Interesting news here on Adrian Gonzalez. Chris Ello at 619Sports.net (a blog that discusses San Diego sports) has noticed that the Padres did not include any photos of slugging first baseman Adrian Gonzalez in the ticket brochures they mailed out to past season ticket holders. It seems like an odd move for the Padres to have their primary offensive weapon missing from such a pamphlet. Wouldn’t their main box office attraction be the first person they should feature on this brochure? Does this mean Gonzalez isn’t in their plans for 2010?
In the next few weeks, I’m sure I will be receiving my ticket plan renewal brochure from the Mets. Imagine the uproar by my fellow fans if the Mets didn’t feature Johan Santana, David Wright or Jose Reyes on their renewal brochures. Wouldn’t that raise a red flag in Mets-ville? The media would be all over that one and Omar would have some explaining to do.
The Padres already traded Jake Peavy to the White Sox during the season to reduce their payroll. Next season is the final year of Adrian Gonzalez’s four-year contract that he signed prior to the 2007 season, although there is an option for 2011. Surely, Gonzalez will be worth more than the Padres can pay for his services once his contract expires. Perhaps the Padres have already been considering this and would like to make it known that he will become available if the right deal presents itself.
The Padres have a promising first baseman that they called up in 2009 named Kyle Blanks. In his brief time with the Padres, Blanks hit .250 with 10 HR and 22 RBI in only 148 at-bats. The 23-year old’s minor league numbers have been quite impressive over the past three seasons.
- 2007: .301 average, 24 HR, 100 RBI in 465 at-bats.
- 2008: .325 average, 20 HR, 107 RBI in 492 at-bats.
- 2009: .283 average, 12 HR, 38 RBI in 233 at-bats (before his call-up to the Padres).
Blanks seems ready for the major leagues now and the Padres might be willing to accommodate him if they can move Gonzalez first.
The Mets should be all over Gonzalez if the Padres are looking to trade him. He provides two things the Mets did not have in many of the players in 2009 – durability and power. Consider his numbers from 2007 to 2009.
- 2007: .282 average, 30 HR, 100 RBI in 161 games.
- 2008: .279 average, 36 HR, 119 RBI in 162 games.
- 2009: .277 average, 40 HR, 99 RBI in 160 games.
He has been in the lineup in all but four games over the past three seasons (the Padres played 163 games in 2007). Also, his home run totals have increased in each of the past three seasons despite the fact that he plays his home games in a pitcher’s park. Therefore, Citi Field shouldn’t diminish his home run totals.
Gonzalez defines durability and consistency. Not only that, he is still very young. At age 27 (he’ll be 28 in May), he is just entering his prime. If the Mets can come up with the proper package for the Padres, they should go all out to bring Gonzalez to New York. By having a home run hitter playing first base, the Mets would not have to make a move for a home run hitter in left field. They could try to swing a deal for Carl Crawford or keep Angel Pagan as a cheaper option to Crawford. There is more of a need for speed in the outfield because of Citi Field’s spacious gaps, so bringing in Crawford instead of Matt Holliday or Jason Bay would benefit the Mets both offensively and defensively, especially if they can trade for Adrian Gonzalez.
If the Mets cannot live with another year of Daniel Murphy at first base, then Adrian Gonzalez is the first person they should consider. Their minor league system might not be as deep as other teams, so swinging a deal now might take some creativity. However, if they can find the right group of players to satisfy the Padres, why not go for Gonzalez? According to that Padres brochure, he might be there for the taking. Now it’s up to the Mets to make that call.
Special note to our MMO readers: This is my 100th post for MMO, so I’d like to thank the readers for making it such a pleasure to write for you. It is an honor to write for the best fans in the world. Thanks also go out to Joe D for having faith in me and to Kelly and Denise for giving me that push to come aboard. I’ll keep trying to write my best work for you so that MMO can continue to thrive. I’m already planning out my next 100 blogs (but not at the same time. That would be like a record or something). Hope you’ve all enjoyed reading them as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them. Thanks again!
*Mets Merized Online Needs Your Help*
Sorry But Mets Dont Need A Gonzalez. We need to speen money in the rotation and in the OF. We can Go with Murphy and Ike David next season, also i mind Santos and Thole look great in the catcher position. I sign old catcher if something happen. But Thole can hit the ball and have good arm. and Santos it not bad. Mind next years Ike David Rockie of the year……
I am Omir’s biggest fan, and I love Thole’s potential, but clearly Santos is just a backup and Thole is one of the worst defensive catchers I’ve ever seen. Hopefully his defense will catch up to his hitting prowess by 2011.
