Alou

[Frayed Knot]

If they don't re-sign Glavine I doubt they'll offer him arbitration either.

[metirish]

I'm starting to tire of Glavine.

[Frayed Knot]

I had almost forgotten that Moises will be the 2nd in his family to be a Met -- 3rd actually cuz there's some sort of convoluted relation between him and ... Mel Rojas.


In any case, he doesn't have to do too much to out-perform either "cousin" Mel or uncle Jesus

[RealityChuck]

Rojas and Alou are cousins. Alou's name is actually Moises Rojas Alou, taking his name from his father Felipe Rojas Alou. This means that Moises's grandfather's name was Rojas. (The Alou brothers took their last name from their mother's last name, not their father's.)

Mel Rojas's names is Melquiades Medrano Rojas, meaning that his mother's name was Rojas. So Mel and Moises share a grandfather.

[Guest Edgy DC]

"So, Mookie and Preston Wilson are one of two pairs of father-son Mets and one of two pairs of uncle-nephew Mets?"

"I know, Honey. It's sounds Chinatown-ish, or at least Hamlet-ish, but it's a really nice story, I swear."

[Frayed Knot]

I remember an article on Felipe (I think it was in SI a bunch of years back) which featured an Alou family tree as a sidebar. As I recall it was pretty convoluted, complicated by the fact that papa Felipe was married about 3 times and produced offspring both within and outside those marriages.
So yeah, Mel is a cousin, I'm just not so sure it's as simple as your usual first-cousins who share a single set of grandparents type.

[Farmer Ted]

MBTN take notice, Alou to sport the #18.

[Guest Edgy DC]

it's already up at MbtN, but there's a meaty quote in the reports.

With Alou's affection for the number 18, Minaya had to reach out to the previous owner, Jose Valentin, to see how he felt about giving it up. When Minaya told him the player who wanted it was Alou, there was no hesitation.

Said Valentin, "You tell him he's got the number."

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

I believe Valentin has some equity in 22, which went to Nady, then to Tucker, last year. I'd be surprised if he's not in 22 next year.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Twenty-three hundred lousy square feet for $1.949 million? Mercy, what has the world come to?

The things you find when looking to spy Austria Alou.

[Frayed Knot]

"[it's] bittersweet ... I'm so close to Cliff, it won't feel right without him. He and I have text-messaged a few times. Not about baseball. I guess he had an idea this could happen. That doesn't make it easy. We have such a special bond. I hate to see him go."
"Bringing in Moises is great for the team. He's such a good hitter and clutch player. He's a class act. And I know we struggled against left-handed pitching at times, so he's just what we needed. I just wish there was room for him and Cliff." -- D. Wright



"I have always understood the business, and when you understand the busineess, it's easier to digest things like this," said Floyd. "I understand. I am very happy they got what they wanted. I'll move on like they'll move on. But I'll miss the people. I'll miss D-Wright." -- C. Floyd

[metirish]

Cliff is a class act.

[smg58]

Yes. As much as I think the Mets need to move on from Cliff, he's a very easy guy to like, and I wish him good health and good luck wherever he winds up.

[Centerfield]

I want to re-sign Cliff. Is it too early to trade Alou? The new CBA got rid of deadlines and stuff right?

[Guest iramets]

Let me understand you: you don't like Alou and you want to sign Floyd because the Mets need an outfielder who'll be healthy?

[Guest Rotblatt]

From BP:

]Not all of the money being spent this offseason is going for naught, although you do have to look around for the bargains. The Mets got Moises Alou to come to New York on a one-year deal for $8.5 million, which reads like a typo amidst all of these other deals. Alou may not be able to get on the field for 150 games, but the 110 or so that he will play will make the Mets better. He can still hit. This is, by far, the steal of the fall.

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

A one year deal to Alou seems to be a good move for the Mets. As much as Cliff was a favorite of mine, I think that Alou is just as likely, if not more to remain healthy most of the season. The Mets needed a righthanded bat that could punish lefties and Alou far better fits that need than does Cliff. If there was a DH in the NL, thankfully there isn't, I would be for signing Cliff to a one year deal at a reasonable rate.

As it is, I wish Cliff healthy season, wherever he lands in 2007. He'll always be a favorite of mine.

[metirish]

Wally ain't in a giving mood.

