Free-agent RHP Trevor Hoffman has had talks with the Mets about meeting at the Winter Meeting or in New York, ‘or 
perhaps both,’ according to the New York Post, who cites the player’s agent.
…unless he is open to being a set-up man, ‘with experience as a closer,’ i hope Omar Minaya’s interest is limited to simply asking for an autograph…
The 41-year-old Hoffman had 3.77 ERA with 30 saves last season for the Padres.
…signing hoffman to a short-term deal to be the team’s closer makes zero sense to me…i bet the Mets agree…let’s say he’s awesome in 2009…great, then what…one year from now the Mets will be in the same boat, searching for a closer, all while Francisco Rodriguez, Brian Fuentes, Kerry Wood, etc., are locked in with other teams…
…i suppose the Mets could acquire Huston Street from the Rockies and then sign hoffman to a short-term deal, let him walk next off-season and give the job to street for 2010…but, even still, they would be better off signing rodriguez to a three-year deal, like people believe he will eventually accept…
…rodriguez clearly has the temperament and energy level to close out big guys in New York City…i cannot say the same for 
Brian Fuentes, street, J.J Putz, or hoffman, who has actually developed a reputation over the last few years of doing the absolute opposite…
…to me, the single-biggest factor in being a closer in this town is the ability to bounce back from failure – to blow a save and face the fans and reporters, talk radio and the backpages, yet get back on the hill, beneath the white-hot spotlight, and be focused only on success…
…maybe putz can do this, maybe fuentes can as well, maybe street, who knows, but i have seen K-Rod pitch with tons of energy and be successful in a World Series, in Los Angeles, in All-Star Games, in New York against the Yankees, etc., and so i just have a better feeling with him…
According to multiple reports, the Mets will likely meet with the agents for both Fuentes and Rodriguez while in Las Vegas next week for the Winter Meetings.
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Great Trevor, how do you feel about a set-up role?
The thing is, even if Hoffman is the set-up man, they will be looking for another next year unles-s they can acquire Houston Street.
I agree on K-Rod, he is a high energy player that is miles ahead of the rest of the closers that have been floated around here. Hopefully, Omar feels the same way.
and thats why K-Rod has to be our closer…end of story
We also need a 7th inning guy.
If the Mets can get a solid closer and someone like Street or Hoffman who can solidify the set up role, the 7th inning can be shared between Smith and Sanchez.
Nope, I want someone with successful SU experience to be our 7th inning guy.
You mean like Smith or Sanchez?
Smith hasn’t had SU experience and Sanchez is just coming back from injury and a poor season.
IMO, anyone who you can’t count on to pitch the 7th inning doesn’t belong in your bullpen, with the exception of an emergency long man.
So are you saying we should cut Smith and Sanchez?
I’ll take Hoffman setting up K Rod any day.
I will go pick him up personally if he would agree to be a setup man on a cheap contract.
If he agrees to do that then you know where his mind is, winning. He could easily go and close for the Indians or Tigers.
are you serious?? NO TO THIS BIG TIME CHOKER… like we need more chokers in the new york mets.. NOOOO .. stay away from this guy.. He’s lucky he plays for san diego and not the cubs or the mets or a team like that. nooooooo to you hoffman!!!!
we have no idea what Hoffman’s feelings are for being a set-up man…but he is a very good pitcher, and if he didn’t have to close (regularly, I’d let him fill in here and there), I don’t see how you can be opposed…especially since it wouldn’t be a long-term deal.
Looser? Choker? Come on. He would be a great option as a setup man giving us time to develop our own. And what is this about him being a choker anyway? His postseason numbers are fine and he has been a fine closer for WAY too long. I see no real down side if it’s for 1 year to be a setup man at a cheap price.
You’d have to think Omar told him straight up, we like you, but not as a closer. and maybe Hoffman is tired of losing.
That said, I agree Matt, those are the exact reasons I want Krod…his style of play, not to mention his performance, is a great fit in this town.
I respected how Wagner always took the blame when he blew the save, but I also never liked how he stressed to reporters that he was extremely nervous when he throws. now maybe he was being honest, but I can’t say that wasn’t a cause for a few blown saves, especially maybe one in particular to mr So Taguchi in 2006.
Tired of losing? The Padres have been in the playoffs more then the Mets. Just had a really bad year last year … but the reason he is not going back to SD is because SD does not want him. It has nothing to do with him being tired of losing.
