By kevink (72.130.177.236) on Saturday, December 02, 2006 - 04:46 pm:

Surprising, there's still hope w/Zito:

http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061201&content_id=1749420&vkey=news_oak&fext=.jsp&c_id=oak

By eyleenn (71.131.31.125) on Saturday, December 02, 2006 - 05:29 pm:

I wouldn't mind one more year of Zito. I'd like to see the A's keep Payton, too. A little surprising to read that they would move Swish back to the OF.

By oaktownfan (71.146.81.242) on Saturday, December 02, 2006 - 06:06 pm:

Zito isn't coming back, no freakin way, it'd be miracle if it happens.

By eyleenn (71.131.31.125) on Saturday, December 02, 2006 - 06:38 pm:

Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?!?

By pachyderm (207.177.237.4) on Saturday, December 02, 2006 - 09:58 pm:

The Rangers are also interested in Piazza, too.

By oaktownfan (71.146.67.232) on Tuesday, December 05, 2006 - 02:09 pm:

Seems like the Rangers are always going after the same players the A's are targeting.

Zito is heading to the NYM, it'd be a shock if he signed with anybody else.

They'll give him the money, the NYM need a younger pitcher, and NYC is the biggest media market...NYM seems like the best fit for Zito.

By raiderjohn (65.168.177.49) on Tuesday, December 05, 2006 - 02:18 pm:

Piazza's camp values winning and California.

Zito's not too happy about Dalla's metroplex, but if the money is right.....it'll be an upset if NY doesn't get him.

Lofton's being tossed around as the CF for 2007 in Texas....as the bridge to the big CF free agent crop next winter.

34 million for Padilla, 40 million possibly for Meche....from the Royals....this market is getting out of hand. E-Lo looks like a bargain.

By oaktownfan (71.146.85.201) on Thursday, December 07, 2006 - 03:46 pm:

I heard on a interview yesterday on KNBR with Russo from NYC and he said the NYM have a budget set and aren't willing to bust it to sign Zito for a 6/7 year deal worth around 100 million. Russo said he would be stunned if Zito is a NYM when it's all said and done. Said the NYM even tried to sign Padilla.

Wow, if this is true, then you'd think it'd come down to SF and TEX for Zito's services. Unless one of the SoCal teams makes a run at him which I'm beginning to doubt as the days go by.

By oaktownfan (71.146.85.201) on Thursday, December 07, 2006 - 07:55 pm:

Saw on one of the local TV sports segments saying the NYY now are maybe leading the "Zito sweepstakes".

By eyleenn (71.131.54.49) on Thursday, December 07, 2006 - 09:55 pm:

From an article in the NY Times today regarding the Mets' interest in possible trade(s)with the A's after acquiring Ambiorix Burgos (one of Bill King's favorite baseball names) from the Royals:

"Hampered by elbow, back and oblique injuries the past two seasons, Harden has a 30-16 career record. Of equal interest to many teams is his palatable $13.5 million contract that runs through 2009. Oakland would have little interest in trading Harden unless it could receive a package starting with Lastings Milledge and Aaron Heilman. Now that the Mets have added Burgos, Minaya may feel a little more comfortable trading Heilman.

Still, that is a substantial price for an injury-prone pitcher, especially when the Mets have 41-year-old Orlando Hernández and Pedro Martínez, who will not pitch until at least next July. The Mets, however, must consider such a deal because Zito may continue to price himself out of their range. If Jason Schmidt, who is almost six years older and not as durable, can receive a three-year deal for $47 million from the Dodgers, then Zito may expect to command a deal that would be worth twice as much. The Mets are adamant that they will not offer that much money or go longer than five years."

By eyleenn (71.131.54.49) on Thursday, December 07, 2006 - 09:56 pm:

Link for above article:

http://select.nytimes.com/mem/tnt.html?emc=tnt&tntget=2006/12/07/sports/baseball/07mets.html&tntemail1=y

By oaktownfan (75.0.161.227) on Thursday, December 07, 2006 - 10:02 pm:

Always a risk to trade away a talent like Harden when he probably has the best stuff still in the entire A's org. I don't know, I'd rather trade Blanton if you could, but I guess Beane has a huge man crush on Milledge.

