Enough Complaining…What Would You Do?

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• gary s. September 7, 2011 at 9:39 am

  The 2012 season will start with a big if.If only all our players stay healthy we will compete for a wild card.Than the reality will set in that Santana can’t pitch anymore, Pelfrey is horrible and Niese breaks down after 160 innings every year.Add the fact that pagan should be a 4th outfielder and Bay should be in a retirement home and 2012 is going to be a lot like 2011.I will leave it up to Alderson who is worth getting off the above junkpile.The 3 things i am really curious about for 2012 is how much more will ticket prices come down, will the fences come in and will Bobby Parnell break the blown saves record?Remember when Wilpon wanted meanigful games in September.It might be nice to get some meaningful games in July in the next year or 2.
  • vinnie papandrea September 7, 2011 at 10:01 am

    Joe,
    This is a great post, every year Met fans talk about how they don’t sign any body. They never say who they should sign. (except every year I hear how we should get Orlando Hudson, because he’s gonna make everything better) Or consider the fact that the players they want don’t want them ( Halliday Holiday and Lee to name 3) Spending money to spend always leaves you with bad contracts. Patience and rebuilding farm system is the only way to go here and I think the new regime is off to a good start. Grab as many young live arms as possible and hope 1 position player works out (hopefully Nimmo)
• paul nassau September 7, 2011 at 9:42 am

  Ive said it before, Ill say it again. The Mets have playoff hitting. Way better than 1969, and close to 1986. Look it up. Pray Santana is good again. Hope Young has a good health year. Resign KROD. Dickey and Niese. Hope a rookie in the minors makes quick strides.
  None of this costs much so resign Reyes of course.
  Lots of hope I know. But Ive been watching Dodgers then Mets for 70 years and I can sense it. Pops
• Vinny B September 7, 2011 at 9:45 am

  I would improve the bullpen – There’s some interesting RP’s on that list. Bell, Broxton, Capps, Fancisco, Madson, and Papelbon. And another guy I liked too was Zumaya, I don’t know bad he’s hurt, but if he’s healthy, he could be really good – So maybe we can take a chance on him? Todd Coffey is having a good season, he’s not a bad idea either. Oh and Javier Lopez has held left handed hitters to a .161 batting average, he would be a nice addition to the bullpen as well.

  It seems like there’s plenty available in FA to improve the bullpen and I also think the Mets can improve the bullpen without spending a TON of money.
  • Joe Spector September 7, 2011 at 9:52 am

    Both Broxton and Capps are young which is attractive but I have a feeling Broxton is done in the same way Zumaya is. Capps isn’t a power arm but seems to get the job done so I would probably go in that direction for a closer.
    • Little Nicky September 7, 2011 at 10:54 am

      I like Capps, he reminds me a lot of Joe Nathan.
• NJstuckinTX September 7, 2011 at 9:49 am

  Trying to adhere to the financial restraints and not completely knowing the type A/B status, here is what I would propose.

  Re-sign Reyes
  Keep Pagan for CF (unfortunately)
  Non-tender/Trade Pelf
  See what the market is on CJ Wilson, but make a run at Edwin Jackson.
  Re-sign Cap (with the intention of utilizing out of Pen/Spot Starter. not sure he’d go for that, but you never know.
  Look to see what Capps will be looking for salary wise. Most likely sign Nathan on the cheap.
  Re-sign Paulino and role with the Thole and Paulino show.
  Go in house for 2B, with an open competition with Murph/Havens/Tejada/Turner, with Tejada most likely winning and Murph on the bench.
  For the BP… Nathan, Parnell, Beato, Herrera + 2 others…

  Rationale on this is I prefer Jackson’s age and if I have to go 4 years, I’d rather do that on a 28 yr old than the 31 year old Wilson (even though Wilson is currently better).
  I think Nathan is a stop gap and I do not want to see big money spent here when I get the feeling Mejia is the closer of the future. This would be a decent Risk/reward sign.
  CF options are ugly, so might as well roll with the devil you know.
  Turner is nice but not quite sure how he fits the team or bench.
  As for the 2+ others in the BP, maybe Stinson + Grabow & Linebrink? No clue what they are going to ask for/command. I don’t think Byrdak would be back but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if he did.

  And I have no clue in estimating the costs for all this. I’d assume Nathan could get a deal for 2 mil + incentives? Maybe more? Jackson would run 10-ish mil per for 4 years? Maybe? So I think if my bad math is right, I’m in the 115-ish region.

  SP
  Santana
  Niese
  Dickey
  Jackson
  Gee

  BP
  Cap
  Nathan
  Parnell
  Beato
  Herrera
  Stinson
  Linebrink? Grawbow? Byrdak?

