Omar Minaya has said since the end of the season he wanted a defensive minded catcher, and it appears he got one.  WFAN is reporting that outfielder Lastings Milledge has been traded to the Washington Nationals for catcher Brian Schneider and outfielder Ryan Church.

If Mets fans are looking for a big bat out of Schneider, you’re not going to get it.  Schneider is a career .252 hitter.  He’ll give you 5-10 home runs and 40-50 RBI’s.  His one bright spot offensively is he rarely strikes out, averaging one strikeout every seven at bats.  Where Schneider will help is on the defensive end.  He calls a good game, and unlike Paul Lo Duca, he can throw out a runner stealing.  Throughout his career Schneider has a caught stealing percentage of 39%.

Church is coming off his best season of his career where he hit 15 home runs and drove in 70.  I wouldn’t call Ryan Church a fourth outfielder, but I also don’t see him as an every day player.  He’s more of a platoon outfielder that would see more of the playing time.

This move is leaving me scratching my head.  I understand the Mets front office wanting a defense catcher, but for Lastings Milledge?  I know his stock has dropped over the past couple seasons, but the Mets also need pitching.  Milledge would be one of the center pieces in bringing in a front line starter.  Apparently not…

With Schneider in the fold, don’t expect the Mets to tender an offer to Johnny Estrada. 

Peter Gammons has reported that the Yankees could acquire pitcher Johan Santana for a package of Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, and Austin Jackson.  If this is rumor is true, Johan Santana should be a Yankee before Christmas.

I know most hold Hughes in high regard, and that he’s a “can’t miss” prospect.  While I tend to agree, there’s no pitcher in baseball like Santana, and if he can be had, the move needs to be made.

With Roger Clemens retiring, and Andy Pettitte most likely not too far behind, there’s a strong possibility that the Yankees could go into the season with a rotation of Chien-Ming Wang, Mike Mussina, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, and Ian Kennedy.  A rotation that consists of a front-line pitcher, an aging star who’s begun to have struggles, and three rookies.  Not the ideal situation for a team that is looking to win their 27^th World Series in their final season in Yankee Stadium.

There’s the financial aspect that some might look at.  Santana is a free agent at season’s end, and an extension will cost upwards of $20 million a season.  Hughes is under Yankee control for the next six years.  This is the Yankees we are talking about, where money is a secondary issue.  The main issue is that Johan Santana IS the best pitcher in baseball, and one day Phil Hughes MIGHT be the best pitcher in baseball. 

Is it worth keeping Hughes hoping he pans out?

For most teams I’d say yes, but this is the Yankees.  They don’t go into a rebuilding mode, waiting for their prospects to come around.  They also have a lot of good young pitchers on the farm, so by dealing Hughes, they’re not mortgaging their future to win now.  Trading for Santana, and giving him an extension, the Yankees will play their final year at Yankee Stadium with the best hitter and best pitcher in baseball, and open new Yankee Stadium next season with the best as well.

Isn’t that the Yankee Way?

The Tigers have been one of the more active teams this off-season.  they’ve re-signed closer Todd Jones, and have acquired both Edgar Renteria and Jacque Jones, via trade.  With is still early in the off-season, the Tigers aren’t done yet.  focusing on improving the bullpen, the Tigers are targeted relief pitcher, Octavio Dotel.

Dotel was a target prior to last season’s trade deadline, but instead was shipped to the Atlanta Braves.  Dotel was effective last season, despite a 4.11 ERA.  He struck out 41 in 30 innings, while only walking 12.

Dotel has 82 career saves and a career 3.76 ERA in nine seasons with the Mets, Astros, Athletics, Yankees, Royals, and Braves.  The biggest concern with Dotel is his ability to stay healthy.  He hasn’t pitched more then 33 games in a season since 2004.  He had Tommy John surgery in 2005, and has been on the DL three times since then.

