Brandon Eddy

Read: Mets Should Enter Bonds Market
By Brandon Eddy - Mar 7, 2008 11:44 am

At his ESPN.com blog, Buster Olney believes it time for the Mets to discuss signing Barry Bonds following the recent wave of injuries.

Olney writes:

“Among all of the alternatives the Mets will discuss, the acquisition of Bonds would be the only way the team would acquire a high-impact hitter without gutting a farm system already depleted by the Johan Santana and Brian Schneider trades. Landing Bonds would be a cash-only proposition. You pay and he plays, and hits, at an extraordinarily high level.”

On the trade front, Olney thinks the Mets match up with the Tigers, who need relief depth, for Marcus Thames.

By comparison, Bonds had an OBP of .480 and hit 28 HR in 340 at-bats last season, while Thames had a .278 OBP and hit 18 HR in 269 at-bats.

According to Olney, here is what the 2008 Mets lineup would look like with each player:

WITH THAMES
SS Jose Reyes
2B
Luis Castillo
CF
Carlos Beltran
3B
David Wright
1B
Carlos Delgado
LF
Marcus Thames
RF
Ryan Church
C
Brian Schneider

WITH BONDS
SS Reyes
2B Castillo
CF Beltran
LF Bonds
3B Wright
1B Delgado
RF Church
C Schneider

…i am not sure what to make of either one of these guys…just seeing bonds’ name in between beltran and wright is very intriguing…however, with too many issues to list, i just don’t see the Wilpon family pursuing him…

…added to by Matthew Cerrone

During a talk with reporters yesterday, it was pointed out to Omar Minaya that Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds are still on the market, to which he smiled and said, “Well, we are happy with the guys we have.”

RSS feed

207 Comments

Comment by VCarver
2008-03-07 11:48:51

Go away, Buster. Your Yankee-centric, pro-steroids-cheaters ideas don’t fit for the Mets. Is it any wonder he tolerates steroids abusers now that his Yankees have been indelibly tainted as some of the biggest cheaters in the history of the game?

Comment by ravi3
2008-03-07 12:14:03

How could he include Schoenweis with Mota and Bonds?! Scho took HGH will recovering from CANCER! He a legit and documented prescription…I don’t want to say it makes his case ok, but i mean its sort of different than the guys who just say they used it to rehab faster to help their team

Comment by Tidewater
2008-03-07 12:15:25

Where does it say that HGH helps you recover from cancer? And why, if it is true, did he get it from some sketchy mail-order “pharmacy?”

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
Comment by VCarver
2008-03-07 12:24:35

ravi, I assume you’re talking about something Buster mentioned in that article? I don’t have access to it so I can’t read it. What did he say?

As for Show, HGH is not normally prescribed for cancer survivors. And I don’t think he had a legit medical prescription for it. If Buster was trying to use Show’s presence on the team as justification for acquiring Bonds, then that’s weak. Show’s usage was unknown to the Mets before he signed his contract. And there’s no reason to acquire yet more steroids abusers, especially one whose cheating went on for years and years.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Comment by crapple
2008-03-07 12:38:06

On the contrary. Steroids are routinely prescribed to cancer patients to help them recover lost muscle mass from chemo and/or radiation treatments. They prescribed them to my dad in 2003. It was like living with Clemens during the 2000 WS . . . every day for 6 months.

 
Comment by VCarver
2008-03-07 12:41:59

We’re talking about HGH here.

 
Comment by VCarver
2008-03-07 12:46:50

crapple .. interesting about your reference to roid rage. How bad is that exactly? Does it affect someone like 24/7?

Like many have said, that bat attack seemed to be classic roid rage.

 
Comment by crapple
2008-03-07 13:10:26

Roid rage is spotty and unpredictable. Small, poorly-timed annoyances tend to set it off (broken bats anyone??). For example, an old, old woman in my neighborhood politely suggested that we curb the dog’s business, which is fine. My dad flipped his lid, started yelling and waving his arms, and told her to go f*&% herself and F(*&% her little dog too! This is a pacifist we’re talking about by the way. He was a conscientious objector during Vietnam. I imagine that for a naturally aggressive person, the episodes could be much, much worse.

 
Comment by thekid024
2008-03-07 19:15:31

I’ll take Bonds in Left, him and Alou would be a perfect platoon, both are old and need days off. Bonds thrives on being booed, so all the fans that hate him would only make him that much better.

 
Comment by VCarver
2008-03-08 07:24:13

They didn’t boo him in SF. They had their fan blinders on every day.

At Shea, I would bet Bonds would be booed heavily. And he’s always hit poorly at Shea even before it was revealed he was a heavy juicer. Maybe he’s one of those players who just can’t cut it in NY. Now there’s age and health to add to the equation.

So simply looking at how well he’d perform at Shea, I’d say the chances are good not very well.

 
 
 
Comment by nrmax88
2008-03-07 18:56:42

Get down from your pedestal. I would LOVE to have Bonds in our lineup batting second behind Reyes and getting nothing but fastballs all year long. Dont make it sound like the Mets are too classy or whatever that they wont sign a guy linked with steroids. The fact is that it would be foolish to not sign Bonds if we learn Alou is going to muss significant at bats. We signed Mota, and I am sure there are other Mets who are using banned substances, just like I am sure there are guys in every other clubhouse who use them also. This guy can flat out mash, and would help the Mets so much. Thats what it comes down too. It would also get them much more ESPN coverage, more nationally televised games, and more covers of the NY papers, all of this makes money for the Mets, and that is also what it comes down too.

