Exclusive Interview w/ Iconic Sports Writer Roger Kahn at 12:00 PM Sunday!

If you want to start out your Sunday off in just the right way, join us at 12:00 PM (4/6/08) on BASEBALL TALK Radio with your hosts Carl the Cabbie & Dugout Joe. Our guest will be iconic author and "The Dean of Sports Writers", Roger Kahn. He is the author of over 20 books including the baseball classic, "The Boys of Summer", a narrative about growing up next to Ebbets Field, working for the Herald Tribune in the Jackie Robinson Years, and a collection of interviews with many of the players long after they retired. If you want to discuss anything about Mr. Kahn or baseball, call in between 12:30-1:00 PM at 646-478-4570. We promise you'll get on!

If you want to listen live, or even if you wake up too late and miss the live interview, you can always hear it any time you like by clicking on the link below:

           Baseball Talk w/ Carl the Cabbie & Dugout

As managers trot out one prospect after another, and painstakingly analyze the good, the bad, and the ugly of their prospective teams, fans anxiously tap their collective feet, counting down the days until the regular season kicks off. The long and dreary days of spring training can be just as monotonous for fans as it is for veteran players practicing the "wheel" play or hitting the cut off man for the umpteenth time. So, whenever there's a chance to break up the toil with some fun, or manufactured excitement, players and fans alike get a little giddy.

Giddy is exactly how many baseball fans felt today when the Yankees squared off against the Pirates in what would normally be just another Grapefruit league game. What made this game different was a small lifelong Yankee fan wearing the # 60 in honor of his 60th birthday. Leading off for the Bronx Bombers was none other than comedian Billy Crystal, or the Yankees "Designated Hebrew" (DH) as he likes to call himself. It was a perfect moment of levity and anticipation that makes these ultra-long days of spring barely bearable for the baseball fan.

To his credit, Crystal actually got ahead in the count, 3-1, against Pirates lefty Paul Maholm. He even hit a foul chopper down the first base line. But then Maholm, making sure not to be the butt of jokes for the rest of spring training, bared down. He threw two 88 mph fastballs, that the 60 year old comic swung over, "strike three, yer out!". The fans rose to give him a standing ovation, while Yankees' third baseman Alex Rodriguez retrieved the ball as one more birthday gift, a gift this life-long Yankee fan will probably hold as dear as any of his many entertainment awards.

While this moment might not ever be as memorably odd as 3 ft. 7 in. Eddie Gaedel stepping in the batters  box for the St. Louis Browns; or Grandstand Manager's Day, where thousands of fans got to manage the St. Louis Browns for a game through raised placards; or the White Sox' infamous Disco Demolition Night, legendary major league baseball team owner Bill Veeck (the greatest baseball promoter of all-time) would have been proud.

Bill Veeck Would Have Needed Weight Watchers

On the opposite spectrum of odd promotions, the Pittsburgh Pirates have announced that they will designate certain seating sections this season, "All You Can Eat" sections. So, as Pirate fans gear up to endure a record tying 16th straight losing season, they can anesthetize themselves on all the hot dogs, hamburgers, nachos, or ice cream that they want. And if you're health conscious, don't worry, you can even chow down an unlimited amount of Salad. Ugh!

***Below are You Tube links for anyone who missed Billy Crystal's Yankee AB:

Billy Crystal Strikes Out!

Billy Crystal Strikes Out!---Take Two

Exclusive interview with Tampa Rays' GM and Executive VP of Baseball Operations, Andrew Friedman this Sunday (2/10) at 12:00 PM EST.

Entering his third season overseeing Tampa's baseball operations, Andrew Friedman has added to and helped speed up the improvement of the great talent base he inherited from former GM Chuck Lamar after the 2005 season.

Among some of Friedman's early successes have been the development of long time prospect B.J. Upton, the revitalization of the career of 2007 Most Improved Player Carlos Pena, the continued progress of ace left handed pitcher Scott Kazmir, and the low-cost addition of former Japanese player Akinori Iwamura.

One of Friedman's first moves was to hire a man who had never been a full-time manager in the majors to lead his incredibly young team. So far, so good as the young Rays' players have responded extremely well to Joe Maddon.

Two of Friedman's most important moves to date have been the drafting of left handed stud pitcher David Price in last year's draft and his recent blockbuster deal that sent the multi-talented outfielder Delmon Young to the Twins for top young right hander Matt Garza.

The Rays' system is loaded, the lineup should once again be the youngest in the AL, and the future looks bright for Friedman and his Tampa Bay Rays.

Join us Sunday (2/10) at 12:00 PM EST as we welcome Andrew Friedman as our guest on BASEBALL TALK w/ Carl the Cabbie & Dugout Joe. If you want to tune in live or listen at your own convenience, just click on the link below. If you want to talk to Andrew Friedman, the call in # is 646-478-4570. We'll open the lines around 12:30 PM.

