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At his blog for ESPN.com, Peter Gammons provides a listing of what the Mets should do this off-season.
Gammons believes the Mets should learn from their failure to maintain their seven-game lead down the stretch by looking at the their division foe to the south, the Phillies, writing…
“The Phillies are a player-driven team, the best kind of team, and tinkered only with the pitching staff. No one had to psycho-analyze the Phillies, because Jimmy Rollins and Aaron Rowand and Chase Utley come crashing to the park every day and grill it up. Do the Mets need more of that? Yes.”
Gammons even goes so far to suggest the Mets try and sign Rowand, who is a free-agent at the end of season, to play right field.
According to Gammons, Omar Minaya and Willie Randolph need to develop a “stronger partnership,” such as Indians GM Mark Shapiro and Manager Eric Wedge.
Gammons also believes the Mets should hire Rangers hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo, trade Lastings Milledge for a Joe Blanton-type pitcher, let Mike Pelfrey and Philip Humber develop, trade for C Ramon Hernandez, and, of course, stop worrying about the Yankees.
…i agree, for the most part, with gammons on all fronts, especially when it comes to the idea of acquiring a few ‘Eric Brynes-types,’ or as gammons puts it, “wall-crashing gamers”…
Over at his blog for WFAN, Eddie Coleman provides a solution for the Mets this off-season, as well, writing…
“Get Johan Santana.”
Coleman believes the Mets should do so by trading Pelfrey, Humber, Aaron Heilman and Milledge to the Twins for Santana.
…mighty high price to pay eddie c., mighty high…and to the twins, that might just be a starting point…my firm belief this off-season is that omar will attempt to deal one of each tandem of pelfrey/humber and milledge/Carlos Gomez for a starting pitcher…i wouldn’t be shocked to see all four get dealt, but that, of course, is pure speculation on my part…
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I like the idea of getting Rowand, Filthies are nuts if they let him go. Also agree with Eddie C, get Santana. The names mentioned are not out of line. Replace Milledge’s attitude with Rowand, got me interested…..Heck I want it all, it isn’t my money…
The organization’s “reasons” for the team’s late-season collapse — the inexperience of young players and the injury to El Duque — indicates that management doesn’t believe wholesale changes are necessary. But these reasons are really lame excuses. The real reason for the collapse is that the team wasn’t any good to begin with.
As Bill Parcells says, “You are what your record says you are.” And the Mets’ record says they were thoroughly mediocre. After all, they were under .500 for the last two-thirds of the season, under .500 at home for the season and not exactly dominant in their own division. That’s hardly the record of playoff-caliber team.
So Minaya better make the types of deals that these experts are suggesting during the off-season, or we’ll be in for more of the same next year.
Everyone speaks of trading Maine, but Maine could become the Maine man ! he reminds Mets fans as a young Nolan and Maybe Seaver guys who showed potential of being good 20 game winners for years to come but where traded to get a win now pitcher, and as much as Santana seems like a great ft I think we make a A-rod type of deal, less the attitude or the wanna be the politcal player, trying to be nice when all along your in it for the money and don’t know how to lead. I think with Santana you have a guy who cares about how he does but cares about his team as much and a “What can I do mentality” for the team. With Santana you can make him and Maine the future 1-2 for many years to come with Perez a solid 3rd starter who can get you a 15-20 wins with the right run support.
The nucleus could be names like, Maine,Santana,Perez on the staff and surround them with guy’s who throw hard and make pitches. and on the Offensive side names,such as Reyes,Wright,Beltran,Gotay,maybe even Gomez but I am sure we can spend a little money and smarts to make a few good deals. As much as Minaya has made some good moves he still hasn’t made THE move and Santana could be the begining of THE move.
And followed by a few other off season pick ups such as Dontrell,Rowand and I am certain there are other names. We have the money and some trading pieces we should have not only a contendar but a WINNER !
Mets Fan with pain in his heart and no tears left to cry. As my mother would say to me “did you cry because the Mets lost?”, and the answer is your damn right.
I’m not convinced the Twins will part with Johann in exchange for a grabbag of mediocre prospects. I think one name will be at the forefront of negotiations:
John Maine.
They’ll want Milledge and maybe Mulvey to round out the package. That’s a deal I’m just not ready to make, since Maine may be coming into his own right now. I’d rather go with an innings eater (Silva? Just don’t know enough about him, or one of the hotshot Japansese pitchers).
