On a day when a few extra coals have been added to the Hot Stove, the Phillies are close to trading for ace pitcher Roy Halladay, while Jon Heyman of SI.com is reporting that John Lackey will be signing a five-year, $85 million contract with the Boston Red Sox.
In related news, the Mets have announced the signing of Jack Squat. Squat hasn’t done much in the past and might go unnoticed in the Mets clubhouse, but that is due to the fact that no one ever knows he’s there. Since he wasn’t a Type A or Type B free agent, the Mets pounced on Squat since they knew he would sign for next to nothing.
I have to joke about this because if I didn’t, I’d be crying. The Mets are just twiddling their thumbs watching players they should have acquired not only sign with other teams, but get traded to teams that will have a great impact on where the Mets will finish in 2010 and beyond.
Not only are the top pitchers being signed and/or traded to other teams, but now the Mets might have to overpay for pitchers such as Jason Marquis and Joel Piñeiro so that they don’t sign with other teams. I have nothing against either pitcher, but what if Santana gets hurt again like he did at the end of the 2009 season? Neither Marquis nor Piñeiro is good enough to be the ace of a staff the way Halladay and Lackey were with the Blue Jays and Angels, respectively.
The 2010 Mets with a staff of Santana, Marquis/Piñeiro, Pelfrey, Maine and some $36 million pitcher looks a lot like the 2009 staff, meaning mediocre at best. Of course, on the bright side, the Red Sox might not be able to afford Jason Bay now that Lackey will be getting a couple of bucks from them. Unfortunately, Jason Bay can’t pitch and now that Halladay and Lackey appear to be off the radar, there is a dearth of ace-type starters for the Mets to consider.
The Citi Field press conference room is resembling a ghost town.
Let’s just put it this way. The way the Mets have gone about this offseason, it looks like they’re taking the “let’s take our time and see how this all plays out” approach. What might have worked in the past is not working this time around. Omar Minaya can’t let other teams, especially his main rivals, scoop up player after player while he waits intently in the Citi Field press conference room for the player introduction that’s not going to happen.
While teams like the Phillies and Red Sox are giving their fans awesome stocking stuffers, Mets fans are just getting lumps of coal in their stockings. At least we’ll be able to use that coal to heat up our stoves because it sure looks like the Mets’ hot stove isn’t using it.
Does Jack Squat bare any relation to Jack Sprat? Nice job summarizing our Mets quandary. I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop when Bay makes his decision tomorrow or Wednesday. Then what?
There’s no point in getting anyone…signing bay wont do a thing…the phillies already have the nl east division locked next year and for years to come.
I just read this and laughed…nice parody and way to look at this. But then I also thought, if I were Jason Bay, would I want to play for the Mets? No freaking way. Not unless they had already committed to Lackey or some other stud pitcher.
I think a trade for Nolasco would be the best thing right now.
I think a trade for Theo Epstein or Ruben Amaro would be better.
I think the problem with the Mets is higher up than Omar. It is with ownership and key executives.
We’d have to trade Fred and Jeff for the Red Sox’ mainstays, John Henry and Larry Lucchino. If it’s the Phillies, their heavy hitters are Dave Montgomery and Bill Giles.
As Mets fans, many of us have been sympathetic with the devastating losses Fred and Jeff took when Uncle Bernie fleeced them. But their problems have morphed into Mets on-field problems. They need to sell the team. By their passivism, not their words, they tell the baseball world they don’t have the working capital to compete with the teams from smaller cities like Boston and Philadelphia.
Oh shutup and quit crying u sound like a met fan who’s also a jet fan and knicks fan. The offseason isnt over yet calm the freak down. By the way im also a Laker fan and Broncos fan thank God
I’m a Utah Jazz fan who’s still thrilled about our victory over the Lakers this weekend
I just hope I have something to look forward to next season. We need pitching badly and the good ones are falling by the wayside. If only Jack Squat could pitch…
Yeah, with the way the Mets are going, I’m rapidly becoming a Yankee fan.
umm you probably are one already dude. You dont become a fan of another team just like that. it means you were never a fan to begin with. To be a Fan is support the team in Good times and bad and even ugly.
Believe me, I wasnt. I grew up looking into Shea from my bedroom window. But this is ridiculous. I don’t believe in this good times and bad crap. I have no problem losing tons of games if I see that there is a plan in place to improve in the future. But there is nothing! Nothing but incompetence! The team can’t properly adorn their new stadium, or fire a lunatic executive properly, and I’m supposed to believe they have a plan to improve this team? The owners don’t care about winning a championship. No one that refers to “the product on the field” will ever do what it takes to win a championship. They’ll plug in some holes here and there to appease the fans, put butts in seats and sell some merchandise. But thats all they want, if the team stumbles into a championship, thats great. I don’t want to root for the Yanks, I had to during the WS and felt nothing but revulsion at the last out. But what is an exasperated and championship-starved Met/Jet/Knick fan to do? No other fanbase out there deals with the complete championship black out that we do! Surely you understand why the temptation is there!
Aside from the whole “jump on the Yankee’s ship” aspect, I think this is the most intellegent comment I’ve read in a while.
Well put.
Whats even better about this deal is that the Mariners now have acquired Chone Figgins and Cliff Lee over this offseason. Look for the Angels to counter, possibly eating into the dregs of the market that the Mets are currently sifting through.
Jack Squat’s MLB Years of Service: 0.0
Apparently Lackey’s people didnt even bother to tell the Mets about the Boston deal. Halladay didn’t want to even consider the Mets. Clearly NO ONE wants to play for this snake-bitten team. I’m surprised Santana’s not pushing to leave town. I feel bad for that guy.
as much as i hope johan doesnt request a trade, if the mets continue on this road, i wudnt be surprised, u can hear it in his voice when he gets interviewed when the mets lost a gm and he pitched well, but the offense was nowhere 2 be found, or even worse in his 1st season as a met which shud have been his cy young yr was blown away juss like all the gms that bullpen blew on his starts, i think he lost 2 gms last season witout giving up and earned run its BS ::SMH:: i really hope omar, wilpons someone does something 2 keep our ace in queens.
Jesus lord.. If we would’ve had a real gm we wouldn’t be having any of this conv.. 3 years too late.
Great article, Ed. I totally agree with you: Better to joke about it then crying.
I kinda like Jack Squat. He was great in School Of Rock and…Oh, that’s Jack Black. Never mind….
I think its the right approach, Players are over paid , Mets have made free agent blunders before and I approve of not jumping in with a big splash…patience got us , Santana, rushing got us castillo….let the fillies gut thier farm for 1 player, I like it
I think its the right approach, Players are over paid , Mets have made free agent blunders before and I approve of not jumping in with a big splash…patience got us , Santana, rushing got us castillo….let the fillies gut thier farm for 1 player, I like it
If a guy like Lackey does not want to come to your team, then you need to fire the people responsible for your organization. This is New York. Boston is a slum. If you cannot get a guy to come to New York, there is something dreadfully wrong with your org.
Pretty soon we will be hearing the announcement that Bay is signing either with the Mariners, Angels, or Yanks. We will miss out on all the key players. Omar better get cracking on Marquis or Philly or Toronto will snap him up. The Mets strategy of waiting for players to come to us because of weak market conditions was clueless. The other GM’s decided to get aggressive to fill their needs. Omar should have been fired months ago. Now 2010 is essentially hopeless as the opportunities have passed us by.
And that famous “the sky’s the limit” interview with Francesa was just a big fat LIE!
Thees Jack Squat…can he catch??