After discussing my earlier post with me on Twitter, Mike Newman of FanGraphs conducted his own polling to one of the largest trafficked sports sites on the web. There are the results.

My conclusion?

Too many Mets fans are prospect drunk…

I would speculate that a similar poll on MMO would be somewhere in the middle with the majority of them pulling the trigger on such a deal without hesitation.

Original Post 9:00 AM

I am well aware of how every Mets’ site has their own readership of Mets fans, especially so when it comes to their commenting community, for those few sites like ours fortunate to have a steady commenting community. The differences are stark.

I was very surprised this morning when I saw the results on a poll Mets Blog took yesterday on if they would swap prospects d’Arnaud and Wheeler in exchange for Giancarlo Stanton. Actually, the word “surprised” might be a bit too mild, I think “stunned” would be a better choice.

Wow, almost two thirds would say NO to the younger and more established Stanton who is on a Hall of Fame trajectory.

“In a heartbeat,” said one Mets official, who is not in general manager Sandy Alderson’s inner-circle of decision makers but has a voice in discussions. “Nothing against those kids, but it’s Giancarlo.”

Stanton put up those gaudy numbers at ages 20-22. He just turned 23 and is still four years away from his prime 5-6 years of peak production.

I asked no less than – I don’t know – 10-12 different media types from Rosenthal to Callis to Heyman and not one said they wouldn’t pull the trigger. I asked three Mets players who requested to remain anonymous and one said, “Do you really have to ask?”

That is the majority sentiment on MMO as well. That poll up there just showed me the difference between MetsBlog regulars and Mets Merized Online regulars. The two couldn’t be more different.

Almost 75% of MetsBlog readers would rather keep the two unknown quantities rather than adding a proven 23-year old superstar even under the current Mets outfield situation… Wow!

To all of our MMO daily readers… All 16,000 of you… Well 17,000 if you just go by Monday… Have I ever told you how much I love you? :-)

I think it’s cool that when hot button issues come up like this one, that we have two megalithic sites for Mets fans that offer a nice contrast and together comprise the whole of the entire fan base.

Original Post 3/11

The Mets “retain an unfilled craving for a marquee outfielder,” writes Andy Martino of the Daily News.

Martino says that the team is monitoring star outfielders such as Giancarlo Stanton of the Marlins and Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies.

One Mets person told Martino “there is heat there,” in regard to the team having a preliminary discussion with the Marlins about Stanton, suggesting serious interest.

There is no evidence that GMs Sandy Alderson and Larry Beinfest have discussed a Stanton deal, only speculation. But it does sound like there’s some serious interest on both sides.

This adds to what Ken Davidoff of the New York Post said in a different report yesterday, where he said Stanton, Gonzalez and Andre Ethier are among seven outfielders the Mets might consider acquiring this season or next winter. I didn’t much care for the other four outfielders on his list. Soriano? No thanks.

If the Mets are truly serious and this isn’t just them blowing some smoke up our behinds, they must know it would cost them likely two of their top prospects, namely starting pitcher Zack Wheeler and catcher Travis D’Arnaud.

Surprisingly, someone close to Alderson’s told Martino the the Mets GM does not have any particular attachment to either of those players, simply because he traded for them.

The Mets had already considered, but then declined on trading Wheeler to get Justin Upton or Wil Myers, during the Winter Meetings.

There’s nothing  close here so don’t get the wrong idea. But usually where there’s smoke there’s fire so let’s keep an eye on this.

That said, the Mets obviously need a marquee outfielder and they have to stop playing pretend with this current group of flawed outfielders, many of whom wouldn’t be starting on a lot of teams not named the Mets.

Just a few minutes ago, Sandy Alderson, through a conference call, spoke to a few of our fellow New York Mets bloggers including myself, Matt Cerrone and Micheal Baron from MetsBlog.com, Jason Fry of Faith and Fear In Flushing, and Kerel Cooper of On the Black.com just to name a few. The topics ranged from the Winter Meetings which capped off today in Orlando to the overall direction Sandy Alderson wants to take the Mets in the coming years.