The Tigers bullpen was their downfall last season.  Joel Zumaya was hurt a majority of the year and Jason Grilli, Macay McBride, Jose Capallan, and Jose Mesa (who was released after 16 disaterous appearances), were unable to get the job done.  With Zumaya out for the 2008 season with his own arm injury, the Tigers will need to replace him with another relable bullpen arm.  The question is, how relable is Dotel’s arm?

The general mangers meetings have been underway in Orlando since Monday and no big trades have been announced.  Something bigger has occurred, that might exceed trades.  Something that might change the future of this game.   

Instant replay.

The general mangers voted 25-5 to introduce a limited instant replay.  The use would be limited to judging if a home run is fair or foul, or it the ball made it over the wall without the help of a fan in the front row (remember Jeffrey Maier?).

Don’t worry baseball purists.  The technology that invaded the NFL, NBA, and NHL is not definite.  Next this would have to go before the commissioner who was long said he’s against any instant replay in baseball.  Once he reviews it, it would go to more votes; the players, umpires, and possibly the owners.

This will definitely be a debate in the coming months among baseball fans.  Some already feel that baseball needs to step into the 21^st century, and a limited instant replay would be good for the game.  Others think that baseball is fine as is and holds itself to a higher standard then the other major sports in this country.   

Based on the vote passed the general managers yesterday, it’s not a matter of will instant replay be in baseball, but a matter of when.

J’ded Perspective 

When I first heard about this last night,  I was immediately against it.  I do consider myself somewhat of a baseball purist.  I think pitchers should bat and all games should be played on natural grass.  My stance on instant replay has nothing to do with being a purist.  The reason I’m against instant replay in baseball is it will hurt the game.   

One of the biggest knocks on baseball from critics is that the game moves slow and it takes too long.  Adding instant replay will only delay the game further.  Try to imagine Steve Traschel on the mound and three instant replays (let’s say there were a lot of balls hit on the line).  You could ballpark the time of that game somewhere around four hours.  That’s a situation that surely won’t help television ratings. Also, one of the most exciting things about baseball is late inning drama.  A walk off home run to end a game.  The crowd goes nuts as the batter rounds the basepaths with the entire team waiting for him at home plate.  That will all be gone if there’s a 2-4 minute wait for them to “review it upstairs” to make sure the umpires call was correct.  Talk about anti-climactic.

A recent study was done with cities with multiple sports franchises and which sport "ruled that city".  Baseball took a backseat in all cities except Los Angeles and New York.  Baseball is trying to attract new fans of the game.  With football’s popularity, and basketball and hockey offering more action, baseball is losing the battle.  If you impliment rules that might take away drama, and slow the pace of the game further, it can only make the situation worse.

That’s just my two cents…   

Life-long Yankees fan and presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani has lost his pinstripes. While on the campaign trail in Boston yesterday, Giuliani said he is backing the Bronx Bombers nemesis, the Boston Red Sox, in the 2007 World Series.

"I’m rooting for the Red Sox," the Republican presidential contender said in response to a question, sparking applause at the Boston restaurant where he was picking up a local endorsement. "I’m an American League fan, and I go with the American League team, maybe with the exception of the Mets," he said. "Maybe that would be the one time I wouldn’t because I’m loyal to New York."

Rudy made sure to tell the crowd he wasn’t just saying that because he was in Boston, it was how he really felt, but what does that say about he allegiance to the Yankees???

Former Massachusetts governor and Republican rival Mitt Romney questioned Rudy’s sincerity.

“I guess if Colorado wants Mayor Giuliani to root for the Rockies, they’re going to have to move their primary up,” said spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom in a written statement.

Tell me politics aren’t silly.

Although I understand being an American League fan and rooting for an American League team when your team is eliminated, the Yankees/Red Sox are an exception to that rule. The Yankees/Red Sox rivalry is the greatest in all of sports and fan of those teams don’t jump on the bandwagon because they play in the same league.

Rudy, you claim to be loyal to New York, but you back the Red Sox??? I’m not even a Yankees fan and I’m rooting against the Red Sox in the World Series. New York blood pumps through my veins, and even though I don’t root for a New York baseball team, I’ll never root for the Red Sox.

