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“The Mets appear to be closing in on a deal for 
free-agent pitcher Derek Lowe,” reports the Boston Globe, according to a baseball source.
According to the report, ‘The deal is believed to be four years in length, or three years with a vesting option,’ and worth roughly $14-16 million per season.
John Harper of the Daily News writes that a deal could be reached between Christmas and New Year’s, according to a team source.
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I am okay with this if it happens.
as long as its not that 5 year deal he wants im cool with it
good – let’s get Ollie resigned and we should be set !!!
On what PLANET do we sign BOTH Ollie and Lowe?? C’mon, man. Get a grip!
You can say that again, Gipper!
get a Gip !
w are on the same planet where the yankees signed both cc and aj…and tex…it can be done…but again, i would rather have lowe redding and ohman than lowe n ollie
the deal could be three to four years in the neighborhood of $15MM/season.
If Lowe gets signed I consider this offseason to be a success.
However, it could be a greater success with:
#5 starter
Upgrade at 2B or C
Left field upgrade (which I’m not convinced we need)
1. Reyes
2. Castillo
3. Wright
4. Delgado
5. Beltran
6. Church
7. Tatis/Murphy
8. Schneider/Castro
1. Santana
2. Pelfrey
3. Lowe
4. Maine
5. Niese
not bad!
Look at Lowe’s stats from last year – he’s a #2
The best part is that it will lock in our rotation for te next three years. I should give the farm some breathing room to develope someone.
I don’t care what nostra or anyone else says – that’s a solid, solid lineup and rotation. Not to mention KRod and Putz in the bullpen.
true, but it is a bit defensively challenged at too many positions.
It isn’t something they cant overcome of course, but it would be nice if they addressed that problem somewhere before opening day.
J. Reed is great defensively, he replaces Endy as our late-inning replacement in LF. Church showed he is a good fielder. Castillo has better hands than he showed last year, but with limited range. He can still turn a great DP though.
Delgado is suspect especially one year older. Schneider is better than he showed defensively.
reed only makes team if pagan is not 100%
Pagan has the advantage of being out of options.
I’m kind of surprised the Mets didnt throw him into the Putz deal to free another roster spot.
Pagan on the bench and Reed in AAA is better than Reed on the bench and Pagan on someone elses team. In most cases….
Agreed, this team is better defensively than some may give credit for. Remember, this defense set a ML record with fewest errors over a 35 game stretch, not bad.
Delgado only made 1 error in the final 4 months or so of the year, and he made a number of impressive plays for a fielder of his type. His range is still lacking, especially to his right, but he did well enough to get the job done. Castillo, if healthy and able to move, should be just fine. Not GG caliber, but fine enough. Two years ago, after he was traded here, he and Reyes formed arguably the best double play tandem in the NL. Reyes will be winning a GG one day, and D Wright has won the past two, and is only getting better. Schneider did a fine job last year, and made plenty a nice play at the plate, plays that wound up winning the game. Church played GG caliber RF, with one of the best arms in the game. Beltran is a top CC in the majors. Murphy is our only real concern defensively in LF, but he’s playing the one position that you can hide a defensively challenged player, but still, he made quite a few nice plays out there, even without the experience. He should get better, and as someone mentioned, we still do have Reed who will come in as a defensive replacement. And Beltran covers a ton of territory, and knowing he has Church to his left (his left, our right), he can cheat over to LF a bit more and help Murphy out.
I think our defense will be just fine. Having said that, I woiuld still love Orlando Hudson, but I don’t see that happening anymore.
I’m willing to hold out hope that a healthy and in shape Luis Castillo could again be a plus defender. In the event my wish is granted, only LF and 1B would be subpar defensively and LF is really only a big issue when Johan pitches (he’s a flyball pitcher who will see a lot of righties) and to a lesser extent when Maine pitches.
That’s why Rocco Baldelli would be a good addition to this team. He’d cut into Tatis’ playing time but that’s not an issue for me (besides Tatis could pick up some at bats in RF v. lefties or at 1B if Delgado goes 0 for May again).
Elvis:
I disagree. Pagan is nothing special. Not that Reed is, but I just don’t think Pagan will be handed a thing.
NYMetsfanatic, I think Murphy will be batting behind Reyes.
Wow that was fast. I thought this was goingto drag on for another month.
Well done Omar.
I agree with well done Omar.
He was waiting to see if the Sox signed Tex, in which case the Mets were Lowe’s only team and they wouldnt have to spend top dollar.
But once that didnt happen, he moved before the Sox could get involved in a bidding war.
I’m not so sure…if there was a chance that the Sox would have gotten involved, Boras would have held out..
yea, scratch the second part of my comment. Its just more that Omar knows he can’t get a discount as the only suitor.
Yay!! I’m 100% in favor of him over Ollie.
Lowe and Manny, let’s win a World Series guys!
Ugh. No thanks on Manny.
This team’s struggles haven’t been talent-related, and Manny’s issues are problems we could definitely do without. I’d rather see my mother-in-law in left over Manny.
Orlando Hudson would definitely be my preferred choice of offensive upgrade, although obviously we’d have to do something about our existing 2B.
“Manny Ramirez is a winner. The Mets are a bunch of chokers.”
listen – i believe the mets choked in 07..
i was at the funeral at shea for the cubs game, watching murph hit the triple and not scoring in late 08
i was at the final game at shea and they played hard…
i have never been ashamed to be a met fan, especially being surrounded by yankee fans…07 was tough because i knew they choked…but they played hard late in 2008 it just didnt work out
You’d rather see your mother-in-law in left because then you wouldn’t have to talk to her!
Lowe has been the pitcher I expected/hoped the Mets would wind up with.
I still would like to see them bring back Ollie as the thought of Ollie and Maine fighting for the number 4 spot would make me happy.
Ollie as a #5 starter?
I’m cool with that.
Santana
Pelfrey
Maine
Lowe
Ollie
That’s a good starting rotation. It could also give us the possibility of making Niese a long man in the bullpen.
Niese would be in AAA as a starter…just b/c we have 5 starters, does not mean we wont need a 6th or 7th at some point this season. Thats why i would like him starting in AAA for depth reasons.
Ollie and Lowe would be a great rotation. Less pressure is put on Ollie as well, but I don’t see it happening. Not with both of them being Boras clients.
If Lowe is signed – maybe nab Redding on a 1 year deal to compete with Niese and shore up the bench with another right handed bat or two with pop – this will probably be Minaya’s best off-season since 05-06.
what is ollie going for…if hes not gunna be too expensive then maybe we should try to get both..that would be arediculous rotation
johan
lowe
pelf
ollie
maine
WOW
as much as they need a solid 5th starter, they need a lefty reliever and some position upgrades more than they need a powerhouse rotation.
I’d rather have Lowe, Redding and Ohman than Lowe and Perez.
After getting Lowe, (hopefully), priority should be put on filling in our holes like you said. Lefty reliever, another RH bat of some sort, and then #5 starter. If we can do all that AND sign Ollie, that would be great, but I don’t see it happening. We do NEED a #5 guy though to compete at least. We should not hand the keys to Niese just yet. Plus we need depth at AAA for spot-starts and fill-ins.
the plan was (or is) Lowe OR Ollie…ollie is probably gonna get 12-13-ish, and I think he’s looking for 4-5 years…IF the lowe thing works out, then yes, look at maybe a redding for #5….tae care of the smaller loose ends, like utility if, one more lefty in the pen….
nate- i 100% agree with u about the lefty in the pen
great post
Great job if this happens and it sounds like it’s nearly completion. Nice holiday gift for mets fans to complement an already fruitful off-season. I’d have to think that the Wilpons–having lost so much in their other lines of investments–would only be that much more interested in seeing the value of this franchise rise by ensuring significant off-season acquisitions. They may not be done adding. Go Mets!! Happy holidays!!
We don’t want Ollie. I’d rather have Wolf, Garland, or Kenshin Kawakami. Perez is going to ask for money that he does not deserve, and frankly all of the guys I mentioned are better.
i do agree that ollie will cost too much but there is no way that wolf and garland are better or the two japanese pitchers u mentioned either
But they are cheaper, and that gives us room to address a LHRP, and perhaps some upgrades elsewhere.