If Gonzalez is available, you don’t ask questions or putz around. You act fast and grab him. Throw Ike Davis in the deal, we have no use for a fastball hitter who strikes out 25% of the time and still cant hit breaking balls. Adrian Gonzalez would automatically become the Mets number one core player if he were a Met.
“Omir’s biggest fan”?
Whoever this Omir is he must have done more to benefit the Mets than Omar has. Minaya has the second largest payroll in baseball but a team that has had 2 of the most spectacular collapses in baseball history before losing it altogether playing for a whole season like it did in the last month of the previous two. We have a lousy team on the field and no great prospects, nothing to trade to aquire new talent, terrible performing teams at the minor league level, bad mojo in the clubhouse and nothing to look foward to for years to come. He made disastrous signings (O Perez, Castillo) when Pedro was begging to come back (and would be our number 2 for about 1/30th of what OP got), and others like Hudson, Ibanez and Lee were available and aquired by others at a reasonable price. Other than signing big name aging free agents to outrageous contracts nobody else will pay (so we can watch them get injured and have surgery on the Mets dollar) he knows nothing about developing talent or building an organization from the ground up. Where are all the great latin players we supposed to get that would make up for losing our draft picks with FA signings? The strategy never panned out.
Omar is an idiot.
What can I say when you’ve said it all already. I’ll just echo your last line and say Omar is an idiot too. He’s a likable guy, but has poor management skills and most GM’s can run circles around him. His best moments were all because of Wilpons cash.
He means Omir Santos. You know, catcher, on one of the New York teams……
Omir is a nice little backup but I don’t see him catching for a pennant contender. I don’t see Castillo, Murphy, Santos, Pagan, either starting on a team that expects to beat the Phillies. As far as pitching, you got Santana and then what? Who’s gonna be 2,3 and 4 (number 5 is Pelfrey because that’s all he’d be on the Phils or Yanks if somebody got hurt so he could crack the rotation).
This team needs to rebuild. Starting with the GM. Unfortunately you can’t get much for the “core” because Reyes, is damaged goods, Wright is a question mark after hitting 1/3 his normal HR total, Beltran has a no trade and the big contract and after that you couldn’t get a plugged nickel for anybody they’ve got in a trade.
AJSIOSA, REMARKABLY NAIVE, BTW NO PITCHER, REGARDLESS OF ABILITY CAN WIN A SCORELESS GAME. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME A CONTENDING BALLCLUB WENT INTO THE SEASON WITH ONLY 3Y OR LESS EXPERIENCE BEHIND THE DISH WITH A RELATIVELY YOUNG ROTATION? IF YOU TOSS AWAY POWER HITTING FROM 1B & C. HOW DO U DEAL WITH LOSING ALL THOSE LATE 1-RUN GAMES BECAUSE IT TAKES YOUR LINEUP 4 CONSECUTIVE HITS TO PUSH ONE ACROSS. DO U REAlly think last season’s replaCEMENT LINEUP WOULD’VE COMPETED WITH ONLY 1 MORE STUD IN THE ROTATION? OR 2 MORE EVEN? DIDN’T WE FRUSTRATE JOHAN ENOUGH? STUDS LIKE JOHAN,CC,SEAVER,RYAN,ETC. TEND TO BE VICTIMIZED BY AN OCCASIONAL LONGBALL. IF YOU GIVE UP FIRING BACK, WHY BOTHER? SINCE ACQUIRING GONZALES WILL MOST LIKELY REQUIRE A PLETHORA OF YOUNG PLAYERS, EVEN IF WE COULD SCRAPE ENOUGH TOGETHER WE’D LOSE OUT ON OTHER DEALS LOOKING TO ACQUIRE MILB TALENT. PROSPECTS ONLY SPEND ONCE. PERSONALLY, I AGREE WITH THE NEED FOR A GONZALES LEVEL CONTRIBUTION; BUT DON’T AGREE WE’VE GOT THE MILB TALENT TO ACQUIRE HIM AND OTHERS THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE TO FULFILL OUR NEEDS. I PREFER TO EXPLORE ACQUIRING A 2Y YOUNGER EQUALLY DURABLE & POTENT FIELDER, WHOSE GM ESTABLISHED HIS DESIRED TARGET IS “EXPERIENCED” SP, WHICH WE HAVE IN ABUNDANCE, NOT ACES; BUT EXPERIENCED JOURNEYMAN LEVEL MILWALKEE MAY BE COMFORTABLE WITH AS CHEAP & CONTROLLABLE REQUIRING PATIENCE. BY COMPARISON TO THE AUTHOR’S REF GONZALES STATS ABOVE ‘07-’09 PRINCE(TURNING 26 IN MAY) HAS THE FOLLOWING:
2007 .288 AVG,50HR,119 RBI IN 158G
2008 .276 AVG,34HR,102 RBI IN 159G
2009 .279 AVG,46HR,141 RBI IN 162G
BREWS GM, STATED A WILLINGNESS TO DEAL HIS TOP MILB PROSPECT TO ACQUIRE 2 “EXPERIENCED” ARMS FOR HIS ROTATION. WITH PETERSON AS PC I’D OFFER ANY 2 OUT OF PELFREY,PEREZ,MAINE,NIESE,NIEVE,MISCH & HE CAN KEEP HIS PROSPECT. FOR A TEAM WHO’S ROTATION HAD WORST ERA IN MLB IN ‘09 THERE AREN’T TO MANY BETTER/CHEAPER ALTERNATIVES & AFTER ‘10 FIELDER GETS ARBITRATION BEHIND BORAS. TO THOSE WHO REMARK THOSE ARMS ARN’T GOOD ENOUGH, I ASK THEY REVIEW THE ROTATION MILW USED IN 09 WITH LOOPER AS THEIR #1SP. I REST MY CASE!
