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The Mets and free-agent C Yorvit Torrealba are close to a deal, and could reach an agreement as early as this week, reports David Lennon and Ken Davidoff in Newsday.
…from what i can gather, the offer is likely to be 
a three-year, $15 million deal, which is one year and $9 million more than was offered by his former team, the Rockies…
…i don’t get it…seriously, i just don’t get it…this could end up being one of the more perplexing moves of the Omar-Minaya Era…
Last night, on ESPN Radio, Andrew Marchand was first to report that the Mets will soon make a contract offer to Torrealba.
Of course, Mets GM Omar Minaya said yesterday that, while Torrealba is ‘on their radar,’ Paul Lo Duca is ‘still in play,’ according to John Delcos in the Journal News.
Nevertheless, according to multiple reports yesterday, Lo Duca’s agent had e-mailed reporters saying that the Mets apparently do not see his client as a priority, ‘at this time.’
By the way, in a recent report for ESPN.com, Keith Law does not rank Torrealba among the Top 50 Free Agents, while he ranks Lo Duca at No. 32.
Lastly, according to Shpigel’s report in the Times, if the Mets are unable to acquire Torrealba, they ‘could’ try to trade for O’s C Ramon Hernández, Rangers C Gerald Laird, or even D’Backs C Miguel Montero, who ‘could be a possibility, too.’
Actually, according to Mark Hale in the New York Post, citing an ‘MLB team exec,’ the Mets have been in touch with the Rangers about Laird, who tossed out 40 percent of runners trying to steal against him last season.
Also, in his report for the Journal News, Delcos lists the Mets as exploring a deal for Pirates C Ronny Paulino, as well.
Last season, the 29–year-old Torrealba started at least 67 games in a season for the first time during his seven-year career, which has been spent mostly as a back-up.
He hit just .212 with two HR in 193 at-bats while away from Colorado’s hitter-friendly Coors Field.
…i’m very confused…i am…it’s nothing against torrealba necessarily, it’s just he appears to be a career back-up, who put together some decent offensive stats mostly because he played in Coors, which is fine, i mean, good for him…but, how is that better than lo duca, or Ramon Castro for that matter…i can only assume there is something about yorvit that i don’t see, and so i have reached out to a few local writers and bloggers to help fill in the gap, assuming there is a gap…i hope to get these interviews up in the next day or so…
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I hope that dollar amount is incorrect because 3/$15M is way too much for Torrealba. I like him but not at more than about 3/$9M.
What’s sad is that Jesus Flores had an almost identical OPS+ as Torrealba this year and a much better rate at throwing out baserunners.
I can’t believe we’re giving 5 mil per year to a 250 hitter with no pop…I wonder what Castro is going to think once they sign a worse player for twice the salary they’re offering Castro. This should certainly make Castro realize that he can get more money and a starting job somewhere else…What are you doing, Omar?
Omar is likely enthralled with Torrealba’s “enthusiasm and energy”, and he also may remember the rifle arm he had BEFORE the various shoulder injuries.
Without a healthy arm, Torrealba has almost no value (except as bullpen catcher). This courting of him is absolutely mind-boggling.
If the Mets want a catcher with a great arm and excitability, why not wait for Miguel Olivo to be non-tendered and save a whole bunch of money?
VCarver…Great point about Flores, I still can’t believe we left him exposed last year and Washington took complete advantage of us. This has got to be one of Omar’s biggest mistakes, along with the Bannister deal (who was 3rd in the AL Rookie Of The Year), especially with the lack of catching prospects in our farm system.
I don’t know what the Pirates are going to be asking for Ronny Paulino, but I would rather have him over Torrealba. Paulino is bigger, younger, hit for better average, had more HR’s and is by far the better defensive catcher over Torrealba. If Omar brings in Yorvit for that kind of money, things could get ugly, either bring back the Duke or get Paulino.
I don’t think Paulino is on the market, especially with Littlefield now out as GM.
Torrealba seems like a decent catcher, but honestly I think a healthy Castro is superior all-around.
And Castro was behind the plate late down the stretch for the only 2 well-pitched games — gems by Maine and Ollie — during that time. Somehow I think Castro is every bit as good, if not better, a game caller as Lo Duca.
Problem is there are serious questions whether Castro has the stamina to catch nearly a full season. I doubt it. So they do need a good second catcher.
Problem is that 3/$15M price is way too high for Torrealba.
