MFS62

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: F. Jim Edmonds That is a brief, but accurate, description of the way I feel, too. LOL! Later

I think the only Arb- eligible Met remaining is Pagan. With the Beltran medical news, I wonder if he raised his asking price. Or did the numbers have to be submitted on a date before before the Beltran injury was announced? Anyone know? Later

Well, here's a list of all his moves (the non-moves, such as leaving Flores unprotected, aren't on it): 2005: signing Pedro signing Beltran - those seem obvious, but keep in mind the mets were coming off of three straight last place finishes and had a reputation for not going out and spending...omar convinced ownership to do this for both talent and credibility drafting Mike Pelfrey 2006: traded Mike Cameron for Xavier Nady traded Yusmeiro Petit and two middling prospects for Carlos Delgado who hit 38 HRs traded middling prospects for Paul Loduca who hit .320 traded Kris Benson for John Maine and Jorge Julio later traded Julio for El Duque who was the mets most consistent starter in 2006 and 2007 traded Jae Seo, coming off of a very good year, for Duaner Sanchez who was the best setup man in baseball in 2006 until his injury traded Nady for Oliver Perez (won game 4 of the nlcs and had a good start in game 7, then won 15 games the following year) and Roberto Hernandez (replaced Sanchez) identifying Jose Valentin as a cheap bounceback candidate who ended up hitting 18 HRs as a 2B acquired Shawn Green in a waiver deal 2007: traded for Luis Castillo (proved a good move down the stretch, the 4-year extension is another story) traded Heath Bell (one of the bad moves, but he never seemed to fit in with the mets) signed Moises Alou, who while he got hurt, hit .340 for 2/3 of the season 2008: Castillo 4-year deal - stupid swapping out Milledge for Chuch and Schneider - many would do this again, regardless of how it worked out ripped off the Twins for Santana when several other teams could have done the same...Omar deserves more credit for this than simply offering a big contract extension to Johan 2009: Perez 3-year deal - looks bad, but the Mets got excellent value out of the initial trade that brought him in signed k-rod (obvious) trading for JJ Putz - regardless of how it worked out, it was a great deal at the time and one i would make 10 times over ************************************************************** This is maybe a better body of work than 90% of the GM's over the last five years (Of course I didn't check that. Just an impression)...my biggest knock on Omar is the penny pinching in the draft, which has become a terrible trend since signing Pelfrey in 2005. By that I mean not paying over "slot". My contention has been that much of Omar's success has been money related - he could afford to buy a player (Beltran, K-Mart, et. al.), trade almost nothing for a guy making, or about to make money (Delgado) or protecting a highly/ over paid player he already signed by trading away a minor leaguer who is better (Bell). If the owners hadn't had the money they had, I doubt Omar could have acquired the players he has. But, the money seems to dry up when it comes to paying for draft picks. On just good old fashioned player-for-player deals, IMO he leaves a lot to be desired. Later

From various sites the past week: Royce Ring signs a minor league contract with the Yanks. If he joins their AAA team in Scranton he will meet their recently re-signed infield coach - Aaron Ledesma. Later

The memory of 40+ years ago is pretty hazy. When I was in the Army I learned my one and only Japanese epithet. A loose transliteration is eye-ick-a-TIE Yoko Yoneda. IIRC, I just told her to eat dung. Fman, you may now add that to your collection. Later

As if "agent" and "Integrity" weren't oxymoronic enough, this guy includes Boras in that mix? Obviously, Boras has the power to cloud men's minds. (I'm at work and can't link to a Mandrake image). Later

There may be some very eloquent and supportive comments about Pat's feelings. I'll try to snap you back to reality by channelling a Mets fan who has read that a fellow fan is jumping ship, even temporarily. Y'ready? It is much more traditional. Here it goes. "Hey numb nuts. Don't let the door hit 'ya in the ass on the way out, you fuckin' turncoat!" Later

I'm hoping that the Wilpons will see that. If you follow the logic, the single remedy to all the team's problems is obvious. Re-hire Tony Bernazard. Later

What's next? A shower cap? Why a BP "cap"? This is silly. You should be wearing a helmet anyhow. Later

A Process-Analysis view of the Mets' decision making. http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/272604/flowchart1.png The folks who did it spent some time on it, so I guess they deserve a "tee hee". Later

Nymr83 wrote: No Thanks on Ankiel, his numbers last year sucked and we know he was juicing in the past, what if this is what he can do now that he's off the juice? IIRC his numbers "sucked" because he ran into an outfield wall last year, was out about three weeks, and never fully recovered from the concussion when he returned. (see: Church, Ryan) If he is recovered, he would make a nice pickup. And, after those numbers last year and recent signing amounts, I don't he'd cost a heckuva' lot. Later

I'm not pissed at all about the surgery. This is arthroscopy to clean out stuff after prior surgery. Happens all the time. Its not (knocking on wood) a fucking amputation. It most likely had to be done anyhow. And if it was necessary, Beltran would have been lost for the same number of games no matter who performed it. What made this the shitstorm that it is was the choice of doctors, and the (my words) paranoid and oversensitive Mets management who felt this would re-kindle the stories about the quality of team medical treatment that started last year. So now they are trying to portray themselves as the injured party. And it is about the management of this that I am disgusted, rather then being pissed to any degree. Later

Isn't Rick Ankiel still out there? Signing him to play center, then platooning him with Frenchy when Carlos gets back wouldn't be such a bad idea. Later

Edgy DC wrote: In truth, it says "options" because, should he be added to thr 40-man roster, the team would have options to bounce him between Buffalo and Gotham. He deserves that. He has certainly put in his time in the minors as an "organizational guy" and the three option recalls would give him a chance to probably double his minor league salary. Later

What is meant by "Options" for J. Feliciano? Later

I think that picture was posted here many months ago. (I know I've seen it before) It would have to have been nominated when originally posted (if there was a BOC awarded then), wouldn't it?. But in the absence of any hard and fast BOC nomination rules, I'd say nominate away and let the chips fall where they may. (Er, that may be the wrong expression to use on the day we find out about Beltran's new surgery.) Later

I'll try to spread some sunshine. I look at this as a great opportunity to see what Fernando Martinez can do. I'm thinking that he won't have to face many lefty pitchers with the rest of the lineup mostly right handed or switch hitters. Pagan would be an ok platoon against the occasional lefties they would have to face. Later

Benjamin Grimm wrote: At least Glavine was a wimp with no personality. Smoltz would be a disaster. You're clearly saying that you prefer the wimp. I guess that's the way it came out. Not what I meant. Just two different types of dislike. Later

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I can't see why we'd prefer a "wimp" to someone who's "tough and gritty." Well, the Mets did sign the wimp. Tough and gritty is ok when you still have the ability to back it up. And I don't think he has it any more. I'm tough and gritty, but I wouldn't want the Mets to sign me for only that reason, either. Later

Edgy DC wrote: Not from the most reliable sources, but there's some specameculation out there that there's some thought that Mets are interested in using John Smoltz to fill the role of Pitcher Who Used to Be Good but Now Isn't. He would also inherit Billy Wagner's role of Staff Bald Guy. Just rip my heart out of my chest, why don't you. Are the Mets to become the retirement home for ex-Braves hall of famers? And a tough and gritty ex-Brave from their glory years? That would be like inviting Osama Bin Laden to a Bar Mitzvah. At least Glavine was a wimp with no personality. Smoltz would be a disaster. Later