|
|
|
…well, here we go, folks…buckle up…
According to the Daily News, the Mets will meet with super-agent Scott Boras, who represents Alex Rodriguez, before the end of this week’s GM Meetings in Orlando.
In a recent report for SI.com, Jon Heyman leads a long column by writing…
“The Mets are rising from long-shot status in the Alex Rodriguez sweepstakes, and a lot of folks around baseball are saying they expect the team from Queens to make a significant run at the superstar free agent.”
According to Heyman, though Omar Minaya has yet to recommend signing Rodriguez to ownership, eventually he will, while using a ‘walkaway number,’ so to not get bogged down in a bidding war.
A high-ranking Mets executive, as quoted by Heyman…
“We’ve got to go for this guy.”
Heyman continues on to list nine reasons why a marriage between the Mets and Rodriguez will make perfect sense, such as, “The Mets already have done significant polling of fans to gauge their reaction to an A-Rod signing. They don’t do that just for kicks.”
According to a MetsBlog.com poll from last week, of more than 3,600 people, 46 percent of those polled wanted Rodriguez on the Mets, while 40 percent did not want him, leaving 14 percent undecided.
In a previous poll from late October, oddly enough, it was the other way around, meaning fans had changed their mind in less than one week, switching from not wanting A-Rod to wanting him.
…i will post the poll again later today to see where we’re all at…
Meanwhile, in today’s New York Post, Mark Hale explains why the feeling among executives in Orlando is that it wouldn’t be sensible to move David Wright, in favor of A-Rod.
An MLB team official, as quoted by Hale…
“Depending on David Wright’s true desire to move, I kind of wouldn’t mess with him.”
…that’s up to wright, though, i guess…the thing is, from what i can gather, whomever needs to be moved would like to know sooner than later, so the person can begin preparing now…it’s a lot to ask of a player to pick up a new position, on the other side of the infield, in the span of a few weeks in March, especially if the team intends to win a World Series…the problem, though, is that nobody expects a-rod to sign before the new year…
 |
 |
RSS 2.0 You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
Well, count me in… Lets get em! I dont want another boring offseason with hopes and expectations that dont bear any fruit in the end which makes me very pessimistic about the Mets signing A-Rod, but I’m putting my chips in this year hoping this doesnt turn into another Zito.
Yeah, I don’t want the big spash to be Silva and a .230-hitting catcher.
I know. Sound planning for the future is so booooring. It’s much more fun to get all the sexy free agents that are out there, without regard for prudence.
What could possibly be a better plan for the future than adding the best player in the game, statistically, to your team?
Exactly. And, A-Rod grew up a Mets fan. What a story.
By the way, the more likely it is that A-Rod comes to the Mets, the more Mets fans will support it.
When and if they announce the signing, 80% of Mets fans will be thrilled.
You mean overpaying drastically for a player who wants to make half again as much as players who are not far behind in production playing a position we don’t need and moving David Wright at risk of hurting his production, or hurting himself playing a dangerous position in which he is inexperienced and tying up their payroll with said player at the expense of getting what they need like pitching. Yeah, what could be better for the future?
Again, if you can get ARod at a reasonable price ($22M/yr for 5 years) and put ARod at 2nd, you have to do it. Otherwise, he will kill your team in the long run.
Please, Arod grew up a fan of money, not a fan of the Mets. If was really his lifelong dream to play for the Mets he had his chance and he blew it.
Having 1/4 of your payroll locked up in a 37-42 year old is hardly the best plan for the future. Arod might be the best player in the game, but if he makes over $30 million, he’s absolutely not the best player in the game per dollar earned. HUGE MISTAKE.
Just stop. The Mets can afford Arod AND other good players.
This is not Pittsburgh. The Mets are #3 in overall revenues.
They should use their hammer for once.
Oh great. . Let them become just like the Yankees. Spending gazilions extra for marginal returns. Hated around the leagues and mocked for buying titles. And paying through the nose every year in luxury taxes.
Hated around the league with 3 WS Trophies in 5 years?
Yeah…I’m okay with that.
If it was just being hated around the league, I ‘m okay with that too. The problem is that it’s that plus a whole lotta of other negatives.