i never trade for A. Gonzalez, Give the oportunity to Ike and Thole next year. Sign Holliday, Lackey and Sheet. Trade for Francisco Liriano.
I wouldn’t touch Liriano with a ten-foot pole. After missing the 2007 season due to injury, he has been a shadow of the pitcher he projected to be in 2006. He showed nothing last year even though the Twins gave him every opportunity to succeed. They could have run away with the division instead of needing a one-game playoff with the Tigers had they not given Liriano and his 5-13 season so many starts.
Release O Perez
ajsosa,
I would love to see the Mets get rid of Perez. He was one of the worse signings that they have ever made. Unfortunately, even if the Mets release Perez, they would be on the hook for his $12M/year for the remainder of his contract. Plus, I don’t see anyone willing to trade for him either given his leg injury this past year and his inconsistency. But, you never know. There is a sucker born every minute. Unfortunately, he seems to be the GM of the Mets.
if you give Ike and Thole a chance next year, your almost giving it up already. Thole needs some serious defensive work and he can do that in triple A. If you can swing a deal for Gonzalez, you dont hesitate. you save more money on the present because he wont make as much as holliday or bay next year. that money can be spent on other parts. If the core of this team can stay healthy and you bring in a guy like gonzalez, your already twice as good as you were last season. Lackey would be a great pitcher to have behind johan. two guys that just want to win and maybe that could have a positive effect on the rest of the rotation. I know you cant count on Maine, but he looked very good as the season winded down and if he gets some rest, i can see him having a big part in this team winning. you could see another 15 wins from him.
You cant get rid of Perez unless you pay him all the money thats left and its not gonna happen. he has potential and with Lackey there, there would be no pressure on him to do well, as far as leading the rotation. he has good stuff but u cant give up on him. As long as hes a met, i will push for him to try to get better, he on my favorite baseball team and even though its frustrating, it happens and you root for him.
Going back to Gonzalez, it would make it possible to get a guy like crawford or Figgins to play left field. they have speed and it would be fun to see one of those guys batting behind reyes. you could also get a guy like benji molina to work with the young guys and he has worked well with john lackey, seeing as they won a ring together with the angels. it would do some good to have these guys together and it would make Santos better as well. he seems like a pretty good leader that works well with young guys (niese, parnell…ect.)
It all comes down to being able to get him and i think it would be possible to do that, it’ll be easier than getting Fielder.
Lets go mets!!!!!!!!!!!