The first comment on that article’s hilarious… I guess there’s some fans in Boston who wake up in the morning thinking “Who can I boo today?”
The only downside I see is subbing in a righty for a lefty in the front half of our rotation. With the Phillies already being lefty-heavy and then subbing Ibanez for Burrell, having a lefty #3 would be nice… which is why I wonder whether it’d be worthwhile signing Lowe then putting out feelers to Pettitte.
I would rather have Wolf than Andy Pettitte.
get this done. then sign manny. and to be like the yankees finish the offseason off with perez
lowe is a good addition to our rotation and will be a mentor to pelfrey and maine.
now, if we are not signing manny, trade castillo and schneider and replace them with better offensive players like hudson(if his price drop) and molina. if we do this we are set and ready to go.
This looks like another great signing by Minaya with regard to the contract terms. I’ve gotta think that Omar is lying in the weeds with Manny…He is simply too good a fit right now. Lowe will do a great job of stabalizing the rotation, much like K-Rod and Putz do in the pen. Though the offense finished #2 in the NL in runs, we all know it was very up and down, and much less effective vs. good LHP. Manny is the one guy who can make the lineup deep and consistent….Personally, I have no idea how the lineup with Manny would look like…maybe something like:
Reyes/Church/Manny/Delgado/Wright/Beltran/Schneider/Castillo/P
OR
Reyes/Castillo/Manny/Delgado/Wright/Beltran/Church/Schneider/P
OR (my fav)
Reyes/Beltran/Manny/Delgado/Wright/Church/Castillo/Schneider/P
C’mon Omar…I’ve gotta believe the whole no Manny is a ploy, because adding him would be a huge FU to the Phils, and would make it a great baseball summer!
the third option would be awesome—drop wright back into the 5 spot like in 06..put beltran at the 2 where he belongs..wow
or if they dont sign manny..go for hudson and just CUT castillo
why would manny bat third?
Manny doesn’t hit 3rd.
Reyes
Beltran
Wright
Manny
Delgado
Church
Castillo
Schneider
Wright probably hits .350 in front of Manny.
Awesome. Lowe is the man.
if omar ignores the offense…again…it WILL be another second or third place finish…again
SIGN MANNY!
WE MISSED THE PLAYOFFS BY ONE GAME THE PAST TWO YEARS…AND IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE BULLPEN…twenty somthin blown save…now we have krod and putz…we are fine….the team is exactly the same as last year except our rotation will be better and our bullpen will be much better
These are the thoughts of a confused man. Mets = 2nd in the league in runs scored last year. You figure out if that’s the problem.
Mets lineup this year isnt as good. None of our stars missed games due to injuries and we were lucky to get the numbers Tatis put up. It would be a miracle if Delgado puts up numbers as good as last year…
Why would it be a miracle for Delgado to put up those numbers again? When you look at his career, 2007 sticks out like a sore thumb. Why can’t it be that 2007 was simply an anomaly?
Chan Ho is 100% Correct.
So far, you’ve managed to write ZERO posts that make any sense.
Explain to me how the lineup isn’t as good without just saying that someone will be worse than they were last year, because that’s a completely useless argument.
Delgado was garbage at the beginning of last season, and look at his numbers.
i agree w/ phukdaphils, have you watched any games the past 2 years?
That should read, “If Omar ignores the bullpen for the 3rd year in a row it will be a second place finish again” …..oh wait…he did that.
haha…he “fixed” * that
ITS ABOUT TIME!!!!
NOW GET MANNY!!!!!!!!
I really hope Omar goes out and gets Manny…but if we really arent getting Manny, we cannot enter the 2009 season without some sort of tinker/upgrade in our lineup…this team is far from set with the current lineup we have. Castillo/Delgado/Church/Tatis/Murphy are all HUGE question marks
i think omar is quickly trying to sign lowe so he can get manny..or talk the wilpons into letting him get him
yea i really think omar is dying to get manny but is really not allowed to…..i can see him begging the wilpons
oh i think so too..omar loves manny..who doesnt love manny?..everybody talks about all the headaches..no one is in the locker room with him…please dont believe all the crap that goes on…sure obviously he is a handful..he caught the ball in a game high fived a fan and then threw someone out…people probably didnt like it..i thought it was hilarious…manny would be the best thing in this place come april..if the wilpons werent too stupid to realize that then i dont know..if the mets crumble like the past two seasons because of their OFFENSE…dont blame omar..blame the other clowns..manny is right there waiting for us
He would NOT be the best thing for us if he decided that he wasn’t being paid enough (after all, his price looks to be falling) and shouldered his bat in crucial 9th inning spots before asking to be benched because of phantom knee pains.
Seriously…..they need to stop being so concerned with the “professional clubhouse atmosphere” C R A P and bring in the power bat that we need !!!!
Keep up that poker face Omar……(but PLEASE sign Manny !!)
Keep in mind that if we sign Derek Lowe, a type A free agent, after having signed Francisco Rodriguez, a type A free agent, that means that:
The Angels get the Mets’ top pick in the 2009 draft + a compensation pick between the first and second rounds of drafting.
The Dodgers get the Mets’ second top pick in the 2009 draft + a compensation pick between the first and second rounds of drafting.
The Mets lose their top two picks.
However, if a team other then the Mets signs Oliver Perez, a type A free agent, then the Mets will get that teams’ top pick in the 2009 draft + a compensation pick between the first and second rounds of drafting.
Basically, if by the end of the off-season we have signed Francisco Rodriguez and Derek Lowe, and another team signed Oliver Perez, then we will not lose or gain anymore picks in the 2009 draft. Although, the order in which we pick may vary, for better or for worse depending on which teams sign which free agents.
Rodriguez, Lowe, and Perez were all offered arbitration by their respective teams.
In short, i’m all for getting Lowe and replacing Ollie with Jonathan Niese!
Are you positive about that…wouldn’t the team that signs Oli give the 1st round pick to the Dodgers? I don’t think we keep that first rounder if we signed two type a’s
He is correct. The Mets would be compensated for losing Perez regardless of who the Mets sign.
If the Mets sign Lowe, the Dodgers will get the Mets second round pick (the first will go to the Angels).
Whomever signs Perez will give up their 1st rounder (unless they signed another higher rated free agent) to the Mets. Hopefully, Perez does not sign with the Yankees… the Mets would only be compensated with a 4th round pick!!
I also find it amusing how horrible of a trade Anderson Hernandez for Luis Ayala was…..
that was a random idiotic statement…
you are idiotic
no..he’s right…your statement was random and made no sense.
how does saying Anderson Hernandez for Luis Ayala being a horrible trade makes no sense? We have Luis castillo starting as our 2bman right now and Hernandez has been tearing up the winter leagues..Luis Ayala is a triple A caliber reliever
you just used Anderson Hernandez as a replacement for Castillo and you expect to be taken seriously on here?
Yeah…just like Argenis Reyes will be our starting 2nd baseman this year with all his power and his amazing ability to have the same last name as the shortstop.
I guess we’ll be sorry when Hernandez hits .250 in AAA this year.
for who?
yea, horrible trade, we traded a guy who never hit for us when in the majors and was ACTUALLY a worse option than castillo at 2nd overall, for a pitcher who DID help us in some games, and if he had been able to work out of his regular element in a bullpen that wasn’t well overtaxed, he’d probably be fine…
we traded a terrible player for a terrible player…
ok, so if thats how you feel, why even make the original post?? It was a trade of a horrible player for a horrible player, than that just means its a trade… a horrible trade is typically reserved for one team getting shafted… like the Kazmir trade…
i didnt think people would cry about it and take it so seriously
i think people don’t understand your logic….I still don’t understand your logic…
Just like you hate how people tell people to root for the yankees, I love how just because people challenge your statement, we are crying? Pot, meet kettle.
This needs to get done quickly before the BoSox decide to jump back in.
