Mos Def....

The Mets are looking good. There are some negative nellies out there that have not been completely enamored with what is going on, but things will work out. At this point in time, the Mets rotation is better than it was in the playoffs and it wasn't their starting pitching that lost them the series. Barry Zito is still out there and I am starting to side with Dayn Perry, the Mets will eventually get Barry Zito. That gives them three pitchers in their rotation who started opening day for their respective teams in 2006. John Maine should be a solid mid-rotation starter for the remainder of this career at worst and Mets have a plenty of young guys to hold down the fort until Pedro is ready and I fully expect it to be a case where the Mets have five pitchers performing well when Pedro returns.

Yes, the Phillies got better. Who cares? Is it fun if the Mets just roll over everyone for the next decade? Were the Mets flat because of the lead they had in September and just could not get their offense going when it was crunch time? I want to see good baseball throughout the year and I say bring on the improved Phillies. The Mets are still the best team in the National League, but the gap has been significantly closed by the Phillies, Cubs, and possibly the Dodgers. If the Astros can convince Clemens to come back, they will be there too. I'm more than comfortable with heading down the stretch with Glavine, Pedro, and Maine leading the charge as the top three. Even if Zito is not there, I feel good. Zito is going to be gravy and will give the Mets a formidable five. The Mets still have the best offense and though the Cubs, Phillies, Dodgers, and Houston still have good bullpens, the Mets is still the best if Heilman is around.

I do not get the negativity surrounding this off-season. Bring back Mota was good, Alou is one of the best signings of the off-season, Omar brought in an athletic outfielder without losing much, and two pitchers that are 23 or under that can simply bring it. Things are coming together in my eyes and the last piece is Barry Zito. If the Mets can convince him to come here, the will have retained all of their prospects. Lastings is no longer rookie eligible, but if he was, he would certainly be in the top 50. Basically the Mets are team coming off a season in which they were one game away from the World Series and have three top 50 talents that will be ready for the bigs in '07. They are on the verge of something tremendous and there should only be positivity in the air. Omar has handled this off-season swelliciously and is proving to be a brilliant strategist.

* * *

Wells would be great, but one has to wonder how much even the Mets could afford. The bats will be there, but it is of utmost importance to hold onto Humber and Pelfrey unless they are moved for another young arm under control for a while.

Gary Carter might be gone.

The New York Daily News reported Friday that Gary Carter, who managed the St. Lucie Mets to a Florida State League title last season, has decided to leave the organization, but that might be premature, a source close to Carter said.

"He's very undecided right now as to his coaching future with the Mets," the source said. "Gary wants to coach. He wants to manage. He wants to stay with the Mets."

He'll make a good big league manager one day, I just hope it is with the Mets.

The Royals nabbed Octavio Dotel and really, I have to give Dayton Moore credit. People may laugh the Royals off and say they are no where near being competitive, but I beg to differ. They have a decent rotation with two top fifteen prospects that are offensive studs and on the verge of making an impact in the bigs and one of the top pitching prospects in the game in Luke Hochevar, who will be ready in 2007 at some point. No one thought the Royals would have been able to nab the players they did, but they pulled it off. Albeit by overpaying, but they pulled it off.

More on Mota...

With the money going around, it's not a horrible deal. Admittedly, it seemed the Mets had the upper hand, but are we really squabbling over a million dollars? Pro-rated, he gets $3,820,754.72 in 2008 and $1,179,245.28 in 2007. Again, a little over a million this season is not bad and $3.8 million in '08 probably could have been leveraged more, but he could have just accepted arbitration and screwed the Mets in '07. He could have not earned less than $2.6 million in arbitration for the Mets to have him for 112 games. $2.6 million for 112 games or $5 million for two years with the going rate of decent relief help? Really, it was more of a compromise than anything. Each guy had some sort of leverage, though it seemed the Mets had more. I do think it was a fair deal and another solid move by Omar, which is going to be my first born's name...girl or boy.

The Astros dropped the ball big time.

How did the Astros lose Andy Pettitte to the Yankees over a measly couple of million bucks?

Before Pettitte accepted the Yankees' offer, sources familiar with the negotiations told me he gave the Astros a chance to keep him for $2 million a year less than the Yankees will pay him. But Houston wouldn't increase its offer of $12 million a year.