AJ? WHAT WOULD RELEASING PEREZ ACCOMPLISH? HE STILL GETS HIS $ U SAVE ABSOUTLY NOTHING RATHER KEEP HIM @ #4 & HOPE HE KEEPS TO HIS MECHANICS BECAUSE, ACCORDING TO U LHSP WITH 90-95 HEATERS GROW OFF TREES & SHOULD BE DISCARDED RATHER THAN TUNED UP. STRONG HEATERS, NASTY SLIDERS = STUFF; LHSP WITH STUFF ARE WORTH WORKING THE KINKS OUT OF. PERHAPS U SHOULD LOOK AROUND & ASCERTAIN EXACTLY HOW MANY LHSP WITH ‘STUFF’ ARE OUT THERE AS NON-ACES. CERTAINLY, HE’S FRUSTRATING & AT TIMES MADDENING! DOES IT MAKE SENSE THAT OMAR IS INSANE? NOT REALLY, IF U R THINKING LIKE A GROWNUP. MORE LIKELY HE’S INVESTED IN THE FUTURE. OLLIE, LIKE MANY YOUNG IMMATURE PLAYERS IS “FULL” OF HIMSELF & HAS YET TO REALIZE HIS AMATUER STUD ABILITIES ARE NOT ENOUGH. HIS LISTENING TO HIS AGENT IS NOT GOING TO IMPROVE HIS CAREER AS MUCH AS LISTENING TO HIS COACHES. RELEASING HIM ACCOMPLISHES NADA. THERE ISN’T A STUD SURE THING ON THE FARM WHOSE SPOT PEREZ IS TAKING! LEFT HANDED PITCHERS, AS A RULE, DEVELOP SLOWER THAN THEIR RIGHT SIDED COUNTERPARTS. OLLIE TOO OFTEN IS THE “GIRL WITH THE CURL”( WHEN SHE WAS GOOD SHE WAS VERY,VERY GOOD; WHEN SHE WAS BAD SHE WAS HORRID” RATHER THAN DISCARD 24M I’D INVESTIGATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PAY VALENZUELA, OLLIE’S PORTSIDED MEXICAN IDOL TO COME TO ST TO WORK WITH WARTHEN ON OLLIE’S CONSISTANCY. IF LHP HAVE A SLOWER DEVELOPMENT CURVE, THAN ONE WITH A LANGUAGE BARRIER WOULD BE SLOWEST. VALENZUELA ELIMINATES THE LANGUAGE ISSUE AND ADDS THE DESIRE TO PLEASE ONE’S IDOL TO THE MIX. IT’S CERTAINLY A WORTHWHILE POSSIBILITY TO IMPROVING ON ROI WITH OLLIE.
THOLE NUMBERS IN 2009:
Last 3 years Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
2009 NYM 17 53 2 17 2 1 0 9 4 5 1 0 .321 .356 .396 .752
Career 17 53 2 17 2 1 0 9 4 5 1 0 .321 .356 .396 .752
A. GONZALEZ NUMBERS IN THE 1 YEARS OF HES CARRER:
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
2004 TEX 16 42 7 10 3 0 1 7 2 6 0 0 .238 .273 .381 .654
You are actually going to compare Gonzalez to Thole? Really? And you’re using their call-up stats to do it? Come on, you gotta be kidding me.
AJROSA, ONCE MORE YOUR NAIVETY ASTOUNDS ME. THOLE? WITH HIS GRAND TOTAL OF 17 GAMES OF MAJOR LEAGUE CATCHING EXPERIENCE? I’M SURE COMBINING HIS INEXPERIENCE WITH SANTOS’ GRAND TOTAL OF 107G MAJOR LEAGUE CATCHING IS AWESOME. DID U NEVER HEAR CASEY’S EXPLAINATION FOR CHOOSING AN EXPERIENCED CATCHER AS THE NYM’ FIRST EXPANSION PICK? “WITHOUT ONE U HAVE A LOT OF PASSED BALLS” CAN U NOT CONSIDER THE SIMPLE FACTS THAT A) METS PAY WITHIN SLOTS WHEN DRAFTING B) METS HAVEN’T HAD A LEGITIMATE FIRSTROUNDER SINCE PELFREY AFTER ‘04. SO TAKING ALL THIS INTO CONSIDERATION, YOU SUDDENLY BELIEVE THE EVANS,MURPHYS & THOLES IN METS’ WORLD ARE “THE REAL DEALS” REINCARNATIONS OF WERTH,PIAZZA & PUJOLS? PERHAPS MORE LIKE VICTOR DIAZ, MIKE VAIL & JOHN MILNER. NOT “HANG YOUR HOPES ON” LEVEL TALENT.
This is a good one
An absolute NO BRAINER. Like Joe D & Ed explained if we can get Adrian Gonzalez grab him. If we get a power hitter at 1B and another speedy, solid left fielder who knows how to play the game now that’s a step in the right direction. Angel Pagan is a 4th outfielder and him and Murphy can become part of a solid bench. People can’t or won’t recognize that Murphy doesn’t have the tools upstairs to be a good first baseman, he can only develop into a hitter/DH/300 AB type of player. However him and Pagan can make up a nice, solid bench.
Remember, if we want to compete with the Phillie’s core of Victorino, Werth, Howard,& Utley we need people who know how to play this game. That’s something that doesn’t show in the numbers.
This blog is a step in the right direction.
Your gonna have to give up a LOT to get Gonzalez as a one year rental. That’s a move that makes sense for a pennant contender but not for a team that needs to rebuild. The Mets are too weak at too many positions to start trading 3 or 4 of their better young players for a guy like this. You can’t keep signing FA’s and losing draft picks either. The Phils have a lot of home grown talent….Victorino, Howard, Utley, Hamels, Happ and then they brought in a few finishing pieces like Lee and Ibanez (they had the prospects to get Lee and could have gotten Halliday if they wanted him). The Yanks too for all their spending have developed quite a few players (Jeter, Cano, Joba, Hughes, Posada, Melky) and have a lot of good young players on the farm.