The Mets need to sign either Lowe or Perez. I would be happy with either one. I still feel they can really improve if they they address their biggest weakness a little more, the bullpen. Does anyone know what Juan Cruz is asking for? If Omar can get a good deal on Cruz it would make the Mets bullpen great and really strengthen the biggest weakness they had last year. He can get out hitters batting on both sides of the plate and he throws hard. The 2006 Mets were very good and the 2006 bullpen was a large part of that. I would love to see either Perez or Lowe and a signing of Juan Cruz.
I’ll believe it when the deal is done. Look at what went on with Tex.
You cannot come back with the exact same starting 8 offensive players- under any circumstances. I will not accept that. You need to change 2-3 of C, LF, RF, 2B.
agreed
you “will not accept that”? ha..k. I mean, i agree with you that the offense needs to be changed up but you will not accept that? so what will you do then, root for another team? Somehow i doubt it.
I don’t mean to be a rude…but that’s just a weird statement
good thing the wilpon’s don’t care what “you” won’t accept… go root for the Yankees
i hate it when people say “go root for the yankees” when mets fans express their frustration and displeasure with their team. Just because someone is unhappy w the mets doesnt mean they are any less of a mets fan…..
i actually agree with you Airfeet on this one. How dare we express what we feel is the right and wrong moves for the team. Get over it polyannas and apologists! I am grateful that we solidified the pen but there is a lot more work to do. 2 starters are needed and a big bat(Manny only). The Mets offense is enigmatic and caused many losses last year as well as the bullpen. If some of you think the Mets are going to be able to easily overtake the Phillies, then think again. Adding Lowe is great but adding Ollie and Manny would make me feel we can take back the NL East crown. Its not like the Wilpons cant afford it.
RF is fine as long as Church remains healthy.
LF is fine with a Murphy/Tatis platoon.
2B: I’m willing to give Castillo another chance. Although, a backup hanging out in AAA would be appreciated.
And Schneider is a great pitcher’s catcher. Not to mention his ability to throw runners out. He may only hit .250 with about 10 homeruns, but i’m okay with that, as long as he’s batting eighth.
how is CHURCH and RF fine? The guy hit .200 the last month and a half? Lets not forget hes like a career .270 hitter
Why isolate one month out of the season, especially after returning from an injury?
Were you complaining about Church before his injuries? I doubt it.
Then again, he’s no Anderson Hernandez…
LF and RF are pretty much different than last season. The LF platoon was a late season addition after Alou and Pagan were injured and Nick Evans was eliminated from the role when Church returned. Murphy had only 130 at bats last season.
A healthy Church (knock on wood) is much better as an everyday RFer than Tatis was (Fernando did fill in admirably, however) in the extended time while Church was injured.
I don’t expect we’ll see much of Marlon Anderson out there again this season. And I doubt if Nick Evans is involved either.
Rocco Baldelli or Marcus Thames would be a nice complement to the mix, as well as to the bench.
pretty good offseason but i still think the team needs a few tinkering ..the way i see it they need another lefty in the starting rotation and if this deal goes down i dont see perez in a mets uniform unless he wants to win and takes a paycut…wolf could be had for 2 years 10 mill and he would be a good number 4 or 5 starter.. i dont think niese is ready yet and we shouldnt rush him mets should learn that from pelfrey. also hudsons market is dropping and grudz can be had so if they can dump of castillio that would be great.
lineup
reyes
hudson/grudz
beltran
delgado
wright
church
murph/tatis
schnider
starters
johan
lowe
pelf
maine
wolf
signing Lowe fills out our rotation although we still have a lot of question marks in the lineup.
Can Delgado be the clean-up hitter again?
Is Murphy the read deal??
Is Tatis going to do anything close to what he did in 08?
Can Ryan Church stay healthy and productive all year?
Is Castillo capable of a rebound year
is Castro going to be healthy enough to have a real platoon?
are Wright and Reyes capable of carrying this team?
All of those questions have to be yes in order for the Mets to have a good enough lineup to win a WS
signing Manny Ramirez erases every single one of those question marks and why even with his issues he still must be brought in here…
oleo,
i would take any 3 or 4 of those scenarios, dont neccesarily need them ALL. But your right. Manny erases all question marks.
Delgado is going to hit .245 this year and we are going to have to wince every time he comes to the plate…and Tatis was out of the majors for 4 years for a reason. However, i do think Murphy will be very good
airfeet,
if delgado bats .245, but hits 30 HR and drives in 100 RBIs, il take it.
in 2006 he hit .265, but still drove in 114 runs and had 38 HRs.
Delgado has never come close to batting .245 in a season.
.260 32 HR 101 RBI is very reasonable
Il take that in a heartbeat!
Delgado would have hit .245 with no production last season if he didnt go on an absolute tear for a couple months..what happens if next year being 1 year older he does not go on that rampage? I’m not saying its definitely going to happen but its very possible he slumps all year
You are right, BUT every year he gets a year older, and year in and year out you are gauranteed to get 30 and 100 from him. No signs of decline from him. Production has always been there every year from him.
that goes both ways
if he didnt hit so poorly in the first part of the season he would have batted over .300
I agree that Manny would be a solution. Ican’t see how he won’t go back to the dodgers. It just makes too much sense. I would not want to offer him much in excess of three years and the Colletti offered two years 45M. I guess we could go 2 years 48, but would that be enough?
I would also be happy with Jason Bay or Matt Holiday next year. I can’t see the Yanks bidding hard for Holiday, so we would have teh inside track. If the Sox go for Holiday, then we could go get Bay. Even replace Church with Nady.
why wouldnt the Yankees be in the running for Holliday??
they have the money…
They have a crowed OF and I am going on the general theory that they are set with spending boat loads since they still have to sign Derek Jeter. But, yes this might still not stop them. I am inclined to think it will, but you most certainly could be right.
Yankees lose Matsui’s contract next year. They could push for Holliday.
Actually you are right.
After next year their OF will look like this:
Melky
Swisher
Austin Jackson(Maybe)
I would imagine that Melky will get traded opening a spot for Holiday.
Sorry Coolpapa…..if there’s one thing we all know about the Stankee’s it’s that no matter how much $$$ they spend….they are ALWAYS willing to spend more to have whatever “big shiny toy” is available on the shelf !
This would be an incredible signing. The Mets need stability in the worst way.
im afraid this was leaked in boston for a reason…trying to get the red sox back involved…i hate boras
FSmetsfan,
You are so right!!!!!!!
After this they can look to the lineup with plenty of options still there
I would be cool with STICKING the Royals with Castillo and Andersons contracts for Guillen and then bringing in Hudson
Reyes
Hudson
Wright
Delgado
Beltran
Church/Tatis
Murphy/Guillen
Schneider/Castro
Reed
Sign cheapo backup IF
I would love Guillen because he brings in the crazy intense factor. He is the guy that will charge the mound when the opponents try to act up. He won’t take crap like Green did with Brad Penny a few years back. He will just break his foot off on someone. He is also that RH power bat we need.
With Castillo gone, you could just sign O-Dog go with Eckstein for one year then pick up Brian Roberts…..
Guilen’s .738 OPS last year placed him even with Kosuke Fukudome and behind Ryan Theriot.
Do we really need that type of hitter in our outfield?
I’m not sure there’s a worse idea than Jose Guillen. Besides the fact that he’s a creep, he’s not very good. He’s an average hitter for a corner outfield at best and that;s only because he’s a decent power hitter. His OBP is not good.
I think Murphy with a right handed platoon partner could be much stronger than Guillen and without the nonsense.
Plus, there are free agents available who are much better than Guillen (Burrell, Dunn, Abreu).
Yeah, Dunn is teh best option. Omar needs to look into that.
Dunn would be a great option for the Nationals, Mariners or Orioles but for a team trying to get into the playoffs, he doesnt really help us
id still feel a lot more comfortable if we could eliminate that tatis murphy platoon and get a real LF.
would be great to get Lowe and Perez. I’m not sold on Niese, nor do I want to go through another season or musical chairs for the 5th starter.
i’d rather have a 1st round pick then watch Ollie have to be taken out in the 5th inning almost every start and be tantalized with greatness once a month
Yeah it woudl be great to have OP as your number four or five, but I really like the fact that we will be getting back a first and a compensatory pick which will add great depth to the system. We have a lot of young LA guys that won’t be up for a while. We need some guys that could rise fast.
we’re not getting both…it was (is) lowe OR ollie…one of them, then perhaps a guy for the 5 spot, like redding…then the other odds and ends…
Omar: Puh-leeeeeeeze can I have a Manny for the holidays? Puh-leeeeeeze!?!