Here is some of what Sandy Alderson discussed -

• He would have NEVER accepted the position to be the General Manager of the New York Mets if he was forced into a “Moneyball-esque” type of approach.
• He believes that in spite of the current financial constraints that if the team were to be in contention by the All Star break, he would hope if not even expect ownership to provide him the necessary finances to acquire talent as he deems necessary.
• He wants fans to understand that New York is NOT Oakland and the decisions made there do not effect decisions he has and will make in New York.

Many of our fellow bloggers were able to ask questions regarding many topics including his overall philosophy regarding player development. 

• He believes in using both Metrics and traditional scouting to achieve his goals
• He relied heavily on scouting for this past Rule 5 draft
• He also said that the non-tendering of Chris Carter and John Maine and the predisposed realization that Pedro Feliciano may sign elsewhere, does not concern him very much.

He also understands the fans’ frustrations and concedes that this past Winter Meeting wouldn’t assuage that frustration.  We discussed potential acquisitions, emphasizing on starting pitching, and Alderson stated that he’s been in contact with more doctors than players agents so far.  That could be in regards to both Jeff Francis and Chris Young who both have had injuries the past few years.

He was very candid about his relationships with players, as he puts is professional and friendly and warned of becoming too friendly and non-professional with players.  Perhaps a Freudian slip and a nod to his predecessor? 

He impressed me the most when he said that he wants to maintain contact, within the constraints of his busy schedule, with those of us in the blogosphere.  In fact he went on to say that he believes bloggers represent an even more important role than any other in the media as he would be able to express his viewpoints to us and have a dialog regarding them. 

I was lucky enough to squeeze in the final question to Sandy and I asked him about his background as a Marine and how that played into the person he is today and the decisions he has to make on a daily basis.  He feels that his training as a Marine helped him to forge the structure and discipline needed to run the New York Mets, considering the market we are in.  He believes in being aggressive but with good judgement which in turn should lead to good decision making.  In the end, what more could anyone ask of Sandy Alderson and just about anyone else.

All in all it was certainly a great experience to have the General Manager of the New York Mets make himself accessible this way and hopefully again in the future. 

There is life in Flushing Mets fans.  Patience.

Remember the miracle of 1969? What an amazin’ year? Tom and Jerry, Cleon and Agee, Swoboda and Shamsky, Buddy and Johnny. Johnny??? Who the hell was Johnny?

The Frank I’m referring to was Mets GM Frank Cashen. The Johnny from 69 was GM Johnny Murphy. Great baseball memories, the common history that we all share as Mets fans, stem from the memories created by the players, not the front office. I remember Jesse dropping to his knees after whiffing Marty Barrett and tossing his glove to the heavens. I don’t recall Frank Cashen doing the same with his bow-tie.

Lately it seems as if the Mets have become a front office first and a baseball team second. We’ve become a bunch of suits who happen to control 25 guys in a uniform. Yes, Baseball is a business but it should only be a business to those in the office and not to us fans who hand over money for tickets and merchandise. To us, it’s still a game.

However Mets fans take the side of ownership more then the side of the players. I’m not about to get into the pros and cons of our new GM vs. our old GM. My concern, however, is this: For the last 3 years, Omar had every move, or non-move, second guessed and third guessed and torn apart. Our new GM has been given a free ride. Mets fans are so hungry to win that we have put Alderson on a pedestal, above being second guessed. He is beyond reproach.

I hearken back to the words George W. Bush spoke almost a decade ago: You’re either with us or against us. Speaking out against Sandy Alderson is tantamount to treason in Mets Nation.

The majority of fans were hoping Bobby V. would make a triumphant return. Others were clamoring to see Wally Backman in the dugout once again. We would have been okay with Clint Hurdle. But when the great and powerful Alderson chose Terry Collins, one who few would’ve even listed in the top 5, we all decide to give him a pass. In Alderson we trust.

