metirish

Excellent....Ellis still sounds like he gets high......seems a very likable person.... Well he's dead at the present time but you knew what I meant.

A place to dust off some stuff and totally bend copyright laws ... One of the cover stories: http://www.kcmets.com/CPF/BDig0586a.pdf Excellent article....fun to read that Doc had 33 quality starts out of 35....WOW Got a kick out of the Scouts report under that article Veteran Scout Names the Major Leagues' Best Worst arm , outfield , infield or anywhere - Lee Mazzilli (Pittsburgh) - Ouch Best fastball: Dwight Gooden (New York Mets). And then the ad for the major league tryouts....

Dave Checketts ? , really?....what has he done to merit such praise....his last few seasons in NY were nothing special......The Rangers despite having a baseball type payroll failed to make the playoffs for several seasons running and his current St. Louis Blues are rebuilding . I agree that his tenure in NY ended badly because of the idiot Dolan , I think he's a good exec but does he have the capital for a team like the Mets?

Would he take an IOU.....$1 would be my firm offer.

Seriously , how is this even tolerated? , not even in D�il �ireann would this type of carry on happen.

Ted keith at SI thinks it's a joke and the awards are being rendered meaningless.....his take on who should have won http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/ted_keith/11/11/gold.glove.awards/index.html

This is great....thanks LFWS.... A quick look at the Mets and the first question I have is this Does Wright's " throwing accuracy " merit a low 2.4 , I think he has improved on that this past season...

I'd think it would be hard to "relax at the plate" with the carryon over there.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Kansas City Royals have agreed to terms with infielder Wilson Betemit, a 28-year-old infielder who spent last season in the Chicago White Sox organization. The Royals signed the switch-hitting Betemit to a minor league contract. He opened last season on the White Sox roster and hit .200 in 20 games, playing first and third base. In 72 games with Triple-A Charlotte in 2009, he hit .241 with 11 home runs and 49 RBIs.

Some guy over at SI Hot Stoving that the Mets need to pull a blockbuster and that would be in the form of Lance Berkman....I'm not seeing it

Juan fucking Pierre? Omar has been wanting him since his Montreal days .

ATLANTA (AP) -- Tim Hudson agreed to a $28 million, three-year contract with the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, giving the team a wealth of starting pitching and setting up a likely trade to bolster the offense.

Bobby not getting hired is a good thing, he can take over if the Mets flounder out of the gate.

Figgins really only makes sense at 2nd right? , could this team have that stick in LF?

I voted for Matt Holliday , could have easily voted for Halladay or Lackey(really liked what I saw of him this post-season) , I'm expecting a bounce back season from Ollie and no I don't think it will be on par with Halladay or Lackey but enough to be good enough....I feel this team needs that bat just as much if not more than anything else.

Buy Bernie's Mets jacket at auction From the banker who threw his investors a curveball, the US goverment presents Lot 276 - Jacket: [1] Blue satin with orange trim jacket labelled and stitched with: NY Mets, "MADF", "25" and "Madoff" http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/nov/10/bernie-bernard-madoff-auction

I realize that a lot of people's impressions of Holliday as a fielder are going to be swayed by that one bad play in the Dodgers series, Those people are not here on this board though...

Top Fifty Free Agents as ranked by SI......it's a good time waster which in this economy means a lot. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/ben_reiter/11/08/reiter.50/index.html FWIW , he has Holliday , Adam LaRoche , Marquis and Torrealba as "Best Fits" for the Mets

What about this Surprisingly, some Mets officials think Bay plays a better defensive leftfield than Holliday, the opposite of what most scouts and statistical analysts think.

Omar...........speaks.....at the GM .....meetings Mets underwhelmed by free agent market CHICAGO - The Mets have so much to do this offseason. They just wish their list of options looked more attractive. "Some years are better than others," Omar Minaya told reporters yesterday, as the Mets' general manager arrived for the GMs' meetings. This would be one of the weaker years, but the free-agent market nevertheless features what Minaya considers the team's top need. Outfielders Jason Bay and Matt Holliday are both power-hitting outfielders, and as Minaya said, "I think we have to find a way to slug more." Surprisingly, some Mets officials think Bay plays a better defensive leftfield than Holliday, the opposite of what most scouts and statistical analysts think. Yet the Mets aren't that concerned about defense when it comes to this spot. Holliday is the superior hitter to Bay, and as Newsday reported last month, Holliday regards the Mets as his second choice, after the Yankees (who don't appear inclined to sign Holliday). The Mets also have needs at first base, catcher and starting pitching. The markets for first base and catcher are flooded, and Fox Sports reported Monday, on its Web site, that the Mets had held discussions with the Cubs about trading second baseman Luis Castillo for controversial outfielder Milton Bradley, then flipping Bradley to Toronto for first baseman Lyle Overbay. The Mets could then sign free agent Orlando Hudson to play second base. Among the top available catchers on the market will be Toronto's Rod Barajas, San Francisco's Bengie Molina and Colorado's Yorvit Torrealba. The Angels' John Lackey tops the list of free-agent starting pitchers, which also features the Dodgers' Randy Wolf and Colorado's Jason Marquis. "I think you always have to explore - and in the past, I've always explored, at least - the availability of the better players," Minaya said. "I think me going forward, if those guys are healthy, I still think we owe it to at least find out, if the better players are there, what is the possibility of acquiring these players?" Notes & quotes: The meetings will kick off in earnest Tuesday. Monday featured a GMs' dinner . . . The Red Sox signed Tim Wakefield, 43, to a two-year, $5-million contract through 2011 and they exercised their $7.7-million team option on Victor Martinez. They turned down their $5-million team option on Jason Varitek, Boston's captain, who can still exercise his $3-million player option.

