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February 04, 2005

Beeeelllll-traaaaaaaaaannn

With the Mets currently projecting close to two million tickets sold by opening day, I thought I would point you all to this article by Aaron Gleeman back in May of 2004.

If you weren't already salivating at the thought of pitchers and catchers reporting in just under two weeks time, Aaron's breakdown of Carlos Beltran's consistent improvement in every important offensive measure should do the trick.

Eric | 02:10 PM EST | Comments: 0 | TrackBack: 0

January 29, 2005

Mientkiewicz or Lee

The biggest complaint about trading Ian "The Blade" Bladergroen for Doug Mientkiewicz is that the Mets could have just signed Travis Lee, who is probably about 90% the player that Mientkiewicz is. He's a little worse defensively and a little worse offensively, but not much of either.

Bladergroen only has one solid offensive season under his belt, but he was the Mets #4 prospect (according to BA), and could very well have been the first-baseman of the future. Do you know who isn't going to be the first-baseman of the future? Craig Brazell. He has no range at first base and he has terrible plate discipline (98 BB in 2498 minor league AB, which is borderline criminal). Brazell will be, at best, a power lefty bat off the bench, and maybe a solid third-string first-baseman. At worst, he's minor-league roster fodder, maybe a throw-in for a later trade.

Brazell is a poor-man's Randall Simon, which is very poor indeed. Bladergroen is not a surefire major-leaguer, but he's already a better prospect than Brazell ever was. One great season at A-ball doesn't make a great player, but considering the fact that the Mets could have signed Lee for a couple million bucks and no prospects, I can understand why some people are upset.

If you try to tell me that Lee is just as good as Minky, I won't buy it. Minky has a good eye at the plate (339 BB in 2056 career ABs), and is one of the few best defensive first-baseman in baseball. I would probably buy:

Lee + Blade > Minky

but I guess that ship has sailed anyhow. Minky and Andres Galarraga will make a very nice platoon pair at first base, as Minky will benefit from days off against tough lefties, and the Big Cat can still hack it against the southpaws.

In other news, it appears as if Tyler Yates is going to miss the whole season with a tear in his rotator cuff. My feeling was that he was going to surprise a lot of people with his work out of the bullpen in 2005, but I guess we'll have to wait until 2006 to see that. It looks like the Mets are probably going to carry six or seven relievers, and here are my picks for that crew:

Looper
DeJean
Strickland
Koo
Fortunato
Seo
Heredia

Of course, the Mets could do much better than Heredia. I would much rather see Blake McGinley or Heath Bell get a bullpen spot. Jae Seo and Matt Ginter is also a toss-up. Fortunato or Strickland could easily not make the list above, though Minaya had Strickland for a few weeks in Montreal before shipping him to the Mets a few years back, so hopefully he'll give him a shot.

Sammy Sosa appears to be on his way to the Orioles in exchange for Jerry Hairston Jr. and prospects. The Cubbies will also pick up something in the neighborhood of $10 million, which is a very nice neighborhood. I think Sosa will have a very nice year at Camden Yards. If healthy, I predict .270/.360/.550 with 40 homeruns.

Eric | 07:16 PM EST | Comments: 8 | TrackBack: 0

January 06, 2005

I'm Not Dead

With a little bit of luck we could know within a few days who Carlos Beltran will be playing for in 2005 and beyond. I'm feeling good about the Mets' chances, though I don't necessarily believe all of the reports indicating that the Yankees aren't even going to bid.

News that Beltran had already agreed to sign with the Mets was leaked to NYFS, but has thus far been refuted by everyone. Any chance it could become a self-fulfilling prophecy? I guess we'll know soon enough.

There is also some talk of the Mets going after Carlos Delgado even if they also sign Beltran. That would leave the Mets with a silly-good lineup from the top down, along the lines of:

SS Jose Reyes
3B David Wright
CF Carlos Beltran
1B Carlos Delgado
C Mike Piazza
LF Cliff Floyd
RF Mike Cameron
2B Kaz Matsui

It's a tough call as for who should bat eighth. I would consider batting Matsui 2nd, Wright 7th, and Cameron 8th.

Vance Wilson was traded to the Tigers, leaving Jason Phillips as the likely backup. If the Mets are smart they will leave it at that, since there is no significant reason to carry three backstops on the big league roster. Ramon Castro, who was signed to a minor league deal a few weeks ago, could battle for a backup spot, but will probably start the year at AAA Norfolk.

Keep your fingers crossed for Beltran (unless, of course, you don't want the Mets to sign him in the first place). I'll be back shortly with a look at the last time the Mets signed the best available free agent hitter.

Eric | 04:58 PM EST | Comments: 2 | TrackBack: 0

December 22, 2004

Wednesday Notes

Mets non-tender Orber Moreno: Boo! I liked Orber a lot. Wait a minute, what's this...

Mets bring back reliever Moreno: Hooray! The Mets just didn't want to go through the arbitration process with Orbie, but were smart enough to keep him around, signing him to a minor league deal. If he's healthy come Spring he should crack the Mets big league bullpen.

Dead Deal: Dodgers pull out of Unit trade: Ha-Ha!. Rumor has it that the D'Backs and Yankees are already busy trying to find another third team to be involved. If they can't, my guess is that the Yankees will just kick in however much money Arizona wants to cover Javy Vazquez' contract. The Boss needs this deal to go through, and he's not likely to let something silly like money stand in the way of landing Randy Johnson.

Wade Miller joins Red Sox staff: Doh! The Mets were mentioned as one of the teams that expressed interest in Miller, though I wish they had made more of a push for him. He will fit in nicely with the Sox. He has a career strikeouts-per-nine ratio of 7.72 and has never allowed more hits than innings pitched in any full season.

Mets to sign Galarraga: I wrote about the Big Cat last year in an entry entitled The Lost Art Of Platooning, in which I cited Galarraga as a very good right-handed platoon candidate. From 2001-2003, Galarraga hit .289/.356/.495 against left-handed pitching over 291 at-bats. I would certainly rather give someone younger a shot coming off the bench (Galarraga will be 44 in June), but Galarraga could be fairly productive if he is played in the right situations.

Moises Alou signs with Giants: The article is in Spanish, but you can tranlate it to English using Babel Fish. The translation isn't perfect, so you end up with beauties like:

The Dominican gardener Moisés Alou accepted a contract of two years and 13.6 million dollars to meet with his father Felipe in the Giants of San Francisco.

and

Alou will travel to Miami Monday to be put under the physical examination of rigor and later the Giants will present/display officially their new right gardener, added the source.

