24
2013
Cubs And Hairston Agree On A Two Year, $6 Million Deal
An article by 
According to a report from Ken Rosenthal, the Cubs are in agreement with Scott Hairston on a two-year contract.
Hairston can earn up to $6 million dollars including incentives according to ESPN’s Bruce Levine.
Scott Hairston was reportedly looking for a two-year, $8 million contract to which the Mets balked and countered with a one year deal for $2 million. That’s where it apparently ended.
The Mets were hoping the decision would come down to playing time which was really all they were offering Hairston. That and the chance he still wanted to remain in New York. None of that matters now.
The Cubs have been looking for a right-handed outfield bat just as the Mets for most of the offseason. In Hairston they get someone who can play both corners and center field in a pinch, and he mashes lefties.
Hairston was one of the few nice surprises last season when in a limited role he hit 20 home runs (third on the team) with 57 RBI in 377 at-bats. His .803 OPS ranked second on the team trailing only David Wright.
The Mets have been playing the waiting game all Winter long with regard to the outfield, and now the market has dwindled to nothing.
Not sure where the Mets go from here, but it’s no wonder they’ve now shifted all their focus to free agent Michael Bourn and have asked MLB to consider protecting their first round pick.
Earlier this offseason, Sandy Alderson said that he had no interest in forfeiting his first round draft pick for Bourn. But even if the Mets get their draft pick protected, there’s a high probability that the gold glove center fielder may still be way beyond their price range.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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Lets hope Sandy and Fred can sweet talk Bud, as that’s our only shot to upgrade the OF at this point. And not really sorry to see Hairston go.
wasn’t seeing this one coming. Once again, all the prognosticators got it wrong!
But this does answer the Met/Yankee debate: winning wasn’t the primary determination, leaving $ or PT. Or maybe the 2nd year, which really does come down to $ too.
I think the pattern we’re seeing here is that SA, like most lawyers, are willing to make ridiculous, numerous offers to multiple candidates with the hope that at some point one of their gambles will come to fruition. In the same way that we see lawyers who are defending murder suspects who are up for the death penalty laughing it up w/other lawyers in the hallways while their clients are stressed to the gills, they ultimatley dont have their own assets involved in the gamble. A lawyer who loses a capitol murder case doesnt get the chair, his client does……AND they always spin it to make it seem like it was something out of their control so they will still be hired by other defendants in the future. Well SA looks at this whole free agency as the same sort of game. He wont lose his fan base, the Mets will. If he eventually loses his job, he’ll blame underlying factors as his downfall. IE: His hands were handcuffed by ownership or the commish office. So he doesnt really have anything at stake, or to lose, by not making these deals more viable. He makes shitty offers in the hope of looking like a genius if the players accept them, but never really having anything at stake when they turn them down.
no clue what that comment had to do with SA or lawyers. I was just saying that the talking heads (media) once again completely missed the team a player actually went to, and that for Hairston, the decision was not about “winning”.
This was perhaps the least surprising development of the hot stove league.
This was all about money – and not a lot of it at that – to get a guy who hit 20 homers last year but is a platoon player (.218 v right handed ptiching for last three years).
Sandy doesn’t want to spend money.
I didn’t really think we would get him back.
Good. He wasn’t worth it.
After seeing how the other thread went, it’s probably unwise for me to bring him up, but Delmon Young wouldn’t a bad replacement for Hairston.
Quickly look at his career splits against lefties compared to Hairston:
Young: .307/.341/.483
Hairston: .276/.325/.500
As for the concerns about Young’s OBP, his OBP was identical to Hairston’s OBP:
Young’s 2012 OBP: .296
Hairston 2012 OBP .299
In fact, Young has a HIGHER career OBP than Hairston. So, if your against signing Young for less than 1M because of his OBP, then how could you justify signing Hairston to 8M?
Yes, Hairston had a good year last year, but he was unlikely to duplicate that again. So, even though a lot of people dislike Young, he offers similar production to Hairston.
Nobody wants Delmon Young. We dont need him. At least Hairston could field his position, but even bringing him back is a bad idea. I’d rather have Collin Cowgill over either of them.
“At least Hairston could field his position”
Uhhhhh….NEWS FLASH!!!! Hairston is just as bad defensively as Delmon Young.
Hairston isn’t nearly as bad as Young and he can play a few positions.
Delmon Young gets charged errors at DH.
