6
2009
It’s Going to Take a Few Moves
An article by Former Writers
We can debate all day and year long whether or not the Mets’ awful season is the fault of Jerry Manuel, Omar Minaya, the Wilpons, or the Injuries, or a combination of all of them. But there is one thing I want to see happen this off-season. Omar needs to make more than one big move this time to improve the club. Two years ago he pulled the trigger on bringing in Johan Santana, and last year it was K-Rod and JJ Putz. But nothing was done before the 2009 season to bolster the team’s biggest weakness—starting pitching.
I was worried going in that we didn’t have enough horses in the rotation, and while you surely can’t win when Johan and John Maine each miss more than a month of time, you could also argue that you can’t win with Johan and a collection of #3 and #4 starters. I was a big Maine fan, and still am, but I have tempered my expectations on him being dominant and healthy for a full season. He’s really a #3 or #4 guy now. Pelfrey is a train wreck, and so is Ollie P. And Livan pitched great for a couple months before being derailed by awful performance and then injury. We should pursue Roy Halladay as Joe suggested earlier today, but we can’t stop there. If we can land both Halladay and Jason Marquis, the rotation would look a whole lot nastier—championship nasty so long as everyone stayed healthy, a big if.
But that’s still not going to fix the other big problem—an utter lack of power. Daniel Murphy leading the team with 12 home runs (not counting Jeff Francoeur, who had 5 when he came to New York)? That’s not going to cut it. Depending on the health of both Carlos’, the age of Gary Sheffield, and the fact that David Wright’s 10 homers might be a horrible anomaly, we really need another big bat. I don’t know what that bat is, but you can’t win a championship by hitting 95 home runs as a team.
And the worst part of all this is that I don’t think Omar is going to do enough, again. He’s going to make one token move and otherwise go with what he’s got, and we’re all going to be complaining again. If you feel differently, please say so, but that’s what my gut is telling me.
About the Author: Former Writers
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationals | 26 | 18 | .591 | - |
| Braves | 26 | 20 | .565 | 1.0 |
| Mets | 24 | 21 | .533 | 2.5 |
| Marlins | 24 | 21 | .533 | 2.5 |
| Phillies | 23 | 23 | .500 | 4.0 |
Last updated: 05/25/2012
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Huh?
I completely disagree with you. Minaya and Wilpon both said they would address all the areas that need attention. There is no way Minaya makes just one token move as in years past. Both he and Wilpon are on the record and I expect that things will get done.
Huh, part deux! Considering what just happened Mets ownership will not allow or accept “just one token move” after this year. I know that even if it takes trades, FA signinings, Rule 5 draft pickups or promotion from minors but Mets will make more than one token move. Sheesh how pessimistic can you get dude?
I hope I’m wrong, I really do!
CAPSLOCK=DISABILITY ACCOMODATION
AT BARE MINIMUM THE NYM NEED #2SP,#1C,1B,LF TO PROVIDE 15+W AND 30-40HR
FORTUNATLY ALL THAOSE ANSEWERS MAY BE AVAILABLE FOR THE RIGHT PRICE IN THIS UPCOMING OFFSEASON. MY PREFERENCES WOULD BE 3 TRADES(DOUBTFUL THEY HAVE RESOURCES) & 1 FA SIGNING.
POTENTIAL TRADE AVAILABLES: HALLADAY(1Y 15.75M),FIELDER(1Y 10.5M,CRAWFORD(1Y 10M). (INDICATES TIME LEFT & VALUE OF CURERENT CONTRACT)
OUR MAJOR TALENT SURPLUS IS IN INEXPENSIVE,CONTROLLABLE 3,4,5 SPing IN PELFREY,MAINE,NIESE,NIEVE,MISCH,HOLT. PERHAPS A PKG OF 2 OR 3 OF THESE WITH 1 OR 2 POSITIONAL PROSPECTS CAN LAND HALLADAY. CRAWFORD? WHO KNOWS? BASEC UPON WHO’S LEFT; BUT LUCKILY RAYS MAY HAVE MORE INTEREST IN L/T FURURE AS IN SINGLE A TYPES WHERE WE’VE AN ABUNDANCE. FIELDER WOULD BE TRICKY, ONLY A 1Y, WITH BORAS AS REP, LIKELY LEAVE AFTER ’10.
ANOTHER OPTION; BUT ONLY IF BATSPEED IS STILL VIABLE IS 1Y LOW GUARANTEE OFFER TO DELGADO. EMPHASIS ON BATSPEED INTEGRITY DETERMINED.
THERE’S CERTAINLY POTENTIAL FOR MOVES AS IN MY OPINION A 2Y/12M OFFER TO BENGIE MOLINA UPGRADES US AT CATCHER WITH POTENTIAL DOUBLE DIGIT HR FROM GRIZLED VET. ALL THINGS CONSIDERED THEY’D STILL BE ABLE TO SIGN MARQUIS(13-15M?) & NOT INCR PAYROLL FROM 4/09 LEVEL IF THEY MIRACULOUSLY PULLED ALL THIS OFF. MY EQUALLY LIKELY WISH IS FOR WORLD PEACE(LMAO!)
Yes, Mikey you have accuratly described our needs of another big bat and not one but two starting pitchers. Unfortunately, trading for these needs is a problem when you don’t have what the other teams need or want. The other issue is at what position would that big bat play? As a first baseman, unless the big bat was one of the big time sluggers, what do we do with Carlos Delgado? If he is healthy again, there is no reason to assume that he can’t continue to give us good power numbers and at age 38 plus he is tough to trade. A left fielder you say? We have a very versatile Angel Pagan coming off a good season but we would need to add another player of some quality to get a big bat. Would we do that? In the past we held onto the likes of an Endy Chavez as a 4th outfielder for us too long. So if you get my drift we will have to give to get. I would think thata package of Pagan and Pedro Feliciano could bring back a damn good hitter from a team with salary limits. Money we have and unless Jeff Wilpon was blowing smoke, Omar can spend some to get us over the hump. 2009 was a total disaster because of the injuries that can never be anticipated. Yes, the team needs to work on it’s medical staff and the decisions being made. I am one fan who does not blame Omar or Jerry Manuel at all. There have been times that I have questioned Jerry’s strategies but he kept the team playing hard despite it’s poor showing. On any given day we fielded 4 players who could have been minor leaguers.