in Kansas City.

In six major league seasons, Pujols has 250 homers, 758 RBIs and a .332 batting average. He was the 2005 NL MVP and has finished second three times, including last season, when he hit 49 homers and drove in 137 runs while hitting .331 in leading the Cardinals to their first World Series title in 24 years. The first baseman won his first NL Gold Glove in 2006.

Soon after the citizenship ceremony, Pujols flew to Florida to prepare for the opening of spring training. Pitchers and catchers report Wednesday and begin workouts the next day. Position players are due to report Feb. 19.

Congratulations to Albert!

 

[jimmiej]

Congratulations to Albert!

Well, even though AP is the "enemy" of my Astros, good for him!

 

[jimmiej]

Hey everyone! I started a fantasy baseball league. Look here for more info:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1376270