Some people say it’s only money but the more you overpay at other places the less you can concentrate on pitching. Or Santana when he’s a free agent. And the Wilpons have never been eager to exceed the Luxury Tax threshold.
maybe the plan is to use castro and keep torrealba as the backup? again I emphasize that the one time we really needed castro last year, he went out with a bad back.
Listen,
If Yorvit Torrealba is signed,
then I think that Ramon Castro will be the starting catcher and Yorvit will be the backup.
Why will this not be the case???
Because you don’t pay your backup more money than your starter.
Doesn’t make much sense at the moment…Like Matt mentioned he has not been good at catching base runners, and too boot his offense was not good while hitting in a hitters park for half the year…this is a mistake IMO
He hit .212 on the road. That’s even worse than Delgado’s home numbers (.225).
Ramon Hernandez is better than Torrealba. So is Ronnie Paulino. Of the three, Paulino has the most upside because of his age (26). Hernandez was injured last year, but has put up a few 20+ home run seasons, and he could easily return to that. Torrealba simply isn’t any good. He’s coming off a career year, and it still wasn’t impressive by any means. A .255 average with 8 home runs? Whoppee. LoDuca had a down year last year and still eclipsed those numbers.
it’s sad that his career year was a .255 BA
But those guys will cost us players. Torrealba just costs money.
Looks like Omar wants to upgrade the rotation through trades. This way, they don’t waste their chips on Ramon Hernandez and Ronny Paulino.
exactly Squad!
what’s the big difference between a catcher that hits .250 and a catcher that hits .270. This offense doesn’t need a big slugger at the plate, just someone to play D that doesn’t cost chips that will be used to fill other holes on the team (Starting Rotation, Bullpen, Outfield).
its fine if you want to sign torrealba to be a platoon with castro since casto can provide the necessary pop. but 3/15 isnt that more than castro? not sure i understand this but id obviously rather sign a catcher than trade for a slightly better one.
Well I thought the plan should always have been retain Castro and sign Torrealba and let them split time.
Maybe Castro’s back is more screwed up than was originally thought and that may end that plan. Or it could be so bad that the Mets know Castro is damaged goods and will not command big $$ as a FA.
Is Torrealba a great signing, no not at all. But in a weak market and on a team that doesn’t need an offensive catcher this could be a very shrewd move. And, Torrealba could actually be improving. Remember, this is a guy that never gets alot of ab’s and had been in the majors for a quite a few years. maybe playing on a more regular basis will get his bat going.
Whatever, i know most people here love to hate on Omar. But what do you expect, those guys are mostly janko fans that just recently came over to the Mets. They never lived through the awfulness of Steve “Skill-Sets” Phillips and the bumbling Jim Duquette.
It is a weak market but lo duca’s out there and hes a much better option in every aspect
I don’t see how LoDuca is a better option. He’s older, a below avg hitter (that .300 avg is misleading), and not nearly as good behind the plate.
Now in which aspect is he better?
Fire?
Tenacity?
Eggplant Parm?
Why would he do this? Oh wait I’m not oblivious and I can discern obvious trends.
He costs only $, and is younger than Lo Duca. This move fills a void and saves chips for a pitching/OF trade. It seems he’ll split time with Castro anyway, and I don’t think it’s a bad move. He’s still younger and cheaper than Lo Duca.
I am younger and cheaper than LoDuca too….doesn’t mean I should be catching for the Mets.
Heck, bring in Barrett then. He is better than Torrealba.
Barrett is a DH playing catcher. The guy has awful hands, can’t throw out Mo Vaughn and pitchers hate pitching to him.
Barrett is great for fantasy basball not for a contending team.
Younger and cheaper would make sense if he were just as good as LoDuca. In this case, Torrealba would be a downgrade. As I posted above, LoDuca had a down year last year, and Torrealba had a career year. LoDuca’s numbers were still better. And besides, I doubt LoDuca would be that much overwhelmingly more expensive than Torrealba.
Is it a career year, or a sign that he is “improving?” Who would you expect to improve on their numbers next year: the 29 year old or the 36 year old?
It’s not even official yet, but it’s not unreasonable.
I highly doubt it’s a sign that he’s improving. The reason why last year was considered his best year is because he got 396 at bats and was able to compile a whopping 8 home runs. In 2006, he had a lot less at bats (223) and hit 7 home runs. So technically, 2006 was probably a better year for him. He is what he is. A backup catcher who is serviceable in limited playing time. The more he plays, the worse he gets.
