Vic Sage

yeah, but backup catchers are not hard to find. I'm proposing a package based on my judgement that he could be a starting catcher. Since he's worth more to us than to Cleveland, they'd be foolish to reject an offer of 3 of our top prospects just because they'd have to find another backup catcher.

its not just potential. over 5 years and 1100+ ABs in the minors, he has put togther this "season average" line (rounding off): .300 ba / 17hr / 110r / 80 rbi / 40 sb / 17hr /40 dbl with an OPS of .860 (.380 ob / .480 slg) and he's not even 23 yet. I think some people are letting perceptions cloud the facts of this kid's talent. He is poised to be an everyday player for somebody. I'd prefer it be the Mets, while we look for pitching help.

Gomez, Humber + Guerra = Barfield, Shoppach + Betancourt

Here's a nightmare: the MFYs fire Cashman and hire Schuerholz.

Wright is the Mets' "Mr. Right" and they should marry him. The only other franchise player the Mets had was Seaver, a pitcher who got traded while still in his prime. But I can definitely see this kid playing his whole career here and being the best player in the team's history.

actually, i agree about the burgos/bannister deal. I'm just busting chops. I would like to see the Metsies go after ex-Met A.J. Burnett from Toronto. Oft-injured but good when he pitches, he could "platoon" with El Duque. Each making 15-20 starts, together they'd make one hell of a good pitcher.

i have no idea what sport you're watching, but Wright's arm is far from weak. His problem is innacuracy, not strength.

defensively, he's frustrating because he can make great plays and miss simple ones. He's got great quickness, good hands and a strong arm, but when he has too much time, his throws are erratic. That's his main weakness on defense, and i have the sense that its fixable. I think he actually COULD be a GGer eventually, with his tools and work ethic, but certainly not until it becomes safer to sit in the field boxes behind 1b.

i would trade: - Gomez and Humber for Barfield & shoppach, - Burgos back to KC for Bannister, to fill out the rotation, and - Adkins and Johnson back to SD for Ring & Bell to fix the bullpen. Then we're good to go!

Reyes, if nothing else, is a GG shortstop. A-Rod has demonstrated that he is a better 3bman than Wright. So, in the fantasy world where the Mets get A-Rod, he plays 3b and Wright moves. But i wouldn't move him to 2b, where injury risk is greater than any position other than C. Wright has terrific quickness and great hands, but his arm (while strong) is a scattergun. So, he could fill the hole in RF. And with A-Rod at 3b, we could then afford to play anybody at 2b who can catch the ball.

Milledge and Green both had 106 OPS+ so, unlike 2b an C, we had better than average production at that position this year. While certainly it would be nice to see more production out there next season, i think the money and/or personnel it would take for an upgrade in RF would be better invested in pitching. The Mets best prospects are all OFers, so we can afford to give them a shot. Milledge should finally be given an opportunity to play every day. i don't think Gomez is anywhere near getting such a chance. And if they re-sign Castillo as you've proposed, then Alou and Delgado already are down to #5 and #6 in the batting order, with wright/beltran hitting 3-4.

This guy says Wright, too. http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/The_Dan/2007/10/10/Rollins_MVP_Not_buying_it

i agree that Gomez has talent. And his build definitely indicates more power in the future. But he's still just potential, while Barfield has produced, including a solid rookie year in the majors (unlike Burke, who has yet to demonstrate he can hit major league pitching). as for Barfield/Shoppach, i already made that proposal.: Gomez/Humber With regard to Eckstein, he's got a career OPS+ of 89. The only reason he's now comparable to Castillo is that Eck plays on 2 legs to Castillo's 1. When Castillo was in his prime he put up 3 seasons of 108-110 OPS+, with a few gold gloves. In fact, Barfield's rookie season was as good or better than any season Eckstein has had in all but 2 of his 7 major league seasons. And while its true Eckx was a 2bman in the minors, the last time he played the position was the 14 games he played for the Angels 6 years ago. While i agree that Eck would not be substantially different than castillo at this point in Luis' career, i don't think either of them are that desirable. I'd rather try for Barfield, or give Gotay more of a shot, and save the $$ for pitching or catching.

