Local papers out here had the A's talking with Larkin's agent. Apparently, Larkin is willing to be Bobby Crosby's backup, and if it happens, he'll probably be a great mentor for Crosby.
If Barry Larkin is willing to be a role player and willing to be paid accordingly, there's not a team in baseball that wouldn't count themselves fortunate to land him on their team. Guy's a class act and was one of the shortstops before the position really changed with guys like A-rod, Tejada, Nomar, Jeter, etc.
This will never happen, but Ken Rosenthal from NBC thinks that the Padres will go for Pedro Martinez. I'm a Padres fan, but come on! That's ridiculous. Why would he want to go there? You gotta admit though, that would be a pretty impressive rotation if David Wells sticks around. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6437216/
Jeez, think about a lineup of Manny, Ortiz, and Glaus. If that's not a heart of a lineup in Fenway then I don't know what is.
Re: The Hot Stove Thread http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=citadel-2_319480_228&prov=citadel&type=lgns This article raises the possibilty of dropping Sammy's option clause. But its still suggests that the Cubs would have to pay the difference between Floyd's and Sosa's salary. Granted it seems as though the Cubs wanna get rid of him but this deal is rediculous. Not only would the Cubs get a lesser player in return but they have to kick in some cash too?
Re: The Hot Stove Thread Yeah saving the money owed to Sammy over the next two years would be usefull. But having to pick up the difference now is not the best thing. I posted that other article before reading this one... http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=citadel-2_319168_260&prov=citadel&type=lgns Now that sounds like a better deal.
Re: The Hot Stove Thread If the Cubs are looking to foist Sosa off on someone, there are no 2 bigger Front Office dupes than LA and the Mets.
wont happen, and if it does, the Yanks will have made another mistake. They are meeting the wrong people.
The only way I see him signing with anyone other than Boston or New York is if some other team throws a 3rd year out there, but I doubt they will.
Castilla and Guzman signed by the Nationals/Expos yesterday http://washingtontimes.com/sports/20041117-121616-1374r.htm
The third year is the big factor. If the Yanks offer it, Pedro will sign in a second. It's always worrisome when George gets directly involved in negotiations. He is no doubt dreaming of having a tandem of Pedro and Randy Johnson and figuring nothing can stop them from going all the way if those two are on board. The idea that George is only trying to drive the Red Sox price up by playing footsie with Martinez is something I don't find credible.
I'd tend to see it the other way: that Martinez is creating leverage with the Sox by dicking around with the Yankees. If the Yanks didn't have the goods to get Johnson last summer, what the heck do they have now? It would almost have to be a 3 way to get RJ to New York.
Well the Yankees are tryin to do what they have in the past, piss off the Red Sox and get the players they want. It doesn't work anymore. Right now, the Red Sox are a better run organization then the Yankees.
Re: The Hot Stove Thread I have no link but, Seattle is going after Sexson and Delgado this was on SportsCenter. If Seattle can get these players they might have a chance to stay in the race in the AL West. They had horrible hitting last year and with that pitching if they had somewhat a decent hitting team they could of got a Wildcard spot. There is still alot more to be done of course but, Sexson and Delgado is a good start.
Re: The Hot Stove Thread I read some of those rumors as well and they were ridiculously one-sided towards LA. I wouldn't be surprised if LA ended up involved in one of the much rumored trades of one of Oakland's starters though. No link or substantiated rumor here, just gut feeling and putting 2 and 2 together.
Re: The Hot Stove Thread I presume they're going after both with hopes of signing just one. Wouldn't need both. In a totally unrelated move, the A's picked up Jason Kendall from the Pirates a couple days ago for starter Mark Redman and reliever Arthur Rhodes. I'm psyched about this move...gives the A's a right-handed #2 hitter to go between Kotsay and Chavez. Kendall rips. Some hacks around here were guessing Billy Beane would then flip Kendall to the Dodgers, but he flat-out denied it on the radio yesterday.
Re: The Hot Stove Thread Wow. Time-travelling posts (your reply is in the queue before my original post that you replied to...). The Mets and Yanks are apparently interested in Zito, and I could see the Dodgers jumping into the mix as well. Zito's even a surfing SoCal who played at USC, so I'm sure he'd love it down there. I think Zito's the one who will be moved if any of Oakland's "Big Three" leave, because his performance is really leveling off, but lefties are still valuable. Hudson's the other A's pitcher being discussed for a potential trade. Mulder's off limits. If no one leaves, the A's will have a "Big Four" in 2005, because Rich Harden's really come along nicely. Oh, yeah...local radio is now reporting that the Giants have signed closer Armando Benitez for $21m/3yrs.
Re: The Hot Stove Thread Benitez had a nice year, but at that price, they better hope they're getting Florida Armando and not New York Armando.
Re: The Hot Stove Thread What stick said. With the FLA Armando, SF is my favorite to win the NL West in 05, by a 4-6 game margin.