“Dollars and Deals-Winter Meetings”

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Spraying base hits, dollar bills and opinions, to all fields in baseball.

PADES….Find it interesting….years after he arrived and traded them away, the top early signings in free agency were Trea Turner and Zach Eflin, and the top top free agent next year will be Braves pitching ace Max Fried. All guys an impulsive GM-AJ Preller got rid of within weeks of taking over as GM of the Padres.

PADRES DOLLARS….A mixed bsg of stories about what the Padres offered Trea Turner, the Dodgers shortstop, who wound up going to Philadelphia on an 11-year deal. 1-report says the Padres offer him a record (10Y-350M) deal. But the report was a large amount of that was back end loaded and deferred. Another report says it was (5Y-150M) that would have still gotten him to the 35M-average his agent demanded. Who knows? Only know he is with the Phillies now.

DODGERS…..The rich aren’t rich right now, at least not on their roster. As players come off the free agent board, President Andrew Friedman is still sitting there with a roster with holes in it. Maybe he winds up with Red Sox SS-Xander Bogaerts. Maybe the Twins Carlos Correa. Losing out on Justin Verlander was a blow. Equally as big, the bullpen has been torched, with the losses of Blake Treinhan, Chis Martin, David Price, Tommy Kahnle, Andrew Heaney and the release of Craig Kimbrel. Not the same team for sure.

YANKEES-GIANTS-CUBS…Holding their breath to see what decision Aaron Judge makes. If he wants money, he takes the Giants’ offer, but they don’t have enough players. If he wants to set a home run record-maybe he takes the late offer from the Cubs, but they’re not going to win. If he wants a legacy as a Yankee for life, he stays in New York. So tough a decision. And by the way he gets 300 to 360M over the rest of his career regardless of where he goes.

BELLINGER BUCKS….A surprise when the ex-Dodger backed out of a 1-year deal with Toronto, a deal that would have relinked him with Don Mattingly when they were together as Dodgers, to take a deal with the Cubs, to hit home runs at wind blown Wrigley Field. Earning less in Chicago that he would have gotten if he took the 19M-Qualifying offer in LA.

METS BLEEDING…Gone Jacob deGrom, Taijuan Walker, likely Brandon Nimmo. Coming on board Justin Verlander. They retained Edwin Diaz as closer. But it sure is an incomplete team right now..

CALL INTO CARLOS…Interesting to see what becomes of Carlos Rodon, the ex-Giant-White Sox frontline starter. Still out there looking for dollars and years. Maybe the Dodgers go get him to plug into the rotation. But the Yankees, shedding players, might overpay too to do the deal. And San Francisco seems interested too.

CARLOS CORREA…At one point it was insinuated he had as many as 12-teams interested. He is still out there but teams are spending money everywhere, but no one has signed him yet.

BOGAERTS BIG PAY DAY….The ex Red Sox hitter, the best bat of the four shortstops on the open market, looks ready to make a decision. Maybe the Dodgers, maybe the Padres, maybe the hated Yankees.

CHASING OUTFIELDERS…The Pirates are playing the price is right in the Bryan Ryenolds trade talks. Brandon Nimmo of the Mets. Mike Conforto, the ex Yankee, are all still out there too. Same too for Wil Myers-no one is talking about.

WAITING FOR TRADES TOO….Did you know the biggest trade at the winter meetings was way back in 1954, when the lowly Baltimore Orioles, who used to be the St Louis Browns, did an 18-player trade with the Yankees. That’s right, 18-players. Did you know Don Larson, of no-hit World Series Fame, had gone (3-21) with the Orioles his rookie year. He went to the Yankees. So did Bullet Bob Turley, and they became part of the great 1950s Yankees rotation with Whitey Ford. Going to the Orioles, slugging young catcher Gus Triandso, home run hitter outfielder Bob Nieman and great glove shortstop Willie Miranda. Look it up, a staggering size deal.

We’re not done handing out big free agent checks. Still think there will be some interesting trades. The Winter Meetings march on.
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“Free Agency & Pitching”

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If you’ve got pitching-good for you.
If you don’t you better get some.
And you better have alot of money in your checking account too.

How many arms can you stockpile?
And at what cost?

As you stroll the hallways at the Grand Hyatt and the Winter Baseball Meetings, the race is on to get arms, regardless of the cost.

The New York Mets proved that for the second off season in a row.

A year ago, it was Max Scherzer, the righthanded Soldier of Fortune, who inked a (3Y-130M) contract with the Mets.  That’s an average of (43M) per season heading into 2022-2023.

That followed the bidding war victory on Monday that brought them Justin Verlander, on a (2Y-86M) deal with a third year option, that averages (43M) a season too.

Scherzer is 38-years old at this hour.  Verlander is 39-years old

Scherzer is (201-102) in a career of excellence.
Verlander is (242-133) in a legendary, possible Hall of Fame career.

The signings say alot of different things.

Owner Steve Cohen has deep pockets and doesn’t care about any conversation about the Luxury Tax.  He could have a payroll of 290M…and he could have a luxury tax bill of 90M at the end of the year.

Is this type of operation sustainable, considering he loss of draft picks and international signing money  you lose for going over the tax threshold three years in a row.

It also says the unique durability of these two righthanders, is rare, and probably like the phenomenal run that the Maddux-Glavine-Smoltz regime had during their Braves era in Atlanta.

It also shows the prime example of the frailties of pitching staffs.

