Claiming the Chicago Cubs coveted Aaron Heilman “because he went to Notre Dame” (!), ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark alerts us to Tuesday’s biggest trade that-didn’t-happen.
The Mets and Cubs have discussed a trade that would send pitcher Jason Marquis to New York for reliever Aaron Heilman. But chances of that deal happening appeared slim Tuesday.
The Mets are looking to move Heilman because they’re concerned about whether he can still pitch in New York. The Cubs need to trade Marquis to clear money for the acquisition of a left-handed hitter and a possible deal for Jake Peavy.
But Marquis’ $9.875 million salary was too hefty for the Mets’ liking. And while the Cubs have expressed willingness to eat some of that money, the teams have been unable to agree on a figure acceptable to both sides.
While the Mets’ signing of reliever Francisco Rodriguez is said to be imminent, the Giants are supposedly on the brink of having committed a quarter billion dollars to a pair of starters. From Insidesocal’s Tony Jackson :
As the Dodgers’ deals with Mark Loretta and Casey Blake appear to be either done or close to done, it might not help their effort to sign CC Sabathia, something the Dodgers aren’t expected to try to do until they fill their shortstop vacancy. The word around here is that Giants officials are supremely confident that they are going to sign the big lefty, this despite the fact they are already paying all that money to Barry Zito. If Sabathia does sign with the Giants, that would dramatically change their prospects in the very-winnable N.L. West next season.
Wow. I am actually blown away more than usual by the idiocy of a sports writer. I’m almost immune these days to dumb conjecture by reporters who make the case that Player A would like to sign with Team B because he was raised in that town, but this Heilman/Notre Dame thing is plain fucking stupid. I understand Sabathia is kicking the tires on LA-based teams specifically because he’s built a home there…but the Texeira rumors to the Nationals and even to the Orioles has been pissing me off quite a bit lately. Is that all it takes to write sports stories there days? Hey, GC, I got a scoop for you. Unnamed sources tell me that Derek Jeter wants to play closer to his boyhood home in Michigan. Call up the Detroit Free Press and plant that ridiculous rumor right now. All we need is Gammons and Kurkjian, or Phillips and Heyman if neither of those esteemed gentleman are available, to repeat the rumor on tv and start packing the man’s bags for him. With very few exceptions, players care more about the sound of *ca-ching* than to the proximity of their home team to their momma’s house. Once again, I hate people.
I have a hard time believing the Heilman rumor top to bottom, from my admittedly inexpert perspective. The Mets balked at dealing Heilman and another reliever for Huston Street but were willing to deal him for borderline hump — at least when he’s not batting against Jon Niese — Jason Marquis, if the money was right? Maybe I’m underrating Marquis, but…I’m not, right? I have my doubts about whether Heilman has a future of any sort in New York, but I am pretty certain in hoping that Jason Marquis doesn’t have one.
much as i share your dislike for the human race, Rog, there are a couple of points that should be made. For one, Stark never claimed Heilman wanted to go to Chicago, merely that the Cubs were interested in Heilman. The Mets’ middle reliever has steadfastly insisted that he wants to remain a Met (fuck knows why) but he wants to start.
The majority of the time, yes, cash trumps all other concerns. Unless, of course, Sabathia leaves $20-30 million on the table to sign with San Francisco rather than the Yankees.
I agree (and was aware of) both points but I think that Sabathia would be an extreme rarity if he left cash on the table to actually pitch closer to his home and since it hasn’t happened yet I’m not totally convinced that he’s not just trying to squeeze more cash out of the NYY ATM machine (Roger Clemens famously used the ‘want to be closer to my family in TX’ bullshit smokescreen when he left Boston except he signed with Toronto which is only, like, 200 feet closer to Texas and it is behavior like this that makes me skeptical of a player like Sabathia, fairly or unfairly). Secondly, I thought that the Cubs’ supposed interest in Heilman because he went to Notre Dame was close enough to hit my personal panic button. Either way, it’s the same logic that makes sports writers seem lazy and unoriginal in their reasonings for why any player (or team) would chose one option over any other option.
Oh, yeah, and San Francisco is really not all that close to L.A. It’s roughly the distance between Boston and somewhere around northern Florida. Not really a huge proximity to his home, if you ask me. If he left money on the table it would probably be more likely because New York is entering the same decline that it saw in the 1980’s and maybe he’s smart enough to stay the fuck away from there. I saw a slightly better analysis that made the observation that one really good pitcher could put any NL West team over the top in that division and even hauling around Barry Zito’s dead bloated corpse of a contract wouldn’t keep the Giants from competing next year if they had a 20-game winner on staff. So, gasp, Sabathia might actually care about winning (!!!)
The Notre Dame angle is retarded. While the Cubs talked up Jeff Smardziga’s ND pedigree every time he pitched, you’d do just as well around Wrigleyville finding Ann Arbor grads. Also, keep in mind, Jason Marquis’ trade value for the Cubs right now about third teams to involve in bringing Peavy to Chicago. I wouldn’t look to Heilman’s value in Wrigley so much as how he could be used in San Diego, where I’m sure they love Notre Dame.