Links for Wednesday…
- Tommy Everidge cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Tacoma according to the Pacific Coast League transactions page. The Mariners designated Everidge for assignment last week to make room on the roster for Eric Byrnes.
- Various agents think the Giants and Tim Lincecum will somehow avoid an arbitration hearing regardless of how poorly talks are going, reports MLB.com's Chris Haft.
- The Astros signed 18-year-old Nicaraguan first baseman Mesac Laguna yesterday, reports Roger Olivas of El Nuevo Diaro.
- Free agent journeyman Nelson Figueroa hopes to return to the Mets but wants to avoid the minors, reports Angel Pinto Vaamonde of the blog BeisbolVenezolano.net. Thanks to Nick Collias for translations on these two bullets.
- Colby Lewis heard from 12 or 13 teams before signing with the Rangers, reports ESPN's Tim Kurkjian. The A's and Twins also offered two-year deals.
- Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball explains how an arbitration hearing works. Hearings are scheduled through February 21st, with Tim Lincecum's case drawing the most attention.
- Manny Ramirez "seriously considered opting out of his contract to return to the American League for a designated-hitter role," reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick. The idea seems silly now, but in November it wasn't ridiculous to think Manny might've preferred to chase, say, a two-year, $32MM deal elsewhere.
- Bill Shanks of Scout.com talked to Braves assistant GM Bruce Manno, who replied "Never say never" when asked about Johnny Damon. Still, Manno likes the club as it stands. And MLB.com's Mark Bowman believes the Braves are not actively pursuing Damon.
- Rany Jazayerli examines a "delusional" quote from an anonymous Royals official regarding the team's 2008-09 offseason.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs says the Blue Jays should have significant payroll flexibility after the 2010 season.
- MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince doesn't see Orlando Hudson as a fit for the Indians.
It would of sucked if Manny left, the ease on the payroll would not of been used on players.
Pure speculation there and I’d have to disagree.
I doubt anyone is suprised to read Manny thought about moving on from the Dodgers.
that royals blog post is the best post in the history of whatever.
turns out the NL isn’t so easy in your late 30’s when you can’t take steroids
God I wish Manny had moved on… maybe not all 20MM would have used on other players, but we could have gotten someone decent for cheap and not had to watch Manny be Manny on defense anymore.
Manny’s defense messes with Kemp, I know that.
i knew the rumors were gonna resurface at some point. Can someone just please sign Johnny Damon and get it the hell over with. Even if it its the Braves we can figure something out, I am just sick of all this speculation!!!!
Just say NO to Damon Braves! I really hope Detroit signs him fast!
Someone should probably tell the Mets that Nelson Figueroa is a “free agent journeyman” because according to their mlb.com site he is listed on their 40-man roster.
Figgy isn’t a free agent. He’s on the Mets 40 man roster.
If I understood the article correctly, Figueroa wants to be in the majors, not AAA, and said something like that he may or may not accept a AAA assignment if doesn’t make the Mets and they put him on waivers to send him down. He briefly opted for free agency after clearing waivers last April–Does every player with six years of professional experience have to do that?–but re-resigned with the Mets and was assigned to Buffalo. The article also refers to Figgy as a native of Puerto Rico even though his was born and raised in Brooklyn.
Yeah, he really wants to be in the majors. He feels he has a lot to offer the team (Mets) – either as a starter or as a reliever, particularly in April, which he qualifies as cold. He says that if he doesn’t make the team, the Mets will place him on waivers. Then he’d be a free agent, and maybe he’d go to AAA (but he doesn’t really say this with contempt. He’s just passionate to be in the bigs and stay there).
Wow, I wrote this, posted it, and then it completely disappeared. I had to rewrite. Weird!