Eric | 05:52 PM EST | Comments: 4 | TrackBack: 1

December 17, 2004

You're Not Getting A Bum Off The Streets

Did anybody see the press conference yesterday? Would it have killed Willie Randolph to dress up for the event? He's there to celebrate one of the biggest free agent acquisitions in the history of the franchise and he shows up looking like he came straight from a sleepover at Lee Mazilli's house. Put on a suit you freakin' slob. Now slobs and good managers are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but show some class if you want to be taken seriously, Willie.

Of course, there's nothing like the Yankees and the Braves pissing on the Mets parade. The trade for RJ isn't a done deal, and I'm crossing all of my fingers and toes that it falls through because everyone wants the Yanks to kick in some extra cash. That or Johnson's arm falls off shortly after the deal is completed. I'll settle for anything at this point.

Pedro hasn't thrown a pitch for the Mets yet but I already like what I've seen from him. He's got a big set of grapes and he's not afraid to use them. He told reporters at his press conference that he won't put up with the type of crap that lesser beings might buckle at. I didn't hear the whole interview, but he was on Mike & The Mad Dog yesterday afternoon and didn't take their crap either. He knows that 95% of the media talk and write out of their ass and he's not going to get worked up over it.

I'm excited to think that the Mets might matter for the first time in a while. I'm excited at the prospect of the Mets actually being a team that other players, good players, want to be a part of. I'm still worried about shoulder injuries, about prime years, regression, and all of those other things that we should be worried about. What's going to happen next?

Eric | 12:25 AM EST | Comments: 8 | TrackBack: 1

December 10, 2004

Wintah Meetings

Okay, the Winter Meetings are upon us. What does everyone think the Mets will do in the next three days? I'm hoping it's sign Carlos Delgado and J.D. Drew and not Richie Sexson and Moises Alou, as rumors indicate.

Eric | 11:55 AM EST | Comments: 2 | TrackBack: 1

December 09, 2004

Same Old Story

The weblogs.us editor was down for a couple of days, so I couldn't rant about the Mets not offering arbitration to Al Leiter. Before I do, SaberMets had its 100,000th visitor the other day, and I wanted to thank everyone who has stopped by to read or contribute over the past 14+ months.

Back to Leiter.

Frankly I'm appalled that the Mets didn't offer Al Leiter arbitration when they knew he was on the verge of signing a deal with the Marlins. Maybe there was some fear that he would accept arbitration just to stick it to them for pulling their $4 million offer to him after he accepted it.

The likelihood of that had to be remote, though, so there's really no excuse for passing up the #16 pick in the draft and a supplemental first rounder. I guess the degree of risk depends upon who you ask. I don't think Al Leiter is the type to "stick it" to someone, particularly if he doesn't think it's a situation he wants to be in anyway. The Red Sox don't want Derek Lowe back but they offered him arbitration because they run their baseball operations intelligently. Sometimes (a lot of times) I just don't really think Omar Minaya has any clue what he's doing.

Taking a $6-$8 million dollar risk that Leiter would accept arbitration in the face of a more appealing opption (i.e. Florida or the Yankees) is something a big market club like the Mets can afford to do. If he accepts, so what, you overpay by a few million dollars to keep a good pitcher around for his last season and then usher him into the announcing booth. If he declines, you rake in the draft picks. Even with big money and his precious autonomy Minaya is still running the Mets like a small-market club and it's frustrating to watch.

You really have to consider the likelihood of Leiter actually returning to the Mets. Considering the way the Mets pulled their offer to him and how close he was to signing with the Marlins, there was a 25% chance of him coming back, if that. The 16th pick in the draft is something worth taking a bit of a risk to acquire. Scott Kazmir was drafted at #15. Stephen Drew was taken at #15 this past year.

The worst case scenario is that Leiter accepts arbitration, and even then the Mets financial resources are such that they should still be able to pursue any and all free agents they see fit to extend offers to. Mets.tv will launch in 2006, so the Mets have money to burn, particularly if that money (again, in the worst case scenario), comes off the books after 2005.

Eric | 02:46 PM EST | Comments: 13 | TrackBack: 0

November 22, 2004

Who Catches If Piazza Leaves?

Speculation is running rampant that Mike Piazza may not be the opening day catcher for the Mets in 2005, with rumors having him headed to Anaheim, Los Angeles, or anyplace else sportswriters think would look nice under their byline. If Piazza goes, who does the majority of the catching for the Mets next season? Unless the Mets get someone back in a trade (Jason Kendall) or do something silly like sign Jason Varitek as a free agent, it will be either Jason Phillips or Vance Wilson.

Ed Tsunoda of NYFS and his new blog The Eds-Op Page thinks that it should be Wilson. I'm not so sure.

Vance Wilson is a nice catcher. He has historically been a terrific throwing catcher, nabbing 49% and 45% in 2002 and 2003, respectively. He tailed off a bit last year, catching only 34% of would-be base-stealers in 2004. He also had his best offensive season by far last year, with a very respectable (for a catcher) .274/.335/.427 line. His previous best season was 2002 when he hit .245/.301/.380, which was pretty shabby, but still better than any season Mike Matheny has ever put up, OPS-wise. He also throws better than Matheny. Unforunately, there are no good metrics for "blocking the plate" or "calling a good game", which I'm told Matheny is very good at.

If you told me Vance Wilson would hit for a .762 OPS while nailing 40% of base-stealers, I would pay him a million bucks and stick him in the 8-hole. I'm fairly sure we can't expect so much of him, though. He has never had more than 268 at-bats in a season, and I wonder whether he could catch 130 games and not wear down entirely. We saw it a bit in 2003 when Piazza was out for much of the year with that groin injury. After hitting .283/.333/.433 in the first half, Wilson hit an incomprehensible .148/.198/.235 after the All-Star break. Go back and read that line again. We're only talking about 81 at-bats, but that is still a miserable stretch.

Jason Phillips, while not as accomplished a defensive catcher as Wilson, has been a much more prolific offensive player, his dreadful 2004 season notwithstanding. Many people lost patience with Phillips this year, and you can count me among them. But he was terrific in 2003, hitting .298/.373/.442, and was a very successful hitter in the minor leagues.

JASON PHILLIPS MINOR LEAGUE BATTING

              AB  BB   SO   AVG   OBP   SLG
2000 A/AA    395  30   28  .304  .353  .413
2001 AA/AAA  383  38   33  .295  .359  .457
2002 AAA     323  24   29  .282  .327  .477
2003 AAA      78  11    9  .346  .435  .564

Phillips has shown a good eye at the plate in the past, drawing a walk approximately every 10 at-bats. I am confident that Phillips can regain his swing. Jeromy Burnitz' 2003 season was eerily similar to Phillips' 2004, at least in terms of their visible approach at the plate. Burnitz hit .215/.311/.365 in 2002 and hit .274/.344/.581 (for the Mets) in 2003. This proves nothing, of course, as to what Phillips can be expected to do next year.