The Mets are such a mess I don’t know where to start rebuilding, It’s gonna be a few years before we can compete with good teams like St. Louis, LA and Philly.
I am happy that they got Francoeur though…that was a good move.
He isnt a one yr rental, he has this year and a team option for next season, so it is a no brainer to grab him
You will be getting power, a solid batting avg, and a gold glove caliber 1B who is only 27 yrs old. a core of Gonzalez, wright, beltran, reyes is a pretty good one, they need to put quality players around them however
and with gonzo you have no need for Ike Davis, so he then becomes a great trading chip, Ike Davis, F-mart, holt or mejja, and we have a legit chance of getting him
Reyes
Wright
Beltran
Gonzalez
franceour
thats a very solid top 5
Jim B is correct, this is not a one-year rental he has a team option for 2011 at 5.5 million. Ike Davis would not be in the deal, the Padres have a young 1b to replace Gonzalez when they trade him unless they want to try Davis in LF, but Martinez and Mejjia would have to be in the deal. w So Davis or Holt would be in the deal. I could see them doing Oliver Perez for Alfonzo Soriano for LF. Hey if they did do these 2 things they would have only used 10.75 million of the 30 mil they have to spend, just a thought.
If Gonzalez is available – a big if – they have to get him. He is a perfect fit for this lineup and he would make the infield – especially Wright – much better. Remember Mex? I would try to package Pelfrey, FMART, Pagan and Maine/Niese/Person as this would give them 3 maybe 4 players that could start for them next year at a low cost. Also, as much as I like Beltran, I would move him now if they can. Obviously, he needs to waive the no trade. To Bosox for Buckholtz and a prospect. Maybe throw in Tejada for good measure. Then send a package to Tampa for Upton. Sign Lackey and Holliday.
Reyes, Castillo, Holliday, Gonzalez, Wright, Francour, Upton, Barrajas.
Santana, Lackey, Buckholtz, Marquis, Perez
1. you can’t move Beltran now, coming off of an injury plauged season, where there’s been rumors that he needs microfracture surgery
2. The Red Sox wouldn’t take him for Bucholz and a prospect, they’d need to dump a contract on us (like Lowell or Drew)
3. If they trade Bucholz they need a 3 pitcher
4. They have Ellsbury in center field, and Beltran won’t waive his no trade contract to be a DH.
The truth is we should go pitching first and second. But since I do not htink we have much in the system or on the 40 man, I say if we can get him for our crap, why not. We will still finish 3rd or 4th in our conference, but hey….selling tickets is what it is all about for the Won’tpons. We need two good starters before we even think about a Gonzalez. But for FMart and Pagan and Pelfrey? get serious.
Some of the posts I read here are ridiculous. Adrian Gonzalez will never be a Met in 2010-11.
#1, We don’t have the pieces to acquire him. I.e., there is not more than two players in the Met organization that the Padres are interested in dealing for, who would even come close to garnering an Adrian Gonzalez. A package of Havens, Flores, F-Mart & Mejia wouldn’t get you A-Gonzo.
#2 – What makes you j.a.’s think that the Padres would be interested in Ike Davis when they have Kyle Blanks (with MLB experience) at 1B (they are similar types of hitters)?
#3 – What makes you think that Jeff Tampon would want to shell out any more of his Madoff-made profits to sign another expensive contract (unless they dispose of Beltran or blackmail some j.a. GM who is dumb enough to take Ollie off our hands)?
Dream on (be a little realistic here)…. There are at least 20 baseball organizations that have a lot more to offer the Pads in young talented, inexpensive prospects than we do!!!!!
Moreover, Prince Jeff doesn’t trade (i.e., get into the fray) for high profile players unless there is no other GM/owner willing to trade for such. Prince Jeff also will not get into any bidding war if another franchise is interested in a given player/FA.
You shouldnt dismiss things just because you are unaware of certain facts that have developed.
1. We have plenty of pieces to aquire him. You may not know this but the Mets have better quality prospects now than they did when they acquired Johan Santana. Not one of those prospects ranked in the top 100. The Mets now have 4 prospects in the Baseball America Top 100. So you should look at things closer before knocking the Mets minors.
2. What makes 99% of all baseball fans know that Gonzalez is available are the statements made by Kevin Towers last week, and the owners two weeks ago. Also, though Banks is in their system, most teams trade top talent for top talent. News flash, Ike Davis is the Mets best hitting prospect and can also play the outfield.
3. You may have missed the news that Wilpon profitted 150 million from madoff. Or the news that he will increase payroll. Or the news that they will add a bonafide power hitter. And the news they will get a top of the rotation starter. All these comments from Jeff Wilpon are on record. You can hear his interview on wfan.com.