Anyone who says they prefer Cowgill is obviously a person who knows nothing about the game of baseball, or is a lover of losing or is on the staff of the lovely jessup, peuppet master to the worst gm in history sandy loserson. Pathetic, how the Met fan base has benen taken over by phony fans and baseball ignoramouses.
Padilla,
Hairston is clearly a more established MLB player, but he and Cowgill offer slightly different skills. Cowgill profiles a little better to play CF and potentially lead off. That is no slight on Hairston. At this point the Mets need a CF/leadoff hitter and a RH OF power bat. If Alderson manages to get a better RH OF bat that Scott, he will not be missed that much. If he takes this outfield group to opening day, it will be a mistake, no doubt.
Young signed with the Phillies yesterday.
Expect a trade very soon. Keep you eye on Brennan Boesch.
Oh well, it didn’t work out. He was a good guy and came through in the clutch a few times. But the money situation with the Mets is still a concern obviously. If all we have to spend is $10 million, you cant give $4 million to a platoon guy even one as good as Hairston. Right?
No big loss. This is a non story.
I would of liked Hairston back but never thought Hairston could be an everyday player. Would of liked him back either in the same role he had last season or in a platoon type situation.
The question still remains. Will the Mets be able to add an every day starting outfielder with major league experience? It looks like they were OK with letting Hairston go off the board so does this mean that they are more confident they will add one of the other options they mentioned they were considering and is one of those options Bourn?
John Harper sort of echoed my thoughts on the Mets letting Hairston go.
@NYDNHarper
@Ken_Rosenthal reporting Hairston is signing w/Cubs. Club source insists reason Mets hadn’t re-signed him was “playing time, not money.”
@NYDNHarper
In other words, Mets continue to believe they are going to acquire an OF that would have impacted Hairston’s playing time. We’ll see.
Why do I feel like Ive been on this ride before……….
Hopes up,Hopes down, Hopes up, Hopes down rides over….what a roller coaster ride of emotion for Mets fans who continue to believe Alderson will pull off some magical deal to improve the team….
I refuse to give Sandy the benefit of the doubt anymore….I’ll believe it when I see it with him….
What ride? There is no ride. Pay attention to what the organization is doing and you wont be fooled. Bourne does not fit into the picture unless it is a major steal for the Mets. With so many teams bidding on him, he is most likely going to get 4 or 5 years which isnt in the cards with the Mets (and I dont blame them).
For Bourne, I would go 3/$40M-$45M max. And I dont think those numbers are going to get it done.
It’s hard to make trades when you have nothing anyone wants except the younger players you’re not willing to relinquish like Harvey, Wheeler and Syndergaard. About the best you can hope is to parlay Wilmer Flores as the centerpiece of a deal since he has no place to play and represents excess capacity. Even with his strong showing last year, his was not a knock-your-socks-off stat line, though he did it against older competition.
It was nice having Hairston but I knew from day one he was never coming back. When this front office wants someone they act with a sense of urgency like they did with Wright. When they don’t care they let issues, players, etc. flap in the wind.
Also, as much as I was on the Delmon Young bandwagon from the VERY beginning, I acknowledge he brings to the field all of the defensive prowess of Lucas Duda. You could only afford that if you indeed signed a Michael Bourn or other Plus defender in CF. Bourn is going to cost $10 to $14 million per year for multiple years for a 30 year old guy whose game depends on his legs. That seems a foolish investment. However, $750K for Bourn and even taking a flyer by handing CF to den Dekker would have been the type of low-cost dice role we’d have expected the front office to take. While no numbers have been released on the Hairston deal, I’m guessing at bare minimum he’s earning $6 million for his two seasons. Young would have outplayed him for a one year commitment IF he met all of the incentives of the Phillies contract. Once again Nero, er, Alderson, was asleep at the switch.
you are arguing that Young is actually a good player, one that can make a difference? or just a cheaper bad option than Hairston (though since they did not sign him, moot point). right now, the RH platoon spot is probably Young, who is even cheaper!
oh, Young also had microfracture surgery on his ankle on 11/10. Not expected to be ready for ST, iffy for OD.
he was cheap, for a reason.
Seriously, stop with the Delmon Young nonsense. If you want to see real despair, go to any Phillies website and look what they are saying about Young.
They make our Core seem sane. And that is saying a very great deal.
It’s not nonsense. He would have value to the Mets as a RH power bat off the bench and a occasional spot starter against a tough lefty( like Lee or Hamels for example).
In other words, he would fill Hairston’s role.