Can someone wake me up after Thanksgiving when this is resolved?
its scott boras we could wake you up on new years and still be at the same point we’re at now.
No to AROD. The only reason to go after him would be to move Wright or Reyes to a different position. Reyes is gold glove at SS and it would be silly to move him again to 2b in favor of AROD who is slower and has less range. Moving Wright to 2b is dangerous and I think somewhat silly as the guy is a terrific at fielding his position at third. I will say however that if he made the move to 2b and he kept up his offensive production at the same level he is right now for 10 years….he would be guaranteed to go the hall of fame.
However, I will continue to advocate that pitching is what is needed not hitting for our team. Please find the gem of a deal that gets us quality pitching not quality hitters. There is no denying the greatness that AROD;s regular seasons have produced. There is a question clearly about the effect of his presence on the team. Clealy he is labeled as a guy who just by having the contract he has changes the clubhouse dynamic. But he can hit and field.
It comes down to what do the METS need. If there where a glaring hole at 3b or SS, he’d make sense. But there is not.
No. You’re wrong.
Reyes has not won a gold glove. Not one.
A-Rod, on the other hand, has won two. At shortstop.
A-Rod is not slow, nor does he have sub-par range.
And he will be considered for the 2007 AL Gold Glove at third.
Are you just making things up now?
It seems clear to me that A-Rod needs to go to the West Coast AND he and Boras are absolutely desperate to keep (use) the Mets in this in order to get their $300 mil number from the west coast. From A-Rod’s perspective I can’t see why he’d stay here and be subjected to the scrutiny. We all know the booing will not end when he comes to the Mets.
That said, for the Mets ever to consider such an acquisiation:
1) I need Wright (or Reyes) to be 110% on board with any position change and have a level of confidence he can handle it.
2) I need a significant level of confidence that A-Rods name will not appear in the Mitchell Report….what a PR disaster and embarrasment that would be here in NY and nationwide,
3) and the obvious, we cannot allow this contract to handcuff our future acquistion of pitching…today and 8 yrs from now.
Heyman is obviously practicing advocacy journalism. While the Mets may indeed make an offer for A-Rod, there is nothing in that article that says they will. And even if they do, I’ll be shocked if it’s 1) for close to $30 million a year and 2) anything over 6 years.
I still don’t want this egotistical player on the Mets. As Kim Jones said on the FAN this morning, he sucks the life out of the room whenever he’s in the clubhouse. And that’s when he’s already on a team full of millionaire superstars!
And say goodbye to Santana if they pay A-Rod anything close to what he wants.
I want NO part of A-Rod. He is horrible for a clubhouse and the Mets aren’t exactly the strongest clubhouse in the MLB anymore. With his contract, we won’t be able to afford any real pitchers. I don’t know if he can play SS anymore, I can’t picture D-Wright at 2B, even for 1 season. And A-Rod is a walking jinx. So what if he gets us into the playoffs, he shrivels in the spotlight and on the Mets, the entire spotlight would be on him in October. Go get some arms and let A-Rod go to the west coast. Maybe Torre can bat him eighth for the Dodgers.
Wow, we agree 1000%!
Of course you are absolutely correct on all your points!
You can’t be 1000% correct on all your points when they are 1000% speculation.
Carver, your anti-Arod stance is no less speculative than the stance for getting him. That doesn’t make your stance correct, just different.
Can you even read, CW? I said I was in agreement 1000%.
And you’re just wrong. There is not all speculation in the post I replied to. It’s a fact that the Mets clubhouse wan’t that strong this year. It was widely reported on.
And it’s not pure speculation to say that with his salary it’s very questionable whether they can afford Santana and stay under the luxury tax. It’s match.
And it’s not speculation that he’s shriveled int he spotlight in the postseason.
I wold say your side is much more speculative than those who don’t want A-Rod on the team.
That should read “It’s math.”
If spotlight shriveling and clubhouse strength were meaningful gauges of a player’s value, there would be statistics for them. But there aren’t. Because they are meaningless abstracts that have very little to do with actual baseball performance.
that’s right — the only things that have to do with “actual baseball performance” have statistics for them… not quite.
No Carver, I can’t read. Can you?