                    Baseball Talk w/Carl the Cabbie & Dugout Joe
                                                     (Click above to listen)

Exclusive Interview w/ NY Post Writer Joel Sherman at 12:00 PM Sunday!

If you want to start out your Super Bowl Sunday the right way, join us at 12:00 PM (2/3/08) on BASEBALL TALK Radio with your hosts Carl the Cabbie & Dugout Joe. Our guest will be acclaimed author, journalist and the NY Post's baseball writer, Joel Sherman. Joel became the Post's New York Yankees' beat writer in 1989 and has been a columnist with the Post since 1996. He is the author of "Birth of a Dynasty", the ultimate retrospective on the 1996 Yankees and the beginning of the Yankees' latest great run that began in the mid-1990's. If you have a question for Joel or want to discuss anything baseball, call in between 12:30-1:00 PM at 646-478-4570. We promise you'll get on!

If you want to listen live, or even if you wake up too late and miss the live interview, you can always hear it any time you like by clicking on the link below:

           Baseball Talk w/ Carl the Cabbie & Dugout

                                      (Click Above To Listen)

The routine mantra of most GMs is, "never give a starting pitcher more than a five year deal". The thinking being that the proclivity for injury in that time span is just too high. But, if there's one exception to that rule, it is probably Johan Santana- the best pitcher in baseball.

SI.com and FoxSports.com have just confirmed a deal between the Twins and Mets for Johan Santana. The Mets now have a 72-hour window to come to terms with Santana on a contract extension. It's believed that the Mets would like to sign the left handed 28-year old pitcher to a five-year deal, while Santana is seeking a six or seven year deal. If you consider that Barry Zito, who is ten months older than Santana, received a seven year deal from the Giants last season, Santana is almost a lock to receive the same length of contract. It is also highly unlikely that the Mets would agree to this deal if they weren't willing to meet Santana's contract demands.

While the nuts and bolts are being fastened, Mets' fans should expect to pop the champagne cork by this Friday at the latest. While the names of the players going from the Mets to the Twins hasn't been confirmed, USA Today is reporting that the quartet heading to Minnesota will be, OF Carlos Gomez, SP Deolis Guerra, SP Kevin Mulvey, and SP Philip Humber. Jon Heyman of SI.com mentions that there has been talk of substituting swing pitcher Jorge Sosa for Humber, and there have been rumors that the the Mets' top prospect, OF Fernando Martinez could still replace Gomez. However,giving more clout to the USA Today report is the news that the Mets did call Gomez back to the states the other day even though his winter ball team was in the midst of the Caribbean World Series.

If the Mets indeed have dealt Guerra, Gomez, Mulvey, and Humber and we were to use the Baseball America's 2008 Top Prospects list as a barometer, then the Mets would be dealing their # 2 (Guerra), # 3 (Gomez), # 4 (Mulvey), and # 7 (Humber) prospects for the right to sign the best pitcher in baseball to a deal that should be the richest contract ever signed by a pitcher. The contract will probably end up looking something like 7-years/$150 Million.

Once the deal is finalized, the Mets will enter the 2008 season with a rotation that will be hard for the rest of the AL East to compete with:

# 1- Johan Santana

# 2- Pedro Martinez

# 3- John Maine

# 4- Oliver Perez

# 5- Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez

So, rejoice Mets' fans, it's almost time to celebrate. Get ready to don your # 57 jerseys, break out your "You Gotta Believe" signs, the Mets just got a WHOLE lot better, and Santana-Mania is about to hit the Big Apple!

                        GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO METS!

                                                                                                           Carl the Cabbie

How much is an all-star RHSP, a solid switch-hitting corner OF, and a gimpy CF who is on the better side of thirty worth in today's market. Well, if you consider wunderkind GM Billy Beane the Alan Greenspan of baseball, the answer is 11 prospects. To be more accurate, that would add up to 3 Gold Star prospects, 3 Blue Chip prospects, 3 Above Average prospects, and 2 Average prospects.

In the space of one month, Billy the bean counter has not only rebuilt the A's farm system with legitimate prospects, he has acquired one of the toughest things to acquire in baseball---lefthanded starting pitching. Of the 11 players acquired in these three deft deals, 4 of them are LHSP, 2 of which are Gold Star, top of the line prospects.

Breakdown of Trades

Dan Haren Deal

Twins GM Bill Smith might want to study this deal when negotiating the bounty he is seeking in return for Johan Santana. If we simply go by Baseball America's 2008 Top Prospects list, Beane  traded his ace pitcher for the Diamondbacks' # 1 (outfielder, Carlos Gonzalez),  #3 (left handed starting pitcher, Brett Anderson), # 7 (outfielder, Aaron Cunningham), and # 8 (first baseman, Chris Carter) prospects, plus two average left handed starting pitcher prospects (Greg Smith and Dana Eveland).

