Here's what's amazing to me. All of these "experts" (Gammons, Olney, Ken Rosenthal, Starks, etc.) keep saying that they think Beltran is going to sign with the Yanks. What makes them so positive about it? Beltran has given no indication that he is leaning one way or the other. Their only reasoning is that Georgie never loses a player he wants. So what? Maybe Beltran doesn't want to play in New York. Maybe the fact that he and his wife love Houston is enough. Maybe he wants to know that he is the man and that he wouldn't be in pinstripes. These guys are simply giving their opinions based on past history. It hasn't been that great in the past couple of years for Georgie. He missed out on quite a few players the last few years. Isn't it possible that people inside baseball don't like what the Yankees have done for the game?
Does Gammons think that? I've always heard him say he was going to sign with the Astros. I don't care about these pundits opinions, honestly. We weren't even mentioned as a possibility for Randy Johnson before the trade went down.
Totally agree.... although the Yankees did lose Pettite to the Astros last year, and big Stein did want him. Maybe the situations will work in reverse this year.... last year, the Yankees were focused on upgrading their everyday roster (A-Rod) and not their pitching, and lost Pettite... this year, the Yanks should be focused on their pitching and not their everyday lineup, and it could cost them Beltran. Bottom line... if both the Yankees and Beltran were gaga over each other, their deal would be all but done by now... It is simply going to come down to where he's the most happy.
Beltran meets with Yankees; Mets are next BY ADAM RUBIN New York Daily News NEW YORK - (KRT) - Carlos Beltran came away from Tuesday's meeting with Yankees brass impressed with owner George Steinbrenner, and plans to meet with the Mets shortly. The race to sign the free agent center fielder is heating up - since the Astros must either sign him by Jan. 8 or lose negotiating rights with Beltran until May, he is likely to have a new home within the next two weeks. "The meeting with Steinbrenner was very good," Beltran told Primera Hora, a newspaper in Puerto Rico. "He is a professional person, super-educated. . . . The Yankees have shown that they are champions and the owner is going to do everything possible to win," Beltran said through a translation. Beltran acknowledged interest from the Astros, Yankees, Mets and Cubs, but said offers have not yet been exchanged during meetings with teams. Last week, Houston brass denied reports it had made a six-year, $96 million offer. The Mets began their pursuit late, "but they entered and they are being aggressive," Beltran said. "To this point, they have not made an offer. I believe that we will have a meeting very soon." Beltran indicated he would not be intimidated by the prospect of playing in New York. "I always say that when one does things well, one is going to be blessed," Beltran said. "In all the places, when you do something good, the people applaud you. When you do something bad, they boo you. That happens in all the big-league parks." Beltran earned plenty of cheers in Houston, where he slugged 23 homers in 90 games after being traded from Kansas City and eight more in the playoffs. "As a ballplayer, I want to be treated based on what I have done in my career," Beltran said. "Of course, the opportunity to win is bigger than the economic thing. I want to be part of a winning team."
Beltran, the people of Houston want you. Just remember the excitement that filled the park this past season. ESPN Rumor Central: Astros up ante for Beltran i don't have insider so I can't post the article.
Now this has Boras and his manipulation schemes written all over it. Beltran knows he does not want to play the freaking Metz but Boras just wants to "run the show" and squeez out a few more millions and perks from either the Yankees or Stros (the alleged favorites). I know the Metz GM is a fellow Pueto Rican but common...