Fred: Now now Omar. You know we don’t like that type of stuff in our homes during the holidays.
Omar: But Fred, he’s one of the best offensive stars in the game today and he’s sooooooo good for media coverage.
Fred: I don’t think so.
Omar: If he promises to shape up and improves his offense?
Fred: Omar? Stop begging.
Omar: You never give me anything I want, Fred!
(Omar stomps off in disgust.)
Give it two months max and you’ll be seeing a press conference: Manny signs 2 year deal with Mets.
This whole thing sounds like me and my folks when I wanted a Super Nintendo.
HAHA
if this gets done i gotta give tons of credit to omar….think about what he has done.
-omar got the best closer in the game for half the price he was looking for
-omar didnt trade much for the best setup man in the game (and got rid of hielman)
-omar signed (hopefully) lowe to a 3 yr deal when he was origanally looking for 5 years
- omar would get manny but is not allowed due to the ownership (at least hes interested)
Great job omar!
Sweeney Murti on WFAN says Jon Heyman has informed that the Mets and Lowe are in negotiations as we speak.
great news. get this done before dusk
Let’s get Lowe thing done. He looks like a work horse, around 200 innings every year since 2002 with a steady ERA.
Lowe should probably get done today.
Next, we turn our agenda all out on Manny.
I dunno … why not look at Brad Penny instead of Lowe and maybe Rocco Baldelli for LF ?
MetDieHard, we cannot settle for mediocrity. Plus, Baldelli and Penny are just adding another two question marks to the pile we already have on this team.
penny as the #2 over lowe?? maybe as the #5 in addition to lowe, but not instead of lowe.
if you are going to get a player like guillen then you are better off signing manny because as much as people like to say how much of a headache manny is, it is severely exaggerated….Manny would be great in the clubhouse and in new york
if the mets are discussing lowe with boras. anyway we can get a manny/lowe combo when we leave? just thinking as a met fan dreaming
Get Lowe. Don’t sign Redding. Keep Pedro. By keeping Pedro, you have leadership and good advisor for the new incoming pitchers. He can still get to the sixth inning as good as anyone you can pick up. He will keep Manny in line when you finally get him OMAR!
Bad news, guys. Daily News reporting that Chris Carlin is taking over Mets pre and post-game shows.
i think he is a yankees fan…he always is in favor of the yankees
carlin is a texas rangers fan. and steelers. no loyalty to ny
taking over for who??
He’s replacing Matt Yalloff.
Okay, thank you. I was curious where he is being replace.
It would be interesting if the Mets get this deal done and the well dries up for Manny, if the mets in a few weeks offer Manny a one year deal and see if he takes it.
I doubt he would and I don’t think the Wilpons will buy it even for a year but you never know. One year and if he behaves maybe things loosen up for him next year and for the Mets, it would be such a short term committment you could handle his flakiness. But like I said I can’t imagine all parties going for it. But a guy can dream.
This is a great news. Lowe might not be worth all that much 3-4 years from now, he’ll be very solid next 2 years. Pelf will be a legit #2 after 2 years.
If Lowe signs with the Mets, Manny isn’t coming to Queens for sure. I think Lowe will be the last big signing.
I still think Mets need to improve their role players. Schneider was decent last year, but he’s a liability offensively. And we all know Castillo is what he is. But if Omar can improve #6,7, and 8 hitters, it’ll be near perfect
i’m not so sure about that
i think signing Lowe only enhances our chances of signing Manny.
think about it, we dont have any other needs:
2B: Castillo isnt going anywhere
C: no-one’s available thats better than what we have now
#5 SP: someone will be brought in to compete with Niese/Figueroa
LF: Murphy becomes the primary backup at 1B, 3B, 2B, LF, RF and LH PH. Tatis becomes second backup at 1B 3B LF RF and RH PH
Manny makes too much sense
gotta find a way to get Murphy in the lineup…
I don’t like what is being reported on Hot Stove Blog of Heyman. It states that Mets are among the teams that are in contract talks with Boras regarding Lowe. I will not be comfortable until he is signed on the dotted line/
Where do you read about Carlins doing pre and post game for the Mets on Wfan or SNY?
Carlin is off fan. He’ll be doing full time sny and rutgers broadcast
1. Lowe
2. Garland
3. Ohman or another lefty specialist
4. Ty Wiggington
time for spring training!
I like Lowe as a pitcher alot. Im alittle worried about his fit with the Mets ballclub.
He’s a type A so we would loose a draft pick.
But although we get one if Ollie signs elsewhere we get a pick.
The main thing is, if we sign him that pretty much eliminates the chance of getting a quility lefty to replace Ollie for teams like the Phils. I’m not a fan of Wolf and I believe Omar feels the same. There wouldn’t be enough money left to sign Ollie while Niese isn’t ready for the job to be just handed to him.
I like Redding for the 5 spot. His numbers don’t jump out at you, but consider he won 10 games for a 59 win team. Considering the Mets had about 1/3 more wins than the Nationals last year that could translate to a 13-14 win season from a #5 starter. No too shabby.
I think we deffinatly need a bat in left-feild hopefully right-handed to balance out the line-up. Murph and Tatis just won’t but it. On the bench of course. But in left feild I like Byrnes, Dye or Manny in that order.
I can live with Castillo, but prefer to really work Murphy over at second. He’s got an above average bat there already and considering he’s a natural infeilder, I think he can make the transition. My preference would to be Eckstien to share time with Murph, but that seems unlikely considering we still have Castillo.
35 years old. typical, we’re giving someone else they’re last contract.
their*
I like the idea of Rocco Baldelli to platoon with Murphy…….only negative is the guy gets hurt alot but they can likely take that chance since Tatis is around too
if Lowe is signed then it’s a matter of looking to see if they can get Hudson in and move Castillo for another crappy salary
as for the 5th starter it should be a lefty and I am ok with Niese…….Redding is a Righty so nahh
i agree…i would be okay with getting this lowe deal done, signing will ohman, trading castillo for jose guillen (RH bat in left field) – sign orlando hudson and sign redding for the 5 spot..i would prefer that over just signing lowe and manny
Who says KC would take Castillo for Guillen?
Guillen is a bad bad move… His .738 OPS last year would not justify his attitude and rotten demeanor.
If Baldelli can be had, he’d be a much better fit as a semi-regular than Guillen, who would surely be disruptive in that role. Plus Baldelli is a very good defensive player.
the mets and royals have been discussing a castillo for guillen swap since july
As for Murphy at 2B I think the Mets see him more as a LF and after this yr likely a 1B………….they need another bat but there are options
who are the realistic FA options?
I think Wigginton is not as he will get a starting Job on a team like Minnesota…………..Rivera is gone…………..so what is there?
I know it’s the unpopular opinion, but I’d rather the Mets resign Ollie, who is 8 years younger and has shown to pitch big in big games.
and shown to pitch small in small games..
i love the idea of ollie too, but those games against the Nats and Pirates count in the standings just as much as the Phillies
You mean like the last game of 2008!
He’s a piece of crap; most GD walks in the NL. Please, Perez has had so many chances. He’ll never be premiere.
Where does the “budget stand if we pay 14 mil per for Lowe?
we added 12.3 with K Rod,
added roughly 3 mil net with Putz
Dumping Show saves us 1.6
IF we had about 35 mil coming off with 5 going to raises?
gives us about 18 mil free pre Lowe’s 14?
Am I missing something?
krod is only making 8.5 this year. our payroll is around 118 mil including rough estimates on arbitration guys so after lowe we will have 7-10 mil to spend
But for salary cap purposes they calculate using his Average Annual Value.
but we are all just guessing that last year’s # is this years # also…they might want to hit the same #, or they may already be planning on adding 10-20, we dont know….either way, it makes me less inclined to think we are going to get manny…IF this lowe deal gets worked out, we still need a #5, a utility if, and probably one more arm in the pen, so realistically, I just dont know if we are going to pursue a big bat, whether it be manny, or dunn, or whoever….
word was that they were going to up the payroll about 20 MM.
