Kaz Matsui has value, as does Tom Glavine, Kaz Ishii, Doug Mientkiewicz, Mike Cameron and Braden Looper.  They will not bring back top prospects.  Instead, they will bring back clarity…

“I chose New York and I want to stay in New York,” Peter Abraham quotes Kaz Matsui as saying in a tremendous article from the Journal News.  “But there is a certain limit to a player’s feelings on this matter.”

Matsui is owed roughly $12 million between now and next season when his contract expires.  And though he has a clause allowing him to only be traded to the Dodgers, Angels and Mariners, according to Abraham, Matsui would waive this clause if given the chance to return to shortstop…

When asked about Matsui’s production, Abraham quotes Willie Randolph as saying, “We all have a job to do.  Just do it, that’s all.  It’s his second year with the ballclub… At some point it becomes a game of production.  I have to see that production.”

Kaz is not producing, though, particularly when he is sidelined with injuries, which have ranged from a stiff neck due to a bad night’s sleep and a scratched cornea from a contact lens.  He seems like a very humble, dedicated young man, who I am sure a guy like Randolph and Minaya hope to see excel…

However, the marriage between the Mets and Matsui is over.  A better investment than clinging to a sunk cost is often the mental-freedom that comes with admitting a mistake and moving forward.  It’s time to move on, regardless of the financial cost. 

By moving Matsui, Mientkiewicz, Ishii, Looper and avoiding Glavine’s option year for 2006, the Mets position themselves to remain on the plane they are this season, playing .500 baseball, all while allowing for a better vision towards next season…

This season will not be comprised with the departure of Matsui, Mientkiewicz, Ishii, Looper and Glavine, as they can all be comparably replaced from within the organization.  Trading Cameron, though, would have side-effects.  He is loved in the clubhouse, holds an infectious smile, is a friend to most everyone on the team and he reminds his teammates to have fun and to play hard.  Cameron should get moved, only after the market gets hot and the Mets are convinced they are out the race

Lastly, Mike Piazza must stay.  At this point, he’s worthless.  How many team’s are in need of a DH that will hit .250 and knock one home run every 100 at-bats.  Most teams have internal solutions significantly better than Piazza, so he will warrant nothing in return.  He’s more valuable to Mets in the form of an honorable farewell at the end of September…

“This winter we were able to acquire (Martinez and Beltran), but there’s a lot of work to be done here,” GM Omar Minaya told USA Today. “Don’t forget, it’s only June.”…

I would add: don’t forget it’s only year one of what was billed as a long-term plan, Omar.  Don’t lose sight of that, either…