what a surprise

Sandy at the time counted Bay + Santana’s 2014 buyouts against the 2013 payroll….a practice rarely if ever practiced by teams, they usually count the 2014 buyout…against the 2014 payroll……and he said they would count as 50 mil against the payroll…

Your boy is a used car salesman

So, enter 2013. A healthy Johan would be great to anchor this staff, at least throughout the first half of the year until Zach Wheeler joins the rotation. A healthy Johan also would carry trade value toward the trading deadline.

On the other hand, trading Johan at this time could be addition by subtraction, and allow the front office to acquire, say, an outfielder – even if its just Scott Hairson. If the Mets trade Johan prior to the season, I’d really like to see them acquire Chris Capuano from the Dodgers. Cappy pitched one of the best games ever in a NY Met uniform when he shut down the Braves in a 13K, 2-hit performance.

I’m in favor of keeping Johan to start the season because we need an ace, even if he’s just a figurehead, while the younger guys in our rotation establish their own identity.

Thanks for the nice words.

The financial problems with the Mets are not short term in nature and thus why I do contend the moves are made are overwhelmingly more in terms of the business end than the competitive one. Hence the point about Joba and Gardiner becoming free agents being my concern if that type of trade was made and they came through for us in flying colors.

But the Mets haven’t started to re-build incrementally beyond the farm system and that is a necessity. Sandy is entering his third season at the helm and hasn’t made such other moves yet. Why hasn’t he? If it is a matter of money, that is the point I’ve been making about re-building being a smoke screen. A re-building plan comes from a combination of 1) prospects, 2) acquiring young players through free agency, 3) the young players already on the major league level and 4) retaining veteran players who can still produce and provide the necessary leadership. So far Sandy has done the first, has not done the second, created a hole in center by not doing the third and has not been abiding by the fourth.

What Sandy said about inexpensive players only producing a 50 percent return applies also to re-building – one cannot expect to re-build itself into a winning team by just doing fifty percent of the job required. He still isn’t picking up on that other half as shown by his actions for 2013, now his third winter at the helm. In fact, his prior moves have made the process even more difficult by creating more holes to fill. So what does that say about the validity of his plan? Again, taking into account the long-term ramifications of the Mets fiscal problems it doesn’t seem as if he has a real plan outside of the Wilpons. Pittsburgh and Kansas City have been making money with losing teams in small markets that even with revenue sharing prohibit them from taking the four steps required to create a winner.

And since baseball is now being run as a big business, if fielding a losing team is all one can do to avoid losing money, that’s where the organization is going to go. And that wouldn’t have been the direction the Mets would have taken decades before when it was handled as a game when concentrating on building a winning team came first. And, as pointed out in that article, the benefactors of those times were the fans when even a high school student could afford to take his date to a ball game. Now, we are losers in both ways.

AT MOST, Santana will be paid 25 mil…and thats only because they are counting the 5 mil buyout for 2014 against the 2013 payroll…

Our 2014 payroll is somewhere around 43 mil

Our 2013 payroll ( with the buyout ) right now is around 68 mil…

Sandy is selling u guys on a bag of BS and b/c he is your lord and savior, you take everything from the Book of Matthew as gospel

In the NL, its more likely the pitcher gets pinch-hit for in a tight situation in the late innings…

that was 4 years ago !!!!

O
M
G

Yeah, i’ll go out on a limb and say that 90% of the 86 Met roster would be a “distraction” for the choir boy crowd

It is hilarious how certain players are picked on…

You mean like Reyes was when he won the batting title?

You mean like Beltran was, when he was the MVP of our team in 2011 ?

You mean like Albert Pujols was when the Cardinals won the WS?

You mean like Angel Pagan was when the Giants won the WS?

Sweet Jesus, you are on a southern bible belt Sarah Palin poster rockin level of dumb today…

So exactly how is Johan Santana a distraction?

lets zoom in on that…

Sandy at the time counted Bay + Santana’s 2014 buyouts against the 2013 payroll….a practice rarely if ever practiced by teams, they usually count the 2014 buyout…against the 2014 payroll……and he said they would count as 50 mil against the payroll…

Your boy is a used car salesman

Like with Dickey, Santana is no longer a relevant player because Sandy has already gutted the team into oblivion. The team will suck with or without him – so if they can pick up a couple of million than pull the trigger.

Pathetic.

Thanks for a great post. This is definitively a punt year EXCEPT to espouse your and Metsie complaint why not be competitive AND rebuild.. Metsie actually made a valid point with in effect stated to build incrementally. We need desperately a guy like Gardner. To talk about putting 4-5 OF and Justin Turner in OF mix is both depressing and ridiculous even for a rebuilding team.

As for increased payroll when Brett and Joba become FA, hopefully in 2014 and beyond we can retain them. Besides if the Yankees do in fact pick up lets say only 7 M of Santana ‘s salary It could help get an additional OF such as Hairston which I think he will settle for one year in the area of 4.5 M with the Mets.

You know the Mets aren’t helping their cause with the fan base by airing that one-hit performance on SNY – along with Pagan’s Pepsi Porch game winning home run from 2011. Both serve as only reminders (and angry ones for many) of those we sent off.

SNY has since stopped airing the tribute to R.A. The least they publicize these players, the better it will be for their sake image wise.

BTW – anyone watching either of those games will recall the intensity of the players, their self-confidence in not giving up, the way they executed the fundamentals and came through in key situations along with how well they were playing in general Yet both times Sandy needed time to see what they were made of?

As said before, the Mets can’t win for winning.

Since that’s the case, I Santana does prove effective and healthy, of course he’ll be dealt mid season, it’s just good baseball decision making.

I will say, Santana is a pro and after RA being traded, he’s the biggest warrior they have left. When on the mound and healthy, he was always their best pitcher. To say he was a distraction is weird and I can’t figure how anyone could put that tag on him. It not fair. If any if the ten top pitching prospects has the heart and will of Santana, the mets will be in great shape during the next few seasons.

After this one of course.

I avoid trying to play general manager as far contemplating trades because there are so many organization-related cause and effect factors that we are not familiar with or could even appreciate.

So I tend to judge them after agreed upon so I will look at that scenario in that vein.

On paper it’s not a bad move for the Mets and not a big gamble for we are really only giving up is a prospect. At 26, Chamberlian has not been the pitcher the Yankees built him up to be after that late 2007 season call up and is coming off a series of injuries. Perhaps there is still something in his mechanics and/or his maturity which the Mets can straighten out.

Gardiner is only 28 and hopefully fully recovered from his season long injury. Brett could be that good lead-off hitter with speed that the Mets so desperately need and a great glove.

But this is the problem – Chamberlain becomes a free agent after this season and Gardiner after 2014. If they do well, they are going to have to be paid more than just the five and a half million combined they make now and for a few years at that.

That’s my point about the monetary plan being more important than the re-building one. Yes, a good move but would Sandy want to take the risk of signing what could turn into two “expensive” players in a relatively short time? He hasn’t so far.