It was close to 130 last year. Lowe at 14ish and everyone elses 2009 salary would put them close to 130.
So hypothetically they should still have that 20MM bump to spend… if that is still the case.
See below for more detail.
Here is what my spreadsheet has currently.
$105.9 for 13 signed contracts
plus Church, Reed, Maine, Dauner, and Feliciano in arbitration. Rough guess about 7 mil. The other 8 players are close to minimun, or yet to be signed.
Put it at around 116, with Lowe’s 14 it would be right at 130 which is about the same as last year.
That leaves 20 MM for Wil Ohman and Tim Redding, I guess. ;)
Strictly for comparison/contrast purposes, here is what an avid blogger/Met fan has up over at cbs sports:
2009 commitments:
1. C – Brian Schneider – $4.9M
2. C – Ramon Castro – $2.5M
3. 1B – Carlos Delgado – $12M
4. 2B – Luis Castillo – $6M
5. SS – Jose Reyes – $5.75M
6. 3B – David Wright – $7.5M
7. IF – Fernando Tatis – $1.7M
8. IF – Nick Evans – $400K
9. LF – Dan Murphy – $400K
10. CF – Carlos Beltran – $18.5M
11. RF – Ryan Church – $2M+
12. OF – Jeremy Reed – $400K
13. OF – Marlon Anderson – $1.15M
Rotation:
1. SP – Johan Santana – $20M
2. SP – Mike Pelfrey – $1.3125M
3. SP – John Maine – $450K+
4. SP – Jon Niese – $400K
5. SP – Bobby Parnell – $400K
Bullpen:
1. RP – Francisco Rodriguez – $12.3M
2. RP – J.J. Putz – $5M – team option for 2010 worth $8.6M
3. RP – Pedro Feliciano – $1.025M+
4. RP – Duaner Sanchez – $850K+
5. RP – Brian Stokes – $402K
6. RP – Sean Green – $400K
7. RP – Connor Robertson – $400K
Other commitments: Billy Wagner – $10.5M and Scott Schoeneweis – $1.6M
That’s around $118MM committed before arbitration raises to Church, Maine, Feliciano,Sanchez, and Angel Pagan. So we’ll put the Mets around $125MM after the raises. They entered 2008 near $138MM, so thinking that the Wilpons will not want to go over the $162M luxury tax, Omar Minaya could have about another $37MM to spend.
Only the sentence at the very top before the colon is mine, all else by “tartan” at cbs.
GravediggerHebner,
Unfortunately, the luxury tax cap isn’t the Wilpons’ budget limit…they have indicated they want the payroll to be at/near the level as last season ($138M).
Understood. All the facts AND opinions in my post are the intellectual property of a cbs sports blogger called “tartan.” I simply copied and pasted his work for my fellow metsbloggers to see. I can neither defend nor explain it, merely provide it.
Concerning the salaries:
K-Rod may average $12.3 million per year, but he will receive only $8.5 million in salary in 2009. My estimates of arbitration amounts are higher than your estimates.
If the reports on Lowe are anything like the numbers actually reached ($44mil/3yrs & option), the contract will have a Wagner effect.
Signing bonus $ 5 mil
2009: $ 9 mil
2010: $13 mil
2011: $13 mil
VESTED OPTION based on innings pitched
2012: $15 mil buyout 4 million
After a starting #2 pitcher, the Mets must set a #5 pitcher (Tim Redding), a lefty reliever, and a backup middle infielder (Aaron Miles and/or Alex Cora)
Nice detail. The salaries for the arbitration guys look like last years numbers. The math is flawwed in that they are adding 7 mil to last years totals rather than my estimate of 7 mil total for the arbitration guys. Small potatoes, 116 or 118…
10 million went to raises I believe.
If this works out, the Mets are in business.
Let us rid ourselves of Perez; the compensation picks will be worth more.
by signing lowe and ollie signing elsewhere, the compensatory picks are a wash. in other words, we give up draft picks when we sign lowe and get the same level of draft picks when some other team signs ollie.
Incorrect.
We lose 1 pick when we sign Lowe, and we gain 2 (compensation + supplementary) when we drop Perez. The net gain is a supplementary pick.
David Wright was a supplementary pick.
Even if it were a wash, that means we get Lowe over Perez, which is in no way a wash. The fact that we get the pick and Lowe instead of Ollie makes it even more obvious (from no-brainer X 10 to no-brainer X 20).
not true
The Mets lose one draft pick by signing Lowe. The Dodgers would gain two, but only one is from the Mets. The other is created.
They do gain two by losing Perez.
The Mets will lose thier 1st and 2nd round picks if they Lowe in addition to K-Rod. And more on down if they sign more Type A’s.
They will have someone’s 1st or 2nd rounder, and a sandwich pick, for Perez. And that is it for the Mets top of the draft.
lowe is a nice pickup and ollie is to eratic, we need another lefty to go against the “world champions” plus niese, in today’s mlb you need at least 6 starting pitchers and hope that nobody gets hurt, we also need a righty bat with some authority, to put behind beltran, wright, delgado etc. then we are ready.
I like the idea of Ollie coming back, I think that with the contract he would get (3-4 years) and time to work with Worthen, he would steadily become more consistent…then our rotation would have four players under the age of 30 (Santana, Maine, Pelfrey and Perez) while Lowe would provide veteran leadership and consistency
if we get lowe, ollie will NOT be coming back…we might settle for him if we do NOT get lowe, but if we sign lowe, they will not even talk about ollie, they will then turn their attention to someone like redding for the #5 spot.
ollie is a “big game” pitcher…this is a myth
he doesn’t go deep when it counts (look at the endings to the last two seasons)
i second that one….he had A big game against the yankees, and A big game against the phillies, but then couldnt get out of the 1st inning against the pirates…hmmm….I am not questioning his stuff, because it is great, but the inconsistency is just too much…just like sheets has incredible stuff, but is always getting injured…if he was an injury free guy, he would have probably went before cc, and definitely before burnett…
when Ollie blew a 5-1 lead against the Cubs that ended his tenure, in game 162 when he only went 5.1 IP, that sealed his fate…
Game 162 was against the Marlins (not the Cubs) and the score was 4-2… (no 5-1 lead to blow)
You only got the 5.1 innings right.
Yup. It was game 158 in which he blew the 5-1 lead to the Cubs by allowing 6 H, 5 BB and 5 ER in 4.1 IP.
Oleosmirf was referring to two different games: the game against the Cubs when Delgado hit a grand slam and Ollie blew the lead, and the last game of the year.
i like the idea of lowe and ollie being in the rotation with ollie more of a 4th pitcher
I would like to see us get Randy Wolf if we sign Lowe. I realize that Perez>>Wolf, but we won’t be able to get both Lowe and Perez. I really don’t have much interest in Redding. After we sign Lowe we still need another starter to compete with Niese. Man, oh man, I wish we could throw Manny in there too…but not happening.
Sign Lowe.
Sign Wolf.
Trade for Doc.
Maine, Fmart, Marte, Havens or Parnell for Doc
Johan
Doc
Lowe
Pelfrey
Neise/Wolf
Best rotation in the bigs with that.
who gets traded for doc? wright or reyes? (i hope you all detect the sarcasm.)
thats fine, but both is not going to happen, thats all i am saying…
John Heyman’s most recent column doesn’t sound quite as optimistic(for Mets) as what we have been reading:
“The New York Mets are among the teams in contract discussions with Derek Lowe.”
Doesn’t sound like Omar is locked in a room with Boras getting a deal done. Hopefully he’s wrong.
heyman is not always the most reliable source though, either…yesterday we heard “deep into negotiations, although no offer has been made” which translates to they were trying to find middle ground on years, $ per…today “close to a deal” is a very good sign…I think it was the last phrase used yesterday in regards to the yankees, right before the one that said they had signed teixera…
we need to get this done now, before anyone jumps in
The Mets need Lowe to contend in 2009 more than anyone else. They also need to upgrade at 2nd base. If the Mets punk out on Lowe, they will put 2009 at risk. If they keep Castillo, they will be hurting themselves badly. Castillo was worse than a replacement player in 2008. That means that with an AVERAGE 2nd baseman, we add 3 wins to our 2008 total just at that position and from that upgrade.
