What a difference a few months can make…

The last time I made the effort to sit down and work on one of these, it was week 1 in the NFL, and the Mets were playing relevent baseball. Since then, the Mets suffered their second straight collapse, the Giants and Jets have emerged as legitimate NFL contenders, and the Knicks look like a halfway decent team with promise down the road.

Now, fast forward to this week. The MLB Winter Meetings started off slow. The big offseason stories were Sabathia, Teixeira, and K-Rod for the most part. The Yankees offered CC Sabathia an initial six year, $140 million contract well before Thanksgiving, which was about $40 million more than the next highest offer from the Brewers. I, like many other people, felt like Sabathia didn’t want to be a Yankee because the Yankee deal was on the table for weeks, and Sabathia never made any indication that he was interested. It seems Mr. Sabathia made liars out of a lot of people.

There were so many reasons not to sign with the Yankees. He likes to hit, therefore a National League team would be a better fit. He’s originally from northern California, so a west coast team would be the likely choice. So based on what we knew of Sabathia, his options would include the Giants, Dodgers, and LA Angels. But let’s not be so quick to judge Sabathia and say he’s money hungry. The Giants, as interested as they might have been, had already invested a $126 million in Barry Zito, who is doing absolutely nothing to show that he deserves it. The Giants simply wouldn’t be able to afford CC. The Dodgers also showed interest but were more focused on bringing Manny Ramirez back. Of course its a mistake and they’re stupid… I’m glad we’re on the same page here. Finally, the LA Angels of Anaheim stated they were focused on bringing back Mark Teixeira. Not a bad move. He hits over .300, going back to 2006, his OBP is always around .400, and his slugging percentage is always above .500. Basically, he hits home runs, he drives in runs, and he gets on base. Maybe most importantly, he plays great defense at first base. If the Angels were to pass on Teixeira, they’d have a gaping hole at first base and left field after they declined the option on Garret Anderson.

And, we’re forgetting something very important. The players’ union. The players’ union represents the best interests of the players. If Sabathia were to turn down 140 million bucks to play somewhere else for far less money, the union wouldn’t be doing its job. What they do is put enormous pressure on players to take the higher contract, no matter who offers it.  Its easy to sit here and say that Sabathia should stand by what he wants and stop letting people persuade him, but we’re not in his shoes. Personally, I like Sabathia as a player and I don’t know how he’ll respond to New York. Historically, he’s a great regular season pitcher, but he’s horrible in the playoffs. In five postseason appearances, he’s 2-3 with an ERA of 7.92. He’s never pitched more than six innings in any postseason game, and his two wins came against Seattle in 2001, and the Yankees in 2007.

Its amazing how easily people forget things. Sabathia had a horrible start to the season this past year. He started out 0-3 and was 6-8 by the time he was traded to the Brewers. He went 11-2 down the stretch, uncluding some very clutch performances to help the Brewers get into the playoffs. But, let’s not forget that it was a contract year, and he was coming over from the American League. I’m not saying he’s not great, because he is. I’m saying we shouldn’t be so quick to say he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. He’s a sub-par postseason pitcher, and based on his numbers before the All-Star break this year, he’s no Superman. Now, he’s the highest paid pitcher in history with his 7 year, $161 million contract. I just hope he lives up to it and doesn’t become an albatross like Zito.

The Yankees reportedly have offered AJ Burnett a five year, $85 million contract. Burnett is coming off of an 18-10 year with an ERA of 4.07. Not exactly lights out. If the Yanks don’t land Burnett, there’s still Derek Lowe (14-11, 3.74 ERA)  and Ben Sheets (13-9, 3.09 ERA).  Lowe is a gutty, durable guy who’s used to playing in the AL East. The only knock on him is the fact that he’s already 35. Ben Sheets is a good pitcher but his health issues won’t help him.  Potentially, the Yankees could have a rotation including Sabathia, Wang, Burnett, Sheets, and Joba… or it could be Sabathia, Wang, Joba, Hughes, and Kennedy. Either way, there are some holes to fill.

So how about those Mets? The Mets’ biggest issue going into the offseason was the condition of the bullpen. From the beginning, as a Mets fan, I wasn’t convinced that Francisco Rodriguez was the answer. Yes, we needed a replacement for Billy Wagner. And by no means did I want Brian Fuentes in Flushing for the money he was asking for. So, Omar Minaya went out and pulled off a great signing by getting K-Rod for less than what was expected. The general consensus was that K-Rod would probably recieve a five year deal worth over $75 million, but Minaya was able to get him for three years and $37 million.