Not good. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2966052 Beltran impressed by Steinbrenner, Yanks Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Carlos Beltran was impressed by George Steinbrenner after meeting with the Yankees owner earlier in the week, and told a newspaper in Puerto Rico that he would not be intimidated by playing in New York. The free-agent All-Star center fielder who led the Houston Astros within one win of their first World Series, talked with Steinbrenner in Tampa, Fla., on Tuesday. "The meeting with Steinbrenner was very good," Beltran said in a story published in Friday's edition of Primera Hora newspaper. "He is a professional person, super-educated. I've let them know my interest, and they have interest, too, about me joining their team." The Yankees — and Astros — clearly will have some competition in the race for the prized outfielder. Beltran said the New York Mets, Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs have also shown interest. "The Mets have been very aggressive," he said. "So far, they haven't made any offers. I think we'll have a meeting very soon to talk personally." No meeting with the Mets is scheduled, but will probably take place the week of Jan. 23. Beltran thinks he would be prepared to play in a high-profile baseball environment, such as New York. "In all the places, when you do something good, the people applaud you. When you do something bad, they boo you," he said. "That happens in all the big league parks." The All-Star outfielder batted .417 in the NL championship series for the Astros with four home runs, five RBIs and four steals after hitting .455 with four homers and nine RBIs in the division series. If Houston doesn't reach an agreement by Jan. 8, the Astros would be ineligible to re-sign him until May 1. "As a baseball player, I want to be treated fairly — based on what I've done in my career," Beltran said. "Of course, the opportunity to win is bigger than the economic thing. I want to be part of a winning team. I will consider every team."
Its one thing when a NY newspaper reports stuff as "news"... but when the national media has to refer to a Puerto Rico newspaper to find out how Beltran "really" feels... it tends to worry me even less. The way he phrased the answers, you can tell he was actually asked to state his views about the Yankees.... he didn't volunteer them without prompt. Also, Boras has had to have told him that the Yankees are yet to make an offer... try to say something nice about them so that they'll do that, and then we'll get your Astros to counter.... I said make money money, make money money money....
Beltran and his agent aren't going to jump the gun on anything. They will hear all offers first before deciding on anything. Don't count on a 27 year old player in the prime of his career staying where he is "most happy" over multimillions of dollars.
I think the lure of playing in NY with the Yankees is too much for Beltran to resist. I don't think we sign Beltran. Therefore, Clemens will definitely retire. In conclusion, the Astros are screwed and go back to mediocrity for years to come. Bah hum bug and crappy new year....yada yada yada... .
Actually, it's outstanding news. Just read between the lines. McClane has specifically said we are keeping things quiet out of respect for Carlos/Boras(and to that point Carlos hadn't said anything since the end of the season) in a number of articles this offseason. Now you have the Yankees and the Mets getting rave reviews from Carlos six days after his meeting in New York. Six freaking days. And to make things better, neither team has made an offer as of December 26, less than 2 weeks from January 8th. This is a Scott Boras special. I can see it now: Scott: Hey Carlos, I know you have decided on Houston, but I want to try and get some more money for you, err, me. Carlos: Yes. What do you have in mind? Scott: You know that whole keep things quiet concept we have employed during negotiations? Carlos: Yes. Scott: Forget it. It's less than two weeks from January 8th and the Astros have made the only serious offer. I know that is where you want to play and all, but right now I have no way to get Drayton to up his price. I need you to tell the local press in Puerto Rico how great your meeting with the Yankees was, and also for kicks, say that the Mets really want you too. We know they aren't really in the picture, but doesn't mean you can't use them to your advantage. Carlos: Ok. Subsequent article comes out six days after the meeting.
Isn't Houston the only team obligated to sign him by 1/8/05?? All the Yankees, Mets or whoever have to do is make an offer right on or before that date to hold things up. Sorry, but that sounds like bad news to me.
