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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 ;)
Wonder why Matt has nothing to say regarding this matter? Well, it sucks for Paul that he has to be in a situation like that. Although, I am not crazy about have too ex-mets on a division rival with an axe to grind.
Wow, so much hatred for LoDuca. I wish him well.
The real surprise is not that Paulie ends up with the Nats, but that he has to agree to just a one-year contract, when the initial indications were that he wanted a 3-yr gig somewhere (which he obviously was never gonna get from the Mets).
I think the first time Paulie is back at Shea he will get a nice ovation from the crowd… and he will get an even bigger cheer when Reyes steals second off of him on the first pitch.
You guys do realize that at some point(maybe more than–
–once) Paulies gonna wear-out one of our RPs w/ a long
AB before hitting a bases clearing double to win an important
game. Don’t ya ??
Yes, after which he’ll drop his appeal and begin to serve his suspension for throwing all his shiny new Nats catching equipment onto the field arguing about a borderline pitch called against him.
I’d rather have paid Paulie for one year than Schneider for two.
Id rather pay Paulie for eight years than Schneider for any…..Lets face it the guys a bum…..he couldnt hit a watermelon
What kind of reaction does he get at his Shea return next year?
It should be nothing but positives but who knows.
despite my other posts in this thread, I’d cheer him his first time up if I were there. I don’t hate the guy, I just don’t think he’s a good defensive catcher that’s all.
I like ‘Duca very much. He brought the fire and excitement that is lacking in the manager. I’d rather have him behind the plate than Schneider. I think this is a loss to the mets.
Good luck Paul. I will be giving you a standing ovation when you come back to Shea. It’s deserved.
i agree the guy was a big part of our success in 06 and he was one of the few guys down the stretch who played well and played with fire. i wish him luck, just not against us.
That “calls a good game” line is such BS.
Paulie I wish you the best next year. The Mets will miss your passion tremendously. Now you give me a reason to root for the Nats.
He did this, besides for some inexplicable reason this was one of his few options, so that he can get Omar and Willie fired IMO and it’s quite possible that he will help. I hope that he does well, but not against us and that we win despite Omar and Willie. That said, if Omar can actually get one of these aces, I’ll feel a whole lot better about him. Otherwise, he’s wearing out his welcome fast, although I don’t know who should take his place.
what’s Dallas Green doin’?
dear paulie
the only reason why i wanted you back on the mets this year is cause you’re italian and you have a short temper like i do. sure you can’t call a game, can’t run, can’t throw out hitters, you’re 36, and hit singles most of the time, but i still want you and you .276 3 hrs and 47 rbi on the mets hitting 2nd for some stupid reason. you rule and the mets are stupid.
kisses
metsblog
lmao nice
From the Nationals Site (scares me a little):
I just don’t understand the Brian Schneider trade. All I hear is how great he is as a defensive catcher and how great he was at handling the numerous pitchers the Nats had last year. Why did they trade him anyway?
– Bob D., Chantilly, Va.
I see what you are saying, but in my opinion the Nationals needed much more from Schneider. They need a hitter and a leader. Schneider has regressed as a hitter the last two years and he has never been a leader in terms of solving problems in the clubhouse. I also believe his days as an everyday player are behind him.
His temper tantrum is one of the reasons I’ve called the 2006 Nationals the worst team I’ve covered. When things were going wrong on any given day in ‘06 and ‘07, there was a good chance Schneider would be in the computer room or went home instead of facing the media. This team did not have a leader until Young came along.
Taking this at face value, a little worrisome, but it’s a different situation for him with the Mets. The Nats needed a leader, the Mets – a team with a lot more seasoned bets than the Nats – don’t really need to rely on Schneider to be a clubhouse leader so much.
Bizarro world version:
“I just don’t understand the Paul Lo Duca thing. All is hear is how great a hitter he is and how great he was at firing up his teamates last year. Why did the Mets let him go anyway?”
-Joe F. Commack NY
“I see what you are saying but the Mets needed much more from Lo Duca. They needed a defender and pitch caller. Lo Duca has regressed as a defender the last two years and he has never been a pitch caller in terms of solving problems on the field. I also believe his days as an everyday player are behind him. HIs temper tantrum is one of the reasons I”ve called the 2007 Mets the most underachieving team I’ve covered. When things were going wrong on any given day in ‘06 and ‘07 there was a good chance Lo Duca would be at a nightclub or a racetrack instead of facing the media. The team did not have a leader until Conine came along.”
This is BS. Don’t sell Paulie short like that. Brian Schneider throws out 15% more baserunners. Wow, cuz that makes a huge difference. Ya know what does make a difference: 35 points of BA….and you’re all gonna be crying when Schneider’s hitting .230 in August and doing jack for our team….the Nationals now have the much better catcher
and lets face it…..defense in a catcher…..overrated…..who cares if you can’t throw people out? Nobidy runs besides the Mets anymore. I mean you have to be competent but PLD was competent and he gave us more offense.
And he always talked to the media whether he wanted to or not
The only issue i have with that is, Schneider played on the Expos and Nationals, an organization that loses every single season. That can wear on you and its understandable a player might get upset after being in that type of organization. Every other report ive heard about Schneider is that hes a great leader in the clubhouse and a rock as a teammate. Im not sure where that person is getting that type of information.
Wait…who was disagreeing with Bob D., Chantilly, Va.??? Was it Manny Acta or Jim Bowden? If not, I’m not worried about two guys disagreeing on NatsBlog.
