he True Fans Bleed Blue and Orange: February 2006h

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Sick

Sorry guys, I have bronchitis, and I have not had the energy to do much lately. Therefore, I won't be able to post until I recover. The doctor said it could take anywhere from tommorow to a week for me to be healed, therefore keep checking the blog everyday. I'm about to purchase MLB.TV so I can watch all of the Mets Spring Training games, I'd suggest anyone else to do so also. The only news of the day was from the intra-squad game, where the only stand-out was Henry Owens, who looked "nasty" in his one inning of work. Owens has been opening some eyes this spring, and he may be a darkhorse to win a bullpen job. By the way, Matt Cerrone is doing an awesome job so far this spring, with the way he has connections watching Spring Training, keep it up Matt! Well, I'll see you guys when I feel better, once again I apologize.

Monday, February 27, 2006

Keppinger hurt

Not much news today, but Metsblog.com is reporting that Jeff Keppinger was sent to New York to have his back examined. Apparently the Mets second baseman has been complaining of back woes for quite some time, and the Mets would rather have his back checked out instead of having him excercise through it. Not much other notable news, hopefully there is some tommorow, when the first intrasquad game is played.

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Cablevision and SNY, Floyd's concern

Today the Daily News wrote an article about the declining amount of African-Americans in Baseball, and he also includes som background information on Lastings Milledge. The article discusses how most African-Americans are drawn to playing basketball or football over baseball. The writer (unknown) quotes Milledge as saying
"I can sit down all day and watch football," he says. "It's really exciting. I mean, I like watching baseball too. But you get a couple of innings that go on too long, and you change the channel."
This is interesting, because I know a lot of people--not neccesarily African-Americans--how feel the same way about baseball, however the white population in baseball has steadied as far as I know. Cliff Floyd thinks that
"...in some cases it's the cost of maintaining fields and getting equipment that is the problem," Floyd said. "But I also think it's the glamour. The thing kids like to do now is watch and play football and basketball."
Cliff Floyd, the only African-American who is a lock for the 25 man roster, is establishing a foundation in his hometown that will be dedicated to teaching inner-city kids about baseball. Also, the article discusses Milledge's background in high school, and how he was lucky that he is playing baseball. Milledge is quoted as saying
"My dad and my two older brothers played football in high school," Lastings Milledge says. "But he didn't want me to play it. He saw that I had a future in baseball. I still played football until the eighth grade. "I mean, if I really, really wanted to keep playing, I could have forced it. But I don't really test my dad. He's been a real big influence on me. I wouldn't be here without him. He's responsible for everything I know - my work ethic, the way I go about everyday life."
I guess we're lucky his Dad, a former minor-leaguer and current state trooper saw a future in baseball for Lastings. This article is very well written with some nice quotes, I'd suggest reading it if you are either black, concerned about the amount of black's in baseball, or if want to learn a bit more about Milledge.

Next, the biggest news of the day for me is another rumor that Cablevision is carrying SNY. Bloomberg.com, along with mutliple other sources is reporting that Cablevision has agreed to show New York Mets games on SNY. Just in time, Spring Training starts this week. I can't wait!

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Pedro recovering, Bannister "nasty"

The Met's beat writers at Mets.com. wrote two interesting articles today. The first was about Pedro, and how his foot was recovering. Marty Noble quotes Pedro as saying
"I'm probably 70 percent better than I was [at the end of 2005]. It feels a little more comfortable. That's a big step, knowing the damaged area of the sesamoid bone is a little bit relieved."
Well, today's human anatomy lesson is that there is a bone in the foot that starts with the same letters as Sesame Street. However, on a serious note it is good to hear that Pedro's toe is healing, but 70% is far from a 100% so hopefully his toe starts to heal faster with the new nike shoe.

The second article from Mets.com is from Brian Hoch. Hoch writes about another Brian, Brian Bannister that is. Hoch discusses what the 24 year old triple a pitcher brings to the table, and what others think about him. Ramon castro is quoting as saying that Bannister is "nasty", the backup catcher also said that
"The way I saw him today, he is tough," Castro said. "A little wild -- a little bit -- but good stuff. All his pitches are big-league pitches. He throws hard, and his ball moves."
Bannister has been mentioned as one of the possibillities for winning the 5th spot in the rotation, but nobody expects the job to go to anyone outside of Aaron Heilman. I fully expect Bannister to be in the majors at some point this year, but I doubt that it will be as a starter.