Whether it’s for votes or whether it’s how he really feels Yankees fans take note. The weather is fair in Boston and that’s where Rudy’s allegiance is.

Yesterday Joe Torre turned down the Yankees contract offer. Today his pinstripe-free life began with how his first day in pinstripes started, facing the press.  After Torre made a prepared statement, he sat and answered all questioned thrown his way with both local and national media for over an hour.

What did we get from Torre’s press conference?

The reason he went to Tampa after he received the contract offer was to negotiate the terms.  When he arrived he found out the front office wasn’t budging.  He had no choice but to turn it down.

Torre felt he deserved more then a one-year deal with an incentive based option.  He found the terms of the contract (the one year option and the incentives) to be an “insult” (which were his strongest words toward the Yankees).  He being the manager for twelve years should have given some basis for a longer contract, but obviously upper management felt differently. 

When asked if he would return to Yankee Stadium for any festivities of the final season at Yankee Stadium or the opening of New Yankee Stadium, Torre refused to comment.  It is obvious that Torre holds some ill-will toward the Yankee organization.  This wouldn’t be the first time a Yankees great refused to step foot in Yankee Stadium after leaving a managerial post.  Yogi Berra refused to go to Yankee Stadium for fourteen years after he was mistreated by the organization.

Torre was not opposed to managing again, but he would only do it under the right circumstance.  It didn’t seem likely it was going to happen anytime in the near future.  Given the fact that Torre is sixty-seven, he’s not getting any younger, so the reality of Torre managing again isn’t likely.

In looking a little deeper at Torre’s comments, it appears the anger he has toward the Yankees isn’t with GM Brian Cashman or owner George Steinbrenner, but with team president Randy Levine.  Torre thanked Steinbrenner and Cashman numerous times during the press conference, but made no mention of Levine. 

It’s no secret the Levine wasn’t a Torre fan.  It’s very possible Levine was the driving force behind Torre’s contract, knowing he would turn it down, so the Yankees wouldn’t catch negative press for not bringing Torre back. 

Regardless if an offer was made or not, expect the negative press.  Yankees fans aren’t stupid and saw the writing on the wall when the season ended.  Instead of being unhappy for Torre not getting a job offer, they are not happy for the way Torre was treated. 

I don’t blame them…

Let the off-season drama of the Yankees begin.  The first question was will Joe  Torre return?  The answer is no…  Not in the manner you would think.  The Yankees wanted Torre, but Torre didn’t want the Yankees.

The Yankees made Torre an offer for one year, with a base salary of $5 million dollars.  The deal also included up to $3 million dollars in bonuses if the Yankees should make the World Series.  Torre turned down the offer…

Even with the bonuses, the deal would be worth $8 million, the offer was a pay cut from his $7 million dollar base he made this season.  Did that have anything to do with his decision?  Maybe…  We’ll find out once Joe Torre releases a statement of his own.

Torre leaves the Yankees a future Hall of Famers.  When Torre took the Yankees job he was nicknamed "Clueless Joe" .  He was handed a playoff team in New York and turned his mangerial career around. 

Under Torre the Yankees had twelve post-season appearances (every season he was manager), and four World Championships.

While I personally think Torre is overrated as a manager, he’s a class act nonetheless.  I wish him the best on all future endeavors.

Major League Baseball has suspended umpire Mike Winters for the rest of the season.  Winters was the umpire who was in the altercation with Milton Bradley, where Bradley tore his ACL during his tantrum.

While I don’t know all the facts regarding what was said, the only person who is at fault for Bradley’s injury is Bradley.  No matter what someone says to you, as an adult you need to have self-control.  Bradley as a player is great, but his attitude and off-field antics hurt him.  He has a history of this type of behavior, and something like this was bound to happen given the way he carries himself.

I don’t want to see any player hurt, but when I first saw Bradley tore his ACL I figured this would be a wake up call and when he returns he’ll have a better attitude.  With Winters being suspended I’m not sure if this will happen.  This can only lead to law suits and finger pointing.  Without a doubt all parties have some reasonability in what happened.  Hopefully it’s not just one person who takes the fall.

