smg58

I'm guessing Thome wants a shot at a ring. Giambi must like the school system.

I'd argue that the prime of a player whose game revolves around speed is more likely to end at 30 than begin.

Ankiel's defense was strong last year, and he's still got as good an outfield arm as anybody, but it's tough to get excited about a .650 OPS.

That's sad. I also remember the Forsch brothers from collecting cards when I was little, and remember thinking it was a big deal when both brothers pitched no-hitters. He looks so young in that card, and certainly didn't look last week like somebody who had a few days left.

This conversation is eerily similar to one I had when the Mets traded Jay Payton in 2002, which ended with me saying something to the effect of: "I didn't say he doesn't have rocks in his head, I just said he was our best outfielder."

Duda certainly has the potential to be better, if his bat turns out to be legit and more consistent playing time in the OF improves his defense.

Pagan is projected to command something like $4.7M in arbitration. He was worth far more than that in 09 and 10. He's been a better player than Grady Sizemore in each of the past three seasons. Hell, he's been a better player than Jason Bay in the past two. If you think he was dealing with nagging injuries all year, and I'm inclined to think he was, then simply dropping him would be silly. You're not likely to upgrade the position while simultaneously saving money. Thinking of him as a fourth outfielder would require having three outfielders who are better, and right now the Mets don't have any.

The +/- is determined by the percentage of plays that are made over a given distance (the plays are broken into bins by distance and, I believe, direction) league-wide, how many plays an average fielder would have made give the number of grounders or flies hit to a given bin under a particular fielder's watch, and how many plays the fielder actually made. In that setup (UZR is a little different, but I'm not sure how or where), the space of the outfield may magnify a negative or positive reading, but it won't make an above-average fielder look below average. (Playing half your games at an altitude might, however, but that's a discussion which doesn't directly affect the Mets.) At any rate, there should not be a significant park effect for infielders, at least that I'm aware of (without artificial turf affecting things anymore). Reyes certainly passed the eyeball test, but Jeter has made a career out of doing that, and I saw Elvis Andrus make a number of plays in the postseason that I don't think Reyes makes. On the whole, there wasn't that much disagreement between UZR and +/- regarding the Mets, with the exception being Angel Pagan. UZR had him going from extremely positive in 2010 to extremely negative in 2011, while the +/- had him going from solidly positive to a -1. The eyeball test certainly had me thinking he was a step or two slower than last year, but the UZR difference seems extreme to me.

Vlad is an interesting case. Like Vaughn, he was an elite power hitter when he signed, but the Vlad signing may have been bigger news in New York than it was nationally on account of him not coming here. It's tough to gauge the Carew signing in comparison. One, my memory is hazy that far back, but I don't remember it being huge news given a lot of other big-name FA signings. On the other hand, Carew is in Cooperstown while Vaughn is not and Vlad wasn't quite that level either.

The Bobby Bonilla signing might have been bigger than either Pedro or Carlos taken individually. Has to be Reggie for the Yankees. Holliday was traded to Oakland before he signed with St. Louis.

The Reds had a $12M option on Brandon Phillips, which they picked up.

Edgy DC wrote: That's two good-hitting catchers on that list. Doumit also plays first and right. They've both had trouble staying healthy, but either might be worth one year and an option.

I agree with Vic about Melissa McCarthy, who was easily the best thing about the movie. Unfortunately, I also agree that the lead character got less and less sympathetic as the movie went on.

I'm with Edgy. The Yankees have already gotten the three best years they'll get from CC. Let them pay more for the rest of it.

I've never bought into the argument that offense sells. I don't have a problem with being honest and saying that there's a concern that free agent hitters won't want to come here. At least I totally understand that reason. I wouldn't frame the argument in terms of any current Met players, though. The Mets have been coming up woefully short in the power department both at home and on the road, and the possibly exists that the people we've been expecting more home runs from just aren't that good anymore. I think it's incredibly naive to think that adjusting a wall will make certain players' lost ability miraculously reappear.

Dickey Niese Gee Young Batista

Leyland got away with some questionable managing in the 9th. Coke certainly looked out of gas and was facing lefty-killer Mike Napoli, but Napoli grounded out. Which begs the question: if three straight baserunners and Napoli as the go-ahead run up at bat weren't sufficient to pull the plug on Coke, why were the other guys even warming up? Personally, overworked or not, I think Valverde ought to have come in and gotten the last out. Either he's your best guy, or he isn't. He'll have four months to rest.

Cruz may have just sealed series MVP. Both managers were guilty of misusing the intentional walk, but Leyland paid for it.

Nobody was genuinely awful (aside from Igarashi and Carrasco), but other than Dickey nobody was on the good side of average, either. I think that replacing Capuano with Santana will be a significant improvement in and of itself. Dickey is not the problem. Niese was very good until his last couple of starts, when his numbers divebombed and then he got hurt. My concern is that it's the second year in a row that he had good numbers at the All-Star break but finished with very mediocre numbers, but he's obviously young and capable of improving. Pelfrey? Your guess is as good as mine. He's certainly capable of better, and bringing in somebody who's a safe bet to be better will be expensive. Gee might just be keeping a seat warm until the guys with higher upside are ready, but he did look good at times. The bullpen needs to improve -- a lot -- but if Alderson plays his cards right that can be done without expensive long-term commitments. Defense might be the biggest issue, but it might be hard to address. Pagan is capable of a lot better, and if there's a chance his injuries slowed him down I would not be too quick to pull the plug on him. If Bay is driven out of town, it won't be because of his glove. Duda? I want his bat in the lineup, but he'll kill the Mets in right field. The infield had a big issue turning two, and perhaps that's something they ought to address. That leaves Wright, and what do you do with him?

No fair. They let Cruz get all the way around the bases.

Oh well. I guess the one run has to stick.

Or not. Your turn, Matt.

Come on Lance, break it open.

Best of luck to Robin, but that's a tough entry-level position.

And the new manager of the Chicago White Sox is Robin Ventura. I didn't even know he was doing any coaching. Best of luck to him regardless. on edit: blew right past the other thread. Sorry about that.