thats good to hear I guess....but Kurkjan was on ESPN last night and this morning saying that it'll be NY...or the Cubs...hopefully Gammons is right
Kurkjan just sucks. If you do not have inside info go somewhere and hide instead of using old speculation lines cooked up two months ago. Him mentioning that Yankees and Cubs are favorites over the Astros just did it for me. That man is crazy.
I liked the article today stating that Beltre set the market...I think he did, but I can't believe the M's spent that kind of money on he and Sexson...Sexson isn't worth it...
Kurkjan said he thinks the Yankees will sign him because they have the money, unless the Cubs manage to rid theirselves of Sammy. In a last note he said the Astros are still in it. But most reports are still saying Yankees or Astros and many experts seem split between the two. I would rate the teams chances like this: 1. Astros 2. Yankees 3. Cubs
I liked that report too. Better still Boras is the same agent for both Beltre and Beltran. So he know what is up. 6 or 7 years @ anywhere between $13M to $14.5 for Beltran should sit well with Boras and Beltran as well as the 'Stros. I believe we can meet this. If Beltran is not an Astro come spring training it will NOT be because of money. Edited: thanks madmax
ESPN is reporting that the Cubs feels that they can now move Sosa, possibly to the Orioles. I will go get the article and paste it over here
Friday, December 17, 2004 By Phil Rogers Special to ESPN.com If a Sammy Sosa trade is imminent, it remains a closely guarded secret. But Jim Hendry, the Cubs' brazen general manager, tells reporters he feels better about the chance to unload his $25-million commitment to Sosa than he did a couple weeks ago. "The climate seems to have changed quite a bit since I left the GM meetings," Hendry said, referring to a November gathering. "There are five or six clubs with a level of interest.'' What has changed? Sammy Sosa, 36, is coming off a season in which he batted just .253. The biggest change is that there's now less supply to fill the demand for run-producing hitters. Adrian Beltre, Troy Glaus, Richie Sexson, Edgar Renteria, Steve Finley, Jeff Kent, Corey Koskie, Jermaine Dye, Nomar Garciaparra and Richard Hidalgo are off the market. That means that teams still looking to make an offensive impact, primarily the Mets, Baltimore and Los Angeles, are left with a choice: Scott Boras or Sosa. Sosa, who would cost a team somewhere south of $40 million over two years -- depending on whether agent Adam Katz and Sosa alter the 2006 contract option, which is guaranteed if he's traded, and if the Cubs take back contracts or include cash in a trade -- might be the lesser of the two evils. The thought of getting Sosa cheaply has prompted even cash-poor teams like Kansas City and Washington to make inquires. It's safe to say those teams aren't tying up Boras' telephone. With the exception of Carlos Delgado and Moises Alou, Boras controls the best free-agent hitters still available. He is seeking deals ranging from five to 10 years for Carlos Beltran and J.D. Drew, and on Thursday got a five-year, $64 million deal for Beltre. Boras also wants teams to ignore Magglio Ordonez's decision to have his injured left knee repaired in Europe, with a procedure not yet approved in the United States. Ordonez is the only one of these Boras clients who didn't have a bust-out season in 2004. But among the available hitters, only Beltran and Delgado (who is seeking a four-year deal at $16 million a year) have been more productive the last three years. Compare their relative totals 2002-04: Name Average Home runs RBI Delgado .284 107 352 Beltran .281 93 309 Sosa .274 124 291 Ordonez .315 76 271 Alou .283 76 258 Drew .283 64 191 Other than Dusty Baker, perhaps no one would more like to see Sosa moved than Boras. He seems to be buying time in the Beltran sweepstakes as he waits for the Cubs to jump to the front with an offer that knocks Houston out of the water. Tim Purpura, the Astros' general manager, says he is fully prepared to let this saga run until Jan. 8, which is the last day for teams to offer arbitration. It's possible for the Cubs to squeeze Sosa and Beltran onto the payroll but Hendry would like to have the decks cleared to chase Beltran, with Drew as a secondary target. Here are a few scenarios that could allow him to do that: Sosa to the Mets for Cliff Floyd Pedro Martinez didn't come cheaply to the Mets. But that signing doesn't preclude the addition of more payroll. After all, he's only a $5-million a year upgrade over Al Leiter, who made $8 million last season. Floyd If anything, the signing of Martinez should make it easier for GM Omar Minaya to scoop up Sosa. It is Martinez, not Sosa, who would carry the biggest expectations and get the most attention next spring training. That lessens the risk a little for Minaya, who is not counting on Sosa to be his signature move. No one in baseball believes in Sosa more than Minaya and his top lieutenant, Sandy Johnson, who were the first to see his passion for the game and acknowledge his potential. They could give him the support he badly needs, rebuilding his confidence and allowing him to rehab his image. This deal surfaced almost immediately after Minaya was hired as GM. It still makes a ton of sense. People who scoff about Sosa as damaged goods don't understand Sosa's pride and his bond with Johnson and Minaya. Those two guys could keep him in line for rookie manager Willie Randolph. (The Mets would love to make a clean break with their faded icon, Mike Piazza. While he does not fit on the Cubs, Hendry might be able to even help broker that deal.) Sosa to Baltimore for Jay Gibbons and Jorge Julio The Orioles get a second star to play alongside Miguel Tejada. The Cubs get some needed balance. Sosa gets a chance to hit in a park that suits him, with a chance to perhaps sign a long-term contract after 2005 that puts him in place for his run at the career home run record. Sosa and third baseman-outfielder