Kuzul

When Los Angeles Angels' manager Mike Scioscia announced last Thursday that starting pitcher Scott Kazmir would open the season as a member of the starting rotation, he was asked by reporters whether or not Kazmir had earned the spot. “Earned?” Scioscia said. “Define ‘earned.’” Not exactly a stirring vote of confidence.However, Kazmir, who struggled last season with a 9-15 record and a 5.94 ERA, is owed $14.5 million this season.Considering what the Angels gave up in return for him, they are not quite ready to give up on the enigmatic southpaw right away. However, the wait won’t be long. The Angels have one of the better starting rotations in the American League with their top four pitchers (Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, Ervin Santana, Joel Pineiro).But the last thing the Angels can afford is to wonder whether or not they’ll have struggles every fifth day with Kazmir on the mound. "He's ...

After the New York Mets non-tendered Sean Green earlier this month, it was only a matter of time before a team gobbled him up for the potential ‘relief’ he could offer. The time has come, and that team is the Milwaukee Brewers, who are looking to reload this off season to have a productive 2011. This is fine and dandy to us Mets fans because honestly, Sean Green wasn’t all he was hyped up to be. After acquiring Green in the trade that also sent underperforming reliever J.J. Putz to the Mets, Green only appeared in 11 games in 2010, managing eight walks in 9.1 innings of work. That’s not to say he was a total wash as a Met, striking out 54 batters in 69.2 innings in 2009, but with his strained rib muscles moving north to Milwaukee for $875,000 this year, it’s easy to agree that the Mets made an easy ...

The New York Mets and free-agent reliever D.J. Carrasco have agreed to a two-year deal worth $2.5 million according to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com and Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. The deal is pending a physical, but it will more than likely transpire. Carrasco was non-tendered by the Diamondbacks last week and was rumored to have six to eight teams looking to acquire his services, but it was the Mets who prevailed and signed the right-handed reliever. With the loss of Pedro Feliciano and Hisanori Takahashi, the Mets bullpen is in serious shambles. Carrasco’s presence will certainly help bridge the gap from starter to Francisco Rodriguez, but more help will be needed. Carrasco posted a 3.68 ERA, 7.5 K/9 innings and a 47.5 percent ground ball rate split between the Pirates and D-Backs, all stats looking to translate well into spacious Citi Field.  From what has been made public, he is an interesting pitcher to watch ...

The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim enter this holiday season with a rather sizable wish list. Now they might be able to check off three items with one deft move. On Thursday, left-handed relief pitcher Hisanori Takahashi agreed to a two-year, $8 million deal with the Halos. It was not the high-profile signing many are expecting, and media coverage of the deal is all but non-existent. But make no mistake, this is as meaningful a signing in the short term as any deal the Angels will make this offseason. Takashi is as versatile a reliever as they come, having shown the ability to start, fill the setup role and even close games when necessary. And all for less money than it took to lock up the limited and inconsistent Fernando Rodney. A longtime veteran of the Japanese league, Takahashi made his major league debut last year with the New York Mets ...

In a season plagued by underachievement, inconsistency, and injuries, one controllable aspect of the Philadelphia Phillies' 2010 is the bullpen. From the dominant bullpen that lead the Phillies to a World Series title in 2008, earning the nickname the "Bridge to Lidge," the Phillies' relief corps of 2010 took a big step back, finishing 18th in ERA despite pitching the fewest innings in the National League—with only the Seattle Mariners logging more out west in the American League. It was no surprise to hear that the bullpen was GM Ruben Amaro Jr.'s top priority entering the off-season. Even though he has already resigned Jose Contreras, the Phillies still have major question marks thus far. Along with left handed specialist JC Romero, Chad Durbin, middle inning work-horse, is a free agent. The 2010 performances of rookies David Herndon and Antonio Bastardo surely didn't leave opposing hitters shaking in their cleats. Many questions and few possible answers. With ...

The New York Mets have reportedly passed on re-acquiring the services of Hisanori Takahashi. Early today the Mets asked for waivers for Takahashi’s with the intention of giving him his release after the lefty and management could not come to terms on a new deal. Takahashi is looking for a 3-4 year deal between $4-5 million per year while the Mets were only willing to give him a one-year deal with an option for another year at best. Entering his sophomore season, the Japanese south paw will now be able to sign with any team that shows interest and the Mets will not be able to resume talks with him until May 15, presuming he is still on the market by then. Regarding Takahashi, Mets GM Sandy Alderson said: “Hisanori wanted to test the free agent market…We thank Hisanori for his contributions to the Mets in 2010 and wish him ...

The New York Mets were handed an extension to negotiate with reliever Hisanori Takahashi, but with the new deadline just two days away now, it seems odd that they haven't pulled the trigger.Yes, Takahashi has a new agent and yes, new GM Sandy Alderson needs time to evaluate the alternatives, but it's surely a no-brainer to retain the southpaw's services. Takahashi was one of the most valuable cogs in a vastly underwhelming pitching staff in 2010, and there is little doubt that he earned every cent of his $1 million contract.He started as a mid-to-late one-inning reliever, quickly took on the role of a long reliever, made a dozen games as a starter, went back to a mid-innings role and then saved six games as a stand-in closer in September. He can come into a game, face two hitters and leave after five pitches, or he can toss six or ...

An offer has been made to re-acquire the services of Hisanori Takahashi, but unless the Mets significantly up the offer, he is almost certain to walk. Earlier today it was reported by Dave Waldstein of the New York Post that the Mets have offered Takahashi an incentive-leaden one-year proposal. Takahashi is reported as seeking a deal between two to three years and if the Mets don’t significantly up the offer, he will more than likely walk to any of the other 29 remaining teams. This deal, however, was made up before Sandy Alderson took office for the Mets and as he said Friday, “We’re going to look at it hard.” The fact that the deadline to sign Takahashi was extended is a mere sign that a deal could be in place before the new Nov. 5th time limit. Since Takahashi changed agencies, and the flux in ownership after succeeding in finding a new ...

Greetings fantasy baseballers, and welcome to another edition of the Wire. Hopefully you heeded the past weeks’ advice and picked up Pat Burrell, Mike Minor, Daniel Hudson and others, before it was too late. This week is sort of a special edition with a look at a trio of closers—mostly of the present, and mostly with no future. Regardless, they have one thing in common—they will receive the lion’s share of save opportunities for their respective teams. That translates to the potential to rack up some fantasy points all over the land. And the first contestant is… Hisanori Takahashi, RP, NYM: Owned in 18 percent of CBS leaguesMr. Takahashi has been somewhat of an enigma for the Metropolitans this season. He had success as a reliever early on, often times bailing out the starters by providing two or three innings of solid relief.  In fact, in his first 15 relief appearances for the ...

Mike Francesa reports that the Mets will make a trade at the deadline. He said that they will make a "proper trade," and that the Mets have "no financial restrictions." By proper trade I'm guessing he means that they will do a trade to address their starting pitcher and/or reliever problems. I've said it before, but if the Mets want to be serious contenders for the playoffs they need a starter AND a reliever. Hisanori Takahashi doesn't belong in the rotation any more, and the fact that the Mets are going to give him another start while Pat Misch is doing very well in Triple-A is upsetting. The starting pitchers out there that the Mets are interested in: Read the rest... Please be sure to check out Mets Paradise and our forum !Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com