smg58

The Braves could beat out the Mets, for sure. Having Teixeira for a full year should make a huge difference. Then again they don't have Renteria and Jones, and the Braves' magic touch at finding replacements for departed players might not be what it was a few years back. I doubt that Glavine and Hampton will be positive difference makers for them, though. But other than the Tigers and maybe the Angels, who's clearly improved themselves so far? The Yankees have committed a large amount of money to maintaining the status quo with an aging roster. Big deal. Most of the big names are still out there. I really didn't like the Milledge trade, but it's too early to pass final judgment on the offseason. I would like to know what Plan B is, though, in case a front line starter doesn't materialize. And Minaya had better have a damn good plan for improving the pen, because it's not clear that he's even looked at any relievers yet.

Dan Johnson's not even as good as last year's Delgado. If you're going to scheme up something hopelessly convoluted, at least give us guys we can use.

Saw that one too. I'd be interested in Fuentes as a complement to Heilman, but a straight-up trade would be of no benefit. If we can't find a 200 IP starter, Heilman would be extremely difficult to part with. I could see the Mets insisting on Schoeneweis getting thrown in, but certainly not the other way around.

Well hey, if Andruw Jones can get an annual salary of $18M after last year, there's no reason to assume that Delgado is valueless. I do think Farmer Ted has a point concerning the wrist surgery.

The price we paid for 200 innings of Glavine was that he was worse than useless in his last three starts, when the team needed him most. Innings aren't that valuable if the guy's pitching poorly. Sosa may have shown signs of wear, but Mota, Schoeneweis, and Sele weren't so much overworked as they were awful. Making the back of the bullpen simply competent would actually be a significant improvement, and another reliever comparable to/superior than Heilman would help enormously. Now you have to work under the assumption that Pedro and El Duque don't have 30 starts in them, so finding an extra starter is imperative. He doesn't have to be Santana/Haren/Bedard/Blanton if the price is wrong, but a guy who's a clear upgrade over Park/Williams/Lawrence shouldn't be that hard to get.

bmfc1 wrote: However, if the Mets system stinks as much as some of the writers say, then we have nothing to worry about. It didn't stink any less last year, though. Rule 5 is a good place to look for bargains, but you really have to do some homework for it.

]Those names are not being thrown around at the moment, but it is a possibility. In other words, the writer is just making shit up.

Well it also helps the Phillies and the Braves just as much. And it sets the trading bar awfully high.

Fman99 wrote: Rolling Stones' "Steel Wheels" tour. October 26, 1989. We had 10th row isle seats (the only time I've ever been down on the field at Shea). Living Colour opened. We had a rockin' good time. I was 16 years old. I was 19, and up in the mezzanine. You should have seen the protruding floor of the upper deck shake in rhythm to "Satisfaction." Being directly under it, it was a tad unnerving...

Frayed Knot wrote: ]... the Marlins actually turned the biggest profit of any team last year Where is that info from and is something we should take at face value given the wonders of creative accounting and all that? The number comes from a Forbes magazine report. I have no idea how they took "creative accounting" into account when they came up with their numbers. The bottom line is that they're making money by not spending anything. However, the Marlins are also the least valuable franchise, so Loria won't make a whole lot if/when he sells the team.

metirish wrote: No idea about the kids the Marlins are getting but Miller and Maybin are supposed to be super prospects, I'd hate to be a Marlins fan though, tough to sell them this I would think. On one hand, it sounds like Florida is getting a lot, and it's not like Marlins fans didn't know this was coming. On the other hand, the Marlins actually turned the biggest profit of any team last year, so at some point somebody will have to call Loria on his lack of spending. Uggla had the Fielding Bible's worst +/- at second base, Ramirez was the worst at short, and Cabrera was third worst at third. Moving Uggla to third would probably upgrade two positions defensively. They key to this deal is actually Willis. The return of the old D-Train will give the Tigers a title. Last year's Willis will get murdered in the AL, though, and even the usual offense from Cabrera won't be enough to make this deal look good.

If you think that whatever Pedro gives you this year will be better than what Glavine gave you last year, and you think Pelfrey will improve, then you don't need an elite starter at an absurdly high cost. You will still need a sixth starter who won't kill you when called upon, along with a much, much deeper bullpen.

Centerfield wrote: Delgado really killed us last year. I can't believe we have to put up with another year of that. He wouldn't be the first player to bounce back off a bad year. Remember the year Mike Lowell had in 2005? Or Jim Thome for that matter? Granted Delgado will be 36, but that's not so old for a first baseman that he couldn't regain his form. He's not somebody I'd consider dead weight yet, although if somebody else wants to the roll the dice on him enough to give us somebody useful (remember the Phillies got Rowand in the Thome deal), I'd have to listen.

With Pena and Kearns already in the corners, and the possibility of Dmitri Young moving to leftfield when/if Nick Johnson is ready, I'll wager they're not done dealing either.

Edgy DC wrote: Nonetheless, I'm intrigued in smg-gie reporting the scenario that Church is part of a bigger deal, even though his source is "I had heard." It's past perfect, passive, and ambiguious, but I'm eating again for the first time in three days. I haven't heard anything specific about Church. I think rotoworld had the Bedard report that listed Gomez, Heilman, and Humber, although ironically, they also said a week or two ago that the Nationals coveted Gomez. It's possible that Minaya decided that of the three young Mets outfielders, he was keeping Martinez and Gomez and taking what he could get for Milledge -- even though Milledge could start in rightfield right now and Gomez's centerfield defense is something that the teams with pitchers to deal would like but the Mets don't need. That theory would be easily refuted if Gomez gets dealt too, naturally. But if he wasn't planning on keeping two of those three outfielders, you have to wonder why he opted for a short contract to Moises Alou when Soriano and Carlos Lee were available. Which brings us back to JCL's query concerning "The Plan."

