Daily Archives: October 16, 2009
Not enough people are familiar with the terms of Tim Wakefield’s contract. Check it out. 
According to Cot’s Baseball Contracts, in 2006 Wakefield signed a one-year, $4 million contract with recurring club options. Every option is for another one year and $4 million, and every time the club picks up his option, an option for the next season is added.
So basically Tim Wakefield and Theo Epstein have determined that Wakefield’s knuckleball services are worth $4 million a year, and Epstein has the option to retain Wakefield at that rate for as long as he’s effective or until he retires.
The Sox exercised his $4 million option for 2007, 2008 and 2009, and, according to WEEI, they’ll do it again for 2010. Cool.
The Majors should always have a knuckleballer, so Wakefield has to keep it up until one of the Charlies Haeger and Zink assumes the mantle.
This is killing me, and I have no idea how or why it happened and I know that the 12-year-old version of me would kick my ass for even suggesting this, but I’m rooting for the Yankees over the Angels.
I’ve never been a hardcore Yankee-hating Mets fan because it never really made sense to me. They’re not in direct competition, after all. At least not on the field.
Normally I root against them, — just because — but for a variety of reasons (1988 included) I can’t in good conscience root for a Mike Scioscia-coached team.
I know that, for a lot of Mets fans, the most irritating thing about the Yankees is not the team itself so much as the team’s entitled and obnoxious fans. But it so happens that the small sample of Yankees fans I deal with on a regular basis are reasonable, gracious people and not at all like the type wont to start fights in the bleachers with anyone wearing the wrong color hat.
Those reasonable Yankees fans include Alex Belth and Cliff Corcoran, who invited me onto the Bronx Banter Breakdown to help preview the series:
Over at Amazin’ Avenue, Sam and Rob put together pretty solid lists of potential low-risk, reasonable- (not quite high-)reward pickups for the Mets.
Sam ran down the Minor League free agents, and Rob looked at potentially available pitchers. They’re both good reads, and they both reinforce a point I find myself making all the time: Every year, there are a bunch of talented players available for little cost that could provide value to a big-league club.
The Mets have a lot of holes to fill in the upcoming offseason, but one they should not overlook is their need for a capable backup middle infielder. Alex Cora was asked to do more than the Mets needed him for in 2009, plus he was hurt, so it’s hard to kill the guy for his performance. But he proved to be a poor defender at shortstop and didn’t hit at all.
Uncertainty surrounds Jose Reyes entering 2010, successful surgery or not. And Luis Castillo is unlikely to repeat his 2009 performance at the plate. The Mets would be wise to attempt to trade Castillo while his value is about the highest, but they could have trouble finding a taker for an injury-prone second baseman who can’t really play defense anymore.
So a contingency plan for the infield is a must. And it would behoove the Mets to find someone a little better than Cora so they wouldn’t be inserting an offensive black hole in their lineup if and when Reyes can’t play.
Wilson Valdez, who appeared to be the most capable defender of the backup-shortstop regiment in 2009, should return. But outside of a bizarrely awesome 2007 in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, Valdez has never been much of a hitter, and would probably be best served as an organizational safety valve stashed in Triple-A in case any infielder goes down with injury.
So then who? Well, your guess is as good as mine, so feel free to provide your guesses in the comments section or wherever. There are some free agents available who might be had on the cheap, but I have no idea what these guys are looking for or how the market will play out:
Akinori Iwamura: The Rays are apparently unlikely to pick up Iwamura’s option thanks to Ben Zobrist’s breakout season. He spent a big part of 2009 with a torn ACL, which is bad, but he came back healthy in September. He has been about a league-average defender at second and has stayed consistently around his career batting line of .281/.354/.393. But he’s never played shortstop and he’s coming off the ACL injury, so, you know, not a perfect fit.
Omar Infante: Infante may have played well enough over the past two seasons to earn a starting job somewhere, something he hasn’t had consistently since his first full big-league season as a 22-year-old in Detroit in 2004. He spent time on the DL in each of the past two years with HBP-related hand injuries, but he has been an average defender at second, short and third over his career and appears to be improving as a hitter. I suspect the Braves will want to bring him back, and again, I have no idea what he’ll cost, but he’d be a great fit as a potential super-sub.
David Eckstein: Please don’t sign David Eckstein. It would just be too irritating, plus he actually sucks at defense now.
And I’ll throw in, for good measure, a guy rumored to be on the block this offseason:
Mike Fontenot: Longtime readers will know that I’ve been advocating a Fontenot acquisition since 2006, when he was merely some guy hitting well and buried behind bigger prospects on the Cubs’ organizational chart. Now, after torching the ball in 2008 and not hitting at all in 2009, the tiny little Cajun could get dealt, even though he likely doesn’t have much trade value and he’s coming off a year in which his BABIP was .034 below his career line.
Fontenot hasn’t played a ton of shortstop in the Majors, but he’s been a good defender at second base and I’m convinced his offensive numbers will bounce back. I’m not certain Fontenot’s a perfect fit at this point, but I’d just like this to happen because I’ve been hoping for it for so long.
Apparently Darryl Strawberry will join the cast of Celebrity Apprentice, alongside such current and relevant celebrities as Sharon Osbourne, Bret Michaels, Cyndi Lauper, Sinbad and someone named Curtis Stone.
I don’t watch Celebrity Apprentice, but I’ll certainly pull for Darryl. I’ve never gotten the chance to deal with him much, but one of the great and surreal upsides to this job is that occasionally Darryl Strawberry is just walking around the office.
Plus, Darryl will have the opportunity to redeem the good name of the 1986 Mets in the business world after Lenny Dykstra’s ignominious decline. Also, he wears some amazing suits.
Still, Sinbad is a formidable opponent. Don’t forget what he brought to the table for the Texas State Fighting Armadillos. Dude’s a competitor.
As for Sharon Osbourne, does she really count as a celebrity? I mean, isn’t the thing she’s most famous for just another reality TV show? I guess she’s Ozzy Osbourne’s wife and that counts for something, but nothing makes my head hurt more than the concept of the reality-TV celebrity. I think Bret Michaels kind of falls in that category now, too.
Rod Blagojevitch will also be on the show.
It turns out that, aside from the Twitter whining, David Clowney might be a pretty awesome guy.
Mike and the Mad Dog will reunite today. Smart money says it’ll be entertaining but ultimately frustrating nonsense.
A-Rod’s cousin and drug hookup Yuri Sucart is in financial trouble. Hmm… I wonder if he knows anyone who could bail him out.
Pedro Martinez will start Game 2 of the NLCS tonight. I wish the Phillies lost Game 1 so I could root for Pedro to at least have a decent start and Lidge to blow it. Now I’m taking no chances. My hatred for the Phillies trumps my love for Pedro.
Toby Hyde continues covering the crap out of the Mets’ Minor League system, breaking down Fernando Martinez and Jon Niese upon their inclusion in Baseball America’s Top 20 International League prospects. Shockingly, as Toby points out, Jesus Feliciano did not make the cut.