  STARTERS
  Thole
  Ike
  Tejada
  Reyes
  Wright
  Bay
  Pagan
  Duda

  BENCH
  Murphy
  Paulino
  Fmart (out of options)
  Ankiel – For giggles sake, he hits for power, should be cheap and can play CF.
  Last bench spot could be Evans to keep it cheap. Or one last BP guy, depending on how you want to roll.
  • TruFan September 7, 2011 at 10:47 am

    It’s not a terrible plan, though I would rather have Wilson over Jackson (less innings on the arm despite age) and Capuano over Gee, who goes to the BP. There’s also the trade market, where we could trade for a mid-rotation starter with guys like Murphy or F-Mart.
    • NJstuckinTX September 7, 2011 at 11:50 am

      Me too on Wilson, but i was figuring contract restrictions.
  • Metstheory22 September 7, 2011 at 11:25 am

    I am not a fan of Jackson at this point. We already have a Jackson here in Pelfrey. The only difference is Pelfrey has only been with one team. I also do not think Nathan or Capps will come here on the cheap.
    Not sure if Ankiel would come here, but I would not mind him backing up all outfield positions.
• alex68 September 7, 2011 at 9:50 am

  First, I’m going to lay down the basics. I’m not a member of the Omar Minaya is the anti-Christ camp or Sandy Alderson is a demi-God amongst us mere peons camp”

  and yet all you did in this article was defend sandy;s neglectors.. look, is ok to admit you like sandy, i have no problem with that, but when you had the horrible offseason he did, and you see other ppl call him “genius” “right man for the job” etc then you start to wonder what exactly are this ppl smoking, also, get it through your head, sandy is not here to build a winner, he’s here to shed payroll, and to build a team with as less $ as possible. you’re telling me that instead of capuano and chris young, we could’ve had harang, and tell me if having mike gonzales instead of byrdak wouldn’t had helped this club much more.. he went to saving mode the moment he walked into the door. stop defending him about strategy about what reyes will ask or how much he’ll reveal he has by saying how much he will spend, let me tell you, he will low ball reyes, reyes will walk then he’ll come up with some excuse as to why reyes was let go, or if reyes signs here look for wright to be traded just because they can’t get rid of bay or santana who are the other 2 making more than $15 million a year.. he’s here to create a small market team, not a winner
  • Joe Spector September 7, 2011 at 10:19 am

    Would you feel better if I told you I liked Omar and his ability to find talent? I knew you’d jump on that. I don’t get what your beef is with Alderson? I have no beef with Omar. He made his mistakes. So did Alderson. So did Frank Cashen. They all also did great things, all of them. What I also don’t understand is why some believe that spending on anything just to show you’re doing something = success.

    Sandy is not here to build a winner? Really? Do you hear yourself? Yes Mike Gonzalez would have made this team SOO much better. That’s like telling a Cancer patient here’s a bottle of Gatorade, feel better? The team has gotten by with a rotation that even when Santana was healthy, wasn’t top notch. It was passable and at times could do great things but there’s a difference.

    I think you like others Alex have an agenda. What it is I haven’t a clue but it isn’t about wanting the best for this team. You’re more interested in what you THINK is going on inside Alsderson’s mind than anything else. You assume alot and base nothing on fact. You say he will low ball Reyes. No he should offer Reyes partial ownership to start right? Come on. I would love to sell you a car or a house. I have a 92 Eagle I’d love to sell you for $85,000.
    • alex68 September 7, 2011 at 10:29 am

      I think you like others Alex have an agenda”

      which others?? the ones who admit that sandy alderson had a HORRENDOUS offseason? the ones who failed to recognize him as a godsend?
      is funny how you are telling me i have no idea what’s going on in his mind yet you’re saying he’s not telling ppl how much he’ll spend in order to not let the reyes camp know how much they’ll offer him, well, HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT’S WHAT HE’LL DO?? did he call you or something… ???
      • Joe Spector September 7, 2011 at 11:08 am

        It’s called common sense. Put yourself in his shoes. Pretend you’re Omar if it makes you feel better. Would you want ANY free agent knowing how high you’re willing to go?
        • alex68 September 7, 2011 at 11:35 am

          that is why you make trades and be proactive about it.. remember how minaya got loduca and delgado?? sometimes is not all free agency.. many teams are looking to dump good players to free up salary etc.. not just free agency.. lookin at it that way, we’ll never go after anybody, since 85% of the players on free agency are worthless..
          • Joe Spector September 7, 2011 at 11:44 am

            To get players via trade you have to give the other team talent. Most of our talent is in A and AA ball. Are you willing to deal Harvey or Wheeler? F-Mart is damaged goods at this point. It’s a shame that Mejia is hurt so we can’t do anything regarding him.