And what about Castro? He can easily justify the same contract given the numbers he put up last year. $5 million is insane, lets hope this does not happen.
I agree – 15 mil is a lot for a backup too. Unless they plan on splitting time equally between castro and yorvit. There’s a reason the Rockies only offered 9 mil.
Look’s like we’ll have a new 8 hitter.
You don’t get it? Really?
I mean, it is clear as day. Look at his name…not to mention, the other 4 catchers on this list of possible replacements….any trend?
I’m not alone in this, but all we want is a winning team. These “Los Mets” comments/suggestions are a waste of everybody’s time.
BMets,
I don’t mind it really until it is a BAD decision that seems to be based on it. Nobody can argue that Torrealba is a better player than LoDuca. OK, LoDuca is getting older, he is a whiner, whatever…that is fine.
How about Barret? He is WAY better than Torrealba, yet he doesn’t get a mention? Kinda odd, no?
He also likes to punch people, teammates included.
I agree with Perez here, it’s AS CLEAR AS DAY! If you don’t see it, you’re turning a blind eye. David Wright would have been traded in a deal for Miguel Cabrera by now if the Wilpon’s hadn’t put their feet down on that one.
Good point…
Barrett was a bad suggestion…how could anyone justify losing a 1st rounder for him? Geez….
David Wright would have been traded in a deal for Miguel Cabrera by now if the Wilpon’s hadn’t put their feet down on that one.
Juuu know, what is your source on this?
Barrett STINKS!! Why woud anyone want this guy? He’s obviously got an attitude problem, look at this fights with Pierzenski and Zambrano and he is an atrocious catcher and pitchers hate working with him.
He’s a poor catching version of Shea Hillenbrand.
No Thanks!!
so goodbye to the heart and soul of the team….
at least Jose will have a new ‘handslapping celebration’ to work on
i hope this is just a ploy to see how bad Lo Duca wants to be a met next year, you know…..say your gonna sign Torrealba, see you cant get Lo Duca’s agent to lower the price.
and hope it doesnt backfire.
It could also be a ploy by Yorvit’s agent. “We’re going to sign with NY unless you come up with a better deal.” Posada did the same thing.
Still, I think the move is reasonable, and gets us younger without costing any of our trading chips, which are going to be needed for pitching, and/or the outfield.
both good points. lets see what happens here. I am almost more excited about getting a squeeze compensation pick for loduca than i am about resigning him
ughh
The only thing that makes sense is that the mets are going to give Castro the chance to start next year and they are just signing Torrealba as a backup. Other than that I have no idea!
If the $ is accurate, he’ll make more than Castro. Don’t think he’d be a backup.
This is just typical of Mets terrible moves doing nothing to improve the team. Torrealba doesn’ t make this team better. Hes a subpar player who played in Coors field and couldn’t hit. You think hes going to do that at Citi Field and Shea? Omar is a moron if he makes this deal.
Castro earned the start last year. The fans love him, and he hits the ball hard. Theres no reason he shouldn’t start. Then sign a cheap backup.
So typical of the Mets. You lose all the players that would actually improve your team aka Posada, ARod. But are going to sign Torrealba…who provides no lift at all.
And at the end of the year the brass will be scratching their heads wondering what they did wrong by falling short again.
Mets brass listen up: You have to sign top tier players to win. Not mediocrity. We saw how far that gets you last year….and its called September.
Right now were looking at the same team as 2007….and another long, dissapointing year.
They can’t start Castro not healthy enough look what happened last year when they played in too much his back went out. If he was healthy I said he would be an improvement but they need to get a GOOD catcher not this guy. I have to admit it it is time to say goodbye to OMAR and let him be a GM of some floundering baseball team so he can bring in his HOMEYS. Good bye Omar
$5 million a year for a catcher who will hit .235 at Shea….with as much power AS a Lo Duca…..who only throws out 17% of base-runners…..uhm, what? Omar is throwing what was once a WS contender down the crapper.
If this happens, it is a terrible move…
As I mentioned yesterday, there is a possibility that Johnny Estrada might be non-tendered by the Brewers… I’d take Estrada in a heartbeat…
Horrible signing…simply horrible. Horrendous….since the Oliver Perez trade & Alou signing, Omar has not done one positive thing. This signing makes 0 sense…it actually makes the team worse.
Omar has not done one positive thing.
