Benjamin Grimm

Hey! Look who's batting! Let's talk about Shin-Soo Choo!

Ike last year after 43 games: .156/.212/.291, 5 homers, 15 rbi. This year after 43 games: .149/.229/.248, 4 homers, 9 rbi. As absolutely horrendous as he was last year, this year he's even worse. And even if he does rebound like he did last year, are we going to have any faith at all in him going into 2014, even if he says that he feels great? I'm totally on board with trying someone else.

I'm really in no hurry to get rid of Daniel Murphy. As far as I'm concerned, he can stick around for a long time.

I was getting a definite future-manager vibe from John Buck. It lessened a bit when he smashed Jordany in the face, though. Still, I do like his chances.

It had gone away for a while, but the "he can't be any worse than what we already have" meme has been recently making a comeback.

The UMDB seems to confirm that. The only older living "Mets person" I have in the database is Ralph Kiner, October 27, 1922. Hemus was born on April 17, 1923. The next oldest uniformed person (who wasn't also a player) is Jim Frey, May 26, 1931. (There are 12 living former Mets players who are older than Jim Frey, including Jim Marshall, who is one day older.

I don't think it would be a terrible idea if the Mets decided to trade first basemen with the 51s. And if Ike doesn't snap out of it in the next couple of weeks, that may very well happen.

Niese 2.7 Hawkins 0.3 Rice 0.3

Really? He stole undershirts from Macy's? A guy who earns his salary should steal his undershirts from Bloomingdales or Lord & Taylor.

I keep forgetting to update this... SCHAEFER METS PLAYER OF THE WEEK, 2013 Week ending April 6: John Buck, 7.21 points. Week ending April 13: Matt Harvey, 9.04 points. Week ending April 20: David Wright, 6.24 points. Week ending April 27: David Wright, 4.68 points. Week ending May 4: Ruben Tejada, 5.03 points. Week ending May 11: Matt Harvey, 5.94 points.

In 2014, Beltran will be 37 in April and Choo will be 32 in July. If you're looking for an outfielder who could hold the position for a year or two, then sure, it would be great to see Beltran come back. But if they want somebody who can be in their outfield for four or five years, then Choo makes more sense. I think you sign a two-year guy when you're a bit closer to contention than the Mets currently appear to be. But maybe things will look different this winter, pending other deals and potential on-field improvement from some of the current players.

I would just hope that Ralph Kiner gets a chance to ask him about his name.

Yes, I think it's time we accept that Ike Davis isn't likely to be the player we expected or hoped he would be. It's unfortunate, and sad, but even if Ike suddenly snaps out of it like he did last year, will we have any confidence that he won't go oh-for-April-and-May again in 2014? If this team is to become a contender, they'll need someone a lot more reliable than Ike has become. I don't know if it's the ankle, the Valley Fever, a combination of the two, or something else entirely, but it's become very hard to see Ike as part of the solution.

Voting for all three games played over the weekend in Wrigley Field will close on Wednesday afternoon, some time after 2 p.m. Schaefer POTG, 05/17/2013, Mets 3, Cubs 2 Schaefer POTG 05/18/2013, Cubs 8, Mets 2 Schaefer POTG, 5/19/2013: Mets 4 Cubs 3

They may also be subtracting a left-handed batter or two before the start of the 2014 season.

Burke 1 Byrd 3.5 Duda 1 Hawkins 1 Lyon 1 Marcum 0.5

Gee 0.5 Murphy 2.2 Lagares 2.2 Byrd 0.4 Rice 1.7 Parnell 1 Wright 1 Burke 1

Frayed Knot wrote: He's the guy who bumped Hank Aaron off the first entry in the Baseball Encyclopedia. That was just plain un-American. If he pitches for the Mets, he'll do the same thing (on the Mets all-time list) to Don Aase.

Voting for Wednesday's loss in St. Louis will close on Tuesday afternoon, some time after 2 p.m. What the hell, Thursday's game too. Schaefer POTG 5/15/13 - Cardinals 4, Mets 2 Schaefer POTG 5/16/13 - Mets 5, Cardinals 2

It looks like there's going to be a lot of talk about Shin-Soo Choo and the Mets over the next few months (unless he signs an extension with the Reds) so let's get this thread started. As I've said before, I pay little attention to out-of-town players, so I'm far from having an opinion on this yet. The New York Mets Need to Sign Shin-Soo Choo This Offseason Yahoo! Contributor Network By Ben Berkon | Yahoo! Contributor Network � Sat, May 18, 2013 2:38 PM EDT COMMENTARY | The New York Mets offense is struggling. The team has a collective .230/.302/.382 triple-slash, with a .684 OPS--which ranks 26th in the major leagues. However, the real issue is with the Mets' outfield. Mets' center fielders have combined for a .530 OPS+ (worst in the majors) and right fielders a .621 (tied for third worst). While Mike Baxter and Andrew Brown, perhaps, deserve a chance to start this season, the Mets need to sign to-be free agent Shin-Soo Choo this coming offseason. Choo was acquired by the Cincinnati Reds in a three-way deal before the season, which sent Trevor Bauer and Drew Stubbs to the Cleveland Indians, and Didi Gregorius to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Choo, a left-handed hitter, quietly developed into a top producer over the past five seasons, owning a .291/.384/.471 line, with a 135 OPS+, 80 HR (about sixteen per season), and 80 SB (about sixteen per season). And even though the Reds are using the 30 year-old in center field, Choo's best position--as according to defensive metrics--is right field (combined 11.0 UZR/150 over 496.6 innings) and left field (-2.5 UZR/150 over 1331.6 innings). Choo joined an already dynamic Reds' offense in 2013, but has certainly made his own mark. The outfielder has posted a .314/.462/.569 line with a 174 OPS+, 9 HR, 19 RBI, 34 R, and 4 SB. His walk rate (15.3%) and OPS+ are career bests. The southpaw has always been a patient hitter, but he's exhibited superior discipline in 2013. Choo is only swinging at 19.8% of pitches outside the zone (compared to a career 24.2%), and has whiffed at just 8.0% of pitches (compared to a career 10.3%). As arguably the best outfield free agent (over Jacoby Ellsbury), Choo will have no shortage of suitors. But that doesn't mean the Mets should back down. Choo has been worth an average of 4.0 WAR in each of the past five seasons, topping out at 6.0 WAR in 2010. Assuming he's a 4.0 WAR player, he might be worth around $70 million over the next five seasons (including yearly inflation of the dollar per WAR). But given the decreasing volume of good free agents (more teams are signing preventative extensions), the Mets--or any team for that matter--would like have to pay a bit more than $70 million for his services. That said, his prospective contract should be more in the vein of what B.J. Upton got (five years, $75 million) than Josh Hamilton (five years, $125 million). If the Mets can sign Shin-Soo Choo for $75-90 million over five seasons, the organization will have added a much needed offensive piece; one that they simply do not possess within their own system.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: so many fans/collectors happen to think that the best baseball card set is the one that they first collected. Absolutely. For me it's 1971 and 1972. I remember when the 1970 cards were derisively dismissed as "last year's cards" and, therefore, worthless. The 1973 cards still have some magic for me, but from 1974 on the cards mean a lot less to me. I stuck with collecting through the 1980's, largely out of habit. I think that the last time I bought a baseball card was in 1990 or 1991.

I like that Terry is getting a second inning from Rice.

Cubs announcers thought he was safe. It looked that way to me, too, though it's hard to be sure.