            Teams today want a ransom for the most pedestrian of players. Why do you think there are hardly anymore big trade deadline deals as in the past?

            I’m not saying don’t TRY to deal for players just do it wisely. I get your frustration but who long has Alderson been on the job? A year? If there’s a good, fairly young player that a team wants to dump, of course they should look into it.
            • alex68 September 7, 2011 at 11:48 am

              yeah, because we traded TOP TALENT for delgado and loduca.. look at the phillies, they’ve given up crap to houston for lidge, osllwat and pence.. now, in case you’re wondering or saying, ohh, ed wade is the gm, he was a phillie guy, blah blah blah, then have alderson call his saberboy in oakland and work a few favors then, is called being savvy and smart, isn’t sandy ivy league smart?
              i am not impatient with sandy, just hate all the love he’s getting when he’s done nothing to help this team, NOTHING!!!!
              • Joe Spector September 7, 2011 at 12:03 pm

                The Mets took on the majority of his salary with the exception of $7 million they got from the Marlins. The issue is Delgado was 34 at the time. Are you ok with bringing in a 34 year old with a big contract? Does Jason Bay ring any bells? Yes Delgado served his purpose but wouldn’t you prefer to develop your own version of Delgado?
                • alex68 September 7, 2011 at 12:12 pm

                  wouldn’t you love to have someone with delgado’s numbers on the team at this very moment?? you seem to forgot what his presence did for beltran, wright and the mets as a whole.. and of course, you would love to develop your own delgado, problem is, how many delgado there has been in the history of baseball let alone the mets?
                  • Joe Spector September 7, 2011 at 12:44 pm

                    Well we’ll see with Ike so far. And before you say it I know Ike is Omar’s find! To me rolling the dice and bringing in a 34 yr old with a big contract is too much of a risk for how the team is constituted now. If we were literally a player or two away from being a Championship team then perhaps but we’re not.

                    Do we need another past his prime player to eat up salary?
    • XtreemIcon September 7, 2011 at 10:30 am

      Wow!

      You have a ’92 Eagle?
      • Joe Spector September 7, 2011 at 10:31 am

        Don’t be hatin!
• Metstheory22 September 7, 2011 at 10:09 am

  I agree with you Joe. The talent here we need is overpriced for us and the rest are fill ins to never mind guys.
  The Centerfielder we need is not here in this group and the ungrade at 2nd is Cano (never going to happen).
  Pitching wise, we might be able to trade Pagan for a young pitcher, get another rule 5 guy, minor leaguer steps up.
  Maybe our young outfielders in minors can show something in winter ball and spring training to take job.
• alan September 7, 2011 at 10:23 am

  Competing in 2012? For what? For Mets fans the reality should be that our manager has done a wonderful job keeping our present players coming to play every day. This team has no dog in it and considering the injuries beginning with Santana the .500 is quite an accomplishment.

  If you want to act smug about your team, expecting a winner every year..go root for the Yankees. Met fans in real world love winning but understand that it is not just about how good we are but how good the Phillies and Braves are. With starting pitchers like Lee, Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels they withstood an off year/the aging of Jimmy Rollins who only a few years ago was a league MVP. They lost Jason Werth to the Nationals and like most other teams had players down to injury. You can’t ignore the dominance that those 4 pitchers bring to the table. Bottom line….best record in baseball! The Braves situation is much the same….solid starting pitching!

  Why talk about Omar Minaya? He’s in the past.

  Sandy Alderson is the man now and he is saddled with the limits of what the Wilpons can handle financially. Let’s face facts people. Fred has kept a stiff upper lip about the actual condition of the club in terms of dollars available. He has to considering the Madoff scandal. The team is not going to be sold unless they have to pay up big time and maybe not even then. We ate salaries with Perez and Castillo, we traded Beltran and his big salary for a stud prospect. We dumped K Rod too. We have to hope that they have the resources to resign Jose Reyes. The rest of the story is about IFS.

  If Ike Davis returns healthy….If Wright regains his confidence….if Jason Bay finds his swing and the rest continue to mature we will need our pitchers to step forward. A healthy Santana would be a good start.

  If looks like a mighty big word, doesn’t it?
• Steve S. September 7, 2011 at 10:31 am

  As I wrote on this Website yesterday, the Mets need to spend about $117 million or so to have a team that keeps attendance OK with the team competitive, with Reyes a must sign.

  I said: “With Davis coming back seemingly healthy, and with Wright and Murphy playing for an entire year, we will have an improved team. Duda’s bat will replace Beltran’s, I think.”