and as for Barfield, he's not even 25 yet, with 2 major league seasons under his belt. Before coming up with SD, he rose thru their minor league system with impressive power/speed numbers and real run production at every level. The kid took a step back last season, but his upside is very real. That Cleveland has another strong young player at that position is to the advantage of anyone who wants to "buy low" on Barfield. I don't buy the notion at ALL that Gomez is so much a better prospect. I'd trade him for Barfield even up. So far, Gomez is all potential and no production (except for SBs), even on the minor league level. He's fast, with a great glove, but he looks overmatched at the plate, has little power, and didn't do anything to match barfield's minor league numbers. Plus speedy outfielders are more plentiful than 2bmen with power and speed. Barfield drove in over 120 runs a few years ago! put it this way, best case scenario: Barfield = Craig Biggio http://minors.baseball-reference.com/players.cgi?pid=885 Gomez = Devon White http://minors.baseball-reference.com/players.cgi?pid=5537 i do this deal in a heartbeat.

with eckstein's "offense" (and i use the term loosely), he'd have to be an established gold-glove caliber 2bman to seriously consider signing him.

Edgy DC wrote: I'll agree with a lot there, but It wasn't his plate discipline that was the issue as the year progressed, so much as his lack of hard contact. I'd bet his batting average and slugging percentage tailed off more than his walk rate. It seemed to me, anecdotally, that Reyes swung at bad balls in a way that he hadn't been earlier in the season. That is what may have lead to a lot of weak contact and a drop in his slugging %. As for his BB rate, he drew 42 BBs in his first 72 games (up to that 6/24th peak i noted) for a rate of .58 BB/gm; after that, he drew only 35 more BBs over his remaining 88 games, a rate of .39 BB/gm, costing him about 10 BBs over that period. While not a dramatic fall off, it does support my assertion that his plate discipline deteriorated. He also may have grown exhausted, since he played almost every inning of every game, which also probably contributed to his growing lack of pop over the 2nd half.

Reyes didn't go into a "funk". He didn't "slump". There was nothing going on of particular statistical significance with his "mindset". Reyes's production simply returned to the mean after a hot start. Reyes got off to an unbelievable April, but then dropped off preciptiously in May before levelling off in June, and then steadily declined from July through the end of the season. Here's the breakdown, roughly drawn by month: April 1- April 30: OPS climbs to 1.038 (his season peak) May 1 - May 30: OPS drops 185 pts to .853 May 31 - June 30: OPS holds steady to .851 (peak of .867 on 6/24) July 1 - July 28: OPS drops 32 points to .819 July 29 - Aug 30: OPS drops 15 points to .802 Aug 31 - Sept 30: OPS drops 27 points to .775 i think the notion that something "happened" is a myth not borne out by the numbers. It seems to me he played out of his mind for 6-7 weeks, then cooled off, leveled off, and then dropped off steadily in the second half to return to his career numbers, as his lack of plate discipline once again reared its ugly head.

An agreement to agree is non-binding. An agreement to TALK about agreeing, even less so..

anybody who writes about a "skein of faux pas" has no right quibbling with another person's turn of phrase.

i'm less concerned with the Mets taking him past his 39th birthday than with him taking the Mets passed the Phils by his 37th birthday.

i think they generally don't offer the window because: 1) players on the brink of free agency aren't usually interested in signing long-term deals without testing the open market, so 2) if the player doesn't sign a deal with the new team, you've got to take him back after you've publically tried to trade him... which never really goes over well, with either the player or the fans.

Well, without betraying my TiTTS heritage, i'd still consider a 1-year rental depending on what we'd have to give up. I'd trade Gomez and Humber for him even for 1 year, but that probably wouldn't get it done. I don't think i'd go for Milledge and Pelfrey, because i think they have higher ceilings, but i don't think Minny would go for that deal, either. so, realistically speaking, i'd agree with you.

But that's just the point... its only a bad deal if you think you have to play a washed-up player just because of the contract. The Yanks just eat those contracts and get another guy. We should be able to do that, too, at least once in a while, with the windfall in revenues this team is facing. Look, I'm not talking about a 7-year deal, or even a 5 year deal. but 3years/$40m for Posada is (in my view) "smarter" than 1 year/$5m for LoDuca, in terms of getting over the hump and deep into the post-season.

soupcan wrote: I'm assuming any deal involving Santana would be contingent on locking him up long-term.. not necessarily. there have been alot of deals made over the years for guys in their walk years, with no long-term deal in place. That's how we got Benson, as you'll recall. And Cone used to move around under those conditions, too, as i recall.

Posada is a better player than LoDuca, and will do more to help the Mets win next year, regardless of price or length of contract. Let the money boys worry about the $$. Lets just focus on making the team better. And with a new stadium, a regional sports network and record attendence, i'm not sympathetic to the Mets budgetary concerns.