2006 MLB Mid-July Three Day Hot Stove thread

[Jobronie]

ESPNdeportes reports the Mets won the Francisco Pena sweepstakes with a $750K signing bonus......

[raven56706]

Mets GM Omar Minaya refused to discuss Dontrelle Willis directly. But those close to Minaya said he would be open to trading Lastings Milledge or Mike Pelfrey, his top two prospects, if Willis were available. -- New York Post

Oakland is the latest team to show interest in Greg Maddux. Maddux seems certain to go before the July 31 trading deadline if he gives the Cubs the go-ahead to deal him. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee and San Diego are three other teams reportedly interested in Maddux. -- Chicago Tribune

The Dodgers continue to troll for a starting pitcher, but they don't plan to take a chance on erratic Sidney Ponson, sources said. -- Los Angeles Times

On Sunday, reports surfaced that Boston is very interested in the services of Bobby Abreu who has a no-trade clause and is set to make $15 million from the Phillies next season. -- Camden Courier-Post

As Tom Gordon joins teammates Ryan Howard and Chase Utley in Pittsburgh for his third career All-Star Game, the 17-year veteran knows there is speculation that he could soon be heading out of Philadelphia for good. -- Philadelphia Inquirer

The Phillies announced that pitcher Brett Myers would rejoin the club Friday when the team begins a three-game series in San Francisco. The team said Myers has been rehabilitating in Florida while participating in counseling sessions with his wife, Kim. -- Philadelphia Inquirer

The Angels are eyeing star Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, who earned a win at Angel Stadium on his way to becoming the MVP of the World Baseball Classic. -- Riverside Press Enterprise

Adam Kennedy wants desperately to remain with the Angels beyond this season, but he has not made a contract proposal to the club. The Angels have not offered a new contract, and Kennedy said he would not ask his agent to make a proposal. -- Los Angeles Times

The Diamondbacks are expected to announce later this week that they have agreed on a two-year contract that would keep manager Bob Melvin locked up through at least 2008. -- Arizona Republic

Manager Dusty Baker said Sunday that Kerry Wood told him he is second-guessing whether it was the right decision for him to undergo labrum surgery last August. Wood is out for the season after an MRI arthrogram Friday discovered a partial tear in his right rotator cuff. -- Chicago Sun-Times

Due to be a free agent in November, Juan Pierre may not be in Chicago for the second half unless he convinces the Cubs his salary demands won't be as high as they were in spring training, when the club opted to let him play out the year. -- Chicago Tribune

Can Mark Prior stay healthy? Cubs trainer Mark O'Neal called Prior's oblique injury "troublesome" and said Prior could be placed on the disabled list, retroactive to the day after his last start, which would make him eligible to return by July 20. -- Chicago Tribune

X-rays of Curt Schilling's right elbow were negative after the Red Sox ace was struck by Jim Thome's line drive in the sixth, the ball caroming more than 100 feet before landing in left-center field for a single. -- Boston Globe

Saturday was another sleepless night for Jorge Posada, whose wife, Laura, and their two children were aboard a flight from La Guardia Airport to Tampa on Thursday when a passenger tried to break into the cockpit. -- New York Times

The Mets hit Marlins starter Scott Olsen hard in the fifth inning yesterday. When he returned to the dugout, he was hit just as hard by teammate Miguel Cabrera. Olsen and Cabrera argued in the dugout after the inning, and the third baseman hit the pitcher in the head with a shot that was harder than a poke but lighter than a punch. Marlins manager Joe Girardi said the two made up and there would be no lingering bitterness. -- New York Post

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire blames Francisco Liriano's absence during the World Baseball Classic for the delay in making the rookie lefthander a starter. -- Minneapolis Star Tribune

Jose Reyes and Tom Glavine will travel to the All-Star Game in Pittsburgh and participate in introductions, but neither will play tomorrow night. -- Newark Star-Ledger

Rangers right-hander Kevin Millwood said he is healthy and ready to start Friday in Baltimore. Millwood threw off a mound Sunday for the first time since straining his right biceps muscle July 2. He threw all of his pitches and said he didn't feel any pain. -- Dallas Morning News

Star-crossed Cardinals left fielder Larry Bigbie is set to begin a rehab assignment this week, though manager Tony La Russa and head trainer Barry Weinberg could not provide specifics about the precise start date. It is expected Bigbie will spend his second stint of the season with Class AAA Memphis. According to La Russa, Bigbie isn't expected back in St. Louis until August. -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Ben Sheets made his first rehabilitation start Sunday night for the Class AAA Nashville Sounds in a game at Round Rock, Texas. Frank Kremblas, manager of the Nashville Sounds, said Sheets was averaging between 92 to 94 mph on his fastball. -- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The location of Hayden Penn's next assignment isn't certain, but Orioles executive vice president Mike Flanagan said it will take at least "a couple more starts" before the team considers recalling him. -- Baltimore Sun

[lordwow]

Starters for the All-Star Game announced today:

Rogers, Penny chosen as All-Star starting pitchers
By ALAN ROBINSON, AP Sports Writer
July 10, 2006

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Kenny Rogers has gone from all-star scourge to All-Star game starter.

