Rotoman

ESPN.com: MLB – Overhauled Mets get Burnitz in 3-team swap

Alex Ochoa: He had a better chance to be the star some thought he would be in Coors. At Miller he’ll play and he’ll get on base more than most Brewers, but it’s unlikely he’s going to be an offensive force. Still, if he goes cheap he’ll not be worthless, especially if you can afford a low AVG.

Ross Gload: Not enough power for the strikeouts. Too many strikeouts for the walks. If he’s a student of the game he could stick around for a few years on good attitude, but he has a ways to go before he even gets a chance at that.

Craig House: Too many strikeouts to wash out. Too many walks to succeed. If he figures out how to do it without the walks he’ll get very good in a hurry. But right now he’s merely a colorful project..

ESPN.com: MLB – Overhauled Mets get Burnitz in 3-team swap

Glendon Rusch: His whole deal is confidence. If Dave Stewart can instill it Rusch could be as good as Rick Reed. But if he doesn’t he’ll be as hopeless as, well, just about anybody else you’d care to name.

Benny Agbayani: In Colorado he’ll be valuable in ways he wouldn’t have been in Shea. But he’s not enough of a hitter to play full-time.

Lenny Harris: Not a fantasy factory, but always a potentially useful fill in in tough times.

ESPN.com: MLB – Overhauled Mets get Burnitz in 3-team swap

Jeromy Burnitz: His fantasy value doesn’t change much because of the deal. He helps the Mets. He’ll help your team if you can afford to absorb his batting average.

Jeff D’Amico: He can really pitch when he’s healthy, but he isn’t often healthy. He’s better than Glendon Rusch when he is. Worth a reserve pick, always, and a cheap pick-up whenever it seems he might get into some action that counts.

Lou Collier: Not a fantasy factor.

Mark Sweeney: Never was a fantasy factor, though I once spent a lot of time in the cage analyzing his swing and comparing it to John Mabry’s, back before these two made the bigs. My prediction: Sweeney had the sweeter swing, but lacked Mabry’s decisive aggression at the plate.

ESPN.com: MLB – Overhauled Mets get Burnitz in 3-team swap

Well, the Blogger is a great thing, but I’ve written two long analyses of the big deal and been scotched by permissions issues both times. And I can’t figure out how to organize multiple pieces backward. So, I’m hoping you can read them backward. Can you?

Okay, this is about the trade. ESPN.com: MLB – Overhauled Mets get Burnitz in 3-team swap

Peter Gammons

Gammons has been kind of useless for trade speculation. He’s a tool of the all the sources who feed him inside dope and jargon, allowing him to talk about the way Edgar Martinez stays inside his swing, and whatnot. But in spite of that he used to be fun to read.

This Q+A is so unrelentingly wishy-washy that it’s unbearable. So have the last few. Jordan and Schuerholz are right? The Braves and the Mets are the teams to beat? It goes on and on.

It is a sign of thoughtfulness and perhaps intelligence to refrain from making stupid, bold statements for the sake of stirring controversy. But the man who can see both sides of the issue has to go out of his way to explain what the issues are, so the reader has the ammo to make up her or his own mind.

Gammons isn’t doing that these days.

ESPN.com: MLB – Brewers get Proven Veteran in Young

I love Eric Young. I feel like I discovered him in 1995, when I noticed just how often he walked, and how infrequently he struck out. A lot and not much. And when he left Colorado the doubters said he wouldn’t be able to hit in LA, but he did. Because he knows the strike zone.

Why people diss him escapes me. No, he isn’t a great defensive player at this point (though his numbers in Colorado, when he was younger, were awesome), but last year was the only year of his career when he struck out more than walked (by 1).

Eric Young will be 35 in May, and that’s no age to be relying on your footspeed to solidify your place in a ML lineup. But if Jermaine Dye is worth $11M per year to the beloved Athletics, Eric Young is worth less than one fourth that to the profitable Brewers. If you can get him in your mixed league draft at 1/4th Dye’s price, jump all over it. He’s riskier than Dye, but he could be worth just as much without breaking a sweat.

Don’t you think?

I caught Psyco on da bus, the new band of Tony Allen, who was Fela’s drummer and musical coordinator, the other night. If you dig Fela, check out the opening band, Antibalas, who were simply great. They played all the notes, jammed all the jams. Antibalas is not a cover band, but the a bit of the same musical charge that followed Fela around is carried by Antibalas, a debt they aren’t slow to acknowledge.

Psyco is more interesting, and less likely to get you to shake your booty. They’re more experimental, using electronics and inconsistent beats to organize the tunes. But by the end of the night there were still a lot of us shaking and singing along. Allen is a fine host. And he can really play the drums. Just seeing him is worth the price of admission.

It probably won’t change your life, and they may not be the world’s greatest party band, but Psyco on da bus is a real groove you should try to catch if you can.

The Mets had to sign Pedro Astacio, and they did. He’s at least as good as Kevin Appier. Assuming he’s healthy he will be one of the top pitchers in the NL this year. Because he may not be healthy, and because his numbers in Colorado seemed so weak, he could come cheap. I wouldn’t pay $20 for him, but if he goes in the $12-$15 range, you have to take the chance.

ESPN.com: MLB – Dodgers trade Sheffield to Braves for Jordan, pitcher Perez

The acquisition of Sheffield helps the Braves immensely, because he is as good a hitter as Chipper Jones, while Brian Jordan is not. The Braves have often had a problem scoring runs, particularly last year, but if Rafael Furcal is able to get on base the way he did his rookie year (not last year when he entered the season with a subluxated shoulder) they won’t have any problems. Even if Marcus Giles and Wilson Betamit struggle. Atlanta’s park is marginally better to hit in than Dodger Stadium, but the fact is that both team’s problems last year were dismal on-base production in the #1 and 2 spots in the order. Sheffield’s numbers will rise and fall based on how the guys ahead of him get on base.

Jordan has developed a certain consistency over the last few years. There’s no obvious reason why he shouldn’t continue to do pretty much what he has been doing. Will he match his 2001 numbers? Or stumble to the 2000 level? He says he’s on a mission to prove the lying, heartless Bravos wrong, but I’d still say he’ll end up somewhere in between.

Odalis Perez could bail the Dodgers out. He is still young and after missing all of 2000 made good strides last year, showing that he’s healthy enough to succeed. Now he has to do it. He may not be pressed in LA. They have a lot of arms, though there is continuing talk of Eric Gagne ending up in the bullpen. Perez is well worth a modest bid this year. What his price is going to be will depend on how much hype he provokes this spring.