Getting Marlon Anderson (and re-signing him) wasn’t positive?
Trading single A prospects for Castillo wasn’t positive?
Wow, Wow, Wow. If we sign this guy, he isn’t a good hitter and he isn’t good at throwing out runners. Does anyone know enough about him to know how he handles a pitching staff? Is this the only thing Omar is going on … that he handles a pitching staff well?
I don’t want to get into the whole race card thing, so maybe I’m grasping at straws. But yeah … it is a little curious.
Yea I’m curious about how he handles the pitching staff…that may be a positive Omar sees. Plus they sign him, they dont lose a 1rst round pick. I would rather have a more capable catcher but how much will that cost through a trade? I like thats he’s 29 years old.
I love Lo Duca, but we need to get younger. I know the money is high but hopefully Castro gets a shot to play more.
From reading a few more comments on here, some are saying that he does in fact handle the pitching staff well … and that he had some shoulder issues last year which hurt his throwing. Supposedly he threw out 40% of runners in 06.
So maybe he’s not as bad as last year looked. I don’t know what is fact and what is not, though.
There is no way loduca would be much more expensive than that.
He should actually be less expensive than that. And Torrealba should be WAY less expensive than that. Since they’re both offensive liabilities.
Well, it’s not a done deal yet, but I agree, head-scratcher if it does.
perhaps he is being brought in to replace Ramon Castro?
Just give Castro the everyday job at this point. Sign some backup guy like a Pratt or whoever for a small contract and move on. Castro is better than Yorvit….no doubt.
The guy that was mentioned that we should be looking at is Miguel Montero. He is young (and his name fits, lol). He would be the perfect platoon with Castro as he is LH also. He should not cost a ton in prospects and would fill a hole with a cheap option. If Castro signs for 2-3 million a year then we could have a really good platoon for under 5.
$ 15 million for a cruddy catcher? Is this really happening?
This wreaks of an Omar stretch. Another Burgos type deal. If this happens, change my confidence vote to a clear an unequivocal ONE.
Actually, my ideal situation would be to simply flip what we have now, and have Lo Duca back up Castro. We’re not going to find anybody that can provide a league-average on-base percentage more readily than those two.
As per the NY Times
“He excels at blocking balls. During the postseason Colorado pitchers raved about his ability to call a game, crediting him for guiding them past a potent Philadelphia team in the opening round. The Mets’ pitchers were just as complimentary of Lo Duca, too, but he will turn 35 in April and the team is looking to bring in a younger player behind the plate.”
Signing him makes sense for our younger pitchers who could use a good defensive catcher – but $15 million for a personal wall for Oliver Perez is not worth it – especially with his inability to hit. Peterson only fixes arms, not bats.
im not saying this is a slam dunk but maybe omar’s scouts know something we dont. lets look at lo duca v torrealba’s career.
lo duca wasnt called up to the majors until he was 26. he then his a whopping 70 OPS+ for the next 3 years. then at the age of 29, he had a career year of 142 OPS+, after which he averaged about a 90, 95. He just came off a 80, is 36 and most certainly is in decline in both offensive and defensive abilities. furthermore, he is a huge loser who sucks at life.
torrealba is a 28, and his career OPS+ is 80, so he’s already ahead of lo duca (OPS+ adjusts for park factors). he is also a huge upgrade defensively, and probably isnt a huge turd. 15mil for 3 years is a lot but maybe we can get a big year or two from him.
then again, maybe not, but who cares, its not our money and its still better than bringing paul big fat stupid pud lo duca back.
I second every word of this post. Good work, albeit is bit sarcastic and harsh… but definitely true.
thanks and yes it is harsh, i just could hold it in any longer.
Way to go Ken,
it’s about time some reason was brought to this thread.
Folks, Paulie Tomato Sauce is 36!! he is not getting better and he wasn’t that great to begin with. It’s nice he plays with lots of “fire” but these are the Mets not the Giants or Jets we are talking about, fire really doesn’t matter in baseball. I think all the fans that want Paulie the Pud back are the same fans that would love to see Scrappy McHustle (eckstein) playing 2B. Their only criterion for a good baseball player is that he:
1) gets his uniform dirty
2) is a white man of small stature.