The Tigers' left-hander, the top winner for the team with the best record in the majors, will be on the mound for the AL on Tuesday night against Brad Penny of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Rogers will be trying to extend a nine-game AL unbeaten streak.

Rogers is 11-3 with a 3.85 ERA, while Penny is 10-2 with a 2.91 ERA. Rogers will be ready -- he hasn't started since Wednesday, lasting 5 2-3 innings in a victory against Oakland.

"He's well-rested," AL manager Ozzie Guillen said of the decision to start Rogers.

Penny also made his last start Wednesday, allowing two runs in seven innings against Arizona, but also pitched one-third of an inning in relief Sunday in the Dodgers' 3-1 win over San Francisco.

Guillen was limited in his choices as three top AL starters pitched Sunday: the Blue Jays' Roy Halladay (12-2), the White Sox's Jose Contreras (9-0) and the Twins' Johan Santana (9-5).

"There's a lot of guys that deserve to start, but it was unfortunate they pitched yesterday," Rogers said.

Rogers will be throwing to his regular catcher, too, in Ivan Rodriguez -- it will be the first time the Tigers have had the starting battery in an All-Star game. Rogers will be the first Tigers pitcher to start the All-Star game since Jack Morris at the Metrodome in 1985.

It was this time a year ago Rogers was under intense scrutiny for knocking down a cameraman during a videotaped tirade.

Rogers, then with the Rangers, was charged with a misdemeanor in Texas after videotape of the June 29 incident showed him walking onto Ameriquest Field in Arlington and pushing a television camera to the ground. He agreed to attend an anger management class to avoid further punishment.

"It was very difficult," Rogers said. "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't hard, but I think I grew up with it and it made me a little better. ... Every challenge in my life that's come my way, I try to take advantage of anything I can learn from it and try to be better."

NL manager Phil Garner, attending a news conference Monday morning in Pittsburgh less than 11 hours after a 7-5, 12-inning loss to the Cardinals in Houston, unveiled a batting order that finds the Nationals' Alfonso Soriano leading off and playing left field, followed by CF Carlos Beltran, Mets; 1B Albert Pujols, Cardinals; RF Jason Bay, Pirates; SS Edgar Renteria, Braves; 3B David Wright, Mets; 2B Chase Utley, Phillies; C Paul Lo Duca, Mets and Penny.

Bay will be out of position; he has played left field and center field for the Pirates but has almost no experience in right field. Garner decided to hit Pujols third and Bay fourth, rather than the other way around, because Bay has hit so well against Garner's Astros with runners on base.

"Every time somebody's on base, he becomes a different hitter," Garner said.

Guillen will lead off with Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki, RF, followed by SS Derek Jeter, Yankees; 1B David Ortiz, Red Sox; 3B Alex Rodriguez, Yankees; LF Vladimir Guerrero, Angels; C Rodriguez; CF Vernon Wells, Blue Jays; 2B Mark Loretta, Red Sox and Rogers.

[Jobronie]

On Sunday, reports surfaced that Boston is very interested in the services of Bobby Abreu who has a no-trade clause and is set to make $15 million from the Phillies next season. -- Camden Courier-Post

VERY interested?

Really......?

[Deftones]

Son of a bitch. There were rumors that Garner wanted Webb to start, but it must've been those poor outing recently that did him in.

[Rogue588]

ESPN Classic was showing the 1999 Home Run Derby. McGuire got 13 HRs. Wonder how he did that

Also thought it was funny that, as McGuire hit a ball that was heading over monster, one of the announcers said "I wonder if there's enough juice to get it over the net".

If only he knew...

or maybe he did...

[B.A.]

Eckstein is replacing Jose Reyes for the NL.

[Tarantino]

Oh Rogue, you're a riot.

= J

[Mad Dawg]

Liriano makes it in, replacing Jose Contreras (since Contreras wasn't going to be used).

