Sometimes you just have to face the facts. Mets fans have very little patience. The 2010 baseball season can be a success even if the Mets don’t win the World Series.
Plan B might indeed be the best way to go. There are so many holes to fill that it is unlikely to happen in just one off season. Hopefully we’ll improve, then re-evaluate our needs in order to put us over the top in 2011.
Don’t blow the whole wad this winter. Save some dollars for July if we are contending. Don’t make moves that might be regrettable in 2011 and beyond.
First and foremost we need our injured players to recover and have solid years. Then we need other guys to have comeback years. We need a couple of good signings and trades, and we need a little luck.
- Jose Reyes – the most important cog in the wheel. As he goes, so will the Mets. A BA of .290, OBP of .350, 100 runs, 65 SB
- Carlos Beltran – If healthy he will be great in CF. 25 HR and 100 RBI
- David Wright – the 2010 comeback player of the year?
- Jeff Francoeur – 25 HR
- Daniel Murphy – 40 doubles, 18 HR, and 85 RBI
- Johan Santana – 20 wins
- Trade Castillo – then sign DeRosa to play 2B and platoon with Murphy at 1B.
- Trade for pitcher - Ricky Nolasco or Roy Oswalt.
- Sign Jason Marquis or Joel Pineiro.
- Sign one of Ben Sheets, Erik Bedard, Rich Harden, or Brad Penny.
- Sign Bengie Molina, Rod Barajas, or Miguel Olivo, to a 1 year contract.
Doing most of the moves above wouldn’t cost very much.
If 60% of the above comes to fruition, we’ll improve significantly. And it wouldn’t cost very much or leave us saddled with bad contracts going forward.
A $170 million payroll guarantees nothing. And it would be especially embarrassing to finish under .500.
*Mets Merized Online Needs Your Help*
I have thought this over a couple of times if I were the Gm I would do this. Trade Fernando Martinez, Pelfery,Pagan and other minor league players for Crawford.Trade Castillo and sign figgins.Resign Delgado if he is healthy.Sign both Bedard and Sheets.Resign Putz and a left handed reliver. Our team would be.
1 Reyes
2 Figgins
3 Crawford
4 Delgado
5 Wright
6 Beltran
7 Francouer
8 Santos/Thole
1 Santana
2 Bedard
3 Sheets
4 Maine
5 Perez
I think that the lineup has alot of speed and even though i didn’t add a power hitter I think the lineup should hit some homeruns. The pitching is questionable since all of the pitchers are coming off injuries.But I think IF the pitching staff stays healthy it could be one of the best in the MLB.
The starting pitching has 4 question marks. Delgado and Putz could be disastrous. I don’t like it.
I know the pitching has question marks but who else are they going to sign that doesn’t have question marks?
I view Delgado as a low risk high reward. He porbally won’t cost that much and if he gets hurt Murphy is a capable replacement.
DANNY, DON’T DISCOUNT HIS “IF HEALTHY” CONDITION Re DELGADO. IN MY OPINION, THE BIG DOG HAS GOTTEN SLAMMED BY MANY FOR INACCURATE REASONS SUCH AS INJURY CLAIMS. A BRIEF LOOK WILL REVEAL HIS MOSTLY HEALTHY STATUS FOR HIS NYM CAREER WITH MOST INJURIES HANDLED DURING OFFSEASON AND CAUSED BY HBP SITUATIONS LIKE D-TRAIN’S BREAKING HIS HAND CAUSING ZERO MISSED GAMES. I CONTEND IF DELGADO’S BAT SPEED IS STILL THERE HE’S THE THIRD BEST POTENTIAL OPTION FOR 1B ON THIS SQUAD. HIS 4HR IN 26G LAST YR TRANSLATES INTO A 25HR SEASON WE DESPERATELY NEED ESP SINCE THOSE 26G EWRE ALL EARLY COLD WEATHER GAMES WHEN BALLS FLY LESS AND ARE MORE INDICATIVE OF A 30+HR SEASON. I MENTIONED HIM AS 3rd BEST OPTION, IN MY OPINION BEST OPTION IS FIELDER, 2nd IS GONZALEZ IF THEY ARE OBTAINABLE. I MISSED WHAT CHICO DID WITH PELFREY IN HIS ROTATION 5, I CERTAINLY HAVE THE BIGGEST ISSUE WITH ACQUIRING SHEETS AS ANY MORE THAN A REDDING TYPE ADDITION, SHEETS’ SUGERY CERTAINLY DIDN’T ADDRESS ALL OF HIS PHYSICAL WEAKNESSES OF ELBOW,SHOULDER & BACK ALL CONTRIBUTING INJURIES TO HIS IMMENSE D/L TIME. AS AN INVITEE COMPETING TO BE #5 I’M SUPPORTIVE; BUT AS A REQUIRED 1 OF 5 INGREDIENT, I MUST VOTE “NAY!”.