Perez is actually projected to be worse than Niese–and for that matter, worse than Brandon Knight–in 2009. Get the picks and let someone else pay $10M for marginal 5th starter production.
4Joe:
I don’t have a problem with giving Castillo another shot, going with the platoon in LF and sticking with Church in RF as much as I have a problem with their potential replacements on the bench.
That’s why I think guys like Thames or Baldelli, rather than Jeremy Reed, and a guy like Aaron Miles, rather than Alex Cora, would be good additions to the bench. They can play regularly if needed while those other guys will not hit enough to justify their places.
If Castillo is in shape and healthy, I have faith that he could at least replicate what he did for the Mets in 2007.
I say sign Willie Aybar. There is no reason to expect a -1 win player (1 win below replacement) to even approach average production in 2009. On the contrary, there were many reasons to suspect Castillo to be overperforming considerably in 2007.
According to Buster Olney the Mets have not had contract talks with Lowe.
That is not good..I hope Santa will bring us Lowe…In that Note, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
“Maine, Fmart, Marte, Havens or Parnell for Doc”
Doc Brown? If we can get his time-machine/DeLorean and undo the Kazmir trade that might be helpful. If not, it’s kind of dumb.
I don’t understand the “Havens or Parnell” part either. What does one have to do with the other? Why is that the choice being given?
doc gooden?
“Doc” Halladay of the Blue Jays.
oooohhhh….never heard that used for him…gotcha…
I think the Mets should sign Dunn.
Who is going to replace Delgado next year? The first baseman next year are terrible. If we sign Dunn, he’ll add a strong bat and we’ll have a new first baseman next year and for years to come.
Daniel Murphy is our first baseman of the future.
then who’s replacing Delgado’s bat? Cause it’s definitely not going to be Murphy.
qqq
I agree with you dunn is a great hitter and can play LF this year then Move to 1B next year. Even if he is a bad fielder we have one of the best in CF. There are no good 1B on Market next year except I think i saw (but would Never get in a million years) Ryan Howard. (Might Be Wrong). We are set there and can focus on all the SP’s on the market like Webb, Bekett, Halladay and many others in 2010
2009 Lineup
Reyes SS
Beltran Cf
Wright 3B
Dunn LF
Delgado 1B
Church RF
Schnider/Castro Platoon C
Castillo 2B
Pitcher
Starting Rotation
Santana
Lowe
Pelf
Maine
Redding/Niese only if hes ready dont want another start of career like pelf had.
Reyes through Delgado batting even Church is death to anyone who pitches against it.
LOOK OUT PHILS AND CUBS CAUSE THE METS ARE BACK!!!
People who think signing Lowe is preventing us from getting a lefty to combat the Phillies:
Look at his stats vs. the Phillies in the last 3 seasons…
Also, Redding is 4-2 with a 3.28 ERA over the last 3 years vs. the Phillies…(although he is horrible against the marlins and braves).
For the record on Lowe (last 3 years):
5-1, 2.42 ERA vs. Nationals
3-0, 2.84 ERA vs. Phillies
2-2, 2.94 ERA vs. Marlins
2-2, 3.72 ERA vs. Braves
those are some very good numbers
Not wonderful numbers v Braves. But Braves dont have pitching themselves so…
Any updates on Lowe?
joe nelson signed with rays
I don’t know if someone else has mentioned it but ESPN insider just said in caps that the Mets “ARE NOT” deep in negotiations with Lowe and “HAVE NOT” made an offer.
and everything you just wrote could still be considered factually correct even if the Mets ARE deeply in negotiations with Lowe’s AGENT and even if they have made an offer to Lowe’s AGENT. So you see the problem with absolutes in hot stove season. I’m not saying I know anything that you don’t, I’m just saying that ESPN’s ‘proclamation’ eliminates some, but not all, possibilities.
If that’s the case then it just sounds absolutely ridiculous. New stadium, their own TV network, and the biggest market in the country. At least pay up to the luxury tax threshold.
Wow 14-16 million per year is pretty steep for a 36 yr old who can only go downhill after 4 seasons throwing an average of 200 innings. This is why the Mets never go far. Our history shows that relying on guys in their mid to late 30’s is a disaster waiting to happen. I like Lowe alot, but his age should draw big concerns. I would sign Ollie for 3/36 and pick up Redding for our #5 to give Niese a year to develop.
I would agree with you IF Lowe’s numbers showed signs of a decline. However, they actually show signs of improvement. In the last few seasons, his WHIP and K/BB ratio have gotten better, Ollie’s have gotten worse.
Gotta admit Lowe for 4 years at 36 is a helluva lot more secure than Pedro for 4 years at 32, and who the hell wasn’t happy about the Pedro signing?
Lowe is a sinker baller…he’s money.
haven’t we learned our lesson signing older guys, giving them big dollars, and then counting on them as key players???- EX. Mo Vaughn, Pedro Martinez, Moises Alou
Pedro and Alou were walking injuries when they were in their 20s/early 30s. It’s not really the same situation.
I understand jws366 you have a good point but its just a fact of life, the older you get the more injuries you get.
Perhaps, but Derek Lowe and Brad Ausmus are the only 2 current players who’ve played at least 10 seasons and NEVER gone on the DL.
That’s because they haven’t played for the Mets. Ho, Ho, Ho.
Happy Holidays/New Year Everybody – and a LOT happier it will be if we actually do get Derek Lowe!
Signing Ollie for cheaper would make sense if they were even close to the same caliber. The problem is they’re not close at all.
On an unrelated note, anybody read MLB.com’s article on Pelfrey and Christmas? I rather enjoyed it.
can somebody please explain to me why on earth Lowe is looking to make 14-16mil/year?
It is my understanding that he is coming off a 4yr/36mil contract with LA. So 9mil/year is what he was making with LA. And now he all of a sudden wants to double his salary? HUh? Am i missing something here? Is he twice as good as he was 4 years ago? If anything he should me making less next year because he is now 36 and past his prime. So there’s no way he can be getting better. So why would he want such a huge increase in salary? Has the market changed that much in 4 years? This guy is nothing special. Anything over 10mil/yr should only be reserved for elite game changing players, and there are not more than 5 in the game. This shyt really ticks me off.
Four years ago he was coming off a 5.42 ERA year.
So let me get this straight, we’re about to spend 14/mil for 3 years with a fourth year vesting for a 35 year old who has finished Top 5 in CY Young voting once in his career, six years ago.
Perspective: Pedro Martinez was signed for 2005 at age 33 after coming off 3 straight years and 7 of 8 previous years finishing in the Top 5 in Cy Young voting. His contract: 05:$10M, 06:$14M, 07:$14M, 08:$11M. Adjusted for inflation that would be $10.9M, $14.75M, $14.34M, and $11M.
I like Lowe. But, I’m just not comfortable with the proposed dollars for what we would expect to get from him over the next three years (age 36-38). Anyone know what BP’s MORP is on Lowe?
I hear you’re argument but I think it’s safe to say our front office isn’t incredibly concered with the long-term right now, they seem to be trying to go all in right now and if we’re going to go all in we might as well not half-a-s-s it.
BP’s MORP. I’m not sure how much value I’d put into it though because they’re currently reevaluating their replacement level values, most people tend to agree they’re way to low.
2008 $7,675,000
2009 $8,800,000
2010 $5,725,000
2011 $4,750,000
And fwiw most other projections I’ve seen had Lowe at around 15-17 million per in value.
Thanks Gina!
The Mets DO NOT need Manny. Considering ball park adjustments, the Mets had a more potent offense than Phillies. The Cubs had the most potent offense in league and look how far they got. Winning a WS is all about pitching and defense. Manny helps neither. I’m all for giving Murphy a chance. If he proves inept, we trade for a bat at the deadline.
vikdeen bro, the mets need to worry about making the playoffs first before we even talk about the world series haha. i mean manny would be the consistent right hand power, clutch bat that we need… he would easily propel us into the division lead and maybeee world series contention
Despite what so many people seem to be convinced of the problem last year wasn’t a lack of clutchness or something. Is was so many crappy players getting significant numbers of at bats. Clutchness or not no team can compete with bats like Anderson, Easley, Castillo and A. Reyes getting so much playing time. Never mind the mess that was the bullpen, and Delgado’s first half. The fact we won 89 games is a testament to just how good Beltran, Wright, Reyes and Santana are.
