Arbitration Applesauce - Molina sanity, Braves get Wagner, Pedroia could move to SS

by Joe Budd on Dec 2, 2009 8:37 AM EST in Applesauce

The tea leaves are not looking too promising right now, are they...

Meet the Mets

Matthew Cerrone sides with reason when talking about Bengie Molina.

The Mets gave none of their free agents to -be arbitration offers. This, however, does not mean that Carlos Delgado will not return to the blue and orange.

Around the NL East

The Braves have signed Billy Wagner to be their closer, giving Boston their first round pick and a supplemental draft pick. Chris Carter still does not know how to field.

Atlanta declined to offer arbitration to their first baseman Adam LaRoche.

We're still going to see our fair share of Brian Schneider. He became quite popular on the internets yesterday as Philly fans are trying to figure out why on earth they got him.

Around MLB

If only we had an organization like Boston to root for. With the market for shortstops being overpriced, Boston management has approached Dustin Pedroia about switching to the other side of the diamond and pursuing one of the many second basemen. Oh, and they're also interested in Rich Harden.

The Angels have voted a full playoff share to Nick Adenhart.

Gregg Zaun expects to sign on with a new team by the end of this week.

And, finally, Rex Ryan has brought in Joe Girardi to teach Mark Sanchez how to slide.

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Comments

Really Rex?

Give me a free ticket and I can teach Sanchez how to slide……geez, not that hard.

by Coolpapabell on Dec 2, 2009 10:13 AM EST reply actions

Figure 4 slide, just bend one leg and tuck it under the other.

My little league coach taught it to me when I was 6.

by dtro on Dec 2, 2009 10:37 AM EST up reply actions

Countrytime signs with the Br*ves?

wow. I hope their “rooks no thar places.”

I.M. Forme
"When you get yourself into trouble is when you feel you have to do something, and then you get yourself in trouble." --Omar Minaya

by itsmetsforme on Dec 2, 2009 10:35 AM EST reply actions

When even Cerrone is critical of Omar

you know you have a problem

"We're investigating the investigative procedure of the investigation of Tony Bernazard"---Omar Minaya (he really didn't say it but he would"

by firejerrynow on Dec 2, 2009 2:18 PM EST reply actions

"In Omar We Trust" no more?

"He's definitely mixing it into his repertoire. That's French for 'repertoire' " - Keith Hernandez

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Dec 2, 2009 2:22 PM EST up reply actions

Wagner

The thought of Boston getting those picks from Atlanta makes me want to throw something heavy and breakable. Nicely done Omar.

by metsjetsnets on Dec 2, 2009 2:54 PM EST reply actions

at the time of the wagner deal

i felt that it was a gamble on the safe side.

At the time, we did not know if wagner was going to come back strong. he could have a) stunk or b) re-injured himself.

it seems that it went as badly as it could. I cant get on omar for this deal on its own, as at the time… he was playing safe. But I can get on him for his overall suckatude, that this piles into.

If this was his only slight of the offseason, its a pass… but group it in with the Coste and Cora signing and the molina interest… ugh… i dont want to type anymore.

by gbaked on Dec 2, 2009 3:21 PM EST reply actions

How was he playing it safe?

He got two nothing prospects for him. It was all upside on the Sox side and all downside on ours. It was a terrible trade then and worse now.

"We must win and we must know how to win rather than win because we have statistical people."

by Evan_S on Dec 2, 2009 3:26 PM EST up reply actions

I don't understand how keeping him was a gamble

The only thing we had to lose by keeping him was 3 million dollars which, like someone else said, they had already budgeted for anyway. Is that really a huge gamble? If he stinks then you just cut him loose at the end of the season and that’s the end of it.

by Gina on Dec 2, 2009 4:31 PM EST up reply actions

what i mean is

wagner could have come back and had an era of 9 and a horrible bb/k ratio.
He could have come back for 2 games, then reinjured himself.

If he did either one of those, then Omar could not have offered him arbitration because he would accept it, and he would get nothing out of him and trading him when he did got him 2 players.

Now… Omar being Omar… hedged his bet wrong and Wagner was healthy and awesome, and he decided to trade with the much better GM in Theo and got fleeced on the players he got back.

by gbaked on Dec 2, 2009 4:47 PM EST up reply actions

sometimes I think

I use the word “and” too often

by gbaked on Dec 2, 2009 4:49 PM EST up reply actions

But that's kind of the point

If all we were getting was AAAA players, and I can’t understand how Omar couldn’t have seen they were non prospects I feel like it was obvious they were nonprospects, then what’s the gamble. What would Omar have been worried about missing out on if Wagner got injured or stunk it up. And even if he decided to try and trade him because he was worried about him getting injured, why, after realizing the best he was going to get by trading Wagner were non-prospects, did he go through with a trade anyway? It’s only a gamble if you lose something by choosing the “riskier” option, what exactly was Omar looking at losing once the best offer on the table was two non-prospects?

by Gina on Dec 2, 2009 4:54 PM EST up reply actions

But that's the kind of risk-assessment GMs are paid to make...

and it’s not like he would have been passing up some can’t-miss prospects. If he got some value back, whatever. But he didn’t.

The only way you can’t kill omar on this one is if the Wilpons made it clear he had to move Wagner because
a) they wanted to save $3 million
b) they wouldn’t offer arb in case he accepted
c) they would be too cheap to pay bonuses for a couple of Top 40 draft picks

by Bieser's Balk on Dec 2, 2009 4:55 PM EST reply actions

reply fail

by Bieser's Balk on Dec 2, 2009 4:55 PM EST up reply actions

Man...Remember the good ol' days...

Whenever it was, like February or March, when the collective fanbase was like, “Awesome. Wagner in the 7th, Putz in the 8th, K-Rod in the 9th! It’s a six-inning ballgame.” Times seemed so much more simple, so much more innocent then…

"Blinding ignorance does mislead us. O! Wretched mortals, open your eyes!"
Gil Hodges IS a Hall of Famer.

by Brooklyn Dodgers Mets Fan on Dec 3, 2009 12:04 AM EST reply actions