  The pitching needs to be improved, so I believe that Santana will be OK, but we still need another top gun. Jackson would be fine, but I would try to sign C. J.Wilson (5 years/$85-90 million), using some of the “savings” you would obtain by non-tendering Pelfrey and not signing Capuano. Santana, Wilson, Niese, Dickey, and Gee are a decent five. The bullpen? Sign Byrdak ($1.5 million), Peralta ($1.25 million), and Francisco ($4.5 million). The latter can close (if Parnell isn’t the answer). Acosta, Beato, Herrera, Parnell, and the abovementioned three are a good pen.

  The bench? All the pieces are there—at low cost. Paulino, Murphy, Turner and/or Tejada, Evans, and Pridie. No need to re-sign Harris and Hairston. Bay looks like he might come out of the doldrums finally and Pagan gets one more year to play up to his potential (being that the available free agents out there in CF will not the greatest).
• Little Nicky September 7, 2011 at 11:12 am

  CJ Wilson (3.13 ERA, 1.19 WHIP) should be the Mets number one target this offseason. You cant win without pitching and Wilson would be tremendous moving from the Ballpark at Arlington to Citi Field. We built a pitchers park for 2 billion dollars and since it opened we’ve led the league in walks allowed twice, and always in the bottom half in ERA and WHIP in MLB. The Phillies who play in a bandbox focused more on pitching than we did.

  Get Wilson here, get rid of Pelfrey at any cost, dont bank on Johan other than a good mid rotation starter. Groom Harvey for a mid season callup IF HE CONTINUES to dominate in AAA. A rotation of 1. Wilson 2. Dickey 3. Niese 4. Santana 5. Gee until Harvey is ready, would be a top rotation in the NL East especially with the Phillies losing Oswalt.

  Hitting wise, see if you can sign a right fielder and let Duda platoon with Bay. It will keep Bay’s option from vesting. Find a platoon mate for Pagan in CF. Go cheap here.

  This team would contend in the NL East.
  • Davidthemetsfan September 7, 2011 at 8:13 pm

    Exactly why would Bringing C.J Wilson who led the league in walks last year to the mets improve the walks the mets pitching distributes?
• Metsie September 7, 2011 at 12:14 pm

  Great Post Joe!

  Will point out that you missed the 12-17m they saved on K-Rod as well.

  That said you made the quite excellent point that Spending money is fine provided there is someone to spend it on!
  Well all the best guys worth buying are former Mets! Reyes, Beltran and K-Rod top the list in FA at their respective positions which just happen to be the positions we would need to buy because thats where the room to play exists!

  We already tried the GO CHEAP route this year. None of those moves actually helped us much in fact at best all we did was tread water! We will wind up with a slightly better Win Pct this year not because of who we signed cheaply but because of all those players everyone keeps trashing as NOT GOOD because they BELIEVE it to be true! They don’t fit their ideology which is:
  Moneyballers – If the player isn’t drafted by the team, makes ROY in the first year, get to the ASG and/or gets paid more than 10 Mil is a cancer that needs to be removed, and traded off for some kid who in 4 years could do all that. (See Duda, Murphy, Turner, Evans et al)
  Moneyflushers – If the player isn’t an all star he sucks and we must replace him with the top FA at his position at the end of the year regardless of if he is actually better than what we already have! (See K-Rod, Reyes, Wright and Beltran)

  The smart ones all want to take each player on their own merits, compare them to what is available and sign or purge based on what is gained by what is lost. And no more money is NOT a part of that equation unless all other parameters are EQUAL!

  I think Sandy is going to sign Reyes provided some other GM (like the Nationals) don’t go paying him more than he is JASON WERTH!

  Anything over 20Mil per year and Sandy is likely to pass. I won’t hang him for THAT!
  But just resigning reyes isn’t enough. I don’t say he has to sign that MORE this year and I don’t say he has to SIGN that more at all! He can just as easily trade one of those three 1Bs and three 2Bs we seem to have trouble playing to get that MORE!

  And so I care less about who he signs how much he spends and how many draft picks he gets for any player he lets go to fill the minors…

  I WILL NOT SIT THROUGH 3 or 4 years of being the Pirates waiting for some kid he drafts to be ready to win a ballgame on the MLB level.

  A good GM can TRY to win EVERY YEAR while ALSO building up the Minor League System!
  And if he can’t do BOTH then he is definitly not the right guy for the job!
  Because that would mean once we do win that we will not be in any position to MAINTAIN ITm because he can’t spit and chew gum at the same time!

  A good GM can play the market AND developthe MiL system.
  Many of the extremists here don’t seem capable if you listen to them!
  Glad they are not running the show.