Would still rather see maybe going after one of the TB OFs offering Harden in that kind of package.

Boy, really want to see Zito sign elsewhere...listening to KNBR the past 24-36 hours and their hosts/fans drooling over the chance to land Zito is getting tiring.

By okplayer (24.4.88.85) on Thursday, December 07, 2006 - 10:07 pm:

i'd like him to sign with the gnats simply b/c i'd like to see him pitch on a regular basis...scratch that...there's always mlbtv.com. but seriously, zito does the a's the least damage if in the nl. in the a's best interests that he go to sf over ny.

By eyleenn (71.131.54.49) on Thursday, December 07, 2006 - 10:12 pm:

The thought of BZ pitching for the gnats makes me ill. I'm keeping my fingers crossed he ends up with the Mets.

By oaktownfan (75.0.161.227) on Thursday, December 07, 2006 - 10:12 pm:

I don't want any homegrown A's player to sign with the Halloween colored team across the bay.

Can you imagine their fans, hosts, broadcasters slurping up to him and then taking their jabs at the A's org and fans having Zito playing for them for the next 5+ years possibly.

I'd rather see the NYY succedd with Zito over seeing him cross the Bay listening and watching the crap we A's fans have gotten used to from this biased Bay Area media the past decade.

By pachyderm (207.177.237.4) on Friday, December 08, 2006 - 11:09 am:

Nobody on SF side mentions that Zito wants to stay in California, it will be SOUTHERN California. Hey L.A., Schmidt, Wolf, Zito and Penney looks like a good rotation.

By bruin1946 (207.101.240.163) on Friday, December 08, 2006 - 11:33 am:

$16 to $20 mil for Baroids knocks the Giants out of the Zito race if they were ever really in it.

By eyleenn (206.173.235.246) on Friday, December 08, 2006 - 01:34 pm:

Vicious piece by Tim Kawakami re the gnats/Barroids. I love it!

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/baseball/mlb/san_francisco_giants/16191898.htm

By raiderjohn (65.168.177.49) on Friday, December 08, 2006 - 01:41 pm:

Like someone put it elsewhere, Halloween Team...boy rebuild, rebuild has been the call of some of the fans/pundits out there....boy after Molina, Roberts, Durham were signed up.....the writing was on the wall, Sabean was spending for this year...their problem....

By kevink (72.130.177.236) on Friday, December 08, 2006 - 03:07 pm:

We all knew the Giants were going to end up with Bonds.
No one else wanted him.
And the gints have to keep bonds to keep butts in the seats, and so that he "gets the record" in orange and black.

Bad move for them throwing up to $20M for 20 HRs, 70 RBI, .280 and lots of missed games, but they had no choice from a financial perspective.

By finleyunplugged (205.225.207.97) on Friday, December 08, 2006 - 05:52 pm:

Thanks for posting the the Merc link, Ey. It reminded me to check on the news from SJSU, which is all good, as Dick Tomey thumbs his nose at Stanford and re-ups for another two years!

If you are sick of Wolff, Bonds and all the rest of the schmucks in pro sports, you need to get behind Dick Tomey. Here is a guy who is a great teacher, a true sportsman and all class.

Go Spartans!

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/colleges/san_jose_state/16191931.htm

By oaktownfan (71.146.105.97) on Friday, December 08, 2006 - 08:18 pm:

My god, these idoit KNBR hosts and callers think that the siging of Bonds may have cost them the chance to sign Zito. LMAO

Zito was NEVER, repeat NEVER, gonna resign and come back in the Bay Area to play. If he was staying on the west coast, it's gonna be in LA or SD.

There is talk I heard that the NYM maybe softening up on their hard budget plan they had earlier this week. I still see Zito signing with them when it's all said and done.