Cutnpaste: - Starting Rotation, Hisashi Iwakuma, J.R. House, and Winter Meetings

Starting Rotation:



STARTING ROTATION: The best hope is that Johan Santana is back by June and pitching like he has in the past. Barring that, the Mets return three starters — Mike Pelfrey, R.A. Dickey and Jon Niese — who Alderson admits all have question marks. So he is hunting. Forget high-priced Cliff Lee. Forget the second tier. The Mets have focused on reclamation projects who might like pitching in spacious Citi Field for a year — Chris Young and Jeff Francis are on the radar. Brandon Webb probably will be priced above the Mets' market - Norht Jersey  



Hisashi Iwakuma:

The San Francisco Chronicle Susan Slusser reports that it's "not looking good" for the A's to reach an agreement with Hisashi Iwakuma and at this point staying in Japan might be the best thing for the right-hander. The A's technically have until midnight Tuesday to strike a deal, but Iwakuma needs to take a physical, so Slusser thinks if no deal is reached Sunday, one won't get done. The A's won the negotiating rights for Iwakuma with a reported bid of around $17 million, but they would not have to pay it if they don't come to a contract agreement. The Japanese import is reportedly looking for a deal around $11-$12 million per season, while the A's might only be willing to give him $4 million per year. - rotoworld  



J.R. House:

The hottest team in the Dominican Republic, they have escaped the bottom of the division and hope to rise to playoff contention. J.R. House is providing some spark to the offense and opening some eyes with a .440 average in his first 11 games. He is 5 for his last 9, but despite all the hits he has yet to see one go for extra bases or drive in a run. - MWOB  



Winter Meetings:

The Mets will be there as the Redsox pound there chest about there new first baseman, and will still try to land Jason Werth. Look for numbers to be flying in Cliff Lee's way and even the Yankees stiff Carl Pavano should get a nice deal. Will the Mets be going after Carl Crawford heck no! Will the Mets even try to land Russel Martin as a catcher that Thole can work with ? No shot. Look for the Mets to be scraping the bottom because its all about 2012. Forget 2011 Met fans. The Mets slogan should be See you in 2012! - longislandmetfan