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According to the Washington Post, free-agent C Paul Lo Duca and the Nationals have agreed to a one-year deal.
…well, as i am sure you know by now, i don’t like this…i prefer lo duca be on the Mets, though i understand why the team disagrees - and apparently a lot of other teams, as well…
…that being said, damn, it figures he would end up on a team in the NL East, so he can now stick it to the Mets 19 times per season, alonside former-Mets C Jesus Flores, who should never had ended up in DC to begin with…
Jose is gonna run wild on the NATs now!
Gomez’s stock just went up as well.
Loduca just wanted to run wild after the young girls with Milledge . . .
Beltran, Wright and maybe Delgado also
Good-bye Paulie… for good
good luck to lo duca. looks like he isn’t going to play for a winner after all. hopefully he learned that sometimes it’s better to discuss team problems privately.
I agree…
..better not to hang with floozies or bookies, neither!!!
I don’t see anything wrong with hanging out with floozies. I know some real decent bookies too. Just sayin’.
Dear Jose Reyes,
In your first game against the Nationals in 2008, as you step up to the plate for the first time, be sure to ask Paul how his girlfriend is doing. Then he’ll get ejected for fighting and the Nats will be down a man. Unless you want to steal lots of bases, then say nothing.
Sincerely, Mets fans
Kinda sucks for him to go to a sub-par team.
sub-par… don’t forget those players they just got. I really feel like lastings and paulie are going to get back at us this season
I’m sure part of the reason he signed with Washington was so that he can stay in the division and stick it to “Los Mets” Him and Milledge can kill them now and will be extra motivated to do so.
“them”
you a mets fan?
I’d venture a guess that he’s not on the team, either way. I say “them,” too, at times. “Us” seems a little . . . presumptuous, given that I tend to spend Mets games slumped on a futon enjoying a beer, rather than bowling over Paul Lo Duca with the winning run in a John Maine shutout.
I don’t get it. They traded for two white guys. They even kicked the “loud mouth blacked kid” off the Nats that listens to rap music and corrupts society. I though you would be happy thankgoodi’mnotmanagement.
wow WTF am I saying. Lets start over.
They even kick that “loud mouthed black kid” to the Nats. I thought you would be happy with clearing up the complexion of los mets?
He’ll be hurt for 8 of those 19 games, guaranteed! No worries! Hey, let’s sign David Wells just to pitch against the Nats, and he’ll get 3 stolen bases for us, too!
or they were the only ones who’d sign him.
So we basically exchanged two position players -catching and RF - with the Nats. Does that sound like a substantial upgrade to you?
Nats got the better offensive guys..we got the better defense.
church>milledge (@ this point)
loduca>schiender (schiender + defense)
MEH
I would disagree. Lo Duca’s primary contributions were leadership and clutch performance, both of which seemed notably absent last season, leaving a singles hitter with a big mouth and a small arm. I loved the guy, and I think his lack of leadership says more about Willie and the other Mets than him, but it wasn’t a good fit. Once you get past the “fit,” at this stage in his career, there’s not much left.
Church> Milledge for at least a month, Schneider >= Lo Duca, and “>” when you factor in his D and handling of pitchers.
Of course, Lo Duca was the only Met that seemed to take the first Phillies’ sweep personally. No one else seemed to care, setting the stage for the second, intolerable, unbelieveable, season-killing Phillies’ sweep at Shea. I would have recommended saving the Mets the trouble of picking and choosing personalities among the players, and axing Randolph. Zero tolerance. But, that’s just me. For whatever reason, Lo Duca didn’t seem to have much effect, and signing him didn’t make much sense.
if church and schneider are such superior players, then why would the nats dump them for an immature over-valued prospect that was benched for anemic shawn green. Ive never heard church/schneider in trade talks for manny, zito, oswaly, etc.
Yup, I sent a tip to Matt a while back because I didn’t see him cover the fact that the Nats were going after LoDuca, and I said the same thing.
Maybe this works out for the Mets, but, being a Mets fan in DC who has seen a lot of Nats baseball, if you asked me whether you’d rather have Church and Schneider or LoDuca and Milledge, I would laugh at you for even asking that question.
I feel like this team is being shaped into the image of their manager, professional and colorless, lacking either fun and passion (see Ventura, Zeile, Agbayani, Fonzi…) of the 99-00 Mets or the fire and swagger (Mex, Kid, Straw, Nails, Wally…) of the 84-88 variety. Even Reyes seemed to get the life sucked out of him by the end of the last season.
I hate to say it, but the direction we’re headed in as an organization doesn’t feel right to me. I could care less about the “Los Mets” garbage, I just feel like we’re going to be seeing a very pale shade of blue and orange at Shea for its last year. Just doesn’t sit right with me.
i’ll take a good team over a “fun” one any day. i mean, if you’d rather have benny agbayani than beltran because agbayani was more “fun,” i’m thankful that you have no chance of ever becoming a GM.