Sans the defense…
Hairston isn’t that special out there either, and the main reason we had Hairston was because of his bat and his ability to hit lefties – Which Young does just as well if not better.
Delmon Young made $6.7 million dollars last year. He was cut by the Tigers and not a single American league team, even the Yankees who overpay for everything cause they can, showed the slightest interest in him, even as a DH.
He signed for what is basically the ML minimum for a player with his mileage by one of the only teams who is more desperate in terms of talent and time than we are.
He is a very average bat if you actually look at his regular season stats and he can not play in the field. I want to stress this in case you missed it, he is one of the worst outfielders in the game. Atrocious. God awful. He makes Duda look like a god.
There’s a reason he took an enormous pay cut and virtually every team passed on him. He sucks.
No really. He sucks.
There are parts of his game that do suck, but if he’s used correctly, he could be an effective player. If you use him mostly as a RH power bat off the bench, and a occasional spot starter against a tough lefty, he would be a nice addition.
That way his time in the field is limited, and the majority of his AB’s would be against lefties. And like I posted before, he’s a .300+ hitter against lefties, and has good power numbers against them.
Phillies fans want to win. The clowns that post here, only want Fred Wilpon to be financially secure. Met fans have been driven away since you ain’t allowed to w ant to win here.
Another misguided soul. Spending equals winning in your mind.
Answer this….how much winning was done over the past 20 years by the Mets? Now answer how much money was spent? I think you will quickly see the disconnect.
The Mets were a pathetic organization probably back to the time Cashen gave up the reigns. Their fortunes were written with the signings of the likes of Bonilla/Coleman extending all the way to Bay.
Here is another question: how many all stars have the Mets developed in 20 years? 3 maybe 4. How many middle infielders? About the same. How many catchers? 1 or 2.
What few fail to understand is Fred Wilpon is the epitome of spend money and win now. And what did that get Met fans? 3 playoff appearances. That is it. So spending money to win didnt work.
Now, let us contrast the Mets success with the SFG who have 2 WS in 3 years. How many AS that were homegrown were on their roster this year alone? 6 (Cain, Wilson, Lincecum, Sandoval, Posey, and Vogelsong who did take a detour through Pittsburgh). So the Giants presently have more home grown AS on their roster than the Mets developed in 20 years. So the Mets had to bring in AS from the outside. How did that work out? In the last 5 years, how many Mets FAs ended up in an AS game? 4 maybe. And how many playoff appearances have we seen in that time? ZERO.
The point is when you have an organization that is as pathetic as the Mets were, a change in philosophy is needed. Alderson brought that in. What caused it; Selig, Madoff? Who knows. Either way, trying to build through FA is out and player development is in. It is a sound philosophy that is proven to build winners. Look at the WS champs in the last 10 years…most of them developed their own core of players. Is Alderson the one to do it? That remains to be seen. Is he a genius for doing this? No; it doesnt take a genius to follow a proven philosophy.
The bottom line is that building a sustained winner takes player development. Yes spending money helps but it is not the core. Even the heralded Yankees built through the farm and trades. Just look at their teams the last few years…of all the regular contributors 5 were FAs (CC, Tex, Martin, Kurodo, Soriano).
all fans prefer to win if given the choice.
and if it makes you feel better, overall the philly fans and media are panning the Young signing, and making fun of the FO and the state of the team overall.
The Revere deal was also panned by Philly fans (and many “experts”) believing the Phils overpaid.
Pretty sure that Andrew Brown can be the same type of replacement level player that Delmon Young has been for quite a while – just with better defense and without the baggage.
Sorry to see Hairston leave.
However, he’s a veteran 4th OF who shouldn’t start vs RHP, so in the big picture this won’t have any sort of lasting impact.
“Pretty sure that Andrew Brown can be the same type of replacement level player that Delmon Young has been for quite a while – just with better defense and without the baggage.”
LMAO….Im starting to see why your name is “DOOBY”
What makes you so sure about that a “hunch”??? lol…because I doubt you scouted him….The funny part about all this is Delmon Young is a 7 yr mlb vet while Andrew Brown is still considered a rookie if im not mistaken and Young is still 1year and 4 days younger than Brown
hehehe
Its sad that Brown is even a strong candidate to crack this ball club but that is a reality.
Well, Delmon Young has had exactly one good season in his career:
In 2010 with the Minnesota Twins.
Other than that he has basically been a sub replacement level kind of player.
With “replacement level” being a player you can pick up for basically nothing from any given AAA roster – such as Andrew Brown.
