Winter Meetings A Letdown

By Mike McGann
Posted Friday, December 8, 2006

So what do we take out of these winter meetings?

In truth, not much. A tiny handful of trades was made, including the Mets dealing Brian Banister to the Royals for Ambiorex Burgos — a deal I’m not in love with, but one that suggests, along with the resigning of Guillermo Mota, that Aaron Heilman can be had in the right trade. And, of course, Barry Bonds will stay with the Giants, which I’m sure had you staying up nights with worry.

The flash word this year was “preliminary.” As in preliminary discussions. Not deals. A lot of rumors, some sillier than others, but not much in the way of cold, hard facts.

Back in the day, people weren’t wired 24/7 to their Palmphone or Blackberry — the meetings were an opportunity for things to get done in the pre-technology era of missed phone calls and even telegrams. Now, it’s an opportunity for face time, a chance to catch up with old friends and maybe, lay groundwork for things down the road. Like other trade shows in other industry, baseball’s Winter Meetings are beginning to outlive their usefulness — and a decade from now, they may be little more than the GM meetings are now: little more than a dog and pony show.

As they leave the Magic Kingdom — and let be honest, anyone who goes there without the kids is a pretty cruel person — baseball execs must feel a bit like going home from a party that seemed like it would get out of hand, only to have nothing whatsoever happen. The pre-meetings spending spree — Juan Pierre? — now has left people with the kind of hangover that makes you stop and think before hitting the bottle again, which helped to deaden and already dying atmosphere. Money will eventually be spent again this offseason, just not in the shadow of Mickey and his pals. Just as there are writers who can’t help themselves when it comes to the bottle, some GMs can’t seem to help themselves, so more crazy contracts seem likely.

The big battle, though, is the signing of pitcher Barry Zito. Both his agent Scott Boras and the teams said to be involved, including the Mets, have been engaged in a propaganda battle. Boras’ people leaked that they expected at least six years and $100 million. The Mets people leaked that they saw Zito as a No. 2 starter, not and ace, and thus not worth of more than five years, $75 million. It’s like a kabuki dance with the eager media lapping it up, repeating every crumb they hear with deadly seriousness — and frankly without the mirth and cynicism one sees from political or entertainment reporters.

Hey, it’s a nice distraction, coming during these weeks of holiday madness, but does it really amount to anything? No, not really. The Winter Meetings exists now as ritual, thousands of people going through the motions, hanging out at the bar and trading war stories, not players.

At the end of the day — now — it’s just another trade show.