OK guys so I know it has been a minute since my last post,let me just say your gripes were herd. On the last post we were talking about the snoozing Mets who at the time were sleeping at the wheel all while the competition was getting better. Yes it was a while back, since then the Mets had signed Jason Bay to get things started & things were beginning to happen for the Mets. With the signing of Bay the word on the streets was that Benjie Molina was up next to join the Metropolitans, at the time it sounded like a sure thing, Bay in LF, Molina behind the plate, it was better then nothing & it sounded like a good plan even though pitching was the area the Mets needed the most fixing. Yup things were beginning to happen in Queens & it was just a matter of time before Bengie Molina was to don the Mets jersey,. but then came the news out of no where that Carlos Beltran had a surprise surgery and just like that we were back to 2009.
It was a sign of bad things to come cause what followed next was pretty much nothing, after the signing of Bay what followed was Bengie Molina spurning the Mets to stay in SF for less money and less years, hmmm.... It didn't stop their as Joel Piniero would do the same and sign on with the Angels. The Mets who need pitching but who showed little interest in Piniero in the beginning were supposedly ready to make him a offer after seeing his asking price drop, but by then it was too late or was it more of a no thanks by Piniero?
It may have been a blessing in the skies for the Mets as I for one was not too high on the Dave Duncan pitching project, to me the guy would had been a bust in the big apple pressure of playing for the Mets instead of his safe nest he was use to in St. Louie. But the Mets need pitching and even a Joel Piniero seemed like a good idea when you look at the choices that were out there.
But after the Carlos Beltran fiasco, it seems to me like players are now thinking twice at the idea of coming to play in Queens. They see what happened to the Mets last year and they see more of it coming. Do you think Jason Bay is now having 2nd thoughts?
The only other move the Mets have made after signing Jason Bay was recently trading Brain Stroke in exchange for big time bust Gary Matthews JR. a move solely made because of what happened to Beltran. The Angels will be paying Matthews the bulk of his remaining contract as they just wanted to get ride of him, the Mets will pay him a couple of millions to have him back up Angel Pagan & Fernando Martinez who are injury prone players who also suffered the injury bug last year. The move makes sense, I'm just not too happy about losing Brain Strokes who showed me that he could be counted on as a reliable arm out of the bullpen with his 95 plus fastball. For now we will have to wait and see if this was a good idea.
With that said where do the Mets go now for pitching? If you look at the list of remaining arms what you see is a crapshoot of pitchers. What you see is a bunch of guys who are either looking to revive their careers & a few guys who teams are hoping that one of them can have a banner year.
Stuff wise Ben Sheets has the best stuff but the guy who did not pitch at all last year wants $10 million and he has a history of being injury prone, I think that at that price the Mets should leave Sheets for another team who has not had the injury bug like they do. Other then that it is guys like Chien Ming Wang who I wouldn't mind seeing the Mets taking a chance on, or maybe a Jon Garland, another guy I take a chance on just because he seems to stay healthy and can eat innings. After that it is guys like Erik Bedard the one time promising lefty who lately has put together a couple of down years & Jarrod Washburn. Those seem to be the front running choices who remain out there, so what the Mets do to address their pitching needs it won't be something to get Met fans all giddy unless there is some kind of trade that will catch us all by surprise. For now the Mets have big problems with Beltran who is to start the season in the DL, unfortunately that is not the only problem in Queens.
22 comments:
Word in the Daily News today is that the Mets are looking at John Smoltz. Thoughts?
Yea I herd that yesterday, I sure hope that this is not where we end up in the end with a 43yr old John Smoltz in the millde of the rotation. I'm sure this is just more jibberish from the press. My gut feeling is that they will get Jon Garland and that's all.
Well, it won't be Sheets. He just signed with Oakland for 1 year/10 million. So cross another name of that list. Looks like the Mets will have to look at the Wangs, Smoltz and Garlands of the world.
Well I knew it was not going to be Sheets, I saw him throwing last week while he was working out on TV for some teams and let me tell you he did not look good, the guy looked like he was holding back and not letting it all go, that's just my observation.
