I remember the 2004 trading deadline like
it was yesterday. I was writing a morning report for NYFS and the word came
down that the Mets had traded for both Kris
Benson and Victor
Zambrano. It came just at the end of the
trading deadline signaling that the Mets were going to give it a run for the
pennant. They had had the kind of first half season we are having right now
and, if I remember, were around six or seven games out of the playoff race
going into the all-star break. No one knew if the team would be a buyer or a
seller and, once these two deals were announced, there were very few people
upset with the loss of what it took to get these guys on our team. Sure, Scott Kazmir was a top
prospect, but both Benson and Zambrano were MLB-tested (I particularly enjoyed
the arrival of Benson who was in the same graduation class at Clemson as my
daughter) and we were going to fit, right? Well, a gazillion losses later over
the next two weeks and so much for that. Benson wound up finish the season 4-4,
4.50, Zambrano went 2-0, 3.86 in three games, and the team finished in 4th
place at 71-91.
The Milwaukee Brewers signed lefty Aaron Laffey
I need your help on this one. I’m trying to
decide if St. Lucie LF Dustin Lawley is a baseball prospect. He hit his 19th home
run on Wednesday which is more than anyone else in that league. The 24-year old
is also up to 67-RBI which tied him for first in that category also. He also
seems to be getting better at this each season. In 2011 (K-Port and Sav), he
went 10/44… last year (Savannah), it was 14/66. And this season with round 45
days to go it’s 19/67. He’s never going to win a batting title, but he’s a .267
lifetime hitter. Isn’t these the kind of numbers we want to see from our
outfielders. Can you do more than lead your league in home runs and runs batted
in? He needs to get moving. Send him to Binghamton for the rest of the season.
Play him in winter ball in Arizona. He strikes out a little too much but the
numbers are far better than from guys like Matt
den Dekker. I want him in Las Vegas in 2014
as a 25-year old stud pounding balls out of the stadium. Maybe then somebody
will write about this guy
Binghamton starter, Cory Mazzoni, had some discomfort in the 4th inning last night and had to come out early. No word yet on any long term injury.
Binghamton starter, Cory Mazzoni, had some discomfort in the 4th inning last night and had to come out early. No word yet on any long term injury.
The Mets have signed 16-yr. old
Venezuelan SS Luis Carpio ($300K)
Steve Wilson - Hey Mack, hope you’re
doing well. I just read Chris Sale could be put
up for trade! Would you trade for him?
Trade for a 6-6 24-yr. old lefty who is 2.78 in the pros for a bad team? Why would I want someone like that J
Sale has been a favorite of mine since his days
at FGC. It’s also an excellent contract ($3.5mil/2014, $6mil/2015,
$9.15mil/2016, $12mil/2017.
This is a proven star lefty that, when added to
Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler, could make the most
potent threesome in baseball.
Obviously, Chicago would want team controlled
pitching and I’d do a package that included both Noah Syndergaard and Rafael Montero. I still have Gee,
Hefney, and Niese so I don’t need either of them.
Would you add Rios as well?
I assume you are
referring to 32-year old Alex Rios. I would not be interested in anyone 32-years old. If I’m
going old, I’d resign Marlon Byrd or try and talk Carlos Beltran to come back, but I want players younger than
my captain.
Top 5 best-selling MLB jerseys to date in 2013: Buster Posey,
Mariano Rivera, Yadier Molina, David Wright, Matt Harvey
7 comments:
If Chris Sale was on the market....
I'd offer 3 of my Top 5 prospects.
Syndergaard, Montero, and Flores.
Gives us instantly the best rotation in the bigs till at least 2017.
Harvey
Sale
Wheeler
Niese
Hefner
Keeping d'Arnaud though cause premium catching prospect are so hard to come by.
"there were very few people upset with the loss of what it took to get these guys on our team"
I remember the exact opposite, there were very few that werent upset that we dealt Kazmir. I remember seeing the news float across SportSpyder thinking no no no this isnt really happening, please dont be this dumb. I believe they were swept by the Braves the next 3 games and officially out of the race. What a waste.
As far as dealing prospects,I remember being fine with the benson deal because I was never sold on peterson. Zambrano developed an injury almost instantly. I still don't believe that vz was the best player available for kazmir. Wouldnt most teams line up for a hard throwing lefty starter?
Dallas:
I may be foggy abut the reaction. In my world it was fine.
James:
the player for Kazmir is and was debatable but the concept of the trade is the same.
It was a good idea and we could be in the same place this year.
You want to win a wild card slot?
And CWS wants Sale out of the American League?
Wel, you'd do the same deal Soto just lined up here in a heartbeat
Yea Mack, people were pissed at losing Kazmir for a project in Zambrano. It wasn't that he was dealt, it's that the Mets sold one of the top LHP prospects in MLB for magic beans.
Michael, I agree, but THE CONCEPT was correct. They wanted to go for a playoff slot and, instantly, they had two more seasoned rotation pitchers.
A week later it was over, but the concept was still a good idea.
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