Next, recently acquired Nationals starting pitcher Brian Lawrence will not be pitching for the next five months due to a torn labrum. That means that from the NL East both Mike Hampton and Brian Lawrence will start the season on the DL.

Lastly, a friend of mine tipped me to a new forum that recently opened. Baseballnations.com has a section for every major league team, including the Mets, so if you are looking for another forum to add to your favorites than check out baseballnations, and if you check it out tell them True Fans...sent you!

Pedro to miss the entire WBC?

Newsday is reporting that Pedro Martinez is missing the first round of the WBC, and may wind up missing every round. Now, this is good news and bad news. It's good news because should Pedro not pitch in the WBC at all then we don't have to worry about him overdoing his workload, and possibly getting hurt. The bad news is that Pedro may be seriously hurt, and if he can't pitch in the WBC that may mean he can't pitch in Spring Training games, which may mean that he might not be ready for opening day. I hope the latter isn't the case, the Mets must have a healthy Pedro in order to be succesful this year. I'd also like to point out that a couple of weeks ago I mentioned that Pedro may be pretending to be more hurt than he actually is in an attempt to avoid pitching in the WBC without getting scrutinized by the likes of Dominicans,and most reently, Ozzie Guillen. However, this almost isn't the right thing to say, but I'll say it anyway. Let's say hypothetically speaking that Pedro is indeed seriously hurt, and his injury causes him to miss a couple of starts in Spring Training and he winds up either on the DL or in AAA working on his stamina, or he winds up pitching on a pitch count under 100 on opening day. If this turns out to be the case then it could become a blessing in disguise. As we all know, last year Pedro started to run out of gas down the stretch, and if he misses a couple of games, or doesn't throw 100 pitches in a couple more games then maybe he'll be fresher come September. However, I am going to try and kick those thoughts out of my head, and focus more on the positives. Speaking of positives, Bret Boone believes that he can return to his 2004, gold glove winning, 24 home run hitting, form. Also, according to Ben Shipgel of the New York Times Boone is the front-runner for the job, if he can show that he has something left in the tank.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Pedro to miss the first round of WBC, other notes

Well, depending on the way you take it we have either some good news or some bad news. Pedro Martinez's toe injury will keep him out of the first round of the WBC, and possibly longer. If you didn;t want Martinez pitching in the WBC at all costs because of a possible bigger injury, then you got your wish. However, if you either didn't mind Pedro pitching for the Domincian Republic, or you wanted some indication that Pedro is healthy than this is bad news. To me it's a little bit of both. In other news, Lastings Milledge has checked in as the ninth best prospect in baseball accoridng to online magazine Baseball America. Lastly, possibly the most important news of the day, metsblog is reporting that
The buzz from a variety of readers that work for Cablevision is that the company has sent an internal memo that indicates all Mets games will be broadcast to its subscribers, even if negotiations are not finalized.
Great, fantastic, and extrodinary news for me and the other Cablevision subscribers out there. I was so worried that the Mets games weren't going to be shown by the time the Spring Training games started, and now I can breathe easier, but I'm still a little bit worried. I won't be 100% satisfied until I can press the buttons 7 and 3 (the aparent channel of SNY for cablevision subscribers) and I see the Mets on the field. That is all for now, have a good night.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Delgado happy to be in NY

Brian Hoch at mets.com wrote an article today about how Delgado feels on joining the Mets. Hoch recaps what Delgado has gone through since the 2004 offseason, and he also captures a lot of great quotes from Delgado. For those of you who want to learn a bit more about Delgado's personality than this article is a must. There isn't much other news for the day, baseball wise. However, the Knicks did pick up Steve Francis, which may or may not of been a good move.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Minor news

Nothing much major today a couple of minor things to report. David Wright is apparently slowing down his work out routine. Last year right before the all-star break Wright ran out of gas so this should hopefully keep the tank filled a bit longer. Julio Franco and Carlos Beltran both reported today. Also, Pedro expects to throw off of a mound this week. See I told you it was nothing major, well see you guys tommorow maybe we'll have some actual news to report...

Monday, February 20, 2006

Visa problems, new friends, recovering injuries, and more!

