Now what

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Cleon's a bit of a drama queen.

[Guest martin]

i not worried, one of these young pitchers is going to mature and things are gonna be fine. pelfrey and humber are college guys, they are ready. it isnt just other teams that have verlanders and papelbons. these were high draft picks, expected to make it in the majors. now is their chance.

and even if they don't i think there is a good chance peterson has turned oliver perez around. we know he can pitch in the big leagues.

i still think the mets will be in the top quarter ERA wise.

[Guest iramets]

You've got to figure they've got about 16 million lying around in this year's budget that the expected to be spending. What are they going to do with it now? Bigger holiday bonuses for the secretarial pool?

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Maybe they'll make a deal where they receive some other team's salary dump.

I just hope it's not Randy Johnson.

[Guest KC]

FK: >>>Or maybe it was the limp home.<<<

I haven't lol'd in awhile here ... this made me lol.

[Guest cleonjones11]

I keep having this nightmare where Dave Williams is our 2...

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

From an AP article about Vladimir Guerrero:

]...New York Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez is also recovering well from rotator cuff surgery, but the ace right-hander still doesn't plan to return to the mound until July or August. "The progress has been excellent," said Martinez, who joined Guerrero in the softball game. "The problem has to do with the calcification of the bone that was broken with the tear and that had to be operated on. "You have to let it run its course, so we're aiming for July or August as the return date." Martinez, 35, missed the end of last season -- including the Mets' playoff run -- due to injuries to his leg and arm. Since having surgery, the three-time Cy Young Award winner says the mobility in his throwing arm has already improved. "I don't have problems anymore with my reach or flexibility, and so far everything is going very well," he said. As part of his offseason regimen, Martinez said he is bulking up. "I've put on about 10 pounds of muscle, because that's one of our strategies," he said. The pitcher praised the Mets' moves during the offseason. They added left fielder Moises Alou but were outbid by the San Francisco Giants in their attempt to sign left-handed starter Barry Zito. "It would have been good to have Zito on the team, but it wasn't possible," Martinez said.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Edgy, I love the song in your sig, "Starry Eyes" by the Records. I had the 45 when I was a kid, and last year, after great searching, finally found it on a compilation CD. Good stuff!

[Guest Edgy DC]

I had no such treasure like your 45, but the song has been on heavy rotation in my brain recently.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Several papers this morning report that the Tomo Ohka's agent has listed the Mets among teams inquiring after his player.

Ohka is a solid starter --- as good as or better than Kris Benson when healthy --- but (a) missed a good chunk of last season with a partial rotator cuff tear, and ( punched his ticket out of DC by spatting with Frank Robinson.

The Mets are currently without a Japanese player, and I think they haven't had a season without one since 1996.

Ohka's blabbermouth agent has the unlikely name of Jim Masteralexis. Meet Jim Masteralexis and his partners in DiaMMond Management Group.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Ohka never had his injury repaired, only rehabbed ... He's like Pedro Astacio in that regard.

[Guest cleonjones11]

The die is cast for 2007..So be it. Amazing Milledge has turned from prospect to suspect..Can't even get a 4 Blanton for him.

The Ohkas.Armas etc.. are just garbage in garbage out...I dont see a big trade coming. Heck with Newhan yee haa..Milledge goes AAA

Omar is not perfect..he just dropped the ball this winter..

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

I am, by nature, an optimist. I prefer to view the glass as half full, while others will see the glass as half empty. In most instances, it seems that someone stole cleon's glass.

The Mets are in for a legitimate fight this season. The line up should be fine, barring significant injuries. The bullpen should once again be very good as long as Sanchez and Padilla can successfully return from their injuries. Unfortunately, the bullpen will need to be stellar to help compensate for a rotation that lacks a true number one. The starting pitching consists of either elder statesman past their prime or a collection of young, unproven pitchers that have a great deal of potential, but no proven pedegree at the major league level. I still hope to see the Mets add an established starter to the roster, but the trade cost will likely be quite high for anyone of proven value.

I think it's unrealistic to expect another cake walk to the playoffs, as we witnessed last season. I do expect the Mets to be in the thick of the pennant race all of 2007.

[smg58]

I was under the impression that Minaya turned down Milledge for Blanton, not Beane. At least that is what I hope.

Barring a trade, I'd give Milledge a fair chance of wrestling the RF spot away from Shawn Green.

Everything has been really expensive this winter, and if this proves to be a peak in the market then Minaya will wind up looking smart.

We're still prohibitive favorites in our division. The Phillies got Garcia, but replacing Wolf with Eaton is a downgrade and they haven't addressed right field. The Marlins are a good centerfielder and a bullpen away from scaring me. The Braves have become a small market team. And the Nationals will consider 70 wins a success.

We have some young guys who are likely to get better as the year goes on, and Pedro only has to be healthy by September to pitch some meaningful games for us.

Sure I was hoping to upgrade somewhere, but the teaam is still in solid position for a playoff run and the future looks good.

[Guest Rotblatt]

I agree that we're in pretty good position for the playoffs. Ideally, our boys will hold down the fort while Milledge tears up AAA, allowing us to use him as the centerpiece for a trade of a #1 ace who's about to make big money in arbitration (Willis, I'm looking at you).

