link - Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez shocked the Harrisburg Senators and Washington Nationals Sunday by deciding to prematurely end his baseball season. The 44-year-old pitcher, a three-time World Series champion who earlier this summer signed a minor league deal with the Nationals and spent the last three weeks pitching out of Harrisburg’s bullpen, left the Senators following Sunday’s 6-5, 10-inning victory over Trenton. He’s heading to his home in Miami to contemplate his future in baseball and perhaps await an offer from another organization, said Senators manager Randy Knorr and Nationals’ director of player development Doug Harris.
link - Daniel Murphy wanted to contribute as a pinch hitter to the Mets in September, but his rehab from a knee injury suffered in a takeout slide with Triple-A Buffalo wasn't rapid enough to allow for it. However, the organization plans to send Murphy to the Dominican Republic this winter. Murphy primarily will play second base. He also should see action at first base and in left field.
link - The first player we’ll throw out for discussion is the big fish of the winter, Carl Crawford. The Tampa Bay outfielder, who just turned 29, has established himself as one of the game’s best all around players. Over the first nine years of his professional career, he’s averaged just under +4 WAR per season, and he’s been even better than that the last two years, posting a +5.5 win season last year and already reaching +5.6 wins so far in 2010. He’s in the prime of his career with a skillset that ages very well, and with a variety of abilities that are valued by every team, no matter their team building philosophy. Crawford is going to attract intense interest from multiple teams. There will be an inevitable bidding war for his services, with the Yankees and Angels most often rumored to be the teams ready to break the bank in an effort to lure Crawford to join their organizations. So, the question is, how much does he get, and for how long?
link ~ 2010 salary $3.3M: After five seasons with the Mets his tenure in New York is almost definitely over. He blew out his shoulder this season for the Mets and his career could possibly be over. Hopefully he makes a recovery and is able to catch on somewhere else though.
link - R.A. Dickey checks in at No. 7 on the National League leader board with a 2.57 ERA, at least for a few days. A pitcher needs an inning for every game in which his team has played to qualify. Entering the series opener in Atlanta, the Mets have played 130 games. And Dickey has logged 133 1/3 innings. That means he will drop out before pitching again Friday, because the Mets will have played 134 games before he next takes the mound.
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