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Tonight on Mets Hot Stove on SNY, Mets GM Omar Minaya said Daniel Murphy will be ready for spring training, 
and will likely begin working out, doing outfield drills in Florida following the holidays.
Earlier today, the Mets announced Murphy had an MRI that revealed a Grade 2 strain of his right hamstring.
According to Minaya, Murphy will spend most of his time in left field next season, and could occasionally back-up first base as well.
He did not mention Murphy as a second baseman. In fact, according to Minaya, Murphy would have played outfield during the winter league this off-season.
Speaking of left field, when asked if Minaya has considered acquiring an outfielder, he said, ‘Right now, we are focused on investing our dollars in pitching,’ adding, ‘We will see where we are after that.’
Lastly, Minaya said the organization still sees Aaron Heilman as a reliever, not a starting pitcher.
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Say what? No he didn’t! That’s it, the season is over.
Seriously, Murphy/Tatis platoon isn’t that bad.
Trade for Vasquez and Street, Sign K-Rod and maybe Sheets.
Hot Stove over.
Forget Sheets. He’s just a shorter AJ Burnett.
Exactly. We really only need him for a year. Niese would probably be ready after next year.
how can ANYBODY talk about LF needs….and a power righty bat need….without discussing MANNY????
Goodbye Homerun Heilman.
Come on Omar. Don’t you think it would increase Heilman’s trade value if you said “Of course we are weighing our options with Aaron. He is very versitile and could start or setup for us.”?
Might as well just release him at this point, LOL.
As for 2B, I hope we bring in Grudzy to back up Castillo or even platoon. That is as suming he can’t be moved. Murphy in LF is fine. I do worry about the offense if Delgado slips back to 2007 form again. Getting Molina for catcher would help that situation for sure.
IMO, if they are going with Murphy/Tatis in LF, then I would hope they upgrade at C (I like the Molina suggestion) and/or the bench. I might be in the minority, but I feel the C situation leaves a lot to be desired. Castro can’t stay healthy, and Schneider really should be a backup (ie to Molina, for argument’s sake).
Aside from Tatis, there is absolutely no other capable stick on that bench right now. The bench right now, stinks. I also hope that Inning Endy, if he is to be on this team, will be because he actually earned a spot, and not grandfathered in because of a catch he made almost 3 years ago.
I want Castillo gone in the worst way. At this point, I don’t care who they get to play 2B.. just not Gimps Hornsby.
If they dont acquire a big RH Bat for LF then I think they have to go out and get a guy like Molina and sign Orlando Hudson. This lineup was too left-handed last year and after the 4 spot in the order in September when Beltran was hitting 2 the mets had ZERO pop. You cant count on Tatis to be that guy.
I still think Omar will go out and trade for a Jermaine Dye,Jose Guillen, or Carlos Lee. Or at the very least sign Juan Rivera and keep Tatis on the bench
If they dont acquire a big RH Bat for LF then I think they have to go out and get a guy like Molina and sign Orlando Hudson. This lineup was too left-handed last year and after the 4 spot in the order in September when Beltran was hitting 2 the mets had ZERO pop. You cant count on Tatis to be that guy.
I still think Omar will go out and trade for a Jermaine Dye,Jose Guillen, or Carlos Lee. Or at the very least sign Juan Rivera and keep Tatis on the bench
Having said that, if they go get an everyday left fielder Daniel Murphy has no place on this team as a starter and thats unfortunate
I hear ya Real. Why do the Mets have their heels so far dug into the ground on Heilman? Heilman has more of a repetoire compared to Pelf and he throws just as hard and with more movement.
Point on Murphy. Of course he is our LF. We already have a 2B under contract, while one that had a terrible year, still under contract. We have no LF and Murphy was playing there to end the season. Does not seem that hard to understand.
Now if Castillo gets traded, then things may change. If we get a LF then things may change……
Does anyone else think keeping Heilman in the pen is a mistake at this point? Sure he had a down (injury plagued) year, but he does have great stuff. trading him now, at his lowest, will only be another dumb move by the mets front office.
make him a starter, or at least GIVE HIM THE CHANCE. what do we have to lose? if he pans out…boom we got a cheap 5th starter, if not we trade him as a starter and his value remains the same. it certainly cant get lower!
so if he doesn’t pan out as a starter and he hasn’t panned out as a reliever how does his value remain the same?
