Alou

[metirish]

I think this means Lastings wil be part of a trade...I have no problem with Alou for a year,can he stay away form the DL?,probably not but if he can then this could bea cool move.

[metirish]

1 - Reyes
2 - Beltran
3 - Alou
4 - Delgado
5 - Wright
6 - Lo Duca
7 - Green
8 - Valentin


I can't wait...

[Guest Edgy DC]

Frayed Knot wrote: ]Alou is one of the most uninspired players Ive ever seen play the game I never got that impression from Moises. Mainly he's just old and immobile as a result of several major leg injuries in his career - one while in Houston and one from way back in his Montreal days - plus a host of less serious ones.

Agreed. I'm not even sure I feel that way about Drew.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Drew got a lot of flak out here for his McReynolds-like perceived aloofness and unfairly, I think, for being a devout Christian. People absolutely questioned his competitiveness and whether he isolated himself too much from his teammates. Ned Colletti even took a swipe at him and his faith in the papers when he found out Drew opted out of his contract.

"I know J.D. is a spiritual guy and a man of his word. I guess he changed his word. You learn never to be surprised when you're dealing in this arena. People change their minds. People change their word. They move on."

I don't want him because 1) he's another lefty, 2) he'll likey cost a lot more and for a lot longer than Pee Hands, and 3) despite Alou's injury issues, Drew's way more brittle and has missed a lot more time than Moises over the last few years, as well as over the length of both of their careers.

Screw Drew.

[metirish]

Yeah and with the Soriano deal the price for the likes of Drew and Lee likely went up....

[Guest Edgy DC]

If you leave people an option to exit their contracts...

[A Boy Named Seo]

Well Colletti didn't, but you're right just the same. Ned said he was pissed because after the playoffs, Drew gave him every impression he wanted to be back, and I guess Colletti started forming his offseason plan accordingly.

But, yeah, you give a guy the option to change his mind, you can't really be upset when he does.

[Guest attgig]

metirish wrote: 1 - Reyes 2 - Beltran 3 - Alou 4 - Delgado 5 - Wright 6 - Lo Duca 7 - Green 8 - Valentin I can't wait...

i see
reyes
lo duca
beltran
delgado
wright
green
alou
valentin

[DocTee]

I'm more concerned with:

O. Hernandez
Pelfrey
Maine
Bannister
Perez

[Frayed Knot]

Per FAN: Done Deal

Alou 1 year plus an option; $7.5mil plus some buyout for year 2 so probably around $8 total

[nymr83]

i like it, but i'm not sure if thats because i would have liked it a week ago or because its not the 2 yeas or 2 + an option that i was dreading.

The Mets should start spreading false rumors that they are about to sign guys to an extra year or two, then the fans will like the actual results more.

[Guest heep]

I like it. Alou is a pro's pro type of hitter. He knows what he is doing, and balances our lineup. As Buster Olney noted, is Alou is inked into out lineup, it is probably the best in the NL, if not one of the best in baseball.
Now they have to figure out a way to keep him healthy. Defense is by no means a non-issue, but it is somewhat off-set with Chavez.

Go Omar!

I endorse this signing, and I also endorse a subsequent trade of Milledge + reliever, for, say Jake Peavy/Dontrelle Willis caliber starter, pending whether Mileedge's value is good enough.

I believe they are think more highly of Gomez, and even higher of Martinez, who had a 10 game hitting streak in the AFL this fall as an 18 year old. My bet is that they both see action at Shea sometime in 2007.

I am looking forward to seeing these two players in action. Gomez is reportedly faster than Reyes, and Martinez is described as fearless.

Only 3 months till spring training.....

[Guest Hillbilly]

Alou brings much needed balance to the lineup, so I'm happy with the one year plus an option despite Alou being at the end of his career. Things are starting to heat up on the hot stove.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

I like it, I like it, I like it.

A very good righthanded bat to balance out the lineup, who we can give time off to because of the solid outfield depth. And we didn't have to commit to a 41 year-old, only the 40 year-old model.

[Guest KC]

I'm not excited about this one bit, and other than he didn't look too polished
when he was up why has Lastings's stock dropped so much? Seems like the
Mets have been getting Alou for the last five years, I think it's five years too
late but the proof will be in the pudding.

[Guest Hillbilly]

I wouldn�t assume this means Lasting�s is on the way out or anything. It may just mean �they� think he�s not ready to be handed a full time starting job yet. Alou and Green aren�t at the stage of their respective careers where they�ll be playing anywhere near 162 games. We�ll see, I guess.