They were horrible last year and looks like they will be again this year, especially if Peavy is traded. And yes, they don’t want him back, maybe tired of losing was the wrong statment, but at 41 years old, he’s not gonna (preferably) sign with a team that doesn’t have a chance to compete.
K-rod 9th inning..
Huston Street 8th inning..
ayala, sanchez, smith, feliciano/schoenweis, stokes and another lefty(guardado or beilme) should round up the rest of the innings needed..
God no.
Ayala’s not even on the team anymore.
I don’t mind your 8th and 9th innings, but come on. Sanchez and Ayala? Did you watch the 2008 season?
Sanchez WILL be back in 2009. And I think he should get one more chance. He has shown what he can do, and maybe with 1 more year removed from surgery he can regain his form from 2006. Supposedly, he wasn’t in the best shape and condition in 2008. Now, I think he will be on a short-lease b/c of his past and his 2008 troubles, so if he struggles in ST, he will be gone, but let’s see if he comes ready to play.
He should be given another chance but we shouldn’t just hand him the set up man job. He should have to earn it back.
I agree with you on to an extent. You owe it to him to take him to spring training and let him compete for a spot, but by no means should we guarantee him a spot in the ‘09 bullpen.
He’s back end of the pen at best.
Agreed, he needs to earn it.
I hope he gets his act together, b/c he has a lot of potential, and its so frustrating to see what he did in 2006 and think thats gone forever.
Plain and simple, he needs to figure out his fastball, b/c thats what made him so effective with his slider and changeup.
I actually think he will be back (at least close) to his old form. But I also agree, he needs to start out in mop-up duty… and only if he proves he’s worthy, then you let him move up to the 7th inning slot (I still think we need a NEW 8th guy, regardless).
K-Rod 9th
Street 8th
This better happen. I will be kind of annoyed if it doesn’t. I don’t want Smith in the Majors until he proves he can get out Left Handed Hitters. And i want both Feliciano and Schoenweis GONE!!!!!! That leaves 4 spots in the Pen with K-Rod Street, Sanchez, and Stokes with 3 spots to fill out. You will have to sign a Lefty or 2 (I like Guardado the 2nd doesn’t have to be a big timer) I would like a long Reliever. So a guy when say Maine or whoever goes 5 innings will come in and pitch 3 innings, or can make a spot start, I would say Niese but i don’t want him losing the experience of starting every 5th day in the minors.
My Bullpen would look like this:
K-Rod
Street
Sanchez
Stokes
Lefty (has to get out righty’s also, fav.Guardado)
Long Man
one more guy(maybe rule 5 who shows good stuff in Spring Training, possibly another lefty)
That would be a complete Face Lift of the bullpen. You have a solid closer, a set-up guy with closing experience. and 5 other live arms. I believe Sanchez will return to and be a way better pitcher, remember he hadn’t pitched in nearly 2 years last season. Stokes was effective last year.
You don’t want one of our best relievers in the MLB because he can’t pitch that well to LH? It’s his arm angle. Good thing Bradford did not have you as a manager.
I don’t think it’s a bad idea, finding right handed specialists is easy, we should be more concerned with Smith developing into a guy who can be lights out with both sides than him being useful in a role that’s easy to fill anyway. Keeping him up when he has options is a waste when you can develop him into a player that will be more useful.
But with that arm angle he is most likely never going to be effective against LHP to the extent of the time we would lose with him in AAA. Maybe they go from hitting him .325 to .290. Still how much time is he going to see facing LHP. He’s never going to be a closer.
You understand Smith was one of our best relievers in 2008. Now, that may not say much b/c of how bad our bullpen was, but the point is, he was very good. Maybe overused. But, he will be in the pen in 2009, and I think he should be. If he can’t get out LH batters, fine, don’t pitch him against LH batters.
One of Feliciano or Show will be here as well. We already have 2 LHRP, so theres no reason to drop em both and sign another one. Feliciano is better than Show but Show is due more money, so its feasible they could both be here, but one might(hopefully) get traded for other help.
I think we need to sign KRod. And I think we should make a Heilman and whoever else-trade work for Street.
I’d like to have more LHPs than just Eddie Guardado when Utley & Howard are coming up with the bases loaded in the 8th inning…
This is exactly the problem with the bullpen the mets had last year.