If he is traded now at least his value as a starter is still somewhat high.
i dont think many fans will accept heilman in any role he plays on this team. If heilman does get that 5th starter spot and doesnt have a good start, he boos will be so loud you wont be able to think. He needs to be moved even at the low value he is at now where he can start for some small market team and have no pressure on him. and maybe with him and a prospect to the rays for sonnenstein.
Think,keeping him on the TEAM-is a mistake at this point.
So give him a chance, and when he fails, what you gonna do? go with four starters for the season. Why does he deserve a chance to start.? When he’s a free agent he can negotiate his terms of employment. Until then just shut up and learn how to pitch when it matters most.
Yeah. I’d give him the chance..I mean his last couple of starts were good. years ago.
I think they just don’t want to have him maybe start and get his hopes up. Otherwise it makes no sense not to. You can negotiate for another SP with a little less desperation, and if you really don’t want to start him, maybe he really tears it up in Spring and you can trade him high.
Im glad to read Omar is investing the dollars in pitching… that means we will make a run at Tex!!
Maybe Tex-Mex, cuz Tex isn’t a pitcher and I don’t think Omar was trying to play it close to the vest.
I sure hope he was… with all the closers on the market…and the 2nd tier pitchers asking for 5 years… i hope he doesnt blow all the money… i wonder if he looked at the free agent firstbasemen for next year… its pretty scary
I have, it’s ugly. That’s why a move for Dunn would be nice.
not sold on Dunn… not a big upgrade from delgado.. I’d rather try a find a way to sign tex… worst case…sign Dunn and play him in the outfield for a year if you cant move delgado… but thats alot of strikouts for a limeup thats not really clutch to begin with
I’m not looking at it as an upgrade from Delgado but over anyone we could get next year.
hey i can deal with 1 more season from jobu – especially if he puts up the same numbers
the question is how much longer can he hit? or should we trade him while he has some value?
its omar. expect a zig.
could be a zag….
Jets look to end the Tennessee dream this w/end
If it’s in the Meadowlands, maybe Collins will think he’s playing for the Giants and fold like he did in SuperBowl 35.
At least Colins got to the championship round, something Omar and his band of true chokers can’t do.
They might be the most ignorant comment I have ever heard. They played the Super Bowl in Tampa Bay, not the Meadowlands. If you are referring to the NFC Championship game in which Kerry Collins quarterbacked the game of his life, then you’d have a valid comment.
sorry to hurt your feelings Kerry, I was just kidding. Obviously you are the man and will blow the Jets away.
hahahahaha, that was really funny.
I haven’t seen this many softballs tossed since last summer in Marine Park……
I am going to respond to this just because I find it utterly hilarious.
+1
lmfao ginda like the kingsboro girls softball team huh lol
kinda
what ever happened to hudson?? i dont mind the platoon in left of murph and tatis but only if hudson or a different upgrade is made. i can see a lineup like
reyes, hudson, wright, delgado, beltran, murph/tatis, church, schnieder
i just dont get what happened to hudson…the mets were all over him then he just went away
I think you need to switch murphy/tatis and church.
yea ur probably right
u have to get rid of slappy mcsingleton first
how come when i see that interview with omar i got despondent and pis-s-ed at the same time? he said pitching is our main concern and so far some pretty decent relief pitchers have been snatched up – damn i hate the hot stove!! i’m sure omar will do something – just hope its the right thing a-s oposed to last year when we put all our eggs in johans basket and barely adressed the pen
btw i never figured heilman would turn into fredo from the godfather – damn makes me wanna eat a bowl of cavatelli
Leave Heilman…..take the canolis….
hey kingman what band were u in?
I have a hard time believing we are not going to do anything about second base. A real hard time.
