Mets Merized Online - A Mets Blog For Real Mets Fans!

I love the way you put things, you get right to the point! Especially "No more Mota - period". I agree with most of your points, except maybe trading Heilman. I still think he may have potential. If we're so stretched for starting pitching, and he's been not too effective in the bullpen, why not give him a shot, in spring traiing, as a starter. (How did that work out for Looper this year?)

condemning glavine?

Not exactly... He's a hall of fame pitcher and has pitched so many gems while with the Meta. Anyone remember his flirt with the no-no earlier in the season that he took into the 7th inning? Get over his last appearance, it wasn't exactly helped by the teams offense that day either.

Right on....everything you said is OK except I think we should dump LODUCA.

Posada would be a great upgrade on Paulie....

I agree about looking at making Aaron Heilman a starter again. I don't think he was ever happy being a relief pitcher. But I would try and get him to use his fastball more to get ahead of the hitters. He could pound the strike zone with hard stuff and use the offspeed stuff later in an at bat. Aaron has always been healthy and should be able to give the team 175-200 plus innings. We need guys to go deeper into a 9 inning game. That will make a huge difference.

Posada like 5 years ago would have been a good upgrade for Paulie. I say trade for Ronnie Paulino. Or Salty (we fleeced texas for Ronnie darling and Walt terrell back in the day, I'm sure Omar can do that same yuk yuk yuk).

What gems has Glavine pitched for the mets? OK, he was decent in the playoffs last year and he had that one-hitter back in like 2003. We spent a lot of money for an aging whiny crybaby brave who blew it his last game. And before people tell me that I am harping too much on it, well, he also sucked that whole month and if he wins just one of those games in September, we'd have been playing in October.

I think carlos Gomez should go. he's good but replaceable. I'd hate to see the next Gary Sheffield get traded. But I doubt Haren for Milledge would do it. Maybe Blanton. Not Haren.

Don't you think if the Mets were ever going to start Heilman they would have done it in 2006 when they sent duds like Jose Lima and Jeremy Gonzalez to the mound instead? Heilman is better suited to be a reliever because he doesn't have a lot of pitches to chose from and He'd get hit around the second time through the order. And I honestly don't think he'd go very deep into games since he's been pitching one inning for so long. It would take a while to build up that kind of stamina...and I'm sorry but there's no way I can ever forgive Glavine for his performance in the final game of the year. That's hardly the offense's fault when they get put in a 7 run hole before ever stepping up to the plate. That was a pathetic performance, and to me it negates everything Tom Glavine had done for the Mets throughout his time here...I still think the Mets need someone like Lo Duca on the team. If you take away that fire and bring in boring Posada, that will just diminish the clubhouse atmosphere even more. It would be almost as noticable a difference in the clubhouse as taking Cliff Floyd out of the mix. ..BTW I love the reference of Lastings Milledge as the next Gary Sheffield. I hope that doesn't come true!

I would hold on to Heilman because he doesn't have the value he once had. Try him out as a starter for the spring, if it doesn't work then back to the pen.
Glavine was useless the last month of the season I will agree, but he still had a great year and with any offence behind him he should have won 20 games. Dumping on Glavine because of 3 bad starts is crazy, should we also dump Wagner because he was terrible the last month also. Should we have dumped Wright back in April cause he sucked? I would take Glavine back for another year, but the good thing with him more then likely going back to Atlanta is that it forces Omar to get another horse.
Definatly no Posada, I have no need to see him in a Mets Uniform. LoDuca back would be ok, but I would like to see an upgrade here.
El Duque would be great if he could stay healthy, I like him as the long man in the pen and maybe a spot starter.
A front line solid 1 or 2 starter is a must. Someone who can give us 7 or 8 innings a night. Its most definatly gonna have to be through trade though.
Mota should just fizzle away like a bad fart.
I'll be honest, I dont expect much at all from Duaner Sanchez at all. I hope he suprises me.
I'm sure either Gomez Milledge or Martinez will be dealt this winter, while Milledge is more major leqgue ready, Gomez might have better value.
Reyes is a Met and will remain a Met unless you could get Utley, Rollens and Howard for him and thats not gonna happen.

I hear a lot of you blaming Glavine, but nobody is blaming Willie. Look at these facts. Glavine had two bad starts prior to his final start. The umpire behind the plate is notorious for a small strike zone. But those two together and Willie should have had a very quick hook with Glavine. Why wait until they score 7 runs to take him out. Also, many of you blame Mota. Well I agree he was horrible, by why did Willie use him so often. Last but not least, some of you are down on Reyes. Well here again is the manager's job to manage young talent.