They could have done a deal similar to the Mets and given him a $2 million buyout that would count towards next season's payroll and kept him. The Yankees made another great move this off season and the Mets and Yankees have been two of the shrewder teams this off season...so far. With Barry Zito still out there, shrewdness could be thrown out the window and it remains to be seen how much Barry is going to cost.

Wow. Just wow.

Of course everyone knows by now that Omar was targeting Danny Haren and not Rich Harden, but the idea is the same. Bringing in a young arm that will be under the Mets control for a while.

Haren, a 14-game winner in each of the past two seasons, is more accomplished than Harden, and only one year older. He also is more durable, averaging 220 innings the past two seasons.

The A's surely are reluctant to trade Harden, who is signed for a bargain-basement $11.7 million over the next three seasons, with a $6.75 million club option for 2010.

Harden has a much better arm than Haren. In fact, when healthy, Harden is a Cy Young Award winner waiting to happen. The obvious issue with him is that many view him as a Tommy John candidate waiting to happen. I do not see the Haren deal happening unless Beane gets an offer he cannot resist. The A's are going to be contending for the AL West. However, Beane is a realist. He needs to keep an ever vigilant eye on the future. He will give a away a guy that will be productive and affordable for the next four years, but he will need to receive at least two or three guys that will be productive or affordable. Basically, he needs to be blown away.

If the A's were in a rebuilding mode, Milledge and Heilman might be enough. Beane likes both, but I'm not sure he would go for that deal at this point. Another player would have to be included and a good one too. John Maine...Mike Pelfrey...someone good. Beane has traded guys with a few years left before like Mark Mulder, but he was making more money and carried injury concerns. Haren is much cheaper in an inflated market and is healthy. Beane needs to be bowled over and the Mets are not desperate. There is not a fit that I can see and I don't know if I would like a Milledge, Heilman, and Pelfrey package. I might think about a deal with two of the three, but I'm not seeing the benefit there for Mr. Beane if it's just two. One thing is for sure, Omar is a stud. The man goes after whatever he wants and it doesn't hurt to ask, right?

* * *

The Dodgers pulled off another short term contract for more money and gave Schmidt three years and almost $16 million per year. Gil Meche netted five years and $55 million dollars. Ted Lilly brought in four years and $44 million.

Schmidt has a career ERA of 3.91 pitching in the NL only.
Gil Meche has a career ERA of 4.65 pitching solely in the AL.
Ted Lilly has a career ERA of 4.60 pitching solely in the AL.
Miguel Batista has a career ERA of 4.46 pitching in both leagues.
Andy Pettitte has a career ERA of 3.81 pitching in both leagues.
Barry Zito has a career ERA of 3.83 pitching in the AL only.

Two things. Well, actually three. First, if the Yankees can bring in Pettitte for two years, it is a shrewd deal. It helps that Pettite wants to retire or else he might be asking for three or four, but you get the idea. Second, Gil Meche to the Royals is not as bad as it seems. Too much money and too many years? There is no other way to get players to go to crappy teams. He's 28 and could be ready to break out. Meche, Odalis, Bannister, Hudson, and eventually Hochevar is actually not a bad rotation. If Billy Butler, Alex Gordon, and Justin Huber can come along and join Emil Brown, Mark Teahan, and David DeJesus, the Royals just might have a team. Bad contract? Yes. However, not as bad as a deal as it looks on the surface. Lastly, Zito is the best arm on the market if you discount Daisuke. I think the Mets should now offer six years $96 million and the rumor is they will. I doubt anyone will go too much above that to really make him sway as that is a lot of money and Boras will of succeeded at wrenching the most money out of the team Zito wants to be on. What's more is that the Mets keep all their big prospects and that is worth the extra few million a year most of us were hoping the Mets did not give up.

The most interesting item of the entire day? Nothing to do with Zito, Haren, Andy Pettitte, Manny Ramirez, or anyone else that is a household name. The Reds picked up Josh Hamilton in the Rule 5 draft.

Another excited front office official is Marlins vice president of player personnel Dan Jennings, who scouted and ultimately drafted Hamilton in 1999.

“I like where he is now, and I love what he could still become,” Jennings said. “The upside has always been there, and I know I’ll be rooting for him with this change of scenery and really, the chance to finally prove he can be a major league player.”