If Scott Boras lets Carlos Beltran sign after January 8th(with allowing the NY teams to bring their first offers in on January 9th), you will see backlash in the form of his clients dropping him like a hotcake and teams refusing to negotiate with him ever again. This crap is just Boras trying to suck some more money out of the Astros. Do you think it's some coincidence that SIX days after the meeting with George that somehow Carlos comes out and says he would be fine playing in New York, and both teams are interested, but gee, they don't have offers on the table less than two weeks from the 8th. Even though he had nothing to say after the Astros meeting and Drayton has repeatedly said that it is Carlos/Boras's wish to keep things quiet. Why would the gameplan change now? Oh wait, that's because without offers from the Mets/Yankees Scott needs Carlos to say that he would play in New York to get him any leverage for a better contract from Houston. Except that on numerous occasions there have been articles pointing out that teammates of Carlos believe he has no interest playing in the big apple, and wants some privacy in any city he chooses(NY doesn't offer that). So what is more likely here: A) Beltran talks about the meeting with New York not the day after, but SIX days after, going against what Drayton McClane said Carlos/Boras had asked the organization to do on multiple occasions. Even though, Beltran had nothing to say after any point of the Houston negotiations. The Yankees and Mets will be allowed to first offer after January 8th, the last day Houston can sign Carlos. B) Scott Boras sees that he currently has one offer for his client less than two weeks from the January 8th deadline and thus has no leverage to get him more money out of that one offer. So he instructs Carlos after the Yankee meeting to tell the press that he would love to play in New York hoping that will cause Houston to panic and up the offer. Which is why it took six days until the article went to press. Even though every other article/source connected to Beltran outside of the NY press has him not interested in New York as a city. The Yankees/Mets either are not that interested or will offer by Jan 8th. I'm fairly confident it's option B. The Boras/Beltran regime would not change their gameplan this late in negotiations unless they were lacking leverage, which guess what, they are. They have one offer on the table, and the other club they met with hasn't offered about a week after meeting with Boras. I know Scott is a scumbag, but even he wouldn't allow any interested teams outside of Houston to wait until the 9th to offer, unless his client told him he either wants to stay an Astro or give them until the 8th to make a offer he wants and considering the numbers reported I'd vote for the former. If he did that, the backlash would be fierce and Boras would never be able to walk into most management rooms again as teams would just say screw you.
I do think there is a very good chance this happened. The article with Beltran's comments came out six days after the meeting. Now either the press in the PR couldn't find Beltran over that time, or Carlos just randomly decided to talk about the meeting on his own without Boras's guidance. Except that, Boras is the one running this show, and Carlos has to run most everything through him. Heck, there wasn't even any comment from Carlos the day of the New York meeting. And when you look at the articles about Carlos's meetings with Houston, you don't see any comments from Beltran about them. Furthermore, Drayton McClane has said all along that the organization was keeping things quiet on the behalf of the Carlos/Boras. So what do you think happened? Carlos just decided what the hell, I'll talk about the yankee meeting even though that goes against the entire offseason strategy my agent has planned out. Or, in between the day of the meeting and yesterday, Carlos got "permission" to talk to the local press about the meeting. Yet, that same permission wasn't there for any meetings with Houston or even a response the day of the meeting with the Yankees. So why would Beltran talk now(less than two weeks from the 8th)? It's called leverage. There is one team who has made a serious offer for his services this offseason and it's the Houston Astros. As of now, neither New York team has made Carlos an offer. The only leverage Boras has is the January 8th deadline, but he would lose clients and the ability to negotiate with a vast majority of MLB teams if he pulled a stunt like that with the premier free agent on the market. The Yankees have had almost a week since the original meeting with Boras and no offer has been made(it's almost January too). What does that tell you? You think it really takes a week for George to draw up a proposal to somebody he wants, especially tthis late in the offseason? And then there is the little matter of numerous reports saying that Carlos covets privacy and has told teammates he doesn't like New York, which has gone on since midseason. Lastly, as far as the Mets are concerned, it's been at least a week since they were reported interested in Beltran, yet they haven't met with him/Boras at all, nor made an offer. Yes, last week was the Christmas holiday but they have had time to get a meeting/offer done, and yet the process hasn't even gotten started, less than two weeks from January 8th. The point is something isn't right with Carlos speaking out now, and I don't think it has to do with genuine interest in the Yankees because it goes against everything that has been said/done concerning the whole negotiating process.
