smg58

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Yah. If you move Wright, must be to 1B or maybe LF. I'd like to see this team explore the possibility of upgrading at first base. I realize it would have created all kinds of havoc to try and cut Delgado loose on the fly, but its a shame we couldn't somehow get involved in the whole Texiera thing. The Braves now have a better first baseman than us, joining the Phillies. The only thing I thought of there is seeing what the other pursuers of Teixeira (like the Angels) would have packaged for Delgado instead and then adding Martinez to that package and seeing if the Rangers would bite. I think a three-club deal is probably the only way you upgrade on Delgado at this point, and I'm not sure how likely that is. Our best hope then is that Delgado's .781 OPS after nine straight seasons above .900 was an aberration.

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: But I don;t fault the Mets for flipping him for Burgos, who is younger and more electrtic and might have made the same kind of leap that Duaner Sanchez had. We gambled and lost. I think the corollary to rushing the front-line guys along in the system is that guys with less "stuff" but good minor-league results (like Bannister and Bell) get lost in the shuffle. It seemed pretty clear (and I remember saying something to that effect) that Bannister had been placed behind Pelfrey and Humber on the depth chart and was therefore expendable. At the time, that made perfect sense to me. In hindsight, it was a difference-making mistake.

Is Milledge a front-line talent worth holding on to or isn't he? If yes, then he'll improve even further with a steady stream of AB's. If not, the Mets get as much out of RF as they got last year, which is not what killed them. At any rate I think he's reached the point where it's time to find out about him. Gomez needs another year of seasoning, but that's fine.

Like the writer said, he's equivalent to Castillo, so for starters he'd have to be asking for less money. Everybody always knocks Eckstein. I remember some ESPN writer a couple of years ago listing the Cardinals' signing of Eckstein as one of the worst moves of the offseason. And if he doesn't think being the World Series MVP counts for anything, he'll probably say he was right. I think Wright could handle moving to 2B. He has the speed, and his arm would be less of an issue. To seriously consider moving Wright, though, would require A-Rod taking the discount to wear the orange and blue that he says he would have done seven years ago, or Mike Lowell taking a comparable deal to what Eckstein or Castillo would get. Guys like Barfield or Chris Burke are worth looking at, but their stock value has to be well below that of Gomez at this point. I can't justify demanding value for a guy who played his way out of the lineup. The Indians could use pitching, too, and I might consider Pelfrey or Humber and somebody of lesser value for Barfield and Kelly Shoppach.

There does seem to be a trend (Wells, Buehrle, Zambrano) of guys signing early and not testing the market, and I see no reason why a team with the resources can't offer fair market value a year in advance and expect the player to take the offer sitting there rather than risk an injury or an off season crashing his value. So if (huge if) Santana comes here this offseason, I don't think having a deal in place immediately is necessary to keep him.

But you need to be realistic about both. And if you don't think the Mets can fill all their needs via free agency (which in itself is a fair subject to debate), then you have to trade somebody.

Not surprising, given how thin the catcher market is.

Exhale.

Come on Joe, prove me wrong.

Borowski: 1.43 WHIP, 5.07 ERA Betancourt: 0.76 WHIP, 1.47 ERA For the life of me, I can't imagine that Wedge couldn't have found a perfectly acceptable excuse to change closers before now.

Wedge wouldn't take him out for Borowski, would he? Would he?

And I thought these looked like four really competitive series on paper. I guess not. On the other hand, while I'd prefer not to be living vicariously through the Rockies and the Indians, I can't say I'm not enjoying how things have gone so far.

Vic Sage wrote: watching Cleveland, it seems they've already given up on Barfield at 2b, and Shoppach has the stuff to be a regular catcher. Plus, Betancourt would look good in our pen. Hey Indians, lets make a deal! I'm curious about Barfield too. Was he hurt that he came as undone as he did this season? Shoppach needs to cut down on the K's at least a little, but he took a step forward this year and could be a solid regular if given the chance. The Indians have a few good relievers, but given the troubles they had in that department last year I'd be surprised if they consider any of them expendable.

The Indians give me reason to hope for the Mets. The big difference between the 78-win team last year and the 96-win team this year is that last year their bullpen was horrible. This year their pen has some serious depth (outside of their closer Borowski, who managed to hold on to his job despite the presence of four guys with ERA's more than two runs better). I think the addition of one really good guy in the pen and a couple of decent guys would make a huge difference, given what they'd be replacing.

="Edgy DC"]Subjectively, knowing where he was six weeks into the season --- best shortstop on the planet --- and knowing that he finished his season as the fourth best in the division, makes it worth looking at. If he duplicated his OPS from last year, he still would have had the fourth highest among shortstops in the division. Maybe he's really not as good as he looked in April, or as bad as he looked lately. ]Knowing that his season was a net step backwards at the plate (and a net step forward in the field and on the basepaths) makes it worth looking at. Wouldn't argue that. His numbers are down, but I wouldn't call them disastrously down, or his year on the whole a bad one. As JD said, he wasn't driving the ball as well, although it looks like an easily correctable mechanics issue to me. The bigger issue for me is the lapses in concentration; that may or may not be easily correctable. ]Jack Wilson spent a good part of this season getting beat up on by frustrated fans and P-burgh columnists, and he out-OPS-ed Reyes. For a plus-fielding shortstop, Wilson had a very good year, matching his best year in 04. Not sure what happened to him in 05 and 06, or why so much negative attention was directed at Wilson when you could argue he was their best position player this year. But hey, if the Twins offer us Johan and the Pirates give Wilson away...