Dan Uggla signs with the Braves. That’s 2bman Dan Uggla, a position we desperately need to upgrade. And while this happens, Alderson sits by. No one’s upset. We disregard the fact that Uggla has averaged 32 HR’s, 96 RBI’s and a 494 slugging percentage the last 3 years, saying he’d be a defensive liability. Uggla’s fielding percentage has been 978 over this time frame. Chase Utley’s, for example, is only 983. But I don’t hear anyone in Philly wanting to trade him.

Adam Dunn goes to the White Sox. Alderson does nothing. Mets fans don’t say a word. Adrian Gonzalez goes to Boston. Alderson does nothing. Mets fans don’t say a word.

Now, Jaysen Werth goes to Washington. Washington, the only team in the division worse then us last year. Alderson does nothing. Mets fans scoff at the salary he is getting. Of course what no one mentioned is that Werth hit 419 in Nationals Park last year, higher then any other stadium.

John Maine, bothered by physical problems, is released. However, Alderson has no indication of dumping Oliver Perez, bothered by mental problems. Fans say nothing.

I have several friends who are Yankee fans. Over the past 2 weeks, they have been livid, furious, over the way Cashman and Steinbrenner played hardball with Derek Jeter. Last year, the Yankee captain hit just 270 with a 340 OBP, both career lows. But when all the political wrangling and posturing was done, the Yankees came through and awarded Jeter $51 million for 3 years. Why? His numbers don’t warrant it. But the Yankees most likely did it cause of what Jeter HAS done, not cause of what he WILL do. And also, to appease the Yankee fan base. The fans want Jeter to retire a Yankee and now, he will. They want to see him get 3000 hits while wearing pinstripes. And now he will.

Yankee fans would riot if Jeter would play anywhere else. Fans took the side of the player. On the flip side, Mets fans are practically drooling to get rid of Beltran. And Reyes. And I’m sure if some team offered us 3-4 good rookies for Wright, we’d do that, too. Especially if the all-knowing Sandy Alderson said it was good business.

Fellow blogger Craig Lerner reported in an article about Alderson’s reaction to the Werth signing. When our GM arrived in Orlando for the winter meetings he was greeted with the news of Werth going to the Nationals for 7 years/$126 million. Alderson’s reaction: “That’s a long time and a lot of money. I thought they were trying to reduce the deficit in Washington.”

I like his response. It’s good to know that if this whole GM thing doesn’t work out in NY, maybe he can get a gig at The Improv.

As the final day of the Winter Meetings comes to a close, the Mets fly back to New York much like the same team that arrived on Sunday.

Any and all dreams of blockbuster trades and big free agent signings slowly dissipate into the same pessimistic feelings we ended the season with.

There will be no press conferences to announce a major signing like last year when the Mets made so much noise. Instead we leave with a whimper, and the only noise you’ll hear is the sound of Omar’s taxi screeching to the airport.

You kind of had a strong indication that nothing significant would happen when Fred and Jeff Wilpon both decided to brush the Winter Meetings aside and remain in New York to take in some holiday shopping. (No not that Holliday.)

For Omar and the Mets, this Winter Meetings was more like shopping at Best Buy with your credit cards all maxed out and only twenty bucks in your pocket and some spare change in your car’s cup holder.

Despite our dashed hopes, the reality is that there were no big screen plasma TV’s for any of the other MLB teams either. The three biggest free agent prizes are still on the shelf collecting dust.

Yes, the Yankees made some noise with their three team trade, but with Granderson being the biggest name in that deal, I would hardly classify it as a blockbuster.

Omar Minaya holds out hope that the Mets will definitely get things done, and this afternoon he preached patience to Mets fans before heading back to his hotel room and packing up his belongings for the long trip home.

“We have a pretty good idea of what we want to do,” Minaya said. “We have a Plan A, we have a Plan B. We hope our Plan A, we can get that done. But you have to be ready for a Plan B and you have to be ready for a Plan C. We’re not just kind of in the dialog stage,” he added. “I think we have a good idea what some of those free agents are looking for, and I think it’s fair to say that the process is further ahead than it was when we got here.”

