Centerfield

Sorry, I made that up. I mean, I know he has one. I just don't have any proof. But I know he has one.

Yeah, actually. That works better.

I want him to be traded to the Phillies for Domonic Brown and whatever other prospects we can get for him. Then I want him to suck for Philadelphia. Batting average under .120, dropping balls in RF all over the place. I want him to play so bad that he gets benched mid-September. I want him to come back to CitiField and fraternize with the Mets to such an extent that the Philly papers call him out on this, and the Phillies front office has to tell him to cool it. I want him to be questioned by the NY media about his poor play and I want him to answer with a knowing smile that prompts an investigation as to whether he is tanking on purpose. I want the Phillies to file a grievance. I want him to "accidentally" back his car into Shane Victorino's ridiculously pimped out BMW while backing out of the Citizen's Bank Ballpark parking lot causing him over $15k in damage, most of it relating to Shane's custom-made hood ornament. I want to hear that the investigation and grievance were ultimately abandoned for lack of evidence. I want the Phillies to lose in the playoffs when Beltran loses track of the number of outs and throws a ball into the stands, allowing 3 runs to score. I want him re-signed to an incentive laden deal three hours after players are allowed to file for free agency. At his press conference, I want him to talk about how excited he is to be back with the Mets, especially in light of the extension Reyes signed during the ten day exclusive window. I want to read reports that Boras, Beltran and Alderson are in a corner snickering with each other, then suddenly shush each other when Ruben Amaro Jr. walks by. In October 2012, I want Beltran to talk about how the World Series MVP crown means nothing to him, he's just happy that the Mets are champions. This is what I want for Carlos Beltran.

Sure. He needs to call the other owners in baseball and convince them what a great fit Omar Minaya would be as their next GM.

If Davis were back, I'd start Murphy every day at 2nd base. Fuck defense. In fact, the only reason I'm not advocating playing him at 2nd base every day now is because I'd like to see what Turner can do.

For me it was Dykstra followed by Strawberry. The Dykstra trade hit me hard. He was one of my favorite players. Strawberry was my absolute favorite player, so even though I knew it might happen, it was still devastating. Sad to say that after these two moves, the Mets never meant as much to me again. And part of this is obviously just that I was growing up, but I really link these two events to the end of my childhood.

I'd feel better if one of these guys would confirm that if Davis has that surgery he will be 100% for spring training next year.

I can't believe there is any discord on this move. Moving K-Rod is a no-brainer. We should all be happy about this. It makes us marginally worse this year, but it makes us much, much better next year. For what it's worth, I can see where ceetar is coming from. Every once in a while, I catch myself thinking "Wow, they win this series, then get Reyes, Wright, Davis and Santana back, maybe we go on a run and Beltran gets that ring as a Met that he deserves..." But then I catch myself, and realize this is silly. Sandy Alderson was brought here to be smart. And this is a smart move. Moving Beltran will also be a smart move, but it's one I will have a hard time with. Beltran is a terrific player and one of my favorite Mets of all time. I'll be very sorry to see him go, even if it's best for the team.

Not appearing on this list: John Maine Oliver Perez Luis Castillo

His offense was obviously affected by the large dimensions at Shea. Had he played in a fair park, he would have averaged 2 home runs per season.

I find myself rooting for Lance Johnson to turn an ankle or something.

Ashie62 wrote: Heartbreaking. Maybe they can summon up to try again one day. It helps to have the support of loving family and friends to fall back on. Those who have been posting here for a while know that this hits very close to home for me. Every healthy child is a miracle. We should never forget that. Every couple's situation is different, but I hope they do try again some day. Then proceed to spoil that baby like it's no one's business.

TransMonk wrote: I'm really disappointed that Sandy and company screwed the pooch on this one. The time to get this deal done was last winter. I disagree with this. Reyes was merely average in 2009-2010 while missing considerable time with injury. Hindsight is 20/20 and Sandy had no way of knowing that Reyes was going to blow up in this manner. He ran the risk of overpaying at a time when the team had no extra money to overpay. Also, we have no way of knowing if Jose was going to test the market even if a Mets offer was made last winter. The way I see it, both sides were better off waiting to see how 2011 was going to pan out for Jose. Reyes is sitting better off than the team right now. If a trade is there...I'm not opposed to taking it if there is value. I don't think it's hindsight at all. I posted this back in January: This is stupid. Sign an extension now when his value is not great. Sure, in the worst case scenario, you may dodge a bullet if he tanks this year, but barring an unmitigated disaster, there is little to gain. The scenarios as I see them are: 1. If he has a great year, you end up paying more. Lots more. 2. If he has a so-so year, you still have to bring him back (there are no other real options, within the organization, or via free agency) but then you pay more because other teams are in the mix. 3. If he has a bad year, you may be able to save some money, but you have to bank on the fact that no team will pony up the cash and gamble that he returns to form. In other words, you might save money, but you might not. 4. If he has a bad year, and suffers some sort of injury that will affect the rest of his career, you've dodged a bullet. To me, scenarios 3 and 4 are not enough to offset 1 and 2, which I feel, are more likely to happen anyway. Plus he's a home-grown player. Sandy should be talking to him right now.