Thanks. My Spanish is limited to what I’ve picked up reading ads in the subway and side-by-side translations of documents at work. Figueroa is one of those classic AAAA pitchers who look fantastic at AAA but are more marginal major leaguers. He just threw a three-hitter in the Dominican Republic. Some of them eventually catch on as fifth starters or middle relievers. In the right situation, he has a lot to offer. He pitched a lot better than his won-loss record last year. He may not have the upside of Niese, but I think he’ll be more consistent than Nieve. I hope that the Mets can keep him in the pen if he doesn’t win the fifth slot.
Yeah, Figueroa has built a nice tradition of rocking “la Serie del Caribe!” He was really dominant when he pitched for Obregón in ’08, (when he really got Omar Minaya’s attention). Also I remember the game last year when he had himself a no-hitter going until the 10th. But what was epecially fun for me was watching him win his first-ever start for his beloved Mets – in person…in the fog. Truly great to watch, and probably the most absurd feel-good experience ever!
Yeah, the winter leagues do not possess the intense high level of performance of the majors, so players who do not normally shine in the bigs often get to sieze their moment there. While I know Figgy is one of them, I have to hope he can hit our ‘pen. I think he could be effective as a long man, especially given the departure of Stokes (anyway, who else we got?).
BTW, la Serie ‘ is in Venezuela this year.
About Figueroa & nationality, I guess you could say that’s an idiosyncrasy of latino media, sometimes. While it may not be technically accurate, at times they may claim you as a native even if you are a generation or two removed. It’s harmless – and kind of a twist of the American tradition of identifying oneself as “Irish,” “Italian,” or what have you, even when one’s relatives came to the US two or three generations ago, or even more. It’s just about pride in heritage and keeping people connected with it.
About Figueroa & nationality, I guess you could say that’s an idiosyncrasy of latino media, sometimes. While it may not be technically accurate, at times they may claim you as a native even if you are a generation or two removed. It’s harmless – and kind of a twist of the American tradition of identifying oneself as “Irish,” “Italian,” or what have you, even when one’s relatives came to the US two or three generations ago, or even more. It’s just about pride in heritage and keeping people connected with it.
>>Can someone just please sign Johnny Damon and get it the hell over with.
Well said, NYBravosFan10. So sick of hearing about this guy.
Also, how is it that Aaron Miles has been traded twice this off-season and O-Dog is still looking for work?
Manny walk away from 23 million dollars?! (somewhere around there right?) I’m a Dodger fan and i hope Manny puts up similar numbers to 2008, although he did play the end of last year with a broken hand, but I have a feeling he is going to throw a fit again and want to be traded to a AL team.
“If someone in the Royals’ front office believes that “everybody” thought they had a good off-season last winter, they need to talk to more people. Preferably ones who aren’t imaginary.”
THAT is good.
“If someone in the Royals’ front office believes that “everybody” thought they had a good off-season last winter, they need to talk to more people. Preferably ones who aren’t imaginary.”
THAT is good.
if the giants don’t figure something out with Lincecum, this should be a little insight for the future. Every year these contract talks with Lincecum are just going to get worse. If they won’t pay up now, why do they think that they will pay up later. The Giants front office should already know if Lincecum is in their plans for the future…If he is, bite the bullet and pay up now, in the long run it will save them money. If they do not want to pay up for the long term, they need to get this year’s contract done and then consider trading him sometime soon.
if the giants don’t figure something out with Lincecum, this should be a little insight for the future. Every year these contract talks with Lincecum are just going to get worse. If they won’t pay up now, why do they think that they will pay up later. The Giants front office should already know if Lincecum is in their plans for the future…If he is, bite the bullet and pay up now, in the long run it will save them money. If they do not want to pay up for the long term, they need to get this year’s contract done and then consider trading him sometime soon.
Does Boras reputation and the state of this economy hurt some of his clients? Or am I just wishing this cause I don’t like the man, well, his tactics. Please someone set me straight.
Does Boras reputation and the state of this economy hurt some of his clients? Or am I just wishing this cause I don’t like the man, well, his tactics. Please someone set me straight.