[nymr83]

between Alou and Green i'd guess there will be a MINIMUM of 100 outfield starts to handout to Milledge and/or Chavez, thats plenty.

[seawolf17]

Nymr's right. One year, sounds good. If we get what he gave San Fran last year (375 AB, 22 HR), I'm okay with that.

[Gwreck]

Don't count out Ben Johnson, either. I could see a situation in which Green, Alou, Johnson and Milledge each get about 250-300 at bats.

[Guest Edgy DC]

With a one-year deal, let Milledge steal Alou's lunch.

I don't care what this means to Milledge. It doesn't have to mean much. I care that it means bye-bye for Cornelius.

[Willets Point]

You can never have to many old, injured guys on the bench. Or in the rotation for that matter.

[TransMonk]

Alou steals Valentin's #18 as part of the contract.

[smg58]

When you look at the length of the Soriano deal and the depth of minor-league talent the Mets have at the outfield position, it made sense to look short-term. And given the market, Alou is a bargain at that price.

[Frayed Knot]

I'm OK with this now that they're not committed to a 2nd year.
'Mets set to sign Alou to 2 yrs and $16mil' were the last words I heard as I drifted off to sleep Sunday night ... except for the "NOOOOOOOO!!!" I screamed after it. The details and the sober light of Monday made it better.

Alou is one of the great "hands" hitters around. He'll hit some seemingly impossible pitches by pulling his hands in on an inside pitch that would splinter the bat of almost anyone else. Russo (the Giant fan) claims he's not all that bad a fielder (I disagree) and will be helped by moving from PacBell's spacious RF to Shea's smaller LF (I agree). Admits he's an atrocious baserunner though.

One year also means that any potential deal for Milledge should stand on it's own merits rather than being neccesitated by this signing. And, while we're at it, let's remember that Lastings was the youngest position player in MLB last season before we start in on the 'his stock has dropped' stuff or start declaring that he's been surpassed by Single-A teenagers and others who have yet to get to where LM is already at.


The one thing I question is the timing of it all. Alou is a 'Type-A' FA and - because he was signed so early - the Giants get to "offer" him arbitration risk-free and snag our 1st round draft pick out of it. Would have liked to save that pick (even though it's 29th overall) or at least save it for a real big FA signing. Oh well.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Seeing as the Mets really needed a right handed bat to go with Wright and this deal is for only one year with an option, I'm pretty pleased with Alou's deal. If the Mets can only keep him on the field with some regularity. There should be plenty of playing time for Endy Chavez and Lastings Milledge in the Mets outfield.

[TransMonk]

I'm pretty lukewarm about the deal. I'm content because it's only one year, it's relatively cheap and a need was filled. I'm concerned because it's another signing of a guy that's over 35 and past his prime. I'll be happy if Alou can put up consistent numbers with what he did last year in as many games. However, I wouldn't be surprised if he stinks up the joint either.

As for Milledge, I agree that this doesn't change his trade value at all. No one is untouchable, but if he is to be dealt, it should be for value. I am very happy that he is not getting the LF job, but also wouldn't mind hanging on to him to give him another year to mature and see what he can provide in '08. I also echo Marty Noble's mets.com report which opines that anything we can do to get Frank Robinson into Mets camp would certainly help the tutelage of Milledge. Robinson is exactly the type of mentor I would want for him.

[duan]

i'm sad to say good bye to cliff; he's like Moises Alou a little light though.

[Guest Edgy DC]

So, remind me how the new labor agreement changes free-agent compensatory picks.

[Frayed Knot]

The new agreement;
- eliminates 'Type C' FAs so there's no compensation due there
- limits the amount of 'Type A' & 'Type B' FAs by tweaking the pcts to qualify.
- changes the compensation for 'Type B' players signed

Type A used to mean in the top 30% at a position but now is for those in the top 20%. The compensation doesn't change: 1st (or 2nd) round draft pick plus a supplemental
Type B moves from the 31-50% range to 21-40% and now nets only a supplemental pick, no direct picks from the signing team



P.S. The classification changes start next year, while the compensation changes begin with this off-season.

[Guest Edgy DC]

So, since we're not going to offer arbitration to Floyd, and we're unlikely to offer it to Trachsel (though we could), the only way I see us getting a first-round pick back is if the Braves (or Yankees or Sawx) snag Glavine.

OE: I'm not saying that's a high priority.