More Updates

Tons of speculation on Matsuzaka. 1. the Sawx overbid just to block the Yanks, then plan to not offer a reasonable contract, making Mats return to Japan next year; 2. Bud Selig will realize this and award the bid to the second highest bidder; 3. the Sawx, if they sign Mats, will trade him for several young prospects (thereby essentially buying players); 4. the Sawx made a secret deal with Seibu to overpay, to ensure they won the bid, then Boston will only pay Seibu a fraction of the supposed bid (what happened with Seattle and Ichiro - although Seattle's ownership is Japanese).

Humberto Sanchez - the Yanks new #2 pitching prospect - apparently kicks up his velocity at times, touching 97 mph! He's also got a ML average changeup (better than I thought), and was rumored to be traded for Alfonso Soriano in mid-2006. That's how good he's thought of. Whelan held opposing batters to a .178 baa this season. And Claggett held hitters to a .174 baa, and 0 runs in his last 10 appearances.

Jaret Wright may be traded to Baltimore. I would welcome this. It seems Cash is getting the right idea, and removing the dead weight. He knows that young pitching is the game's most valuable asset, and he's acquiring it quickly. Let's look at the 2007 rotation, taking the non-injured approach (and assuming Mussina resigns): Wang, Mussina, Randy, Pavano, Sanchez/Rasner/Karstens. But looking at it with a more realistic approach, we're left with: Wang, Mussina, Sanchez, Hughes, Clippard/Rasner/Karstens. Resigning Mussina looks necessary now. As does signing a free agent like Zito or Lilly (preferably a lefty). As much as I like the idea of giving rotation spots to our best prospects, Sanchez is the only one who's pitched above AA. But I do think Hughes, Clippard and/or Sanchez will be in the rotation by mid 2007.

PS: The Mets will play at 'CitiField.' Another step toward a total corporate sporting world. It is a lot of money ($20 million a year), but I hope the Yanks keep a measure of integrity over the Mets and don't turn Yankee Stadium into Adidas Field/Park/Stadium.