If you do not know about the kid, you can read all about him here. He is one guy I'm pulling for. He is an immense talent and would be a success story of success stories. You do not see a guy like him that has bounced around for seven years get back on track to star at the highest level. Good luck bro...

Nicey nice.

Willie Randolph announced that Howard Johnson, who was the Triple-A hitting coach last year, would be the Mets' first base coach next season and work primarily with base running and outfield play.

Re: Zito...

One Mets official said, "If we want a player we will get that player," and they clearly want Zito. But so far they have not shown a willingness to match the numbers of years and dollars being considered -- believed to be in the range of six years and $100 million.

These ain't yo' pappa's Mets.

Losing Flores sucks. Make no mistake about it. I don't even count forty guys on the 40-man and there are guys that could be taken off, but I get it. Who would have thought that a catcher who needs at least two or three years in the minors would have been selected? I mean, c'mon. The kid is 22 and have never played above A-ball. Who would have thought that could have happened? The Nationals blow and could waste a roster spot on him. They will finish in last regardless, but the thing that irks me because I like Flores is watching him lose a year of development because a lack of at-bats is a waste of his talent. I still cannot figure out if Bowden is really dumb or really smart in regards to this move.

Mota is back and that is a good thing.

In The Weeds? Not Likely.

The Yankees have been quiet and that is not something we are all used to. The fact is, the Yankees have just figured out what they were doing was not working.

Of course, Jeffrey Loria, the Marlins' owner, never will completely shut the door on potential Willis suitors. "Not if someone wants to really overwhelm us," is what he says, which, translated, means, "Who's to say if someone is willing to do something really stupid like trading three can't-miss prospects?" Not the Yankees or the Mets.

What's interesting from the Yankees' standpoint is that, for the first time in recent memory, they are actually in a position to put together that sort of package as a result of Brian Cashman's determined restocking of the once-barren farm system with blue-chip prospects such as pitchers Philip Hughes, Humberto Sanchez, Tyler Clippard, Jeff Karstens, Ian Kennedy, Joba Chamberlain, Dellin Betances and Kevin Whelan and outfielders Jose Tabata and Brett Gardner.

The George Steinbrenner of yesteryear would be telling Cashman to call Loria and make precisely that sort of overwhelming offer for Willis. But as Cashman reiterated yesterday, the Yankees are doing business in a different way now.

The Yankees and the Mets have been on the right path this off-season. They have been on the prudent path and though both want to improve their ball clubs, they will not do it at the expense of taking on a bad contract much like they have both done in the past and many teams are doing this off season. Really strange to see this happen and typically sensibility was not always a trait of either of these clubs, but are keeping an eye on the long term.

In my opinion, the Mets are in a better position than the Yankees. I think the Yankees need one more starter more than the Mets. However, if the Yankees overpay for Pettite for one season, that would certainly seem like their best option at this point while they buy some time for Phil Hughes or Tyler Clippard. As for the Mets, Omar will get a starting pitcher. 1st choice is Zito. After that? We know Jennings is out there with some White Sox starters and I'm sure there are other options like a mid-range guy or just waiting until the trade deadline. From Rick yesterday in the comments:

It's mind-boggling how every inconceivable contract looks like a bargain after such a short period of time. Marvin Miller should be going into the Hall of Fame all by himself this year, when guys like Vincente Padilla and Gil Meche are getting $10 million a year. The fact is, Shea Stadium has a bigger effect on the quality of the Mets starting pitching than anyone toeing the rubber. In the last 10 years, there have only been four Met starters whose ERA was over 4.50 with more than 150 innings pitched, and only once did the team finish in the bottom half of the league ERA leaders. And that's not with too many impressive arms. And most of those years didn't feature a gold glove center fielder. Omar is a smart guy, the Mets will win 90 games with Glavine, Maine, Duque, Oliver and Pelfry/Humber/Bannister. When the out of contention clubs start dealing guys in July, then we should be shoring things up for the playoff run. Until then, let Seattle have Barry Zito.

That is certainly and interesting tidbit and if you ask me, Zito needs the Mets more the Mets need Zito. Barry might be more of a luxury item and Omar has been steadfast with his offer.

"I can't worry about that," Minaya said of the Texas rumors. "I just can't worry about what other teams are doing. I know what we like and what we feel value is and that's all we can do."

One person with knowledge of the talks said that Zito has little interest in playing for the Rangers and the Mets hold an allure for him with a chance to win a World Series and a city to market him.