Do not trade Heilman, Milledge, Gomez, or any prospects unless you're getting a true #1 starter. But who's a #1 started other than Santana? I'd rather see the soft, overpaid, Beltran leave.

Here's a list of some senior citizen free agents. As you can see there's no one under 45.

Catchers

Brad Ausmus (39)
Michael Barrett (31)
Ramon Castro (32)
Jason Kendall (34)
Paul Lo Duca (36)
Jorge Posada (36)
Jose Molina (33)
Yorvit Torrealba (30)

First basemen

Sean Casey (34)
Tony Clark (36)
Adam Dunn (28) - $13MM club option for '08
Darin Erstad (34) - $3.5MM club option for '08
Scott Hatteberg (38) - $1.85MM club option for '08
Ryan Klesko (37)
Mike Lamb (33)
Doug Mientkiewicz (34)

Second basemen
Luis Castillo (32)
Damion Easley (38)
Marcus Giles (30) - $4MM club option for '08
Tadahito Iguchi (33)
Mark Loretta (37)
Kaz Matsui (32)
Jose Valentin (38)

Shortstops
David Eckstein (33)
Cesar Izturis (28) - $5.45MM club option for '08
Tomohiro Nioka (32)
Alexei Ramirez (26)
Juan Uribe (29) - $5MM club option for '08
Omar Vizquel (41)

Third basemen
Pedro Feliz (33)
Mike Lamb (32)
Mike Lowell (34)
Alex Rodriguez (32) - Has ability to opt out of contract after season

Left fielders
Moises Alou (42) - $7.5MM club option for '08
Barry Bonds (43)
Milton Bradley (30)
Adam Dunn (28) - $13MM club option for '08
Cliff Floyd (35) - mutual option for '08
Luis Gonzalez (40)
Geoff Jenkins (33) - $9MM club option for '08
Reggie Sanders (40)
Shannon Stewart (34)
Brad Wilkerson (31)

Center fielders
Milton Bradley (30)
Mike Cameron (35)
Darin Erstad (34) - $3.5MM club option for '08
Torii Hunter (32)
Andruw Jones (31)
Kenny Lofton (41)
Corey Patterson (28)
Alexei Ramirez (26)
Aaron Rowand (30)

Right fielders
Bobby Abreu (34) - $16MM club option for '08
Milton Bradley (30)
Kosuke Fukudome (31)
Shawn Green (35) - $10MM club option for '08
Jose Guillen (32) - $9MM club option for '08
Geoff Jenkins (33) - $9MM club option for '08
Trot Nixon (34)
Reggie Sanders (40)

DHs
Barry Bonds (43)
Mike Piazza (39)
Sammy Sosa (39)
Mike Sweeney (34)

Starting pitchers

Tony Armas (30) - $5MM mutual option for '08
Kris Benson (33) - $7.5MM club option for '08
Paul Byrd (37) - $8MM club option for '08
Shawn Chacon (30)
Roger Clemens (46)
Matt Clement (33)
Bartolo Colon (35)
Josh Fogg (31)
Casey Fossum (30)
Freddy Garcia (32)
Tom Glavine (42)
Livan Hernandez (33)*
Jason Jennings (29)
Joe Kennedy (29)
Byung-Hyun Kim (29)
Brian Lawrence (32)
Jon Lieber (38)
Kyle Lohse (29)
Rodrigo Lopez (32)
Greg Maddux (42) - $8.75MM player option or $11MM club option for '08
Eric Milton (32)
Tomo Ohka (32)
Russ Ortiz (34)
Odalis Perez (31) - $9MM club option for '08
Andy Pettitte (36) - $16MM player option for '08
Kenny Rogers (43)
Curt Schilling (41)
Carlos Silva (29)
Julian Tavarez (35) - $3.85MM club option for '08
John Thomson (34)
Brett Tomko (35) - $4.5MM mutual option for '08
Steve Trachsel (37) - $4.75MM club option for '08
Koji Uehara (33)
Jeff Weaver (31)
David Wells (45)
Kip Wells (31)
Randy Wolf (31) - $9MM club option for '08
Jamey Wright (34)
Jaret Wright (32)

Closers

Armando Benitez (35)
Joe Borowski (37) - $4MM club option for '08
Francisco Cordero (33)
Octavio Dotel (32) - $5.5MM mutual option for '08
Eric Gagne (32)
Todd Jones (40)
Al Reyes (37) - $1MM club option for '08
Mariano Rivera (38)
Bob Wickman (39)