Yes you would prefer a guy who was lights out against lefties when you have the Phillies. But my problem is that’s 20 games. That’s 12% of the season. So your telling me that the Mets should completely gear their Bullpen to face 12% of their schedule. Mets were 11-7 against them last season.
That’s what they did wrong the last 2 years.
The problem with Joe smith/Feliciano/Show is simple. He is so bad against one side of the plate, they can’t complete a full inning. And can simply be game planned against by pinch hitting.
Don’t get me wrong I really like Joe Smith. But if he can never get out a left handed hitter, he’s a marginal major league reliever. He will never be able to get out the top 5 hitters, because no line-up goes R-R-R-R-R. So he will never be effective in a big situation, unless it’s 2 on 2 out and a right hander who can’t be pinch hit for is up. other wise if it is a right hander…. you can bet a left hander will be pinch hit.
Show and Feliciano are great Playoff Arms to have. They also wouldn’t be bad situational pitchers if the mets had a bunch of guys who pitched into the 7th inning. But to have 2 specialists on the team is a little to much. Forget about 3 like the Mets had last year.
As for saying Bradford is lucky I’m not his manager, Tampa had Belfour, Howell and Wheeler who were lights out against both sides of the plate. Then throw in the closer, and at the end of the season Price. JP Howell was good against both. So if you want to use Tampa as the Model… You have your Closer, then 3 guys who held the opponents (Both sides of the plate) to under .200 BAA. and another who was effective + a lights out hard throwing SP star in the making.
I’d rather have a bullpen of guys who can get through an entire linup, and come in and face anyone. then 2 or 3 guys who can’t face one half of the plate.
Im with you I like the idea of K-Rod in the 9th and Street in the 8th.
it at least gives the Mets bargaining position saying they can always fall back on Hoffman. it also gives Hoffman bargaining power with other teams that a NY team is interested in his services.
I am sure it is nothing more than creating interest just to help with other teams.
hoffman isn’t going to pitch the 8th inning nor is he a good choice for the mets closer at 41 years old and declining.
the price for closers has gone down with more options out there. it would be foolish for the mets not to sign k-rod. they will get a bargain. it went from 5 years @ $75m to 3 years @ less than $15m per.
the mets also need a set-up guy. i’d be fine with street if it meant trading heilman and another small piece.
Plain and simple, GET K-ROD and stop with this nonsense to drive down the price like we’re the marlins.. Get him, then work a trade on delgado and get TEIXEIRA…. can’t omar take a page from theo and see they’re trying to get him as well? there’s a reason why the red sox are really good now, they draft well, don’t sign the “veterans” and go all out for the players they need to.. if the red sox want a player i might wanna look at that player as well..
Yeah the Red Sox don’t sign veterans… Mike Lowell, Julio Lugo, JD Drew… those don’t count.
They do draft well, and that’s the biggest thing about the BoSox right now. So much young talent.
But I think Mets fans ought to let the Texeira thing go… he wants 10 years and the Mets aren’t giving him 10 years… nor should they. He’s not coming here.
They draft well, scout well and develop well. And make smart free agents signings. IMO I disagree about Tex, the mets should give it to him because there’s no other option, other than Dunn who they seem to dislike. After 2009 we’ll be left with a big gaping hole at first base and more importantly in the middle of the line-up and there’s no player who will be able to fill that role.
what? you’re not a big fan of Mike Carp? Or Ike Davis?
I’m just kidding..but we might be able to groom someone in the next few years for that spot.
I’m kind of indifferent on Carp. It would be one thing of he had shown signs of plus power or plus defense but he hasn’t. For now he looks like a guy with the potential to be an awesome offensive player, mostly based on his crazy walk rates, but if he never develops the power he’s going to be close to worthless with his defense.
He’ll get 7 maybe 8.
What are you talking about the Red Sox don’t sign the Veterans?
They signed the likes of Colon, Re-Signed Lowell, and actually took him on when he looked like he had nothing left. They outrageously over-paid Drew. Blew the trade for Crisp. Traded away Manny and a prospect to get a lesser player in Bay.
The Red Sox have been partially Lucky and partially good. They wanted Giambi, Pavano. They almost had A-Rod. They could have looked like the ‘08 yankees if a few moves over the years went their way.
They have had 5 guys come up from the minors to help their Pro Team in recent years. Pedroia, Youk, Ellsbury, Papelbon, and Lester.