For 2008:
Church > Milledge
Schneider > LoDuca (although this one is for good, actually)
theres no way Brian Schneider is better than PLD. Ever. Period.
ludacris, exactly, it improves them for 08, probably 09 also.
As for Flores, yeah guys, cuz we all thought somebody would take a 21 year old catcher with no experience above A ball and keep him on the big league roster for an entire season. How did nobody see that coming.
Let’s also look as Flores stats:
.244/.310/.361 with 4HR and 25 RBI in 180 ABs. Not really burning it up.
LoDuca did 272/.311/.378 9HR 54RBI in 445 ABs. Wow. Flores might actually be the better hitter.
New Motto of the Washington Nationals
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
at least we know on this rotten weather day that 95 south is clear
in regards to all the fun nonsense, ive been hearing, i think we still have jose reyes, one of the most eccentric guys in the league. castillo, gomez, and wright add some life to the team as well.
schneider will add great defense and a respectable arm behind the plate. church is an upgrade over milledge in the short run, and milledge was definitely a head case. whether it was the high 5s against the giants or the explosion against the marlins, how many times did we see this guy in willies doghouse? Teams threw it at him very often- theres probably a reason why. In church, you add a solid defender who hit 15 homers and 70 rbis with zero protection in one of the least favorable hitters parks in the league. i think hell be a better version of the first half 06 xavier nady.
can we wait till spring training to assess what omar has done for this team?
Wasn’t the primary reason for not bringing back LoDuca the fact that he said he wanted a 3 year deal minimum? That is how the spun it. Now he signs with a bad team (although improving, thanks to the Mets!) for only 1 year. I think somebody has egg on their face now…(Wilpon, Minaya, etc.)
Why has nobody brought this up? I think it’s a real indictment on the Mets with him getting only a 1 year deal on a bad team.
It proves they are liars and proves that they would rather have a bunch of choir boys that lose as opposed to having some fiery rabble rousers that win.
Last I checked, the 1986 was a team filled with “bad guys”…but they won.
Shouldn’t that be all that matters? In my mind, you put winning above everything- and the Mets simply don’t do that.
They would rather have a bunch of choir boys, cut the payroll, and save as much money as possible. I mean are we really going to go into 2008 with a $350,000 platoon player? That is not how a big market team is supposed to act. But Freddie Coupons thinks he is the Oakland A’s, it seems…
What a disgrace.
Just playing devil’s advocate here, but doesn’t it reflect poorly on Lo Duca, not the Mets, that free to negotiate with any and every team in MLB, all Lo Duca could get was a 1 year contract, likely at a pay cut, with a losing team?
how’d the 87 mets do? 88? 89??
oh yeah, that’s right.
The 1986 Mets*
Above, I meant are we really going to go into 2008 with a $350,000 platoon player in RF? Why not go after Fukudome, or at least consider him? Or perhaps Rowand? He would be overpaid, but who cares- we have the $$$. He would add back some of the fire that was lost by losing LoDuca.
But again, Mets management would rather have a bunch of choir boys, and, above all, keep the payroll as low as possible…if we cut a few more million, we’ll be spending less than the Braves (90 million)
Dude, I know you hate everything Omar does, but you are selling Ryan Church short. If you actually look at their lifetime Seasonal Averages (per 162 games played), they are really similar. For example:
Church: .271/.348/.462 16HR 71RBI
Rowand: .286/.343/.462 18HR 66RBI
However, I’m sure you’d rather pay 4yrs/$56M for the same production from Rowand. You don’t have to believe me. Check the data, bro.
Just seems this team isn’t committed to winning/spending.
They seem committed to having “good guys” on the team…and that is just not acceptable.
Trust me, I’m all for spending and winning. The tough thing is you can spend just as much on mediocrity, too, especially is this year’s FA drought.
Smart spending is the way to go. Let’s make a big run at Tex and Sabathia (or maybe Santana) in 2009.
That’s what the Mets said about Zito and Santana 3 years go…”Let’s make a big run at them” Never happened. Same for Guerrero, ARod, Soriano- never happened. Never even made real offers for any of these guys- they made lowball, garbage offers to a few of them (Guerrero, Zito).
I am not saying the Mets have to spend $230 million, but 140-150 million is well within reason given their incredible revenue streams.
I’m paying significantly more money for tickets, etc.- and so why in turn shouldn’t they spend more on payroll? That is not too much to ask, I don’t think. They payroll hasn’t budged in years, and in fact has gone down.
And don’t tell me “Oh they signed Beltran, Martinez, Wagner, etc.”- those moves did not increase the payroll significantly. They cut other payroll in order to bring those contracts in. It ended up a wash.
No reason this team can’t spend 130-150 million as opposed to the very sad ~100 million they are spending now. Again, nobody is saying it has to be 230 million- but it needs to be more with all of the incredible revenues they are enjoying.
PUHAHAHAHA
Agreed. If only LoDuca really came back and said I’ll play for one year. He wanted 3 for $15M. No wonder he will spend next season winning 65 games and pineing for the mets. If he really wanted to be here….he could have been. all he had to do was at the end of the season say…sign me for 1yr at $3.5M with incentives to get an option year and incentives to earn another $3M based on plate appearances etc. Mets would have done it.
He overshot and is gone. Good riddance I say
Not if our pitchers throw Milledge nothing but breaking balls outside and in the dirt. Heck, even Jose Lima could get him to K doing that.