Rest Of Baseball Offseason Talk

[hbionic]

Just wait until the Yankees beat the Mets to trading for Delgado... 

I hope that is one thing the Dodgers can accomplish this offseason.

A thirdbaseman would have been cool...but we like to suck...so anyways.

[Rome]

I miss Jayson Stark's stuff on the Inquirer.  No more so then when I read articles like this one...

Updated: Nov. 22, 2005
Bright lights attract Marlins with dim outlook at homeBy Jayson Stark
ESPN.com

So where do the Florida Marlins go from here?

Boise? Binghamton? Bismarck? Belize?

OK, we all know it will be none of the above. As anybody who followed the quest to move the Expos knows, the Marlins have more options to move Carlos Delgado than they do to move the franchise. So what are those options? Let's take a look:

LAS VEGAS -- There are rumblings that the folks from Vegas were on the phone to the Marlins within minutes of Tuesday's announcement. And let's just say there is major mutual interest. Team president David Samson told ESPN.com he would "expect us to make a trip [to Vegas] within the next two weeks." And according to one longtime friend of owner Jeffrey Lorie, he has long viewed Vegas as "a gold mine."

But Vegas does have its obstacles. One is those pesky little gambling issues, which the commissioner and Loria's fellow owners would have to resolve. But an even more practical issue is the same one that faces the Marlins in Florida: Lack of a real ballpark.

The minor-league park in town, Cashman Field, is barely adequate to house a Pacific Coast League game, let alone a big-league game. And while there has been lots of talk about building a park near the fabled Strip, nobody has thrown out the first jackhammer -- or blank check.

One baseball man familiar with the situation says there is "no way" Vegas could get a ballpark up and operable before 2010. But since the Marlins have a lease in Florida till then, they could, in theory, stagger through four lame-duck seasons while they're waiting for the moving vans. It's not a perfect situation. But people who know Loria continue to predict that if Vegas builds it, the Marlins will come. ODDS: 2 TO 1.

PORTLAND, ORE. -- Portland made a serious run at the Expos. And while it never made it beyond baseball's Plan B list, the city at least positioned itself as a landing place for The Next Team Looking to Move.

But Portland is yet one more city that would need to build a ballpark. And inside baseball, folks were privately skeptical that the city's announced financing plans for a park to house the Expos were politically viable. Nevertheless, there were immediate noises out of Portland on Tuesday that it was still interested. So you can bet you'll be hearing plenty more about that possibility over the next few months. ODDS: 25 TO 1.

NORTH JERSEY -- As a native New Yorker, Loria has always fantasized about lugging a team up the Turnpike to the Meadowlands. But that fantasy is already stuck in traffic, without ever getting a chance to pull out of the Vince Lombardi rest stop.

After the deal MLB cut with Peter Angelos and the Orioles to sign off on the Expos' move to D.C., just imagine what George Steinbrenner and the Wilpons would ask before they'd allow another team to move to North Jersey. Heck, it's a figure that would make A-Rod's contract look like subway fare. So forget that. ODDS: 2.9 TRILLION TO 1.

MONTERREY, MEXICO -- Believe it or not, this is one of the MLB power brokers' most preferred destinations. Monterrey has 3 million people hanging around the neighborhood. Many of those people seem to have some decent affection for baseball. And enough of them have money in their checking accounts that MLB looks at Monterrey as its No. 1 destination for international expansion.

But does that mean Loria has any interest in moving there? From all indications, it sure isn't at the top of his list. ODDS: 50 TO 1.

PARIS -- As the global art-dealing kind of guy he is, Loria loves Paris almost as much as he loves winning the World Series. Too bad most of those 2 million Parisians wouldn't know a sacrifice from a sacre bleu. ODDS: 78 GAZILLION TO 1.

SOUTH FLORIDA -- Samson made a point Tuesday of telling anyone paying attention that it's still the Marlins' preference to stick around and play under the palm trees. And in a perfect world, that's what should and would happen.

It's wrong. All wrong. But without a real ballpark, with a real retractable roof, it ain't happening. So it's awfully hard to blame the Marlins for announcing what they announced on Tuesday, after all these years of trying to build a stadium that apparently is destined never to leave the architect's pad.

"We had to do something," Samson told ESPN.com. "We've come to the end of the line. Time has run out."

Those South Florida ballpark proposals aren't 100 percent dead, Samson said. But it's close.

"It's like the great Billy Crystal line from 'Princess Bride,' " Samson said. "It's mostly dead. And by mostly dead, that means it's somewhat alive. So there are some situations that are still percolating. But you need a stethoscope to hear the heartbeat, because it's so faint."

The Marlins didn't do what they did Tuesday because they're hell-bent to leave. They did it because it was the only way they could let their community know: It's now or never. Figure it out -- or somebody else will.