Based on their batting history, this job should be Phillips' to lose next year, in the event that Mike Piazza is not with the team. Personally, I think the Mets would probably be better off with Piazza catching for them next year. If that doesn't happen, Phillips' superior offensive production is preferable to Wilson's throwing prowess, and Wilson will likely be relegated to backup duty once again.

Eric | 08:00 AM EST | Comments: 9 | TrackBack: 1

November 15, 2004

The State Of The Mets Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of the State of the Mets. You can check out Part 1 here.

Last time we took a look at the events that led the Mets to where they are today. Now, you might be wondering, where do they go from here? Despite three mostly miserable seasons in the last three tries, there is plenty to be positive about in Metland.

For starters, the Mets have David Wright and Jose Reyes, for the time being at least. Until Omar Minaya does something rash like trade Reyes for Alfonso Soriano, I am going to assume that Reyes will be in the Mets plans for the foreseeable future. Wright, whom I sponsor at baseball-reference.com, is a stud. I'm not going to waste too much time fawning over him right now, as there will be plenty of time for that in the coming years.

Reyes, for all of his power/discipline shortcomings, is a very good baseball player. His range and throwing arm in the field, now back in its rightful place at shortstop, is as good as anyone in the league. He has excellent basestealing instincts, having swiped 32/37 (86%) in his career to this point. Obviously, injuries have been his biggest problem thus far. In his year-plus in the big leagues, he has only accrued 494 at-bats; not even a full season. If (the big one) he can stay healthy, his approach at the plate will improve, his batting average will improve, and his discipline will improve. He will never walk 100 times in a season as Rickey Henderson once did, but I think he's definitely capable of .320/.370/.480, with plenty of doubles, a dozen or so homers, and great stolen base numbers.

After Wright and Reyes, you also have Kaz Matsui, who will be much better in 2005 than he was in 2004. I am confident that he will adapt nicely to second base and will improve upon what was an underrated offensive season. He is signed through 2006, and should be a valuable player for the Mets for at least the next two seasons (if not longer).

At first base, the Mets have nothing. Craig Brazell is not a long-term solution at any position, though I like his pop off the bench. The Mets will have to find something to do here.

The outfield is not so good, either, save Mike Cameron. Cameron, despite overrunning several balls and losing one or two in the sun, was great in centerfield last season. His average was not so good (.231), but he drew a good number of walks (.102 BB/PA) and his SLG was very good for a centerfielder (.479, good for 4th in the NL).

Cliff Floyd will only be around as long as the Mets can't find someone to take him. He is a terrible fielder in left, and I'm not convinced he would be any better at first base as some have suggested. His lengthy injury history has robbed him of whatever range he might have had at one point, and his inability to hit left-handed pitching now has made him a liability at the plate except in a strict platoon with a righty.

Richard Hidalgo probably won't be the Mets starting rightfielder in 2005. It's been said a hundred times before, but when he's hot he can carry a team and when he's cold he sucks llama nuts. Okay, so perhaps it isn't always phrased that way, but I digress. His defense is very good, I just think the Mets soured too much on his lowly lows and have no intention of bringing him back unless he becomes very affordable (say in the $3-4 million range).

The starting rotation is actually in decent shape. Not great shape, but decent. At press time, Al Leiter's option had already been declined, with the Mets paying a $2 million buyout instead of the $10 million for 2005. Leiter is now a free agent, and part of me hopes he signs elsewhere (the part of me that wants the Mets to have a good team next year). I am a big Al Leiter fan, both as a player and as a person, but his best days are behind him. Sure, he was 10th in the NL in ERA in 2004. He was also last in the league in P/PA (pitcher per plate appearance), P/IP (pitches per inning pitches), and last in DIPS% (a stat that compares a pitcher's expected runs allowed to his actual runs allowed; Leiter allowed far fewer runs than he was expected to, which is typically a product of good defense and a lot of luck). The bottom line is that there are about fifty pitchers out there that I would rather have on my staff than Al Leiter, and a lot of those are available on the free agent market.

Tom Glavine, well, is better than Al Leiter. If the Mets get Tom Glavine pre-All Star Break 2004 next season, they will be very happy (as will I). Glav-o had a 2.66 ERA before the break compared to 5.06 after the break. His BB/9, HR/9, and H/9 all went up. Those first two are his fault. The last one may or may not be. The higher walk count indicates that his location was spotty in the second half, which means he might have been leaving more balls up in the zone, or may have been grooving more pitches in an attempt to get ahead in the count (or catch up, since he was behind in the count a lot). If Glavine stays healthy this season, he should pick up 200 IP, which will guarantee his option for 2006. If the Mets could find someone to take him, great. Not likely, though.

Steve Trachsel is Steve Trachsel. He's not fancy, he's not sexy, he's not really that good, but he's an adequate #4 or #5 starter. Unfortunately for the Mets, Trachsel has been their #3 starter for a few years now. I would trade him if I could. His $5-$7 million could be better spent almost anywhere.

Personally, if Victor Zambrano can stay healthy, I think he will have an outstanding year. I think his strikeout rates will stay high, I think he will walk few batters and hit fewer batters, and I think he will work out nicely for the Mets. I still wasn't worth Scott Kazmir, but I think he will surprise some people.

I think the Mets will probably resign Kris Benson, and I like the fact that Omar Minaya is playing hardball with him. The Mets have an offer on the table to him, and are waiting for a proposal from his camp. I don't think the Mets will go much higher than 3 yrs/$23 million, perhaps with an option for a fourth year. Minaya knows that the free agent pitching pool is incredibly deep, at least in quantity. He is the 14th highest rated free agent pitcher according to ESPN.com, and he probably won't get $7 million a year from anyone else.

I'll get into the bullpen and the bench another day, mainly because I think there could be a lot of changes there. Braden Looper and, god help us Mike Stanton will be back, but we could see a bunch of youngsters get a shot in the pen (note to management: Free Blake McGinley). That's all for now. I'll be back later to touch on some of the crazy rumors floating around, and how they might work out for the Mets if they actually happen.

Eric | 10:46 PM EST | Comments: 20 | TrackBack: 0

November 08, 2004

The State Of The Mets Part 1

With Baseball's Winter Meetings upon us and a new General Manager and Field Manager already in the fold, I find that now is as good a time as any to take a step back and reflect on the current state of the New York Mets.

