Fans of the animated show “”Avatar: the Last Airbender” may recognize the eyes and smiles as I’m a big fan of the show and was trying to go for a bit more realism and in the “manga” and “anime” style of drawing - i.e big eyes, etc. It didn’t work out nearly as good as I had hoped, and I never went back to it again, but I’ll probably do a second attempt if I ever have a cartoon that also deals with kids as this one does.
As for the presents, everyone thought Barry Zito would be a Met by New Year’s, the Yankees did end up landing “Rocket” Roger Clemens again, and of course, the Knick kid gets a lump of coal. The crinkled wrapping paper was tough to draw on this one (so many angles), as was the box the Zito jersey came in, and the jersey itself draped on the floor. I added various amounts of grey to the box corners to depict those clothes gift boxes that inevitable fold in and you can never get the top back on easily.
Geoff the Ref
Monday, December 25, 2006
"Geoff the Ref"
Hoping to find Zito under the tree
By Geoff Walter / SNY.tv
In a free-agent market bereft of top-tier talent, prices have skyrocketed as teams compete over the scraps. That's what it feels like with clubs clamoring over Barry Zito, the 28-year old lefty from the Oakland Athletics. The two top contenders were the Mets and the Texas Rangers but the Rangers recently pulled off a trade of their own with the White Sox which leaves the Mets as frontrunners in the Zito sweepstakes. Here's your chance to see my take on the Mets' pursuit to get Barry Zito under the Christmas tree for fans. You can respond with some thoughts of your own.
The Mets are everything Zito wants.
New York offers the chance for Zito to get what he wants — to be on a team with a good chance to win the World Series. The Mets also have a pitcher-friendly ballpark in Shea Stadium (until 2009 when they move into Citi Field), the marketing exposure that Zito is craving, and the money he (and agent Scott Boras) desire.
Zito is (almost) everything the Mets want.
Zito is a flyball pitcher and has made 208 starts in the last six seasons. A bigger bonus is that he's young — only 28 — and has never had any health problems. Because of that, Zito has been a 200-plus inning pitcher every year he's spent in the Majors. Zito also fits into the rotation because of Pedro Martinez's injury and adds another southpaw besides veteran Tom Glavine and Oliver Perez.
Zito isn't worth the price.
The Mets have said that they won't overpay for Zito, whom (according to reports) they think is worth five years and $73 million, while superagent Scott Boras wants six years and a salary in the $100 million range. Zito has a 55-46 record over the past six years, and has never truly recaptured his 2002 Cy Young season where he went 23-5. Another one of the problems Zito has is a declining strikeout rate, and an ever-increasing opponent on-base plus slugging average.
The Mets have had a Plan B.
Omar and the other Mets brass had been talking to ex-Cardinal Jeff Suppan as a hedge against Zito's (read: Boras') monetary demands. That went out the window as Suppan, who beat New York twice in the 2006 NLCS, just inked a four-year, $42 million deal with the Brewers.
The Mets starting rotation is pretty good as it stands right now with Glavine, Maine, Perez, and El Duque. Meanwhile, you can always pencil someone in and experiment with the fifth slot. The point is, this rotation can survive until the All-Star break or whenever Pedro is coming back off the DL.
Final Whistle
Texas GM Jon Daniels said that he felt discouraged in the persuit of the southpaw, but that might have been a ploy to keep the asking price down — one that works to the Mets' advantage. Zito will be coming to New York, the question is just when, for how long, and for how much. The Mets could be thinking long term and sign Zito to a five-year deal with an option for a sixth if Glavine decides to retire after the 2007 season. Remember, there was speculation that Glavine was either going to retire or go back to Atlanta, but then signed a one-year deal with New York. If Zito ends up signing with New York, you'll have six starters when Pedro returns. After that, when Glavine's contract is up, the Mets could let him go, but it is contingent upon Zito living up to his billing.