Now, while the Mets are exploring their options like Mark Mulder, which could just be some posturing by Omar, Barry is sweating it out. If he doesn't end up with the Mets, he will certainly not be in a favorable baseball situation. Now that the Padres are most likely out, his options are waning and the Angels would be the best place for him to land if the Mets pulled out as well. The Mets want to get something done soon whether that has something to do with Zito being a Met is another thing. Omar is not exactly patient so it makes sense for Zito to make something happen sooner rather than later.

* * *

BMF says the inside work is that HoJo will be the third base coach. Mike likes that.

Ambiorix Burgos for Brian Bannister? Good deal. He is exactly the type of power arm that Rick Peterson loves to rehab and he is definitely an intriguing player. As for Brian Bannister, he is a nice guy, but he didn't have much trade value by himself. Sorry. He was a throw in that could be a league average starter at best who's ERA did not match his actual performance. Turning him into a 22 year old with a power arm is fine move. Anyone that is down on Burgos better understand the kid is young and still has some learning to do.

Drew and Lugo? The Red Sox lineup is going to be mighty scary if Manny doesn't go anywhere. Does anything think the Red Sox can even afford to have him around at this point? Some people might not like Drew, but he is a talented guy. As a lefty in that park, he might be putting up some big numbers. A career year in '07 would not surprise me one bit.

I do apologize for all the Zito talk lately, but it's pretty much been a topic that is consuming every conscious thought I have and there will be more this week. If you are sick of it, stop back next week.

Boy, that escalated quickly... I mean, that really got out of hand fast!

Is anyone buying this?

“I had a long talk with Barry the other day and I told him that this move is not about money,” Joe said. “It’s about nothing other than legacy.”

In theory that sounds nice. However, you do not fire your agent and bring in Scott Boras to not make a move based on money. Zito could retire today and still have plenty of money for the rest of his life as he has brought in $18,035,000 in his seven year career. In those seven years, he has averaged 14.57 wins and that includes his rookie season when he threw in only fourteen games. Since his rookie season, he has average 15.8 wins per season. We've already heard about Barry Zito's aspirations to be a Hall of Fame pitcher and we'll see if he really means that.

The only shot Barry has of making the Hall of Fame is notching 300 wins. His 102 wins at the age of 28 is certainly impressive, but he'll need to average 14.14 wins over the next fourteen years to attain that goal of his (Glavine had 108 wins through age 28 after eight years of baseball and ten more starts than Barry). That is not exactly easy to say the least, but for a durable lefty that can probably throw into his early forties, it is not impossible. Improbable? Yes. Impossible? A tick below impossible, but not impossible. Dayn Perry basically echoes the sentiments a lot of us have been bellowing out and that is the New York Mets and Barry Zito go together like a hooker and track marks.

Zito's prone to the longball, but Shea is a brutal park for power hitters (particularly right-handed power hitters) and will help to mask that deficiency. If Zito winds up a Cub or Ranger, he's going to get lit up. For Zito to succeed his home park needs to be a pitcher's environment. The Mets need durability, and Zito needs a forgiving park and a slick defensive outfield. It's a match.

If Barry comes to the Mets, it is completely reasonable to think he can notch 80 to 85 wins over the next five years while the Mets figure to be a 90-100 win team in each of those seasons. The deeper you go into games the better shot you have at winning games and Barry is no stranger to going deep into games. Furthermore, I've said that I think he could drop a year like his 2002 season with sub 3.00 ERA and 24 wins or so. At the ripe age of 33, Barry could be in the neighborhood of 185 wins with plenty of years left on his arm to pitch. If Barry is serious about his legacy and a legitimate play at the Hall of Fame, the only team that has showed interest in him this off season that can help him get to that goal is the Mets.

Teams like the Mariners and the Rangers are chasing Barry and that scares me. That scares me because the Mariners are desperately trying to make all the money they've sunk into Adrian Beltre and Richie Sexson look good by actually winning and they are trying to build a better team so they can keep Ichiro around after his contract expires. Bringing in solid pitcher can help pile on some wins, but the Mariners are far more than one ace away. The Mariners did win 78 games last year and if they can improve their staff, they might get over that hump and at least keep in the AL West race until the final weeks of the season.