While I´m not a big fan of “WAR”, it´s at least a useful indicator for value, even if flawed, overrating defense a bit, especially.
However, you don´t have to be a scout to observe that Delmon Young is a terrible defender in LF.
Here are his OBP, OPS and WAR totals over the past few years:
2012: .296 OBP, .707 OPS, – 1.1 WAR
2011: .302 OBP, .695 OPS, – 0.2 WAR
2010: .333 OBP, .826 OPS, + 1.5 WAR (!), his career year and clearly the outlier
2009: .308 OBP, .733 OPS, – 0.8 WAR
So, overall, his combined “WAR” over the past four seasons has been – 0.8 Wins.
Combine it with his overall baggage and Young makes Jeff Francoeur look like Carlos Beltran in his prime. At least “Frenchy” has a combined + 1.1 WAR over the past 4 seasons. Heck, Jason Bay has a + 1.3 WAR for his Mets career.
And the reason I´m comparing Young to Andrew Brown is that Brown is a generic AAA player who has mashed at that level without ever getting an extended look in the majors. Odds are, Brown is the prototypical “replacement level player” – albeit without any sort of baggage and of course, without the pedigree of formerly having been a top draft pick, way back in time.
So, basically what I´m saying I´d rather have a “no-name” nothing than a “big-name”, more expensive nothing who is a good bet to cause trouble.
Of course, what I´d really like to see is the Mets adding a legit outfielder or two eventually.
Bourn and Hairston. One of these things is not like the other.
According to mlbtraderumors, the deal is for 2 yrs $6 million plus incentives.
Thanks Marie, I just updated the post. Appreciate it.
We need a January miracle to improve this outfield. People say Bourn’s price may be dropping, but I’m not buying it. Boras got Fielder over $200MM in late January. Bourn isn’t the same get as Fielder, but the point is…who saw THAT coming from Detroit. Boras is playing this waiting game, and in my opinion the Mets being linked to Bourn is a farce he allows because it’s good for the Mets (they can say look we are willing to invest in the team, look we are working to improve the outfield, look we are doing due diligence, etc.), but it looks even better for Boras by keeping Bourn’s name in the news so he can get his mystery team to bid against the Mets. Upton will get traded, maybe Kubel too. Heck Stanton might even get traded. And then Bourn will go to Boras’ mystery team.
Well, at least Sandy is consistent –
2011 – he loses out best power hitter, closer and first batting champion
2012 – he loses our Cy Young Award winner and second best power hitter
guess that means
2013 – he loses more fans coming through the security booths
Been a diehard Mets Fan from day one, before that a Brooklyn Dodger faithful. This is the last straw. F*** the Wilpons, Alderson, and the idiots here who don’t know baseball or character.
een a diehard Mets Fan from day one, before that a Brooklyn Dodger faithful. This is the last straw. F*** the Wilpons, Alderson, and the idiots here who don’t know baseball or character”
Don, The CORE salute you… That guy Boomer is rapidly becoming one of sandy’s biggest supporters in the site, Every day some new idiot comes in to defend sandy at all cost
Of all things going on with the NY Mets in the past several years, not signing Hairston is the last straw for you? O.K…….
Last straw, as in “the straw that broke the camel’s back” kind of last straw. Of course I’m counting all the previous moves, Reyes etc. Wilpons lose dough in the claw-back of Madoff money, a criminal enterprise that should have been evident to experienced business men, and the Mets have to grind to a halt while they recoup. Well, the Citi Field revenue is sinking each year and I’m not ready to wait until 2016 to see a team that at least contends for something.
Don,
I am completely on your side as another Mets fan from day one and a former Brooklyn Dodgers fan from the early 50′s. This cabal of the Wilpons and their flunkie SA have killed the Mets. How much does a fan have to endure? We witness the rise of the Nats while our team falls into oblivion. I can’t stand the sight of SA’s miserable face. Enough is enough!
Well the mets have really painted themselves in a corner now! Its like musical chairs and the
mets are almost out! The only way the mets can get out of this mess without looking totally
like cheap morons who don’t give a shit about there fans and have no clue is to sign Bourne and bring Travis D’arnaud north to Flushing to be the righthanded power hitting 5th batter they need so much to drive in runs and protect Ike Davis, or trade for Upton and hit him 5th! Bourne leads off Murphy hits second, Wright 3rd, Ike 4th, Travis or Upton 5th, and Duda 6th! ? 7th, and Rubin 8th, yes I said Rubin 8th cause with no power Murphy can’t hit 5th or 6th but he will make a great 2nd hitter behind Bourne! Not a bad lineup and with our young
pitching including Wheeler who will be here very soon the mets might be better than most
people think? As far as our bullpen goes well thats a comment for another day!!