Like the lineup. The pitching staff is suspect. I would rather see maine in the bullpen and also sign Pineiro. If Perez stinks it up you still have Neise.
23 years? i’d say we have a lot of patience…
Thats reasonable. I still don’t see how that team even sniffs the playoffs, but its a reasonable team. It doesnt make me want to watch the damn game, but yeah, still reasonable.
I disagree Reyes,Figgins and Crawford will score a alot of runs.Wright in my mind is still one of the games best players.Beltran is a great player. I think the only way they won’t make the playoff is if Santana,Bedard, Sheets, Maine and Perez get hurt again.
Chicho
I’ll chance one of Sheets and Bedard, but both is too risky. You can’t pencil Perez in for anything at this point. He could be in triple A to start the season.
Then Piniero or Marquis.
What do you think of Nolasco or Oswalt. Oswalt is due $15 M for 2 years. He could be as good as Lackey without the long term commitment.
I just don’t like Piniero or Marquis. Piniero has had just one good year. Marquis will be average at best.I don’t mind Nolasco even though he had a 5.07 ERA. I’m not really a big Osawalt fan.
I agree with you. No way that the Mets should take a chance on two pitchers with high injury risks. Better to go Chinese Restaurant style, one from column A and one from column B.
I get what you are saying.But Bedard and Sheets will cost less than Marquis and Bedard. If we did go Marquis and Bedard we won’t have any money to get figgins or Crawford.
But the reason they will cost less is because there’s a chance that either could miss half the season or more. You’ll pay more for getting the healthy one but you assume less risk and therefore have a better chance for success in 2010. At least that’s the way I see it.
Getting Marquis or Pinerio won’t put the Mets over the top. If they were to do that they will miss the playoffs by one game again. A healthy Sheets and Bedard will put the Mets into the playoffs.The Mets have to take chances if the want to make the playoffs. Even if they get hurt they have pitchers who can do good for them Nieve.Niese and Redding.
Why would you trade for Oswalt,or Nolasco??Id rather watch Niese or Stoner pitch,then trade for those 2.If we are trading for pitching im thinking Josh Johnson or Halladay.Why not keep Castillo,by the time his contract is up Reese Havens or Ruben Tejada will be ready for 2nd.Ill agree with signing Delgado for 1 year.But i believe Murphy can hit,just not as many homers Delgado can hit.Thole-Davis Should get500 abs in Buffalo.Lets sign reliable players forget trades.Id sign Marquis-Wolf-Barajas-DeRosa-Figgins.Derosa to play 1st-2nd-left-right.Figgins to be the leftfielder.Barajas can start 120 games in 2010/santos getting the rest.Barajas starting81 in 2011 with Thole getting the rest.
I would rather see Phillips from Cinnci come over in a trade to play 2nd base. Didn’t they say the Dodgers are interested in Castillo? Give him away to anyone for what ever,
Davidoff: Yanks, Sox not likely to go for Halladay-newsday
Delgado gave the Mets some good service but now he is Mr. Yesterday. No more prime time from him.
Des, despite your understatement, does anybody know right now DGado’s status in terms of his recovery and the likelihood of the Mets keeping him for 2010?