Well, Spring Training has started and baseball blogs are starting to get back into the swing of things (no pun intended), especially metsblog.com. Matt Cerrone is on a posting rampage (obviously a good thing) as he has made over 15 posts on Monday alone. Good job on covering everything Matt! Anyway, back to the Mets. Jorge Julio, the reliever acquired in the scrutinized Kris Benson trade, has yet to arrive in camp. Julio has had visa problems because his original visa was for him to join the Orioles, and I guess the fact that he was traded creates a visa problem. I'm not to sure about the specific details of visa's but that appears to be the extent of the problem. I'd expect him to report soon, don;t expect this to drag on like Alay Soler's visa problem's did. Next in line is Kazuo Matsui reporting to camp. Matsui is not reporting alone though. The 29 year old second baseman will be bringing his personal trainer from his former team in Japan. Hopefully this creates a better enviornment for Matsui, and maybe he can return to his 2004 form, save the fielding. If you remember when Kaz Ishii returned from the DL in May 2005 Matsui went on a mini run, however that run didn't last. Maybe this trainer will help Matsui return to his old self that had the scouts raving about him a couple of years ago. Next on the agenda is injuries. Philip Humber is ahead of schedule after his Tommy John surgery, and he should be throwing off of a mound in a couple of weeks. Hopefully the former first round pick can return to his Rice form when he is healthy, and hopefully he moves through the minors relativley quickly, and with ease. Also, non-roster invitee, Jose Parra, was sent to New York to have his elbow examined. Unfortunatley I don't know any more information because you need to be registered to read the article, something that I am not. A lot of people are talking about the Victor Diaz verse Xavier Nady battle in right field. Many believe that Diaz is better suited for right field, but Nady appears to be the leading candidate. What do you think (vote on right poll)?

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Essay I wrote for School

I recently wrote an essay for my Honors English Class at school, and luckily I was allowed to write about the Mets. The essay is about Shea Stadium and how it makes me feel when I am anticipating a game that I am going to. Admittedly I hyped Shea up to be a bit more than it actually is, but the facts I gave are true. Please read it, and give me your feedback in the comments section (I received a 90 on the essay, mainly because of punctuation mistakes):

Shea Stadium, in Flushing New York, is a sanctuary for millions of Mets fans around the world. The place where the “Bad Guys” won, where New York was re-united by a single swing of a bat, where the legendary “Beatles” played, where dreams are made, and where players can become legends. April 17, 1964 was the grand opening of the Stadium, and with it came a new team and a new life style for many New Yorkers. About 5 months later, the first Jets game was played in Flushing. Over the next 40 years various highlights took place at Shea Stadium: the “Beatles” sang two concerts within a span of two years (1965-1966), two world championships for the New York Mets (1969 and 1986), a “The Who” concert, three Bruce Springstein concerts, and of course the site of the 2000 Subway Series between the Mets and the Yankees. Dozens of memorable events took place there, and now it was my turn to attend a game.
It was August 31st, the Mets were half a game out of the wild card, and they were facing the current wild card leaders, in the Philadelphia Phillies. With a New York victory the Mets would be catapulted into the wild card lead, and would seemingly carry that momentum all of the way through to the playoffs. Well, at least that was my opinion and that of most Mets fans. Pedro Martinez, the Mets best pitcher, was pitching and the anticipation for the Wednesday night game was unreal. The game was scheduled to begin at 7:10 PM, but I couldn’t wait till then. The night before the game I couldn’t sleep at all. In anticipation of the game, I listened to sports talk radio for nine hours until daybreak. The moment I awoke I immediately called my friend and we got together to draw posters and paint our faces blue and orange.
After creating five signs we began to project the night’s starting lineup, and we even started to predict the game pitch-by-pitch, inning-by-inning. We turned on ESPN at around 2:00PM and we watched the Chicago White Sox play the Texas Rangers. During one of the commercial breaks, an ad for baseball appeared, featuring Pedro Martinez. Pedro Martinez was shown striking out various batters and the commercial ended with Martinez saying “I Live for This.” At that moment, like a firecracker, my excitement burst out of me and I exploded out of my chair, as did my friend. We both started screaming and pushing each other, pumping each other up and we decided to leave immediately. At 3:00 in the afternoon the game was four hours away and yet, we were already in the car on the way to Flushing, NY. We arrived three hours before game time and we were expecting to be the only fans at the stadium.
To our surprise the number of fans already seated was staggering. The cars and buses, that followed us from the beginning of our trip, began to unload, and we were swimming in a sea of Mets jerseys. We started to walk by the multiple tailgate parties and the aroma from the cooking hot dogs was intoxicating. We ran into a friend of ours from school and he let us sample one of the hamburgers he was grilling. I never tasted anything so delicious in my life! The beast of a stadium was upon us and we were a mere 30 yards away from entering. After swiftly surpassing security, we all bought our Mets yearbook. Next, we decided to head to our seats. As if the stadium’s history was watching us, we trotted towards our seats in a straight line. We weren’t talking, but we were in awe of the various posters hung up throughout the inside. Mike Piazza’s home run that united New York after the attacks on the Twins Towers was present. You could still feel the electricity from the game 20 years ago when Ray Knight rounded third base following the error by the notorious Bill Buckner in the infamous “Game 6”. Pictures of Hall of Famer, Tom Seaver, and Mets legend Keith Hernandez also were amazing images to view.
After passing the posters we found the tunnel which would lead us to our seats. I touched the handrail leading to my row and when I looked at my fingers the colors matched my face. I was energized. As if we were in a movie we saw the historical field emerge into our field of vision. First the left field wall appeared, than came the centerfield wall, and finally the right field wall. This was our home for the next six to seven hours, and it was our Mecca for life. We have entered our own personal sanctuary and we were not planning on watching the game while sitting. We spent the next six hours listening to the roar of the crowd and hearing the sweet sound of the ball making contact with wood. We cheered our tails off, never once sitting down in our seats.
Unfortunately, the Mets were defeated that day and August 31st has become known as the Met’s “D Day.” The Met’s season fizzled out, along with our fuse, and whatever excitement was left. However, there is always next season when another tale will be written, and when another memorable event will be added to the list.