We reported earlier that the Mets have made at least two offers before departing, and another report puts the number at 3-4 offers. Either way, it’s become quite evident that this off season has become a very slow moving market.

Don’t let the silence of the last few days bring you down. Instead, let’s wait and see how things develop.

Nobody hates waiting more than I do. Like you I want everything yesterday. But as long as the players that I really want are still out there (Lackey, Bay, Holliday), the chance that they could be on the Mets Opening Day roster still exists.

So hang in there…

Earlier today, Omar Minaya spoke to Melvin Roman, the agent for free agent catcher Yorvit Torrealba.  If Bengie Molina continues to ask for a three-year deal, the Mets might consider Torrealba.

However, if you recall, two years ago the Mets had signed Torrealba to a three-year, $14.4 million deal before they decided to trade for Brian Schneider instead.  Roman filed a grievance against the Mets after they reneged on the deal with his client.

Should the 31-year-old Torrealba and his agent decide to leave the past in the past, the Mets would be competing for his services with the Giants and his current team, the Rockies.  The Blue Jays and Royals have also expressed interest.

According to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, Torrealba appears to want a deal similar to the one signed by Ivan Rodriguez Monday night with the Washington Nationals.  Pudge put his John Hancock on a two-year, $6 million contract to play for the last place Nats.

Although Torrealba would like to remain with the Rockies, he is splitting time behind the plate with the younger Chris Iannetta.  Thomas Harding of MLB.com is reporting that the catching priority for the Rockies appears to be signing Iannetta to a multi-year deal, although they will still consider bringing back Torrealba.

The Mets can guarantee Torrealba more playing time and more money than a team like the Rockies can.  However, did the Mets burn their bridges with the catcher in 2007 when they walked away from their deal?

If the Mets do sign him, they’ll be getting a catcher who finished the 2009 season with a .291 batting average, to go with 2 HR and 31 RBI in only 64 games.  Torrealba has played in over 100 games only once in his career (2007).  He hit .255 that season, with 8 HR and 47 RBI.  If the Mets get him, it will surely not be for his offense.  However, to his credit, he is a fine handler of pitchers.  His ability to throw runners out took a hit in 2009 as he only caught eight baserunners stealing in 57 attempts (14% success rate), but he did not make a single error last season.

If the Mets are going to throw Ivan Rodriguez money at Torrealba, then they should have thrown it at Ivan Rodriguez.  I’m not a fan of Torrealba.  If they can’t sign Bengie Molina, then they should consider other options before considering Yorvit Torrealba.  At the very least, they should get a catcher who’s played more than 100 games in a season if they plan on using him to catch that many games.  Torrealba is not that man.  Let’s hope Omar takes a pass on Torrealba even if Molina can’t be signed.

Edwin Jackson yesterday was also rumored to be joining the Mets, but that rumor was also shot down less than 20 minutes later.  Unfortunately, we live in an age where the quest to break the news, outweighs the responsibility to accurately report the news, and it frequently leads to the kind of inaccurate reporting we saw on Day 1 of the 2009 Baseball Winter Meetings.

Regardless, those rumors did get me to think about what I would like to see happen at the winter meetings for the Mets this year. 

My wish list for the winter meetings begins with a starting catcher. I’m hoping that the Mets are done signing every backup catcher on the market, and will now focus on acquiring a starting catcher for the 2010 season.  As we all know, the team is very high on Bengie Molina and would prefer to sign him, but the problem is that Molina is said to be wanting a 3 year deal.  There’s no way that the Mets can give into him.  Omar cannot cave into any of the pressure that Molina and his agent are putting on him regardless of how much he wants him.  It’s very unlikely that any other team would give Molina a 3 year deal, and Omar cannot give in to the players demands as he did last year when he agreed to give Oliver Perez a 3 year deal.