  If Sandy is the guy who is going to bring this organization back to respectability then he will be able to sign good FA players (regardless of cost) AND build the Minors so he won’t have to spend wildly on every position that opens up as a need.

  Unfortunatly no one who is posting advice on the best course of action here has a course of action that does it.

  One side is ALL about the Minor Leagues and the other ALL about Free Agency!

  I hope and pray Sandy is smarter than both of them!
  You CAN NOT WIN by drafting and you can not MAINTAIN a team using nothing but a checkbook!

  You need to do both and both sides I read here seem to think one or the other ONLY!
  Which makes them ALL WRONG!
• any September 7, 2011 at 12:39 pm

  make some trades baby, make some trades!

  Seriously, quite often it seems that posters think your only options are the FA pool, or promoting the prospects currently in the minors. This of course overlooks the obvious option of trading for something better (or at least different).

  and no, I am not going to post 10 different bizarre trade scenarios that convert spare parts into 4 all stars But at least, trade excess for excess if possible.
  • Metsie September 7, 2011 at 1:11 pm

    You know why they think that Any?

    Because thats the only things that don’t require another team agree to.
    Trades that are usually proposed are ALWAYS one sided fantasies that favor their team not the other and the other team would NEVER AGREE.

    WHich is also why so many are willing to part with Beltran and Wright and even Reyes in trade because they think that gives them the best chance to rape someone.

    Truth is the ones who SELL big names for multiples hardly ever get the best of the deal, only ONE of the multiples ever pans out at best and in most cases the sum of the parts don’t equal the loss of the whole.

    Trading a single roster spot and trying to make up for it with 4 is NOT efficient use of your roster.

    People here are so concerned with limiting money whioch is NOT limited by the MLB only attendance!
    When the REAL limitation to building a successful frnachise is the 25 man ROSTER!
    You need to get the MOST out of EVERY roster spot. Sometimes that means going and paying one guy a lot to get a lot in that singular roster spot. Sometimes it means using a kid who can be that same expensive player for a few years while still under team control.

    The bottomline here (and lost on most of the MMGMs (Monday Morning GMs) is that each position, each roster spot must be optimized using both Kids and hired guns to win enough games to pack the house and get rid of any monetary limitations due to bad attendance.

    The mets have money issues due to ticket sales not Omar’s spending or Picard/Bernie Madoff!
    Niether the actions of Omar or the insistence of Wilpon has limited Sandy in what he can spend…WE DID THAT buy boycotting and not showing up to see them play!

    And if the folks here want to see a winner they had better be willing to go to some of the games so Sandy WILL have enough money to keep the kids he finds and supplement them with the hired guns they will need to BECOME winners!
  • Donal September 7, 2011 at 1:13 pm

    Well, you need something desirable to trade.

    Besides, I’d rather figure out what we do or don’t have before we go trading.

    But, yes, you are right, you need to be well balanced in your talent acquisition.
    • Metsie September 7, 2011 at 1:16 pm

      And let me guess…YOU BELIEVE that unless the guy is a former all star no one wants to trade for them right?

      You don’t think someone would want a .320 hitter?
      You can’t believe that SOMEONE might feel Turner is an upgrade to 2B than what they have as if he is the WORST 2B in the MLB today?

      The problem is you seem to think all the guys we have SUCK!
      They don’t you know they just won 9 of the last 12!
      • Donal September 7, 2011 at 1:37 pm

        And trading that .320 hitter with no position gets us what? Besides a weaker line up.

        Turner is good at the role he fills for the Mets. What do you think we’d get for him, though?

        You can’t just assume everyone is falling over for our guys because they put together 2 good weeks against the Nationals.

        I don’t think all our guys suck, but we are very shallow right now and can’t afford to trade away the few good young players we have.
        • Metsie September 7, 2011 at 2:31 pm

          He only lacks a position with us…he can play 1B and 3B where we have Wright and Davis pushing him to the bench
          • Donal September 7, 2011 at 3:12 pm

            He’s not a good 3B and he’s not really special as a 1B
            • Metsie September 7, 2011 at 5:48 pm

              He’s better than any kid you intend to draft at BOTH positions and at the plate!

              Which kid in the next draft is better than him Hmm?
              No? Don’t have an answer?

              Are you trying to suggest he’s worse than EVERY guy who plays those positions in the MLB?

              And if so PROVE IT show us the numbers because I don’t know many 3Bs who were 4th in the batting race not even Wright!
            • Metsie September 7, 2011 at 5:50 pm

              Your problem is because YOU don’t like him you think the world thinks EXACTLY LIKE YOU!

              WHich is a fantasy that this site should have cured you of YEARS AGO!