I could have cared less if you agreed 1000%. I asked how his points could have been 1000% correct when they are pure speculation, which they are.
Your whole argument against A-Rod is based on two things that you cannot possibly know anything about.
1) You are worried about what it is you think that the Mets can and can’t afford. You have no more clue as to what it is that the Mets want to spend than I do. All we can know is that if the Mets decide that they can’t afford A-Rod, then he won’t be here. They obviously are not worried that signing him takes them out of the running for other players, why in God’s name would you be?
2) Unless you are about to treat us to a big story right here on MetsBlog, you are not a player and have never been in the Met clubhouse.(Or the Mariners’, Rangers’, or Yankees’). How could you possibly know that A-Rod is bad for team chemistry? Outside of the fact that he played around on his wife, (none of anyone’s business), yelled in that 3B’s ear, and likes money, you offer no real concrete reasons to not want the guy on the team.
Give me something solid and you’d convince me. I don’t believe that having A-Rod is going to mean that the New York Mets cannot afford another major FA player. I don’t believe that he is anywhere near as bad a guy as you are trying to make him out to be. And I also don’t think that your plan to pass on A-Rod, eat Mota’s contract to sign mediocre relief pitchers, and hope for the best on Santana in 2009 is going to bridge the gap between the Mets and the postseason in 2008. The gap is too big, and the pitching we would otherwise pursue is just not there.
CW: I never said his points were 1000% correct. Can’t you read? I said I agreed 1000% with his points. Which is different.
And no, they are NOT pure speculation. I gave examples where they were not and if you have anything that says otherwise, state it. Otherwise my points stand.
And no, once again you fail to comprehend what I wrote.
1) I am not worried what the Mets can or cannot afford. I am worried about what the Mets spending levels will be in the future if they get A-Rod, quality pitching , and quality players at other positions. They can’t do that and remain at or near the LT level. And they can give lip service all they want to their supposed emphasis on pitching but when they sign Mota and penny pinch Bradford I have my doubts. And it is not speculation. This year they were already extremely close to the LT threshold. That’s a fact. The mets historically have been loathe to exceed this level. Even Heyman mentioned this in his article. FACT, not speculation.
2) Because the Texas Rangers gave him a derogatory nickname and he’s had reported tensions with his teammates on the Yankees. And of course I offered concrete reasons for not wanting him — a humongous salary, too many years, bad clubhouse chemistry, poor postseason performance, poor sportsmanlike behavior on and off the field … I don’t think I need any more reasons other than those.
I don’t care if you’re convinced or not. If you’re a fanboy like Biggie, you’ll never be convinced. To fans like you, it’s okay to root just for laundry. Never mind that the player is greedy, narcissistic, unsportsmanlike, insincere, and vain. Sorry, but these things matter to me too (in addition to the economic reasons and his unclutchness). And only a blind person would call these things speculative.
Read Lennon’s piece. He reiterated what some of us have been saying. You fanboys are over-reacting and barking up the wrong tree. It’s a fact that it was more the pitching that was the team’s downfall this year and yet you want to waste resources on a faulty bat with voluminous baggage.
No thanks.
Santana won’t be the only ace availiable after the next season. Let the Yankees spend 220 million on Santana while the Mets sign C.C.
Fine with me. Just improve the pitching with quality hurlers. Spend the money there. Not on a flawed hitter with tons of baggage.
What baggage? His love of money? I have news for you…
and what will sabathia want if Santana get 220 mil?
there are pitchers to be had next year..and we’ll be in the market regardless of who we sign this year..
with Pedro more than likely retiring.. or taking a Schilling victory lap contract.. .. the $$ will be there..
why throw away 2008 for a pie in the sky?
CW: Do you really want me to recount all the personal issues A-Rod’s had the last few years? We’ve done that already in previous threads. Read them and get back to me if you still have questions.
Sabathia will want roughly what Santana goes for.
Being in the market for a pitcher isn’t the issue. Being able to purse one aggressively is. The Mets won’t be able to do so with Santana if they waste their $$ on A-Rod.
When Pedro retires, they not only need to pay for a replacement, but they need to pay Ollie and Maine as well. Neither will be as cheap as they are now. The $$ won’t be there.
Why piss away the future for an offensive player with tons of baggage?