Middle relievers

Jeremy Affeldt (29)
Antonio Alfonseca (36)
LaTroy Hawkins (35)
Jorge Julio (29)
Joe Kennedy (29)
Scott Linebrink (31)
Troy Percival (39)
David Riske (31) - $2.85MM club option for '08
Julian Tavarez (35) - $3.85MM club option for '08
Mike Timlin (42)
Luis Vizcaino (31)
Kerry Wood (31)

I think the Mets should get posada and dump lo duca. If the Mets keep Mota they are asking to lose games. As for Glavine yes I was mad at his last start ,but Glavine has had great clutch starts like last year in game one of the NLCS pitch 7 shut out inings and has almost pitch a no hitter for the mets about three or four times. I hope the mets dont trade Reyes no matter what. I dont think Duaner Sanchez will be as good when he returns and leave Heilman in the bullpen or trade him just dont put him as a starting pitcher.

technically, willie did pull him before 7 runs were given up. if i'm not mistaken, it was 5-0 narlins, and sosa gave up the other two (inherited, true, but you get the drift).

But don't get me started on blaming Willie. his idiocy lost at least 5 games this year. and anyone who says the manager has really no impact on the final outcome of the season, at least 3 of those five would have made the difference of october ball. but enough! they have one more year to prove to me they are worth my season ticket dollars!

as for heilman, i have to disagree. I believe his value has never been HIGHER as a strong middle relief type.

unfortunately, starting pitching is becoming a thing of the past. and what i mean by that is - there are hardly any complete games these days. one 20 game winner and that was beckett in the AL. most pitchers are conditioned to not pitch more than 100 tosses per game, but I do have to commend Willie and Peterson for letting the young dudes like Maine and Pea go like 115-120 pitches. No reason for them to come out if they are doing well but not tired. My point is, its not just the mets, the rest of MLB pitching staffs are being bolstered by their pen. and if i were Aaron Heilman, i'd try to get my value up at a middle relief guy. they get paid almost as much as a 5th starter and only pitch like 1-2 innings at a clip. sure its taxing, but he's an idiot if he doesn't capitalize on that.

that said, i think if Omar can get some good value for him, get rid of him since he's not happy in NY.

You must be retarded if you do not want Jorge Posada over Paul LoDuca. Paulie should be gone and Jorge is a nice upgrade in every category

thanks Matt- very classy to put it that way.

I DO NOT want Jorge Posada on my team, and believe me- if Paul Lo Duca left this would be a different Mets team. Do you want them to turn into a retirement home for aged Yankees players?

5 Bucks says Mota comes back.

That...or he goes somewhere else and posts a 1.56 ERA.

Screw Posada, we don't need any damn Skankees. Real Mets fans dont want Posada or Mariano for that matter. I would love to have Haren on this team. I wish there was a realistic chance of us getting him. And oh by the way, I cant remember a worse free agent pool in my life than this season.

Nice blog and filled with some good suggestions. Skankee history aside, Posada is a teriffic catcher but doesn't carry the fire Paulie does.Everyone knows this Mets team seemed to lack motivation.Part of me wonders if Rickey was teaching Jose and co., some new card games instead of how to hustle.Henderson was great as a player but I didn't like him as a Met and that includes his "coaching" stop this year. Mota better be gone...for Petes' sake we want to win!

Are you kidding me? Jorge Posada is one of the most under-rated players in the majors. He is way better than Paul Lo Duca. People say that Lo Duca brings a sense of leadership to team. That's a load of b/s. If leadership is going crazy on the field and cheating on your wife with 18 year old girls, then yeah, that's your leader. The leader of the Mets is David Wright. If not in '08, in '09 he should become the captain of the team. The Oakland A's would never trade Danny Haren for Lastings Milledge. It's like trading Derek Jeter for the all-time great Alay Solar. That's a stupid trade, the A's wouldn't take a trade for Haren on anybody else without Mike Pelfrey or Philip Humber. Everybody knows that Billy Beane loves Lastings Milledge, but if we would have to trade Milledge, Pelfrey and probally a reliever, I would just keep who we have, and go for a different trade. I think the Mets should stay away from Dontrelle Willis. Omar Minaya should try to see what top of the line starters are avaiable.

