Billy Wagner a Signs with the.......

[phillybroncosnut]

Mets. No big surprise about the signing. The only shocking part is the SIZE of the contract.
4 years/ $43 million. Wow, I guess the MESS will never learn. Wags MIGHT help the Mess for a 1, maybe even 2, but, that contract will bite them in the arse in years 3 and 4, GUARANTEED.
It would have been nice for the Phils to hang on to Wags but, in the end, Wags, like most athletes these days ran to the place that opened the vault door. I really can't blame him though.
It will be nice to see the Mess with a chit load of money being poured down the drain when both Wags and Pedro's arms fall off simultainously. Add to that the $100 million they pissed away on that flop centerfielder.
No, the Mess never seem to learn do they?

Oh yeah, the Mess had to give up their 1st round pick to the Phils as compensation for the deal. It's the 16th pick overall. I'll take it.

The Phils are now desperate for a closer. They had intentions of having Ugeth Urbina back, but, he has 5 counts of attempted murder hanging over his head so I guess those intentions are not realistic at this point.

Sorry for no link. I just heard the local news here in Philly.

[Jens1893]

well, doesnt surprise me one bit as it had to be expected. not even the size of the contract surprises me. bj ryan´s deal with the jays set the benchmark there.

[Bronco LB 59]

You're right philly, the Mets overpaid big time. Wagner has health issues and he turns 35 next July.

For the money, I would rather sign free agent Kyle Farnsworth. He's a lot younger and has the swagger to be a successful closer for a long-time. He will probably get a contract for less than $20 million.

[-Slap-]

The Mets think they're close, and they might be. Unfortunately for them, Toronto blew the closer market out of sight when they paid the still relatively unproven BJ Ryan more money than Mariano Rivera's getting.

[bendog]

That whole Ugeth Urbina thing is just blown out of proportion, imo.

[-Slap-]

That whole Ugeth Urbina thing is just blown out of proportion, imo.
Venezuela seems like a scary place. The Mrs Venezuela contest is not to be missed, though.

[Rock Chalk]

Wags is overrated.

[-Slap-]

Wags is overrated.
Not that many closers who are better. How many lefthanders in baseball have nastier stuff, even now? Maybe a half a dozen. He has become a bit of a prima donna, though.

[Pendejo]

When I think of Wagner...I think of him getting doinked right in the head with a line drive circa. 1998. That was absolutely hideous to watch, and of course ESPN had great sound on the whole thing. You could really hear the ball thwack against his noggin.

Comebackers are scary enough...but when the pitcher hits/approaches trips on the radar regularly...it's serious.

[-Slap-]

Looks like the Phils are going to replace their tiny closer with another tiny closer.

Phillies Sign Gordon After Losing Wagner (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/02/sports/baseball/02yanks.html)

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/12/02/sports/02yanks184.jpg

[phillybroncosnut]

Looks like the Phils are going to replace their tiny closer with another tiny closer.

Phillies Sign Gordon After Losing Wagner (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/02/sports/baseball/02yanks.html)

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/12/02/sports/02yanks184.jpg


This is the first move that I disagree with that Gillick has made thus far. Gordon is done. He got killed in NY. The only thing I'm wondering is if he didn't perform because he was a set up guy for Rivera instead of the closer. I can't imagine that he is gonna be anything more then average for the Phils this season. I would have loved to see the Phils go after Farnsworth.
Rumor has it, Manny straight up for Abreu. Maybe the Phils don't want to shell out a ton of dough for Farnsworth because they are eating $20 million on Thome and they anticipate the arrival of Manny.

I would do the Abreu for Manny deal in a second! I am a big Bobby supporter but he is now a bit overrated around the country. He is a great hitter but he tends to come up small in the clutch. Add to that his 100+ K's per year and a lack of a glove in right. How the hell he ever won a gold glove is beyond me, or any other east coast writer or fan.

[-Slap-]

Rumor has it, Manny straight up for Abreu. Maybe the Phils don't want to shell out a ton of dough for Farnsworth because they are eating $20 million on Thome and they anticipate the arrival of Manny.

I would do the Abreu for Manny deal in a second! I am a big Bobby supporter but he is now a bit overrated around the country. He is a great hitter but he tends to come up small in the clutch. Add to that his 100+ K's per year and a lack of a glove in right. How the hell he ever won a gold glove is beyond me, or any other east coast writer or fan.
Manny's glove is worse. I'm surprised any National League teams are even entertaining thoughts of acquiring Manny because I think he's a full time DH in another couple years. If you're frustrated because Bobby looks disinterested at times, just wait until you see what Manny's like on a daily basis.

I agree that Gordon will be a shaky closer. He's only had a couple successful seasons in that role during his long career. He would have been a decent signing as a set up man, though.

What are Phils' fans thinking about Rollins these days? He had the great finish last season, but, in my opinion, he was very disappointing the first four months of the year.

[bendog]

Good thing Ubina's over in Venezuela. If he took a machete to either of these guys, they'd be under five foot tall.