The Rangers epitomize desperation after trading Adrian Gonzalez and Chris Young only to see them look like cornerstones of the Padres franchise and trading Mench, Nix, and Cordero for Carlos Lee when they really were not good enough to contend for the AL West crown only to see him leave for greener pastures. Daniels needs to do something big and I'm not talking about signing Vincente Padilla. Getting Zito will give the natives a little less to be restless about, but I'm sure that would all change as soon as the mediocrity continues. Jon Daniels wants to make a power move and Omar has repeatedly said he will not get into a bidding war. If Daniels will go six years at $102 million ($17 million annually), you can be sure Zito will be giving up forty long balls in Arlington in 2007.

Things have really started to get away from everyone this off-season and with Lilly possibly tabbed to get $11 to $12 million per year, I'm starting to really consider plan B for the Mets and their starting rotation.

* * *

The new Bloc Party single sounds pretty fucking amazing. Listen to it and revel in it's glory.

In case you missed it...

"It's disappointing, to say the least," La Russa added. "We were rooting for the Detroit Tigers just like everyone else."

According to Cardinals players, they "tried absolutely everything" in their pursuit to earn the Tigers their first world championship since 1984, including eliminating the far more dangerous New York Mets in the NLCS, entering the series completely unrested after a grueling seven-game series, starting a rookie pitcher with five career wins in Game 1 in Detroit, and postponing Game 4 due to rain in the hopes that an off day would swing the momentum back in the Tigers' favor.

"I don't know what we could've done differently," second-baseman Ronnie Belliard said. "We gave the Tigers every opportunity to win ballgames, but when their pitchers keep making errors on simple ground balls, what are we supposed to do, pretend we forgot the rules and start running to third base?"

Desperate for a Tigers win in Game 2, the Cardinals chose to overlook the fact that starter Kenny Rogers was pitching with the aid of a foreign substance on his left hand.

"Of course we all knew it was pine tar, but it seemed like they were finally finding their rhythm… We certainly didn't want to shake their confidence, so we decided to just let it go," La Russa said. "Frankly, if the umpires didn't bring it up, we probably would've let him pitch with it the whole game."

Classic...

Wildcards: The Bullpen

There are not many wildcards for the Mets this upcoming season, but here a few that could have a big impact on the Mets in '07 in terms of their bullpen.

Duaner Sanchez:
Will he be healthy enough? If so, it frees up the Mets in case they want to trade Aaron Heilman in a package for an ace. Luckily for the Mets, he has been cleared to throw and they could find out soon how good (or bad) Duaner's arm is.

Victor Zambrano:
I hate him as well, but I expect him to be back with the Mets in '07. The Mets will non-tender him and offer him a minor league contract with a stipulation that he will get $2.5 million or so if he makes the big league roster out of Spring Training. As frustrating as he has been, I think most of us are interested to see how good he can be if he is healthy. He won more games than he lost on a horrible Devil Ray team and had a .237 BAA in '03 in the AL East, a .230 BAA in '04 in the AL East, and a .222 BAA in '04 with the Mets after he was traded. While he might not figure into the rotation picture, he might be a fit for the bullpen.

Alay Soler:
While he may have a big space where his heart and guts are supposed to be, the guy still has decent stuff. A sharp slider and a decent fastball will be all he would need out of the bullpen. Baseball America one tabbed him as a possible closer of the future for the Mets and he will have a year under his belt after sitting out of real baseball competition for a year after visa issues. It's shit or get off the pot time for him in '07 and hopefully he drops a big one.

Dave Williams:
Omar thinks he could win fifteen games if given the opportunity, but I do not buy that. That does not mean he will not be useful because I think he can be. He's a lefty, but not a lefty specialist, and could provide a nice boon to this club as a long man out of the pen and the seventh guy in the bullpen.

Juan Padilla:
Though I think his 2005 was a bit fluky, he is a groundball pitcher and did look like another Rick Peterson reliever resurrection project (RRRRP). He could be another solid arm and I expect the Mets to be in the position of having ten or so guys worthy of pitching in the bigs out of the pen with spots for only seven guys. Padilla could quite possibly be one of those ten or so pitchers and adds a nice dynamic to the pen being a different pitcher than the other guys slated to be in the bullpen. It is nice to have guys who just bring it out of the bullpen, but it is also nice to have different flavors of pitchers to keep teams on their toes and give them a few different looks.