That’s why you’re (thankfully) not the GM.
lol ceetar i admit i’m impatient but its hard to be patient when u see deals being made and i’m sure we will get who we want but as i posted directly below i don’t think omar as total autonomy as we were led to believe
i agree but something tells be the words omar and autonomy are not going had in had these day (jeffy is meddling methinks)
every team as a postion they platoon or share a position so it does not hurt us to platoon left field tatis and murphy , what we need is a soild right hand hitting 2nd basemen and a gold glove like o dawg hudson this guys asking 5 years and 50 mil but i think minaya can convince this guy for a 4 yr deal if you show him were working on our pitching to win it all you know guys will budge for championship bound teams we need him upgrade the cathcer postion if possible but we can live without the upgrade if we get O dawg but Molina wouldnt be a bad idea but hes owed 6 mil and our budget doesnt have room for that unless we can unload schneider whos owed 4 mill i think teams like boston the reds might b interested we could pry a pitcher in return or bench help maybe get back keppinger or relief help from boston anybody to unload that 4 mil for schiender then try 2 get gerald laird from texas for heilman? or anything but i rather use heilman to trade for street because we need a setup man for hopefully our future closer K ROD who needs to be in new york ASAP theres many ideas on what to do but wagners arm is screwn our budget other wise i think we would be going after CC damn you WAGNERRRRRRRRRRRR
Listen I know many Mets fan might not be sold on signing Dunn but listen to this logic and then reconsider what I suggest: We Sign Dunn to say a 3 or 4 Year Deal….We use him in LF this year, Murphy can split time with Castillo at 2nd or start over him if Luis is that bad and he might just be bad enough. So that settles the OF/2B situation for this year – it also adds some more pop to lineup and Dunn should not K as much considering the extra protection our lineup can offer compared to cincy/dbacks. It also solves the 1B situation next year, free agent 1B are garbage – now next year Delgados goes on his merry way and we move Dunn to 1st – at which point either Murphy can go out to LF again or if he is ready for a big league role bring up Fernando Martinez to play the OF – if either doesnt work out for some reason we can trade or aquire an OF somehow someway to play left. Hopefully by the time Adam Dunns deal expires Ike Davis wil be ready to come up and play 1B. I know it sounds like a lot of piece that need to fall into place but 1 player can help solve many issues over the next few years and he should be that $$$ – we could still devote a majority of our money to pitching which is of course the # 1 problem but with some trades and signings the rotation can be solid along with a rebuilt bullpen and that offense – we would be nasty.
If Dunn’s contract demands are not out of hand, I completely agree with this fine idea. Dunn could drive in a zillion runs and score a ton too, and people who just look at his Ks miss a lot…he is a statistical freak—-yes, he strikes out a lot, but he is good for 40 HR, 100 RBI (probably more in our lineup), 100 R, and well over 100 BB.
Plus, he has never played in the postseason so might be extra motivated…and he is only 29 and never gets hurt.
I like Ibanez too, but Dunn is much younger and can move to first in 2009 (or in 2008 if we can move Delgado.)
Forgot to post this on my own comment & I added to it :
Correction: I meant to say Dunn SHOULD NOT be that expensive but of course thats compared to some of the other offensive options out there like Manny for example -who I would never want after the disgrace he was for Boston last year. I just hope Dunn doesn’t expect the world in a contract because he sure didn’t show that he deserved it after being traded to Arizona and doing nothing for them during a playoff race but again that was for a very average dback team.
I don’t know am I just crazy – anybody else care to chime in on this idea, again I know a lot of stuff needs to go perfect for this to work out the way I explained but its all about options and I think Dunn gives us some good versatility over the next few seasons because of his ability to play 2 positions.
I know we really should be focused on PITCHING PITCHING & MORE PITCHING but we need to make the lineup stronger also especially considering Delgado could always revert back to 07 and Schneider isnt exactly going to tear the cover off the ball and who knows about Church and his concussions – god forbid he goes through another injury filled season… how would we score runs ?
It just something Omar has to consider – its not that unrealistic.
seattle needs power 94 hrs last in the majors….hmm delgado and heilman for putz and a pitching prospect?
I wonder what it would take for them to give up on Bedard…. man if we can get him and putz, that would be amazing
Correction: I meant to say Dunn SHOULD NOT be that expensive, compared to some of the other offensive options out there.
I don’t know am I just crazy – anybody else care to chime in on this idea, again I know a lot of stuff needs to go perfect for this to work out the way I explianed but its all about options and I think Dunn gives us some good versatility over the next few seasons because of his ability to play 2 positions.
Or nick evans ,carlos muniz and mike carp for putz?