I love Manny but we don’t need him to make the play-offs, we need to drop the dead weight and surround the core with better role players.
or the team choking by not being able to win games against the worst teams in the NL down the stretch (Nats,Braves, Marlins)
Gina, you’re right, we don’t need Manny to make the playoffs. The team currently constructed with the additions we’ve made to the bullpen most likely gets us there. Manny, though, ensures us getting closer to a World Series title.
i totally agree with you gina, but like common, manny is going to be manny and that last game of the season, where the offense was just flat, and actually the last few days of the season.. would have not happend with manny in that lineup and everyone knows that, the bullpen was a disaster and the whole second base situation was just as worse but with a guy like manny i mean common.. he brought the dodgers to the playoffs almost single handedly after they couldnt even buy any runs
I agree Manny would make a difference but I’m saying you could get similar results without taking such a risk on age/money/years with Manny and his alleged crazy by just replacing crap with better players, guys who you can easily find in FA now.
Btw Gina…i agree that Murphy wont be able to replace Delgados production of the past…but what makes you think Murphy cant be a Youkilis type of player (1bman) from the left side of the plate…maybe even hit for a higher BA
Youkillis hits for power, has much higher walk rates, and is a defensive whiz at 3 different positions. Thats what makes me think he won’t be a Youkillis type player.
Plus the Red Sox had Ortiz, Manny then Bay, JD Drew hitting for power to supplement Youk’s lack of power, we don’t.
but Gina….Murphy has shown he can hit HRs to LEFT CENTER. This fact tells us that he actually has potential power under his belt. Let’s give him a season or 2 before we say he cant potentially hit 20+ HRs
He’s 23 and mostly a finished product offensively, and never hit for serious power in the minors. The chances of him being more than a 20-25 homer guy, at best, are slim to none. We’re not talking about a skinny 21 year old who’s still growing and learning how to swing. Murphy is pretty much a finished product.
See I disagree..hes played what 2 years in hte minors? He never put up good numbers…but mid season he suddently showed a tremendous increase in production. Players are NEVER finished products, and there are so many examples out there of players that were low draft picks and not highly touted that have came out of nowhere to be great players. Saying Murphy is only so good is ridiculous. 23 years old btw is still very young
Youkilis for EXAMPLE hit 13HRs, then 16 in 2007, and then 29 in 2008. Can you explain that one?
3 years in the minors. And I mean physically/mechanic wise he’s a finished product, he may learn to control the strike zone better but there’s 0 reason to believe he’s suddenly going to hit for power. There’s just little to no power projection left past where he is now.
Yeah easily, he had an unsustainable hr/fb rate. 14%, the league average is usually around 10% and his career numbers were no where near 14%. There’s a reason the Red Sox were ready to offer 20 some million to Tex, they know there’s no way Youk is going to sustain last year’s power production. It was a fluke.
On the Derrick Lowe issue I was watching The Wheelhouse and Ferrell made a great point. SIGN BOTH LOWE AND PEREZ. Check out this potential rotation
1. Santana
2. Pelfrey
3. Maine/Lowe
4. Lowe/Maine
5. Perez
and with Duaner-Putz-K-Rod in the ‘Pen I think we can match the Phillies or be better spot for spot in the staff.
lets forget the fact that keeping Ollie prevents us from getting a 1st round pick but costs us another 12 mil over 4-5 years to see IF Ollie can ever get his act together…
how on earth is Pelfrey a #2 and Lowe a #3/4???
It doesn’t make any sense to spend that much money on a 4th or 5th starter……
dude, you just wrote: lowe maine
that’s funny.
So Gina I will be sure dedicate a post to you if Murphy crosses the 20 HR plateau this season. is that fair?
feel free.
Age 24 is generally the power spike age–David Wright, for example, hit 30 HR for the first time at age 24–and power spikes again in the later 20s. Murphy has power projection left and can refine his discipline a bit, but his K/BB ratio has always been just short of 1/1. He is closer to a finished product than not, but it’s a good finished product and he has some growth potential left. I would peg him as an 18-24 HR/year guy who might belt 30 once or twice with a bit of luck.
His defense is the concern. If he can’t find a position it will hamper his value severely. If he can play close to average 3rd or 2nd, he can be a very valuable role-player or a 2-time All-Star type player with some luck. I’m thinking Mike Lowell with meh defense.
thats pretty much exactly what i was thinking
lets see Murphy get 10 before we get to 20 ok?
Manny Ramirez would transform this team. We go from contender and semi-favorite to overwhelming favorite in the NL. With that said Lowe is an absolute necessity. I hope this happens by Wednesday.
Lock up Lowe
Sign Manny
And lets Mets the Yanks in the series!!!
oppps Meet the Yanks LOL…Have Mets on the mind!!
Lowe and Bradley, that is the perfect fit
reyes
beltran
wright
delgado
bradley
church
murphy/castillo/tatis/cora
castro/schneider
santana
lowe
maine
pelfrey
niese/parnell
rodriguez
putz
that is a good every day team
the only problem is that bradley will wind up punching david wright in the face before the all-star break. you can’t have a loose cannon like him on the team and expect to have good chemistry.
First, i think DLowe is essential for this offseason, especially over Ollie. Despite his age, he’s the model for consistency, which is exactly what Ollie isn’t. Let’s say Lowe gets a 4 year deal, the first 2 years he’s a front-end starter and if he starts to decline by the end of the deal (which is probable), Niese and Pelfrey should be front-end caliber by then.
For the 5th starter, although I think Redding is ultimately better than Wolf… I just like Wolf solely b/c he’s a lefty.. and we can’t have a rotation with only one lefty, imo.
As far as the offense goes, i know it’s hard as a mets fan to say this, but let’s have a little faith. Delgado’s HRs and RBIs really dont show signs of declining yet, and thats really all we need him for. If Church was healthy last year, he would’ve hit 25 HRs, as long as he stops sliding head first into people’s legs, he’ll be productive in the 6th hole. Let’s see what Murphy can do before we tell him he can’t do it. With the offense as it is now, it’s not like we’ll be out of it by the time July comes. If its apparent by then that another bat is sorely needed to make a legitmate playoff run, Omar’s still got the minor league pieces to pull off a deadline trade (teams out of it are always willing to shop hitters)
Starting pitching first, offense second.
What makes you think Niese will be front-end caliber ever? I think people are confusing the fact that he’s out top pitching prospect with the idea he’s a top pitching prospect. I like him but he’s a back end of the rotation type starter.
I’ll go for his bat and leave the chemistry outside, we need a guy like him, he doesn’t take S@*T from anyone, just give him space and don’t put his locker near Wright’s, everything will b k.
As I said before, good pitching will beat good hitting every time, but if you could sing a guy like Bradley, why not? by the way this format is a little off.
because he’s totally nuts
if the wilpons dont like manny, why would they let omar go after a guy like bradley? the guy tore his acl on his way to yell at an umpire…i mean come on…its not the money we are talking here ..if its either of the two they are going to take manny..i just dont think they want either of them
Amen and True. Keep that Crazy mickey-
Fickey away from the NYMETS.
Sign Abreau on the cheap.I know-I know But
The top 5/6 of the lineup would be pretty nasty w/him in the 2 hole.
I cant get my hopes up (Thanks for that Omar)
But Lowe would be an outstanding addition.
Merry Christmas!
If money isnt the reason we arent getting Manny and since everyone thinks Manny wont be a Met in the end….
I have to say lets spend that cash on Lowe and Perez…. Two great pitchers like that to the rotation is just as good as adding Manny…. Also Perez is young and very talented if he leaves and reaches his prime which he is near we are gunna miss him alot…. Also who cares what we get for Castillo id give him away for nothing just to open his spot in the lineup and lose that sickening contract, although he was a great player and if he wasnt so soft would still be great so I cant blame Omar for signing him….