It wont be Smoltz either, I say it's going to be Garland & hopefully Wang.
Wow, u don't think Sheets looked good? That's not how he felt after he threw. The A's are not known for throwing money away so I say they saw something good.
You dont think he looked good? How much of him throwing did you watch? Don't get that, I mean why would teams be bidding on him if he didn't look good?
Sure he looked good, in spots maybe, all I'm saying he didn't looked good in the little time I saw him when they showed him on tv, He may turned out to be the goods but history has showed that lately he breaks down and for $10 dollars the Mets would not looked good taking him in and then wind up losing him to an injury late in the season, plus the guy did not even pitch last season. He's to much of a high risk for a team like the Mets, sure he is worth the risk if he can bring it like he can, but probably not for a team like the Mets.
To be honest I don't really see why a team like the A's took a chance on Sheets, I mean I don't think they are going to contend next season, at least I don't think so.
Danny I know what you mean about the A's not known for throwing money away, last season the A's had only 1 pitcher in the entire roster who they actually paid over a million dollars? and 19 of the 25 players on their roster made under a half of million dollars. It just doesn't make sense, I mean why didn't a real contending team take a chance on him? We will see.
Do they still have Billy Beane still running things?
I'm not sure....
Yes, they still have Beane running things out here. The move makes perfect sense, yes the salary is on the high side when you look at the A's payroll but its a 1 year deal where Sheets will be out to show everyone that he's back and that he's multi-year contract worthy. Also, playing in Oakland in a pitcher's park in a division that you could argue will be up for grabs is a good move. Now, lets say its July and Sheets is having a decent year but the A's aren't making much noise, don't you think he would make a very attractive rental? The A's would be able to flip him for more prospects to a contender. At that point who wouldn't make a move for him if he's pitching well and you don't have to worry about having to pay him after this season?
Also, you could cross off Garland off your wishlist, he's signing with San Diego for 1 year at 5.3 mil. Mets swing and miss again.
I told Ray the Mets would not be contender this yr. So if they are, it's a bonus. It's nothing personal, I just don't see how they could be competitive. I think you will see Atlanta in the running this yr. It's Cox last year and they made some good moves this offseason.
Good point Ray, I forgot that if Sheets is still pitching late in the season & the A's out of contention that they can always flip him over to a contender and get something for him.
WOW Garland to the Padres, I think the Mets have made up their minds that they are going to go with what they have, they just have not told the fanbase because they know Mets fans don’t want to here it.
These are the starting pitchers the Mets currently have on roster
1-Santana
2-Pelphey
3-Maine
4-Perez
5-Niese
6-Nieves
7-Figueroa
Well we will see Danny, I say if the Mets can stay healthy, and that is a big if, then they will be better then teams like the Braves & the Marlins in their divisions.
I disagree with you about Atlanta. I say the Mets are inferior to Atlanta.
You know another possibility to the Mets inactivity in the offseason is possibly because they realize that the 2010 free agent class is going to be great. Maybe they will be big spenders next off season.
Looks like Johnny Damon days as a Yank are officially over, Randy Winn just signed on with the Yankees. Should be a solid pick up.
I was going to write about Damon, the Yanks, and the Boras triangle, this is another reason why players sometimes should just step up and do things for themselves. Because of Boras this all went bad. Now Damon may have to play his last couple years probably for some weak team where the fanfare won't be as good & care as much. Too much pride can mess things up for you if you don’t know when to stop.
Like the Winn pick up by the Yankees. He'll be a solid 4th outfielder and off the bench player.
As for Damon, you really need to put the blame on him not Boras. People seem to forget that the agent works for the player, not the other way around. If Damon really wanted to play for the Yankees he would have told Boras to get it done and that would have been that but Damon must feel like he's worth more than what the Yankees or as it seems now pretty much every team thinks that he's worth. At the end of the day its up to the player to make the decision not the agent.
I guess your right, last blame does go to Damon, it just makes me wonder, ''what was he thinking then?