The Mets are coming off of their third consecutive terrible season, the most recent of which found them in fourth (FOURTH!) place in their division after two straight last-place finishes. In one of those seasons (2003), Ty Wigginton led the team in OPS with .714 (among those who qualified for the batting title; Cliff Floyd had an OPS of .896 in only 365 at-bats). .714! Needless to say, things have been pretty bleak.

That's not to say that there haven't been flashes of hope. Jose Reyes has been exciting if not overwhelmingly productive when he hasn't been riddled with injuries. David Wright looked like the real deal in 2003, but then again Jason Phillips had a .373 OBP in 2003 (.298 in 2004). Unfortunately, those flashes of hope have been tempered by cavernous gorges of plight.

The Mets are on their third manager and general manager in the last three years, which echoes the overall instability of the franchise itself. That instability runs to the core, with owner Fred Wilpon and COO Jeff Wilpon coming under fire recently, having been pinned with much of the blame for the oft-embarrassing play of the team. Mets fans have long blamed ownership for becoming too meddlesome in the baseball operations department while holding nothing resembling a baseball pedigree save Fred's relationship with pitching great Sandy Koufax.

The Wilpon's claim to have had no say in baseball matters, though the truth probably lies somewhere in between. A similar problem involving several Mets players has been bandied about, with Al Leiter, Tom Glavine, and John Franco said to have had too much influence on personnel decisions. The players claim otherwise, though Leiter has been known to oblige management when asked for his opinions on such matters. The truth is probably that none of these players were proactive about having their voices considered, but were more than willing to contribute when approached.

The aggregate of all of these issues is that the face of the Mets front office had become so muddied that it was very difficult to discern who was actually in charge. When Steve Phillips was fired in the Summer of 2003, Jim Duquette was promoted largely because the Wilpon's couldn't get someone they desired more. The Duke became the general manager, and "autonomy" became the newest buzzword surrounding the Mets. The question of whether The Duke actually had full autonomy was debated among Mets columnists, bloggers, and even casual fans. The consensus was that, no, Duquette most likely did not actually have full autonomy. He may have come up with plans and ideas for trades and signings, but the belief was that he had to bounce those ideas off of countless others, including the Wilpons, the SuperScouts, possibly even players.

Regardless of how wide the chasm was between perception and reality, the perception was that there was an internal power struggle, and the reality was that Jim Duquette was being demoted. Enter Omar Minaya, formerly Steve Phillips' assistant and most recently GM of the lame duck Montreal Expos. The company line was that Minaya, not Duquette, was the man Fred Wilpon wanted all along to steer his ship. Minaya's first job was to find a replacement for Art Howe, who struggled to connect with the New York media and his players, and eventually became a lame duck himself before being relieved of his duties as the 2004 season drew to a close.

Speculation ran rampant through Metland as everybody and his uncle had his own preference for the next Mets manager. Weeks of speculation reached an abrupt climax when Willie Randolph, long-considered to be the frontrunner for the job, was named the Mets newest manager. Now, Queens-native Omar Minaya and Brooklyn-native Willie Randolph were given the daunting task of turning the Mets into winners.

That brings us to the present. Where do the Mets go from here? I'll talk more about that tomorrow.

Eric | 12:25 AM EST | Comments: 8 | TrackBack: 0

October 12, 2004

Mets On The Move

According to Mets.com, the Mets have reached an agreement in principle with Time Warner Cable and Comcast to launch a new regional sports network in 2006 that will be the exclusive cable home of the New York Mets.

The Mets will constitute the bulk of the programming, as the network will obtain the rights to telecast up to 125 regular-season games in addition to preseason games and other Mets-related news and features. The network is expected to carry all Mets home games and select away games in high-definition TV (HDTV), as well as video-on-demand content. Additional professional and amateur sporting events will be carried on the network. An announcement as to what those events will be is expected at a later date.

It'll be nice to have a place to watch all of the Spring Training games, better pre-game and post-game coverage, and the Butch Huskey Metsography we've all been clamoring for.

Eric | 05:47 PM EST | Comments: 3 | TrackBack: 0

September 09, 2004

The Mets Win!

For the past eleven games, the Mets have put on a clinic on "Losing Baseball". Once could make that argument about the past three seasons, but even moreso recently. They finally won a game today, though let's hope that it's just a minor roadblock on the road to another Top-5 draft slot this offseason.

Really, the Mets need to just tank it at this point. I certainly don't endorse losing on purpose, but that essentially what the Mets have been doing of late. I'm not implying that they've quit outright, but it sure as hell seems that way some times (read: most times).

As it stands now, the Mets sport the fifth-worst record in the NL and the ninth-worst record overall, which means the Mets would pick 9th in next year's draft if the season ended today. (The leagues used to alternate draft picks, so the fifth-worst record in the NL would have automatically picked 10th. This year the draft format will change so that teams draft in reverse order of winning percentage, regardless of league). The good news is that five teams (the Expos, Brewers, Rockies, Devil Rays, and Blue Jays) are all within two-and-a-half games of the Mets, so the Mets could conceivably land the 4th pick (the D-Backs, Royals, and Mariners are all much worse, record-wise, than the Mets).

A high draft slot next year, coupled with this past draft's stockpile of young arms, will go a long way towards replenishing the Mets farm system, which was #10 (by Baseball America) at the start of the season.

So, for the last three weeks of the season, I look forward to seeing as much of David Wright hitting and the Mets losing as possible.

Eric | 04:56 PM EST | TrackBack: 1

August 20, 2004

Rocky Mountain High

I write to you today from Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the heart of the Rocky Mountains (whatever that means). I'm visiting my sister, who works for USA Hockey out here and whose boyfriend is a cameraman for the Rockies. As such, we were able to secure cheap (read: free) tickets to the Mets-Rockies game on Thursday afternoon. The scheduled starters were Al Leiter and Jeff Fassero, but thanks to Wednesday night's rainout, we were treated to relatively-new Met Kris Benson and former Met Shawn Estes.

I've seen the Mets enough times this season that I wasn't completely disapppointed by the lineup they trotted out there, but I was still a bit taken aback when I saw the following motley crew posted on the scoreboard before the game:

Gerald "Ice" Williams, LF
"Super" Joe McEwing, SS
Todd Zeile, 1B
Richard Hidalgo, RF
Mike Cameron, CF
David Wright, 3B
Vance Wilson, C
Danny Garcia, 2B
Kris Benson, P

Lineup holes notwithstanding, these Mets laid waste to the Rockies, 10-3, as Benson pitched respectably and Cameron and Hidalgo blasted homeruns. Cameron drove in four runs, but "Ice" Williams was the surprise of the game, going 3-for-4 with a triple and 2 walks. He's had only 36 at-bats for the Mets, but is currently hauling a .278/.381/.500 line. That's about all you can ask for a part-time player/injury call-up/spot starter.

