The emergence of Ruben Gotay aside, I’m hoping there’s smoke to the fire described below by the Newark Star-Ledger’s Dan Graziano and Ed Price.
According to officials with two different major league teams, who requested anonymity because the deal has yet to be announced, the Mets and the Minnesota Twins were closing in on a deal that would bring second baseman Luis Castillo to Queens in exhange for two minor-league prospects, possibly Double-A Binghamton catcher Drew Butera and Class A St. Lucie outfielder Dustin Martin.
Castillo would give the Mets the second baseman they need with Jose Valentin out for the year with a leg injury. He likely would bat second in the batting order, behind Jose Reyes. The Mets have had problems getting consistent production from that No. 2 spot in their lineup this year, and the speedy Castillo could help there as well as shore up the infield defense.
While Gordon Edes is cynical about Boston’s chances of prying Jermaine Dye from the White Sox, it would appear the Braves have made their 2nd manuever of the afternoon, as the KC Star’s Bob Dutton reports they’re on the brink of obtaining former Mets reliever Octavio Dotel from the Royals in exchange for righty Kyle Davies.
Yahoo’s Tim Brown claims Texas’ Eric Gagne is a Red Sox target, but the goggle-faced Canadian will require a serious payoff to accept a) a trade to one of the 16 clubs on his veto list or b) any scenario where he’ll not be closing.
Only those with very short memories will fail to recall that Houston’s Jason Jennings gave up 11 earned runs while retiring just two batters in the Astros’ 18-11 loss to the Padres on Sunday. In case you forgot, the Houston Chronicle’s Richard Justice would love to rub it in :
If you’re keeping score, Jason Hirsh has two more quality starts than Jennings. Hirsh’s ERA is lower, his record better. He has pitched more innings and is making $4 million less.
For a couple of months, the Jennings trade was evaluated in terms of all he players involved. That’s no longer necessary. Had Purpura traded either Hirsh or Willy Taveras to Colorado for Jennings, the hair of the Astros general manager would still be on fire.
If it were one of Jennings’ few bad days, that would be one thing. It wasn’t. In five July starts, Jennings is 1-4 with an 11.35 ERA. Hopefully, he’ll never have another outing like Sunday’s, in which he was lit up for 11 earned runs in two-thirds of an inning as the Astros suffered an 18-11 loss to San Diego.
I asked a friend with another team if he could check where this start ranked on the all-time stinkeroo list. An hour later, he e-mails: “Sorry, but our database only goes back 50 years.”
When you’ve had a bad start and someone says, “Eisenhower administration,” you know it’s not good.
It is accomplished. And while I really like Gotay and hope the Mets stick with him, it’s kind of hard to argue with this move. Nothing serious lost, and if Gotay hits then Castillo is a better veteran bat off the bench than Julio the Coelecanth and a decent pinch-runner. If Gotay doesn’t hit…anyway, at least they don’t have Julio Franco anymore.
The New York Mess are making really pissant moves if the big haul is Luis Frigging Castillo. I had that dude on my fantasy team and all he did was stink up the place.
They’ve got the best record in the National League, Rog. I’d have loved to have seen them get Jermaine Dye or something, too, but it’s not like they need to overhaul the roster. And keep in mind that sometime before the end of the season (hopefully), they’ll be adding one of the best starters of the last decade to their rotation. Provided Dave Williams is still available, that is.
Lil Petey cannot possibly be counted upon to add anything but payroll to that lineup. I don’t think they have the pitching to go all the way (to the Series…they’ll do OK in the LDS/LCS) and the Braves not only added offense, looks like the pitching-rich team is adding Dotel. Not good, dude.
Not great. But the Braves bullpen still has Walter Sobchak at the end of it and one lefty — the immortal Ron Mahay — in the middle. The Braves are scarier now, without a doubt. And it is the Mets fans’ lot to be scared at all times by all things. But somehow I’m not the most scared, just yet. And there’s always the waiver deadline, right?
Mahay’s numbers are good; middle relievers are hardly immortal for if they were then they’d be starters. I just think that the NL is such a vagina league that if you’re a GM and you’re serious about winning then you make moves that will hopefully help you against the best teams in both leagues.
here’s one for the Elias Koteas Sports Bureau : has any pitcher who began his pro career as a position player had a longer run than Mahay?
as far as Pedro is concerned, Rog, he’s getting paid whether he pitches or he’s on the DL. And while none of us know what to expect from Martinez in August, he’s a better bet than Jason Vargas …or trading for Kyle Lohse.
Still, trenchant analysis of the night goes to Ron Santo, who upon hearing that Pedro was scheduled for a rehab start at St. Lucie observered that Martinez, “has missed most of this season.” Most/all, whatever.
I think teams take out insurance on players so my point was that he was getting paid thus far via Ben Aflac and not the Mess organization (pun, like, totally intended on ‘Mess organization.’)
Anyways, I’ve been an admirer of Ron Mahay for a while. Middle relievers and lefty specialists get absolutely no love but bridging a mediocre start by one of your overpaid stars to your set-up man and closer is the most thankless job in pitching.
I know that David McCarty tried to do the opposite and go from position player to pitcher, and that other kid Rick Ankiel from St. Louis who’s still playing minor league ball as an outfielder.
Guillermo Mota was a catcher, originally. And the now out-of-baseball pair of Bryan Corey and Felix Rodriguez combined for more than 15 years of shortstop-hood. But I didn’t know Mahay had actually had MLB at-bats as an outfielder; that’s impressive.
I actually read a pretty good interview with Mahay a few weeks ago and he said that he pitched a lot in high school, though he thought he’d make it in the big leagues as an outfielder.