I had heard that the Orioles had turned down Gomez, Heilman, and Humber for Bedard, which actually strikes me as a low-ball offer if true. I don't see anybody desiring Church more than Milledge. The Mets took Church plus Schneider for Milledge, so the Mets don't even see Church as the more valuable player by himself. And even if Church does go, who plays rightfield? I don' think there is a plan, unfortunately. Minaya had said he didn't want to trade bargaining chips for a catcher when he was about to sign Torrealba. What happened there remains a mystery, and if the deal never got to the physical then I have heard no speculated explanation that works. I can see Estrada for Mota as a way to get rid of the contract, but it's not clear if the Mets ever looked at Estrada long enough to see how well he was recovering from his operations. Which would seem odd, since a healthy Estrada is better than LoDuca or Schneider. I've heard that Schneider was a favorite of Minaya's when they were in Montreal, and that makes sense to me. Schneider was a better hitter and fielder then, though, and it's possible that Omar is overvaluing him at this point.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Even this trade, you could argue, involves a more immediate payback for the Mets in that Church would be more predictable a success for next year than Milledge. He's a predictably OK platoon corner outfielder. And Schneider can be counted on for mediocre offense by catcher standards. Is this going to be good enough?

I think the fact that Wagner publicly expressed hope just this week that the Mets wouldn't trade Milledge indicates that the clubhouse issues were blown way out of proportion. I certainly don't think Milledge has anywhere near plateaued as a hitter, but people looking for a centerfielder (i.e., Billy Beane does not need corner outfielders) were probably not impressed enough with his defense. To me that's all the more reason to deal the prospect (Gomez) whose biggest asset, his centerfield glove, is of limited value to us, while keeping the guy who (unlike Gomez) could start in rightfield right now without killing the lineup. But so far at least, the Mets have been more protective of Gomez. I don't think it's a matter of policy to deal off prospects, especially since rushing top-level prospects into levels they aren't quite ready for tends to hurt their stock more than help it. That policy worked better for Reyes and Wright because they came up when the Mets weren't contending, and the team could afford to let them play through their struggles at Shea while guys like Milledge and Pelfrey have been bounced back and forth.

I remember this thread. Sure there are bad FA signings. Mota and Schoeneweis immediately come to mind, because there were fair reasons to doubt when they were signed that either could benefit the team. Plus, as long as there's a price in money and years above which you would not go for a player's services, even if they could benefit the team, then I don't think you can say money is no object. Like I said in another thread, the Mets suffered last season not because they didn't make a big deal, but because all the little deals that revolved around the bullpen backfired horribly. The Mets would have been better off if Minaya had simply done nothing. Now it's possible that some of the backfiring was unlucky. But if Burgos for Bannister was bad luck, then Seo for Sanchez was good luck. Conversely, if Minaya's a genius for one, he's an idiot for the other. I still think Minaya deserves credit for getting three decent starters cheaply in a sellers' market. But the really bad bullpen, and the inability to find a sixth starter that wouldn't kill them, cost the Mets a division title. Delgado was a huge part of 2006, so I'm not going to play down that deal. I just hope that last year was an aberration, because I don't see him going anywhere. The Castillo trade was a net plus. The Vargas for Lindstrom and Owens deal has to be considered bad. The Conine deal was neutral. While I certainly don't like the Milledge deal, I don't think it would be fair to put it in the bad column before any games are played.

Did anybody know who Flores was when he was claimed? The Mets obviously assumed that nobody would Rule 5 a guy who hadn't yet played above A-ball. But somebody for the Nationals saw something in Flores that the Mets overlooked. A crucial mistake in hindsight, but I don't know if anybody recognized it as such at the time.

I liked the guy, I'm sorry he never got a fair chance to show what he can do in a Mets uniform, and I'm sorry he's gone.

Percival got signed for a very fair price, given how well he pitched in his comeback. Riske might get three years at a reasonable price for the Brewers. If Minaya didn't want either of them (granted Percival wanted to close, so he might not have really been an option), who DOES he want to help the pen? I know one rumor mentioned Dotel, who'd be fine if he's healthy, but if he signs for a more generous offer than Percival it's not going to look good.

I don't see Church as an everyday player, but he does hit righties very well. He wouldn't have been a bad guy to get for somebody other than Milldege, because now I'd have to label another righthanded bat as a need. That, and he doesn't have Milledge's upside. Schneider has less upside than Johnny Estrada. In fact, he may have less upside than me. I can't even see him getting more starts than Castro unless Castro breaks down. And we're committed to him for two years. LoDuca was at least average. Schneider won't be.

Brendan Harris is no match for Bartlett with the glove, but he hits well for the position, and if you think the plus/minus stat from the Fielding Bible (http://www.fieldingbible.com/) is a fairly objective measure, it's not like he was the worst defensive shortstop in the AL East (snicker). Yes his glove is an issue, but he's not unplayable. I had a feeling when I saw the deal that somebody would suggest that this makes room for Reyes, but I still don't see it. I think Reyes is in trade rumors for the same reason that Heilman was in so many last year; people are blaming him for what the whole team didn't accomplish.

The Rays might be on the verge of dealing Delmon Young and Brendan Harris to the Twins for Garza, Bartlett, and Rincon, according to a rotoworld report. http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=MLB&hl=226705&id=868 An odd deal. Bartlett is underrated, but so is Harris, and besides the Rays have a highly regarded shortstop in their system. I understand the Rays' need for pitching, but Young's upside is a hell of a lot to part with. It's strange that the Twins are dealing pitching, but not so much if they get multiple arms for Johan. I think the Twins win this one.