I have shouted this loudly enough: I would like to see a healthy CDog back on the 2010 Mets. Guarantee he’ll get that Apple up way more often than most!
No one said they had a rats chance in ‘69 either…………………
i think Plan B is the way to go. We can afford it and it injects pitching, speed, small ball, defense, with some power and better hitting, into the mix.
i cannot guarantee a pennant but a team with an SP rotation of: Santana, Marquis, Sheets, Wolf (Washburn), Maine would be one of the best in the NL (barring injuries). (i disagree about Marquis; he’s been markedly consistent since 2004, winning an average of over 13 games/yr over that span, albeit with a somewhat fat 4.50 ERA on average. But as a #3 starter, that’s pretty darn good.) i see Santana winning 20, Sheets 15 (if he’s healthy–why NOT?), Wolf, 10, Marquis 13, Maine, 12. That’s 70 wins; the bullpen wins another 15 – 20.
The pitching would be supported by a lineup of Reyes, Crawford, Wright, Beltran, Figgins (2B), Murphy/DeRosa (1B–although DeRosa can spell guys all over the field), Francouer, Santos/Thole. That lineup has speed, very capable of disrupting opposing pitching and defenses, should be darn good at small ball, and has some power, and good, all-around hitting. And that team should play very good defense and be strong up the middle.
i think that team would be capable of 85 – 90 wins; and i think we’d either just miss or make the playoffs.
What would you rather have a stable team which makes you competitive for 4 or 5 year periods or a World Champion team that can offer that one year and no more? Ideally, I would pick the first…the problem is that there are no guarantees. Let´s face it…the Mets don´t have the best prospects in the world which gets you into a deeper mess, because even if you wanted to win it all now, how are you gonna get the players you need if you really don´t have anybody that other teams might want? O.K., you´re second option is Free Agency…but, how do you go about it?
Do you go after marquee players or more inexpensive ones? Given the questionmarks this team has, I´d say we´re about 4 or 5 years of any possibility…even if improvements started inmediately. So, I would say go out and get players who will continue to have impact upon reaching that point in time.
I did some research on Bedard and Sheets. Sheets is going to be 100 percent by spring. Bedard will likely miss the first month of the year.Obviosly the Mets can’t rely on him to be an effictive pitcher for them. So instead of him I would like them to sign Garland. He will be less expensive than Marquis. and Garland is basicly the same pitcher.I would change the pitching staff to. I would still sign Bedard to a 1 year deal worth 5 million.
1 Santana
2 Sheets
3 Maine
4 Garland
5 Perez/Bedard
What happened to Mike Pelfrey? Personally I’ll take Sheets on a 1 year deal with a team option, but as for Bedard and Garland, no thanks buddy. If the Mets want to show me that they are serious they will sign Lackey and Sheets. Otherwise they can kiss my ass because I’m not renewing my ticket plan.
If the mets wanna be serious, they gotta be like the yankees plain and simple. Look what it got the yankees to go and spend money and sign the best players in the market. A RING!!
If the mets wanna be taken serious, you sign holliday and try to trade for a pitcher. All those guys they traded for santana amounted to nothing. To be honest, Im not sold on Lackey. I think everyone is overrating him. HIS ERA was closer to 4, than it was to 3. Wolf put up a better season than him. Not to mention lackey, he didnt reach 200 innings….
I traded Pelfery in the Crawford deal. I think Lackey is more a risk than Sheets. Lackey has had his share of inuries also.His ERA has went up in three consecutive years. I don’t want to give him a long term deal.I veiw both Sheets and Bedard as low risk high reward.Beacuse they will sign short term deals and not cost much money.If they get hurt you have decent pitchers in the minors to replace them.Nieve,Niese Redding and Misch.On a side note.The reason I have Perez in the the rotation beacuse the Mets are paying 12 million this year. If you move him to the minors or the bullpen its just a waste of money.You also never know if he can turn it around this year give him one more chance.
Crawford is a million times better player than Pelfrey. Youre nuts to even suggest that. Crawford will be locked up by the Rays. They be stupid not to.
I said trade Pelfrey,Fernando Martinez, Pagan and other minor league players for Crwaford.