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Centerfield wrote: I'm really disappointed that Sandy and company screwed the pooch on this one. The time to get this deal done was last winter. They could have locked him up for less money. Stupid. How many here were all for signing Reyes before this season started, especially given Reyes' most recent injury issues? I can't say how many were, but I was.

I'm disappointed on so many levels. I was hoping that Jose wasn't just giving lip service and really did want to stay here. I was hoping he'd give a hometeam discount, that he would come out and say "Hey, they put a fair offer out there, I'm ready to sign." I guess that's asking for a lot. I can't blame the guy, but I'm still disappointed. I'm really disappointed that Sandy and company screwed the pooch on this one. The time to get this deal done was last winter. They could have locked him up for less money. Stupid. But more than anything, I'm disappointed that this wonderful season will be tainted with thoughts that this is his last year here, and that with each hit and stolen base, he's driving up his price tag and making himself more appealing to other teams. I will be crushed if he leaves. If he signs with Philly or the MFY's, I may seriously consider taking a break from baseball.

Bump.

It's not just Jeff Francoeur. There have been a number of comments here and there that suggest Wright is affected by the dimensions of the park. Chipper Jones had a comment a few years ago. When Jason Bay hit is long HR in Houston, Burkhardt reported that Wright told him to save the long ones for CitiField. Obviously it's not irrefutable evidence, but if there is this much chatter about it, it's obvious Wright is talking about it. And he should be talking about it. The dimensions at CitiField are not only stupid, they specifically hurt Wright. David used to hit those opposite field Piazza-like shots, except that he didn't have Piazza's distance. I remember thinking his power would dip drastically as he got older because he had very little margin for error on those HR's. The minute I saw Citi's dimensions, I remember thinking this is going to take away Wright's opposite field power. I imagine he felt so too. How can someone blame Wright for making an adjustment? He hit TEN home runs in 2009. His strikeouts are through the roof now, and he's not as complete a hitter, but at least he hit 29 last year and no one's talking about David Wright's disappearing power. And it's not just Wright and Bay. Beltran's having a terrific year but his HR numbers are down. Reyes has one home run this year. The Mets were dead last in HR's during Citi's first year by a considerable margin. They were slightly better in 2010 (24 of 30). Now, even with the adjusted dimensions, they are still 25 out of 30 teams. And it's hard to blame them for this. I'm sure they consciously think that they should not change their approach, but you can't help things sometimes. Anyone who has stood in front of a long par 5 knows this. You tell yourself to relax, don't try to crush it, swing your normal swing, then you top it and roll it 40 feet. It happens. They need to get rid of the Mo-Zone. Lower the fence all around and make it a fair field. Hopefully it won't be too late to bring Wright back to the first tier superstar he used to be.

Yup.

Bartolo Colon Kevin Millwood

I just finished the SI article. There is no doubt in my mind that this asshole has no intention of re-signing Reyes. I'm embarrassed to be a fan of this organization. I have never before endorsed a sale of this team, but I will be actively rooting for that from now on. I'm now a fan of Picard. Let's start a Picard suit thread. Pinstripes? Greys? I hear a lot of people aren't fans of the black suits.

Agreed. The issue is not whether these are true, or whether any one of us agree with them. It's the fact that it's idiotic for an owner to be saying such things to a reporter. I say it goes beyond poor judgment...and into "What a fucking idiot" territory. You know you're in bad territory when the justifications for your behavior start with "What's the big deal? Steinbrenner used to...."

He had to have meant those comments to be off the record. No?

You just don't say stuff like that. What a fucking idiot.

Holy crap.

My wife has the same last name as Jason Bay (albeit a different spelling). Her boss has told her he would rather see her in the lineup than Jason Bay. He says he can't imagine she could be as unproductive as him. I tend to agree.