Nothing wrong with
Pedro
Maine
Perez
Silva/Pelrey
Innings Eater
I am on board with the idea of getting Rowand…I like the way he plays the game.
I love Eddie C but he’d make a lousy GM. Why trade all that when you can have Santana in ‘09 for just money? If he can’t be had at a reasonable cost, then just be patient and wait till he’s a free agent.
I agree, Santana isn’t the answer right now. The Mets can’t afford to give up Maine to get him for one year with the possiblity of not signing him. I would be more willing to pick up an innings eater like Silva, or maybe Bartolo Colón. If you are trading away Maine and the farm, go for someone like Bedard who is controllable past this year.
Lets repeat this again: When you make a trade of this magnitude you insist on a window of a couple of days where you can negogiate with the player. If you can sign him, you go forward with the trade. If you can’t the trade doesn’t go through.
So can we finally drop all of this “we’d only have Santana for one year”. We wouldn’t proceed unless he agreed with an extension.
Now, a more relevant question is “why would Santana sign an extension now?”
REASON ONE: He’s agent is Peter Greenberg (Not Scott Boras).
REASON TWO: The Mets would realize that if they attempted to make this trade, the word would leak out. IT would be a PR disaster to get to the altar with Santana and not be able to sign him. They have to be fully prepared to pay full price (if not overpay) for Santana’s services. This will be one outrageous contract whether its this year or next.
REASON THREE: Santana and Greenberg both recognize the reality that as a pitcher they’re one elbow injury away from getting nada in ‘08.
REASON FOUR: Santana has apparently (I’ll admit, I’m not certain) suggested a desire to play in NY. Going to the National League in a pitcher’s stadium in the Big Apple lays the groundwork for making Santana a baseball messiah.
So, forget about all this one-year rental stuff. Its irrelevant. The Mets are desperate for a number one starter and (arguably) the best one of his generation may be available at age 28.
My only question is will the Mets be willing to let go of Reyes for that opportunity (because they don’t have the desirable prospects of say, the Dodgers or Diamondbacks)? If they get an extension signed, the answer to this is GET IT DONE NOW!!!!!
where did all the “he wants to play in NY” talk originate, anyway? I know after they traded Castillo, he basically said he’s willing to leave; but was there an actual quote anywhere about NY or the NL, or was it just comentators conjecturing?
In the interest of full disclosure (and I don’t know, to be perfectly honest, whether this helps or hurts my case):
Apparently Peter Greenberg is ALSO Jose Reyes’ agent. Whether that has any impact on whether Santana ends up a Met or not, I’m not sure.
But I will throw this bit of conjecture out there:
If Reyes’ problem this year is that he was partying like a rock star, Greenberg would know it. He also would know that a wild young man with a predisposition to not take care of himself might not be able to handle New York all that well. If Reyes is to maximize his baseball value (and make the really big bucks after his currnet modest contract is done) it might be in his (and his agent’s) best interests to get him the heck out of New York.
I honestly don’t know. I admit it.
I don’t think your possibility of resigning is such a given. It could happen, and it could not. I wonder what happens with the Twins GM job in flux.
come on….Colon is garbage. pure garbage. but I would not be surprised to see omar go after him. maybe omar will get colon and livan, then we can really suck. but it is something that he would try to do. you cannot eat innings when you are giving up six runs, it is counterproductive. there has to be a balance. and i agree with the poster who says our prospects are just not that good. for santana, omar would have to give reyes. or beltran. but that would be too much.
Santana isnt the answer? Why is there a better pitcher in baseball? Come on get real. He would be the answer for any team. Please nobody get over excited about Maine’s last outing of the year. That will not be the norm. He is good but not that good so if the Twins insist on him you do it.
Good point , it makes no sense to trade fair value for a player AND also give him free agent money.
Guys, the real concerns heading into the offseason should be mostly within the pitching staff and bullpen. I really have no qualms with the offense we have already, hitting is an execution issue more than anything else. We have seen first hand what this offense is capable of when it is clicking on all cylinders. Rudy Jaramillo is about the best as they come though, if we are able to pry him away from Texas that would surely be a welcomed addition. I realize the concept that noone is getting any younger, but I am confident that consistency will return next season. You have to take into consideration the fact of how this offense could have been so sporadic all year long by feeling the need to score 10 runs a game to offset the deficiencies in the pitching department. Ask yourselves, where we would be right now with a few more well pitched ballgames? That, my friends, is the most important issue that needs to be addressed.
Pitching wins ballgames, folks. That’s the bottomline.
It’s also quite comical how fans’ posts I have seen lately on Metsblog are considering rather insignificant things so critically. I’ll tell ya this, to think that finding a new catcher to replace Paul LoDuca is going to be the difference-maker in bringing this ballclub to the next level, it’s simply laughable. We need to get on the same page here and solve the real problems.
Well said!
bring back LODUCA!
I agree with just about all of Gammon’s comments.
I’m afraid the cost of Santana is going to be too high. I like the idea of, finally, trading Heilman though.
You like the idea of trading our best relief pitcher? He gave up some HR’s early, but only one after July 1st. Granted, it is a pretty low bar, but nobody pitched more effectively out of the Met pen after the all star break than Heilman.
I do like the idea of Rowand. I doubt he’ll get “bored” in any game he ever plays, talented team or not.
…But he just had a career year with the bat. So he’s in for a BIG payday.
Not to mention he is more valuable to a team needing a CF and not a corner OF. For a Corner OF he has good numbers this year, for CF they are outstanding. I think the Mets will get outbid in both years and dollars with Rowand.
Exactly, the currents mets players are too soft compared to the phillies lineup and this will continue to be a problem if not addressed with bringing in some hard nosed players who won’t get bored……
I like Rowand too, but I’d be wary. I appreciate that he plays hard every day, but I’m pretty suspicious of his offense. Let someone else overpay him, we have enough production in the outfield (assuming Alou and Milledge).
Rowand is not as good as he was this year and even though I like him and what he brings EVERY day, he is still not worth the money that he’ll get after this past year. Ya think he’ll get more than Andruw after this past year?
Reyes for Santana then break the bank and sign A-Rod. Am I a good GM or what ? DO IT!
A-Rod will never win a ring. He will retire ringless. No matter how much he produces, he’s too much of a selfish player that demands star attention. The focus of any team he will be on will always be him. His salary alone will always be a drain on the coffers of any team not named the Yankees. So much so that it hurts their ability to get other key players. If I am wrong I will come back here and admit it all over the place. I will scream it. But I don’t think I will ever need to do it.
Beside, he’s not coming here. If he leaves the Yankees it’s to get out of NY and away from its fans. So why would he come to the Mets?
Give it up, Mets fans. Give it up.
Totally agree. ARod is cursed - he will never win a championship. Fact is every team he’s played for got better after he left. Best thing for Yankee haters is that ARod resigns with the skanks for some crazy amount of money. I’m not even sure the skanks will not feel the drain from this.
I never want to see him in a Mets uniform.
This is the most ridiculous statement I have ever read. People used to say the same thing about Peyton Manning, and he just won the Super Bowl.
If they Yankees had any pitching they would win the World Series this season… and if Torre pulled a LaRussa and trusted his young arms more they would win the World Series.
Also the “every team he played for got better” comment is ridiculous. Think Seattle wouldn’t like him? Texas really got a lot better, huh?
If it wasn’t for ARod the Yankees don’t even make the playoffs. They would have been so far out there would have been no way for them to make up the ground. He carried that team this season.
Honestly, this really ticks me off. Talking about curses and other BS that have nothing to do with anything.
You may be right about not many teams being able to afford him and sign other players, but teams like the Yanks, Mets, Cubs, Angels, Red Sox, and Dodgers certainly would be able to.
I may have to root for the Yankees just so people realize that curses, whammies, jinxes, and all of sorts of rubbish are meaningless BS that is put forth by the media for the gullible rabble to eat up.
The Red Sox, White Sox, Roy Williams, and Peyton Manning have all won titles recently. Tell me some more about curses.
And while you may have a point about ARod being selfish (his boyhood idol was Dan Marino, whose refusal to establish a running game probably cost him a chance to win some rings), this isn’t football or basketball (Patrick Ewing anyone?) where the selfishness of one player and his insisting on everything revolving around him can have a negative impact. He gets 4 atbats a game and a few chances in the fi