We can’t ignore Scott Borus who is Matt Harvey;s agent. Yes the perception of the Mets back in the steak aisle is good for both the Mets and Borus. The Mets are letting Borus use them to drive up Bourn’s price. However, I bet if no mystery team caves in then the Mets will be there for something like 4 years 13M. Naturally Scott is looking for 18 M 6 year deal.
I guess this makes Hairston the SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN!!!!!!
Wrigley Field can make him better.
Faster.
Stronger.
Than he was before.
I wonder if he could hear the laughter from Sandy’s dinner joke?
Seriously, this is sadder and sadder by the second, at $3 million per for 2 YEARS on a guy who’s proven that he can hit HR’s (Something we lack of after davis) is not a bad deal, of course, all the sandy’s lovers will say how he wasn’t worth it or good riddance because we didn’t sign him, it’s pathetic and embarrassing what the mets are doing, i’ve never seen anything like this in my entire life as a met fan, sure we don’t go all out for big time FA, but NOT ONE guy to be signed to a $1 million dollar contract is just sad. and the most insane par about it is, whatever we spent on we gave it a guy who’s overrated and will likely have 2 good years of that contract. I’m quick to point out when a guy suck or is a PO’s, but even I would’ve given this guy the same contract the cubs gave him. This is just ridiculous.
Can we stop pretending this is the end of the world? It just Hairston! I am happy the team didn’t waste money on a glorified bench player. The team should just go with the young players they have and see what happens. Its good to see that the Mets seem to have stopped making desperate stupid contracts that overpay bad players just to be able to say that at least they did something.
Its good to see that the Mets seem to have stopped making desperate stupid contracts that overpay bad players just to be able to say that at least they did something”
And yet where were you when they signed wirght to an albatross extension that’ll pay him $138+ million dollars???? Exactly, that is why the word agenda is being used like crazy in this site
Yes lets to see what happens. Let’s see the 65-70 wins season unfold before our very eyes. Wilpon is clueless. He manages to fail whether he spends lots of money or he spends little money. As the team’s finances go down the toilet and the fans stay away he raises ticket prices. The bonds on his ballpark have been downgraded to junk status.
A fool and his money are easily parted goes the old saying. Don’t be a fool. Don’t give Wilpon and his idiot child a penny.
Keep up the dream.
Do you seriously think you are going to get rid of the Wilpons? The boycott Citi people are amusing. Are you aware of how much the Wilpons have in assets? Hell, we all know that the value of SNY is appreciating faster than Apple forget about all the real estate. The Mets cashflow might be a nightmare but that does not mean they are going to lose the team. In fact, you might as well resign yourself to the team being owned and run by Jeffy Wilpon because that is what is going to happen. Hell, people are wondering who Collins replacement is going to be…Jeff might name himself. This guy is going to make Jerry Jones look hands off.
People “amuse you.” I’m not part of this internecine war, bu I can see why people might consider you a pompous ass. With all due respect, of course.
It’s Scott Hairston we’re talking about, not Willie Mays or Mickey Mantle or even Straw. The guy has proven he could MAYBE be a decent platoon/bench player. He is not a difference maker. The one issue I do have is that we should have gambled last year before the deadline and gotten even a marginal prospect for him. Sandy, apparently is holding the line on asking top value for all his trades.
How do you know what he would do with 650 at bats. He had 377 ABs in 2012, 139 vs. lefties and 138 vs. righties. His total line was 263 299 504 803OPS, with 12 HRs vs. lefties and 8 HRs vs. righties. He stole 8 bases in 10 attempts, and played CF about a dozen times. His overall [vs. L and R] SLG was better than David Wright.
Why are you so sure he couldn’t succeed with more starts? He is/was far and away better than any Mets outfielder on the 40 man roster. You [and others] pontificate with no evidence other than his stats against righties only.
No enough playing time ….. doesn’t make sense.
Let’s assume some of the reports are correct and the Mets are in on the Bourn sweepstakes.
He plays CF. Hairston, if he signed here, probably would have got plenty of playing time platooning in LF and RF.
Something doesn’t make sense.