Oh boy, Chicho, here we go again! You are being really cheap and dumb at the same time. You keep saying “IF” they can stay healthy. Since I do agree (sort of) that getting Lackey and worrying about his money will give you gray hair, so will getting Bedard or Sheets. And I swear, if you say “Look at the numbers” I’m coming through the computer!!!!
They can’t stay on the field. This is the point: THEY CAN’T STAY ON THE FIELD!!
Stop being cheap, but be smart. If you’re the GM, Chicho, tell Lackey 3 years $87 million with a team option for the 4th at $13 million. $100 million is a bit much, but STOP BLOWING SMOKE UP THE BLOGGERS BUTTS ABOUT BEDARD AND SHEETS BEING BETTER THAN LACKEY!!!!!!
If they were that much better, they would be on the field more. Period!
Did you look at my other plan? I don’t think saying to sign Holliday is being cheap. And why do you hate Sheets and Bedard so much?
Carpenter also couldn’t stay on the field and look at the year he had.
this pitching makes sense but i do not trust Perez. I think they should have gotten Duncan as pithing coach. I think Warten stinks.
Its all about pitching and defense….castillo at 2nd needs to go , Pagan needs to grow up and handle left using his head…..get as much quailty starting pitching as possible, re-re-reinforce the bullpen….Mets will have enough offense if Reyes is healed….pitching is the key, always has been for the MET
Hey Chicho, good point on Garland vs Marquis. i had looked at Garland earlier and passed because i get extreme agida over a guy who gives up a lot more hits than IP, but you are right their stats are virtually identical and Garland is a year younger, averaged 14 wins/yr since 2004 and gives up slightly more hits to IP than Marquis does. If he’s cheaper, so be it.
Yes, i heard Sheets would be ready by Spring. i think he’d be a potentially great acquisition by us. i like the idea of taking a stab at another high-end guy with health issues (we have to take ’some’ chances, think outside the box, to rebuild this team), but if Bedard is so ‘iffy’ health wise is Harden less of a risk?
And Devin, Pelfrey is missing, because in my schemata above, he’s been part of a package for Crawford.
And i agree with Frank62, it’s pitching, pitching, pitching that we need to revive. However, given the nutty dimensions of CitiField, we need speed and defense up the middle and in the OF.
i think speed and defense are easier and cheaper to add than hard, straight, power, and both Holliday and Bay are simply not ideal defensively for CitiField, with prospects of less power from both in our Park pretty high.
We do need Crawford or Pierre or Granderson in LF. i hope we have enough to get one of them. Any ofthose three, helps our OF defense and would be a major asset to our small ball strategy. Pierre probably the easiest to pry away. We shall see.
Hi Steve, i think Piniero beats only us. Maine would be too fragile for bullpen duty i think. Perez? Perez, i expect nothing from…either he finds himself in the bullpen or at Buffalo, OR if heaven shines for us, we can trade him for spare parts.
So, wouldn’t it be funny as all heck if Ollie indeed ‘found himself’ in 2010? But i don’t expect it.Guy’s been a complete bust.
Santana,20 wins; Sheets, 15; Garland, 13; Wolf, 10; Maine, 12 wins…+ 15 – 20 from the bullpen…to produce an 85 – 90 win team and contending all year for a playoff spot. Not ‘bad’.
santana 20 wins??? Sorry, Santana is NOT the best pitcher in baseball. Hasnt been for quite a while now. Sheets 15 wins? The dude hasnt pitched in a while! And pelfrey, we shipped him where for what? Mets fans always dreaming big!
The mets are not doing all those changes. get real
de rosa has got to be the most overrated player in baseball. the mets should stay very very far away.
good post. I may not agree with some of the players but I like the idea of not committing to things that will hamstring us in 2011. That is very wise counsel. I am almost certain they will not follow it.
I know all the things I’ve suggested will not come to to be. If 60% of them occur, especially with current Mets; Reyes, Beltran, Santana, and Wright, the team will be so much better. Then a pitcher or two.
