Hot Stove 2009-2010

[Guest Edgy DC]

As a reserve and possibly as trade fodder.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I think, even if the Mets did sign a first baseman, Murphy would somehow manage to get about 300 plate appearances in 2010.

[Valadius]

I find it unacceptable for the Mets to do nothing at first base considering that Murphy had the lowest OPS of any regular first baseman in baseball last year. I don't know about Lowell, but I'm sure as hell not convinced that Murphy can develop into a 30-100 hitter.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I don't think the Mets are waiting for those numbers either. I think they need a solid Plan B at first base, even a ready platoonmate if necessary, but Muffy to me is all upside at this point; it's not as if, with a safety net, we'll experience any less production than we got from him last year and we've at least made some strides to improve the O elsewhere.

Muffy in '10.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Does unacceptable mean you're bailing on the team if they go foreward with Murphy?

[Valadius]

Edgy DC wrote: Does unacceptable mean you're bailing on the team if they go foreward with Murphy?

Hell no. That will never happen.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Then, we have to accept some tihngs.

Nobody --- certainly not the team --- is saying Murphy was excellent last year, or that he's going to turn into Carlos Delgado. But are we really about giving up on a guy at 24? After his first full season? After he skipped AAA?

I'm certainly glad the Mets didn't give up on Reyes after 2005.

[smg58]

The Mets bench, as it currently looks, is a little too left-handed. Carter and Cora are lefties, and Pagan hits better from the left side. They do need a righthanded bat, certainly one who can play first base, and possibly one who can play third and maybe second as well. Third base might not be a necessity if they're willing to give Murphy some games there -- if nothing else, the Mets would maximize Murphy's trade value next year if teams think he can hit well enough to play third without hurting them defensively. Otherwise, the Mets should take a look at somebody like Ron Belliard. He hits lefties well, can play any infield position, and with the market for second baseman being so depressed, he's likely to come cheap.

If the Mets do sign Delgado, Murphy could still compete with Carter for one bench spot, but he'd better be prepared to play the outfield again.

With the depressed market for second baseman, the Mets should take a look at Ron Belliard. He hits lefties well and can play any infield position

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Melvin Mora hits LHP well and can fake it in several positions. I'd ask.

[MFS62]

The last time Lowell played first base was for four, whole, entire, games in AAA about 13 years ago.
Plus, how well would his injured hip stand up under the stretching required to play first.
I'd pass on him.

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

I doubt first is generally harder on hip injuries than other baseball positions --- or hitting and runnng.

[MFS62]

Edgy DC wrote: I doubt first is generally harder on hip injuries than other baseball positions --- or hitting and runnng.

Possibly.
But is it worth a $12 million (net $6 million) gamble?
I guess the question is valid for Delgado, too.

Later

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Call me a loser but I'd just as soon thank Delgado for what he gave us (2 very good years, 2 injured and lost + a huge difference in 2006) and let him go back to Toronto or wherever as a DH.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Post-Bay signing, the Mets are looking for pitching. Beating down doors for pitching. Wearing down a closet full of shoe leather looking for pitching. Zambrano deals, Arroyo deals, more deals explored than the World Series of Poker on fast-forward. (That's a lot of deals.)

So are they among the 15 teams who have contacted Chien-Ming Wang's agent? Nah.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Omar, talking to Kevin Burkhardt today, downplayed the need for pitching. Would he like to get a pitcher? Sure, you can never have enough pitching. But remember, last year the Mets were picked to win the World Series with Santana and Maine and Pelfrey and Perez and they still have those four guys.

Yeesh.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

It's a joy to watch someone learn from their mistakes, isn't it?

That's a non-rhetorical question, BTW, because I have no idea what that looks like anymore, in a baseball-GM context.

[Guest Edgy DC]

He's just keeping his cards close to his chest, so as not to set anybody up for disappointment.

[Benjamin Grimm]

That's what I'm hoping.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

I repeat:

[RealityChuck]

Or because that's smart negotiating.

Few fans seem to be able to grasp that concept -- that a smart GM doesn't talk about player acquisitions until the contract is signed. (And if he does say anything, it's as likely as not a strategy to get a more favorable contract for the players he does want.)