SRT, remember that whole hoffman situation in SD while sandy was there? He didn’t want him back at any cost, so they made up excuse after excuse after hoffman kept coming back to them saying how he wanted to stay, hairston probably said, ok i take whatever you’re offering, then sandy came back with the “Well, you’ve only getting 200 AT Bats at best” so he took the next deal and bounce.. Sandy Alderson had no intention on bringing him back, plain and simple.. Of course, i am sure the sabergooners, sandy lovers and apologists will say things like:
“He wasn’t worth it, good riddance”
“We’re better off without him”
“He’s not a difference maker”
“It’s not the end of the world”
“won’t have any sort of lasting impact”
“I’d rather have Collin Cowgill”
I mean, it’s a never end battle with this idiot who rather root for GM who’s been a bust in NY than the actual team…
I’m sure they would have brought him back if he was willing to take a 1 year deal at 2 MIL or under. This, like most other decisions made in the past two years, is all about the money and nothing but the money – IMO. Started with not signing Reyes and went from there. And before you mention it, I believe the Wright deal got done b/c the Wilpons wanted him signed for life.
I think that is obvious. When an owner talks about Ambassador, is in the middle of the negotiations, and the GM isnt allowed to even shop him to find out his value, that leads to the conclusion that Wright not being extended was never in the cards. The Wilpons were intent on keeping him in Flushing.
Alderson might reign over the baseball operations but, on that one, he was overruled by the one(s) who sign the checks.
Ah yes Met fans. Whining about not get Scott Hairston. Do we need to remind everyone he hit 7 or 8 HRs in 2011? True he hit 20 last year and was one of the bargain finds. However, it was a career year. He would NOT duplicate those numbers in Citi Field again.
I liked Hairston. He was a good find and is a fine 4th OF. But he is NOT a starter. With the players the Mets have now, they are all unknown. With Hairston, you know what you get. With the exception of Baxter, everyone is an I dont know if you ask if they can produce enough to be a starter in the big leagues. Hairston and, I feel, Baxter are bench players at best (but at least Baxter is solid defensively).
A career year was parlayed into some decent bucks for him. That is what baseball is all about. Players tend to revert back to their norm.
OMG why are you always whining about whining? You’re like a gnat. Just because you whine about the opposite opinion it doesn’t mean you’re not whining too. Jeez, can you ever post anything without your own whining? Again and again always whining for anything that defends Alderson. Yep, sure, that’s not whining. How annoying. The Egyptian taskmasters used to think the Hebrews were always whining too. Must be a taskmaster thing.
It shows how little you know, while i get players tend to revert to form and it was a career year, you don’t think at $3 million he would’ve been an ok signing? What is it with you’s and money?? $3 million dollar for a guy that can protect ike davis in the lineup when facing lefties is not a bad signing, $3 million for a guy that CAN hit 20 HR is not a bad signing, compare to what we got even 11 HR would’ve been more than what this OF might hit combined ALL YEAR!!! He had NO INTENTION on bringing him back, plain and simple, this man is here to cut payroll and keep it as low as possible, competing? for what!?!?! he doesn’t give a f*** about mets fans, he cares about the wilpons and their wallets, but at some point you guys gotta bash this guy for the horrendous job he’s doing…
He’d rather pay Francisco $6.5 million to blow games.
Read my posts…..I have said all along Hairston at 2/$6M$7M is liveable although overpay for a 4th OF. Everyone makes like he is a savior or something. He isnt. Just because he is a “proven” major league player means nothing. Nobody can say what the Mets have presently isnt any better. The core wants major league players but they dont want to give anyone a chance to see if they can produce. If they dont come out of the minor leagues heralded like Bryce Harper, well get rid of them.
The problem with the core is they only want money spent. Well I have news for you…Fred Wilpon, whether you admit it or not, is your idol. You all trash he who spent like a drunken fool for 2 decades with pathetic results. Yet you still hold on to the non-winning philosophy of spend to win. Wilpon did that…a lot and often. Yet how much winning do you have to show for you heralded outlook.
Here is where Alderson excels….it isnt that he is a genius… it is that he has the backbone (even if it is Selig inspired) to get the checkbook out of Fred hands (Wright being the exception in my view). The core way turned the Mets into a pathetic organization over 2 decades. The results speak for themselves. Spending money yet no winning. Overpay for a Scott Hairston leads to overpaying for a Jason Bay to a Luis Castillo to a Oliver Perez. Overpaying for middle of the road players is never a good idea. If you are going to overpay, make it for a CC or Verlander type. And there was nobody in this FA pool who was an elite player (maybe Hamilton but there are question marks about him).