Dave Kelton to Los Angeles for Shawn Green This doesn't bring a lot of salary relief for the Cubs, as Green, who is part of the proposed three-team trade involving the Dodgers, Yankees and Diamondbacks, will get $16 million in 2005, but it balances the lineup and keeps the Cubs from having to pay a $4.5 million buyout after the season. For the Dodgers, it opens first base for Hee Seop Choi. GM Paul DePodesta will also have to weigh the long-term risk over the flexibility he'd get from having Sosa only through 2006. The Dodgers might be gun-shy because of the lack of production from Todd Hundley and Fred McGriff, Cubs castoffs who sunk the Dan Evans regime. Sosa to the Yankees for Kevin Brown Rather than get caught up in the Beltran bidding, which would mean a salary commitment in 2006 and beyond to almost half a billion dollars, the Yankees could add a respected bat who is signed for only two years. At some point, owner George Steinbrenner is going to run into serious issues with MLB's 60-40 debt equity rules. The Yankees would love to move Brown, a goat in Game 7 of the ALCS against Boston. He could join the Cubs' rotation or the cast of candidates to close. If his back is healthy, he could fit right in on baseball's most powerful staff. Sweeney Sosa to Kansas City in a three-way deal that sends Mike Sweeney to the Mets and Floyd to the Cubs This is a long shot deal (would the Mets want Sweeney at $12.5 million for three more years?), but the Royals are dying for an impact player. The lure to Sosa is a chance to play for Dominican manager Tony Pena and be reunited with Jeff Pentland, who was the Cubs' hitting coach during Sosa's best years. Phil Rogers is the national baseball writer for the Chicago Tribune, which has a Web site at
Here's your link ROCKSS: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=rogers_phil&id=1947583 This definitely is not sounding good for the Astros chance to land Carlos ... This could possibly the worst scenario we ever imagined. Berkman goes down Kent Leaves And if this happens: Beltran takes forever to decide to go to the Cubs with no FAs left Then this happens: Roger Clemens immediately retires
Figures...No Chicago writer has said anything this offseason with even an ounce of objectivity or truthfulness. This guy is almost as bad as Jay Mariotti. I truly don't think that anyone is going to offer more than $15 million per. With all things being equal, I think Beltran will chose the Astros. If the Yankees or Cubs want to go higher, then let them. Jan 8th is still early enough for the Astros to put their contigency plans in place. It will most likely be some sort of trade for a CF. It doesn't have to be a long term plan with so many OF's in the farm system on the cusp of being major league ready (i.e. Willy Taveres). I want Beltran here as much as anyone. I just don't want to be handcuffed to a deal that won't allow long term contracts to Oswalt and Berkman. Nothing more than $15 million per will or should come from the Astros.
If that's the case, then I am not worried about losing him. I thought that initially as well. The problem is that Vescey Sux says that Beltran's first choice is Chicago, and I have no reason to doubt him at this point considering he's been correct numerous times before. God, I hope you are right though and Beltran would choose the Astros!
Did you miss this gem(huge assumption): Other than Dusty Baker, perhaps no one would more like to see Sosa moved than Boras. He seems to be buying time in the Beltran sweepstakes as he waits for the Cubs to jump to the front with an offer that knocks Houston out of the water. This is the same writer who regurgitated a Richard Justice article a few weeks back. I don't care what a guy in Cubs country is writing because all the guy is doing is trying to appease his readership, and it shows. The same with Kurkjian(who I usually respect) first saying Beltran to the Angels and when they signed Finley his answer is the Yankees: they have the most money. Brilliant answer Tim. As far as Sosa goes, the MLBPA will not let him void that clause in his contract. Thus the Cubs and their parent company, the Tribune(who this guy writes for I might add), are dreaming if they think they can unload him without eating another bad contract or sending a lot of cash to the team acquiring Sosa. This idea that someone will willingly eat Sosa's 2006 option without sticking the Cubs with a nasty bill is ludicrous, but it would end the media's fascination with the Cubs in the Beltran sweepstakes. I don't think it's any coincidence that we are now in mid December and all of a sudden various reports come out saying the Sammy Sosa trade talks are hot and heavy. That is what the media and Boras wants out there especially with the January 8th deadline fast approaching for Houston. Right now, Boras sees that the Yanks really are ambivalent about Beltran and with the Angels out of the mix, he has little leverage to make Houston up its bid. But if people in the media say that the Cubs are close to becoming a factor in this race, he figures he may be able to get the Astros to submit a stronger bid to try and close the deal. I see no reason to be scared by what one writer from the Cubs parent company writes especially when he makes one really large assumption as the basic premise of his article. Lastly, if the Cubs and MLB media types really expect Chicago to be able to trade Sosa without them have to pay practically all of Sosa's contract through taking bad contracts/cash, then I have a large piece land to sell them. Of course, all it takes is one idiot to make that happen, so I'll keep my fingers crossed. But overall I still think the Astros are significant frontrunners for Beltran's services and I think right now Boras is trying anything he can just to drive the price up a little more.
I'm really starting to get sick of this s**t ... something needs to happen already so the Astros can move on (whether we get him or not). This is not fair to everyone involved.
