Tejada vs. Campbell

[Mex17]

Apparently, this is the battle for the 25th man.

Count me in for Team Tejada. Ruben's career average is about 20 points higher than Campbell's and over a much larger sample size. Plus, he is also the only other natural defensive shortstop with major league experience on the roster other than Cabrera. I'm not counting Flores as a real shortstop here. . .he is more of a nomadic infielder/utilityman who is really on the roster for his bat and who has been played at SS as more of a shotgun marriage. It's easier to hide him on the corners than to make him the primary backup shortstop, I think the latter exposes a weakness more than it plays to a strength.

[Edgy MD]

I can't see this as much of a battle. It's Ruben's job to lose. He made the post-season roster last year and Campbell didn't. Rightly so, what-what!

[MFS62]

There are enough players on the roster who can hit but might not play defense well.
Tejada can play defense. (at least infield. Soup can play the outfield)
If there's only room on the roster for one of them, Tejada stays in a close call. But if he still needs time to recover from his broken leg, he'll start the season on the DL and Soup will be on the team.

Later

[TransMonk]

Yeah, I keep Tejada on just because he is the best fielding SS on the squad. Not that he's a gold-glover, but in the late innings of a close game, he could make a difference.

[Fman99]

Agreed

[Edgy MD]

Jhonny Peralta has been hit with the first major injury of spring training, tearing a thumb ligament, knocking him out for an expected two-three months and firing up the rumor mill, with ESPN's Jim Bowden openly designating Ruben Tejada as their most realistic target. At any rate, it would probably likely that the Cards would move to deal until the end of spring training (like the Mets grabbing Torres and Blevins as camp broke last year), when they've had a chance to look at all available internal options, had a chance to scout potential acquisitions (Ruben had a bad day yesterday, and tends to start slowly in spring training even with a healthy foot), and let other people get hurt on somebody else's payroll.

If such a deal goes down — and I have my doubts — I still think Muno or Reynolds would get his job before Eric Campbell.

[Theoldmole]

Probably not Herrera to mostly sit on the bench, although it's an intriguing idea.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Kwiz:

Name the players exchanged the last time the Mets and Cardinals completed a trade.

One guess at a time. Go.

[Edgy MD]

Braden Looper to the Cardinals for... I dunno.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'll start with a guess that's very likely to be wrong: Keith Hernandez, Neil Allen, Rick Ownbey.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Both wrong.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Gilkey? But I can't remember who the Mets gave up to get him.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Nope

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

This is a sorta tough one.

Hints:
--The Met traded away was considerably more memorable than the Met we got back
--The trade pre-dated Archived threads on the CPF
--It was completed during Spring training

[Edgy MD]

Orosco 2.0 for ... Smiley Joe.

No, wait. McEwing!

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Orosco-McE (2000) was the second-most recent trade.

[Edgy MD]

Damn, so close. IT FULFILLED ALL THREE HINTS!

[Guest d'Kong76]

Hint Q: Is the player the Mets got last name the same as a better player
that would end up a Met another time?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

And the same first name shared by several scrubs' last name even.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

That's right, April 2004, Roger Cedeno for Wilson Delgado.

[Guest d'Kong76]

I was going to guess Cedeño but never would have gotten Wilson without
peaking at the cheat sheets.

(actually, I thought it was going to be Keef until that was wrong)

I'm sure we've talked about this before here or somewhere, but I think the
longest the Mets went without trading with a team between trades was with
the Giants and some deal involving Tim Foli?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Can make this a quiz if no one else looks it up.

[Edgy MD]

Shinjo and Relaford for Estes.

[Guest d'Kong76]

I meant prior to that it was the longest stretch of no-trades between
the Mets and a particular team. My guess is that stretch was the longest.

[TransMonk]

Even if Cabrera's knee injury is mild, I have to think it bodes well for Tejada in this argument.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Rubes reporting Cabrera has a strained patella tendon, resting at least 2 weeks and likely to open the year on the DL.

[Edgy MD]

Eric Campbell, you are, surprisingly, triumphant.

[ashie62]

He works cheap.

[RealityChuck]

Eric Campbell has got the game face.