smg58

That's the thing with prospects. Sometimes you know right away, and sometimes you don't. And sometimes the experts get it way wrong. It looks like the Tigers judged correctly in drafting Verlander, but the Anderson Hernandez for Matt Ginter deal that looked good for them in April now looks criminal in our favor.

Also, it's interesting that Petit didn't get promoted with Bannister. It's not unusual to promote somebody you're considering dealing. It's not likely that the Mets will want two starting pitchers in April 07 with a year or less of MLB experience, so dealing one of them make sense, and touting Bannister at this point tells you which one they really want to keep.

Other than Humber, the others aren't surprising. I'd like to see more performance out of Milledge (and less caught steals) before I feel confident about him on this level. I'd have preferred to see Humber earn his jumps, especially when we have guys like Juan Padilla being blocked by guys like Danny Graves.

It's far too soon to tell if it's significant -- but I decided to be an optimist and vote both.

I think it's a combination of things. For one thing, Foster was lazy and Bonilla obnoxious; Beltran does not appear to be either. Plus, Pedro has managed to divert a lot of attention towards himself, and that attention has been all favorable so far. And I think people feel the Mets are heading in the right direction in general, and that makes a difference. Still, a couple of weeks of the Beltran from last year's playoffs would be nice...

I'm not sure why Texas would make that deal if they stayed in the wild card hunt, and unless the Mets really like Anderson Hernandez, I'm not sure why they'd do it either.Given the ballpark boost, Soriano actually hasn't been all that good since he left the Bronx. Stay away.However, if the Mets really do like Anderson Hernandez, and Reyes can get us somebody really good (i.e., better than Soriano), I'm for it at this point. Reyes hasn't shown any improvement over what he did last year when his season kept getting interrupted. He might never have more value than he has now, and I wouldn't say no out of hand if somebody asks.I wanted to clarify something on Zambrano while I'm at it. I absolutely agree that he has his maximum value right now, and yes I'd listen to offers. I just wouldn't expect the Mets to deal him for a prospect who doesn't have comparable stature to Kazmir.

The escalators on Glavine's salary require 200 IP this year; at the halfway point he's at 96. He could make 200 if he pitches even a little better, but would that be good for the Mets or bad?

The Mets do need hitting more than pitching, but I don't see where a real second ace would hurt if the Mets could get one.Plus, it's not clear what's out there, and the pickings so far appear to be slim. I've already given my opinions on Dunn, and I'm not sure what other hitters out there would command more attention. I can understand why Minaya was interested in Sheffield, even if the Mets are probably better off not going there. Sean Casey would help, but he wouldn't put us near the top, much less over it.Which brings us to pitchers. If the Mets could trade some quantity for quality, that would be ideal, but who? It would have to be someone they'd control next season, so anybody in their contract year is out. I'd be willing to gamblle that Jason Schmidt will be the old Jason Schmidt by April, but I'm not convinced he'd help us now, and the Giants may ask for the moon.As for whom to trade? Well, we'll have eight guys capable of being in some team's rotation once Trachsel gets back. The Mets don't need to get much for Glavine if somebody else pays his salary next season. I'd like to see Ishii work out of the pen before I did anything with him, unless somebody surprises me with a good offer for him. You couldn't trade Zambrano for "B" prospects, for obvious reasons, but I'd consider packaging him to get a clearly better pitcher on this level. I see no point in keeping Seo if you can't find room for him up here; deal him while he has value.

I saw that too. I think it's safe to say that the wild card will come from the East. And I don't see why the Mets are less capable of putting together a run than the Nats or the Phillies were.

If the Mariners would be willing to take Matsui -- they're one of the teams NOT on the no-trade clause -- I'd be very interested. Hell, I'd pay Boone's salary for another team if the M's would take Kaz and we got even a passable prospect out of it. Otherwise, I don't see the point.

That's... disturbing. Although I think Foster wound up with something like 12 HR that season, so I imagine the negative press built up over the year. Plus, I think people know that Beltran is streaky, and are still expecting (or at least hoping for) an explosion in time to vault the Mets into serious playoff contention. That being said, I'm amazed that he's gotten so little attention up to this point, and I can't see that lasting much longer.

What did we get for Wheeler? For all the talk about the Kazmir deal, this one might be the one from last year we most want back.

The bizarre stat with the Nats is that they've allowed more runs than they've scored, but are something like 20-7 in one-run games. Have they been more lucky than good to date? Can Chad Cordero maintain a sub-1 ERA all season?On the other hand, their best player Jose Vidro is still on the DL, and they're winning like this.

He does draw walks, and that's absolutely an asset, but a big part of the Mets' offensive problems the last two years has been the lack of timely hits, especially with guys on third and less than two outs. I don't see how Dunn would change that. Realistically, you'd get .240 and 30 HR here -- in other words, Cameron from last year, with more walks but no SB and less defense. Would you give up Petit for that? My point in bringing up Casey and Freel is that they're likely to be undervalued, especially playing in a homer-happy park like Cincinnati, while Dunn is overvalued. I'm not sure how the Reds feel about Freel, but with Casey they would probably be happy if we took his whole contract for the rest of this year and next.