Patience please. It’s so unlikely that enough goes right for the Mets to win it all. A couple more big moves for 2011 and who knows.
Mets62
If Fielder or Gonzalez happens I can’t complain. But I am against Delgado because I want to give Murphy a full shot. I know you disagree.
You don’t need home runs from your 1st baseman. The Phillies got 35 HR from a 2nd baseman and 35 each from 2 outfielders.
What about Ryan Howard. Would they have traded his offense for superior pitching?
The Mets will still be lacking pitching in most realistic scenarios being discussed. Let’s improve in 2010, give the young guys a shot, and then make some more moves in 2011 to put us over the top.
I thought of a plan that I thik is better than the other I posted earlier.Sign Matt Holliday. Sign Barajas to a one year deal.Sign Ben Sheets also a one year deal. Same with Bedard.Try to trade for Vazquez or Kawakami.The Braves would a good team to trade with even though the play in the same divison beacuse the have six starters.I’m sure they will trade one of them.Trade for Arthur Rhodes. Sign Mike Gonzalez to pitch the eight inning.If they did that this is how it would look.
1 Reyes
2 Castillo
3 Wright
4 Beltran
5 Holliday
6 Francouer
7 Murphy
8 Barajas
1 Santana
2 Vazquez/Kawakami
3 Sheets
4 Pelfrey
5 Perez/Maine/Bedard
CL Rodriguez
SU Gonzalez
Tell me if this one is better or worse.
1. Signing Holliday would be nice, but that doesn’t solve the pitching issue.
2. Bedard and Sheets combined don’t add up to what the two BEST AVAILABLE pitchers do
3. If Carpenter was on the market, I would only give him 2 years because he- not Lackey or Halliday- is the poster child of “oft- injured ace”.
In point of fact, I hadn’t looked at your post until you mentioned it. It made me laugh that you had Bedard as a number 5!! WHAT HAPPENED, I thought that he waas your number 2?!
And Kenshin Kawakami?! You must have been tired when you wrote that. He has only pitched one year in the majors, he’s older than Lackey and Halliday and when he came to the majors his ERA went up a full run!
And wasn’t Javier Vasquez the same guy in 2003 (in New York, mind you) who could barely get an out in the regular season, let alone the playoffs! AND HE’S YOUR NUMBER 2?! **BUZZ** I’m sorry, that’s the wrong answer. Please try again.
I understand that you think Lackey and Halladay are better than Berdard and Sheets.The reason I’m saying to sign them is because they will sign cheap. And you have to agree they have alot of upside.My point on Carpenter was that they said the same thing about him. He couldn’t get on the field. He will never be the same pitcher.And they were right he wasn’t the same pitcher he was better he had his best season.Sometimes a year off can help a picther.Bedard will likely miss the first month of the season so thats he is my 5 starter. I didn’t know that earlier.I can’t belive you are complaing about Vazquez.He has pitched over 200 innings 5 years in a row. And has started 32 games or more 9 years in a row. I thought you liked consistent pitchers without injuries.Plus he is not as expensive as lackey. Kawakami would only cost 13 Mill over 2 years. He is not a bad pitcher. Why don’t you write what you think the Mets should do? Because everything I say you think is horrible.
OK, fair enough.
1. Trade for 2B Phillips from the Reds (low level prosects and a back up should do it). Since Cincinatti is in dealing mode, if they included Bronson Arroyo (durable, pitches like a number 3 starter and rarely gets injured) even at the money he commands, he would hold a staff together from the bottom of the rotation to the top 2 starters.
2. Trade Castillo (and eat half of his contract for THIS SEASON ONLY) and Mike Pelfrey to the Rockies for Manny Corpas and Taylor Bucholz.
3. Trade for Adrian Gonzalez and David Eckstien. Think not? Remember Mike Piazza, friend. Ike Davis, Bobby Parnell, Wilmer Flores and Angel Pagan.