And keep in mind there was nothing objectively wrong with Jose's season. How many Mets besides him have scored 118 runs in a season? He had 77 walks and 78 K's; two years ago we'd have all been ecstatic with that ratio. It should have translated into quite a few more hits, but he seemed to be popping too many balls up the second half. A simple correction in his mechanics and there's no reason why he can't hit .320. Now it's possible that the coaching staff has been saying the right things to Reyes in the right way, and he refuses to listen. That would absolutely affect my willingness to trade him for a pitcher of Santana's caliber, but we have no way of knowing that at this point.

We've had a lot of the same players the last three years, and certainly the last two, so I see no reason to single out the manager.

Tell me what the problem really was with Reyes the last two months, and I'll be in a better position to answer the poll question. As long as we have nothing but speculation to go on, I don't see how making a judgement is really possible.

MFS62 wrote: But the next time he doesn't run one out, I'm sure Willie wil give him plenty of time to rest on the bench. That should have happened multiple times this year, or at least until Reyes got the point. For the record, Jimmy Rollins played the full 162 and amassed a staggering 716 AB (is that a record?). The Phillies played 17 innings all year with somebody else at SS. His numbers certainly didn't drop off in September (.298, 22 R, 18 RBI, 4 2B, 5 TR, 6 HR). So I'm inclined not to think a lack of rest was the issue with Reyes.

So who was talking to these bouncers, and why? Did a reporter get a tipoff? Or is the insertion of verifiable details when discussing Reyes not possible/allowed?

All of this makes me wonder who the big, difference-making, available player that can push the Mets back to where they need to be is. A-Rod will almost certainly be available, but at what price does he become a Faustian bargain? And if you balk on A-Rod, where else do you look?

metsmarathon wrote: dare we enter next year with ruben gotay as our primary second baseman? Not against lefties. We might be able to find a serviceable right-handed complement fairly cheaply, though. Other than Castillo, I really don't know what the better options are.

attgig wrote: i'm worried about the catchers... in the free agent list... honestly... loduca/castro might not be horrible options for 2 year contracts. either that or... barrett (as long as he doesn't get into fights) torrealba (?? don't know much about him) Posada (he's old...would he ever come over?) and there's always piazza.... Catcher and second base are extremely thin positions around the league right now. LoDuca's at the age where catchers often decline precipitously, and aside from a decent spurt in September he really wasn't good this year. The Padres didn't seem to benefit from Barrett's presence, while the Cubs played their best baseball after he left. Maybe it's a coincidence, but there's a limit to what I'd gamble on that possibility. I'd try to pair up Castro with a similar backup that has upside (maybe dealing for Kelly Shoppach?), and hope one of them takes a step forward.

Gwreck wrote: ="Vic Sage"]But it looks like the only way we're getting a front-line starter will be through a trade. ...if at all. I don't see it happening. The price for "name" starters is really high. The fact is the Mets were better off avoiding all of the big-name starters who were signed or traded this past year, except maybe Matsuzaka -- and even he was awfully expensive for "pretty good." Pelfrey should be more ready this time around, and the other four guys look set. (I look at El Duque the way I look at Alou; he's good when he plays.)

Jeremy Affeldt (29) Strictly a LOOGY, and a wild one at that. Pass. Antonio Alfonseca (36) Ugly numbers this year. LaTroy Hawkins (35) Respectable numbers for Colorado, but has a history of not cutting it in high-leverage situations. He did give them a scoreless inning yesterday though. Might take a flier on him if he impresses in the postseason and he doesn't ask for much. Jorge Julio (29) The talent is there. The results aren't. Joe Kennedy (29) Has a bit more to recommend him than Affeldt, but not much. Scott Linebrink (31) Decent, but not better than Heilman. Back-of-the-pen guy on a good team. I'd ask about him, but I'm guessing the price will be high relative to his real value. Troy Percival (39) Pitched REALLY well when he came back. Not for a big commitment obviously, but worth a look. In hindsight, he was worth a look this year too. David Riske (31) - $2.85MM club option for '08 His peripherals suggest his 2.45 ERA was a bit fluky, but he's put up pretty good numbers over several years for a guy who's been moved around often. His option is worth picking up, though, so I wouldn't expect him to leave the Royals. Russ Springer (39) Outstanding year. Great WHIPs (1.19, 1.04, and 0.91) his last three seasons. Yes his age makes him a bit dicey, but the guy can pitch. Julian Tavarez (35) - $3.85MM club option for '08 Can't see that option being picked up. Nothing to recommend. Mike Timlin (42) Another old guy who can still pitch. Of course I'd prefer youth, but so far the three best options were born in the sixties. Luis Vizcaino (31) Might have comparable worth to Linebrink for a lower price. Not a savior by any means, but he could be a bargain (and a significant upgrade over Sele or Mota). Kerry Wood (31) The X-factor. A decent return that he could build on. I'd be worried about paying extra for the name, but everybody knows the upside.