The Mets went on to take the second game (which I didn't see) to sweep the double-header and take the series from the Rockies.

Eric | 02:23 PM EST | Comments: 2 | TrackBack: 2

July 27, 2004

Back In Business

Thanks to the hard work of JD and the guys at weblogs.us, we're back up and ready to go. I have been unable to post new entries for several weeks now, though I'll leave you to debate the actual downside of that.

Since we last spoke, the Mets have been mired in a frustrating tailspin, leaving them straddling the line between buyers and sellers. To be fair, they should probably be sellers at this point, and were merely straddling that line up until now. If you've been reading any of the terrific Mets blogs in the right column during my absence, you've undoubtedly seen mention of the Mets potential activity as the trade deadline nears (now four days away, on July 31st).

Even if the Mets resign themselves as sellers, the problem arises: What can they sell, and what could they reasonable expect in return. Jeremy at Jeremy Heit's Blog breaks it down for us, and the bottom line is that there isn't much to sell here.

The good young players are not going to be traded as the Mets build towards 2005-2006. The bad old players are lucky to even have Major League jobs (you know who you are), and no one in their right mind would want to trade for them. The rest of the "talent" on this team is either too expensive (Glavine), too fragile (Floyd, Piazza), too crummy (Phillips, bullpen), or just not really desirable (McEwing).

Hidalgo may have some trade value to a contender, but he's shown me enough to warrant a 2-3 year deal in the off-season, and I'd just assume hold onto him. Looper could bring back a B prospect; Ugeth Urbina was acquired last season for Adrian Gonzalez, and Urbina is no better (maybe worse) than Looper.

The ship is sinking fast, but there's still hope for 2005. Jose Reyes will be back at shortstop, with noodle-arm switching over to second base. David Wright will have a couple-hundred ML at-bats under his belt, and should be primed for a breakout season. Cameron, Floyd, and, with a little luck Hidalgo, will form a solid outfield. With some off-season work and agility conditioning, not to mention some training time with Mex Hernandez, Mike Piazza should be less of an embarrassment at first base. And, with a little forward-thinking, Justin Huber and his 400+ OBP could be behind the dish.

The pitching staff will need a lot of work, but with free-agents-to-be like Carl Pavano, Matt Clement, Kris Benson, and reclamation projects Derek Lowe and Kevin Millwood, there are certainly options for the rotation.

The Mets are back at the Big O tonight, and I hear Joe McEwing is the scheduled starter.

Eric | 06:11 PM EST | TrackBack: 1

June 19, 2004

M.I.A.

What's up everyone? It's been a little while since I last posted, but I just bought a new house and am in the process of making it move-in-able. For those of you who are homeowners, you know what I'm talking about. Between painting, trips to Home Depot, and putting together patio furniture, I've had nary a second to log in a post. Just a few thoughts on some recent Mets happenings to keep you going:

On the Mets acquisition of Richard Hidalgo from the Astros for David Weathers and Jeremy Griffiths: Regardless of which Hidalgo shows up for the Mets, this should be considered a good deal for us. Weathers had become a guaranteed earned-run-allowed of late, and was having a terrible time getting right-handed hitters out. Griffiths had a cup of coffee with the Mets in 2003 and was lousy. He had an ERA of 3.47 at AAA Norfolk before the trade, but sported a terrible 31/29 K/BB ratio. Hidalgo has had an up-and-down career, but is only 28, is a good defensive right-fielder, and should be an offensive upgrade over the Karim Garcia/Shane Spencer platoon.

On Mike Piazza being honored as the greatest homerun hitting catcher of all time: Very classy. This was very nicely done, as the world's greatest living catchers were all in attendance (Johnny Bench, Carlton Fisk, Yogi Berra, Gary "The Kid" Carter, "Pudge" Rodriguez, and Alan Trammell). Piazza was clearly very grateful and emotional, and the Mets crowd showed him their support, and showed why Piazza is and has been such an important part of this organization.

On David Wright: This guy is awesome. Even after going 0-3 with an HBP last night, Wright is hitting.412/.476/.706 in 12 AAA at-bats. He may be up at Shea before the year's out, especially with Todd Zeile struggling at the plate. Ty Wigginton, who is still hitting well, may slide over to third to accommodate...

Jose Reyes: The boy wonder is scheduled to make his return tonight at Shea against the Tigers, though I will believe it when I see it. Reyes struggled in his AA rehab assignment, but his success at the plate was of far less importance than his health, which appears to be fully restored. Reyes' mere presence in the lineup will provide a big boost, and here's hoping he picks up where he left off last season.

Avkash at the raindrops has been doing a great job keeping us posted on Mets prospects and draft picks, along with other Mets news. If he's not currently a daily stop on your blogroll, it's about time to make him one.

Hold down the fort for me, guys, I hope to be back in action by the middle of next week.

Eric | 10:57 AM EST | Comments: 3 | TrackBack: 1

April 26, 2004

The Mets Suck

That is all.

Eric | 12:44 PM EST | Comments: 14 | TrackBack: 0

April 06, 2004

Here We Go

Because Spring Training couldn't last forever, the Mets regular season opener is upon us. Tom Glavine goes to the mound for the second-consecutive opener, and my fear is that this season will begin -- and end -- in a similar fashion to last season. The worst part is that I feel much worse about the season now than I did when Spring Training began a couple of months ago.

Mets ownership has once again been guilty of overstepping their bounds, and it's really beginning to frighten me. Boss George across town oversteps his bounds, but in doing so he reels in Gary Sheffield or Jason Giambi. The Wilpon's stick their puss in the pot and come up with Scott Erickson. Jae Seo's once-bright future with the Mets has now been clouded by the Mets ineptitude, and I can't help feeling that they're going to bungle all of the things that seemed so promising back in February.

I'm happy to see Orber Moreno getting a shot in the bullpen. I'm happy to see Roger Cedeno get a fresh start somewhere else; a clubhouse favorite, Cedeno prohibited his family coming to Shea so as to not subject them to the maelstrom of disgust spewing forth from the Mets faithful. I'm happy to see Tyler Yates make the club, but not at the expense of Grant Roberts' return to the bullpen and Seo's return to the minor leagues.

I'm excited for opening day. The Mets are tied for first place, but those "meaningful" September ballgames seem so far away.

