(NASHVILLE) In the music business, careers are made -- and broken –
in the fabled city of Nashville. For a few days in December, the same
can be said for Major League Baseball, which will hold its annual
Winter Meetings here, starting Monday, Dec. 3.
Usually, the eve of the meetings is a carefree affair, as a mosaic of scouts, writers, MLB execs, minor league officials and reps can be seen sharing a drink or two at the hotel bar, swapping stories, etc.
However, this year didn't have that casualness or cozy atmosphere. It could because the Gaylord Opryland Hotel -- which is a dream for tourists, but a logistical nightmare for New York sportswriters with no sense of direction. While a family of four would find the GOH a paradise, is a cavernous “bio-dome” (as WFAN's Sweeny Murti put it) for scribes trying to find their way to the media workroom.
More likely it's because of what's at stake. In past years, the free agent pool would dominate media row. This year, the trade market, which in some ways takes even longer to confirm a done deal, is taking center stage. That makes leaks more costly, and in some way, more self-defeating. Evidence of this could be seems as early as Sunday night, when the usually empty media workroom (which usually doesn't start filling up until 10am or so on Monday) had folks like Ken Rosenthal energetically tapping away on their keyboards and Blackberries at 10pm.
This year, it seems like everyone came to town with a grim smile.
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Mets general manager Omar Minaya is currently in the middle of a very negative wave of criticism, but it's coming mostly from the Shea faithful,
Much of the backlash seen around cyberspace seems to have taken hold following the end of the September swoon that cost the Mets their NL East crown, and exploding with the very unpopular trade that sent former prospect Lastings Milledge to the Nationals for Brian Schneider and Ryan Church.
Gotham Baseball Magazine's take on this deal has been pretty well-documented, and most of the media types we've spoken with tend to agree. One reporter that we didn't speak with, and who isn't in Nashville, has been supportive of the deal as well: WFAN's longtime Mets beat reporter Eddie Coleman, who discussed the trade on his blog at WFAN.com.
“ I really do like the deal. Johnny Estrada was not going to be the starting catcher for the Mets next season, and Brian Schneider is one of the best defensive backstops in all of baseball. As for Ryan Church, David Wright led the Mets with 42 doubles last season - Church had 43 - and in 134 fewer at-bats. Lastings Milledge may well turn out to be a star down the line - I think that's 50-50 at the moment - but this deal makes sense at this time and it fits.”
One baseball exec we spoke with also seems to agree that Minaya made a solid deal:
“Mets are trying to win now, and they added two players who've had some success at the big league level -- for a guy that can't seem to keep himself out of the doghouse,” said one baseball exec. “Could Milledge come back to haunt the Mets? Maybe, but no one will care if the Mets win a World Series.”
So, whether Mets fans know (or think they know) that Milledge's maturity issues were overblown or misreported, the perception around baseball was more than enough for most teams to shy away from the former No. 1 prospect. Perhaps that's why no one was willing to give the Mets pitching back in a Milledge deal.
“Milledge” time is over, move on. Though many folks continue to compare this deal to the Scott Kazmir debacle, Lastings isn't a left-hander who wields lighting from his left arm getting traded for a guy whose right elbow and mental makeup is made of mush to try to shoot life to an already dead pennant race.
***
Far more interesting scuttlebutt following lunchtime on Day 1 was the talk that Oakland GM Billy Beane wants any Mets package for ace Dan Haren to start with Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez. Given the Mets' need for a No. 1 starter and the lack of a Phil Hughes-Clay Buckholz type starter in their system, the inclusion of Delois Guerra and Mike Pelfrey would likely be the entire package.
Is that worth the price of adding one of the AL's most talented pitchers?
We do. Do you?
If the Orioles ask for the same (Minaya and Baltimore GM Andy McPhail are supposed to be meeting on Monday at some point), GBM would probably pull the trigger there as well. Given the current state of the Mets system, it's hard to see how the Mets would be able to acquire a pitcher of that caliber right now unless they bit the bullet.
According to just about everyone we talk to, the Mets are determined to leave Nashville with their 2008 roster “close to done.” GBM is not nearly a optimistic that it will happen, but Minaya is sure going to try to make it so.
Frankly, give the deluge of Mets-A' trade rumors that are reported, a Haren deal is unlikely. However, Minaya and McPhail have a “very nice relationship: and could make a deal happen before Feb. 1.
***
With Andy Pettitte officially back in the fold for 2008, the Yankees desperation for Johan Santana lessens a little bit. Fact of the matter is, if the Yankees are willing to part with Phil Hughes in order to get the chance to sign the Twins' ace to a $175 million contract, Hughes is by far the best prospect in any package that's been discussed. The Twins should take what they can get for a guy that has made their franchise viable but yet don't really want to keep.
***
The Hall of Fame Veterans' committee announced that Walter O'Malley, Barney Dreyfuss (the original Pirates owner), Dick Williams, Billy Southworth and former commish Bowie Kuhn have been inducted into Cooperstown. All are deserving, especially Southworth, who might be one of the more underappreciated managers of all time.
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One thing that continues to perplex most folks watching the Winter Meetings from afar is what exactly happens here. One reader recently asked a very interesting question;
“If all of the GMs are in a room at the same time, how is it possible that these guy can't get more deals done?”
Well, that's not quite what goes on here. In fact, the only people that are stuck in a big room at the same time are the writers, and for the most part, all that happens here (as I sit in the humongous Delta Ballroom as I type this) is writers trying to overhear what guys like Bill Madden are whispering to their editors back at the office.
The GMs and their respective teams are all holed up in their “command centers” (or as we call them, hotel rooms) and negotiating on the phone or at places not accessible to the media. Only when they venture out to “undisclosed locations” within the hotel for quiet update sessions with the beat writers from the respective newspapers do we even get to see them.
***
Tonight on “Gotham Nation” (the latest addition to GBM's new website GothamSportsRadio.com), myself and Mike Silva will give you the up-to-the-minute goings-on. Please join us, as we'll be taking your calls on Milledge, the latest trade rumors and more.
(NASHVILLE) In the music business, careers are made -- and broken –
in the fabled city of Nashville. For a few days in December, the same
can be said for Major League Baseball, which will hold its annual
Winter Meetings here, starting Monday, Dec. 3.