If all you want is a proven ML player, could have just kept Bay. He was good once too.
Good move! Again non-issue. We finished where last year with him? Again, not a difference maker!
No insults, or syber-bully, fake tough guy, schoolboy names needed to make my point
The Mets finished 4th with him, they can finish 4th without him.
Sadly, you can say that about everyone who put on that uniform the last 4 years.
Good move! Again non-issue. We finished where last year with him? Again, not a difference maker!”
SMH… then why not have a completely make over then sloath? why not trade wright, niese, davis, etc… not one guy has had a record better than 79 wins on this team, why not trade them all??? Idiot..
LOL what did we win with Wright? Careful, your agenda is showing again.
These people are just comical at this point, do they realize what they say backfires at them? We didn’t win sh*t with hariston, good riddance, but when we signed wright you’d never hear them say that exact same thing Lol… and the guy’s been losing the longest. SMH, i get the whole agenda discussion the other day by joe d, his immortals when to him and told him that word is offensive to them because it exposed them as the sandy apologist they are
Once again showing how little your really pay attention. Do not try to put an agenda where this isnt one. I have said all along the Wright signing was a Wilpon deal from the get go. At the same time, I have consistently said (at that time and after) that Alderson should have shopped Wright to at least determine is trade value. But he wasnt. Why not? Does it fit into Alderson’s MO to sign a guy to a large 2nd contract without even knowing what his value is on the open market? No it does not. Alderson is anal to the point of paralysis at times. To me, this leads to the logical conclusion Wright was not shopped because Alderson was told not to.
Hence we see the Wilpon protocol…spend money even if it isnt the wisest of moves. Only time will tell with this contract but history does not prove kind to lt $100M+ contracts.
So pick a fight with someone else because on this issue you are arguing with someone who agrees with you. Sad that I had to point that fact out to you.
In other news, the Jets are open to trading Revis.
Oh sorry we are discussing non-diffference makers. I wonder how Byrdak’s recovery is going.
I refuse to sit here and pretend Scott Hairston is anything but a platoon bat at best. He’s cashing in on an unusual year, so good for him. But he obviously made it clear he wants significant playing time and I’m glad the Mets didn’t offer him that.
Signing Hairston could have done what? Maybe made the Mets better by 2, 3 games? But signing him also could have hindered them from adding a RF next year as well.
Hairston doesn’t solve the problem of the OF – he just adds another element to it. I’m not interested in that. He’s not an everyday player, he just isn’t. So why are people upset that the Mets didn’t sign a bench bat to start in RF? We have that now in Baxter… why pay $6mil or whatever for the same thing?
Of course he’s a platoon bat, genius. If he weren’t he’d be getting $15 million a year, not $3 million. Geez, stop being such a dram queen.
And only someone like you think only one player is going to make a difference and that we shouldn’t sign a player unless he fits your description of team savior.
This from the one who loved the Wright signing. SMFH!
And yet when sandy signed francisco at $6 million per you said he had a good day… See how hypocritical you are? You defend him at all cost and of course, i knew you were gonna come here and bash hairston in order to make sandy look good, it’s pathetic and embarrassing, your act is getting old
Isn’t Mr. Alderson a tad old to still be called Sandy? Perhaps Toady?
Breaking news, Mets signed a difference maker just for you. All the things that you said about not signing Hairston, will now suddenly vanish and not apply to Marcum.
“”"Signing Hairston could have done what? Maybe made the Mets better by 2, 3 games? But signing him also could have hindered them from adding a RF next year as well.”"”
I hope Marcum doesn’t hinder us from promoting Zack Wheeler.
Thank God we have Marcum who should makes us better by? 10-15 games?
LOL
Lmao, wait the alderson had a good day article from him, after losing on hariston and knowing the fan base will cry wolf, he then suddenly signs marcum to apeace them… And i am sure we won’t hear the sandy apologist say anything negative about marcum, you know like he’s oft injured etc.. Lol, while i think it’s a good pick up, you can’t help but to wonder why it was done right after hairston was gone? but whatever.. Good pick IMHO
Talk about an agenda. The deal was reported earlier Thursday by both CBS and Fox. So you are telling me that the signing mar Marcum is because the fan base is distraught and ready with pitchforks over losing Hairston? Come on. It is no secret the Mets were looking for a 5th starter and it was going to be someone along these lines.
As for defending Marcum, the brightest spot of his signing is no Chris Young.
Good move! Again non-issue. We finished where last year with him? Again, not a difference maker!”