The Mets aren’t far off, with Wright, Reyes, Pelfrey. Throw in now Murphy, Niese, their farm system hasn’t been any more productive then the mets.
The Big difference is they Hit on a few moves like Ortiz, Lowell, and others when they were willing to TAKE ON MORE SALARY. The Other difference is they have the DH. Imagine if they had Ortiz at 1st. Youk wouldn’t have seen the field until this year because he would have been blocked by Lowell. Youk is like Murphy, he had no position, wasn’t a top prospect, but just produced at every level. That’s who I have said Murphy reminds me of every time I see him.
The Mets and Sox aren’t far off.
Niese and Murphy and Pelfrey realy aren’t on the same level as Lester, Pedroia and Youk though. We’ve produced as many players, they’re just not anywhere near as good. Not to mention they still have quite a few major league ready players they just need to make room for, Lars Anderson, Jed Lowrie, about 10 more pitchers.
what i meant to say by veterans was that they don’t sign a guy who’s 40 years old without knowing that they got somebody behind that person in case something happens.. and last time i checked.. the last 5 years the sox 4 playoffs appearance 2 world series tittle.. the mets.. 1 playoff appearance and 2 chokes at the end of sept.. THEY ARE FAR OFF!!!
Plus they’ve also traded big time talent, Hanley Ramirez, for Beckett, and David Murphy for Gagne, which was a terrible terrible trade for them and I still don’t understand. Where as we’ve traded the likes of guys like Mike Jacobs and Carlos Gomez. I think it’s safe to say their farm system has way out produced ours in terms of quality and quantity.
Murphy isn’t in the same league compared to Youkilis defensively. Niese has 3 ML starts…he shouldn’t be compared to Lester or ever should be. I don’t think Niese will ever throw 95-96 MPH fastball and Lester can. Niese is a different kind of pitcher, setting up for his nasty curve.
Colon was a minor deal, they didn’t expect much from him. Lowell was re-signed after having a monster year. They had to overpay for Drew and he su-cked his first season, although he got hot and helped them win the 07 WS, he also carried that team in 08 when Ortiz was shelved.
And true, they were very close to getting Arod, but I can’t fault them on that…next to Barry Bonds and Pujols, he’s one of the best hitters we will ever see, regardles-s of the baggage.
True, Sox can take a gamble on a player, knowing they have someone underneath in case that guy fails…can’t say we’ve had that luxury with Alou, El Duque, Pedro, Wagner, Shawn Green, …but, things are getting better.
Also the Ortiz deal he originally signed for was like 6 million over 2 years. They weren’t really talking on salary. And Youk isn’t like Murphy. Youkillis is an awesome defender at first third and left. Murphy is a below average defender everywhere. If Youk hadn’t been at first he would have been in one of the outfield positions. Supposedly they’re thinking about bringing Tex in now even with Youk because they know they can just move him to the outfield and improve their defense with out giving up any offense.
I’d sign him as a set up man. But not as the closer.
I think he’s a better option than a lot of other relievers. He’d be a solid addition to any bullpen. Plus, since he wasn’t offered arbitration, we could grab Kerry Wood and then go after Derek Lowe. We’d only lose 1 draft pick for the lot!
Woot!
why wood over K-ROd?
Wood will be cheaper and won’t cost a draft pick and has better stuff between the two. If you go after wood you can afford to go after other type A’s because you’ll be losing one less draft pick, where as K-rod of Fuentes would use that pick. Hypothetically with Wood you could bring in a guy like Hoffman/Street to set up and then go out and use the type A on a guy like Juan Cruz, although I remember a post about his demands being ridiculous, or everyday Eddie. With K-rod you’re going to have to sacrifice two draft picks to do that. To me with our bullpen problems we should be concerned with quantity and quality. Wood allows us to bring in more arms, even if it’s only one more, without much, if any, downgrade in the closer spot.
Yeah, Gina pretty much made my argument… thanks
yup. good work Gina!
but K-Rod is much younger, has post-season experience, a WS ring, his era was a full run lower in the AL not too mention Wood has more trips to the DL than Moises Alou
Wood will be 32, and has spent half his career on the DL….are you all kidding? This is how we should fix the closer situation??
We’re not trying to just fix the closer situation we’re trying to fix the bullpen. I’m sure we blew as many games in the 6th, 7th and 8th innings as we did in the 9th.