Brian Bannister:
The starting rotation is becoming increasingly tighter to crack. With Glavine, Maine, Perez, and The Duque expected to start the year in the rotation, Omar expected to pick up another arm, and plenty of other pitchers in the fold like Dave Williams, Jason Vargas, Mike Pelfrey, etc, Brain Bannister's future on the Mets as a starter has basically evaporated. The AAA rotation is also crowded with Phil Humber, Mike Pelfrey, possibly Kevin Mulvey, Jason Vargas if he misses making the big leagues, Alay Soler if he misses making the big leagues, Willie Collazo, Miguel Perez, etc...Bannister's value just might be in the bullpen. As a starter, his stuff is underwhelming. As a reliever, he can cut down on his eighty pitch repertoire and concentrate on his three best pitches and be a reliever in the mold of Dan Wheeler.

I still think Phil Humber could be used in the same vain as Adam Wainwright and be extremely effective to say the least, but I do not think the Mets would go that route unless complete disaster struck. I also think Joe Smith might be a late season addition as a righty specialist down the stretch, but I'm concentrating on guys who could help the team right out of spring training. I'd throw Jon Adkins into the mix, but his peripherals are not very good and I have no idea what type of stuff he has outside of throwing fastballs, sliders, and change-ups. Overall, there are some viable in house options that could step up to help this team and add to a solid base of Billy Wagner, Duaner Sanchez, Aaron Heilman, Pedro Feliciano, and Guillermo Mota later in the season. I fully expect the Mets to have a bullpen with seven effective relievers like last year even without Aaron Heilman if he happened to get traded. While Bradford was a big loss, it certainly is not the end of the world. This bullpen will be tight.

* * *

Marty Noble is not going to vote for Mark McGwire according to John Struble and it looks like Mark McGwire will not be making it into the Hall this year.

Noble, a longtime beat writer for the New York Mets and member of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BWAA), emphatically said, “No. I will not vote for him for two reasons. One, I’m not sure yet about McGwire. I’d like to see more, I’d like to hear more.

“Two, if you look at his career and remove those three years (1997-1999) where he just went wild, those are the three years he supposedly used, otherwise he is a borderline Hall of Famer.”

During the three-year stretch from 1997-1999, McGwire played in 464 games, batting .283 (445-1570) and piling up 193 home runs and 417 RBI.

Morality has arrived in the voting consciousness. A player’s character is now parsed on the same scale as statistics. The consideration was always there, but it was never placed under a microscope, like it is now. The times demand it and voters will be asked to react to it.

Noble’s choice to omit McGwire from his 2007 ballot will be the prevailing choice, according to a recent poll conducted by the Associated Press. Roughly 150 of the 575 BWAA were asked the question, “Will you vote for Mark McGwire?” The results are as follows:

• 74 will not vote for McGwire.
• 23 will vote for him.
• 16 are undecided.
• 5 refused to say.
• 2 will abstain from voting.

Here is some crazy food for thought. What if the Rangers offered Mark Texiera for Chien-Ming Wang and his 3.00+ G/F ratio? The Yankees cherish their 'ace' and two years ago trading Mark would have been unthinkable, but it would be and interesting deal.

Just let this sink in...

Daniels was fleeced - by Towers, who extracted Gonzalez, 28-year-old righty Chris Young (11-5, 3.46 this past season) and useful No. 4 outfielder Terrmel Sledge for righty Adam Eaton; and by the Milwaukee Brewers' Doug Melvin, who sent him Carlos Lee in July for outfielders Kevin Mench and Laynce Nix and closer Francisco Cordero. In both cases, the players Daniels got were in their walk years and did just that.

Daniels has some learning to do. His two big deals last year were horrendous.

Murry Chass has a really good article on the Winter Meetings with a plethora of information.

The Mets like Zito but won't break the bank. I just love the new non-desperate Mets. Really an amazing thing to see and a really good way to run a baseball team.

Bill Price is not to enthralled with Tom Glavine's antics, but none of us are. That being said, I'll repeat it again. It's good to have him back.

Did Mike Fitzpatrick just wake up from a coma?

The Rutgers loss was horrible. Such a huge game for the future of their team. It's still bright, but that win to get into a BCS game would have been huge financially and for recruiting purposes. That loss stings.

Melvin needs outfielders? Maybe he should reconsider trading Sheets and he can get Pelfrey and Milledge for Mr. Sheets.