SMH… then why not have a completely make over then sloath? why not trade wright, niese, davis, etc… not one guy has had a record better than 79 wins on this team, why not trade them all??? Idiot..
Alex, I actually was upset when you got banned and expressed it. Boy do I regret that! I have asked you to leave me out of your comments. I want no part of your cowardly nonsensical drivel. I understand that you may be an UNEDUCATED, PICKED ON, ignoramus who finally found a way to fight back in the cowardly way (from behind a computer screen).
Since, in my opinion you bring nothing but hate to the table and have less than zer0 knowledge of baseball (I know thats your cowardly copout comment when someone proves you wrong or on other words ALWAYS “Learn about baseball”)and obviously how to act like an adult. Again until then leave me out of your posts.
Sloat, again, i am not sure what you mean by leave you out of it? It’s funny how you talk about the internet being a way you express someone feelings or being a tough guy, i am neither a tough guy nor a coward as you said, however, i am not sure how you can call me tough guy yet insult me by saying words like uneducated or ignorant, i mean, isn’t that the same thing you supposedly calling me out for? Howver, i am sure once the season start i’d be more than happy to meet up with you for a game if you like so we can sit down and “Chat” about the mets and baseball, i’ll cover the expenses since it’ll be my treat, that way you can judge who i am and if i was a guy who got picked on ok.
I know,
It’s a question of being “competitive”. (sic)
Task,
Bingo! You are dead on with your take. I have been a Met fan my whole life. What I want more than anything is a long term continued competitive franchise. I know there is no guaranteed formula for what I want but we’ve tried the spend, spend, spend ,win now approach. With little or limited success. Now we are attempting something that has worked for us and other franchises in the past.
Recently there was a post here about Cashen and how he built the minors and stocked the pipeline. That is what we appear to be trying here. The Mets of the late 80′s fell apart when they went away from that approach. The Yankees have ALWAYS spent but they have always developed more than their share of quality players (some for their team and others as chips to trade).
I believe free agency should be used along with development. I know that Hairston is a decent platoon player but I feel he certainly is no game changer. I know it’s not much money but its still frivolous.
Alex
Sloat, again, i am not sure what you mean by leave you out of it? It’s funny how you talk about the internet being a way you express someone feelings or being a tough guy, i am neither a tough guy nor a coward as you said, however, i am not sure how you can call me tough guy yet insult me by saying words like uneducated or ignorant, i mean, isn’t that the same thing you supposedly calling me out for? Howver, i am sure once the season start i’d be more than happy to meet up with you for a game if you like so we can sit down and “Chat” about the mets and baseball, i’ll cover the expenses since it’ll be my treat, that way you can judge who i am and if i was a guy who got picked on ok.
I understand you are not all that intelligent but read what YOU POSTED. Read how in your response where you actually call me out by name. You ended it with IDIOT! Not sure how you were raised but that is in fact an insult.
I stand by everything I said and how I feel about you. I do think (I’m pretty sure I’m not alone on this) you’re a borish cyber bully and insult many other posters simply because they disagree with you. I think you’re a coward because you often attack others and you cojones grow when someone agrees with something you may be saying and begin to pile on them (I’ve seen you do that to Jesse and even attempt to start crap with Kay) yet when someone shoots you down with statistics, history, and just plain eloquent common sense, you disappear.
To that. I ACCEPT YOUR INVITATION (but I pay my own way). Tell me how you want me to send you information to schedule this. We may never agree on many baseball related issues but I would like nothing more than for you to prove to me that you are actually intelligent and a stand up guy, instead of a goon ish schoolyard cyber bully. Either that or your secretly in love with me (And Jesse P and Kay). And that’s ok just learn to express your feelings in a better way.
Can Fat Frank pinch hit?
Not re-signing Hairston is really inconsquential in the sphere of things, however, the reason it gets such attention is because it is representative of a bigger pattern by this front office in regards to spending.
Look at it not as an individual but how it is part of the entire pie.
And another door closes….
At some point one will close on Sandy’s face with nose damage certain….
He’s a lefty but I wonder if the Cubs would be willing to part with Tony Campana?
Keep an eye on the Cubs, they’re not a bad team. They snatched up Scott Baker early in the off-season and I think that was one of the smartest signings this winter. The Cubs have a ton of outfielders.
Hi Matt,
Perhap we can merge the Mets and the Cubs into one team so the Big Apple and the Windy City can finally hope for a senior circuit contender. We can call them the Chicago Cuets of New York.