Further, to knock a site for debating something that is already in the open says more about you as a Met fan and lack of baseball current events, than it does our site, which is one that discusses ALL Mets news and rumors.
Thanks for the comment.
JOE, FOR ALL YOUR BELIEF THAT 4 IN TOP 100 IS GOLDEN, THERE STILL ISN’T ENOUGH TO ACQUIRE ALL WE NEED FROM TEAMS TAGETING PROSPECTS; I STILL SAY MILWALKEE IS TARGETING “ESTABLISHED” STARTERS & HOW GOOD DO THEY HAVE TO BE WHEN THEIR ‘09 ACE WAS LOOPER? AND THEY’RE LOOKING TO IMPROVE ON A TEAM ROTATION ERA OF 5.2+?
I STILL SAY GIVING THEM THEIR CHOICE OF 2 SP FROM EVERYONE WE’VE GOT GETS CONVERSATION ON FIELDER ROLLING. SANTANA? NO WAY COULD THE AFFORD THAT MUCH FOR THAT PERIOD. HE’S AS SAFE AS PEREZ NOT BEING SELECTED. THE NY BUBBLE BLINDS US TO THYE FACT THAT THE BOTTOM 15 PAYROLLED TEAMS ARE NOT SHOOTING FOR RINGS; BUT HOPING FOR BERTHS(IN ‘09 MILW WAS #16 PAYROLL-80M). FYI. BY ONLY LOOKING AT ‘09 ACCOMPLISHMENTS EITHER MAINE OR PELFREY WOULD BE THE #2 AMONGST BREWS’ CURRENT ROTATION. ONE MAN’S CRAP IS ANOTHER’S CAVIAR. NEITHER IS EXPENSIVE & BOTH FAR FROM F/A.
You should probably be aware of certain facts yourself…After the trade, Guerra was BA’s #35 prospect in all of baseball, Gomez was #52, and Kevin Mulvey was rated as one of the 5 honorable mentions that just missed the top 100. The Mets also had Martinez in the top 100 at #20. Here’s the link to the 2008 list, the honorable mentions are listed in the prospect guide for that year:
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/top-100-prospects/all-time.html
We need starting pitching before anything else! We could use three starters. Offer the Red Sox a package of Beltran with Ollie P. for Buchholz and minor league catcher Exposito. Tell Epstein that they can have Beltran only if they accept Ollie P. in trade (pay half of Ollie P.’s 2010-11 contract).
Play F-Mart in LF and Pagan in CF this year. Sign Marquis and another stud pitcher (from available bucks in ridding team of Beltran and Ollie P.). Trade Pelfry for prospects (a bag of balls).
The Red Sox would not want O.Perez. With the contract he has he is completely untradable at this time.
Dumping Beltran only makes sense if you get a young outfield prospect in the deal. Pagan and F. Mart in the outfield is a disaster. Between the 2 of them you’ll get less than a dozen dingers and combined they will play less than a full season (injuries).
This team needs to rebuild. Many teams with small budgets keep reinventing themselves and are competitive year after year….Marlins and Twins are good examples….always developing great young talent. I’d much rather watch young players develop into stars than watch aging Hispanics turn into gimps.
I can’t emphasize enough how bad a GM Omar is. He should do a training fellowship with Theo Epstein and learn his job.
Golfbone,
You’re probably right re: Ollie. But it is not the OF that needs to be upgraded at present. The Met OF needs to have players who can cover ground given the expansiveness of Chitified. If we can obtain a Buchholz in a Beltran trade, you make that deal provided we can get an additional minor league talent (maybe a C like Exposito or a 2B prospect {which the Red Sox do not have}).
(Now I’m going to take this to LF)…………………… I digress….
I disagree with you regarding Omar. He is not making the decisions here. Ever think that Jeff is making ALL THE DECISIONS and Omar is just signing the papers and meeting with the signees?. Also, wouldn’t it be just convenient to acquire all of the recent Latin players to make it look like the hand of Omar? Its a smokescreen, and the Dark Princess, Jeff Tampon is behind all of it!!!!!
How many more times will Jeff Wilpon deceive the loyal Met fanbase?????
BTW, given that the Mets were conceived over the melding of the NY Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers, why wasn’t there also a Willie Mays rotunda? Or is it that the Wilpon’s are embarrassed to market 50 years of the “MET” franchise, so they market an obsolete MLB team motiff(i.e., Brooklyn Dodgers) to bring the NY public in.
#1 Who were you marketing this to? What percentage of fans ever saw the Brooklyn Dodgers play?
#2 If you’re going to laud the old Dodgers, what about Gil Hodges? What were the Wilpons thinking of?