I think you are on the right track here….I think the M’s would never want Delgado’s contract, especially with his age….my guess is that they want to get younger…Heilman, and a basket of prospects could maybe get us Putz…then, if we got Dunn or Ibanez for left, maybe we then could use all of the dollars we saved on not signing KRod towards a longer term deal for Tex or CC…..dremaing maybe, but damn, this would be a nice scenario….
whats wrong with K-Rod
why give up prospects for a lesser player
Minaya must have absolutely no intentions of putting Murphy at 2nd base if he would not even bring it up in the interview. For him to say that Murphy will spend most of his time in left field is telling considering that Murphy is young, a natural infielder, and played second base in the fall league.
as for delgado well.. lets just say hes not getting younger and should be traded while he has value.
i don’t see the point in trading Delgado for middle relief help. Let him stay here hit his 30HR and 100RBI and then let him walk and pick up some picks when he signs elsewhere.
we could get middle relief help through the FA market, we only really need K-Rod and a setup man and both can be had without trading anyone important.
just wondering what offense help has omar brought in since bacoming the gm? he had wright reyes and beltran was a given…what has he done? we need more offense.
Why? Second to Chicago in runs scored last year. What we need is a better approach at the plate, and a better manager to run it.
we have a better manager now and i don’t blame hojo for the hitting meltdown i just believethat the team suffered a 2 week long brain fart wihile hitting with runners in scoring position – the bullpen was just putrid – end of story
take everything that omar says with a grain of salt. If you want to find subliminal messages, it is that we don’t need a 2B or a LF, since those spots are covered. Since the mets actually do have holes in both spots (or at least question marks), maybe he is trying to create some leverage with a FA or another team?
Saying that pitching is a proirity though is so obviously true that there is no reason to blow smoke there!
Although it is quite possible that depnding on how the off season plays out, slappy at 2B and Murhpy in LF could end up being the opening day lineup. Not that horrible, as long as slappy has an extremely short leash, and they bring in a viable back up.
Too bad they don’t seem to have a minor league 2B of the future waiting in the wings. I’m rooting for Murph, but that is more of a long shot project.
At this point, if Omar could trade for vazquez (for minor parts), sign sheets, get Krod or Fuentes or Wood at a decent price, and add a couple of set up guys that would cover the bulk of the needs.
Beyond that, pulling Teix out of the blue would really solidify the team. Since that isn’t likely to happen, upgrading LF or 2B would be good. Or catcher.
I guess I am saying that he has to deal with the pitching, then upgrade the position players (starters and/or bench) with the best options the market gives him.. Might be a C, OF or 2B (even 1B), but it is hard to tell what is really going to be available for him. Instead of overpaying (trade or FA) for a bad LF, better to get a good deal on another position.
What position does Wimer project to play?
I don’t know. Where did he play last year? Although where they slot him next season could be telling.
I got no problem calling up a young guy with a slick glove to play 2B if he is the future, and letting him learn hitting on the job, if he is just replacing Luis!
But that was the idea with Anderson Hernandez and we could not get rid of him quick enough. They have to at least get on base at a decent rate or we will never allow it.
that second half he had coulda been a fluke
With Hernandez? No doubt. I am not saying we should have kept him. I am saying that the fans won’t put up with a all glove no hit player. Especially one that can’t get on base at all.
yeah sadly the days of doug flynn and brian giles are far behind us lol
I don’t mean no hit like hernandez or A. Reyes (and that never will hit).
Flores (same idea with F Mart) should end up hitting, and possibly being a monster, although if they get rushed it might be a little rough at first, at least they have potential.
Different IMO than just stinking with the bat, with no expectation of getting better. And I wouldn’t keep them up hitting .095, but if they can hold there own, it cold work.
Look, slappy set the bar pretty darned low, so it doesn’t take much to get over it!
didn’t we say the same thing about rey ordonez at ss and timo perez in lf?
