Nobody can predict with certainty which new players might do well or be a flop down the road and that’s the point about rebuilding being a plan that should go hand in hand without shortchanging the present for one never knows when the opportunity to really achieve something might really come. It doesn’t mean stripping a minor league system and giving multi-year contracts to players on the way down (I mean, Alou injuries himself just by standing?) but it doesn’t also mean trading one’s top hitter and closer for a highly rated pitching prospect when one has been playing .575 ball over a span of 85 games and do nothing to improve a team’s weakness when tied for the wildcard at the all-star break.

Many of us feel frustrated asking “what if” had we not discarded our star players and went after additional ones based on talent and not the bargain price tag. Sure, we could have still flopped in the second half of both 2011 and 2012, but at least we would know we gave it our best shot. We understand the economic reality but cannot agree with justifying those moves for any type reason.

That’s all it comes down to really, a combination of looking ahead and trying to win at the same time, without one shortchanging the other.

Hope you and yours had a happy holiday and Santa was nice to everyone!

LMAOOO

where was this when Omar Minaya was GM !

They will have so many arms that offense will be easily attainable through trades and even though they’ll have cash to spend, it won’t be needed due to how many great pitchers they’ll be able to shop.

But, it takes time. It has taken time. It’s nearly over though and instead of just being smart and letting this team become a strong and youthful powerhouse, people scream about players like laffy who are simply signed to fill a need for cheap. I don’t understand all the screaming. If it pisses you off so much than stop rooting for this team. If you hate the front office so much, then root for a team with a GM you think is qualified.

Otherwise, shut up and let this team build itself into a sustainable winner that’s fed from within. Built around young quality pitching and not by overpaid free agents that either breakdown or don’t perform.

…one would think he had some trade value….

Sorry, but there was no great planning to make that 69 team, no one saw it coming. Hindsight is a great thing, isn’t it.

Sandy is doing neither.

If Cano has another good year, I say Cano settles for somewhere around 140 mil for 7 years with 1 or 2 team options for 25 mil a pop and a nice size buyout

If I were the Yankees, I would trade Cano , in a sign/trade with Texas.

David Adams I hear is a great 2B, they have no answer at SS if Jeter gets hurt or retires

Also I would trade Granderson too…but then again, I never would’ve traded Austin Jackson to get him in the first place

but thats just me…

Trade targets for the OF a year from now could be Carlos Gonzalez, Dexter Fowler, Justin Upton (if not moved before), obviously Giancarlo Stanton or Cespedes.

1.
Laffey is a fringe finesse lefty. Someone who can be used as a mop-up reliever or # 6 starter or be stashed at AAA. Some competition for Jeremy Hefner for that exaxt role. Or possibly a “LOOGY”, though Laffey doesn´t have pronounced splits and is decent against lefties while being utterly mediocre / subpar vs. righties. He´s basically a slightly better version of Pat Misch. For now, he´s in the mix with Mejia, Hefner and McHugh for the 5th spot in the Mets rotation out of spring training, though I still expect Chris Young to be resigned.

2.
The 2013 Mets have already punted. When you trade the reigning NL Cy Young award winning staff ace for three high upside prospects – of which only one is likely to appear in the majors in 2013, that pretty much is punting.

Obviously Alderson cannot state “we´re punting 2013″ for PR & ticket sales reasons – but his actions speak for themselves pretty obviously.
Sure, if Matt Harvey and Zach Wheeler are even better than the biggest optimists would expect them to be right away and Jeurys Familia suddenly emerges as a lights out closer while the team stays healthy otherwise, sure, the Mets could be a lot better than people think and contend. However, odds are, there´ll be growing pains and setbacks and 2013 will be about getting young players accustomed to the faster and higher level pace of major league Baseball before hopefully being able to take off in 2014 and beyond.

3.
For that reason, do not expect any “meaningful” signings of free agents that go beyond 1-year-deals to very flawed players. Even mediocre stopgaps like Cody Ross or Jeremy Guthrie have been getting 3-year deals in the 25+ million $ range. Would the Mets be any better off by spending money ?
Instead, I expect multiple signings of cheap & flawed leftovers in late January. Chris Young for the rotation, maybe a formerly good reliever coming off a subpar season or injury. Maybe even a “name” reliever like “Papa Grande” Jose Valverde if the price is low enough, though I expect a contender to swoop in on him. Maybe bring back Pedro Feliciano on a minor league deal. Maybe bring in someone like Austin Kearns as a RHH OF body or indeed be “big spenders” on Scott Hairston and give him a 2-year, 10 million $ sort of deal, begrudgingly. But that´s probably the maximum to expect for the rest of this winter as we prepare for yet another 75ish win sort of season.

4.
And for the reasons stated above, don´t expect any meaningful trade. Why trade promising prospects for major leaguers when you´re not even close to having a legit contender yet ? You can still do so next winter when you´re closer and have a better idea about your needs and have had yet another year to nurture the farm system.

5.
For 2014, the projected payroll is below 60 million $ as of today – even including arbitration and whatever money Jason Bay deferred to next year. Which means even with the very modest 90 or 95 million $ budget of this off-season (we´re currently at 80 million with the rest likely to be spent on the Chris Youngs or Austin Kearns of the world), there´s 30+ million to spend next winter to turn things around. Which´ll lead to higher expectations, higher revenue and quite probably higher payrolls in the future…

and run the clock out lol….

And he was terrible in San Diego with Sandman….and new ownership gave Sandman the boot…and coincidentally years later he resurfaced here with the Mets and he brought his minions DePo and Ricciardi from his Oakland A’s days…YES MEN! They all think and say what Sandy tells them to think and say.