Even then, I wasn’t so comfortable with what we had. Hours later, Minaya managed to pull off a 3 team, 12 player trade with the Mariners and the Indians. The Mets sent Aaron Heilman, Endy Chavez, Jason Vargas, and three minor leaguers to the Mariners for JJ Putz, Jeremy Reed, and Sean Green. They also sent Joe Smith to the Indians. The Indians sent Franklin Gutierrez to the Mariners for a minor leaguer as well. I hate the fact that the Mets had to give up Smith, Mike Carp, and Chavez, but we didn’t have to give up any top tier prospects and Putz is a very good closer who’s going to be a setup man for K-Rod. I’m still not completely satisfied with the bullpen, and I think the Mets are going to have to find some more starting pitching.  Right now, the only guarantees in the rotation are Santana, Maine and Pelfrey.  With such a thin possible rotation, I wouldn’t be against the Mets bringing back Oliver Perez. Despite being inconsistent, he had a pretty good year and was very good down the stretch. Bringing back Perez would give the Mets some leeway because they don’t appear to be pursuing AJ Burnett or Derek Lowe. But there are options. Jon Garland is a quality pitcher under 30. His ERA numbers are a bit on the high side, but this is a guy who had back to back 18 win seasons with the White Sox, including an 8-0 stretch in 2005. Randy Wolf is another name that the Mets have been associated with. Its no secret that the Mets were after Wolf a few years ago when he was with the Phillies and they like what he can bring to the rotation. Wolf is an average left handed pitcher who has done well in the National League. He’s had a few down years, so his market value should be relatively low.

Whether the Mets decide to trade for Randy Wolf, sign Jon Garland, or bring back Perez and/or Pedro, these are all cheaper alternatives to signing either Burnett or Lowe. Then throw in the idea of having prospects like Jonathan Niese and Bobby Parnell on the major league roster, suddenly the Mets pitching staff is significantly better than last season.

So let’s recap. The Mets rotation could look like this by April: Santana, Maine, Pelfrey, Perez, Garland. There are possibilities with Niese, Wolf, and Pedro. The Mets rotation could also look like this by April:  Santana, Maine, Pelfrey, Niese, Pedro/Parnell. Obviously, the first one is the better option, but for now, the bullpen (that blew over 30 saves last season) is in way better shape.

As always, here are a few things going on in the sports world that have piqued my interest.

— There’s no way anyone can deny what the Knicks have been able to do with what they have. They’re 10-11, but for a while now they’ve been playing short-handed. As far as Stephon Marbury goes, I think both sides are responsible. The Knicks messed up by telling Marbury to get into shape and playing him in the preseason, only to deactivate him once the season actually started. If thats the case, just buy him out and let him move on. On the other hand, Marbury hurt himself by refusing to play when they needed him. In that situation, its less about pride and its more about putting himself in the right position to get a contract with another team. No one wants a locker room distraction or a bad teammate, no matter how talented he might be.

— A lot of Giants fans are saying that they’d rather lose without Plaxico Burress than win with him. Screw that. I’m being honest. I don’t care who he shot. I want him on the team. If anyone thinks the Giants are better without him, they are sorely mistaken. Shockey was one thing, this is different.

— Well, get ready for the big whoofer, Yankee fans. Your beloved Bombers are about to trade Melky Cabrera for Mike Cameron. Yeah, the same Mike Cameron that annually is among the top 10 in strikeouts.

— Cuttino Mobley is going to retire because of a heart condition. Not only is he retiring, he’s retiring as a Knick. How about that? And this frees up a roster spot for Patrick Ewing Jr.

— So the Suns traded Raja Bell, Boris Diaw and Sean Singletary to the Bobcats for Jason Richardson, Jared Dudley, and a 2010 second round pick. Suddenly, the Suns are dangerous again. Shaq, Amare, Nash, and now J-Rich? Thats scary.

— Kevin Garnett reduces Big Baby Davis to tears the other night when the bench players almost blew a huge lead in the fourth quarter. People forget easily how young some of these guys are.  Same situation happened Nick Saban chastised Manny Wright in Miami and made him cry. By the way, Kevin Garnett, since winning a title… has lost his godamn mind. He’s taunting guards and just being an all around douche. I hope he comes to his senses because he’s usually one of the NBA’s good guys.

ARVE Error: no video ID

— Tim Tebow is going to win another Heisman. Then, he’s going to win the National Championship. Then, he’s going to come back for his senior season and do it all over again. Why? Because Tebow is more than human. There has never been anyone as motivated as Tim Tebow. He’s literally been carrying his team since their loss to Ole Miss.

— Every year, its the same argument. BCS vs. playoff system. I think Nick Saban and Alabama deserve a shot at the National Championship. Its not their fault that they won all their games up until the end of the regular season. Had they lost in September, it’d be a different situation. But hey, until there’s a way to generate money from a playoff system -and I mean BCS money- it’s going to stay this way.

— Personally, I don’t like Sean Avery because he’s a douche and he played for the Rangers. But if all he said was “sloppy seconds”, why is the NHL making a big deal about it? At least he didn’t shoot himself, punch a woman in the face, or start a brawl in the stands.

— I really hope Pacquiao’s win convinces Floyd Mayweather Jr. to come out of retirement… so the Mexicutioner can take out “Money” Mayweather too. Maybe deflate that ego of his.

Any questions or comments can be directed to my email at s_talouis@yahoo.com or sh0tsofeverclear@aim.com.