              NO ONE thinks like YOU DO here!
              Not even JESSUP!
              • Donal September 8, 2011 at 9:26 am

                Murphy is my favorite player on the team. So…ya, I hate him so very much
                • Metsie September 8, 2011 at 9:31 am

                  Yet at the same time he sucks because you don’t BELIEVE he is good enough for anyone to want right?
                  • Donal September 8, 2011 at 9:38 am

                    I believe he seriously limited as trade bait, but we also don’t really have a bat to replace him. I’m not letting my personal biases cloud my assessments.
                  • Metsie September 8, 2011 at 9:58 am

                    You keep saying that yet never state WHY!

                    You mean to say your favorite player is worse than EVERY OTHER 3B or 1B in the MLB?

                    Even with that .320 BA?

                    Only way he is NOT a desirable trade prospect is if he is worse than every other 3B the other teams have!

                    I tend to think your biasing your opinion of his trade worth based on his past listings on Baseball America not what he showed on the field as an MLB player!

                    But then again what else is new?
                  • Donal September 8, 2011 at 10:06 am

                    I repeatedly say why.

                    “You mean to say your favorite player is worse than EVERY OTHER 3B or 1B in the MLB?”

                    I’m saying he’s not a good 3B and he’s not at the top of 1B.

                    “Even with that .320 BA?”

                    Ya. His high batting average doesn’t really help his fielding. Offense and Defense are 2 different things.

                    “Only way he is NOT a desirable trade prospect is if he is worse than every other 3B the other teams have!”

                    No, not really.

                    “I tend to think your biasing your opinion of his trade worth based on his past listings on Baseball America not what he showed on the field as an MLB player!”

                    Did I miss the Gold Glove he won? I must have.

                    “But then again what else is new?”

                    Daniel Murphy’s Gold Glove apparently
                  • Metsie September 8, 2011 at 10:45 am

                    So you think he is a worse 3B than every other guy playing 3B right now!

                    And not as good as ANY 1B either!

                    Thats your opinion of a .320 hitter who has a .984 FPct and fewer errors than Reyes (Gold Glove) Wright (Gold Glove) Turner and Tejada!

                    While playing 1st 3rd and 2nd in 105 games
                  • Metsie September 8, 2011 at 10:47 am

                    And in case you didn’t know the BEST FPct for a 3B is .982
                    1B is .998
                  • Donal September 8, 2011 at 10:50 am

                    “So you think he is a worse 3B than every other guy playing 3B right now!”

                    No idea. But I don’t think he’s league average as a 3B

                    “And not as good as ANY 1B either!”

                    No idea. But he’s really not a world changer at 1B either.

                    I really don’t think we’d get value. Not compared to what he does for the Mets.
                  • Donal September 8, 2011 at 10:52 am

                    “And in case you didn’t know the BEST FPct for a 3B is .982″

                    Who is it? Its not someone who has like 4 games at 3B is it?

                    And lifetime, Murphy is .933.

                    and we’re not even going to mention what he did in the minors.
                  • Metsie September 8, 2011 at 10:59 am

                    No he is above average as the Numbers I posted show.
                    Especially considering his ROOKIE status!

                    But then again if the guy isn’t AllStar, Gold Glove or on Baseball Americas list he is WORTHLESS because thats the only thing you care about!

                    Never what he does just what you THINK (HAHAHAHA) he did!

                    Tell me WHEN was he supposed to win the Gold Glove? Did they vote that yet?
                    COULD he have won a GG if he was even the best 1B ever considering this was his first full year in the Majors?

                    He has less errors this season that all the former GG winners we have on the team…

                    But he didn’t show up on BAs list so he must be worthless…

                    and you call that THINKING!
                  • Metsie September 8, 2011 at 11:05 am

                    “Its not someone who has like 4 games at 3B is it? ”

                    Nope and why don’t you put down your issue of BA and take a look!

                    While your at it take a look at the GG winner at 1B for the NL in 1994!

                    What he does in the MiL doesn’t count in the MLB!
                    The MLB is FILLED with guys who didn’t do squat in thre MiLs only to get promoted and become GREAT MLB PLAYERS!

                    You wouldn’t know that cause your head is stuck up the MiL butt!
                  • Donal September 8, 2011 at 11:07 am

                    You didn’t post the average, you posted the best, and Murphy is well bellow the best.

                    post the average and we’ll talk.
                  • Metsie September 8, 2011 at 11:11 am

                    Your the one who claims he sucks post the DATA you used to PROVE he is not as good as any other guy playing 3B in the MLB.

                    If you can’t do that or are unwilling then it will be obvious to everyone that you never looked at the Data just made an assesment out of your usual THIN AIR and the BA list!

                    You say he sucks!
                    I say he could be a 3B for a whole lot of teams that need more pop out of the 3B or 1B position!