Shoe has finally arrived

Well, it's happened the infamous Nike Air Shoe has arrived for Pedro's ailing toe. Luckily it doesn't stick out like a sore thunb, and it appears to have a normal appearence. There is some other minor news today, mainly various quotes from different players.
  • Marty Noble
  • wraps up the days events. The excitement has already been building and it's about to burst out of me, I can't wait for the first Spring Training game (hopefully Cablevision will of fixed their problems with SNY by then)!

    Wednesday, February 15, 2006

    Minor news

    Not much major news today, just a couple of minor notes:
    -Pedro has reported to Spring Training, his shoe hasn't
    -David Wells still feels that he will be traded, but it is unlikely that he will come to he Mets due to his desire for a Western team
    -Jeff Weaver signed with the Angels, that leaves Barry Zito as the last option left of the three options that were available a couple of weeks ago
    -Flushinghardball.com is close to finishing a brand new design and layout, stay tuned.

    Tuesday, February 14, 2006

    Surprising signing by Mets

    According to Metsblog the Mets have signed "Lima Time!" to a minor league contract. Lima was disgusting last year with the Royals, but he was solid with the Dodgers in 2004. It;s only a minor league deal so I wouldn't make a fuss about the signing but I assume that Lima's name can now be added to number 2 on this list.

    Monday, February 13, 2006

    Notes from the 13th

    Couple of notes from the day:
    1) Tike Redman cleared waivers and apparently won't make the team out of Spring Training, and was placed on the Tides roster.
    2) The Daily News reports that Aaron Heilman, John Maine, Brian Bannister and Yusaki Iriki will all be fighting for the 5th slot in the rotation. Surprising that Bannister's name is there, although I don't expect him to win the job. Maine, on the other hand, could be a dark horse.
    3) Also, for those who want to learn more about Alay Soler the Daily News wrote a column on his trip from Cuba to America. They also discuss Soler's three pitches.
    4) Lastly, for those of you who read Metsblog, and saw this posted late last night I'm sure your still laughing. Luke Halpert wrote about the nine hirings SNY made for anchors for telecasts, and one of the anchors was 2001 Ms. Florida winner. Halpert then went on to say "as for donaldson, i've never seen her on anything in my life, but she could have an hour long show about this and people will watch." That link is too funny, nice work.

    Sunday, February 12, 2006

    Same ol' story

    No news what so ever, try and ge some sleep and get ready to drive in this snowy weather.

    A blog

    I was looking at sportspyder for some of the latest Mets news and I stumbled upon a blog(at least I think it's new). Mike's Mets is what it's called so if your in need of more Mets reading than check out his site. It seems that the site was made in August of last year but it doesn't seem to be too popular so I'll help him out with a bit more publicity.