 
 
Comment by Another Matt
2008-03-07 11:49:19

Ugh… how, exactly, did the Brian Schneider trade ‘gut the farm’?

Seems pretty clear Green wasn’t coming back, and Milledge was the closest thing we had to a replacement for him. So, it’s either play Milledge and sign another catcher, or trade Milledge for a player in the same position plus Schneider.

Dumb.

Comment by appleinahat
2008-03-07 11:56:39

he didnt say the Schneider trade gutted the farm system. He said the Schneider trade along with the Johan trade gutted it. And hes right.

Comment by Another Matt
2008-03-07 12:09:00

Only in the sense that the Johan trade gutted it. The Milledge trade did not deplete the farm in any way. From the Mets perspective it was starting RF for starting RF, plus we got a free catcher.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
Comment by appleinahat
2008-03-07 12:16:58

Was Milledge one of the top prospects in the farm system? Yes. So trading him was part of the depletion of the farm system.

 
Comment by mackey_sassers_arm
2008-03-07 12:18:28

Was milledge one of the top prospects in the farm system? No. He was a 4th or 5th OF in queens.

 
Comment by Hit The Weights Zeile
2008-03-07 12:30:42

i agree trading milledge doesnt deplete the farm bc he wouldnt have been on the farm this year he was our starting RFer. so if we didnt make that trade and we still made the johan trade the way we did technically our minor league teams would look exactly the same.

 
Comment by kandiman
2008-03-07 13:16:14

Seems like we are splitting hairs here guys…

 
 
 
 
Comment by matt
2008-03-07 11:50:31

It’s worth the risk… Bonds > Alou

Comment by gameball
2008-03-07 13:26:29

Yeah? And who gets to wheel Barry out to LF every inning?

 
 
Comment by na9101
2008-03-07 11:52:36

Keep that cancer and all this baggage away from this team.

 
Comment by murpheeee
2008-03-07 11:53:07

Noooooooooooooo!

I’d rather limp by with Pagan/Chavez until Alou gets back
I’d rather sign Darryl Stawberry to play LF than see Bonds in a Mets uniform.

Comment by Ferragamo
2008-03-07 12:04:27

It really can’t hurt to bring in a guy like Bonds or Sosa. I know about all the baggage that comes along with these guys, especially Bonds, but it will cost the Mets nothing but $$ and there’s no need to further deplete the farm or bullpen for a player like Thames. Plus they’ll both know the situation there walking into and I think they’ll be on there best behavior.
We all know how long Alou takes to heal, just look at his career and last season as proof. If everyone thinks we could really get along with Brady Clark, Pagan or Chavez, then so be it. But lets keep it real Clark is pretty much done and Pagan and Chavez are career back-ups.

Comment by Another Matt
2008-03-07 12:14:58

It’s not about their behavior now.

It’s about the taint they bring with them and spread around.

It’s about their age - Bonds is two years older than Alou.

It’s about whether they can still play any kind of defense.

It’s about whether they are willing to accept that they won’t be starters in this ball club.

It’s about whether they are able to make the adjustment to pinch hitting.

It’s about how long their bodies will hold together now they’re off the juice.

In Bonds’ case, it’s also about how much of the season he will miss due to his legal entanglement.

I say the negatives and risks associated with Bonds outweigh his hitting. That’s what my head says. My heart says I’d be sickened to my stomach to see him in a Mets jersey.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
Comment by Tidewater
2008-03-07 12:23:47

Speaking of baggage! Do you recall what a complete a-hole Straw was when he left the Mets? And they let him back in.

 
 
Comment by mattygreen
2008-03-07 11:53:18

Bonds is the last thing we need. His attitude and circus will cause nothing but problems for this team! What we need is the X factor back. Time to get creative and go get him, Omar.

Comment by Saltzy23
2008-03-07 12:13:42

A-MEN. This is the quintisential ‘Would you sell your soul to the devil for a championship?’ question. I wanna win more than anything, but signing Bonds is worse than anything the Yankees have ever done in the quest to win.

Anyone that says they want him ask yourself one question. Would you be OK with being a fan of the team that got him his ring? The thought of him running into the infield with his finger pointed up jumping onto the pile wearing a Mets jersey makes me nausious. Pass.

Comment by Hit The Weights Zeile
2008-03-07 12:34:33

im not a fan of bonds, but something tells me if there was a pile in the middle of shea stadium after the WS and it was the mets celebrating id be too happy/drunk to care that barroid was in the mix.

(Comments wont nest below this level)
 
 
Comment by nrmax88
2008-03-07 19:04:46

The whole “bonds cant play the OF” is so overblown its ridiculous. And everyone buys into it. We have Adam Dunn, Josh Willingham, Carlos Lee, and many other awful LFs. Bonds can still throw, still catch, and still judge a flyball very well. He just doesnt have great range, same as Alou. You guys who act like you are too high and mighty to sign Bonds make me laugh. Keep watching ESPN guys. Bonds is no worse then any of the other 100’s, possibly thousand;s of professional cheaters currently employed all over the country.

 
 
Comment by Constnza81V2.0
2008-03-07 11:53:34

Bonds in a NY-team lineup would only look like this

#1 Baggage
#2 Baggage
#3 Baggage
#4 Baggae
#5 Baggage
#6 Baggage
#7 Baggage
#8 Baggage
#9 Pitcher

Comment by gameball
2008-03-07 13:28:20

Who’s that cleanup hitter? Never heard of him.