Good point Gina, but I would want to see the Mets go after Wood if they fail to sign KRod (At a reasonable price). If KRod doesn’t work out, I like Kerry Wood idea.
I’m not quite sure what determines type A FA, but aren’t Hoffman or Wood type A FA as well?
No neither were offered arbitration so neither have any actual designations.
Hoffman would only be a set-up man I’d hope. If we open the 2009 season with Trevor Hoffman as a closer, then congrats in advance to the Phillies on a 3rd straght NL East Title.
However, Hoffman setting up K-Rod would be nice (though I’d prefer Street setting up K-Rod).
Only nine walks allowed in 45.1 innings pitched.
I’ll gladly take Hoffman as my set-up man.
Actually, the biggest factor about being a closer is being to close games. I don’t care how they face the media or fans or talk radio or whatever… if you fail, get back out there the next day and succeed. I suppose that’s part of what you’re saying, but the media is gonna rape players no matter what. Screw em.
Just get on the mound, throw heat and close the game. That’s all I care about. The best guy for that role is obviously K-Rod. But Fuentes is a good option as well.
And as others have said, I’ll take Hoffman setting up whatever closer any and every day.
I think Wood is a better option than Fuentes when you consider the type A and type B status and likely cost.
What about the fact that Wood can’t stay on the field? Have we all forgotten this guy’s rash of injuries?
So we sign Wood, he gets hurt during the stretch run and if we don’t get Hoffman or Street, we got someone like Ayala closing games again. No thanks. I like Wood, but can’t take that risk.
If we went with Wood I am sure Omar would net us another guy like Hoffman, Street or Putz.
Exactly, plus we could bring in other guys, like Juan Cruz or Brandon Lyon, who could be back-up, back-up closers.
Cruz and Lyon will both cost a draft pick, as they were offered arbitration.
And if Wood goes down for the year, we have Hoffman or Street closing games? I don’t know, that seems risky…
Lyon is a type B FA if I recall. Thus he cost us nothing. He cost MLB a pick.
Lyon is a type B, I believe, he wouldn’t cost us a draft pick. And the point is if you don’t spend that pick on Wood you can afford to spend it on another arm. K-rod takes away that option. What if K-rod gets injured? We’d be left with Street/Hoffman and dirty sanchez in our 8th and 9th roles since we wouldn’t have been able to bring in a guy like Juan Cruz or every day eddie, who I think is a type A as well.
The difference is that K-Rod doesn’t have a history of major injury like Wood does. Plus, if they do sign K-Rod, they can still sign Hoffman, who is not getting a whole lot of money no mater where he goes.
What if KRod gets injured?? Has he ever been injured? You want Wood, who is pitching’s answer to Moises Alou?
No I want as many quality arms in the bullpen as possible. Wood was injured all the time as a starter, obviously closing puts less stress on his shoulder, and K-rod has that crazy motion which supposedly puts him at injury risk so it’s not like he comes completely without any red flags. Maybe he gets injured maybe he doesn’t.
The point is we shouldn’t be focused on getting a closer, we should be focused on rebuilding the entire bullpen. And putting all your eggs into one basket is not the way to do that. Teams find closers off scrap heaps and in their farm system all the time. If we can get a guy like Wood, plus another guy with closing experience, plus bring in more guys with either closing experience or the stuff to be closers, like Lyon and Cruz and every day Eddie, then we’d be better off than going out and signing one big name closer.
Plus bringing in more arms would allow us to leave the young guys, like Parnell and Kunz and maybe Smith in the minors to work on developing so maybe they can become future closing options.
OK, this certainly makes a lot of sense….I guess I would rather have KRod and then Street/Putz as setup man. But I agree totally that we need 2–3 new arms in the pen at least. Personally, after the injury nightmares of the last couple of years, I would avoid guys like Wood with major histories of injuries. And everyone does say the thing about KRod’s motion, but he may have a rubber arm and never get hurt….
Agreed. Wood is better and does not cost a pick. With Wood not being offered arbitration, to me that makes Fuentes useless.
wow, i am amazed how must of you guys jump the guns on snachez for throwing 88mph but hoffman throws 86!!! also hoffman is KNOWN to be a big time choker!! never gets a big save, do not want him as a met period!! move on.. and ayala is a good solution at 7th or so.. he throws strikes.. he gets hit but he challenges hitter.. PLEASE GOD i’ve been a good husband and father, DO NOT LET THIS IDIOT OF A GM SIGN HOFFMAN!!!!!!