Another way to look at it is that Beane traded an all-star RHSP, who has three financially controllable years left on his contract before he hits free-agency, for what will likely be the A's starting RF in 2009 (Gonzalez); a LHSP (Anderson) that should be a member of the A's rotation by 2010; their possible fourth OF (Cunningham) by 2009; their possible 1B or DH (Carter) by 2010; and two LH pitchers (Smith and Eveland) who could compete in 2008 either as back-end starters or long relievers.

This trade by Beane is another feather in his cap when you consider that by the time the A's are good again, Haren will be a free-agent, a free-agent that the A's would never have been able to afford.

Nick Swisher Deal

This deal might end up even better for the A's than the Haren deal. While Swisher is a solid, young switch-hitting OF/1B with good power, what the A's received fromm the White Sox for him is astonishing. In a three-for-one steal, the A's received the White Sox' three top-prospects. Though this trade occurred before Baseball America's 2008 Top Prospect compilation, OF Ryan Sweeney (Baseball America's # 1 White Sox prospect in 2007), LHSP Gio Gonzalez, and RHSP Fautino De Los Santos almost assuredly would have topped the list.

Gio Gonzalez (the Sox' 2004 # 1 pick) might be ready to contribute as soon as 2008. After having been dealt to the Phillies for Jim Thome in 2005, he was traded back to the Sox for Freddy Garcia in 2007. Only 21 years of age, Gio dominated the Southern league last year in his second season at Double-A. If he continues to improve, he should join fellow southpaw Brett Anderson in the A's rotation by 2009.

While almost every scout who has seen them agrees that Gio Gonzalez and Fautino De Los Santos were the White Sox' top two pitching prospects, some feel De Los Santos could be even better than Gonzalez. De Los Santos dominated A-ball opponents in 2007 and though not as experienced as Gonzalez, many scouts feel he could arrive in the majors in a hurry, possibly as a member of the A's rotation in 2009.

The caveat to this trade could be OF Ryan Sweeney. The left handed hitting 23-year old could end up being a better overall player than Swisher, albeit less power. In 2007 Sweeney probably possessed the best throwing arm in the entire White Sox system, and is a far superior defensive outfielder to Swisher. In  his last two seasons in the minors, he finally started to show some power and because of his short compact swing, his .289 career minor league average should translate well in the majors. Sweeney has a good chance at being the A's fourth outfielder in 2008 and could contend for the starting CF or LF job in 2009.

Mark Kotsay Deal

At the rate Billy Beane is going, he could pass Ricky Henderson on the all-time "steals" list sometime soon. After letting Andruw Jones walk, the Braves needed a CF so badly that they decided to part with their 2005 # 1 pick, relief pitcher Joey Devine, for a 32-year old left fielder whose best days are behind him. Just to make sure the trade was lopsided enough, the Braves threw in A-ball prospect, RHP Jamie Richmond. Kotsay's bum back has been so bad the past two years that he's missed a total of 139 games in that span. Besides grabbing a young power throwing right handed reliever who could turn out to be the perfect set-up man to Houston Street, Beane saves a nice chunk of change, $3-million, for the 2008 season.

While Devine struggled with his confidence through a rough 2006, he was absolutely dazzling in 2007 in Double and Triple-A. Don't be surprised if the 24-year old Devine ends up as one of the best set-up men in the AL when 2008 is all said and done.

Final Overview

By the time 2010 or 2011 rolls around, when Dan Haren is looking for the highest bidder on the free-agent market, and Nick Swisher is spittng sunflower seeds on the bench as the White Sox DH, and Mark Kotsay is looking into his first coaching job, the A's should be ready to contend again.

With probable deals for Joe Blanton and Eric Chavez on the way, the A's farm system will be bulging with top prospects. In three years, if things work out for Beane and his scouts, the A's could be the giant once again looking down at the rest of the AL West. And we can all look back at the winter of 2007-2008, and say that was the year Billy the bean counter built a new beanstalk.

       Amount Billy The Bean Counter Saved A's For 2008

            Mark Kotsay-  $3-Million (A's pick up $5-million of his salary)

            Dan Haren-     $4-Million

            Nick Swisher- $3.5-Million

            *Subtract  approximately $2-Million for the 11 prospects

             Approximate Total Savings For 2008- $8.5-Million

If you want to listen to an insightful round table discussion about the Mitchell Report with three baseball pundits, join BASEBALL TALK  w/Carl the Cabbie & Dugout Joe. Click below to listen:

Mitchell Report Round Table on "BASEBALL TALK" w/Carl The Cabbie & Dugout Joe