] Mets making turkeys of fans November 22, 2006, 7:47 PM EST On the joyous occasion of Thanksgiving Day, let us take a moment to thank the New York Mets. For nothing. Last week, the club gleefully announced its sweetheart stadium deal that will hand over to them, rent-free, tax-free and finance-charge free, a virtually limitless source of income for the next several generations of Wilpons. And in return, they give us Moises Alou. And Jose Valentin. And Orlando Hernandez. And let us not forget Damion Easley. These four gentlemen have one important thing in common. They are all old, verging on ancient. The youngest is Easley; he turned 37 on Nov. 11, a month after Valentin. The oldest, of course, is El Duque, whose official age is also 37, but whose actual age can only be verified through carbon dating. Then there is Julio Franco, the only active Met who can get into Shea on a seniors pass. Somewhere in the middle sits Alou, 40 years old and more importantly, healthy enough in 2006 to appear in just 98 games. That is one more than the man he is expected to replace, Cliff Floyd, who was let go because, well, he gets hurt too often and misses too many games. What this means is that the Mets have done the near impossible. They have managed to find themselves an outfielder not only older than Floyd, but equally infirm. If there is logic in this sort of thinking, it must exist on an intellectual level I am incapable of comprehending. In my simple way of thinking, in baseball, older generally does not mean better. It means more likely to break down late in the season, at precisely the moment when a team will be least able to afford it. Kind of like what happened at the end of last season, when, in rapid succession, the Mets lost Floyd, El Duque and Pedro Martinez to a malady no doctor can cure: old age. Yes, we know Pedro is a mere 35, but his arm is 150. Clearly, the Mets learned nothing last year about the fragility and unreliability of old bodies on a baseball field. They claim to be "building" off their near-miss/collapse (your choice) of 2006, but the only thing they are building is a nursing home. Right now, it is a toss up which will be retired first, Shea Stadium or half the Mets roster. And have I mentioned that the Mets are still pursuing 41-year-old Tom Glavine for not one, but two more years? Last year, it looked as if GM Omar Minaya had a master plan to keep the Mets in perpetual contention and the Wilpons in perpetual cable subscriptions and season-ticket renewals. Now, the plan appears to be Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran and an annually-changing cast of aging mercenaries. They passed on Alfonso Soriano, who would have owned leftfield until Jeff Wilpon was old enough to shave, and if they make a big expenditure this winter, it is likely to be on Barry Zito, who at his best will merely be one more slop merchant in a rotation of junkmen. And that is another lesson seemingly lost on the Mets. You sign a comparatively-young outfielder -- Soriano is 30 -- for seven years, you can bank on seven years of high-level production. You sign a pitcher for seven years, you can bank on many trips to Birmingham, Alabama and the office of Frank Andrews, orthopedic surgeon. Take your pick from the laundry list of potential disasters: rotator-cuff blowout, Tommy John surgery, torn elbow tendons, dead arm syndrome, etc. Just look at the recent history of long-term deals for free-agent pitchers: Randy Johnson. Carl Pavano. Kevin Brown. Mark Mulder. Kevin Millwood. They worked out well, didn't they? And, oh yeah, there's Pedro, who may well have thrown his last pitch as a Met but has two more years of paychecks coming. As bad as the Mets season ended, so far their off-season has been worse. The best deal they have made was to trade away poor old Bill Shea for 20 years worth of $20 million checks. When they announced the stadium deal last week, plenty of Mets fans swallowed the Wilpon spin, that even though their would be 10,000 fewer seats, higher ticket prices and, possibly, personal seat licenses, it would all work out for the best because now the team would be able to spend money in Yankee-like excess. So far, they have spent like the Florida Marlins and signed like the Kansas City Royals. They take and take and take from the good people and bad politicians of this city, and they give you back Moises Alou. Even on Thanksgiving Day, being a Mets fan remains a thankless task.

[Guest KC]

WM: >>>So far, they have spent like the Florida Marlins and signed like the Kansas City Royals. They take and take and take from the good people and bad politicians of this city, and they give you back Moises Alou<<<

Oh the drama, Wallace.

Let's get some freakin' pitching before pitchers and catchers
start thinking of reporting and then we can talk take and take.
Good people and bad politicians ... huh? Go eat a drumstick.

[nymr83]

]And that is another lesson seemingly lost on the Mets. You sign a comparatively-young outfielder -- Soriano is 30 -- for seven years, you can bank on seven years of high-level production.

8 years. and we showed in the other thread how often teams regret deals like that one. passing on Soriano might make idiot writers mad in 2007, but when 2010 comes around and he's stinking up the joint you won't hear them apologizing, they'll be too busy ripping the mets for not signing another guy for too much money over too many years.

[metirish]

Wally is something else....

] They passed on Alfonso Soriano, who would have owned leftfield until Jeff Wilpon was old enough to shave, and if they make a big expenditure this winter, it is likely to be on Barry Zito, who at his best will merely be one more slop merchant in a rotation of junkmen.

[smg58]

I've got no problem with slop merchants who get guys out.

So does Matthews think Soriano would have come to the Mets at a discount, or does he think he would have been worth outbidding the Cubs to get?

[Guest KC]

I'm not jazzed about giving Zito a big fat long term contract, but I guess
I've said that in other threads.

Wally's fun ... I'm certain he hangs out on the boards ... hi, Wally.

[Guest cleonjones11]

Zito will do well in the National League...He will be a Met...

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

Nymr - "...Soriano might make idiot writers mad in 2007, but when 2010 comes around and he's stinking up the joint you won't hear them apologizing, they'll be too busy ripping the mets for not signing another guy for too much money over too many years."

Yup�. I think the Cubs ownership and Cub fans will ultimately rue the signing of Soriano. He should put up monster numbers for a few years, but I doubt he will be nearly worth his paycheck in the later years of the deal. Meanwhile, the Cubs will likely be unable (or unwilling) to afford the pitching they desperately need to be serious contenders while sadled with his contract.

[metirish]

cleonjones11 wrote: Zito will do well in the National League...He will be a Met...

I agree,and with this offence behind him he could win 20 games.....

[Guest KC]

20 game winner? Oy.

I agree he's probably coming, but I doubt he'll make us happy.

[metirish]

KC wrote: 20 game winner? Oy. I agree he's probably coming, but I doubt he'll make us happy.

I'm an optimist to be sure..i remember posting that Pedro would win 20 when he came here...

[metsmarathon]

]Now, the plan appears to be Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran and an annually-changing cast of aging mercenaries.

uh, wally... we're only about half a month into this year's plan. we scratched out heads at some of last years deals that turned out rather favorably. i think mabe omar has a tad bit more equity in the bank than ripping on him for not way overpaying for soriano, and seemingly sveltely getting a good deal on alou, at least comparaatively to what the rest of the marketplace is doing.


sheesh.

[nymr83]

how exactly has the team gotten closer to a cast of "aging mercenaries" than it was before? (and why is it necessarily a bad thing if you've got a solid core?)