Torrealba obviously is a good player otherwise Omar wouldn’t stick his neck out for him. Remember Omar’s job is on the line this year after he foolishly decided to bring Captain Clueless … err Willie back for 2008.
dynamo, youre gonna miss lo duca, hes provided alot of easy material for you on this blog. the one positive i can take out of this move is FINALLY LASTINGS MILLEDGE WONT BAT 8!!!!…..even if hes traded
An OPS+ of 80 is still below average by a significant amount.
I may be the only one here who kind of likes it (leaving $ aside, which is crazy these days for anyone.)
I was impressed with the way Torrealba handled his staff and hit in the postseason. I also read somewhere that he threw out something like 40% of runners attempting to steal in 2006, but had a shoulder issue late this year.
While I love Lo Duca’s fire and his hitting in 2006, it seemed like he was one of those older players who was starting to decline (and fast.) Therefore, I am all for Omar going younger on this front– and he may very well view this as the bridge to the next generation (Pena?) coming up from the farm.
yeah but why are you giving him three years then? and $15mil? come on, this guy sucks and we all know it. im as optimistic as the next guy but hes gonna be going from a hitters park to a pitchers park and he only hit .255 last yr! why not bring back lo duca for a year? cuz he was pissed that the team was losing its lead in september? who wasnt mad at that time lol come on thats a joke
This move–if it’s actually made–can only be judged after ALL of Omar’s off-season moves are in. The benefits of Torrealba are:
1. He’d cost only money, and not much of it, keeping both trading chips and cash available for another signing.
2. He IS a better defender than LoDuca, despite last year’s poor totals. (Mention shoulder injury here).
3. As a younger player, he has more stamina than Paulie, who showed an incredible drop-off late season.
4. Is reputed to be a whiz at handling young pitching staffs. Time will tell on that.
5. If the Mets upgrade offensively at, say, second base, then having an anemic hitter batting 8th is fine. If not, then it’s a problem.
Or we could sign Rey Ordonez for 2nd base andthen trade for Victor Martinez. Same thing really.
To your 5 benefits I say:
1. This price is probably going to be at the top of what free agent catchers will get this year (other than Posada). There are better options at the same price +/- 1 mil
2. and 3. go hand in hand. Torrealba started 120 or so games last year, the most of his career that has been so far as a back up. What stamina are we talking about? How can we make a bold statement that he’s better than LoDuca at defense without seeing him go through a full season’s grind and stay healthy? I think these arguments are dead.
4. You’re right with the “time will tell” comment. Just because his team got to the world series doesn’t mean he’s a game-calling genius.
5. I’m not sure why you’re even bringing another position into this argument, yet alone a position that historically has favored smaller players with little or no power. Who would you like to “upgrade” with exactly? If anything, your argument should read “upgrade offensively at right field.” But still I can’t say that I would be comfortable with 7, 8, 9 in the order being automatic outs. That, of course doesn’t apply on the days Ollie is on the mound….
to counter you 5 complaints:
1) please name me these better options
2 & 3) how can you say he is not without seeing him go thorough a full season grind? I think we can all agree that a 29 year old catcher should have better stamina at this point in his career then a 36 year old one.
4) Bringing your team the the WS and leading them to a great clutch playoff run based on their pitching does mean something…
5) because it shows that we dont need 25 HR out of our C spot.
Hate this move…this is another classic Met debacle…if he hits 255 in Colorado he will hit 218 in Shea.
Omar, if you’re out there reading, I have one thing to say:
ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKING MIND?!?!?!!?!?
NO, NO, NO TORREALBA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ugh, Just a yucky, yucky, player.
He’s a career backup.
On baseball reference the batter with the most similar stats is Jason Phillips…Is this really a road we want to travel down again?
Actually, when Phillips had a defined role due to injuries in 2003, he was an excellent hitter. In 2004, when Piazza returned from injury and tried to split time between 1B and C, forcing Phillips up and down the lineup, he struggled. I honestly wouldn’t be opposed to bringing him back, knowing that he’d be playing catcher and batting 8th most days, he’d probably flourish.
It hasn’t happened yet and I believe we’ve heard a wrong report here and there from the press before. If it happens I have to believe they think Castro can split time with YT
i’m thinking omar is putting up a smoke screen here. it has to be that. maybe make the o’s drop the price of hernandez?
Omar needs to focus on pitching…enough with his making posada a high priority when he had no chance of signing him…what a waste of time…..Too much positioning and smoke screens thus far from Omar with no substantial roster changes thus far to improve this club…He is not the GM of a low payroll Expos team so he needs to stop focusing on the mediocre free agents and start aiming higher to bring us a winner…Omar always goes after the average playerss in hopes of finding a star….This team is built to win now no more experiments….
