The Offseason Baseball Thread

[Imran Siddiqui]

All he's gotta do is hit 30 and steal 40, which is definetly do-able. Makes him a good #3 behind Reyes and Matsui. Or maybe they put him #2 behind Reyes, then have Wright behind him and Piazza, of course, is cleanup.

[asleepathewheel]

7 years 119 mil. no trade clause.

For 30 hrs 40 steals? No thanks. You can plug three holes with that, and plug them well.
The pond scum need more than Beltran to be contenders.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Pedro and Beltan, along with their young stars (Reyes and Wright) and the talent they have there already (Piazza and Cameron) are going to make the contenders this year. I wouldn't be surprised if they take the Wild Card or, even, win the East.

And, there is talk that the Mets are close to a deal with Delgado.

[asleepathewheel]

Come on, we both know they can't win the east with the Atlanta still breathing.

Wild card? Maybe. Piazza and Cameron are not what they used to be. Delgado just adds to the bloat, unless they can get him cut rate.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Of course they can. Atlanta has STILL not replaced J.D. Drew, who was the best offensive player they had. The replacement for him was sent to Oakland (Charles Thomas). Their offense is the pits now.

As long as Piazza plays Catcher, his offense is great. Cameron is an above average CF, whose stats were not much different than he was in Seattle and is still an excellent defensive Outfielder, and he makes less than $5 mill a year. Delgado will round out the infield nicely.

They can definetly afford it, ESPECIALLY when Pedro, Beltran, and perhaps Delgado lead to a lucrative TV deal with the Latin interest shooting through the roof. Basically those 2 (3) will make the Mets more money than they spent for them.

Remember also, the Mets were in it in the 1st half of the season. Then Howe made some mind baffling moves, and the Mets died.

[-Jrabbit]

Atlanta will win their division again, going back to their old "pitching uber alles" formula.

Big talk in Chicago today is that the Sosa-for-Cliff Floyd talks will start in earnest this week, with Minaya and Hendry scheduled for multiple meetings.

[Stuie]

Originally posted by -Jrabbit
Atlanta will win their division again, going back to their old "pitching uber alles" formula.

Sad, but probably true. I'm thoroughly disgusted by the Phillies this off season. Atlanta, the Mets and Florida all improve their rotations while the Phillies sign Jon Lieber and Cory Lidle to supplement the mediocrity they are left with now that Milton and Millwood are gone. Ugh. At least we can count on something to go wrong with Pedro and Beltran (the curse of the Mets big money contracts will strike again), so my prediction for the NL East:

Atlanta (I'm really going out on a limb here, huh)
Florida
Phillies
NY Mets
DC

[Arrian]

I don't think Lieber is that bad a pickup. I'd rather the Yanks had kept him. He's not an ace, to be sure, but he was solid in the 1/2 half and the playoffs - when his armstrength came back.

-Arrian

[Ming]

Originally posted by asleepathewheel
7 years 119 mil. no trade clause.

For 30 hrs 40 steals? No thanks. You can plug three holes with that, and plug them well.
The pond scum need more than Beltran to be contenders.

So true... While Beltran was probably the best player available, his numbers don't justify the contract. He's not worth that kind of money... (not many players are)
As usual, the Mets overpaid a big name player just so they could try to get people to pay attention to them and not the Yankees They will be lucky to finish third in that division. The Mets still have tons of holes to fill...

[Imran Siddiqui]

Btw, Beltran makes LESS than Jeter per year. I think I'd take Beltran . And he makes almost equivalent to what Shawn Green is making. I'd take Beltran. His price isn't overly outrageous and he'll make more money for the Mets than his contract is worth, no doubt. He'll probably be the key piece in the machine that gets the Mets their own station (with all the revenues that come from that). That isn't even counting merchandising.

[Arrian]

Part of evaluating Jeter's contract is that we have some hindsight - he's several years into that contract. At the time it was signed, given Jeter's recent performance + the market at that time, the contract was probably no more crazy than Beltran's current contract.

However, since then there has been a market correction (which is certainly eroding this offseason) *and* Jeter's performance has declined somewhat, two factors which conspire to make him look even more overpaid than he looked when the contract was new.

However, that doesn't make Beltran's contract a good deal.

-Arrian

[Imran Siddiqui]

Like said, depends on what happens. I fully expect Beltran's presence will get the Mets their station. And he'll sell a LOT of jersies. With all the benefits coming from Beltran it make make a ton of economic sense.

[Imran Siddiqui]

And the Mets make a real good 'smaller' move:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=1962041

NEW YORK -- While the Mets awaited word on where they stood in the Carlos Beltran negotiations, they reached a preliminary agreement Friday on a one-year contract with infielder Miguel Cairo.

His deal, worth about $900,000, won't be finalized until after he passes a physical, a baseball official familiar with the talks said on condition of anonymity.

Cairo, 30, was a surprise with the Yankees last season. He began the year platooning with Enrique Wilson, then became the regular starter during the second half of the season and wound up hitting .292 with six homers, 42 RBIss and 11 steals.

He made $1.05 million, including $150,000 in performance bonuses based on plate appearances, and sought a two-year deal from the Yankees. Not wanting to give him that, New York instead decided on Dec. 7 to agree to a $4 million, two-year contract with Tony Womack, who started at second base last year with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Cairo was signed as a backup by the Mets, who have Jose Reyes at shortstop and Kaz Matsui at second base.

Both the Mets and Houston Astros have actively pursued Beltran this week, and the Chicago Cubs may be in the hunt. The 27-year-old center fielder, seeking a deal worth more than $100 million, faces a Saturday midnight deadline to re-sign with the Astros. After that, Houston could not sign him until May 1.

His agent, Scott Boras, wouldn't give an indication of where negotiations stood.

"We're still talking and having a dialogue with all the involved teams," he said.

Asked whether there would be a decision Saturday, his response was just as vague.

"I don't know. It could," he said. "And then again, there's something that may take a while longer."

Cairo was great for the Yanks! He'll be a wonderful backup for Matsui and Reyes. Great role player. I'm very happy to get him for that little.

[asleepathewheel]

THAT is a good signing, esp at that price.

I would rather have him than Womack, whose year was a pure fluke.

[Imran Siddiqui]

It's bad when the player's fluke year is an OPS+ of 93 .