Eric | 12:18 AM EST | TrackBack: 1

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 | 12:24 AM EST | Comments: 4 | TrackBack: 2

March 18, 2004

Spring Has Sprung

I apologize for the lack of posts, for I am lazy and had nothing to write about.

As we approach the end of Spring Training and the beginning of a new season, it's good to reflect back upon the questions that this offseason hoped to answer for the 2004 Mets.

1. How can we get rid of this useful player who has put up terrific numbers in the minor leagues, can play a couple of infield positions at which offense is at a premium, will make the league minimum, and, at the very least, would be a valuable asset coming off the bench?

2. We have $1,000,000 and an unused roster spot just going to waste for the next two years. Surely we can find some retread who is completely useless with the stick but can play virtually any defensive position, albeit rather inadequately, can't we?

3. Our closer has clearly worn out his welcome, so it's time to find a suitable replacement. However, we know how fans are resistant to change, so let's make sure that the new closer shares the same propensity for blowing saves and, if possible, has worse stuff and a funny name.

4. Sign Karim Garcia and have him piss on the wall of a St. Lucie pizza shop.

All kidding aside, we are coming dangerously close to opening day, and the Mets are looking a bit wobbly. Nagging injuries are popping up left and right. Jose Reyes and Kaz Matsui, the dynamic new double-play combination, have yet to play in a real game together. Mike Cameron has bone spurs in his toe that will probably haunt him all season, a la Cliff Floyd in 2003. Mike Piazza tweaked something-or-other making a stretch at first base and hasn't played the position since.

Worst of all, James Baldwin is still in camp. Who knows why? I don't know. With only two weeks until the season starts, there are but a few roster spots up for grabs. Here is how I see the 25-manner shaking out.

C   Mike Piazza
1B   Jason Phillips
2B   Jose Reyes
3B   Ty Wigginton
SS   Kaz Matsui
LF   Cliff Floyd
CF   Mike Cameron
RF   Karim Garcia/Shane Spencer

That's nine thus far. These are your starters. If you don't know them already, don't bother, as any number of them could be missing from time to time thanks to a groin pull here and a cracked nail there.

C   Vance Wilson
IF   Joe McEwing
IF   Todd Zeile
OF   Roger Cedeno
OF   Timo Perez

Ugh, our bench sucks big time. This is almost as bad as last season when we had Jay Bell, Tony Clark, Joe McEwing, Timo Perez...ok, it was practically the same crappy bench, with Todd Zeile instead of Jay Bell and Shane Spencer instead of Tony Clark. John Franco better keep warm because he might be coming off the bench to hit in a tight game.

SP   Al Leiter
SP   Tom Glavine
SP   Steve Trachsel
SP   Jae Seo
SP   Grant Roberts

Those are my choices, with Aaron Heilman starting the season at AAA to get some work in. I'm quite afraid that the Mets will hand the fifth starter job to Scott Erickson and put Grant Roberts in the bullpen. Erickson has been throwing respectably in Spring Training, but I just can't see things working out for him.

RP   Braden Looper
RP   Mike Stanton
RP   David Weathers
RP   John Franco
RP   Tyler Yates
RP   Dan Wheeler OR Orber Moreno

Sadly, the relief corps probably won't shake out like this. Roberts will likely take one spot, Pedro Feliciano could occupy the other, and god only knows where Ricky Bottalico will end up. Either way, the bullpen will likely be so-so. Stanton and Franco are basically useless as pitchers, though Franco is turning into a very respectable bullpen coach. Weathers is quite decent, and any combination of Yates/Wheeler/Moreno/Roberts would be very effective. Looper is a question mark until he proves otherwise.

The starting lineup, when healthy, should be pretty strong. The starting rotation, when healthy, is decent. The bench, as mentioned before, is an abomination. The bullpen should be league average.

2004 Prediction: 82-80

I think that's a reasonable prediction, and would represent a 13 game improvement, which is significant. Not significant enough to get into the post-season, but enough to be hopeful about the prospects of 2005 and beyond. That is, so long as The Duke doesn't go and trade Scott Kazmir for Whiffy McSrikeout.

Eric | 10:32 PM EST | Comments: 6 | TrackBack: 1

February 06, 2004

Galante Likes Mets Chances

In his first column of this, his third season as an MLB.com contributor, Mets bench/infield coach Matt Galante gives his take on the Mets offseason moves, improvements he expects to see in the 2004 incarnation of the Amazins, and his belief that the Mets could be this year's Florida Marlins.

"We've improved greatly in the middle with the kid, Jose Reyes, at second base, Kaz Matsui at shortstop and Mike Cameron in center field. What we wanted to do first this winter was shore up the defense, and we did that."

Now Matt Galante is no expert (at least I don't think he is), but he's certainly towing the company line here. Everyone but my mother has written at one point this offseason that one of the Mets goals since 2003 came to a close was to shore up their defense up the middle (not to mention all over the rest of the field), and they've certainly done that. Mike Cameron is arguably the best defensive center fielder in baseball (some might say inarguably), and despite hitting poorly in his four seasons with the Mariners, he put up respectable OBP numbers, posting marks of .365, .353, .340, and .344 the past four seasons.

Jose Reyes should continue to prosper, and I am confident that he will not have any major hurdles in his efforts to transition from shortstop to second base. His hitting should show improvement, as should his plate discipline. As he grows and discovers the weight room (and creatine), his power numbers should escalate as well.

Kaz Matsui is something of an unknown quantity, though I don't expect him to have any problems playing defense and running the bases stateside. His offense is going to be the big question mark, but I am optimistic and generally excited to see how he will perform.

"As for the rest of the infield, I'm excited because Ty Wigginton is going to get better at third. He still hasn't reached his potential. His ability to play third base will only increase. With that and Joe McEwing as a backup, I'm real comfortable with the infield.

Todd [Zeile] is also a good alternative for a game here and there at third base and first base. He'll be able to give Wiggy a break because he was probably worn down by the end of last season."

I'm guessing that this wasn't tongue-in-cheek. To give him the benefit of the doubt, I think there is a pretty good chance that Wigginton will get better. He was no Eric Chavez with the glove, but he wasn't a complete disaster, considering his below-average athleticism and unfamiliarity with the position. He needs to improve his peripheral numbers, as he struck out 124 times last season while picking up only 46 walks. Those will hopefully get better, and I think Galante is right that Zeile will help to keep Wigginton fresh for the stretch run as the Mets settle into their role as spoilers for those with legitimate playoff aspirations.

