11.02.2005
Trickeration
The free agent market is thin this winter, unless you're counting general managers. This means the few available star players have the market all to themselves, and what with all the soon-to-be-new GMs in place, plenty of teams will likely be antsy to land a big name and try to win now. So we're looking at some serious payday action for Rafael Furcal, Johnny Damon, Paul Konerko, and A.J. Burnett.
Of critical importance for a free agent is the ability to snag that extra couple million dollars. I direct you to Exhibit A, from yesterday's NY Daily News: "Furcal Could Play 2nd for Mets."
Right away the headline gives you a clue. "Furcal Could Play 2nd" is not a late-breaking development, nor is it apropos of anything really. At no point in the article do the Mets express interest in signing Furcal. The only person talking is Paul Kinzer, Furcal's agent. He says of the Mets, "I think they'll be a player."
Transparent enough. The more bidders we have, the higher Furcal's price tag goes. But one practical question leaps forward: If the Mets did sign Furcal, why would they move him to second base and negate one of his strengths, his Howitzer for an arm? Why not move Jose Reyes to second and keep Furcal at short?
That question, it turns out, is the keyhole through which we can catch a glimpse of the gears turning here. The answer, of course, is the Mets wouldn't move Furcal to second. In fact, they probably won't even sign him, not when they have bigger holes elsewhere on the depth chart, two established middle infielders (Kazuo Matsui not being established quite the way he wants to be, admittedly), and a hot prospect named Anderson Hernandez on the rise to boot. When Paul Kinzer leaks the information that Furcal is willing to play second base in New York, the Mets aren't really listening.
But the Yankees are. Furcal would make a sweet upgrade over Robinson Cano at second, and Cano would make decent trade bait for the starting pitcher the Yankees so sorely need. Of course, New York may not be the ultimate destination in mind for Furcal and Pinzer. All they want is for newly-extended GM Brian Cashman to put in a bid for Furcal, at which point the bar suddenly goes up a couple rungs, Furcal ends up driving a new Porsche with a built-in Breathalyzer, and everyone wins.
Of critical importance for a free agent is the ability to snag that extra couple million dollars. I direct you to Exhibit A, from yesterday's NY Daily News: "Furcal Could Play 2nd for Mets."
Right away the headline gives you a clue. "Furcal Could Play 2nd" is not a late-breaking development, nor is it apropos of anything really. At no point in the article do the Mets express interest in signing Furcal. The only person talking is Paul Kinzer, Furcal's agent. He says of the Mets, "I think they'll be a player."
Transparent enough. The more bidders we have, the higher Furcal's price tag goes. But one practical question leaps forward: If the Mets did sign Furcal, why would they move him to second base and negate one of his strengths, his Howitzer for an arm? Why not move Jose Reyes to second and keep Furcal at short?
That question, it turns out, is the keyhole through which we can catch a glimpse of the gears turning here. The answer, of course, is the Mets wouldn't move Furcal to second. In fact, they probably won't even sign him, not when they have bigger holes elsewhere on the depth chart, two established middle infielders (Kazuo Matsui not being established quite the way he wants to be, admittedly), and a hot prospect named Anderson Hernandez on the rise to boot. When Paul Kinzer leaks the information that Furcal is willing to play second base in New York, the Mets aren't really listening.
But the Yankees are. Furcal would make a sweet upgrade over Robinson Cano at second, and Cano would make decent trade bait for the starting pitcher the Yankees so sorely need. Of course, New York may not be the ultimate destination in mind for Furcal and Pinzer. All they want is for newly-extended GM Brian Cashman to put in a bid for Furcal, at which point the bar suddenly goes up a couple rungs, Furcal ends up driving a new Porsche with a built-in Breathalyzer, and everyone wins.