According to baseballreference he is playing SS. He’s 6′3-180 already at age 16. Anyone think he could play 2B? I am incredibly impressed by his minor league numbers. Yes they were low level but those numbers are incredible for a 16 year old. Mark my words this kid is going to be better than Fmart.
hell id try him at second hell id see if he could pitch lol
Guys, as suming that Castillo knows there is pressure on him to perform, what makes us think that he won’t return to closer to career norms? We know his knees are not great but they were even worse in 2007 before surgery and he still hit .300 with a high OBP. To me, slot him in that 8 hole and move on until we can find a viable young replacement. Get Grudzy to back him up.
in either the post or the news today – they reported that he (slappy) begged the f.o not to be shipped out and that he is getting himself back into shape and that he is allegedly working out with trainer ray ramierez down in puerto rico and that he will play in the spanish winter leauge so we shall see – although i hope he is sold to the chibba lotte marines (since he is a beached whale lol) but i digress i do agree with u stickguy but remember we adressed only 1 aspect last year at this time and we got burned
I don’t think considering his play he had to worry about being shipped out, released maybe. But Omar’s hands seem to be tied with a trade. Maybe if he comes out strong and we eat some cash he can go midseason in a package for Brian Roberts.
honestly thereal when have you ever seen the wilpons nonbegrudgeingly release a player with a big contract??? ricky henderson? bobby bonillia? thats 2 outta the dozens of high $ contracts that we decided to release – but only after fan and media pressure – rememebr that the played mo even when he was stinkin up the joint
But even those guys did not get the hate of Castillo. With Murphy playing 2B and Hudson campaigning to come to NY I am sure Castillo felt a little pressure. I don’t think he thought he would get traded when there is no one to trade him to.
bobby bonillia?? not get the hate?where were u around in 92&93??? lol mel rojas was run out on a rail as was rich rodriguez
Yes I was here for both. They both got a lot of hate but media is much larger now. Even blogs effect fan mood now. I am willing to bet that Castillo is even more hated than either of those right now.
very true i never considered that i think there is a place in most of our pancreases where bile is reserved for bobby bo
slappy is a tough call. Everyone I think agrees he stinks, but you have to find a way to unload him, and get a viable replacement. Not quite as easy as it sounds.
So, he gets a chance most likely unless a team steps up and offers something of value. If he plyas better, fine. If not, he goes DL or bye bye.
For addressing issues, the SP and pen are seperate ones, so fully addressing both is 2 things! The positin players would be 3, and bench 4.
I as-sume (hope?) that the bench gets upgraded (it has to, right). The starters can pretty much carry over if need be, but they will then just have to fill the hopes in 2010.
so regardless of what Omar says, expect a new starter at at least either LF, 2B or C (lnog shot of 1B) in 2009.
agreed but it can be a slippery slope stickguy – if manuel doesn’t want to play him and the front office is pushing him cuz of his bloated contract – it could affect the teams morale and play
That’s why Manuel has to 100% back him for the team’s sake. Pull a Willie. Castillo is my guy, I trust my guy. Yes he stinks but he is the best option we CURRENTLY have. And if Manuel wants any chance of unloading him he has to do everything he can to help him be successful.
Again, I think ALL of us would take .301, .362OBP, 19 SB and more walks than K’s. He did that in 2007 needing surgery. I just think he was never healthy in 2008. Maybe he tried to rush his recovery, maybe he did not do a good job in rehab. But IF he is working hard this offseason then I could see a return to those numbers again.
i think thats why we loved jerry cuz of his take no prisoners demeanor and telling it a-s it is if he says slappy is my guy then we as fans will se right through him and start calling him a shill u disagree?
No, but what else can he do if he wants Castillo gone. He can’t just bench him because then it will hurt the clubhouse. He knows that Omar’s not going to just release him and even if he does that contract will hurt the team’s choice at 2B. I think his only recourse is to sit down with Omar and Castillo and air it all out and then play him either way. Tell him as long as he is giving his all then he is the 2B and if he does not then the Mets will release him and will come out in the media with proof that he dogged it.
rock – meet hard place plus u heard the reports that friction existed between jerry and slappy dating back to their days with the marlins
But again, what can you do. Castillo is the only 2B the roster and will be the opening day 2B. If Manuel wants the team to be successful then Castillo, one way or another has to be successful as well.
offer valentin a minor leauge deal again lol maybe he will displace slappy like he did mr kaz
I think Castillo showed some guts and self-realization by asking for the meeting and begging to stay. What does he care? It’s not about the money, because he would be getting that whether released or not.
