Having said that, I would still prefer the Mets went with another option for their 5th spot, and use Niese and Parnell in the bullpen.

The Mets would have to give up a whole lot more than the Mets have to get Kinsler. Maine is the only thing there that would mean anything for them.

O-Dog is a nice hitter, though he doesn’t walk too much, but he can hit for a solid .280 or better avg., get you the occasional homer, 12-15, get you around 8 triples, and 30 doubles, with nice numbers in the clutch. Since he doesn’t steal a lot of bases, he would fit well after Church, continuing rallies started by the guys above him, or starting new ones. I just think Murphy fits better up there than Hudson does.

While I like the idea of Murphy playing 2B so we can get a righty bat in LF, I just don’t see too many viable options out there, plus, with Delgado at first, I can’t imagine Murphy having anywhere near the range he would need to help Delgado out. I think the Mets might be much better off going with Murphy in LF and Hudson at second, and Hudson can make up for the fact that they didn’t get a righty bat. I know Hudson tends to miss about 20 games some years, but we have Easley who could slide right in there and give him a rest here and there.

I truly think that the Mets can afford to get all three guys: Sabathia, Lowe, AND Hudson, while refraining from spending much money on the bullpen as I think they can improve it mostly through trades.

I think the trio of Santana, Pelfrey, and Sabathia would be deadly. Then add Maine to the mix- wow! Now I’m going to go one step furher. If someone thought the idea of getting Ollie and Lowe was good, why not spend the extra money and get CC and Lowe? Why not? It would be like an extra 7 mil, and given how much money this team would generate with the new ballpark, in addition to the SNY channel, and factoring all the money coming off the books, such as Pedro, Ollie, the 4 million less they will owe Delgado, etc, why not?

It doesn’t mean they still can’t improve the bullpen. I just don’t think they should get K-Rod is all, nor Fuentes at the price he’s asking. Instead, they should try to trade for their closer, and either trade or sign an 8th inning guy. The rest they can get from within. Perhaps they can trade for KC’s Joakim Soria. He looks like the next big deal closer. He did really well this year. I would even trade F-Mart straight up, or at least consider it. Or, how about a three for one. We give them Heilman, who could start for the Royals, along with Ayala (and save a lot of money by losing those two), and a prospect, don’t know who, but something that would work. And then we can try to trade for an 8th inning guy. I agree with whomever said we should get a lefty in that spot. I think it allows us to go with only one lefty specialist in addition to the lefty set up man, and it sort of kills two birds with one stone. Someone like Daren Oliver (don’t know if he’s a free agent or not).

Then the Mets can go with Kunz in the 7th inning, letting him develop in a less pressure type situation… Niese would be your standard long man/spot starter… Feliciano could still be your lefty specialist… and then you have Parnell and Stokes as your mix and match relievers- they can come in to help out a starter in the 6th, or give the 7th or 8th inning guys a day off, pitch in an extra inning game, mop up, whatever Manuel needs. I think all of these guys would succeed, even thrive, in their respective roles as long as Minaya got a closer and an 8th inning set up man. And it allows Niese and Parnell to warm up to the majors before being full time starters.

I just don’t think Minaya needs to spend a ton of money on K-Rod or Fuentes or the like. With a little money, but more likely using trading chips (Heilman, Ayala, Sanchez, F-Mart, Nick Evans, Castillo if the Mets eat up a chunk of his salary), I believe the Mets could solve those those two innings, and not only save the money they would have spent on K-Rod or someone else, but all the money they would have spent on those other guys I mentioned, and they can go and use that saved money on Satbathia and Lowe, and hec, even think seriously about Orlando Hudson if they so choose (which does make some sense, btw).

Get Sabathia. Get Lowe. And then use creative means to get guys like Soria and Oliver, or something along those lines- I just don’t know who’s available.

Neither of that is true for Preavy, he’s under control for 3 more years. Any team in the league could concievably go after him.