[Lunatikk]

Originally Posted by raven56706

Guillen will lead off with Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki, RF, followed by SS Derek Jeter, Yankees; 1B David Ortiz, Red Sox; 3B Alex Rodriguez, Yankees; LF Vladimir Guerrero, Angels; C Rodriguez; CF Vernon Wells, Blue Jays; 2B Mark Loretta, Red Sox and Rogers.

[Geofferson]

Originally Posted by Mad Dawg

Liriano makes it in, replacing Jose Contreras (since Contreras wasn't going to be used).

[namrfumot]

Originally Posted by Rogue588

ESPN was showing last night's highlights. Giambi got another HR. Wonder how he did that

Also thought it was funny that, as Giambi hit the ball and it was heading over wall, one of the announcers said "I wonder if there's enough juice to get it over the net".

Fixed

[GuessWho]

from the blog of Steve Dahl, a famous Chicago radio personality:


I think that Cubs win yesterday might have saved Dusty’s job for now. Could someone please tell me why a guy who doesn’t play has to wear sweatbands on his wrists? And he does not wear little ones, either. Does he have embarrassingly small wrists or is he trying to highlight their girth? I have small wrists. I know the shame.

[Aphex Twin]

I wonder if the Cubs are cursing Mark Prior for making them lose out on Joe Mauer by being a little bitch.

[lordwow]

Yahoo has a pretty neat article about this 27-year-old Devil Rays Prospect.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slu...yhoo&type=lgns

His future is now
By Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports
July 9, 2006

Jeff Passan
Yahoo! Sports
PITTSBURGH – He already was in a dugout filled with players who can't legally take a drink. Then Juan Salas turned around and saw Jose Tabata, all of 17, a New York Yankees prospect who can't even take a drag off a cigarette without getting cited, and … well, he might as well have pulled a flask of Metamucil from his back pocket and taken a nip.

"I feel old," said Salas, 27, and comparatively, he was right. Salas is a relief pitcher in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization, and he was their designee this season for the All-Star Futures Game, baseball's gathering of top prospects with, you know, bright futures. That, generally, means 20- or 21-year-olds. If you're 24, that's pushing it, and if you're 26, you'd better have a good excuse, like the New York Mets' Matt Lindstrom. He spent two years on a Mormon mission.

Amid all the potential stood Salas, who was here because the Devil Rays' best prospects are as follows: Delmon Young, who tried to decapitate an umpire with a bat, and B.J. Upton, who was arrested for drunken driving, and Elijah Dukes, who is more trouble than both of them. Oh, and because Salas is in the midst of organized baseball's greatest run of zeros since Orel Hershiser: Between Double-A and Triple-A this season, he has thrown 47 1/3 innings and not given up an earned run.

"I see all these guys who are younger than me, and I know that I might not fit in exactly," Salas said. "At least they're not calling me grandpa."

Or Marty McFly, because Salas' future – celebrated Sunday afternoon with the United States team beating the World team 8-5 to kick off All-Star game festivities – has come and gone three times.

The first came in 1998 when he signed with Tampa Bay as a third baseman. He was 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, muscular like a mannequin and – the best part – only 17.

Until 2002, at least, when Stage 2 occurred: Salas, like so many other players from the Dominican Republic, used fake paperwork to make him younger and more appealing to teams that love molding teenagers. After Sept. 11, immigration weeded out the counterfeits. It turned out that Salas was three years older than the Devil Rays realized.

And that, frankly, he stunk as a third baseman. In six seasons, he walked 77 times. He had only 28 home runs in more than 2,000 at-bats. Salas was bored and frustrated and pedaling and pedaling and pedaling only to realize his career was a stationary bike. Everything exploded July 3, 2004, when Salas struck out and was ejected in a game with Double-A Montgomery. On the way to the team's clubhouse, he threw his bat toward the umpire.

The Devil Rays suspended him indefinitely, and if not for his right arm, Salas' career would have ended there. Instead, while Salas waited in the Dominican for the team to mete out its punishment, the Tampa Bay brass decided his final future would be as a pitcher.

"I've been in baseball more than 25 years, and he had the best third-base arm I've ever seen," said Cam Bonifay, the Devil Rays' farm director at the time. "But conversions are something where you don't know if they have the capacity to translate the velocity."

Bonifay proposed the idea to Salas.

"Give me the ball," Salas said. "I want to play."

"And that's what had to happen," Bonifay said. "He had to fully embrace the idea."

On Aug. 10, 2004, Salas reported to rookie-league Princeton – the same place he started his career five years earlier – and won an extra-innings game with a scoreless frame in relief. He threw exclusively fastballs, though fast they were – sitting at 95 mph, riding to 97, boring in on left-handers and tailing from right-handers.

