Thanksgiving Turkeys

I'm up in Buffalo for Thanksgiving, giving thanks that the streets so recently denuded of their trees are not also covered in snow. That's the usual state of affairs around the holiday -- most backyard football traditions are made possible by the deep, fluffy layer of powder sitting on the lawn next to the gnomes and the patio furniture somebody forget to take in.

None of that this year, which is both fine and unsettling. Of course, there's a couple of other things on my mind that could be producing this uneasy feeling, some of which are baseball related.

But not all. At dinner last night, I actually enjoyed a dish of brussels sprouts. Stranger still, I went back for seconds. These little babies were golden browned with a tugboat full of garlic and copious amounts of lemon and lime juice. Unbelievably good stuff.

What's more, for some reason, our 19-pound bird was curiously meatless. Not dried out or cooked wrong. The turkey just had more "other stuff" inside than actual, delicious white meat. He was big-boned, like Kelly Clarkson. Anyway, my dad salvaged what he could, but it was still a relatively spare haul, which forced us to concentrate on your sweet potatoes and stuffings of the world.

What of the sporting world? Glad you asked. I enjoyed taking in the football games yesterday on the fam's new HD set. It wasn't the first time, but the feeling is different when you're straight chilling in the living room you grew up in, and there's a marvel of technology (it's the mirrors, I've heard) sitting atop the counter in all its majesty.

And so I saw Jo-ey Harring-ton get his revenge on Detroit, Marshall Mathers-style, and Tony Romo increase the odds that he'll upgrade from Jessica Simpson to a Playboy model by like a thousand percent. I didn't see LJ put the first nail into Jake Plummer's career -- that game was on the NFL Network, and like most of the people in the world, I'm not thought highly enough of by my cable operator to have that game available.

Giving me more time, sadly, to think about the nonsense going on in the baseball world, and the havoc playing out in the managerial halls of the baseball class. Everybody said all along that front offices lousy with Advanced Media and broadcasting cash were going to go hog-wild this off-season, and they were right to a point.

But this isn't just hog-wild -- it's pig-foolish.

(No? Ok.)

Take Mark DeRosa, for example. A Penn guy (there you go, Sip) and lifelong utility infielder. A guy who was ran out of Atlanta during the fat years, and couldn't hold down a job with the Rangers until last year. A career 273/.331/.404 hitter.

But hit .296 with 13 HR at age 31, and suddenly you're on board for three years and $13M? Why?

Gary Matthews Jr. to the Angels for five years/$50M is no different. Mr. Matthews, as George Feeny might call him, had a couple of things going for him. The Web Gem of the Year, certainly, and a solid .313/.371/.495 year in center field. Those are good things.

But they're not likely to happen again, much less for five more seasons. Last year was his age-31 campaign. You've signed him for 32-36, when most top-notch centerfielders slow down anyway. Matthews has been, before 2006, a tremendously disappointing fantasy team killer who never had 500 at-bats in a season. And you want him for five years? Why?

Neither of these deals is as egregious as the Juan Pierre deal, touched upon earlier. But the uneasy feeling referenced earlier comes in when I think about what's coming next. Both Sean McAdam and Buster Olney have speculated that in this hyperactive market, trades will become a far more active option.

I think they're right, and thinking of the potential trades out there makes me a bit uneasy.

Here's the Man last week, to ESPN.com:

"I don't think there's enough in the free-agent market to fulfill those needs,"
said Mets GM Omar Minaya, "so the only option is for trades. And I think there's
going to be a lot of activity there."

Well. This has several implications worth hashing out.

1. Heilman is likely to be gone

Yeah, probably. A guy widely viewed as starting material is too valuable in this market to keep around as a second setup guy. Your pen with Wagner-Sanchez-Hernandez-Oliver-Feliciano-Vargas et al can afford to take a hit, if you get back a solid starter.

Given the names out there as bait (Javy Vazquez, Jason Jennings, the D-Train), the Heilman-Blastings package makes more sense than it ever has. And I say that as someone who still thinks the Thrilledge is going to be a star.

2. Barry Zito's price tag grows by the minute

Where will it stop? Five/$75M was thought to be the old ceiling for the lanky lefty, but in this market, what can Boras get him? Is six years so ridiculous for the premier pitcher on the market if some asshole is willing to give Soriano eight? What about $17M per instead of $15M?

I say it is. But I'm not an agent with a major piece of talent, or a panicky GM with a crowd to placate and an overstuffed wallet.

Look for Zito to eventually sign with New York for a pocket-busting deal that has everyone outside the Mets' fanbase shaking their heads in disgust. We'll have to keep our heads low for a while after that one.

3. Pat Gillick is a fucking idiot

We all jumped on it at the time, from Mike and the Mad Dog to Sports Illustrated to the untamed blogosphere to the elite baseball analysts. We were right to do so. It was total and complete asshattery from top to bottom.

Plus, it helped the Yanks, which precisely nobody liked.

But now, given the current market, how bad does the Bobby Abreu trade look? There really aren't words to describe it.

Giving up on one of the best players in the league, a five-tool on-base machine with declining but still present power, because you didn't want to pay him $23M over the next two seasons? That shouldn't play in a big-market town like Philly seven days a week, but now, I doubt the worst teams in either league would cut bait on him at that price.

A guy far superior to Soriano at no cost. No, sir, the playoff-missing Phillies wouldn't want any part of that. But at least Matt Smith threw eight strong innings toward the end of the year...

More coming as I get angrier and angrier.