Adam Rubin reports on his Daily News Blog that Ex-Yankee Luis Sojo, who inquired about the Mets' vacant coaching position, has been told he's not under consideration.
In a column for the New York Times, Murray Chass quotes Gregg Clifton, the agent for Tom Glavine, as saying, “He’s going to make a decision, I would think, by [Friday.]” Clifton also tells Chass, “John (Schuerholz) has said he’s not in a position to make an offer.”
Mets' odds on Zito improve BY KEN DAVIDOFF Newsday Staff Writer November 30, 2006, 11:36 PM EST The waiting continues for Tom Glavine to decide whether he'll pitch for the Mets or Braves in 2007. The Mets now expect the lefthander to notify them next week, rather than this week, of his intentions, a person familiar with the situation said. On the positive side, as concerns loom that Glavine will return to the Braves, the Mets' chances of landing Barry Zito have only increased in recent weeks. The Mets, Cubs and Rangers are considered the primary suitors for Zito, the free-agent lefthander, and friends of Zito believe the 28-year-old would greatly prefer to pitch in New York over Chicago or Arlington, Texas. The Cubs also have held discussions with Jason Schmidt, the other elite free-agent starting pitcher, but Schmidt apparently doesn't want to pitch in New York. Zito and his agent, Scott Boras, met with the Rangers in Texas Thursday, as first reported by mlb.com. With the Yankees, Dodgers and Angels all displaying zero to little interest in Zito, the pitcher's options appear limited, for now, if he is intent on pitching in a big market on one of the country's coasts. If Glavine opts for the Braves, then the Mets' need for a top-of-the-line starter increases significantly, giving Zito more leverage in his negotiations with the Mets. The Mets thought they would have Glavine signed and secured by now. Instead, the 40-year-old has spent more than a month huddling with his family in Atlanta. The issues are clear: The Mets will pay more than the Braves and will offer a full no-trade clause, while playing for the Braves would give Glavine far more time with his wife and children. The Braves had yet to make Glavine an offer as of Wednesday, as the pitcher's agent, Gregg Clifton, told The Associated Press, but that hasn't sped up Glavine's timeline for deciding. To the contrary, it appears to have pushed it back. Friday marks the deadline for clubs to offer arbitration to their Type A and B free agents, and the Mets could further increase their standing by doing so to Glavine, thereby requiring the Braves to give up a 2007 draft pick for signing the lefty. The Mets aren't expected to offer arbitration to any of their other elite free agents, including Cliff Floyd, Roberto Hernandez, Guillermo Mota and Darren Oliver. But under the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement, they can still negotiate with these players. Notes & quotes: The Mets have interviewed Hall of Famer Gary Carter for their third-base coach opening, a person familiar with the situation said, and they will also speak with internal candidates Howard Johnson and Ken Oberkfell. Carter managed Class A Port St. Lucie in 2006, while Oberkfell managed Triple-A Norfolk and Johnson served as Norfolk's hitting coach. Manager Willie Ran.dolph has interest in shifting first-base coach Sandy Alomar to third-base coach, replacing Manny Acta, and then letting the organization promote someone to coach first base, according to a person familiar with the situation.
According to ESPN News, the Mets and free-agent Tom Glavine have agreed to a one-year contract worth $11 million with an option for the following season. Includes option.
It's 1 year, 10.5 million, and also: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_y...s5nYcB?slug=ap-mets-glavine&prov=ap&type=lgns
At FOXSports.com, Ken Rosenthal recently reported that the A’s have discussed trading one of their players with ‘between zero and three years of service time’ for ‘a bounty of even younger prospects,’ such as Joe Blanton. This afternoon at SI.com, John Heyman wrote Mets GM Omar Minaya has explored trade options with Oakland. Yesterday, Heyman noted that the A’s have expressed interest in Mets RHP Aaron Heilman. The 26-year-old Blanton won 16 games last season for Oakland with a 4.82 ERA. During his rookie year of 2005, he was 12–12 with 3.53 ERA having struck out 116 hitters while walking just 67 in 201 innings pitched. He is still a year away from salary arbitration, and not eligible for free agency until after the 2010 season.
Can't forget that we have Padilla and Sanchez coming back... Look at the past two years...Mets have waited until the market goes down and signs a bunch of nobody's. 2004 - Roberto Hernandez, 2005 - Darren Oliver and Mota. Omar seems to be able to find the bullpen help when needed.
I'd still like to see them maintain a core of three very good relievers, then build the solid supporting cast.
Interesting that the Braves weren't even interested in Glavine: From PGammons blog: http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=gammons_peter#20061202&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos1 Mike Hampton told Tom Glavine that he, Hampton, informed the Braves that he would restructure his contract to see if they could have the two lefties for something close to the $15M Hampton gets in 2007. No interest, and Glavine never got an offer from Atlanta.
You can interpret that a couple of ways. One is that they think Glavine is so horrible that they don't want him within 100 miles of the clubhouse. They could be right, I suppose, but his performance last year, and then in the postseason, hardly suggests that to me. Another interpretation is that they think that they're not going to contend next year and want to keep the rotation wide open for younger players. One thing for sure, they were not swayed in the slightest by any sentimental desire for him to win #300 as a Brave.
I just thought it was interesting that that there was all this press that the Braves had offered Glavine this-and-that and then there were reports that he was signed by Atlanta. In reality, the Mets were bidding against themselves, I guess (never a good thing).