It’s important to remember that the 2010 starting catcher would be a one year stop gap, and that Josh Thole, barring a major setback, will be the everyday catcher for the Mets in 2011.  The Mets did sign a very good defensive catcher last week in Henry Blanco, and they also have Omir Santos and Chris Coste. Rod Barajas is still available and would be a good alternative to Molina, and Dioner Navarro could possibly be non-tendered and become available as well. The bottom line is that the Mets have options and are the ones sitting in the driver’s seat, not Molina.

The second item on my wish list is to get a starting pitcher.  The Blue Jays are reportedly taking offers for their ace Roy Halladay, and besides the huge cash outlay that Halladay would require in an extension. it’s going to require a bunch of top prospects be sent to Toronto in exchange for Halladay’s arm.  The Mets farm system is not very deep at all, and trading away our best prospects will set this organization back so far it could take years to recover.

It’s imperative that the Mets focus all of their attention toward signing free agent John Lackey.  He will not cost as much per year as Halladay, and of course he won’t cost the Mets any of the prospects that Halladay will.  The  Mets need to sign Lackey and then go after a second tier pitcher like Joel Pineiro, Randy Wolf, and Staten Island’s own Jason Marquis, who wants desperately to be a Met.

Finally I want Matt Holliday.  He will cost a ton of money, but his bat and power is much needed for this team next season and beyond.  He is not exactly the best defensive player, but he is still an upgrade over what we had last season. Holliday would be a force in the lineup and provide much needed protection for David Wright.

I know my list is long and costly, but this is what I believe the Mets need to do for them to be competitive next season.

What I’d like to know is this.  The Mets have been saying that their top priority at the Winter Meetings is to acquire pitching.  If this is indeed the case, then why does it appear that they’re signing or attempting to sign every catcher this side of Hobie Landrith?  Is Omar Minaya thinking of Casey Stengel’s famous words when they drafted the aforementioned Landrith with their first pick in the 1961 expansion draft?

When asked about the signing of Landrith when there were other players the Mets could have drafted to become the cornerstone of their fledgling franchise, Stengel said the following:

“You gotta have a catcher or you’re gonna have a lot of passed balls.”

I get that the Mets need a catcher for 2010.  Brian Schneider has signed with the Phillies and Omir Santos is not a #1 catcher.  But regardless of who the Mets sign to be their top catcher next season, he is not going to be the long-term solution there.  It appears as if Josh Thole will be the full-time catcher for the Mets by 2011.  The Mets should just settle on one catcher instead of spending all of their Monopoly money on houses for Mediterranean Avenue and Baltic Avenue.  If they continue to sign every catcher available, they’re not going to have the resources to put hotels on Park Place and Boardwalk.

Make up your mind, Omar.  Do you want to have the fewest passed balls in baseball or do you want to put together the best team so that the fans won’t continue to dress as green seats for games in September?  While you were attempting to sign every backstop available, other teams are already signing potential players that would help them, even at catcher.  (The Nationals signed Ivan Rodriguez to a two-year deal worth $6 million, according to Yahoo’s Tim Brown on his Twitter page.)

I’m usually a patient person, but come on.  I’m tired of other teams getting effective players the Mets could have had, while we get scrubs and past-their-prime players.  If the Mets come back from the Winter Meetings with their fifth and sixth-string catchers and don’t come back with a top-notch pitcher or their starting leftfielder for 2010, this team might continue to resemble the teams Casey Stengel used to manage.  The fans might have bought into it then, but they surely won’t buy into it now.

In 2008, we suffered through another miserable bullpen, and it seemed like money would be no object to revamp it in the off season. GM Omar Minaya was under the gun to retool the bullpen and deliver a winner. This year, the details of need are different, but the gist is the same. Minaya will under even more pressure to deliver a winner after suffereing though a ridiculous number of injuries and a barren farm system.