How do you know Omar’s not focused on pitching? Because a few reports indicated that he was interested in Posada? I don’t think that Ken Rosenthal reporting Posada as Omar’s “top priority” meant Omar sat at his desk “focusing” on Posada at the expense of working on acquiring pitching …
More than a few reports confirmed that Omar saaid posada was a “top priority” free agent. Sorry but this idea was ludicrous. No way Posada was signing with the mets over the yankees…Regarding pitching, I will reserve judgment on Omar until we see some action…and I mean deals like Blanton, Dontrelle Willis or Bedard not Livan Hernandez!
I think we’d all like to see some “action” on the pitching front. At least action that doesn’t involve Livan or Silva.
I guess my point was that with all these reports flying around about Posada or Torrealba or any of a handful of players, it might leave us with the impression that that’s all Omar is focusing on.
We all want the big splash, but I think we need to be patient, which is hard to do in mid-November.
I agree but it seems like Omar has been putting heavy media spin on the catcher position thus far. Every day you would read an article on how Omar is not interested in Lo Duca and is pursuing other catchers….I get it already Omar you have no interest in Lo Duca but you better get an upgrade at catcher and it’s not torrealba…
Don’t like it, but the Mets can afford a few extra $$.
I really wish that Omar would get a better talent, even if it requires trading someone “chip” There are better looking young catchers around.
So, trade for one, get better production, and use the $$ saved to beef up elsewhere.
Gomez Mulvey & Pena to the NATS 4 Rauch and Flores
Awful.
thats an absolutely horrific idea for a trade.
I don’t love it but i don’t hate it. And i do agree that this signing is sorta dependent on other moves. If we have a decent, consistent catcher batting 8th and we make some other upgrades, then I have nothing to say.
I really liked LoDuca for a while but the whining got to be a bit much and I got tired of hearing about the off-field nonsense. That’s not his fault really but still.
More than anything though… I liked his fire but getting thrown out in key moments is not something an on-field leader should do. Not saying Yorvit will take that job over but really, that should be Wright’s job at this point.
Patience my fellow fans… let’s just see what this all yields.
I’m not happy with where we are right now either…but i’m doing my best to be patient. It’s only November :)
correction, peterson was here before Omar, and Bradford was not on this years’s roster, but omar did sign him off the scrap heap.
The Newsday article said that the Rockies are offfering 2 yrs / 7 mil total. It seem highly unlikely that they would give him more money and more years to the tune of 3/15. Maybe 3 yrs /9 mil base with performance incentives.
The article also mentions bringing back Castro, he’s the starter until he breaks down and then Yorvit can play. Maybe that’s it, they are paying him more for him to ride the pine, when he would rather be a starter some place.
Still I don’t think your backup should make more than the starter.
I think it is obvious they are looking for a backup for Castro. They must hate Lo Duca’s guts…
I cant wait till we sign livan and reunite the long lot hernandez brothers. What an amazing, touching story that will be! Im just dying to see El Duque sitting on the bench, on the 60 day DL because of a hip replacement, watching his brother give up hit after hit as he “eats up innings”.
:lol:
In all fairness to Omar, this is no more than gossip/rumor at this point. In fact one article a few days ago said that the Mets had no interest in Livan. However, just the thought of it is troubling to me. Very troubling. Because of what it would say about the team’s strategy and direction.
Didn’t I read that this guy hit .212 away from Coors? He also was ranked 21st out of 29 catchers throwing out runners. Come on, Omar. This is just dumb, no matter how you look at it.
.212 away from coors means about .170 at shea.
[...] Matt Cerrone has stated several times over the past few days on MetsBlog, the fascination with Torrealba makes no sense. Let’s take a look at who Yorvit Torrealba [...]
If Omar signs Torrealba and this guy hits .170 at shea it will be the end of omar. Omar is very predictable…..He will blow wille out in may and put in another one of his guys….The only reason he kept willie is so he has an option to scapegoat willie if they get off to a bad start…
Minaya was ready to throw 60 million at Posada (moronically) and they won’t cough up more than 5 million for Loduca…and now they go after solid waste like Torrealba and continue to shun Loduca. Also, why did Omar let go of Jesus Flores? Another brainy move from this genius GM. How does he have a job. And Mota is still here- wonderful. Worst part of the collapse was that nobody was held accountable for it..they wanna bring Glavine back too.