[smg58]

In other news, Adrian Beltre is likely to sign with Boston, who are close to dealing Casey Kotchman to Seattle. Randy Johnson is expected to announce his retirement. Troy Glaus is officially a Brave for $1.75M plus incentives, and Juan Uribe is officially a Giant for $3.25M.

The Mets, meanwhile, have signed utilitymen Russ Adams, Andy Green, and Mike Cervenak to minor-league deals, along with AAA mainstay Jesus Feliciano.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

RealityChuck wrote: Or because that's smart negotiating. Few fans seem to be able to grasp that concept -- that a smart GM doesn't talk about player acquisitions until the contract is signed. (And if he does say anything, it's as likely as not a strategy to get a more favorable contract for the players he does want.)

I grasp the concept, and I'll grant that this would be just the sort of thing that the savvy GM might say to downplay his interest in a FA pitcher or pitchers. I just have trouble believing it, given that most dealings in the recent between this GM and the media don't seem part of any plan whatsoever... or at least one that any sane person would choose.

"I've been working hard all fall, and I'm coming to spring training in the best shape of my life" might be the sort of thing you hear out of an ace pitcher about to have his best season. When it comes from the mouth of Ollie Perez, well... that might be the case, but you tend to not want to bet the house on his winning that Cy Young award.

[Guest Edgy DC]

If he doesn't win the Cy Young, it doesn't mean he wasn't in great shape.

And if the Mets don't land Roy Oswalt, it doesn't mean they aren't playing for him.

They just signed one of the two best hitters on the market.

[Valadius]

smg58 wrote: Randy Johnson is expected to announce his retirement.

Let's linger on this news for a moment, shall we?

Randy Johnson was THE most dominant pitcher I've ever seen. Now, my frame of reference is limited to the '90s and the '00s, but still, what a career, especially in Arizona. It would be fitting if Johnson and Pedro Martinez's plaques were side by side.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Edgy DC wrote: If he doesn't win the Cy Young, it doesn't mean he wasn't in great shape.

Granted. I made a hasty-- and bad-- analogy.

Edgy DC wrote: And if the Mets don't land Roy Oswalt, it doesn't mean they aren't playing for him.

And granted. He could be working on something. He likely is.

Edgy DC wrote: They just signed one of the two best hitters on the market.

And this is a good thing-- Bay's a solid 3-WAR guy who'll complement a healthy "core" nicely. (A gooder thing, still, to sign a 5-6 WAR guy like Holliday for equivalent or equivalent-plus money, but I digress.) I should hope they were able to land him-- they were constant wooers, and expressed interest early, and offered one more year and a shit-ton more money than the nearest competitor (the Sox $60M offer went off the table mighty early, apparently).

But as to your overall point... fair enough. I swear, I'm not wandering through this off-season with a mad-on for Omar. But, like Francoeur, say, he's got a track record. And if his past in this particular area hints that he's not particularly good at advanced-level media engagement, I get a little anxious when I hear him say something like that, which you'll have to allow, is a reasonable-- if not entirely rationally motivated-- response.

If said track record is littered with instances where he focuses his offseason efforts on perpetually fixing last year's perceived problem (be it "nothing" in 2006, a top-line pitcher in 2007, or bullpen depth in 2008) to the near-exclusion of everything else, including preemptive address of depth issues, then my anxiety tends to deepen when he volunteers a comment that falls right in line with said history.

But, yes, I'll breathe deeply for the moment... until the team signs Pineiro for 4 yrs/40 million. (You'll notice no Jim from Bayside-style ranting in my complaints above... merely Francis from Castle Hill-style idle bitching.)

[ashie62]

In other news Boras/aka/Heyman state it is a Holliday in St. Louis 7/$120

Another "source" has the Mets stalled on a second year for Pineiro.

Unless the Mets have utmost faith in Pefrey, Ollie, Maine, and Niese they might want to offer 2 years and a vest to lock Pinky up.

[smg58]

I still think Holliday's the better player, but for THAT much more than Bay? We'll see if anybody acknowledges that Minaya comes out of this looking good.

[Guest Edgy DC]

So far, he's got my acknowledgement.

[Gwreck]

I strongly preferred Holliday but he just got the same deal the Mets gave Beltran before the 2005 season.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Edgy DC wrote: So far, he's got my acknowledgement.

Mine as well.

Dasssssssalottaclams. $54M more in guaranteed money than Bay, AND a full no-trade. Yeesh.