I have been the biggest Castillo hater on here and at Shea the last year and a half (I hated him when he came to the Mets), but at least the guy owned up to it and I think he deserves another shot. Does he deserve to start from scratch? Probably not. But I think the fans should give him another shot.
i guess – plus he showed more balls than heilmann did yesterday
look if slappy comes back and shows thats he’s trying ill cheer him on – kinda like what i did with jobu last year when gelgado was stuggling my wife and i every sat would cheer him loud while most of the residents in our section (mez sect 25 ) would boo him
Problem is, it’s so hard to tell when a player is trying. As a coach, even I can hardly tell myself when a player is giving all he can. Especially when they are injured.
true tbut thats when slappy should swallow his pride (not the cuban sangwhich) and opt out of the lineup for the betterment of the team
I’ll compare Slappy to Matsui. Matsui at least tried. I didn’t understand the boos for him. It’s not his fault the front office vastly overrated his ability. Personally, I would trade Castillo for Matsui in a heartbeat right now, but that’s besides the point. Castillo was so easy to boo because he was the face of failure and defeat for this team. He always had a sour puss on.
u know what it was we were very bitter that the front office moved jose to 2nd where he was miserable and put kaz at ss where he butcherred the position – when he came to second in 06 he was injured and barely hit his weight
You can’t say that Castillo was not trying. None of us really know if he was or not.
I did not check to see. Did we select anyone in the Rule 5 yesterday? It would have been a good time to take a flyer on a backup infielder and some bullpen arms.
rule 5 isn’t il december this is the time we protect who we feel won’t be drafted – we left bowman unprotected
We left Flores unprotected…Jesus Flores :-)
uh that was in 06
I know, but there was a huge debate over it yesterday on one of the threads. Thought I’d stir the pot a little bit :-)
Where did you find that we left him unprotected? Yesterday it was that we were considering doing it.
Is there a list somewhere?
mets need the following: LF who is a power righty bat. ummm….let me think…..how about MANNY! get real. and it is “only” money….not prospects! look, if the mets were willing to bank on 41 YEAR OLD moises AARP…why not give the younger, BETTER manny say 3-yrs with an option year? manny is in as good a shape as ANYONE in the mlb….no one works harder….and his defense is HIGHLY underrated! heck, manny can catch a fly on the run, climb the wall, give a high five to a fan, and then throw the runner out at second! manny is EXACTLY what the mets need!
all though im all for it there is a difference between a 2 year contract and a 6 year 120 mill deal like manny wants
I was on the 4 train this morning reading my paper. Then I read if the Mets can’t secure one of the 3 starting pitchers or bullpen help, they are going to focus their attention on building the offense. Their prime target is Raul Ibanez. I threw up.
I think that is just puting pressure on the pitchers. Saying if you don’t bend to meet us then we just will move on. Ibanez just does not fit to me unless we trade Delgado or Church.
Or my favorite, Schnieder. Not to mention, what do you do with Murphy then?
Reyes, Church, Wright, Delgado, Beltran, Ibanez, Molina, Castillo is not a bad lineup.
ibanez is just another aarp member who would do nothing but help secure second place for the mets
We need pitching first and we could not get Manny and pitching and stay under the luxury tax.
who cares about the luxury tax??? get manny!
I suppose we can cut slappy some slack, and give him 1 more chance. As-suming, of course, Omar doesn’t manage to unload him.
If he works like a madman in the off season rehabbing, and comes to ST 20 pounds lighter with knees that actually work, and is willing to work hard on his hitting (and maybe even change his approach), then he might just rebound a bit.
i doubt he recovers his lost range, but maybe he gets 1 step back. And he could always put a smile on his face and try to at least pretend he is enjoying life?
If not, make him disappear early. Very short leash.
The guy does not need to change his approach. The approach that got him a .300 AVG with a .370 OBP is just fine, especially for an 8 hitter. That’s silly. Just because we want him to swing more? Let him take as many pitches as he wants. He works the pitcher more than anyone on the team.
THE ONLY WAY I GIVE SLAPPY ANOTHER SHOT IS
A) HE COMES INTO SPRING TRAINING IN SHAPE AND HITS THE GROUND RUNNING
B) BATS IN THE NO 8 HOLE
C) MUST DEMONSTRATE SOME POWER AT THE PLATE ( IN HIS CASE IT MEANS BEING ABLE TO HIT PAST THE PITCHING
RUBBER )
D) DEMONSTRATE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE