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Hmmm....

We have 4 outfielders we want to play at the same time (Floyd, Camaron, Spencer, Garcia). Why don't we take the one that gets injured running (and is the weakest defensively) and move him to first. Nah...

I'm completely in favor of moving Floyd to first base, but he is apparently adamant about not playing there. Remember, he injured his wrist playing first for the Expos a number of years back when Todd Hundley ran into him.

Floyd is a pretty terrible fielder out there, posting a UZR of -18 runs from 2000-2003, fourth worst among left fielders (only Manny Ramirez and Gary Sheffield, both -24, and Daryle Ward, -36, have been worse). Regardless, it'll be nice to have his bat back in the middle of the lineup, and I much prefer Garcia or Spencer to Phillips in the lineup, at least with Phillips hitting the way he has thus far in 2004.

It seems that the presence of Piazza may have kept the Mets from seeking a long-term solution at 1B, leading to the current "who's on first" bit. Then again, when was the last time this organization sought a long-term solution anywhere?

An end in sight to the Reyes soap opera? Reportedly, the Asian guru was rejected due to confidentiality concerns. Is it possible that a security leak would expose potential misrepresentation of the original severity of the injury?

when was the last time this organization sought a long-term solution anywhere?

Mike Cameron, meet Thomas DiMaio. Tom, I'd like you to meet Mike Cameron, a/k/a a long-term fix to the festering sore that was center field for the Mets.

The Cameron signing was a good one, but at 31, he is more likely to decline during the term of his contract than improve. I would call it a medium-term solution. Its not exactly like installing Amos Otis at age 23. And even a blind nut can find a squirrel once in a while.

Even if Cameron mans CF position for 10 years, the point I make is that in Rebuilding Year 2, most of these players are in the decline phases of their careers.

I agree with that. I do think Cameron is a true solution to a problem, and he was by far the best option available to them for CF because they just didn't have an Amos Otis in their system to whom they could give the job and reap the rewards.

My hope, thin though it is, is that they are truly committed to a transition, but are trying to manage it gradually (letting the old guys' contracts run out) rather than through a purge (trading them away for whatever they can get and starting over). You could argue that the only trading piece of real value they have among the older guys is Trachsel. Piazza, Glavine, and Leiter are all pretty much untradeable.