Omar and ‘Los Mets’ strike again! Further proof that he will look out for his own whenever possible. The Loduca bridge has officially been burned- no way in god’s name he will be back. He is hopping mad, and justifiably so. So they are going to sign this piece of dung Torrealba, who hit .250 at Coors Field and .211 away from there. I could see if he was a defensive wizard with a cannon for an arm but he is a below average defensive catcher. So were are going to sign Torrealba and now they Yankees are going to get Arod back (they have opened the door to him again but told him they won’t deal with Boras). Typical Mets- what a Mickey Mouse Franchise. After the collapse, they needed to make a huge splash in order to win fans like me back who were completely turned off and who refuse to spend a penny on them after that. In terms of big splash I was thinking Santana or ARod or maybe signing Rivera. So they sign Torrealba. Fire Minaya.
I agree. Omar has thus far failed to show us any big splash potential this year…Other than his bs comments on A Rod I have not heard anything about the mets looking to make a big move. But he certainly wanted to make Lo Duca look bad…..After last year’s collapse Omar is nuts if he thinks this team has what it takes without a significant upgrade….60 mil for posada was a warped strategy…I think mets fans need to be concerned about omar’s intentions with upgrade decisions…
they should have made a big splash like the ginats did last year when they paid the money and got zito. that worked well.
Oh so Zito didn’t have a good year means we shouldn’t go after high end players? Get a grip……..
No, but you shouldn’t make a big splash just for the sake of making a big splash.
Who would you like to see here Bosco?
Would you like aging warhorse LoDuca back behind the plate? Been there, done that, didn’t care for it much the first time he’ll certainly be worse the second time around.
Do you want to see the whole future mortgaged for a turd like Miguel Cabrera? How about submarining the payroll with a guy who has no position on the team like Arod?
We’re outbidding ourselves. Just call us the Texas Rangers… or the Chicago Cubs… or the San Francisco Giants…
We should hire dusty baker to ruin our pitchers’ arms just like he did in SF and Chicago.
The biggest myth out there is that the Mets have this great offense and that they only need pitching. That is hogwash- their offense crumbled and withered down the stretch. They need both offense and pitching- and since there is no pitching to get, I would sign ARod. But Freddie Coupons would never even dangle his toes in the water on that…He probably won’t even do so much as extend a half ass, lowball offer like he did with Guerrero. Wow what a splash with Torrealba. Fire this garbage GM. This is arguably worse than giving a 2 year deal to Mota.
First off, i hate this move. However, I believe we may see a lot of head scratching moves this year and my thoughts are they may be weeding out club house problems that weren’t made public. Who knows, its just my two cents.
Another thing could be that they only view Lo Duca as a 1 year fix, and this guy Torreaba as a long term fix. Either way, I’d miss watching Lo Duca on this team.
enough about all this talk about bringin loduca back! the guy is 35 and his production is goin to decline, this team needs a change and torrealba as the starter called the shots behind the plate to a medicore pitching staff that made it to the world series. torrealba is 29 and can put up the same numbers that loduca can without all the baggage loduca brings. The cather’s market is the weakest it has ever been and signing yorvit is a great move by minaya. Unless ur ready to give up a bluechip prospect for a catcher on the trade market dont complain about this move!
Los Mets
Todd Pratt? Lieberthal? Piazza?? (And Piazza has been my favorite player since I was 12 and he was in LA).
And you also don’t think the Beltran signing has worked out great?
What games are you watching?
7train ‘win now’
The Mets aren’t going to make vital moves it seems, just mis-spend money. I don’t really care about this Torrealba deal since LoDuca is like six years older.
Rick Peterson was already pitching coach when art howe was here before omar!
I think Vargas is from northern California …
What about the other names on that list?
He’s right, these knuckleheads always pull the race card when they have no other though in their heads. Not only is it ignorant, but it’s very annoying.
Not saying he didn’t work out – But let’s be honest. Didn’t you expect more from Beltran? After the post season he had with all those home runs, Mets fans thought they were getting the 2nd coming of A-Rod.
All I’m saying is that GMs shouldn’t give players major contracts based on what they did in 7-8 games in the playoffs.
What else do you want him to do? The guy has had two of the best offensive seasons in Mets history while playing excellent defense in CF.
Should have close games as well? Maybe he could also serve sausages between innings.