Postgame Spread: Why Can't We Be Friends?

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Looks like the Mariners have engaged the Red Sox in some Manny trade talk. I'm figuring they'd demand a deal that doesn't help Seattle at all, like Beltre/Putz or something like that. (Not that Putz strikes me as fair return on Manny, even setting my biases aside.)

Nevertheless, you're dead to me Willard. Get down on your knees and pray to your pagan Quaker deities for mercy!!!

5 Comments:

Word from USSM is that it goes like this:

Dodgers get frustrated with demands of Sox that they perceive to be outlandish, so the Mariners come by and try to set themselves up as a fallback option. A conversation gets going that involves SF as well, sending Putz and Adam Jones to the Sox, Sexson to the Giants, and Manny + Lowry to the Mariners. But that's never a real package, exactly, because if that's "all" they're going to get, the Sox would have done traded him to the Dodgers already. And the Dodgers, apparently, are prepared to get back in the dealings and beat that package.

So the big speculation is about what beyond Jones/Putz the Sox want. Speculation says it's Jeff Clement, which comes too close to gutting the Mariners' system to be feasible for us. And who knows if Bavasi was ever really willing to give up Putz and Jones anyway? I think it'll be an interesting test of whether the Sox are actually actively trying to deal Manny or not. Right now, it looks like they'll have to lower their demands to get it done.

Jones/Putz would hurt, but I think it would be worth it, if we can get the extension with Ichiro worked out. Add Clement, it starts to get pretty scary to me.

By Jesse, at 2:51 PM
Or you could just read this:

http://ussmariner.com/2006/12/04/mini-faq/

By Jesse, at 2:53 PM
Nice mini-FAHQ.

I wrote Jones/Putz at first, then replaced Jones with Beltre because Jones/Putz couldn't possibly have been all the Sox wanted. If even I could have come up with Jones/Putz, there's no hope it'd happen. So I would assume Theo said "Jeff Clement" at some point, and the M's threw their own feces at Larry Lucchino. (Figuratively.)

Neither of those options works for all parties, especially since Theo appears to be adamant about a closer, but I can't see how even a fair trade makes much sense for Seattle. It's not like Manny solves a problem, except perhaps a performance-vs-salary problem.

By Jeff, at 3:09 PM
BTW, reporting that the Manny deal is dead due to Boston's asking price, USSM followed up with this:

Dave said:
December 5th, 2006 at 7:36 pm

Any news on exactly what it was the M’s were offering Boston for Manny? Are the reports of Putz/Soriano + Jones pretty accurate?

No.

By Jesse, at 12:39 PM
According to ESPN Deportes (translated):

The Dodgers would give up the right-hander Brad Penny and a pair of prospects, while the Mariners have offered Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson, but Boston insists on including one of two pitchers, (a choice) between the closer J.J. Putz and the set-up man Rafeal Soriano.

I guess Broxton/Kemp could be the prospects involved, but they aren't really prospects anymore, so why would they not name names. And more importantly it's INSANE. I can't come up with a configuration that works, if all those names are/were involved at once.

I'd like to know how serious the Sox are about this 11:59 PM Wednesday deadline to trade the guy.

By Jeff, at 1:20 PM