Last year, he struck out 65 in 60 1/3 innings between Class A and Double-A, and with Salas' addition of a slider that touches 86 mph, the Devil Rays this season started him in Montgomery, where each time he went to the mound he passed the spot where he chucked his bat. In 34 2/3 innings, Salas gave up 13 hits and struck out 52.

"He was filthy," said Joey Votto, a Cincinnati Reds prospect and World teammate. "Couldn't touch him."

Inside clubhouses, word spread about Salas. It became a game to see who could score off him. It's one they're still playing.

"I know I'm going to give up a run eventually," Salas said. "I just don't think it's going to be for a while."

At Triple-A Montgomery, he's at 12 2/3 scoreless innings and counting. And, naturally, he made it through his one-third of an inning at the Futures Game with no hassle.

Should he keep up the pace, the Devil Rays surely will summon him for the stretch run, perhaps landing him a call-up before any of the other 48 players here Sunday.

The third future, after all, is a charm.

A pretty good story about a good guy it seems. Quite a departure from most of the Devil Rays Prospects.

[Dave7393]

Originally Posted by raven56706

Mets GM Omar Minaya refused to discuss Dontrelle Willis directly. But those close to Minaya said he would be open to trading Lastings Milledge or Mike Pelfrey, his top two prospects, if Willis were available. -- New York Post

I think this is completely fucked because they can get him for free (in terms of giving up players) in a few months anyway. If they trade Milledge or Pelfrey, they'll be giving up years of potential talent for a guarantee of having Willis for the next three months only.

I like Willis, but they should pursue him as a free agent-- although I somehow think Willis will be a Met by the end of the month regardless.

[Aphex Twin]

Originally Posted by Dave7393

I think this is completely fucked because they can get him for free (in terms of giving up players) in a few months anyway. If they trade Milledge or Pelfrey, they'll be giving up years of potential talent for a guarantee of having Willis for the next three months only.

I like Willis, but they should pursue him as a free agent-- although I somehow think Willis will be a Met by the end of the month regardless.

You'll have to wait a few years if you are waiting for Willis's free agency.

[Jobronie]

Originally Posted by Dave7393

I think this is completely fucked because they can get him for free (in terms of giving up players) in a few months anyway. If they trade Milledge or Pelfrey, they'll be giving up years of potential talent for a guarantee of having Willis for the next three months only.

Petey and Glavine aren't getting any younger.

When Omar saw what he had in Reyes and Wright last years, he knew he had to go for it now before the staff got any older or got injured, so he went out and got Delgado. I think the deal that will go down is Beane bamboozling Omar for Zito.......

[TheNightFlier]

Originally Posted by Dave7393

I think this is completely fucked because they can get him for free (in terms of giving up players) in a few months anyway. If they trade Milledge or Pelfrey, they'll be giving up years of potential talent for a guarantee of having Willis for the next three months only.

I like Willis, but they should pursue him as a free agent-- although I somehow think Willis will be a Met by the end of the month regardless.

I don't put too much stock in anything from the Post.

And I'm not entirely sure but I heard Pelfrey can't be traded this year due to him being drafted in '05.

I wouldn't give up Pelfrey or Milledge for Willis.

[Dave7393]

Originally Posted by Aphex Twin

You'll have to wait a few years if you are waiting for Willis's free agency.

Are you sure? Isn't Willis a free agent after the 2006 season?

[TheNightFlier]

Originally Posted by Dave7393

Are you sure? Isn't Willis a free agent after the 2006 season?

According to ESPN, he signed a one year deal worth $4.35 million on January 16th. So he should be a FA at the end of this season.

[Mad Dawg]

Originally Posted by TheNightFlier

According to ESPN, he signed a one year deal worth $4.35 million on January 16th. So he should be a FA at the end of this season.

Nope, that contract was simply to avoid arbitration. I believe the Marlins have his rights through '08.

[Aphex Twin]

Originally Posted by TheNightFlier

According to ESPN, he signed a one year deal worth $4.35 million on January 16th. So he should be a FA at the end of this season.

Yes, he did, but that does not mean that he is a free agent at the end of the season or even at the end of next season.

[Lee Harvey Oswald]

Originally Posted by Aphex Twin

I wonder if the Cubs are cursing Mark Prior for making them lose out on Joe Mauer by being a little bitch.

Back in '03 everyone was saying how stupid the Twins were for passing on Prior.

[Canadian Bacon]

Originally Posted by Lunatikk

Pudge is one of the best catchers in baseball.