The Winter Meetings were in Las Vegas a year ago, and we were witness to a very interesting turn of events:

Hot and Cold

The 2008 Winter meetings were home to two huge deals for the team, which would turn out to have strong and opposite results. The Mets signed Francisco Rodriguez for 3 years/ $37 million; much less than the 5/$75 mil he was anticipating after setting the single-season saves record. Not bad considering that the Mets were the one team that Frankie knew had the money he wanted, and the Mets were looking for the best of the bunch.

The following day, The Mets, Mariners, and Indians swung a three way trade that had All-Star closer J.J. Putz coming to Flushing. Among the notable players the Mets dealt were Aaron Heilman, Mike Carp, and Endy Chavez to Seattle; and Joe Smith to Cleveland. In two fell swoops, it looked like Citi field would be home to the best back-end of the bullpen in the National League.

Or so we thought…

That’s What You Get For Waking Up In Vegas

The Putz deal would go on to be one of the worst trades by the organization this decade. Putz would get injured in May and miss the rest of the season with a bone spur. And ironically, Billy Wagner ends up coming back from Tommy John Surgery, and Putz would never return from his bone spur.

As for the players we gave away, Heilman was later dealt to Chicago, where he was far from inspiring. Endy Chavez suffered a terrible knee injury and missed the rest of the season, and will miss part of this season. Joe Smith only pitched 34 innings due to rotator cuff injury. Mike Carp actually had a good run after he was called up by the M’s, though he is blocked at 1B. We also got Sean Green and Jeremy Reed, but with Reed a non-tender candidate, it looks like the inconsistent reliever Green may be the only thing we have to show for this “blockbuster.”

But this year…

Shut Up and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Simply put, Omar Minaya’s best deal was his own, as it forced the Wilpons to keep him rather than eat his contract. This was one year he’s like to forget.  Fans can complain in blogs, radio call-ins, or the Mets Merized Chatroom all they want, but the only way to put pressure is to stop paying for the team. The Wilpons have a new stadium that they need to fill, and people will not show up to watch a AAA team, injuries or not. The front office traveled the talk show circuit in October saying that money will be no object. Well, show us. Last year, we fixed the bullpen (or at least it looked that way), but this year we have more holes to fill.

How can they make moves for fans and quality players?

If You Want Me, You’re Gonna Have To Break The Bank

The Mets, according to random rumors, are not expected to be big players in the meetings. Other fan comments (you know, the ones that start with “If I were the GM…”) seem to choose between one big move or a few smaller ones. It may be unlikely that we see any of the second-tier starters go early, as pitchers like Marquis, Harden, etc. will wait to see what John Lackey gets.

Omar Minaya made a statement supporting the likelihood of more trades than signings. Tom Terrific pointed out in his column yesterday that money is the big factor in deals, and it’s true.  But as Joe D. will point out, value is everything, as you can’t just go pumping money into a three year deal for Oliver Perez (wait…). Most likely candidate to be signed looks like Bengie Molina, the only haggle will be how many years. How much will that leave for a #2 starter and a power hitter?

I wish a Katy Perry lyric had the answer to that.

Till Next Time

But those great days pretty much ended with the end of the reserve clause. Now, for the most part, a team’s success isn’t based mainly on whether their organizations have astute GMs and scouts, but whether their owners have big bucks and cable networks providing them millions to throw at free agents. (I don’t buy the argument that you still need smart scouts when deciding which top free agents you’re gonna buy. If every team had the same budget, every team would have tried to sign Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia.)

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still be checking the baseball blogs every 15 minutes this week to find out who got signed, who got traded and whether we’ll have to draw up the petition to get Omar fired. But the Winter Meetings will never again be like December 1973, when 26 trades were made involving 58 players. How do I have that stat at my finger tips? Not because of the internet. It’s because that year, in spite of still grieving over the Mets loss to Oakland in the World Series (Yogi, please don’t pitch Seaver on three days rest!), I was so juiced about the Winter Meetings I decided that my ear would be glued all week to a transistor radio (remember those?) when I wasn’t in a college class and I would meticulously write down every single trade (including the waiver deals and the ones for cash) on 3 by 5 index cards. I didn’t know then I would be chronicling one of the busiest Winter Meetings ever. Willie Davis for Mike Marshall. Jimmie Winn for Claude Osteen. Steve Stone (and three other guys) for Ron Santo. Lou Piniella for Lindy McDaniel. Even Tommie Agee was traded that week–from the Cardinals to the Dodgers. I was completely jazzed even though all the Mets did that week was count their losing World Series share.

