also their offensive core is overall older, by a lot, than the Mets. And man, they got some serious lucky with guys. No way the pen can replicate this success next year. Just law of averages if nothing else!

And finally, forget Gillick. His contract is up, and he has already packed up his office. He is gone. One of the a$$istant GMs (probably Ruben Amaro) is probably going to take over. Not that he did that much. He got the nickname “stand pat Pat” for a reason.

Too bad the Mets didn’t follow Wagners advice this time and get Lidge as a set up guy. That 1 move would almost definitely have changed the balance of power.

You think Lidge in the Mets pen and Madson/Gordan closing for the Phils might have meant a few win swing in the standings?

Good article, well thought out, but with a fatal flaw. Yes, the Cubs on paper would be better with Beltran (offset by losing Lee of course). But they still won 97 games, and as someone else noted, it isn’t fixing the problem that kept them from advancing.

Same with the Mets. Yeah, you can make on the field moves to change parts, but if you don’t fix the root cause problem (the back end of the pen), the results aren’t likely to change.

The Cubs, frankly, looked like they just choked under pressure. maybe if they played hard and to win against the Brewers (and actually, to some extent, the Mets) they would have done better.

Anyway, I don’t advocate trading Beltran. But this kind of deal could be intriquing (not neccesarily these players), if you could fill 2 problem areas with good players (say LF and 2B), plus get a real arm for the pen. Something like that.

But the key would have to be, having a replacement on hand for CF. That is the only way I trade a star in his prime, if there is an uber prospect being blocked. And with the Mets, their ain’t.

So maybe if the Cubs gave up a young stud CF type of the future, there would be logic to it. But it still aint happening.

Do you think Babe Ruth or Ty Cobb were saints? Think again. Do you think that Mickey Mantle had a good liver? Think again. Do you think that any of these drunk, abusive people didn’t ever hit a woman? Come on. It just wasn’t as publicized then. Unfortunately, that kind of thing was kept hush and didn’t make for scandals.

The scrutiny that today’s players get is ridiculous. Burgos is no different from any other miscreant that’s played the game. I honestly don’t think there’s anything wrong with separating players’ personal lives from their baseball careers. I hope Barry Bonds gets in the HOF unanimously on the first ballot. Otherwise, I think that we should remove guys like Ty Cobb or virtually every player from WW2 to 2005 since they were all doing amphetamines. It’s only fair.

And while we’re at it, unless someone can prove that Pete Rose ever bet against his own team, he belongs in the HOF as well.

The problem with Beltran is the problem that most players exhibit when they are under the microscope for an entire season. The fans see all the warts that they don’t see in other players on other teams that are not under the local microscope. It’s all about perception. Trading Beltran just opens one hole to solve another one.

The Phillies strength comes from Pat Gillick. Yes he makes his mistakes but he has had a long and successful career and reminds a little of Frank Cashen.

i like beltran, but throughout the season i think he drove me the most nuts with his 2 out RISP .180 batting average. and in fact his entire time as a met, his close and late average is .260, and his RISP 2 out average is .226…..

So if trading him could help us out, while freeing up money, i’m all for it. (and btw, in the same categories endy chavez has the same close and late avg, and a better RISP 2 out avg. just for some perspective.)

I’d love a three team deal in attempt to pry Dejesus and Soria from KC.

He also said we lacked toughness and agreed that we need a Ray Knight or Keith Hernandez type of player.

To listen to interview, go to wfan dot com.

I wouldn’t even entertain the idea of trading Reyes and Wright. I would entertain the idea about Delgado if they can get some good relievers or prospects. I think they need to do what ever they can with the FA market though before considering the idea of trades. They’ll work something out I’m sure.

For the better or the worst though, most of the Mets we see on this roster will be here next season. Pretty much all of the line up. Maybe except for one new guy. And pretty much the same rotation or something similar to it. The only thing that needs to change tremendously is the bullpen.

Kind of like the Jets with New England, when someone just wins over and over you get used to it. Until you do something about it or the other guy just gets weaker.

If the Phillies won it this season, it’d itch at this club and its fans much more than the Yankees with the Red Sox. If it were up to me, I’d want to see Tampa and LA there. I know this probably won’t happen though so as long as anyone except for Philly wins, I’m happy.

I can’t get mad at the Rays either for trading Zambrano for Kazmir. I remember back when we had him. Kazmir was rated as one of our top prospects – if not our top. They loved him. And they trade him for an alright pitcher. A guy who wasn’t amazing. I really didn’t even see the purpose. The Mets chances in 2004 were unrealistic. Trading Wigginton for Kris Benson was a pure waste too. It didn’t seem like it was because we re-signed him and later on turned out and traded him for Maine & El Duque. I don’t know what made Omar trade Keppinger for Gotay though.

Omar makes moves. Sometimes they’re the right ones and sometimes they’re not. We need to see him do big and little. The only big move he made this season was Santana. Everyone else was minor. I don’t know if he will, but I do know that he can make this team better for next season. With the exception of the bullpen, it hasn’t been like he’s put bad teams out there.

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