Folks, our Mets (I hate to say it) embody the embarrassment of all MLB.
I am livid at the ownership of this franchise, and I am very close to relinquishing my loyal allegiance of 45 years to this sham of an organization.
GO YANKS……………… CLOBBER THE PHILLIES
ROY, WITH ALL THAT QUALITY PITCHING CAN U WIN 0-0 GAMES? WHO’S DOUING THE SCORING?
Good article Ed and congratulations on your 100 very well written posts.
I am amazed at how many Mets fans don’t want Gonzalez in the lineup. Come on people, if he’s available, the Mets MUST go for him. You make whatever trade is required to make to get him. There are plenty of combinations of available layers that will get it done, since there are truly no indispensable players in the organization beyond the very few select core players. Just think how the lineup imporves with the protection hec woould provide to Wright and Beltran. This is a must do in my opinion. The signal the Padres has sent is loud and clear as he is their feature player exclusded from publicity. Th Mets need to take advantage of this opportunity.
Would love to see Mets get Adrian G….but what do we have that the Padres will want in a deal?
We need pitching, first and foremost. Why empty the system of worthy prospects (and contrary to the media and many Met fans, i believe we have a few, but why use them for a bat, even a great bat, when we need reliable depth in the starting rotation?
i advocate, we trade prospects, put together a package, for Doc Halliday; then we sign John Lackey, a bulldog of a pitcher; and, we sign Matt Holliday, and Mark DiRosa as free agents, and a Molina or one of the other catchers the Met front office has apparently targeted..
Then, we can wait to see if Ike Davis or Chris Carter (not the Carter stud the A’s have, but why fantasize?) and Josh Thole can carry the future at 1B and C, respectively.
Pitching and more pitching; then some ‘O’ muscle with Holliday (and great versatility and dependability with DiRosa), then be able to wait for Davis and Thole to ripen in AAA next year.
…and i would trade Beltran to the BOSOX. They want him? Fine. Get Buchholz and some prospects: OF prospects Kalish and Nava, and maybe pitching prospects, Fabian Williams (a stretch, doubt Boston would give him up), or Eammon Portice back…and we’re better off. Good trade for both teams. Never ever, never have enough pitching studs..the past couple of years prove that. No?
Bob L.
You and I are on the same page!!!
I thought there were some kooky posts at “Amazin’ Avenue” but, I have to let all of you know, the posts here are KOOKY!! Are any of you Mets’ fans? Have you seen the games?? Do you know anything about baseball?? Sometimes one doesn’t know how good one has it.
My gosh, I’m glad none of you are running the Mets.
Thanks for the kooky comment and for sharing your views on the Mets. I’m glad you are not writing your own Mets blog.
I am just really really glad that you guys are not the GM, because even though Omar Minaya is better than you and he signed Ollie Perez last year when Randy Wolf was willing to accept a lot less guaranteed. If a couple of little things went slightly different the past few years then Omar might’ve looked brilliant and be praised by you guys like when he first got here and brought ‘legitimacy’ to the Mets. You guys are just willing to give up or assess based on whats happened in the last ten minutes. If Santana had continued to pitch poorly because of the injury and not told us about it there would probably be calls for his neck from you all. We don’t need to give up on Pelfrey cause the Mets defense stunk this year, or Murphy because he didn’t hit as well as that first stint. It does make sense to try and trade for Gonzales because then we would surely sign him longterm and could package Davis somewhere else, like for Crawford or Halladay. We would kind of be selling the farm system short again, but hopefully we could hold on to a couple of guys from below, and it would be worth it because for once the players we would be trading for would be all-stars not all-potential.
er I meant because even Omar Minaya is better than y’all and he signed Ollie, and traded Heath Bell…
i actually think that other teams have a better chance at Gonzalez. I reiterate–this team is going nowhere next year. And until they fire Omar and Company we might as well save our money. Whoever comes in will need time(and money) to get things going. We have just wasted a year before it has even got here.
BY THE WAY: its great how u want to fire the GM, but if you cant clearly see that the Owner is running the show, then you need to look closer. Wilpon is making the moves and said “company” is only there to listen and to sign papers. with that said, i’ve never seen a owner fire himself.
I wouldn’t mind Gonzalez on our team!! And congrats to Ed on his 100th blog!! MMO wouldn’t have been the same this season without you
Getting Adrian Gonzalez would give the New York Mets a premiere 1st baseman. He is a legitimate NL All-Star, considering he’ll always be considered after Albert Pujols. Keep Daniel Murphy, move him to 2nd base, eat Castillo’s contract or trade him for a bag of baseballs, and the infield is set. The fact that he’s only 28 means his best years are still to come.