From Rubin..... The Mets also received some less-than-stellar news courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau. Elias, which computes the statistical rankings, determined the Mets would receive no draft-pick compensation if Brian Schneider, J.J. Putz or Cora signs elsewhere. (Neither Putz nor Schneider is expected to be re-signed.) Delgado or Fernando Tatis, as Type B free agents, would yield a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds. However, the Mets can�t offer the arbitration to Delgado required to gain that pick because of the high salary Delgado could command in arbitration if he accepted.

Possible wifey alert Joe Mauer, Lyle Overbay, Chase Utely, Brian Schneider, myself and Sarah Overbay on the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto. From Chris Young's Japan Blog

Were big things ever expected of Overbay, in my mind he always seemed like one of those players that you expected that "this season" would be his big breakout , never really happened though.

Holliday, Bay bidding may surpass Mets' appetite By Adam Rubin Omar Minaya arrived at the GM Meetings at the O�Hare Hilton on Monday night maintaining it was his obligation to investigate the price tags of top-tier free agents. However, a team insider told the Daily News he expected that the salary demands of outfielders Matt Holliday and Jason Bay would exceed the organization�s comfort level. Instead, the Mets expect to sign a left fielder from the second tier group of free agents, or acquire one via trade, a team source said. Picking up a power bat in left field would allow the Mets to follow through with their intention of using Daniel Murphy as the primary first baseman next season. One report listed Mike Cameron as a potential target for left field because of his power and defense, but a source close to the ex-Met didn�t see a match because Cameron still wants to play center field. A team official would not rule out Carlos Delgado returning, but portrayed it as an unlikely scenario barring Delgado�s willingness for a low-cost, one-year deal. The Mets continue to hope they can trade Luis Castillo, who is owed $12 million over two years, as a way to create room to sign Orlando Hudson. Foxsports.com reported a potential three-way deal in which Castillo goes to the Cubs, Milton Bradley to the Blue Jays and Lyle Overbay to the Mets, but it was portrayed as a long shot. The Mets also need to obtain a No. 1 catcher so that Josh Thole can open 2010 at Triple-A Buffalo, but the free-agent class does not excite the organization. The preference clearly appears to be Bengie Molina, although the length of Molina�s contract demand could force the Mets to turn elsewhere. Team officials suggest they�re not enthused about fellow free agent Rod Barajas, the best apparent alternative. The Mets also hope to re-sign Alex Cora as the backup middle infielder, although the fact that he�s represented by Scott Boras makes team officials concerned he could land elsewhere. Team officials also are expected to name a bench coach this week, in addition to officially hiring former Diamondbacks third base coach Chip Hale in that same role. The leading candidate now appears to be former Orioles bench coach Dave Jauss, who worked with Jerry Manuel in Montreal. Former D-backs skipper Bob Melvin and Razor Shines have been the others to watch. Shines would coach first base assuming Jauss is selected, with Sandy Alomar Jr. remaining the catching instructor. The Mets also received some less-than-stellar news courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau. Elias, which computes the statistical rankings, determined the Mets would receive no draft-pick compensation if Brian Schneider, J.J. Putz or Cora signs elsewhere. (Neither Putz nor Schneider is expected to be re-signed.) Delgado or Fernando Tatis, as Type B free agents, would yield a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds. However, the Mets can�t offer the arbitration to Delgado required to gain that pick because of the high salary Delgado could command in arbitration if he accepted. The Mets are now expected to nontender arbitration-eligible Tim Redding and Jeremy Reed before the Dec. 12 deadline, cutting them loose, although there was a small chance Redding could remain. On a positive note, Johan Santana and Jose Reyes are on the mend, agent Chris Leible said. Santana, who had surgery to remove bone chips from his left elbow, expects to have his normal winter throwing program. Reyes, who suffered a torn right hamstring the final week of the season while rehabbing, is now walking freely without crutches. �He�s not 100%, obviously, at this point, but he looks great,� Leible said. Gary Sheffield, who will not return, filed for free agency Monday.