You wouldn’t think those index cards filled with 1973 Winter Meetings trades would have much value, but like the anal pack rat I can sometimes be, I saved them in a small box where they could remain in pristine condition like my old baseball cards (before I stupidly tossed them out). In spite of free agency, the Winter Meetings continued to warm the cockles of my cockles. Then in the fall of 1977, my senior year of college, I was hired as an intern at the late, great SPORT Magazine, the publication that I adored as a kid growing up wanting to be a sports writer. Like a male version of Ugly Betty, I got coffee for the editors, clipped newspapers for the research department and fact-checked features by writers like Dick Schaap, Dave Anderson and even Woody Allen. After a few months on the job and getting a few short items in the front of the magazine, I summoned up the courage to suggest writing a feature for our December 1978 issue (which hit the stands in November) that would be a labor of love: talk to GMs about the science of making baseball trades.

To my amazement, the editorial staff decided to give the kid a shot. I decided I would build most of the piece around an interview with a recently retired GM since active guys probably wouldn’t want to reveal trade secrets (no pun intended). At that time, veteran Boston Red Sox General Manager Dick O’Connell had left the team the year before and he agreed to meet me in Boston. As nervous as Mike Pelfrey when there’s a man on first, I met O’Connell at one of those exclusive clubs where wealthy and conservative Boston brahmins smoke cigars and sip brandy. As a middle class kid from the Bronx, I was a tad intimidated and hoped I wouldn’t balk. But it was O’Connell who wouldn’t talk. Every question I asked about what goes into making a baseball trade was met with short, single syllable answers. And I hadn’t even yet asked him how in the name of Babe Ruth he could have traded Sparky Lyle to the Yankees for Danny Cater in 1972. As the interview went on, I felt my story slipping into the reject pile. I wouldn’t have been surprised if one of my editors had suddenly shown up to pull me from the game.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. I had to pull something out of my hat. Instead I reached into my briefcase and grabbed my entire batch of 1973 Winter Meetings index cards. I nervously fumbled through them until I found one that read: December 7, 1973–Boston Red Sox trade pitchers Lynn McGlothen, John Curtis and Mike Garman to St. Louis Cardinals for pitchers Reggie Cleveland, Diego Segui and infielder Terry Hughes (the same day O’Connell also acquired Juan Marichal from the Giants for cash). I stuck the card right in front of O’Connell’s nose and practically screamed, “Why did you make this trade?” The interview was over.

That particular tale has a happy ending. Although one editor wanted my story idea killed, I begged the editor in chief to give me a couple of weeks to phone interview every GM who would talk with me so I could cobble a story together. I tracked down a bunch of guys, including then Mets’ GM Joe McDonald who revealed the inside story of how he made the Tom Seaver deal with the Reds (on the urging of his son Jody, now a radio sports jock, he wouldn’t make the trade unless the Reds included Dan Norman). Given Seaver was (and still is) my baseball idol and that June 15, 1977 was one of the worst days of my life, I had to resist the temptation to tell Mr. McDonald where he could stick it and if he could give me M. Donald Grant’s home address.

But 31 years after my story on the trading game was published in SPORT, I still love the Winter Meetings, even if deals are made for a slew of reasons that have nothing to do with the actual ability of the players. Every morning and evening this week, I’ll be yakking on my cell phone with my friend Craig discussing whether Omar Minaya had redeemed himself or is still a bumbling idiot without a clue. Do you think Omar can get Seaver back?