We're not convinced yet that someone in South Florida won't figure out some new idea, some new formula. So we'll place the odds at a way too optimistic 5 TO 1.

But if we were betting men, we'd bet that by 2010, the Florida Marlins will be known as the Vegas Craps Rollers. Or something like that. And we bet the sports book at Caesars will be happy to take that wager, too.

BTW: I don't feel one itsy bitsy bit for those frauds in South Florida who call themselves Marlins fans.  Not only do I hope that they lose the Marlins, I hope the Heat & Panthers take a hike as well.  Leave the Dolphins there, though.  Even shteinkicking rednecks need a little bit of fun in their pathetic lives.

[Geowhizzer]

Hey, don't make me have to always go to St. Pete to watch a major league game. 

And, at least with the Fish, I can see the Phils 3 times or so a year. 

[PhillyPhreak54]

So is Loria "The Guy In France Jr."?

Someone get Buddy Ryan on the horn!

[PhillyPhreak54]

Mets trade for Carlos Delgado...

BY JON HEYMAN
NEWSDAY STAFF WRITER

November 23, 2005, 8:13 AM EST

The Mets have reached an agreement for a trade to bring Carlos Delgado from the Marlins, Newsday has learned. The trade won't be finalized until medical examinations of the players involved are complete and commissioner Bud Selig signs off on the deal.

The Mets have agreed to send righthanded pitching prospect Yusmeiro Petit and young first baseman Mike Jacobs to the Marlins for Delgado, according to someone familiar with the deal. As part of the deal, the Marlins will send $7 million back to the Mets to cover part of the $48 million remaining on Delgado's contract.

Delgado, 33, does not have veto powers over a trade. The lefthanded-hitting first baseman batted .301 with 33 home runs and 115 RBIs last year with the Marlins.

Acquiring a player with Delgado's credentials could also help the Mets sign closer Billy Wagner, who has told the team that winning a championship is his first priority. The Mets offered Wagner a three-year, $30-million deal yesterday after taking him on a tour of the New York suburbs earlier this week.

[SunMo]

that's bad for the Phillies in 2 respects, the Mets have a killer lineup now, and it may mean bye-bye Billy

but the fargin Marlins, what a joke, sell out to win the WS every couple of years a provide garbage in between.  they do have more WS titles than the Phillies do, in about 1/10th of the Phillies existence.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

No matter who the Mets get, they will still finish 4th in the division at best.

[PhillyPhreak54]

It might be bad in the short run for the Phils. Delgado is better defensively than Jacobs but Jacobs has long term promise. And obviously Carlos is the better slugger now.

But the Mets are unloading their farm. They traded Petit, Jacobs, Kazmir and others to land older players. Plus they gave Pedro a 4th year and might give Wags a 4th year.

They have a TON of money to toss around though because of that new TV deal they got with MSG or whoever their station is up there.

They are supposedly talking to ARZ about landing Javier Vazquez too. And Vazquez listed PHL as one of the 6 teams he will not go to along with TEX, SEA, COL and two others.

They are also talking to Bengie Molina and Ramon Hernandez for their open C spot too.

The Marlins are selling big time because they want out of FLA. LoDuca is available and if I am Pat GIllick I would ask about him as well and go after Hernandez and Molina.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

And Vazquez listed PHL as one of the 6 teams he will not go to along with TEX, SEA, COL and two others.

I wonder why a pitcher wouldn't want to go to Philly...  Hmmmm....

[BigEd76]

Lo Duca wants to be traded to Arizona

[MDS]

vazquez is totally overrated by gammons and his other cronnies. the guy isnt real good and doesnt put up good enough stats to justify his salary. let the mets continue to cripple their farm system and trade for him. they still wont any pitching. they still will suck. but they will still own the phillies.

[Dillen]

They have a TON of money to toss around though because of that new TV deal they got with MSG or whoever their station is up there.

Yeah, its MSG. Its trash. Awhile ago MSG found some way that enabled them to not pay for something, got taken down for almost a year.

[PhillyGirl]

It might be bad in the short run for the Phils. Delgado is better defensively than Jacobs but Jacobs has long term promise. And obviously Carlos is the better slugger now.

They say that EVERY year about the Mets.

They're like the Skins.

[SD_Eagle5]

It might be bad in the short run for the Phils. Delgado is better defensively than Jacobs but Jacobs has long term promise. And obviously Carlos is the better slugger now.

They say that EVERY year about the Mets.

They're like the Skins.

Hmmmmmm....

PSU = the taterskins of college football.

The record is clearly not indicative of the team.

And yes, I can read the last line and am just breaking your stones 

[PhillyGirl]

OK, Mets fan.