    Saturday, February 11, 2006

    Notes from the 10th

    Not much major news today, but there is a couple of small notes:
    1) As I'm sure you've heard Ricky Henderson will be working with the Mets for 10 days this spring. Henderson will mainly be working on baserunning which Matthew Cerrone says is one of the main focal points that the Mets are going to work on this spring, as well as through the season.
    2) In other news, Omar Minaya has claimed that Pedro is still set to pitch in the WBC. Minaya also says that Pedro's shoe hasn't arrived, and he also says that Martinez may arrive early, again, to Spring Training. Lastly, Minaya says that Pedro will be re-examined on March 1st, and that is when the ultimate decision will be made on if Pedro will play in the WBC or not.
    3) Mlb.com predicts the Mets to win the division, and the Braves to finish in second place, followed by the Phils, Nationals, and Marlins.
    4) Lastly, Metsgeek.com released their opinion on the Mets' top ten wins this season.

    Thursday, February 09, 2006

    High and low and yet no news...

    Well, I've searched high and low to try and find something to discuss today, and unfortunatley nothing about the Mets was found. However, I did find one little nugget that does relate to the Mets, although of not much substance. According to "insider" Billy Beane has given up on trying to re-sign Barry Zito. Ok, thats not the greatest news but this is the dog days of February so lets try to get through it. Oh, and one more thing: 5 days till pitchers and catchers report.

    Wednesday, February 08, 2006

    Ridiculous Win for Venezuela

    For those of you who followed the Carribean Series on the Yes Network and through mlb.com than you should see how Venezuela won the championship. With 1 out, a runner on first, and a 4-4 game Henry Blanco came to the plate. He then preceded to pop up a pitch to shallow leftfield. The shortstop was twisting and turning to try and catch the ball, but instead the ball wound up hitting him on the head, and rolling to the wall. Alex Gonzalez, the Red Sox newest shortstop, scored all the way from first to win the Carribean World Series. There is no link for me to show you guys, but if you wish to watch it than go to mets.com, go to the fifth slide (it has a picture of Anderson Hernandez) and click watch, on the right it should say "Venezuela Wins" click that and enjoy.

    Tuesday, February 07, 2006

    Omar Minaya to be on Quite Frankly on Wednesday

    According to Melissa Salvo, the Audience Coordinator at Stephen A. Smith's "Quite Frankly," Omar Minaya will be appearing on Wednesday on the show. Apparently there will be 10-15 "FREE TICKETS" given out so contact her as soon as possible if you want to see Minaya interviewed, and possibly ask him questions. Salvo says the following about retrieving the tickets
    If you or any board member is interested in those free tickets or need more information, please contact us back as soon as possible by phone at 646-708-7102 or drop us an email at Melissa.A.Salvo.-ND@espn.com to make a reservation.
    Good Luck.

    Problems with blogspot?

    I apologize for the inconvenience yesterday of the site not loading. I received multiple e-mails telling me that the site isn't loading and it wasn't just my site. My assumtion is that blogspot was fixing some problems with every site, and the maintenance apppears to be done. There wasn't much news yesterday anyway.

    Sunday, February 05, 2006

    Hernandez talks to MLB.com

    What a boring baseball day. Anderson Hernandez, who has been playing well for the Dominican Republic during the Carribean Series, talked to MLB.com today. Basically he said that he hopes to make the team, he is excited about the acquisitions, and he thinks he has a good chance to make the team. Obvious stuff, no real information in the interview but watching it continues to pump you up for the season.

    Hernandez, to me, looks and talks exactly like Jose Reyes. In other news, Jeff Weaver has been rumored to have signed with the Angels although nothing is official yet. That is all, other than the fact that the Steelers won the Super Bowl, expanding my wallet a bit.

    Saturday, February 04, 2006

    Mets sign backup first baseman from Cuba

    According to the New York Times the Mets have signed Cuban defector Michael Abreu. The first baseman was signed by the Red Sox last year but his contract was voided after the Red Sox discovered he was 5 years older than what they originally suspected. The 31 year old is one of Cuba's top power hitters who may fill in for the Mets at firstbase during Spring Training, with Delgado playing in the World Baseball Classic.

    Thursday, February 02, 2006

    Hernandez gets game winning hit

    The only news on a very slow day is that Anderson Hernandez went 4-6 and had the game winning hit in the first game of the 2006 Caribbean Series. Hernandez is putting together quite an offseason. First he allegedly wins the Rookie of the Year award during the Dominican Winter league, and then he leads his team to victory in the Caribbean Series. Should Matsui continue to be a bust or should he be traded most fans believe that Anderson Hernandez would then be promoted from AAA and become the starting second baseman. However, at a recent poll at Mets.com Bret Boone led the voting for who should be the Met's second baseman. Boone received a total of 36% of the votes from a poll that totaled 19,997 votes. This was an interesting statistic to read, but only time will tell who will become the Met's second baseman.

