Let's check out the latest updates out of New York, as the Yankees and Mets prepare for their rubber matches against the Red Sox and Nationals, respectively.
- Ken Davidoff of Newsday says most baseball people he spoke to this winter "wouldn't have believed" that Russell Martin would play this well to start the season. Martin, who homered twice in the Yankees' win yesterday, was viewed by many as a bad signing.
- Carlos Beltran, who also belted two home runs yesterday, is showing he could be a valuable trade chip this summer, writes Kevin Kernan of the New York Post.
- Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild contextualized the team's signing of Carlos Silva by saying, "You have a few guys and you hope you catch lightning in a bottle with one or two, according to this New York Daily News report. Silva had harsh words for Cubs pitching coach Mark Riggins on his way out of Chicago, but Rothschild says he has a good history with the right-hander: "We worked well together. I didn't have any problems with him."
- For whatever it's worth, Bernie Madoff reiterated that he believes the Mets owners were unaware of his Ponzi scheme, according to Teri Thompson and Wayne Coffey of the Daily News.
instead of using him as a trading chip y not play to win. After 3 or 4 yrs of horrible baseball I would look forward to an all out effort on the part of my favorite sports team. Lets Go Mets 2011
because you might as well try and get a good prospect for him instead of draft pick.
Because there’s no chance for the Mets to win.
It’s fantasy to believe Russell Martin’s going to keep this up.
maybe, but it still wasn’t a bad signing and i don’t actually buy davidoff’s claim that “many” viewed it as one at the time
Oh, it wasn’t a bad signing at all; he’s gotten off to a hot start and people are getting carried away. He was declining rapidly after looking like a budding superstar. It could be that he’s healthy; could be the change-of-scenery, but to think he’s going to keep this up is insane. The AL doesn’t know how to pitch to him yet.
hopefully they’ve ruled out “down the middle” by this point
I don’t think we have the world’s best cacher, but I think we can get good production from him if he’s over his injuries, and we don’t overplay him and aggravate them again.
Montero’s hitting the holy hell out of the ball in AAA. Being able to turn Russell Martin into a marketable trade chip would be quite the accomplishment.
It’s no secret that Montero’s bat is MLB ready. It’s always been their goal to improve his defense before they bring him up though.
with out the pitching the best you could hope for is the mets play 500 ball if the mets can get a pitcher for beltran then they should go for a trade.
Ah yes, that’s who you want testifying on your behalf… good old Bernie!
I assume you’re kidding? That’s exactly who they need testifying on their behalf. The entire lawsuit that could bankrupt the Wilpons is based on the idea that the Wilpons knew about the Ponzi scheme all along – I’d think the guy running the whole thing coming out and saying they were just victims too doesn’t hurt the case much…
Never mind this summer, the Mets should trade Beltran now. With Texas losing Josh Hamilton, the Mets could trade Beltran for Darren O’Day and minor league pitcher Cody Eppley. This would give the Mets two good young arms in the bullpen and allow them to recoup a good deal of money, even if they have to pay a portion of Beltran’s contract. For Texas, they would get a quality bat while Hamilton is hurt and for the rest of the season.