Not trying to be a GM, I am a fan. Last I heard, this isn’t called “Mets Wannabe GM Blog.” And, as for “good” over “fun” — if I remember correctly, I believe that “fun” team reached the playoffs two years in a row, and won a National League championship. That would be markedly better than the Division Title/Collapse of the “good” 2006-2007 teams.
In other words, FTW, stop picking at nits. I obviously want a good team, too. Many people would agree that Milledge and Lo Duca are not only more interesting and fun to root for players, but BETTER than Schneider and Church as well.
What I am saying is that this team is SACRIFICING talent because it doesn’t fit into its current personality mold. You can disagree with me on that end, but the basis of your comment and your extremely tired “I’m just glad you’re not the GM” insult are poor at best.
Let’s not overreact to a fellow poster’s jab, but I agree with you. It’s people who seem to think “good” and “fiery” or “fun” are mutually exclusive who don’t seem to get it. This is why Willie should have been axed. By remaining committed to him, the Mets are digging themselves ever deeper. The “folded arms” style doesn’t seem to work when you don’t have a $200M payroll to bail you out.
I’m fine with being jabbed, as long as it’s a well thought out one. Been on this board pretty much since Matt started the thing, and been zinged many times over the years. But when gratuitous jabs bring down the level of conversation to glorified name calling, I’m going to react.
That said, I’m still shaking my head on Randolph’s continued presence as manager, but, hey, I have no chance at ever being a GM, so it’s not my call…
I agree that the Mets seem to be transforming into the personality of their management: passionateless, cold, unemotional.
However, there is an upside to the players theyre getting: Professionalism, stability, consistency, patience. I think ultimately guys like LoDuca that are full of passion and fire burn out and exhaust themselves, while the Beltran’s and the Delgado’s remain focused and strong.
I like the philosophy that Minaya is bringing to the Mets for this very reason. It’s a more consistent team. It’s like the philosophy the Yankees had over all these seasons that theyve made the playoffs: patient hitters that walk a lot, take pitchers deep into counts, etc.
How long can the Phillies maintain this magic they have going before they hit rock bottom and fall off? Not very long im guessing. The Phillies are too streaky I think to be taken seriously. Yeah, they streaked to the playoffs last season, but this season they might completely tank and win 80 games.
we “got younger” at catcher, and we got better defense in right, as well as getting rid of a perpetual headache, and mota’s gone.. yeah, I see the upgrade.
So who here would rather have Schneider and Church over Milledge and LoDuca?
Yep. Thought so…..
I consider a what a catcher does behind the plate to be more important than what he does at it, therefore I prefer Schneider to Lo Duca. Milledge v. Church? Right now, Church. In the next decade who knows.
Schneider is an automatic out. No amount of picked-off baserunners can atone for that.
Lo Duca’s lifetime OBP is only .015 higher than Schneider’s.
In his 711 games at C, Schneider has 30 errors. In 906 games at C, Lo Duca has 64 errors.
I couldn’t find career ejections…
but we already had Schneider last year. He went by the name Mke DeFelice. Schneider is not an upgrade.
And Church cannot hit lefties. Trading a right handed hitting OFer for Church leaves a gap in the RF platoon next season that was otherwise filled by Milledge and Chavez.
I seriously hope both both Schneider and Church prove me wrong on this. But at this point, this trade made absolutely no sense. I refuse to believe that Milledge could not have yielded at least a relief pitcher.
So who here would rather have Schneider and Church over Milledge and LoDuca?
For 2008? I prefer Church and Schneider. LoDuca at this point is barely any better than Schneider offensively, but Schneider is vastly superior behind the plate. And Church will probably put up slightly better numbers than Milledge. The real problem with the trade is that Milledge could become, in later years, a star player.
I think Lo Duca is going to prove you wrong this year given his strong September offensive numbers. He played hurt a lot, and with something to prove, I’m guessing you may end up wishing Paulie back in town. We’ll see.
I am not high on Church because I think his K numbers are only going to increase. Good pop, but a long swing. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t see ths as an upgrade. Both are upgrades defensively, though. I don’t think folks are going to be as impressed with Schneider as they think they will. His skills behind the plate have degraded somewhat as well.
I think Lo Duca is going to prove you wrong this year given his strong September offensive numbers.
Possibly, but he’ll be 36 years old next year, and his offensive numbers peaked a while back (though he did have a good 2006). As you said, we’ll see.
I’m not terribly concerned about Church’s k’s, though there is a chance that Milledge could outperform him next year. This was a trade that I opposed at first, but have warmed to lately. But you could have reason to be wary.
In 08? Me.
Thats the problem. People see value in LoDuca and Milledge because of their fire. They get streaky. People like to see that emotion form players. But isnt always the best thing for the team.
Thats why a lot of Mets fans seem to dislike Beltran. Hes not a fiery, streaky player. Hes just a solid, consistent player. Schneider and Church are the same types of players. Professional, consistent players.
People want lots of emotion and magic but they dont realize that oftentimes, it’s just the day to day consistency and workmanlike resolve that brings championships.
agreed .. but the one streak beltran does have is when he’s suddenly hitting 2 hrs a game and swatting everything else around the field, other than that, he’s just consistent ;)