"You know, you always get excited about spring. Every time you start a new season, there's always hope. We went into last season with that hope. You look at teams during the spring and how they play and you think a team doesn't have a chance and all of a sudden the Marlins win the World Series. In May, the Marlins were fighting with us for the bottom and we thought we were going to overtake them. All of a sudden, they win the Wild Card."

As the saying goes, "you never know". Well, I may not know, but I think I have a pretty good idea. The Mets are not an untalented team. They certainly have the ingredients to play some exciting games and start fights in the bullpen. We'll just have to see what happens.

Eric | 06:12 PM EST | TrackBack: 1

February 03, 2004

Mets Malcontents

As Jim Duquette puts the finishing touches on 2004's inevitable failure, Met fans are left to wonder, "Will there ever be a rainbow?". This article by Ed Tsunoda at NYFanSites.com sums it up:

Though the start of Spring Training is an arbitrary line in the sand, the Mets' have yet to convince their fans that this year will be much different than 2003.

There are two general schools of thought amongst Mets' fans. Those who believe the Mets are one big hitting right fielder and one top of the rotation pitcher away from being real wildcard contenders in 2004, and those who believe that nothing short of a full-on rebuilding program will return the Mets to postseason play.

The Mets, in an attempt to appease both, have accomplished neither.

Tsunoda really hits the nail on the head here. Seemingly, half of the fans want the Mets to go all-out, throwing large sums of money at Vlad Guerrero and others, hoping to build a contender from the outside-in. The other half would prefer the Mets lock all of their free-agent money away for a brighter day, and spend their time and resources developing prospects and younger players who could eventually form the nucleus of a Mets dynasty.

As Tsunoda points out, the Mets put one hand in the free agent bowl and one hand in the prospect bowl, mixed them all together, and ended up pissing everyone off. The people who wanted the Mets to spend this offseason suffered a huge letdown when Guerrero signed elsewhere, and were left holding their junk wondering how Mike Cameron and Todd Zeile are going to transform the Mets from unlovable losers into a team that you wouldn't be embarassed to tell people you root for.

Tsunoda goes on to say:

It seems the Mets have elected to make some minor changes in an effort to avoid losing 95 games again, and put off the major reconstruction project until the top kids in their system like David Wright, Scott Kazmir, Matt Peterson, and Justin Huber are ready to join Jose Reyes as the core of the new Mets. That's likely to mean another long summer for Mets' fans, half of whom would only have been satisfied by adding a superstar like Guerrero and a pitcher like Vazquez, the rest who wanted to see the Mets make a real run at rebuilding, and none of whom have gotten what they wanted.

I would argue that the Mets are in better shape now than they were a year ago, or even at the end of last season. Despite losing promising but unspectactular minor leaguers like Marco Scutaro, Matt Watson, and Lenny DiNardo, the Mets still have all of their top prospects (Wright, Kazmir, Peterson, Huber, Victor Diaz, Royce Ring, etc.), and have improved the on-field product at the Major League level. Cameron, Kaz Matsui, and a platoon of Shane Spencer and Karim Garcia represent moderate-if-not-significant upgrades at several positions, and six months of Jose Reyes is bound to be better than two.

Mets management is in the unenviable position of trying to build a franchise that will be competitive for a number of years while trying to keep a fleeting fan base interested in a sub-par ballclub. It is an impossibility for them to satisfy the entirety of their fan base because so many different baseball management theories are represented. Sabermetric bloggers have one theory (or more), while old-school hometowners have their own ideas.

Like others, I wish there were some things that the Mets did differently this offseason. Regardless, I am counting the days until pitchers and catchers report as I wait feverishly for Spring Training to begin. I miss baseball, and I miss Mets baseball most of all. Even on my bad days, I still look forward to watching my Mets play ball. They could win big or get blown out, and it doesn't matter all that much. A bad day with baseball beats most good days without baseball.

Eric | 12:12 AM EST | Comments: 4 | TrackBack: 20

October 03, 2003

What Is And What Will Never Be

I believe the Mets should arrest all hope of competing in 2004 and build towards competing in 2005+. However, since this is a blog, it would behoove me to at least entertain the possibility of the Mets making a Royals-esque push towards the 2004 postseason. With that in mind, I believe the Mets can significantly improve their team with the following moves:

Acquire Javier Vazquez, Livan Hernandez, and Orlando Cabrera from Les Expos. It's difficult to say what the Mets would have to pony up in return. Vasquez is obviously a stud, but will likely command something in the $9-$10mill range through arbitration. Cabrera made $3.3mill last year, and I believe is also arbo-eligible. Livan had his $6mill option for 2004 vested when he pitched 650 total innings the past three years AND 217 innings in 2003. So that's nigh $20mill the 'spo's would be able to unload. Provided nobody buys them, MLB would be more than happy to wave bye-bye to that chunk of payroll. Considering that hefty price tag the Mets would be assuming, I can't imagine they would have to give up much. Maybe Aaron Heilman and Grant Roberts.

Okay. We've just added a #1 started and a #3-or-4 starter. We can move Cabrera's gold glove over to 3B, and Wiggie can shift back to his "natural" position of 2B, where his power numbers won't look so underwhelming. Add to that a Piazza/Phillips platoon between 1B and C, and we have a pretty decent infield, defensively and offensively. Okay, the left side would be very good, and the right side not-so-good, defensively anyways. Offensively it would be quite good all-around.

Now, the outfield. Cliff Floyd is good. Pick up Reggie Sanders and his 913 OPS for $2mill. His OBP was only 345, but even if his SLG drops 100 points, he'd still be a huge upgrade over Cedeno/Timo/Gonzalez/Sack-O-Bones who played there this year. In center we have a couple of options. Mike Cameron is a free agent, but I'm not such a big fan. Particularly because he's not much with the stick, and will likely demand 2+ years, leaving us holding our junk when Carlos Beltran hits the free agent pool next year. A better bet would be another 1-year FA offer to someone like Kenny Lofton. He actually posted a respectable 801 OPS with 30 SB.