What can you tell me about Chase Lambin, since he just got promoted? He seems to have come out of nowhere to put up really strong numbers this year, but at 25 (26 next week) is he a legit prospect?Any idea when Bannister and Petit will see Norfolk?

I'll take the Brewers. I have too many of them on my fantasy team (although I can't really complain about Carlos Lee), so writing them up should be easy.

Dunn is a low BA, high K power hitter whose HR totals are inflated by the little league field he plays his home games in. Bring him here and he'd be nothing. I bet we could get Sean Casey and Ryan Freel for half the price they'd ask for Dunn, and we'd be a better team for it. The Mets lineup needs .300 hitters and high OBP guys more than it needs one-dimensional power hitters.

WWSB?I think Ishii would be a lot more effective as a lefty out of the pen than as a starter. But Heilman, assuming he takes his place in the rotation, needs to stop being afraid to throw in the strike zone once he gets ahead of batters. It seemed like he kept going 0-2 or 1-2 and then winding up at 3-2 last night. And the guy he walked wound up scoring.Anybody have a timetable on Trachsel's return?I know plenty of people are still venting over "that trade" (myself included), but I'm certainly not rooting against Zambrano. I'm just worried that his narrow escapes might have more to do with luck than with skill. Still, he's been a net plus for us so far this year.

I'd throw in Glavine and make the MFY's throw in a younger player. Then we're the ones freeing payroll, Heilman in the rotation wouldn't hurt us, Padilla finally gets up here, and the freed money plus Diaz puts us in better dealing position than we are in right now.

Jeter to CF? Somebody gets points for being creative.How about Cameron and Matsui for Sheffield? Not sure why the Yankees would do that, but one can hope...I get the sense that the deal has actually been discussed. I guess it depends on what the "and" in "Cameron and..." turns out to be. Sheffield would be an upgrade on offense, and we shouldn't ignore that part. The problem for me would have more to do with payroll; we'd be adding $5M (for next year) at a position I would have expected to be subtracting $8M. Plus they would be forced to deal Diaz, or keep him buried until his confidence and/or market value vanishes. I'm never clear on what the Mets' spending limit is, so it's difficult to say how much of a bind this would put the Mets in for filling the remainder of their needs for next year.

Interesting way of putting it. The funny thing is, I bet the numbers would favor Benitez, but Looper doesn't have the history of spectacular collapses in the particularly critical games that everybody remembers.Looper had been solid between the first two weeks of the season and this past week, but he hasn't looked so sharp recently. I'd be concerned that something isn't right with his arm. And right now none of our relievers look particularly good.

Yes, I'm for giving playing time based on merit, but the bigger question is what to do with the overpriced players we have, and most importantly, how to make this team a real contender by April 06 at the latest.Matsui: must go, but to whom, for what, and would he agree to it? I'd say your best hope is a viable reclamation project (maybe somebody like Eric Milton), but don't expect much.Glavine: Hope he pitches well enough to be dealable, or that he doesn't make 200 IP and have his option vest.Cameron or Floyd: They're both under contract one more year, and given the market adjustment are not overpaid at all, especially Floyd. If you think Diaz will give the Mats as much as Cameron in right by April, then find a suitor. It can wait until the offseason, but make the right deal. (For example, if the Red Sox somehow don't trade Stoppach in July and then Johnny Damon bolts, the Mets would be in an excellent position to take advantage.) Certainly don't trade both Floyd and Cameron, though.What do we need? First base, second base, catcher, and (like everybody else) more pitching.

No, not a monstrously huge one -- the last time we traded an overpaid pitcher for a large batboy was Appier for Mo Vaughn, and that really didn't work out.The Mets are in a similar position now that they've been in each of the last five Junes except 03: not a good enough position to justify going for broke, but not in a bad enough position to justify a fire sale. I do think they need to make next year the higher priority, but if they can find players that will help this year's team without costing us prospects we'll wish we had back, then make the deal.The one guy they have to move is Glavine, even if that means releasing him before his option vests; that money would be better spent elsewhere. Yes, get Heilman into the rotation already, and if you can't find room for Seo then move him while he has value. If you can deal Matsui for a pitcher that Peterson could revive by the start of next season, then great, but Kaz will only get us somebody who's overpaid and underachieving. Durham is just not healthy enough anymore, so I think that deal would be a push. Cameron doesn't need to be traded, but if somebody makes a really good offer you would have to consider it.

We didn't really need to be reminded of the Nolan Ryan deal...As for Vaughn and Appier, Mets fans tend to forget that that it was close to a wash payroll-wise, and the Angels released Appier outright while the Mets at least collected insurance on Vaughn. So technically, we got the better of the deal! That'll learn 'em!

Milwaukee has been making good trades lately -- check Carlos Lee's RBI totals, the five major leaguers for Richie Sexson deal, and a good prospect for (chuckle) Dan Kolb. Ohka wore out his welcome with Robinson, but Milwaukee could do a lot worse than him as a fifth starter.I'm surprised the Rangers would give up so quickly on a guy who was their ace last year. All they got for him was the waiver fee. It will be interesting to see how that pans out.