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Alright,Alright, Alright.
I think im done steaming about the trade, and am looking at the good side.

This gives the mets the ability to get rid of estrada till...Dec 12 i believe?

and well. I respect Scheider as a catcher, and i think he'll be pretty good as our replacement. Especially, being a lefty.

Nice post Joe!
I too have calmed down slightly. Omar said Church will play everyday in right field but I just don't see that happening unless he really plays well. At best I think he splits time with Gomez/Chavez.
I am worried about the fact that bot of these guys came from last-placed teams. I know it takes more than 2 guys, but we now have 2 starters from a last place team starting for us.
If Omar can land a Haren or Blanton or Bedard - note none of those teams wanted Milledge - tha everything will be ok.

Nope, not buying it. This was an awful trade.

Good quote Popper at Bergen Times:

"If this is the best that the Mets could get for him, I've got an idea. Hold onto him. Put him in rightfield and let him hit -- and then tell me you can't get something when he hits .290 with 20 homers....

"Well, Ryan Church hit 15 homers last year," just remember, when he was 22 he was in A-ball and not putting up numbers much better than what Milledge has done in the majors.
And here's the real downside. Now you don't have MIlledge to keep in right field if you want to deal Carlos Gomez - a player with much more buzz on the trade market. Now if Gomez does go in a deal - let's not forget the Mets still need a pitcher"

We now have to face him 19 times a year. Every year for the next five plus years. He's going to get 90 at bats against us next year. He only had 180 all 2007. And he did well when he wasn't being benched every other day for Green, like in July before Alou came back. Lots of clutch RBI's. He's a gamer. He will be missed. Trust me.

Schneider and Church are two 30-ish minor players on a laughably bad team.

Nope, no way to spin this one.

if we were gona trade LMIllz to the nats, at least have them throw in cordero or rauch. we nned pitching man

As much as this trade was a headscratcher for me, I don't believe Omar is even close to being done. I don't think it had anything to do with Lastings "hip hop persona" as some call it. The plan all along might have been just to get ANYTHING for Mota and not offer Estrada a contract.Sometimes it really stinks to be on the outside looking in! I hope Omar wows us with whatever comes up next...

Even I can't drink the Kool-Aid on this one. This was a bad trade, plain and simple. If Milledge's value was so low, why trade him at all? He's still 22/23, so give him a full season (which he's never gotten) and see what he can do before you decide to cut bait. This reeks of more of a response to the organization simply not liking Milledge, just like with LoDuca. And to trade him to a division rival, no less. Think Milledge isn't gonna relish getting to play the Mets 19 times?

Again, I'm not against trading Milledge, but I can't even fathom that we couldn't have gotten a pitcher in return. A slappy catcher and an OF who ranks 5th at best in the Mets depth chart is hardly enough in return.

Yup, Fred is exactly right.

All these people saying "Milledge wasn't that good." He's 22!

Why don't you look at some stats. Torii Hunter's first year for example, at 23 years old. He hit .250, with an OBP of .308, and a slugging percentage of .380 (!) ... within a few years he was getting MVP votes.

And he had 200 more at bats in his first year than Milledge did. And wasn't in the eighth hole batting before the pitcher, seeing junk while trying a little too hard to win the starting job over shawn green.

I just listened to Omar Minaya on WFAN (the interview is on the website) justifying this trade, and left it with a pretty strong impression that the guy really isn't that bright. He's pretty much just winging it.

He didn't even know how old Jose Reyes was.

I'm not saying that there shouldn't have been a better deal for Milledge. However, I don't understand the issue with trading him away. He was slowly becoming a poison in the clubhouse which as we have seen can ruin teams. He's young but to me he seems like an arrogant ass who thinks he's too good for everyone. Not sure he would respond to further training and advice from coaches and teammates. I for one am glad he's gone.

I think this deal may end up having both teams feel good about how the players fit into their plans over the next few seasons. Church seems like he has a solid bat and will have some decent numbers. No platoon just let him play everyday. He seems like he has been around for a while but really he does not have too many miles on him. You can see we improved the D with this trade, hopefully a hint that Omar is going to get the pitching we need! Even though i loved LoDuca, i think the change will be a positive one and like schneider taking over the pitch calls. I think we will feel better about this trade after we see the two out there wearing the mets uniform for a few months.

One Word Omar....
How could you???
Lasting Milledge is going to be a prodigy and already is one in the making...
ryan church is 29 years old thats 7 years older than milledge and milledge basically has all the same stats!! milledge is bound to get better and if it were me i would of traded gomez or gotay instead of milledge. We need pitching! maybe we could have gotten Chad Cordero from this trade Omar we need thinking!

