According to Batgirl's good friend Sid Hartman there's no imminent Dougie deal in the works, but things aren't so smurfy between Dougie and Gardy right now:

Twins General Manager Terry Ryan said he never told first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz he was going to be traded.

But Mientkiewicz and Twins manager Ron Gardenhire are not getting along, and it was Gardenhire who told Mientkiewicz he was going to be traded, not Ryan.

But Ryan is the boss. "I know what I said to him. I don't know who else and what else was said," Ryan said. "I know when I talked to Doug it wasn't that I was going to trade him. I don't know what anybody else told him, and it's probably none of my business. But I certainly know what I said to him."

Ryan realizes the current situation is not good, and he would like to make a trade. But he says he isn't close to a deal.

Meanwhile, if you can believe what you read in the papers, the Benson Quest is over for the Twins. So says the Tribune-Review:

One thing became clearer yesterday as Benson spent what figured to be his final day in the home clubhouse at PNC Park: It looks like he won't be joining the Minnesota Twins.

The Twins, who were considered the front-runners to trade for Benson, backed out yesterday afternoon when they decided not to part with any of their top prospects, particularly Class AAA outfielder Jason Kubel.

"We just couldn't bridge," Twins general manager Terry Ryan told KFAN.

Batgirl's pretty sure Ryan was totally willing to trade some top prospects (i.e. poor Michael "Let My People Go" Restovich) but just not the one the Pirates wanted. So the rumors now have him going to the Mets. According to Newsday:

In a deal that could be done as early as today, a source indicated last night that the Mets have refocused on Pirates righthander Kris Benson as their primary trade target, with Ty Wigginton and Double-A righthander Matt Peterson the bait. The Mets -- scrambling for pitching help as tomorrow's non-waivers trade deadline approaches -- have coveted Benson, 29, for the past month, but Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield had been trying to extract top prospects from at least three other teams, the Rangers, Twins and Angels.

Of course, other rumors have the Yanks looking at Benson, too, if Randy Johnson decides to break Geo. Steinbrenner's poor tender heart, and there's speculation that the Bitch Sox are going to help the Mets make this deal. Or so says ESPN (Thanks to loyal and generous reader FBM2K for the link):

ESPN's Peter Gammons reported Thursday night that the Mets and Pirates are in serious discussions about a deal that would send Benson to New York in exchange for third baseman Ty Wigginton, right-handed pitching prospect Matt Peterson and a minor leaguer, who likely would come from the White Sox, who apparently want to help the Mets beat the AL Central rival Twins to Benson.

While nothing has been finalized, sources tell Gammons that there is a good chance the deal could be completed before Saturday's trade deadline.

The only thing the Bitch Sox have to gain from such shenanigans is keeping Benson from the Twins, though Batgirl isn't convinced this would be as dastardly a deed as Kenny Williams seems to hope, and she encourages him to give up all the prospects he wants to. Or else it's merely out of the goodness of Williams' heart; New York seems to be a great place for the Bensons, what with all the sex clubs. Rumor has it that, if the deal goes through, he'll be sending former Illinois senatorial candidate Jack Ryan to New York to help show the Bensons the "sights."

Posted by Batgirl at July 30, 2004 11:01 AM