                    He’s got a FP as good as BAGWELL who won the GG in 94!

                    So if Bagwell could win the GG so too could Murphy with the numbers he compiled just this year!
• OmarFan September 7, 2011 at 2:10 pm

  If the Mets bring back everyone with guaranteed contracts, signing Pelfrey for 6M, Pagan for 5M, and Reyes @ 19M, they’re at 96M give or take a few. You can spend 7-10 million on the bench and a #5 starter and hit 105M. The “holes” are minor pieces solved from the minors. What’s the problem?
  • XtreemIcon September 7, 2011 at 4:51 pm

    Problem #1 is that Pelfrey and Pagan will still be Mets. Problem #2 is that you just assume $19 mil is enough to get Reyes when there’s a chance it won’t be and problem #3 is that you conveniently left out how many year you’d sign him for.

    Three big problems.
• Lifelongmetsfan September 7, 2011 at 4:14 pm

  Once again we are focusing on the wrong thing! Instead of posting available players position by position post the Wilpon’s fiscal and financial statements. As the Wilpon’s rehabilitate their finances the Mets rebuild their team. Obviously Met ownership does not want to sell the team and along with reading box scores smart Met fans read the business section of newspapers in the hope of catching so news on Sterling Enterprises, Inc.
  The Mets will wallow in misery of knee deep mediocrity waiting for Sterling Enterprises to recover. We can not expect the Wilpon’s to prioritize the needs of the New York Mets over the needs of Sterling Enterprises, it just isn’t going to happen.
  3-5 more years of misery….
  • Metsie September 7, 2011 at 10:01 pm

    Ok here is the Financial report…

    The Wilpons WERE RICH!
    They were given 300 Million MORE by Madoff…

    Less Rich or More Rich? What do you think?

    If you were POOR and I gave you 300 Million would you be MORE POOR or LESS POOR?

    Here endith the financial lessons and the MYTH of Wilpons being broke!
    • JoeSmith September 8, 2011 at 7:32 am

      Yep – right on the money.

      Despite every report to the contrary, you say they are still rich, well then, they must be.
      • Metsie September 8, 2011 at 9:26 am

        Joe I dare you to show me a report that says they actually LOST any money from any source other than lack of attendance!

        YOU are misreading the REPORTS!

        I challenged you to name the even they lost their wealth before and you backed down.

        So the challenge remains, show us all the event that cost them their entire worth and if you can’t then I guess this MYTH of yours will be done with!
• jerseymet September 7, 2011 at 5:12 pm

  Great post. Does anyone think that we can compete with Philly next year? We can hit good pitching. Not great pitching. Our staff pitched alot of innings this year. Perhaps Collins was afraid to use the pen more than he had too. Collins utilized Buffalo masterfully. He knows what was on the farm. The kids came through!

  Alderson’s bargin signings were so so. I’d rather see more Bison’s on the bench. They would be cheaper too.

  Reyes will walk. Trade Wright. He is at peak value now. We have lots of prospects at the corner positions. We need a catcher. Thole leads the league in passed balls, as a platoon player.

  We can win 85 -90 in 2012. Not good enough! Our payroll for the current roster is around 93 million. With the last of the 2007 team gone the payroll will be down to 66 million.

  2013 is our year!
• METS62FAN September 8, 2011 at 10:24 am

  JOE, I’VE ONE SMALL CONTENTION WITH ONE OF YOUR SUPPOSITIONS;”Recently Sandy Alderson made some comments – which of course some regarded as controversial – regarding next year’s potential payroll saying essentially that it will be between $100 to $110 million dollars. This year’s payroll of $145 million includes the $18 million owed to the combined contracts of Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez and the $18 million owed to Carlos Beltran.

  On the face of it, hearing that probably leaves little wiggle room to re-sign Jose Reyes, fix the bullpen and any of the remaining issues with this team.