4. Sign Joe Bimel to a two year deal. PLEASE GIVE PEDRO SOME HELP!!!
5. Re-sign J.J. Putz (I know he got on my nerves, too. But I’ll give him one more chance.
6. Sign Bengie Molina for a two year, incentive laden deal. (older than Rod Barajas, but can handle a pitching staff and you don’t need him to be Joe Mauer. Speaking of which, hmm…2011 maybe?)
7. John Lackey. Now, it is my belief from watching the past 3 years, that it won’t take Barry Zito numbers. 3 years/75 million. Club option for number 4. Front load the contract. Because…
8. Matt Holiday. 5 years/ $100 million. Back loaded.
9. Sign Brandon Lyon
Roster:
1. Jose Reyes
2. Brandon Phillips
3. Matt Holiday
4. Adrien Gonzalez
5. Carols Beltran
6. David Wright
7. Jeff Francouer
8. Bengie Molina
Pitchers
1. Johan Santana
2. John Lackey
3. Bronson Arroyo
4. Oliver Perez
5. John Maine
Relief
1. K-Rod
2. J.J.
3. Jonathan Niese
4.De La Rosa
5. Corpas
6. Bimel
7. Brandon Lyon
Bench
1. Eckstien
2. Evans
3. Santos
4.Jerry Hairston, Jr.
5. Cliff Floyd (Redux? He’s not playing every day and he’s a lefty)
That’s about $200 million dollars. The Mets get a combined $800 million from their TV rights and the stadium. THAT, Chicho, is what I mean by not being cheap. They’re playing in the big leagues. It’s time to tell the Phillies to come get them some!
I like it but its not going to happen. I doubt the Padres trade Gonzalez.There is no way will take that offer.You will have to trade pelfrey, Martinez, Mejja and Holt To have a chance at getting him.I don’t think they will even take that.
Why would the Rockies want Castillo? they already have two players who can play second Barmes and Stewart.
Aye: Santana was hurting for awhile. We don’t know how long but it was obvious, the guy’s velocity was 89 – 92…when ht had been 94 – 97 when he was a Twin. If he’s healthy again, 20 wins very achievable with a good defensive team behind him. Sheets has been hurt, missed the whole 2009 season….word is he’ll be ready by Spring. Again, if ‘he’ is healthy, 15 wins seem very achievable because, again, the guy is a top notch, # 1 – #2 starter, when healthy.
Chicho, i don’t think we have a shot for Holliday or Lackey, which is why i’ve gone to a flexible Plan B. The primary thing is to not wait in the wings while the hot ladies leave the dance with the mega rich dudes (Yanks/Red Sox) and we’re left standing when the music stops.
Hence, a Plan B that encompasses thinking outside the box to garner pitching pitching pitching first & foremost; then defense; speed; small ball capability and better hitting depth.
And i do not think DeRosa is over-rated. Since becoming a regular in 2006, he’s averaged nearly 17HRs/78RBI’s/yr with an average OPS of .803 over that 4-year span. Darn good for a guy that can also play 5 positions. Only negative is he turns 35 in February.
He’s one of the guys i think might be a good pair with Murphy. Others are Nady & Jacobs.
There are many ways we can go here. i simply want us to continue to pressure the front office so they don’t watch the rich dudes walk away with the trophies at night’s end and we have nothing to show for it. Hence the Plan B.
I think the Mets have a chance on Holliday. Because I think the Red Sox will resign Bay and the Yankees will resign Damon.I think after that the Mets can outbid all the other teams who would want Holliday.
Good point on Barmes and Stewart. I forgot about those guys! Dang. I think Castillo can bring back some relief help, but what you said changes things.
I think at least a portion of what I said will happen. I have hope, not in Mets management, but in the system. Let’s hope I’m right.
Why is it that everyone here seems to think of Mark DeRosa as the best thing since sliced bread?
I’m sorry, but it’s just not the case.
By the way, you think we’d be better if Reyes stole 65 bases and Santana won 20 games?
The goals are a mighty bit of a stretch. How about we start by hoping both are healthy enough to play through the season?