With the additions of Vazquez and Hernandez, we would be left with a surplus of starting pitching. One of Hernandez, Steve Trachsel, or Jae Seo could be dealt, or we could just hang on to them all and maybe move Seo to the pen for a while. Either way, our line-up and starting rotation shape up like this, with actual/projected salaries in parentheses ($1 = $1,000,000):

Lineup

SS - Jose Reyes (<$1)
3B - Orlando Cabrera ($3.5)
LF - Cliff Floyd ($6.5)
C - Mike Piazza ($15)
RF - Reggie Sanders ($2)
1B - Jason Phillips (<$1)
CF - Kenny Lofton ($1.5)
2B - Ty Wigginton (<$1)

Total salary: $30 million

Rotation

Javier Vazquez ($9.5)
Tom Glavine ($10.5)
Al Leiter ($8)
Livan Hernandez ($6)
Steve Trachsel/Jae Seo ($5)/(<$1)

Total salary: $39 million

Bullpen

David Weathers ($3.6)
Mike Stanton ($3)
Jason Anderson (<$1)
Dan Wheeler (<$1)
Prospects/Spare Parts ($2-$3)

Total salary: $10.6 million

Bench: Tony Clark, Matt Stairs, Johnny Non-Tender... ($3-$4)

Grand Total: $83.6 million

This scenario would also give us first crack at signing Vazquez long-term.

Eric | 04:10 PM EST | TrackBack: 0

September 29, 2003

Looking Forward

Okay, second (actually third) post of the day, because I have some ideas about what the Mets should do next year. This is going on the not-so-farfetched assumption that the Mets won't be contending for anything but fourth place next season. There are a few things the Mets can do this offseason and next season to dramatically improve their chances of competing in 2005 and beyond.

1) Make David Weathers the closer next year. I've heard the knocks: he's too old; he's not closer material; he's not any good at baseball. Weathers converted 7/9 save opportunities this season. Not too shabby. Give him the job from April-July, let him rack up 25-30 saves, and ship him off to a contender. Texas got Adrian Gonzalez for U³.

2) Find stopgap (or long-term impact) solutions for CF, RF, and 2B. I was on the fence about Vlad at first, and then all-of-a-sudden I wasn't anymore. The Mets should do anything within reason to secure Vlad long-term (5-6 years). There are so few impact players like Vlad -- franchise-altering players -- that I feel you need to go for them if/when they become available. The Mets missed out on A-Rod, and I still die a little bit every time I see him blast homer-after-homer for Texas. As long as I'm on the topic, why not go after A-Rod? Throw a package of prospects + Piazza at Tom Hicks. Start with Jose Reyes. I love the guy, but I would step over my own mother to land A-Rod. Reyes, Aaron Heilman, whoever they want. I'd also give my left nut for Manny Ramirez, P.H. (Professional Hitter). The guy can flat-out rake. There was a bit of whispering about M-Ram getting traded this offseason, and something about the Sox eating half of the $140-some-odd-million he has remaining. Probably unlikely, but I would love him on my team.

Some possibilities for 2B are:

Kaz Matsui - Of course it's difficult to project Japanese ballplayers, but Matsui posted an OPS of 1006 last year. with 46 2B, 36 HR, and 33 SB. He's going to be 28 in October, and won't cost the Mets a draft pick to sign.

Marco Scutaro - The guy had 13 BB in 74 AB with the big club this year after tearing up Norfolk something fierce: 311/401/520/921

Roberto Alomar - I would bring him back and demote him to A-ball St. Lucie. They won the league championship this year, and we all know Alomar tries his little heart out when he's playing for a contender.

Anybody but Luis Castillo - I would avoid this guy like the plague. Sure, his 381 OBP is nice, but that 397 SLG is the pits, and his SB% (21/40) is downright awful. 31 XBH all year is only going to get worse at Shea.

3) Fire Art Howe; hire someone who knows "baseball" and "baseball players". Hire Jim Duqette full-time OR someone similar or better (read: Paul DePodesta). I doubt anyone of great promise would have any desire to helm this train wreck, but we all have our wishlist.

Eric | 11:15 PM EST | TrackBack: 0

2003 Recap

Firstly, I would like to congratulate the entire Mets organization on a mostly-miserable season. I say mostly because there were a few bright spots.

1) Jose Reyes showed why scouts and Mets-Brass alike have been creaming themselves these past couple of seasons. We're not talking Pujolsian rookie stats here, but not too shabby for a teenager-turned-twenty-year-old:

avg: 307 obp: 334 slg: 434 ops: 769 sb: 13/16 2b: 12 3b: 4 hr: 5

Sure, the ISO is pretty poor (127) and he hasn't shown much plate discipline (13 bb / 274 ab), but he doesn't strike out that much (36 k), and he's still but a tot (allegedly turned 20 on 6/11/03).

2) Jason Phillips was a welcome surprise. Sure, he's no spring chicken (turned 27 on 9/27/03), but he tore up the International League this year to the tune of 346/435/564 before being recalled by the Metties for good in mid-May. He finished the season hitting just shy of 300 (299), his walk rate was passable (39/402), only k'd 50 times, and slugged a reasonable 443. Reasonable for a catcher that is...not so hot for 1B. Nonetheless, he played a more-than-adequate defensive first base, and should be a part of the Mets immediate-if-not-so-distant future.

3) The starting rotation isn't terrible. If you slide 1-2-3-4 up a spot to 2-3-4-5, it's not half-bad. Tom "Don't Call Me Mike" Glavine showed he's not ace-material; at least not for a now-floundering franchise. Al Leiter still looks like our ace, though he's a #2 at best. I agree with others who have said that he should have arrived at spring training 20 lbs. lighter (or Leiter), but he pitched pretty well when he wasn't fat and/or disabled. Glavine is a decent #3 when he isn't pitching against the Braves which, thanks to the atrocity heretofore-known-as the unbalanced schedule, will soon account for nigh 75% of the Mets schedule. Steve "On-The-Right" Trachsel has been more-than-respectable. Despite the fact that he pitches in 94% of the Mets games I attend, he's a dependable #4 and I'll be happy to have him back next year at 5mill. Jae Seo was pretty good too, and should be an adequate #5 for this rotation. His walk rate is terrific (46/188.1), though his k/9 rate could improve. There were rumblings before the season that his fastball was up to 94mph, but that might have been in Mo Vaughn's back pocket on the way to the pre-game buffet. A #1 horse like Javier Vasquez could really help this team over the hump...right into 4th place.

4) Robbie Alomar is gone. Let me say this unequivocably: I hate Roberto Alomar. The homo.

5) Art Howe has, at most, three years left as Mets manager. Why he has a hardon for busch-league retreads like Joe McEwing (lovingly referred to as McSuck by my fellow bloggers), Timo Perez, and Raul Gonzalez, I'll never know. What I do know is that he's a pretty lousy manager. It's amazing what studs like Jason Giambi, Mark Mulder, and Tim Hudson and a brilliant front office can do (Beane, DePodesta) for a manager's market value. The Mets need to pink-slip Art Howe and fast. Possible replacements:

Davey Johnson
John Gruden
Joe McEwing (anything to get him off the field)

That's it for now.

Eric | 05:58 PM EST | TrackBack: 173