  MY CONTENTION IS THAT I BELIEVE YOU’RE FORGETTING THAT $9M OF REYES EVENTUAL SALARY IS ALREADY INCLUDED IN WHATEVER CURRENT PROJECTION U USE FOR THE 2010 END CUT. PRIMARILY MEANING THE NET INCREASE IS CERTAINLY NOT AS BURDENSOME AS YOUR ‘SM WIGGLE ROO’M WOULD PORTEND. U LATER INDICATE U ANTICIPATE A ‘FAIR’ REYES DEAL TO BE BETWEEN 14-18M PER FOR 5+.
  FIRST OFF BEFORE ANYONE’S KNICKERS GET SOILED, I BELIEVE IT’S THE ANNUAL NUT NOT THE ENTIRE PKG THAT THIS OWNERSHIP IS MORE FOCUSED ON. USING YOUR 14-18 NUMBERS(I CONSIDER VERY UNLIKELY,LOW) AS I BELIEVE 20-22M PER A MORE LIKELY TOLL; EITHER WAY USING YOURS REQUIRES ADDITIONAL OUTPUT OF 5-9M, USING MINE IT’S 11-13M HIGHER THAN PRESENT ALLOCATION @ SS. IT CERTAINLY IS FEASABLE THAT REYES MAY BE THE DEFENDING BATTING TITLIST & ASKING HIM TO TAKE LESS THAN TULOWITZKI IS A STRETCH, TODAY HE IS THE SECOND HIGHEST PAID SS IN MLB(TO TULOW)PRIOR TO TULOW’S DEAL HE HAD BEEN #1 & WHILE I SPECULATE THAT’S A MORE PERTINENT COMPARISON THAN CRAWFORD; I’D COUNT IT MORE LIKELY. EITHER WAY, IMO, THE 22M/Y # CAN CERTAINLY BE ACCOMODATED WITHIN ALDERSON’S MOST CONSERVATIVE LOW ESTIMATE OF $100M A PAYROLL LEVEL 22 OF THE 30 MLB TEAMS SURVIVE UNDER COMFORTABLY INCL OTHER SOCALLED BIG MARKETEERS LIKE THE LA DODGERS @ $95,358,016 & DWINDLING & THEIR MORE FINANCIALLY HEALTHY NEIGHBOR, LAA OF A ARE ONLY BARELY OVER THE 100M BAR @ $104,963,866. SO CONTRARY TO THE BS IMPLICATIONS BEING TOUTED BY THE NYPRESS UNDER 100M IS CERTAINLY NOT PAUPERISHLY BORDERING ON PANHANDLING FOR PLAYERS. MORE IMPORTANTLY, LOS ANGELES IS THE ONLY OTHER MLB GEOGRAPHY WHERE A COMPARISON TO NY DOESN’T INCLUDE A HUMONGOUS(10%+) SURCHARGE ON PLAYER SALARIES IN OVERALL TAXES TO BE PAID.(NYC IS ONLY US CITY WITH AN INCOME TAX ADDED TO STATE BURDEN UPON WORKERS)[LA REALESTATE TAX LEVELS ASSIST IN MODERATING THE DELTA IN TAX BURDEN] NYS & CA STATE TAX CODES & LEVELS CLOSE ENOUGH TO BE NEGLIGIBLE DIFFERENTIATION.

  BACK TO YOUR INITIAL QUESTION AFTER A QUICK PERUSAL OF YOUR PLAYER AVAILABILITY LIST, ONLY INFANTE PIQUES MY INTEREST IN POTENTIALLY A 1 OR 2 YR DEAL AT NO MORE THAN $4M PER & I’D GIVE SERIOUS CONSIDERATION TO BYRDAK TO REMAIN AS THE LATE LOOGEY WHILE PERHAPS SUPPLYING A SECOND SITUATIONAL,EARLY LOOGEY FROM WITHIN LIKE HERRERA, PERHAPS. Re BULLPEN IN GENERAL, LOW COST[INTERNAL] OPTIONS WILL BE PARAMOUNT.

  BTW. PERSONALLY, I BELIEVE PITCHING IS OUR ACHILLES HEAL TO PROGRESSING FROM COMPETITOR TO CONTENDER & IT’S VERY DOUBTFUL ALDERSON WILL HAVE ENOUGH FINANCIAL WHEREWITHALL TO INK REYES & UPGRADE PITCHING MUCH MORE THAN LAST YR’S CAP & YOUNG CALIBER ADDITIONS, BECAUSE OF THAT BELIEF, I SEE 2012 AS ANOTHER COMPETITOR YEAR(.500 GIVE OR TAKE) & 2013 AS A POTENTIAL W/C CONTENDER LEAVING 2014 AS THE ULTIMATE DIVISION TITLE CHALLENGE YEAR SANS SANTANA & BAY(LIKELY PICARD ALSO) FINANCIAL BURDENS WITH HARVEY,FAMILIA,WHEELER,MEJIA,GORSKI,GEE,NIESE ALL VIABLE STRONG CONTRIBUTORS. JUST LIKE THE 80s THE REAL NOISE CAME AFTER THE NUDGEOUTS OF ’84 & ’85 WHEN PITCHING IN FLUSHING BECAME OUR OPPONENTS BIGGEST FEAR-FACTOR FOR 1986!
  QUERY: UNDER THE GUISE OF HISTORY BEING REPETITIVE, COULD PARNELL EVENTUALLY END UP BEING THIS CENTURY’S NEIL ALLEN?