    Wednesday, February 01, 2006

    Gotham Baseball squashes latest rumor

    Gotham Baseball recently released an article by mark healy squashing the latest trade rumor. Of course I discover this 10 minutes after I spent 45 minutes writing a response to the rumor, oh well.

    Mlbtraderumors.com reports big rumor

    According to Mlbtraderumors.com the Mets, Red Sox, and Nationals are all discussing a possible three way deal that does not include Manny Ramirez. The website says the reported deal is as follows:
    Red Sox trade Matt Clement and Alex Cora
    Nationals trade Jose Vidro and Jay Bergmann
    Mets trade Lastings Milledge and Xavier Nady (with some chance of Victor Diaz instead of Milledge)
    Red Sox receive Milledge and Nady
    Nationals receive Clement and Cora plus cash if Clement pitches over 150 innings
    Mets receive Vidro and Bergmann plus a PTNBL from either Nats or Sox depending on Vidro's health. (Livan Hernandez could end up with the Mets as well)
    It says we may be getting Livan Hernandez, Vidro, Jay Bermann, and a player to be named later for Milledge and Nady, but Milledge may in fact be Diaz.

    If I were to give this trade a first sight glance it'd be nearly impossible since it is unclear whether or not Milledge is included in the deal. If the deal includes Milledge I probably will be against the deal. In this scenario the Mets would wind up having Victor Diaz in right field for the season, Jose Vidro at second, Livan Hernandez in the two spot in the rotation, and lastly they'd have Jay Bergmann in the bullpen. That sounds like a great improvement on the field but lets take a deeper look into the players we are getting. Some have suspicions that Jose Vidro's career is over, but those reports seem false, nevertheless he is a injury prone player. Vidro played only 87 games last year and only 110 games in 2004, but when he plays he's very succesful. He has mediocore power, but he has very good bat control and consistently puts up a great average. He's a solid player but is a big risk due to his injury plagued past. Next, Livan Hernandez who has one of the most durable arms in the game. Hernandez seemed to be on pace for a career year at the all-star break but a less than stellar second half de-railed any hopes Hernandez had for a career year. His 4.58 era after the all-star break did not represent the all-star's abillity. Hernandez was also hurt playing with an injured knee which recquired surgery. When you add a player like Hernandez you add 240 innings and about a mid 3 era, another solid player with less risk than Vidro. Lastly, Jay Bergmann who Baseball America says
    ...Used his slider more out of the bullpen, and it showed signs of becoming an above-average pitch, joining his 90-93 mph fastball that touches 95. He also throws a decent tumbling changeup and an on-and-off curveball, and he added an 88-mph cutter that could be the key to his development.

    After making the adjustments, Bergmann went 3-2, 1.14 in 32 innings out of the pen at Brevard County. Then he pitched well in the Arizona Fall League, going 3-3, 3.80 in 24 innings for the Peoria Javelinas. If he can keep his three-quarters arm slot from varying and improve his command, Bergmann could be a quality big league reliever before too long.
    He is not on the Nationals top 10 prospect list, so I assume that he is a similar player to John Maine,the minor leaguer the Mets receieved in the Benson deal, just in the bullpen. You can add all of these pieces for a right fielder who may or may not be succesful in New York and a top prospect who is coveted by every team. If Milledge is included over Diaz than I'd still have to reject this deal. If we trade Milledge it should be for Zito, and Zito only, at least that's my opinion going into Spring Training. Zito in the rotation and some sort of rotation of Matsui/Boone/Hernandez/Woodward/Keppinger at second base seems to be a better combination than Vidro at second and Hernandez in the rotation. Zito and Hernandez are equally durable, but Zito is younger and has won a Cy Young, something Hernandez cannot say he has accomplished. Diaz, on the other hand, would make the deal a steal in my opinnion. The only downside to that trade would mean that we would be without a right fielder which I assume would mean that Endy Chavez would be in rightfield for about half a season and if Milledge is ready he'd take over. Everything I just said is if mlbtraderumors is correct and if Hernandez is included in the deal, which may not happen so stay tuned. What do you guys think?

    Do you like this deal?
    Not if Milledge is included
    NO! Not with Milledge and not with Diaz
    Yes for Milledge and for Diaz
    Yes for Diaz, no for Milledge
      
    Free polls from Pollhost.com

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