IMO, though, we've got too many question marks to be considered a complete, well-balanced team, but who doesn't? We should be good enough for the division, and with a little luck and a few savy deadline trades, we might go far in the playoffs.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Ideally, the pitchers we have prosper and Milledge blossoms as a Met.

[seawolf17]

No, ideally, we stop responding to cleon's paranoia. And the pitchers we have prosper and Milledge blossoms as a Met.

[Vic Sage]

while i agree that mr.jones is a bit of a whiner, the reality is this... we had 4 holes going in to the off-season.

1) Problem: We had an old, broken down LFer that needed to be replaced
- Omar's solution: hire an older broken down LFer to replace him.

2) Problem: we got lucky at 2b. Valentin repeating at his age is a longshot, and he'd probably be more valuable on the bench.
- Omar's solution: re-sign Valentin as our starting 2bman.

3) We have an expensive over-the-hill RFer, and none of our young OFers (including milledge and Johnson) have shown themselves ready to step up and fill that slot.
- Omar's solution: do nothing.

4) Our starting pitching does not have single top flight starter in the prime of his career; the rotation is comprised of the old (Glavine, El Duque), the young (Maine, Perez, Pelfrey, Humber), the mediocre (Williams) and the wounded (Pedro).
- Omar's solution: do nothing.

While i agree the Mets are certainly in position to compete again this year, as currently constituted, i think everyone of the question marks we had coming into the off-season still remain. Which doesn't indicate a particularly good job so far by our GM.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

I agree with Vic. Omar's had a dud of a winter.

[Willets Point]

Thanks Vic, it's nice to see someone talking sense.

[Guest cleonjones11]

How about Johan Santana when he's up. You must all like that one...

The Mets will win the East by accident and I hope Milledge blooms..I just dont want to see him in handcuffs...

[Guest Rotblatt]

]We needed 2 better starters than Floyd and Green. Alou and Ben Johnson don't fill that bill.

Well, a healthy Alou's hands-down better than healthy Floyd or Green. The dude had a .923 OPS last year, compared to .731 for Floyd & .77? for Green. Even if he doesn't manage more than another 350 AB, he'll still likely be an upgrade over 2006 Cliff.

I don't have a handle on Ben Johnson yet, but based on his stats, I agree that he looks more like a competent fourth outfielder than a replacement for Green or Alou.

Still, I do think we'll get more production out of the corner outfield this season than we did last season.

I agree with your other points, though, Vic. Omar hasn't had a good offseason. Although he also hasn't made any foolish mistakes.

[Guest ABG]

cleonjones11 wrote: How about Johan Santana when he's up. You must all like that one... The Mets will win the East by accident and I hope Milledge blooms..I just dont want to see him in handcuffs...

I would welcome the idea of Johan Santana in the Mets rotation.

[Guest Rotblatt]

]I would welcome the idea of Johan Santana in the Mets rotation.

I would give one of each appendege to have Johan Santana in the Mets rotation.

[Guest ABG]

Rotblatt wrote: ]I would welcome the idea of Johan Santana in the Mets rotation. I would give one of each appendege to have Johan Santana in the Mets rotation.

I just have to...

I wonder if Milledge, Humber, Heilman and Pelfrey peels him away now.

[Guest KC]

Stop. Don't.

Pelfrey is on the cover of BA this week in the NL East top 10 prospects
edition. We ain't packaging him for nothing with nobody or I'll soil myself.

[Guest ABG]

KC wrote: Stop. Don't. Pelfrey is on the cover of BA this week in the NL East top 10 prospects edition. We ain't packaging him for nothing with nobody or I'll soil myself.

Santana is on the cover of "The Best Pitcher in Baseball" Magazine with the caption "The best pitcher in baseball"

[Guest KC]

Yeah, I've heard of him. He's on my four of my fantasy teams.

Sheesh.

[Gwreck]

Vic Sage wrote: 1) Problem: We had an old, broken down LFer that needed to be replaced- Omar's solution: hire an older broken down LFer to replace him.

This analysis is flawed. Alou might be older but he's in far better shape than Floyd and I'd suggest likely to give the Mets more than Floyd did in '06. Not to mention he signed him for a one-year deal, at a reasonable price.

]4) Our starting pitching does not have single top flight starter in the prime of his career; the rotation is comprised of the old (Glavine, El Duque), the young (Maine, Perez, Pelfrey, Humber), the mediocre (Williams) and the wounded (Pedro). - Omar's solution: do nothing.

Stating that Omar "did nothing" is flawed -- what you mean is that he didn't acquire a "top flight starter in the prime of his career.

I'm curious, however - which "top flight starter in the prime of his career" should the Mets acquire? I'm sure they could have outbid San Francisco for Zito if they wanted to -- and that would've been terribly unwise.

I'll agree that I don't think Omar had a great winter. I don't think our bench and bullpen is better than last year, either. I do think you're not giving Omar a fair shake in this analysis. I think his options were too limited for starting pitching and prime outfielders. I also think that given the Mets offensive stars, having Green and Valentin at 7th and 8th might not be ideal but is hardly disaster-waiting-to-happen.

[nymr83]

I don't think there is any reason to go into panic-mode about the 2007 New York Mets. Omar didn't have a good offseason but I don't think he had a bad one either.