This morning, Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog writes,
“Yep, the Mets are up to something, and close to making a deal… fingers crossed.”
I would certainly hope the Mets are up to something…
With Ben Sheets now being the best option left in free agency, everyone suddenly thinks they are Nostradamus and are predicting that he is the Mets’ top target and that they will be making a strong push to sign him. Really? Well, DUH!!!
As long as everyone’s making predictions, let me peer into my crystal ball and see what the immediate future might hold for the Mets.
Joe D’s Five Fearless Predictions
1. This one is not really a prediction, but merely just overstating what you already know. The Mets “will” sign Ben Sheets, not because they love him, but because at this point they need to sign another big name for PR’s sake, and they need a number two starter. As I said, Sheets is the most talented pitcher left at this point, and when he’s healthy he’s a top ten pitcher. Health is always a concern, but the Mets will have to roll the dice and hope for the best.
2. The Mets will sign a 4th outfielder type that might include either Rocco Baldelli, Endy Chavez or Eric Byrnes. With Angel Pagan pressed into starting duty, the Mets will make sure they don’t make the mistake of letting Fernando Martinez languish on the bench again.
3. The more I keep hearing Carlos Delgado to the Mets, the more I believe they will instead sign Ryan Garko to platoon with Daniel Murphy. Garko can really mash lefthanded pitching. Signing Delgado and Sheets and Smoltz (read below) would be taking on way too much risk.
4. The Mets will probably add John Smoltz because he makes sense. He is versatile enough to work out of the bullpen, and can quickly jump into the rotation if the need arises. He’s a bulldog, even at 42 years old.
5. For some strange reason the Mets don’t like Rod Barajas even though one look would suggest that he’d make a lot of sense for the Mets. Dan Warthen and Jerry Manuel are not impressed with Omir Santos and blamed him for some of the pitching problems last season. Omar knows this, so he may have to look at the other Molina brother, Jose, or make his peace with Yorvit Torrealba.
Bonus Prediction – The Sheets thing wasn’t all that fearless, so let me conclude with this. Despite everything you may have read on this site or elsewhere, the Mets will make the post season in 2010 and possibly even win the division. Remember that you read it here first.