My first reaction when I saw the trade was "You've got to be F@!#ing kidding me!" But now that I have had time to think about it, it makes some sense. Milledge, for all of his talent, didn't fit in with the image that the Mets want. Church and Schneider are more model citizens, so to speak. Schneider is a very good defensive catcher and will be a great right-left, offense-defense platoon partner with Ramon Castro. Estrada was used just to get rid of Mota and his contract. Watching Milledge in a Nats uniform will probably sting for a while, but there is no guarantee that he will succeed. Alex Escobar and Alex Ochoa were once highly regarded prospects as well in the Mets' system. This trade makes the Mets much better for 2008, when they need to go for a World Series title, with an aging Pedro, Delgado, Alou, and El Duque. The pieces are still in place for long term success as well, with Reyes, Wright, Maine, Perez, and Beltran. Having Milledge was not going to make or break the Mets playoff chances in 2008. By 2009 and 2010, Fernando Martinez and Carlos Gomez(barring a trade) will be along side Beltran in Citi Field. Someone had to go. Plus, from what I've been reading, Milledge wasn't that highly thought of by other organizations in regards to trades involving number one starters. Gomez is the crown jewel that other teams want. This Mets team seems to be trying to copy the '96-'00 Yankees in having good young players as the core, surrounding them with some aging veteran stars, and a bunch of character/role player types. Schneider and Church definitely fit into this mold. This definitely isn't as horrible as the Kazmir trade that everyone seems to be saying. The two guys that the Mets got are much more useable than Victor Zambrano ever was or would be. I'm willing to give this trade a chance and keep an open mind after giving it some more thought.

I didnt like the trade when I first heard it and I really feel the same way now. I like the Schneider pick up because it makes Estrada expendable so we can try to make a deal for a pitcher with him. but now the mets have four 4th outfielders with Gomez, Chavez, Marlon Anderson, and now Church. I only like half of this deal. I think that they could have gotten schneider and a pitcher or just a pitcher. Now gomez is going to have to be moved in order to get Haren. Now the Mets outfield looks slighly below average unless they make a free agent signing.

Gomez and Church are NOT 4th outfielders.

Gomez isn't a fourth outfielder. He's not a major league outfielder period. He needs another year (at least) in the minors. Anyone who understands the game of baseball and watched him last year knows that. It's testament to his potential that he held his own to some degree, but he was generally overmatched at the plate.

As far as Church is concerned, he might be a #3 outfielder. But he strikes out a lot, and should be good for a .270-280 BA with an OBP of .349 similar to last year, similar to Green. Pitchers won't be afraid to face him. And he is already in his prime. Milledge in his prime, four or five years from now, when he's 27... watch out. Basically the trade has high risk, and no reward, a text book bad trade, since Milledge playing everyday should do better than last year, a year when he was injured and batted eighth and was in and out of the lineup, and still hit as well as Church did.

Also, batting average with runners in scoring position and two out is an under-rated statistic, because pitchers really bear down in such situations, and concentrate on throwing their best stuff, so you get an idea of how good a hitter really is.

Milledge hit .400 in those situations, Church hit .230.

Maybe not statistically signficant, but telling nonetheless. In short, I only expect Milledge to get better. With Church, what you see is what you get. I would platoon him--he can't hit left-handed pitching. Check the stats.

Actually, Church is very similar to Green; both can't hit a lick against left handers. In 2007, Green's batting average was 20 points higher (.291) than Church's, and his on base percentage was a few points higher as well. His slugging was 20 pts lower. They had the same batting average with runners in scoring position, but Green's average with runners in scoring position and two out was .30 points higher.

Was this Omars first all-american trade with the Mets?

And people wonder why our farm system sucks. We rush players to the majors, then we trade our best young players inside our div. for a bad catcher and a bench player........sad.

there are rumors this is a precursor to another trade: though minnesota and oakland don't need pitchers, baltimore apparently could soon. hm...and we do need a pitcher, possibly take an expensive catcher off another team's hands? let's wait and see what happens after the general meetings before we bash omar for getting rid of lastings milledge. this is good in many ways: r/l platoon at cathcer, and two lefty bats. i trust omar.

Im sick of all these articles & posts on the internet trying to defend omar & justify this trade. ok we got a defensive catcher, you know how you make a poor defensive catcher better? bueller? bueller? anyone? how about getting a staff ace who isnt going to let runners on base? by trading milledge minaya has just weakened our position in the trade market. we now have less options because neither the orioles or a's find a trade that centers around gomez plus 2 of our pitchers suffice. however a package of gomez, milledge, pelfrey, & guerra might have been enough to sway baltimore is no where near an extension with bedard.imagin an 09 starting of of markakis in rf, gomez in cf milledge in lf sounds like something the o's might have gone for.

not good. Not good. The guy is 22, a top prospect, and I agree with Harenow. I mean hold on if you can't get anyone. But Omar wanted Milledge gone, I think because he is "bad boy" Not a good boy like church, and alou, and gomez. And also, Omar is rascist. All the african americans are gone.

all these trade rumors with pelfrey in the center scare me. he did not have the numbers but i like the way he looked at the end of the season. i worry about trading him and it looking like kazmir, not trading away lastings.