-Isn’t it about time the Mets traded Aaron Heilman? They should have done it last year when he still had some value.
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If the right deal presents itself then by all means yes trade him.

-Mets fans should get together and file a restraining order against Tom Glavine. He must never show his face in or around Shea Stadium ever again or bad things will happen!
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I'm sorry but I can not agree with this statement, Glavine pitched his heart out for the Mets for 5 years a few bad starts does not take away all the good he did for this team.

-I do not want Jorge Posada on my team. He belongs in pinstripes. Re-sign Paul Lo Duca!
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Thank you Thank you...
Over the last 5 years there have been a few moves that I was strictly against yet got an ear full from many fans but in the end I was right. 1. In 2002 after the Mets traded for Mo Vaughn and Roberto Alomar there were rumors that the Mets would acquire Jeromy Burnitz I stated over and over again that that would be a major major mistake. Adding a high strikeout, power hitter who is a horrible situational hitter to a lineup that was already stacked with high strike out hitters was just asking for trouble. After the trade for Burnitz was official I stated on the mets.com forum that this move would backfire big time yes I received an earful. As it turned out Burnitz was booed out of town. 2. Last year I said that brining Valentin back would be a huge mistake simply for the same reason as Burnitz. Valentin is a all or nothing hitter, horrible in clutch situation bad situational hitter and high strikeout totals. The fact is if we had a Castillo time player in 2006 in place of Valentin we would have won the NLCS and perhaps the World Series. 3. Back in April I said the Nationals were a better team then the Marlins but no one believed me, in fact everyone said I was nuts, "The Nats will lose 120 games" blah blah well guess what. Lets just say when I feel strongly about something when it comes to baseball you may be best to believe me lol ;o) Now lets get to my point on Posada. If the Mets were to sign Posada it would be a major major mistake. First off Posada is a nut case, he is not well liked throughout the majors. If we brought Posada aboard we might as well bring Milton Bradley, Jose Guillen, Carl Everett and Roger Clemens as well, ok ok Posada is as bad as the above mentioned but he is no saint either, to boot he is also a horrible defensive catcher, just horrible.

-Anyone taking bets on when El Duque will suffer his first injury of the 2008 season?
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May 8th

-Lastings Milledge for Danny Haren anyone?
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Sounds good to me :o)

If you had to trade either Milledge, Fernando Martinez or Carlos Gomez for a top-notch pitcher, which prospect would you be most willing to part with?
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Without a doubt, Milledge. Gomez is going to be a star and F-Mart may be the best of the 3.

-I want to smack whoever started that rumor about trading Jose Reyes. Are you insane?
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There was never a rumor of Reyes being traded, it was suggestion by Tim Kurkjian of ESPN while on Baseball Tonight. His opinion spread to sports talk radio and took on a mind of its own. There is a huge difference between opinions and factual rumors that are spread around the industry. Unless you hear it from a reliable source who received information from several people in the industry (GM's, scouts, etc.) then do not believe everything you hear or read.

Mets fans that want a former yankees in our teem are no a true mets fans. Can somebody name an former yankee playing for the mets that play good for this teem?. I know the ones that ere available are old enough to have in the team but I prefer not

PAUL LODUCA AND JORGE POSADA are the same age. Why not go with a switch hitting clutch hitter, who was leading the AL in hitting for a good 2 months. Has a good arm and has been a proven winner. No matter what we say here, you know Minaya will select as many hispanics as he can. sometimes he makes the right picks but he is letting his ethnicity over rule true baseball smarts.
When will the Wilpons give him some intelligent input?

As a Dodger fan, I say it doesn't matter if the Mets keep Glavine, Mota, Lo Duca, and Duaner Sanchez. The Mets suck and The Dodgers will win it all in 2008!

Hey dodger fan, do the dodgers not have their own blog? Really they dont? Right, so the Mets suck ok.. where were the dodgers in the play offs .. not there right cause they didn't make it.. yes the Mets fell the end of the season.. but don't you think you should take your dodger butt to a dodger site.. this doesn't say Dodgerized..

it says metsmerized ..

Pirates Rebuilding, Shipping Bay?
Pirates fans, get ready for some big changes. Rob Biertempfel reports:

Over the new couple of weeks, the Pirates will hire a new manager, scouting director, director of player development and assistant general manager. The turnover could extend to coaches and scouts throughout the system.

New facilities are rising in Bradenton, Fla., and the Dominican Republic. The club also plans to develop a leaner, more efficient data storage system.