Ok, so you would rather have Ayala than Hoffman? Hoffman is not coming here to close. If he is here to be a 7th-8th inning guy that’s just fine. What do you mean by known choker? Do you even know his postseason stats? That’s garbage. You don’t stay a closer for 100 years and not be better than average. He is old as hell but that’s not an issue if he is one of many and not on a big contract.
word up on that!
HOW MANY OF YOU ARE TALKING IS HYPOCRITICAL
!!!????
first of before anybody get offended my point is wasn’t most of us screaming to get young and now we are relishing the fact that we may want a 42 YEARS OLD closer to be a set up guy!!!!!!!
that is very hypocritical of us mets fans!!!
We can’t get younger all at once. You can have stop gaps. Maybe Parnell is the setup man of the future but he is not right now. So why sign a guy for 3 years and big money when we could get Hoffman for 1 year and maybe Parnell is ready for 2010?
Hoffman’s thrown 88 for like a decade now.
Hoffman setting up K-Rod would be a beautiful thing.
put me on the hoffman as a set up guy bandwagon. Get Street too. That is a nice change (and everyone wants that in the en, right?) from last year!
Plus, with those two, I would be more than willing to gamble on Wood for a couple of years. And use the $$ savings (over a K Rod) toward snagging Teix.
Sign Wood, Hoffman, and Guardado. Trade for street. Total cost, zero draft picks, and Heilmann + ?? for Street. Net gain.
Rest of pen on the cheap from smith, a loogy, and Parnell or Sanchez (I like Parnell for the upside and ability to be the long guy).
an almost entirely new pen (at least the important part) for a manageable $$ cost, and very little talent outflow. Both positives.
Plus, you have a closer, and 3 guys that have closed (just in case of a DL stint, or more important to make sure Wood can get enough rest to not be overworked). Plus parnell, who IMO can easily be groomed as a future closer (him or Street maybe when Wood moves on)
Not that hard to accomplish. Plenty of power arms, lots of experience, what’s not to like?
Neise can also slot in somewhere (maybe the Guardado role) if not needed in the rotation.
I will bet you a million dollars that the Mets will not sign Wood and Hoffman and trade for Street.
That would mean that one of the three would have to accept a 7th inning role, which won’t happen.
How can Street demand anything. You think he is going to just say nope? Street would know that within 2 years he would be the closer.
Like TRS said, why not? Hoffman is 41, has made tons of money, and may be willing to accept a set up role (knowing he will get some save opps to give wood a “blow”), in order to take a shot at a WS title.
Street is a trade, they can tell him to play LF if they want to!
j/k on that last part… But TRS is right, if wood is a st deal (and injury risk), Street would know he is a front runner to take over down the line, right around the time his contract runs out after 2010 (and if Wood signs for 2 years + an option, the timeing could work out for everyone invloved).
I don’t want Niese in the pen. But if I could have Wood, Street, Hoffman and Guardado. LOL I would be in heaven
Wood
Street
Hoffman
Guardado
Smith
Stokes
Feliciano/Sanchez/Parnell
Man oh man.
the real here’s my check list for that:
Wood= YES
Street= YES
Hoffman=NOOOOOOO
Guardado=YES
Smith=YES
Stokes=YES
Feliciano/Sanchez/Parnell=YES but remember we might trade him to get street so schoenweis might be there instead of feliciano
I still dont’ see the dislike for Hoffman but will agree to disagree. Saying he is a choker but bringing in guys like Street who has no better track record at all? Yes Street is younger but Hoffman on a 1 year deal hurts nothing. So you are saying that Hoffman in Heilman’s spot does not make us a better team?
the real as i said before, move on from guys like hoffman, we need to get younger, what happens if we settle for him to be the set up guy and he gets hurt? wouldn’t we have to see the like of snachez and smith inthe 8th inning?? think about it.. do we really need to go that road with old players again.. didn’t we as fan and i’m hoping as an organization have enuff with alou, el duke, pedro.. come on guys..
Guardado is a mistake. How about Cordero or Brendan Donnelly?
lots of choices actually for the 3rd/4th option in the pen. Lyons too, D. Reyes, Cordero (may need time in AAA to rehab fully) and probably pelnty of others.
I like Guardado because he is LH, has closing experience and will be cheap and short term. What’s not to like
works for me. The Neise idea was based on saving dollars, giving him a chance to develop in the majors, and in case they don’t get Eddie and need another lefty that can pitch to both sides.
My first choice for him is dominating in Buffalo until needed, but I don’t always get what I want (or what I need..)
I would be so happy with this and it just seems to good to be true. It makes too much sense. 1 hall of fame closer as a 7th/8th inning guy, 1 young cheap above average closer as 7th/8th inning guy, and a closer with more potential then any in Wood. the phillies would be very scared at this bullpen
better than last year when it was the met fans 9and players) afradi of the mets pen!
Question:
Are the Mets really done with Wagner?
A one year deal with Hoffman could make sense if the Mets think they may want to revisit Wager for 2010.
I am not familiar with Wagner’s injury and whether its career ending. If not, Wagner was loved by most fans. I would think he would be welcomed back, especially if healthy.
“if healthy”
I am done with Wagner. Even if he comes back he will be as old as Hoffman. Those are not long term solutions to the closer role. Krod, Street, Wood maybe are long term.
Why even bother with all the options the Mets have?
No thanks. His days as a Met are done. I like Wagner, but he’s done here.
If I remember right, Wagner was supposed to be out one year from mid-Sept. While I certainly wouldn’t want to plan on it, how sweet of an addition might that be at that point?
I agree. I wouldn’t count on it, but there is the possibility he could be ready by September. I’m really liking the idea of filling our pen with these potential closers, but theres a good chance somebody in the pen is injured by Sept, which would be perfect for Wags to step in. I can dream, can’t I?
wagner chokes in every big spot. if he can come back though he’d be a great setup man although his ego is way to high for that…
“wagner chokes in every big spot
Who have you been watching all these years.
Over the last 10 years there has been only one closer more reliable Billy and we all know his name.
Everyone needs to stop getting excited about the new one or two year sensations.
It’s just as possible for K-Rod’s years as an extremely effective closer are over as it is for Billy.
hoffman is #1 in career saves. 70 or so up on mariano. he’s going to want to build on that. no way he pitches in the 8th.
who knows what is most important at his age. And what type of contract any other team offers him.
Better to overpay a little on a 1-year deal at no cost of prospects to make him feel better!
Hoffman will not sign with the Mets unless he realizes he has zero oppurtunity to close elsewhere…I hate to say it but he probably has a better chance at the playoffs with the Tigers or Indians, given the weak division and the amount of talent those teams have.
The same Tigers who choked before the season started?
I’d disagree about the Tigers. I think they’re done and going to be done for a while. They destroyed their farm system to make those win now trades and now they really have nothing to build around. Or call up, basically imagine if we had even worse of a farm system than we do, and didn’t have wright, reyes, santana and beltran.
Also it’s pretty hilarious to me that most of the prospects they traded ended up being ml ready or less than a year away. That’s why it’s good for teams to have patience.
I don’t see how the tigers or indians have a better chance at the playoffs…the tigers whole system is in disarray (they were worse than the freaking royals last year!), the indians no longer have sabathia and i am willing to bet my house that cliff lee does worse than 22-3 next year. The Mets on the other hand finished 3 games back behind the *gulp* world champions while beating them heads up (11-7) this year and Milwaulkee, the team that bested them for the wild card, is probably losing 2 SP studs in Sabathia and Sheets and has talked about trading Prince Fielder.
The Indians have a much better farm system than the Tigers and a better team overall. Even without Sabathia their pitching staff is loaded with Cliff Lee and a bunch of young guys. Kind of like how even after trading Santana AND Garza and having Liriano coming back from the injury and missing time Minnesota still had plenty of young talented arms for the rotation.
Really I think this year was a sort of aberration for the Indians. I’d put them neck and neck with the twins as the team most likely to come out of the central.
just go and get FRANCISCO K-ROD RODRIGUEZ give him number 55 then move on from there..
trade Johan so K-Rod can get number 57 lol just kidding of course.
lol.. he’ll be fine with 56 also.. or 67
it would be so weird to hear Hells Bells not in the 9th inning.
Yeah maybe he should change his song to Enter Sandman if he plays for New York (just kidding of course)
he’s gonna play: “I PUT ON FOR MY CITY”..
Why not aggressively pursue AJ Burnett? Braves just made him a 5 year offer. The Mets are supposedly a “big market” team and should act like it for once. If Braves get Vazquez, Burnett, kiss the division goodbye. If the Mets think they can just go out and sign Brian Fuentes and call it and offseason, they’ll finish third.
