SaberMets.com: This And That

April 02, 2004

This And That

I was away on business in the sunshine state this past week, so I apologize (again) for the dearth of new material here. Much has happened since the last time I wrote, so I will try to touch upon many of those things today.

Mets acquire Gutierrez from Indians

Gutierrez is a lifetime .268 hitter, but his .340 OBP is pretty good. He doesn't have much power, doesn't steal many bases, and actually has a lower career slugging percentage than Joe McUseless, but he can play the whole infield, won't cost the Mets much money, and likely won't cost them much in talent. I've yet to see the official terms of the deal, but Cleveland is reportedly picking up most of his mind-boggling $4.6 million salary in 2004 plus his $750,000 buyout in 2005, in exchange for a PTBNL. Though we appear to be cornering the market on light-hitting, multi-purpose infielders, this appears to be a pretty decent move.

Mets send Perez to White Sox for Ginter

It's about friggin' time. Timo Perez was a great story in the 2000 NLCS, a not-so-great story in the 2000 World Series, and a nightmare since. He's not completely useless against righties, sporting a .745 OPS against them since 2001. Despite the small sample size of 119 ABs, Timo nevertheless makes Neifi look like Tony with an otherworldly .393 OPS against southpaws over the past three seasons.

Matt Ginter, a right-handed reliever, will likely be assigned to AAA Norfolk. He was originally drafted in the 1st round in 1999 by the White Sox as a starting pitcher, and has since been converted to relief, putting up less-than-stellar numbers in the big leagues and decent-if-not-spectacular numbers in the minors. He could be a serviceable middle-reliever, or the Mets could try converting him back to the rotation. In any event, this move frees up a spot on the 40-man roster, likely for Gutierrez.

Panel Discussion of the 2004 NY Mets at The Shea Hot Corner

I've really got to hand it to Norm at The Shea Hot Corner, he did a terrific job putting together the questions and participants (including yours truly) in this roundtable discussion of Mets v2004. Check out Part One, The Professionals Weigh In and Part II, Electric Blogaloo.

Indians: Bradley's days with team are numbered

Indians' outfielder and board game creator extraordinaire Milton Bradley is officially on the trading block, with the Mets a possible destination. Here's the rub: he's kind of a jerk. He smacks a bit of Carl Everett: worlds of talent, but can't help getting himself into trouble.

As much as characters like Bradley have haunted the Mets in the past, I can't help but endorse his acquisition. Much like in Pee-wee's Big Adventure, against better judgment, I can't help but run back into the fire, only to return with a handful of snakes. The utter pointlessness of that analogy notwithstanding, Bradley's bat would be a big help to the Mets. He posted a 151 OPS+ in 451 plate appearances in 2003 with Cleveland, which included 64 walks and 10 homeruns. Bradley is what the Mets thought they were getting when they traded for Matt Lawton a few years ago.

Mets cover bases, ask about Beltran

Oh god yes. It may have only been a routine inquiry, but the Mets actually contacted Kansas City about the availability, now or in the future, of outfielder/blogger idol Carlos Beltran. The talks were described as "subpreliminary", so don't get too excited.

That's it for today. With opening day fast approaching, expect the posting to pick up, as I will attempt to put new material here as often as every day. Cheers.

Eric | April 2, 2004 - 12:24 AM EST | TrackBack: 2
Category: Mets

Comments

I don't endorse your endorsement of Bradley, I'm afraid. He's a colossal jackass (think Vince Coleman, Bobby Bonilla, Karim Garcia rolled into one) and he's not going to make that much difference -- even with him, our chances of a .500 season are between slim and none. Why bring in someone so corrosive for a couple of extra wins -- in fourth place rather than fifth really such an exciting prospect?

Posted by: Infidel - April 2, 2004 at 04:33 PM EST

If the inherent cost of acquiring Milton Bradley is low enough (i.e. two middle level prospects), his salary makes him a low risk/high reward player. His salary is relatively cheap at $1.7 million, and if he doesn't pan out or is as troublesome in New York as he has been elsewhere, he can very easily be shipped out or cut loose. His upside is high and, again, if the compensation is low enough, it would be a good baseball move.

The fact that the Mets project to be a 4th or 5th place team doesn't mean they can't make moves to improve the ballclub. If the Mets were expected to give up even one A-list prospect I would balk; but the cost coupled with the minimal risk and the potential reward would swing such an acquisition in the Mets favor.

Posted by: Eric Simon - April 2, 2004 at 07:49 PM EST

Lets not forget that Bradley is three years away from free agency, so if a deal is made there is a VERY GOOD chance he'll be the RF of the next Mets' playoff team. As long as no blue chip prospects (Wright, Kazmir, Huber, maybe Peterson) are included, this deal is a must for the Mets.

Posted by: OFF - April 2, 2004 at 11:40 PM EST

I generally enjoy your comments. Unfortunately you are beginning to sound like the more typical (read: ignorant) Mets fan with sophomoric nicknames like "Joe McUseless" and your comments on Timo. The Mets are "cornering the market on light-hitting, multi-purpose infielders?" No. They are called "utility infielders", and most teams have at least one. I expect the folks who call in to Mike & The Mad Dog to foam at the mouth because the Mets' bench players put up stats like -- well, bench players. ("Hey, dis is Frank from Valley Stream. Why can't da Mets get dat Ichiro guy to be their lefthanded bat off the bench?") You should know better.

Posted by: Randy - April 3, 2004 at 12:10 AM EST