DJ…REALITY CHECK..MURPH TRIED 2B LAST OFFSEASON FALL LEAGUE & LEFT ASTER DISMAL FAILURE. TRY THINKING OF MURPH @ 2B IN SAME LIOGHT AS PIAZZA @ 1B. THAT WAS ANOTHER ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT DIREGARD FOR REALITY. FEW EVER CONSIDRED PIAZZA HAD BUM FEET HE WAS BEST NOT USING. EVER NOTICE HOW STILL THEY WERE WHEN HE BATTED? SURE TAKE A PLAYER, WHO COULDN’T MASTER 1B AS A SINGLE-A PLAYER CAUSING CONVERSION TO C, WHERE HIS THROWING DIFFICULTY WAS FOOTWORK RELATED. PUT HIM AT THE MLB LEVEL 1B POSITION & EXPECT MIRACLES. IT WAS SO EASY TO BLAME MIKE FOR “NOT WANTING TO SWITCH” RATHER THAN HIS REALIZATION HIS FOOTWORK IN GENERAL WAS AKIN TO 2 LEFT FEET WITH SHOELACCES TIED TOGETHER. CONJUR UP VISIONS OF A PRISONER WITH LEGGINGS. THAT WAS PIAZZA FOOTWORK. NOW SUDDENLY U DECIDE U NO LONGER LIKE 2B DEFENSIVE ADEQUACY AND WANT TO REPLACE A FORMER GOLDGLOVE 2B WITH DANIEL SCISSORHANDS? FOR THE LOVE OF MIKE! MURPH HAS ONLY 2 MET POSITIONS AVAILABLE IN MY OPINION, TATIS’ ON BENCH AS PHer & 1B,3B BACKUP OR BISON 1B BACKUP BEHIND DAVIS FOR 2010.
WHAT IS THE CEILING FOR MIDDLE THIRD ROUNDERS, ANYWAY?
Im not sure why everyone has such a big problem with Dan Murphy. he’s never been able to please any fan, but i believe that you cant give up on him. HE LED THE TEAM IN HOMERUNS!!!!! realistically that isnt a big deal to me, but you saw the guy make big steps this year and thats not easy to do for a lot of people. They tried to teach him how to play the outfield in spring training and he batting did not go well.
you saw him go to first and he did well. he needs work but i think some time in triple A will help his hitting and his fielding. He works hard and hes getting better. if we get someone like Gonzalez then it wont matter, but if we dont, he could be a viable option with some work done during the fall and winter.
Im not saying Murphy over Gonzalez, but what if we cant get gonzalez? you have to be realistic.
I think we need to go with perez (possibly by default because they wont eat the contract). with another big pitcher you take pressure off him and let him work on his stuff. hes not perfect, nor will he ever be, but he has his moments and if he could focus on being like that more often, we’ll be fine.
Seriously, I can’t believe this is even an argument. If he is available, sign him! Comparing Thole to Gonzales makes absolutely no sense either. Am I missing something? why would Mets fans NOT want Gonzales?
BTW-Congrats on your 100th post!!
Thank you for the congratulations. I really hope that when the Winter Meetings come around, Omar tries to get him. Of course, just like mostly everyone else, I would look for pitching first. That’s still a big priority. But before anyone else jumps in to the discussions for Gonzalez, Omar should throw his hat in as well.
ED, AT THE SAME TIME HE SHOULD BE CORNERING DOUG MELVIN ON PRINCE TO SEE HOW BADLY DOUG WANTS THOSE “EXPERIENCED” STARTERS!(OR HOW MUCH HE WISHES TO PLEASE HIS NEW PC) NO STONE LEFT UNTURNED WOULD BE AN EXCELLENT PHILOSOPHICAL MANTRA FOR OMAR THIS OFFSEASON. THERE’S SPing ON THE F/A MKT, SANS BORAS. 1B TRADE DISCUSSIONS SHOULD TAKE PRIORITY. UNLESS NYY SPIT THE BIT FOR LACK OF A 4th RELIABLE SP, I DON’T ANTICIPATE EITHER NYY OR BOSOX OR ANY OTHER BIG SPENDER IN THE MKT FOR LACKEY,MARQUIS OR PINIERO. SO I’D FIRST FOCUS ON SD & BREWS FORCING BOTH TO SAY “NO” UNTIL THEY COUNTER WITH OMAR HAVING TO SAY “NO!”. ON SPING,LF,C PATIENCE WILL BE A VIRTUE TO LET MKT COME TO NY AS USUAL.1B F/A MKT IS A DESERT, THE REAL FERTILE GROUND APPEARS NEXT YR WITH BERKMAN & PUJOLS.
Trading Beltran??? Are you people out of your goddamn mind?