Fashion Designer Mark Ecko was the lucky guy who won the auction for the Barry Bonds record-breaking home run ball. Ecko paid a hefty $752,467 for the ball, and came up with an idea, that got fans involved, and got him a ton of free press. He set up a website, 756.com, where fans can vote on what should be done with the ball. Here are the choices:

     A) Bestow It – Give the ball to Cooperstown.

     B) Brand It – Brand an asterisk on the ball, then offer it to Cooperstown

     C) Banish It – Put it in a rocket and send it into space.

I voted to bestow the ball to Cooperstown, in all reality that is where it belongs. Barry Bonds’ 756th home run ball is a piece of baseball history regardless what people think how he reached the record.

Branding it ruins the ball. Cooperstown will still accept it, but it’s a slap in the face to the game of baseball. Without a doubt there is plenty of evidence and speculation that Barry Bonds used steroids, but until the matter is proven beyond a reasonable doubt, Barry Bonds is the home run champion, like it or not.

Banishing the ball is stupid. While I initially found it funny, shooting a ball into space is a ridiculous idea. Besides, think of the logistics.

I do like Ecko’s idea. While expensive, it was a great marketing tactic to get his name in world wide media outlets that normally wouldn’t give him press, but I find it to be a mockery of he game I love. People in society tend to forget that we are all innocent until proven guilty, despite anyone’s suspicions. Right now Barry Bonds is the home run champion. OJ Simpson, who is daily tabloid drama, is innocent until he gets his day in court. In no way am I a Barry or OJ supporter (I feel sorry for them in a way), but these are just some examples of people jumping to judgment without all the facts. People tend forget just because they are in the spotlight, they are human beings just like you and me and have the same feelings that all people do. Sure it looks like a duck, and smells like a duck, but the legal system in this country doesn’t work that way.

Over 10,000,000 have voted, and the vote is in. The fans all over the world have spoken and voted to “Brand It”. So now the ball will be branded with an asterisk and offered to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Dale Petroskey of the Baseball Hall of Fame has said they will accept the ball, and are looking forward to receiving it. The answer sounded pretty rehearsed. In reality you’d have to think the Hall would rather have the ball intact, not defaced.

When will the ball be brought to the Hall of Fame? Stay tuned… Mark Ecko’s 15 minutes of fame are not over just yet.

Again, I do applaud Mark Ecko for his idea for world-wide press; I just wish it wasn’t at the expense of Major League Baseball.

Some idiot at last night’s Mets/Marlins game in Miami thought it was a good idea to hurl a baseball onto the field, hitting relief pitcher Aaron Heilman on the forearm.  Initially you’d think that it was a classless Marlins fan messing with the opposition.  It wasn’t…  The guy who threw the ball was a Mets fan on crutches, wearing a “Jose Reyes” tee shirt.

Heilman wasn’t hurt by the throw, but that’s not really the point.  Fans need to have enough sobriety and self-control not to throw things on the field, or attempt to hurt a ballplayer in any way.  The guy who threw the ball was ejected not arrested, though he should have been.  Although it was on a much greater scale, this move reminds me of when a father/son duo in Chicago thought it was a good idea to run onto the field and pummel Royals first base coach Tom Gamboa.  The intent was the same, so it should be treated the same.  I don’t care how frustrated you might be.  You attempt to hurt a player or a coach, you go to jail, it is that simple.   

On the other hand, the Phillies, who’s fans are notorious idiots (they boo’d Santa Claus), have been fired up by the current success, but still rip manager Charlie Manuel.  Sure, Charlie isn’t the brightest guy in the world, and he’s the first to admit it, but he’s done a good job with this team.  Is he perfect?  No, I think he mishandles his pitching staff at times, but there’s worse out there.  Ask a Rangers fan…

The Phillies look to Adam Eaton tonight to keep the hot streak alive, as the Phillies are only a game and a half behind the slumping Mets for the lead in the NL East.