Four years ago this week, the Mets thought they had a pitching staff built for excellence for possibly the next 5-years.  They are virtually all gone.

Noah Syndegaard, Jacob DeGrom, Steven Matz all broke down, and they are all somewhere else.  And none has returned to be the pitcher they were before shoulder and elbow woes took them out for a year apiece.

DeGrom signed a blockbuster deal on the weekend with Texas.
Syndegaard has gone from the Mets to Angels, Phillies.
Matz exited in a trade to Toronto, then onto St Louis.

The Mets have the oldest pitching staff in baseball at this hour, just ahead of the Padres pitching staff, which had alot of quality starts, alot of innings, and alot of mileage on those arms last season.

Now we see what happens with the second tier of free agent arms out there, and we know this, alot of those guys have had injuries in the past, and it will cost you a bunch to over pay for those arms.

I guess pitching breakdowns have become part of life in baseball.  The cost of replacing them is stunning.

Wow is the only way to describe what started with DeGrom to Texas and drove us to Monday’s Verlander-Mets deal.

Stay tuned, more to come, more money to be spent, and possibly big trades to be made, because everyone needs pitching.

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“Great Sports Weekend–What I Saw-What I Think:

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CHARGERS…Lopsided loss in Las Vegas…QB-Justin Herbert has no run game..not much pass protection…no run defense and a team with more injuries.  This looks like another non playoff season for the young superstar.  Just so many players hurt, it feels hopeless and the QB has no help..

RAMS..From Super Bowl to toilet bowl, now a 6-game losing streak under Sean McVay, crushed too by all these injuries.  Who would have thought the 2-tenants at So Fi Stadium would be suffering thru this horrific season.

49ers…Now QB-Jim Garoppolo has a broken foot and is out for the year, and they don’t have Trey Lance either.  Can you say Christian McCaffrey running the single wing?

DALLAS…So scary on defense and getting all their skill guys on the same page on offense enroute to a (9-3) record.

RAIDERS…Getting better, getting more dangerous, Carr, Jacobs, Adams, improving offensive line  and a better defense.

SEATTLE…Hard to believe this is journeyman Geno Smith having this type of season for the Seahawks.

BALTIMORE…Lamar Jackson keeps getting dinged up-might not be long run in  the playoffs.

VIKINGS…They live on the edge, all these last minute wins.  May be flawed but you cannot take away their 10-wins this season.

EAGLES…Is there anything Jalen Hurts and this team cannot do?  Some package of offense and defense Nick Sirianni has put together….(11-1) and more to play.

USC…What a testament to the leadership of QB-Caleb Williams, throwing for (363) and that big run, playing on one leg in the loss to Utah.  What a spectacular season.

MICHIGAN..No letdown in their win over Purdue-though the knee surgery for RB-Blake Corum is a setback

GEORGIA…Stetson Bennett is not a household name, but 4-more TD passes, added to the running game and that defense, unbeaten and still number one.

TCU…Came within 1-possession of a perfect season but lost to Kansas State, but very good, very tough.

OHIO STATE…By virtue of all the late season upsets, they survive their loss to Michigan and get back into the playoffs.  QB-CJ Stroud has to find his hot hand

ALABAMA…Alot of whining out of Tuscaloosa-just not the same team this year, and I think fans are glad there will be no Tide in the playoffs.

CLEMSON…Quarterback problems did them in.

USC…Has to be a letdown to wind up in a bowl game against the Tulane Green Wave.

UCLA..winds up facing Pitt in the Sun Bowl in El Paso.

OREGON…Will put on a show in the Holiday Bowl against North Carolina.

WASHINGTON…A very dangerous team with Michael Penix at QB and a good bowl game too vs the Texas Longhorns in the Alamo Bowl..

A wild weekend to say the least.
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“Lady Aztecs Basketball-Growing”
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San Diego State is a basketball school now, thanks to Steve Fisher and Brian Dutcher.
Women’s basketball is very successful at lots of places around the nation, but not so at SDSU

Maybe things are about to change.
SDSU has tournament teams when Beth Burns ran the program till she was removed.

For the first time in a long time, the Lady Aztecs appar ready to turn the corner.  Off to a good start. With a good blend of talent, young and experienced on the roster.

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Coach Stacy Terri Hutson:

10th season at SDSU
Replaced fired Beth Burns

Really good moments to start the season
Best start in 15-years at (6-1)
Team is a bit banged up right now
Balanced scoring around C-Yummi Morris
We have alot of potential starters on this roster
Talk alot about sacrifice-develop game changers

We needed to get the right people on the right seat ont he bus
Taken us longer that we thought
Defense is who we are..defense travels with our team

Tough to recruit size in womens ball
Blessed to have Yummy Morris as a post player
They get over-recruited…but we have size.

Transfer portal is big on this team..we have alot of 5th year players
We are an older team…allowed
NIL is not a big thing yet in women’s basketball but it is coming

We sell transfers the opportunity to play immediately
Great arena..great resources…living-playing San Diego is a plus

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“Lady Aztecs Basketball-Growing”
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San Diego State is a basketball school now, thanks to Steve Fisher and Brian Dutcher.
Women’s basketball is very successful at lots of places around the nation, but not so at SDSU

Maybe things are about to change.
SDSU has tournament teams when Beth Burns ran the program till she was removed.

For the first time in a long time, the Lady Aztecs appar ready to turn the corner.  Off to a good start. With a good blend of talent, young and experienced on the roster.

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