I wouldn't mind having Winn on the Mets, he is a solid player who is on a decline, but on a Yankee team I can see how he would fit the bill.
You know what, I was looking at his numbers and they are not bad numbers, obviously I 1st thought that Winn was on a decline, but not so, I don't see why Winn could not come close to putting up Johnny Damon numbers, plus he is still an upgrade defensively over Damon, & he seems to be a durable player evident by his 5 straight seasons with over 500 at bats.
From what I have seen, and what you have seen Ray since he's played in SF, from what I have seen, Winn is a total professional. I have to agree with you that right now, Winn is probably being looked at by the Yankees as a 4th OF, but I think if given the full time opportunity Winn would do just fine trying to replace Damon.
I have to give Cashman my stamp of approval on this one.
The only way the Mets are inferior to the Braves is if the Mets can't stay healthy. A healthy Mets team is clearly better on paper then the Braves, just look at it position by position.
I think Bobby Cox's is going to be disappointed.
I swear it's like Democrats and Republicans going after each other in this forum. You couldn't be more wrong on two fronts. I won't argue about Atlanta with you but I will argue that "position by position" stance you took. If "position by position" is what your sticking to, you know the "on paper argument," the Yanks would have been, let's see, eight time (consecutive) champs from 1998-2005. I'll leave that there, even if the Mets are healthy they do not have that type of firepower when you keep in mind where 81 of their games are played. Their pitching outside of Santana (who I can literally say is a gamble to stay healthy the ENTIRE season) is awful. There is no other word for it. Do me a favor and write this down in your Oct 2010 calendar, "Danny thought back in late Jan that the Mets would be AT BEST 5-9 games over .500. Get back to me at the end of the year.
My second argument is that as much as I love the Winn pickup you are smoking some of California's finest Mary Jane if you think that Winn can replace Damon offensively. Not even close. Those are two different minded offensive personalities. Damon is a much more powerful and intelligent hitter. No knock on Winn who is aware of his capabilities and limitations. Winn is not like Damon who for about 45 days last yr carried the team. He should have been an all star last yr. In terms of defense, he is an upgrade on arm only (a hefty upgrade). Damon is still faster than him.
Lastly, I think you are both wrong about Damon and where he's going. If he doesn't sign with a legit contender (because at this point money and championships are the only thing that make sense to him), he will retire.
Well the position by position stance is only a place to start when comparing both teams firepower, I know that on paper it don't mean anything.
Late in the season we will see who is better between the Mets & Braves, I mean after Derek Lowe who can you count on? Jair Jurrjens is a nice arm but so is Mike Pelphey, and offensively how long can Chipper carry this team? I mean he is still the main guy with Mccann as his robin side kick.
And on Winn, I am not comparing him to Damon who is clearly the better player, all I was saying is that Winn is solid & would do a good job for the Yankees trying to replace Damon, especially when you put him in that Yankee lineup. My argument was that the Yankees were probably looking at Winn, as Ray mentioned, as the 4th OF, and I thought that If given the chance to be the starter, that Winn would fill in nicely, & while not batting 2nd because I think Granderson will replace Damon’s spot in the order, that Winn would be perfect and would put up solid number hitting about 280 with about 60 RBI’S while batting 9th in the Yankee order.
When and where did I ever say that Damon is going to? I dont know about all that contender talk that you're bringing up because all the rumors are that he's talking to the Rays, Reds, Tigers and A's. Not exactly championship material there. Its become painfully obvious that he's out for one last big payday, not that there is anything wrong with that.
Nothing wrong with that at all but he passed up a big pay day by not taking an incentive based contract. If a team isn't going to sign u because of age and not because you lack performance then he should have told Boras to go after that type of contract. Now he might have to sign for a team that has a super outside chance to even make the playoffs. I don't personally think so. The 162 game grind and then possibly not have anything to show for it? I say he retires or signs a heavily incentive based contract with a contender. He might be looking for one last payday, but it won't be without the chance of it being a glorified payday. The only exception I can see to all this is taking a job in a warm place. But the contract would still be incentive based.
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