Centerfield

G-Fafif wrote: "Because he's John Olerud" would be my standard for voting him in to the Hall of Fame or anything he wanted. Bravo Greg.

I love the friendly confines of the Loser's Lounge. I'll put the over/under at 5 drinks before Vic starts talking street spanish and taking his shirt off.

Maybe he was watching SNY.

(14) CF John Christensen Todd Pratt Paul Wilson Jeff Reardon David Wright Wow, what a draw.

Double elimination?

So we lose Beltran, Rodriguez and Reyes and now have Jon Rauch. I love this new philosophy where we get rid of good players and replace them with guys who suck.

I disagree. Very easy to go there. If it comes down to rooting for Wilpons or rooting for Reyes, it's an easy fucking choice.

Some better playwright than me can come up with a script where a bet is made (kind of like Trading Places) where Fred bets Jeff he can come up with a scenario that makes Mets fans forget about the Kazmir trade. I still can't fucking believe this. HEY ASSHOLES, IF THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT THE SEAVER TRADE AND LOSING STRAWBERRY, THAT MEANS THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT THE WORST FUCKING MOMENTS IN THE ENTIRE TEAM'S HISTORY. THAT IS WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH HERE. THE WORST FUCKING MOMENTS IN TEAM HISTORY. FUCK YOU METS. FUCK YOU WILPONS.

And you know what, if they weren't even going to make an offer, why didn't they trade him at the deadline? At least we'd have something to show for it. Six years at $17.5 a year is not unreasonable. If this was so far out of their range that they couldn't even get involved in the conversation, only an idiot would hold onto him. At the time, I remember thinking that the "Don't Trade Reyes" camp should have been more specific. They should have said "Don't Trade Reyes BUT MAKE SURE YOU CAN RE-SIGN HIM". Of course, I suppose that should have been evident and only an idiot would think otherwise. Fucking idiots.

TransMonk wrote: "But when a team loses $70 million irrespective of Bernie Madoff or anyone else, that's probably a bigger factor in our approach to this season and the next couple than anything else." Fuck THE METS. I finished your thought for you.

Loria may be a despicable guy, but he's not on my radar. If he's in a position to be able to offer Jose this type of deal, then good for him. My issue is with the Wilpons (and to a lesser extent Sandy). Not being able to run your organization well enough that you are not in a position to retain your home-grown superstar is pathetic. This is, after all, New York, and the game is rigged so heavily in favor of big market teams. This is a seven-footer in basketball who fails to collect a rebound. After everything the fans have been through with this team, they couldn't afford to let Reyes walk. My issue with Sandy was not locking him up last year when his value was low. Of course, if he wanted to but his hands were tied by the Wilpons, then all my ire is directed at them. FUCK THE WILPONS. FUCK THE METS.

I used to make fun of some of those posters at MOFO, but after all these years, who would have known that SELL THE TEAM NOW!!!! had it right from the get go. Amazing. I am just so thoroughly disgusted with this team.

YOU FUCKING SUCK.

I don't see what the lawsuit has to do with Reyes. If you believe the reports, the Mets are strapped short term, but long-term they're fine. The issue with Reyes has never been next year or two years from now. It's years 5, 6 and 7, at which time the lawsuit will be ancient history.

#12 is Ron Darling.

Putting aside the fact that I hate them, why would they even want Reyes? Sure there's Ozzie Guillen, and Reyes is an exciting ballplayer, but if there is one team out there that doesn't need Reyes, it's the Marlins. Reyes is a terrific player, but he's not that top tier MVP-type talent. His career OPS is under .800 (.782) and one can make a case that his best days might be behind him. In fact, one of the main reasons he's a desirable commodity is the position he plays. There are few shortstops like him out there that are game-changers. But the Marlins already have one of those guys in Ramirez. Why pay for Reyes? Put the money into a .900 OPS masher, or a stud pitcher. It makes no sense to me. The Marlins are stupid. (I realize the same arguments could be made for the Mets not re-signing Reyes, but for the Mets, it makes sense to pay Reyes. They have no other options at SS. He's a homegrown superstar and irrational fans like me will implode if they lose him.)

WE GONNA FUCKING LOSE HIM. OFFER 7 YEARS NOW!!!!

Don Aase. NY Mets.

FUCK THE MARLINS

They look like the University of Miami Hurricanes.

Forget whether you want to or not, bringing back the current lineup may be our only option. Assuming we re-sign Reyes, which is, unfortunately, looking more and more remote as time passes, we will have a few guys that are firmly entrenched: SS: Reyes 3B: Wright 1B: Davis LF: Bay That leaves the following positions: 2B: Figure this has to be some combination of Murphy, Turner and Tejada. CF: Likely Angel. Don't see any other possibilities out there. RF: After Duda's performance in the 2nd half, only an injury or a terrible spring keeps him from being the starting OF on Opening Day. C: Thole. For lack of a better option. Any changes will require a great deal of creativity. And so far, Alderson has shown me nothing to suggest he will be creative.

Latest rumors have the Marlins threatening to go all Tom Hicks on Reyes. I know these are just rumors, and writers want to make it seem like he is leaving, but this does not make me happy.

Giant Squidlike Creature wrote: Giant Squidlike Creature arrived in the 2001-2002 offseason when the Mets could have signed Squid for a song. Squid returned the following offseason but was still shown no respect. So Squid became the forum archivist. Squid is versatile like that. Wait a second, I always though GSLC was Willets. And Willets quit. Is Willets back? Has GSLC declared his independence? Or was I just wrong?

ALDERSON: METS WILL GO ABOVE AND BEYOND TO RETAIN REYES By Centerfield / cranepoolforum.net NEW YORK -- Although it is not clear what it will take to retain Jose Reyes, the free-agent shortstop remains the Mets' top priority this winter, and a recent interview with General Manager Sandy Alderson suggests that the Mets would be willing to surpass what the market bears in order to retain him. "We all have to recognize that certain players are more important to the fan base than others," said Alderson while speaking to the press on Monday. Alderson's position conflicted with earlier reports, like that of douchebag Andy Martino, that stated that the Mets were going to lowball the free-agent shortstop. Alderson went on to explain that such misconceptions probably arose due the anticipated lengthy negotiations on tap for the ball club. "Things are going to go slow, which I think is typical of most if not all free agents," Alderson said. Still, Alderson remained optimistic that such prolonged negotiations should not be taken as a negative, and still believes Reyes prefers to stay home, rather than relocate to another club. "That's not just because players are attracted to other clubs, but because they're not really sure what the market is." For now, the Mets will simply proceed with their other offseason priorities -- bullpen help and rotation depth -- and deal with Reyes later. Even in the unlikely event the shortstop does not re-sign with New York, the club still plans for its final 2012 payroll to fall in the $100-$110 million range. "We're not going punt 2012 if Jose doesn't re-sign," Alderson said.

Biggest Free Agent Hauls: Mo Vaughn CC Sabathia Prince Fielder (soon to be)