Red Sox Pitching Coach John Farrell is the reported favorite to be the Buc's skipper and Theo Epstein has been singing his praises, writes John Perrotto of the Beaver County Times:

"John has brought so much to our organization," Red Sox GM Theo Epstein said. "He's brought a sense of accountability to the pitching staff and he is just so organized in everything he does. He prepares our pitchers both mentally and physically every day of the season. He is an extremely sharp guy and the only thing he lacks is much major-league experience as a coach."

Indeed it's an exciting time to be a Pirates fan after a bit of a dry spell. Tim noted that the Pirates may shop Jason Bay this winter. With these structural changes taking place at the developmental levels it seems even more likely.

Posted By Nat Boyle

What do you think it would take to get Jason Bay in a Mets uniform?

R. Roberts - two things

1. Ha ha ha since when does Posada have a good arm? Did you know that runners stole 102 bases of of Posada this season that was 2nd most in all of MLB. Over the last 3 years (2005-2007) runners have stolen 254 bases off him which is 2nd most only to Jason Kendal. Posada also set the record for most passed balls in an inning (3) and most passed balls in a game (5). Catching is a defensive minded position, offensive is secondary. He is an awful defensive catcher. Do not even get me started on his attitude problem just as Juan Rivera, Pedro and the entire Twins and Angels rosters about the great Posada. The guy is an A-HOLE.

2. This nonsense that Minaya favors Latino players has got to stop. Its absurd to think he would favor a race over other races. Why don't you look at every other team and actually compare the number of latin players. Did you know that 32% of major league rosters consisted of Latino players and nearly 50% thats right nearly 50% of minor league rosters had Latin players. On the Mets 25 man roster 20 of the players were acquired by Omar and of the 20 only 9 of them were Latin players.

Why would we go after Jason Bay?? I thought the Mets needed pitching?? What happened to all these great superstar outfielders we got in Gomez and Milledge? Tyler you dont know what side is up...

Well, it your going to trade the "great superstar" outfielder we have for pitching, wouldn't we need another outfielder. The Mets should try to go after Tom Gorzelanny or Ian Snell and try to get Jason Bay. You can either ship out Miledge/Gomez and Pelfrey/Humber for Gorzelanny/Gorzelanny and Bay. You can move Alou (if resigned) to right field and put Jason Bay in left field. Moises Alou has played a total of 1908 games in the outfield. He has played a total of 477 games in right field. In '06 he played a total of 81 games in right field. Why not put him back in right field?

Hey Metsfan, I'm allowed anywhere I want. If I want to read about the pathetic Mets, I will. You do not patton this site so you and all of the other stuck up Met fans get a life. The Mets suck, they always will suck and the Dodgers will be the WS champs next season! You can take that to the bank!

If were the one's with no life, why are you on this website.

i think someone should archive this blog so that when the dodgers have a sub .500 record next year we can relive this moment

Question: what team in their right mind would trade a Number One starter for Milledge, Gomez or Martinez? Or all three? Totally unknown commodities.

Which teams would trade their ace for Lastings Milledge, Carlos Gomez, and Fernando Martinez:

John Smoltz(Braves)- Yes
Dontrelle Willis(Marlins)-Yes
Cole Hamels- No
John Patterson(Nationals)- Yes
Carlos Zambrano(Cubs)- No
Aaron Harang(Reds)- No
Roy Oswalt(Astros)- No
Ben Sheets(Brewers)- Yes
Tom Gorzelanny(Pirates)- Yes
Chris Carpenter(Cardinals)- No
Brandon Webb(Diamondback)- No
Jeff Francis(Rockies)- Yes
Brad Penny(Dodgers)- No
Jake Peavy(Padres)- Yes
Barry Zito(Giants)- Yes (Mets would trade because Omar Minaya dosen't believe in 7 year deals)
Eric Bedard(Orioles)- No
Josh Beckett(Red Soxs)- No
Chein-Ming Wang(Yankees)- No
Scott Kazmir(Devil Rays)- Yes
Roy Halladay(Blue Jays)- No
Mark Buehrle(White Soxs)- Yes
C.C. Sabathia(Indians)- No
Justin Verlander(Tigers)- No
Gil Meche(Royals)- Yes
Johan Santana(Twins)- 60/40 No
John Lackey(Angels)- No
Danny Haren(A's)- Yes
Felix Hernandez(Mariners)- No
Kevin Millwood(Rangers)- Yes

Looks like 13 out of the other 29 teams would probally trade their ace starters for Lastings Milledge, Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez.