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At Rotoworld.com, Matthew Pouliot projects his hypothetical 2008 lineups for eight of the 16 National League teams.
For the Mets’ potential lineup, Pouliot predicts:
SS Jose Reyes
2B Luis Castillo
3B David Wright
CF Carlos Beltran
1B Carlos Delgado
LF Moises Alou
RF Kosuke Fukudome
C Ramon Hernandez
To read more about Pouliot’s predictions go to Rotoworld.com.
…let the guessing games begin…it’s going to be a long, rumor-filled winter…
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I like Fukudome as an option but instead of Alou I’d like to see Gomez or Milledge as the other corner OFer. The Mets need to get younger and Alou for 1/2 a year is not an answer.
I would really hope if they are going to make a change at catcher, that they would at least try to pry a young guy like Saltalamacchia or Shoppach. A trade can be made.
Fukudome is interesting, yet risky. I was actually talking about this guy yesterday with friends … wouldn’t mind seeing them get him to play right.
One guy I really want to see out of that lineup is Delgado. I hope they find a way to get him out of here, and upgrade somehow. I know that is asking for a lot…
no way in hell. no freakin way.
BRING BACK LODUCA!!!
I like LoDuca too … I just don’t think they have any intention of bringing him back.
what about torrealba? hes a FA.
i cant imagine the mets getting a top notch pitcher AND salt. we dont have anything like texieria to give up to get a young player like that.
Everyone would like a young catcher like Salty but I can see Texas trading him only if they have someone in the wings who is as good or better. Do they?
A Japanese player is always risky, especially in NY where the fans can be brutal and we’ve seen with Kaz that they can often thrive better in other places. But I would take that risk if there were no other options for a younger outfielder. I’m not worried about any surgery Fududome has had unless it’s serious. Beltran just had surgery and he should be back near 100%.
I know some of you are set on Alou but when he’s on the DL the rest of the lineup goes into this “big gun missing mode” and has all these excuses for not playing up to their level. I heard it often when they’d say after losses things like “Wait till we get Alou back.” They need to hustle with or without Alou.
Delgado is owed about $20 million next year (salary plus 2009 buyout) and so there is little chance they can move him unless they eat a big part of his salary. I can’t see them doing that. We are stuck with him. They better find another way to make the team more interested in playing baseball instead of being “bored” because they are oh-so talented.
On Salty … I know that they have him playing first base, and are confused as to what position to play him at in Texas. That indecisiveness tells me that he can be had in the right deal.
I really like the idea of Fukudome, just as long as his arm and defense are plus. I agree with you on Alou … he can’t be depended on. I am fine with bringing him back for a year but it has to be with the understanding that he will only serve as a part time player, while platooning with Gomez, Milledge or Endy … which ever of them are still here. That means they have to find offense somewhere else in the lineup.
Yeah I know, too bad about Delgado. There were 3 guys on this team whose comments totally baffled me. Glavine, Delgado and Wagner. Unfortunatley 2 of those 3 will still be here.
I just looked at Salty’s CS% and it’s awful. It’s in Piazza territory. Maybe that’s why Schuerholz traded him. He’s no dummy. So I take that back. I’m not sure Salty has adequate catching skills.
If Castro’s back isn’t too much of an issue, I’d like to see him come back. Maybe give him the bulk of the catching duties and then get a back up for him. Castro gets 3 days a week for example. Why not? He works well with the pitchers and has a great bat. The two best pitched games down the stretch were caught by Castro.
I don’t mind Alou coming back as long as they make it clear from the start that it’s only to platoon or as a bench player. They need to start finding out if Gomez or Milledge can be a long-term solution.
Ahh .. that makes sense why they are trying to move him to first then. Makes sense. I like Castro too.
And yeah … enough with depending on these veterans to play every single day. Give the kids the shot from the get go and let them either excel or fail.
“That indecisiveness tells me that he can be had in the right deal.”
That indecisiveness tells me that they’re not convinced he’s an everyday catcher.
Yeah, we kind of established that already, thanks.
yeah, I posted without reading down. my bad.
No prob.
I agree. Delgado just seems to drain the life out of the lineup. We’ll probably have to deal with it for one more year. Let’s just hope that he’ll finally learn after a long career to not swing at pitches in his goatee or ones that graze the back of his kneecap.
I agree. I think he’s a good guy but I didn’t appreciate his comments at the end of the season and he really seems to lack fire. Plus he doesn;t scare anybody anymore. He basically epitomizes whats wrong with this team. I would move him for prospects and try to sign Dunn for first base. He’s a low average hitter but he is scary in the middle of that lineup. Question is can he handle first base?
Fukudome had elbow surgery in August. I highly doubt the Mets will make a push for him with Milledge, Gomez, and Chavez all available to play right.
Man oh man, I can just hear the chants at Shea if they sign Fukudome and he does poorly. I’ll leave it to your imaginations….
have the Mets learned nothing from the Kaz Matsui debacle?
so that means that EVERY SINGLE JAPANESE PLAYER should not play here? come on. . .
No, but what are the odds of getting the next Hideki Matsui or the next Ichiro? Highly unlikely.
I just think you can’t compare the stats over there to over here. It’s a different game.
We don’t need an Ichiro or Hideki…We just need a corner outfielder who is good defensively and can get on base, I don’t think we need a guy in right who is going to carry the team.
What’s Adam Dunn’s status?
His status is: Not gonna play here
If we’re lucky, that is. . . .
he has a 13 million dollar club option i think, i really hope it isnt picked up bc i think he would fit well in the lineup as a true 4/5 hitter.
He’s better than Delgado. At least Dunn still hits 40 home runs and walks over 100 times. Delgado prefers not to walk. He likes swinging at pitches he can’t hit.
Yeah, Dunn’s a much better player than his average suggests. His OBP was down this year, but it’s still in the .360+ range. And I do like those forty homers, though I worry that he’d not hit as many playing 81 games at Shea as he would playing home games at Great American Ballpark.
That said, I think the Reds are going to pick up his option, and he is not going anywhere.
yea im just crossing my fingers they dont, a guy can dream right?….but as far as HR production i think theres one guy that moving to shea wouldnt have a negative affect on and its adam dunn. hes made a living of putting dents in that scoreboard in RF whenever the reds visit.
Agreed. He would be a good addition in a corner OF spot and would solidify the middle of the lineup. He is a better version of Delgado at this point in his career. He can also spell Delgado at first. I second Zeile’s motion. If they bring in Dunn, we won’t need to pay someone else to tear down the scoreboard in right. Dunn will do it for us.
the reds will pick up his 13m option because he is a bargain at that price. he is basically ryan howard with better defense, tho for a OF he is sub par, its more howard being that pathetic at the weakest fielding position.
i guess people have strike out phobia but i dont see what the problem is. he would probably get 15-20 a year, 4-7 years as a free agent.
Strike out phobia is cancelled out by his walks. If he never walked, then it would be a problem. But 100 walks per year would lead this team, and would offset a lot of his strikeouts.
unfortunately ken dynamo is right he is a bargain at 13 mill (short of being 7 HRs behind howard he essentially is ryan howard but by default better defensively), and the reds would in fact be stupid to not pick it up. but who knows. you know the FA market is bad when we’re talking about a guy with a club option, if he doesnt hit the market theres really nothing much out there.
I didn’t even realize Ramon Hernandez’ name in there. Do we really want him? The time to sign him was 3 years ago. What we really need is a good defensive catcher who can call a game. If he only hits .250, who cares.
I think you just described LoDuca
I guess, but Lo Duca isn’t very good at throwing out runners.
but he’s not terrible, either. I agree that offense from C is gravy, and if we could get a younger, cheaper guy who fits your description, I’m all for it. I like Castro there, and if he eventually is platooned with PLD, I don’t think it’s the worst thing in the world.
If you read the articles on Fukudome, it says that he has a laser arm and is fast.. 30 hr in Japan might not be 30 here but I will take 20 – 25 hr’s from my right fielder if he can play good D and add some more speed to our already fast lineup. He is only 30 or 31 so he is not old and the surgery he had was to remove bone fragments… nothing too serious
I don’t think it would even translate into that many home runs. I could see him hitting around 15 … but that’s fine if he’s playing good defense and hitting for a high average.
If this is the way they go, I definitely see Milledge getting traded for some help in another area.
Let’s not forget that Kaz Matsui was also a 30 hr hitter in Japan…
Lastings can put up 20 if you give him the everyday job. Plus he is young, and cheap.
Okay, so he’s Shinjo? Keep him away!
no thanks on anything japanese, we do this everytime we miss the boat with ichiro hideki and dice-k so we try to get other japanese guys (kaz, shinjo, komiyama) no thanks
Completely off the topic but has anyone gotten their refund for the playoff tickets? This is a joke that we haven’t gotten them yet.
The Wilpons need to stop making interest with our money and credit our accounts. The Phillies refunded my “play-in” tickets the following day.
Nope, not one red cent. Nothing yet.
nothin
Ramon hernandez. its like the delgado thing all over again. cant sign him but now we trade for him. i like him. good leadership, has worked with peterson in oakland. definitely an upgrade with the bat. playoff and world series experience.
and not bad defensively. Threw out 43% of the runners last year. His career avg is 31%
Dookie is a 25% guy and he’s declined every year since 2003.
But one thing: how are we getting him.
I really don’t want to see Ramon Hernandez here. There has got to be a better option.
I know I’m dreaming here, but isn’t Matt Holiday a free agent this summer?
He’s only had four seasons, so he’s got a couple of years til free ageency.
reyes ss
castillo 2b
wright 3b
dunn lf
beltran cf
delgado 1b
milledge rf
castro/torrealba c
How about this? Ramon Hernandez is garbage and has been bad ever since he signed with Baltimore. I wouldn’t be totally against bringing LoDuca back for one or two more years. He is the guts and grit on this team. Who else gets dirty? Did you see him find Reyes on the field on Saturday afternoon and tell him to keep his head in the game? The guy is a leader and has guts. If not, I think Jose Molina would be a good option. Here is what I would like to see as the lineup opening day:
SS – Reyes
C – LoDuca or 2B- Castillo
RF – Carl Crawford
3B – Wright
CF – Beltran
1B – Delgado
LF – Alou
RF – Milledge/Gomez/Chavez
C – Jose Molina or 2B – Castillo
*If LoDuca re-signs, I would like to see him in the 2 hole. You can’t have a guy that is not a threat at the plate. I like Castillo’s game, but it’s more suitable for the 8-hole (9 on Tony LaRussa’s team).
You might want to put someone in left.
P.S. I think we have no shot at landing Carl Crawford. It will take the farm to get him.
Ooops…I meant Gomez/Chavez/Alou in LF. You know Alou is missing games. You wouldn’t give up the farm for Carl Crawford?
Any idea how good this guy is?
I like Carl Crawford alot, but the Mets might need some of those prospects to address pitching needs. I would rather spend prospects on pitching than hitting. That is all. I just do not see Crawford going for less than Milledge, Pelfrey, and Humber.
LoDuca was no kind of threat at the plate at all this year, and a DP machine! Putting him in 2 next year would be…unwise.
I don’t want Castillo here. That experiment didn’t work too well did it.
Go after Orlando Hudson or Brian Roberts
so when do teams start 4 outfielders, with two guys in right?
I like the players in the lineup, except I would still resign Alou, this team has money they just need to spend it. I do not think Ramon Hernandez would be a bad addition behind the plate as long as we don’t have to give up the farm to get him. Alou, Milledge, Dunn, Chavez, Gomez, and Beltran patrolling the OF. Chavez or Gomez could serve as a late inning defensive replacement for Dunn and Alou.
They also say we will go after 2 japanese starting pitching. I TOTALLY DISAGREE and Kevin Gregg from the Marlins….yea..like they will just give him to us for nothing.
Rotoworld is nuts if they think the pitching doesn’t need much….Should be an interesting hot stove this winter.
and to think I count on them for my fantasy football advice
I honestly thought this Fukudome name was a joke…
Lots of inappropriate jokes are bound to happen
i looked at the scouting report for one of those japanese pitchers, it was talking about his splitter and forkball and 88-90 mph fastball…..PLEASE NO MORE FINESS PITCHERS!, that scouting report to me translated to “remeber komiyama? well here he is again”….they should hold a combine for pitchers theyre interested in with 1 workout, throw a fastball faster than 93 mph……obviously im joking but please no more finess pitchers.
Seriously, I would rather go with youth than Japanese pitchers. Enough is enough.
oh yea and theyre both 32, no thank you.
Am I the only one here who thinks Pelfrey can be a big time starter in the NL? Granted, this was a very tough year for him, but that can be attributed to being a rookie pitcher. Not everyone is Joba.
He has a mid 90’s fastball with nasty movement. If he can get another pitch in his arsenal and work on his command of the strike zone (just give Rick Peterson 5 minutes with him and Victor Zambrano), I think we have a potential 2-3 starter in 2 years.
I’d try to hold onto him unless he is in a package for Santana.
Pelfrey at the end of the season really showed glimpses of what he can become. He has a nasty sinking action on his fastballs, his sinker itself is nasty, and he has stopped trying overpower hitters, and started throwing where they can’t hit it. If he can keep that going consistently, we’ll have a power pitcher version of Tim Hudson.
The only other thing we need to deal with is getting him over that whole lockjaw thing. He looks mentally disabled on the mound.
With Humber, we shouldn’t trade him until we see how he does this year. No pitcher ever returns to form 1 year removed from Tommy John. Smoltz was an exception. It took Schilling 2 years. Usually in their 2nd year, the pitcher regains full strength and shows what he’s got. We need Humber to step up.
I’d rather a 6 man rotation this year to give Pedro and El Duque more days – and to keep Maine from burning out like he has the last two years.
Pedro
El Duque
Maine
Ollie
Pelfrey
Humber
I don’t think Maine will burn out again…each year has been a progression. I think next year, he’ll be a solid 200 inning guy, 3.5-ish era, 7ks per 9, less walks.
pelfrey and humber need to seriously work on the gas tank since humber is only 1 yr removed from TJ his endurance cant be expected to be high yet, and pelfrey now has a full season behind him he needs to work on endurane and hitting spots, he was too wild with his fastball. I still dont think we can rely on pelfrey to be the 5th starter just based on september go out and get starters if he can be the 5th starter move el duque to the bullpen.
When he actually throws it in the mid 90’s, he’s successful. That great start (1 hitter through 6) against the Braves, he was consistently hitting 96. Then his next few starts he was barely reaching 90. Always wondered if he just didn’t have his fastball or someone (jacket) told him to slow down and try to get groundballs.
I definitely think he grew a lot this year, and that he could be a solid # 2 guy if he can keep that sinker consistently down.
Pelfrey has a plus fastball, but his movement just flat out disappears at times. His secondary pitches still need work. A Plus fastball means nothing if you don’t have another pitch that will keep hitters guessing. That is what Pelfrey needs to work on with his slider and changeup.
I agree that the difference between bad pitchers and good pitchers is movement. Then, the difference between good pitchers and great pitchers is the ability to keep hitters off balance and guessing, combined with the movement and velocity. Pelfrey definitely needs another plus pitch or two, but for a young pitcher, a plus fastball is definitely a start. In that one-hitter thru 6 innings vs. the Braves, all he was throwing was that plus fastball and hard sinker.
This Kazmir thing will still always haunt us. Jim Duquette, if you’re out there and reading this…stay in Baltimore. We’ll give you Anderson Hernandez for Nick Markakis, Brian Roberts, and Erik Bedard. Bum!
I’m torn on Delgado coming back. As much as I hated watching him this year he may do well if those surgeries last year really did hinder his game. Not to mention, if he does come back I can see the media ripping him all the time, like asking Delgado if he was “bored” when he struck out with the bases loaded or made an error in the field. Omar is really high on him so I’m sure he’ll stay.
That said, if nothing else this team must fix pitching as their biggest priority. Pitching Pitching Pitching! Bring back the same bench with easley healthy and Conine long gone. Fix the Bullpen and Add to the starting pitching.
Anyone else think Maine can become an Ace-type pitcher next year?
I think Maine can if the Mets monitor his pitch count early and he works on some endurance training. The guy has exploded in a bad way the last two seasons. His ERA soared after the all-star break.
I just posted to this issue above, but I think Maine’s gonna be very solid next year. The past two years have been progressively stronger and longer, and while he blew up in the 2nd halves, they were longer than he’s ever been each time! 200IP, 3.5 era, 180 Ks
Why is everyone so down on Delgado? He had a horrible year which you can’t deny. I think his career numbers support the fact that he deserves another chance. I understand that he ducked out on media at times, but as a fan, do you really care about that stuff? Did you love him when he hit the 3 run homer against the Cards in Game 2 last year? Did you love him when he hit the homer in Game 1 of the NLDS last year to tie the game (a crucial one since we lost our top 2 pitchers a week before the playoffs)?
This is one of the guys I don’t have a problem with. I have more of a problem with Reyes than I do with him. Delgado is entitled to an off year.
…forgot to mention. Did you miss him when David Wright’s throw sailed wide of Jeff Conine’s reach when we blew that 3-run lead in the 9th in Florida? Delgado has made that play about 25 times this year and saved Wright the errors.
the thing about delgado, as mentioned by former batting coach rick down, is he is in decline and he knows it. he can make the adjustment and try to start hitting to the other field and be a better all around hitter, but we would get seriously diminished power numbers at first. he needs to change his approach, and that isnt a good thing for a 35 YO.
I agree to an extend. Yes he did have an off year. But for a good 3 months in 2006 he struggled very badly. And in 2007 even when he was hitting, he looked uncomfortable at the plate. I think he is on the downturn of his career. He couldn’t catch up to fastballs this season. It was really painful to watch.
He’s going to be 35 and he’s had way too many off-months here. He has no fire whatsoever. I understand your point though – maybe since he’s in his walk year he might come back big. But Reyes’ upside is no comparison to Delgado whose best years have passed him by.
I have two words wih regard to a Japanese right fielder for the Mets: TSUYOSHI SHINJO
I have two words with regards to a Japanese pitcher for the Mets: Soturo (sp?) Komiyama “The Japanese Greg Maddux”
would like to see them inquire about Miguel Tejada to play 2b. he obviously cannot play SS anymore, and he would be a welcomed #5 hitter.
what the fukodome is he thinking?????? that lineup would be as pitiful as this year’s!
Ramon Hernandez has a clause that prevents him from going to a NY team. He doesn’t want to be here or the Bronx. He’s not coming. He’s a bum anyway. Bring back Lo Duca. He wants to be back, knows everyone, and has passion unlike half the team.
Who in the world is Kosuke Fukudome?
http://www.armchairgm.com/index.php?title=Kosuke_Fukudome
“Fukudome has doubles-power and will likely put up a high OBP in the Majors, but won’t slug a lot of home runs.[12] Defensively, he’s best suited for right field, but could plug into center if need be.[13] Mike Plugh, of Baseball Prospectus, says that “Fukudome is tailor-made for the Major Leagues. [...] He has patience as well as power to the gaps, a recipe for success, especially if he chooses to play in a ballpark with a spacious outfield.” Plugh warns that Fukudome won’t hit more than 20 homers, “but 50 doubles is not out of the question[, and] when compared to his [Japanese] peers, [...] his habitual .400+ OBP.”[14]
One projection system estimates that a 2007 version of Fukudome would put up a .300/.375/.500 line in the Majors.[15] “
Haha that is the funniest lineup post ever.
So basically this genius thinks its the same bunch of unmotivated, old and crumbling guys….but then we stick an unprove Japanese nobody and weaker hitting catcher at the bottom.
Great plan! This way…we won’t even be able to choke away the divsion…because will be in 3rd place by September 2008.
You can’t bank on Alou too much. You need another slugger, and get Delgado out of the middle of the lineup. He stinks and kills every rally. He belongs in the 7 spot next year. Yes….bat him 7th. No higher. Delgado’s career is over.
HAHA, classic.
Whats sad about that is that it is an infinitely better name than corporate-crappola