Let the Braves sign Burnett for 5 years. For all the “injury prone” talk about Ben Sheets, Burnett got a 2 year career head start yet Sheets has made more starts, pitched more innings, has a better K/BB ratio, better WHIP, and will come shorter term and cheaper. I’d much rather have Sheets if Burnett is the other option.
my biggest concern about the offseason isn’t the big ticket item. omar has shown over and over he can bring them in. k-rod will be the mets closer.
it’s his judgment on the bullpen and role players. he has been hit and miss in those areas. try of many gm’s. we all know the mets need much better middle reliever and some gritty, winner-type role players.
For all of u ppl that are saying the smith should not be in the pen this year….YOU’RE CRAZY….he was the most clutch reliever the mets have in years…he came in in HUGE situations and got out HUGE hitters…who cares if hes not great against lefties…he will get better…but there is no way they are even thinking about putting smith in the minors to start the season
He’s not going to get better against lefties if he’s never pitching to him. And if he’s in the bullpen in 09 he can’t be asked to pitch to him.
Exactly.
Also he was only clutch against Right Handed Hitters. As i explained up top,
He will never effectively be able to get out of “Big Situations” unless he is asked to get out only a right hander. He would never be able to get out the Top of any order in the 7th or 8th inning, because they don’t go R-R-R. So if it came down to a 2 on 2 out against a Right handed hitter who can’t be pinch hit for then he’s your guy. Otherwise he’s taken out, or brought in because they pinch hit to get around a lefty who can’t get out a righty.
Those types of players aren’t as useful over a full season.
Put him in AAA to get out Lefty’s. He doesn’t have to be great at it. If he can hold them to a .220 BAA that’s fine, if he’s lights out against right handed hitter. But he’s terrible against left handed hitters right now and he never faces then because of it.
On K-Rod: First of all, he pitches in Anaheim, not Los Angeles. Anaheim is like Kansas City, only better weather and a better team. So that says nothing about his ability to withstand the heat of NY. Even if he had pitched in LA, LA is nothing like NY. Just ask Darryl Strawberry. or Jeff Kent. There are 2 newspapers in LA — one of them no one reads and the other one is heading there. Talk radio doesn’t compare. Anyway, to say that he can handle the spotlight because of what he’s done is silly. And K-Rod blew a slew of games last year (7 if I remember correctly) and created significant drama in a lot of the others. He’s not exactly Benitez, but he was a far cry from Brad Lidge.
Very few closers in history have the year in, year out ability to be consistently at the top of their games (Mariano is the most notable exception). And I think Omar knows that. Signing K-Rod may make the fans feel better, but I’m not sure it’s the right move.
Saying Anaheim isn’t really LA is like saying Queens isn’t NY. I think you’ve made some good points though. I hope we get to see how K-rod does with our media and fans.
maybe it’s my “expect the worst, this is the Mets mentality…but I have a bad feeling about K-Rod. He did not look good in the playoffs and I think he’s declining power is alarming.
I think they should sign wood for 2 year deal, and concentrate on the real problem from 2008:
the middle/set up guys were dismal.
Yeah, they blew some big saves down the stretch. But that wasn’t a closer issue per se. Rather, it was because the 6/7/8 inning guys weren’t doing the job (where the bulk of the blown saves came from) and not one was cabable of stepping in when Wagner went down.
so more important to me is beefing up the middle guys. Frankly makes the choice of closer less important 9and all of the main guys mentioned are soemwhat of a crap shoot).
Wood to me given the likely length of deal, $$/year, and not being a type A (no draft pick lost) but still a FA (so no prospects traded) could be the best overall option.
And if the back up guys are beefed up (the guardadao/hoffman/street/cruz/etc. options), the 2 important areas are addressed:
less blown saves (leads given up), and viable options if the closer (no matter who it is) goes down or just needs a day off.
And the mets do have a budget, and other holes to fill beside the pen. So saviing 5mill/year is certainly a positive (f used to upgrade another postion).
Makes sense to me.
Its frustrating to keep hearing about this idea, fueled by Cerrone, that all the Mets need is a closer and that will automatically turn them into a 96 win team. This teams needs a lot more than that.
How about spending a few dollars instead of nosing through the trash for also-rans like Wolf, Laird, etc.
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