Morning, Chicho. i definitely agree that the Red Sox re-sign Bay, but i think the Yankees re-sign Damon…more for DH and some OF, and also go after and get Holliday. He’s a Boras client. Rember, we got Beltran only after the Yankees turned him down when Boras made a final pass to the Yanks at a ‘cheaper’ contract than we paid?!?
The other thing about Holliday is that his defense won’t do it at CitiField and i believe 20% + of his power gets ‘lost’ in the nutty dimensions of our ballpark.
i am fixated on pitching and defense, small ball and solid hitting to take advantage of those nutty dimensions.
Pelfrey is gone from Plan B because he has been shipped to Tampa for Crawford in a deal. If we traded Castillo for Pierre, we’d still have Mike. i figured if we got either Crawford or Granderson, we’d have to give up some MLB-ready guys, Pelfrey, for all his 2009 warts, still intrigues a lot of people.i don’t want to trade him, but you have to ‘give’ to ‘get’.
Delgado i agree might work for 1 more year, but then we relegate Murphy to AAA or the bench and so i think pairing a DeRosa or a Nady or a Jacobs with Murphy makes more sense.
As far as Sheets is concerned. He’s worth a shot, no doubt. i penciled him for 15 wins (which might be a stretch–i’m desperate!) because i’ve read in a couple places, he’ll be 100% by Spring. If that’s not the case, maybe we go for Marquis and Garland–two 200+IP horses–Wolf/Piniero(ugh!)and Sheets/Bedard on incentive-plus contracts as ‘flings’?
My whole point on this off-season and let’s plan a blueprint for a rebounding season in 2010. Hopefully, the front office is doing this. There are a ton of FA’s out there, the ‘B’ types that can definitely help us improve. Let’s think outside the box and not settle for waiting the last song to play before we make our move.
I think the Yankees want to go after pitching this year.I bet they wind up with Halladay and Champman.I don’t think the Yankees will get him.I know his defense isn’t very good but he is one of the games best hitters.I agree that he is not going to have as many home runs here than in Colorado. He can still hit .320 BA 20 HR’s 100 RBI at citi field. The reason why I changed my mind on Crawford was for the same reason you said.Why give up Pelfery and Fernando Martinez for Crawford while you can sign Holliday? I wouldn’t give up on Martinez yet. He is still very young and has alot of potential. I also wouldn’t give up on Murphy.Let him play this year.He had a bad year this year but this was his first year. Youkilis had similar numbers as Murphy in his first full year. Youk 279 13 HR’s 72 RBI Mruphy 266 12 HR’s 63 RBI.
i agree on Murphy; give him a shot. i can see him playing a good 1B and giving us 270 – 280, with 15- 18 Hrs and 70/80 RBI’s next year. And he could develop into a 290 20/100 guy with a good glove. How ironic, huh?!
i may be nuts but i want to emphasize defense and speed in our lineup as much as possible, steal bases, play a great brand of small ball, disrupt the opposing teams, and hit a couple out. That, to go with our improved pitching (with better arms coming down the road from our farm), is the way to win at CitiField.
i truly doubt we’ll be able to get Holliday and i think pitching/speed/defense/pesky hitting will win more games at Citi than ‘power’.
And, again, i don’t want to be waiting while the pretty girls leave the dance with the really rich and famous guys.
You know what as much as I like Dan Murphy, I see him as more of a back up 1st Baseman. Last year he was clutch, but when runners weren’t really on base which didn’t help all that much. Plus lets not forget he did make many an error at first, but if we can’t find someone solid then of course Murph will be just fine.
Reyes is obviously fine at Short, and we can hopefully have Alex Cora on stand-by if he gets injured for the 100th time. I liked Alex Cora last year, I hope he sticks around.
As old as he is, I still love Delgado. Just a classy guy who goes about his business in a positive way and gets the job done.
Carlos Beltran is cocky, but he has every right too because when healthy hes without a doubt our go to Centerfielder.
Jeff Francouer will be just fine with the Mets as well in Right Field. He is fast, can hit, and defensevly is on top of his game. Here’s a guy who could possibly be a team leader down the road.
David Wright at third OBVIOUSLY!.
I can’t decide as far as Castillo, and the catching position, but I beleive that Thole should come up from AAA sooner then later! I saw him play at a Connecticut Defenders Game and he kicked butt!
We need Jason Marquis. I think the Mets would be stupid not to aquire somebody of his caliber and who is begging the Mets to come and play.
The thing that is right about this article is the title. A World Series title is not in the offing for the Mets in 2010. The rehab of this team is at least a 2 yr and probably 3 yr project. Your outline is full of too many questions: 1. Reyes’s performance is unknown and may not match prior years 2. Beltran is all hope based on the condition of his injury and whether it reoccurs 3. Will David Wright be able to get Citifield off his back and have some actual support in the lineup? 4. Can Francoeur progress at getting on base? 5. Can Murphy achieve consistent ML performance levels? 6. Does Santana return from surgery equal to his prior performance? 7. Is trading Castillo wise as he was the one reliable player in 2009? 8. Obtaining 3 second line pitchers when we need a top line one and your 9th point begs the question of which of those 3 catchers is the correct choice? With that many questions, you can pretty much figure that at least half of the answers come out wrong. The point is there is just too much to go wrong. Hopefuly the Mets make a couple steps in the right direction and not deteriorate further.
Mets fans can argue all they want about the right course of action and which FA’s to sign and what trades to make, but in the end, the Mets need to bring in top line talent over a period of the next 2 to 3 seasons. We need to sign at least one of Lackey, Halladay, Holliday or Bay this year. If we fail to get every one of those, the headway will likely be very meager in 2010. In my opinion, we need to focus on top line not secondary as the up front approach. Supplement with the secondary guys, but do not try to substitute patchwork for real talent.
I know what you’re saying. I’m reaching for the stars. We need some luck on our side for 60% + to occur. The law of averages says that with what happened last year we should have better luck this year.
Two or three years – it’s impossible to predict. And that’s just to make the playoffs.
Yes, you got my point. It’s a 2 to 3 yr project and our best shot is to make sure we get at least one top line player through either trade or FA signing this off season. After that you sign secondary players to fill as many of the holes as budget $ allow.
I’d rather get Holliday for LF. He’s young and should be a consistently good hitter for the duration of a long contract. Long term contracts for pitchers rarely work.
Also I’m partial to Murphy, so if they get Holliday, it becomes more sensible to play Murphy at first.
Well when u see in the Dailynews that the Mets are talking about getting Jose Guillen and now in the Newsday the Mets are having discussions about trading for Pat Burrell and bringing in Delgado for 1 more year, it doesn’t paint a very good picture about the chances of the Mets getting Holliday as well as getting having Murphy at 1b and it also gives u the sense that where the Mets are going to spend there big funds on, which is probably lackey. I mean it would not surprise me now if the 3rd team the mets and cubs were looking for as far as this castillo/bradley trade mess is the Rays, the cubs seem willing to do Bradley for Castillo, Tampa was the other team interested in Bradley besides texas and now with this thing in Newsday by Ken Davidoff about the Mets and Burrell, do the Math. Plus Burrell is on the last year of a contract.
i agree we need top talent to fill our holes to revive this team in 2010 to be able to ‘contend’…win 85+ games.
My points were that Lackey would be scarfed up by the Yanks, Holliday by maybe the Yanks or Angels, and that there were other very good options out there across the board in FA-land and also potentially via trades that wouldn’t shred our entire system…and to do those that seemed best and not wait until teams had maneuvered around us and the pickings got very slim.
Turns out the Yanks look like they may indeed trade for Doc, which along with the Angles NOT chasing Lackey makes me very suspicious of Lackey’s health.
i now think Holliday would be a great choice for LF because of his hitting ability (not HRs). Or even a trade for Crawford or Phillips (assuming Castilllo gone).
Now, with the Burrell rumor (a 3-way trade to get rid of Castillo), i’m depressed. We need to sign Figgins for 2B, or trade for Phillips…and maybe Burrell rebounds in his last contract year to at least his 5-yr avg (04 – 08) of 30HRs/96RBI’s .876 OPS, .260 avg. We shall see.