Also I like the idea of signing Dunn who has great power although he is lefty and adding him to the lineup, his power in our lineup would be special…. That would be a great move if we could trade Church and a package for another good fielding decent hitting righty bat…. I know Church is well liked but it may be best for the team to add Dunn and trade for a righty….. If Omar can make all this happen it would be an amazing off season and were going to the world series….. If we stay on this path we still have a good off season but it will be a fight to get where we wanna go, and although I hate to say it the Mets never run from a fight so lets make it happen….. Playoffs or Bust!!!!!
i agree, forget manny. if we do in fact sign lowe I would try to get someone to compete with niese for the 5 spot but more importantly SIGN ADAM DUNN. he will not cost that much since ibanez is considered to be better and got 3/30. we could probably get dunn at a 2 year deal even, then trade ryan church and someone else (a mid level prospect) for a RH version of ryan church (good fielder, 110% type guy).
Lowe and Perez in contracts almost locks the door for Neise. I had wanted that as well but I think Ollie has a black mark on him and putting him into a long term (albeit 4 years) is risky. I’d rather have Garland for a year at a discount to slot into the 5 spot in case Niese isnt ready (which is likely).
I want Manny, lets embrace the hate by all the other teams and fans and just go get the biggest psychopath/greatest current hitter and do some damage this year. We’re never going to have a squeaky clean image so why fool ourselves. Krod and Reyes are going to incite hate just by being themselves so why not add Manny too?
Plus if anyone can handle Manny and know how to deal with him Manuel will.
Letting Ollie walk replaces the draft picks we’d lose on Lowe, and sort of on K-rod, depending on who signs Ollie.
Plus Ollie isn’t worth what he’ll likely sign for.
Also, I’d keep Church, and trade Delgado to maybe the Angels. Then put Dunn at first base. I’m not too sure, but that way his defense will be less of a liability, and Church is a decent defender. Plus, we’re likely to get more for Delgado.
Oh, and for another option for the 5th starter, I don’t think anyone has mentioned Odalis Perez. He could be a decent 5th starter for not too much, so that we can spend more for another reliever + Dunn.
i will like to see us pushing on lowe, who will help us to get to the playoffs or sheets who will be hurt by labor day but will give u a splash for the post season. Or even better, bring both and forget about manny. don’ t take me wrong i’ll love to see manny hitting between wright and delgado. but with that money u can bring sheets in addition de lowe and you can get Baldieli. Murphy can be use agains righty , on second base or even first to give rest to delgado who will hit 30+ hr this year. but imagine this rotation
1 santana
2 lowe 13-14 mill / yr
3 sheets ( 2yr incentive for inn pitched)
4 maine
5 perf
(niesse for when sheets or maine goes down )
then add baldieli who will give u more for less. with this sp i’ll forget about manny.
let see what happens.
i’ll keep dreaming!!!!!!!!!
bobby V #1
I agree with the Lowe & Perez signing that would make our rotation stellar but it just not going to happen. After Lowe we are done financially other then a cheap are in the Pen.
And about Church forget about replacing him with Dunn..He’s a stiff & Ryan will bounce back & have a good year he’s solid in the field & before he got hurt was a dependable bat with power.
As fans we have to make it clear tho that we dont want Redding on our squad….. I know he got no support on the Nationals but he just doesnt have good enough stuff to waste any money on…. With all the other available pitchers garcia, garland, etc. and Marquis available through trade we have to look in that direction just for the fact that those four at some point have had dynomite stuff…. I know for a fact that Ollie has electric stuff from time to time and at 27 he is going to control it soon…. All i can say is we will miss him if he leaves but i think if he leaves he will be back unless the Yankees steal him once he reaches the top…. I just hope he will eventually take us back if we make the mistake…. But if we lose him and need a plan B stay away from Redding he just doesnt have good stuff…..
I’m not sure that all fans feel that way. I personally could care less, as long as that doesn’t stop them from getting Lowe.
If fans were going to make a big deal about something (not that it would matter) it would be about acquiring Manny not not acquiring Redding. He’s kind of not a big deal.
it wasnt too long ago when the likes of Kaz Matsui, Mike Cameron, and Brandon Looper were considered “big time” additions. Keep that in mind and be grateful for the offseason we have had thus far. Lowe (hopefully), Putz, K-rod, are awesome, reasonably-priced additions. Manny is an unnecessary luxury. Adding him to the roster would be very Yankee-like and a detestable way to operate a baseball team. I rather give home-grown talent an opportunity (like Murphy) than signing a costly, prima donna to fill an “apparent” hole. Lets be serious, name a team out there that doesnt have a hole?
I liked those players you mentioned, my friend.
Wish we still had em.
Merry Christmas!
Let’s be greatful that this is not a dictatorship and let’s be greatful that your dictates to us are crap. You can be whatever you want but we can tell you that you are wrong which you are. You be greatful for a second team in our own city. We don’t have to be. Please speak for yourelf for now on.
the yankees are the most successful team in sports. I dont see why shouldnt follow in their footsteps…
but hey i guess the 7 playoff appearences in 46 years are good enough for you
And the Yankees havent won jack since 2000. Isn’t it a coinsidence that 2001 is when they started spending the big money?
But how many post season appearances have they had? How well are they doing financially? Which baseball team owns NYC? The value of their franchise is $1.3 billion the same amount as the cost of their new ballpark. On the field and off the field they have and continue to be very successful.
BTW they could have easily pocketed their profits but instead invest it back into the ballclub. They make there fans very happy.
there sb their. Sorry about that.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Redding is not as horrible as you make him out to be. Ive actually seem quite a few of his games. 92-94 mph fastball, decent control, alright slider and curve. He was solid for the first half of the year but drastically declined in the second half. Probably due to fatigue. It was the first time he threw over 100 innings (finished the season with 181 innings) since 2004, when he threw 100.2 innings.
Guys like Garcia and Garland probably want a guaranteed spot rather than competing for a spot with Niese.
To my friend Matt and his wondeful crew
and to all the crazy blogger commentor
Mets fans and even you creept Philly trolls:
MERRY CHRISTMAS! LET’S GO METS!
If we sign Lowe, we can be really selective on the five spot. We got by okay with guys like Nelson Figueroa whom we just resigned. I don’t have a problem letting Niese go for the spot. But let’s not sign anything of great value for that spot.
I think it would be a better move to sign Orlando Hudson and give Castillo away if we needed to. Luis was a cancer on the playing field. His lack of pop leads to many force outs and he used to be able to bunt, but he can’t lay down anything anymore.
Hudson would be exactly the spark the offense could use.
what the hell matt, no new posts since yesterday at 1230 pm?? NOTHING here on Christmas morning????
THAT IS A JOKE lol…
just came on to say Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and whatever else to all my fellow commenter, and of course, Matt Cerrone, Regis, Brandon and the MetsBlog staff…enjoy your day and hopefully 3 day weekend!
Whoa… easy thier on offering the metsblog staff a 3 day weekend! That’s a long time to go without new posts
Derek Lowe or Oliver Perez is a necessity. While I think that Adam Dunn is a very solid player, he’s not what this team needs. We do not need another left-handed bat who has much lower numbers with RISP than other situations. In an ideal world we would sign Manny, but that’s not happening. I know it comes up from time to time, but a trade for Nady might be the way to go.
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Nady is a 4th outfielder type player. he had a hot few months and then quickly regressed back to his career numbers. Murphy would probably give you the same production, probably better because he’ll get on base more.
Manny’s a money ho ho ho.
For Christmas, please sign Derek Lowe.
Joe D from Brooklyn who calls on WFAN is a piece of trash. Has anyone ever heard this clown?
Joe D from Brooklyn is giving Joe D from MetsMerized a bad rep.
Merry Christmas to Matt and all the other writers on this amazing blog. And to all of you regular readers, a happy holiday as well.
Peace…
if the Mets can’t get Manny, then they should try to acquire Nady.
Evans and a decent pitching prospect should get it done…
Nady/Murphy would be a very solid platoon b/c if Murphy struggles at least Nady is a more than capable starter…
There’s no reason to give up prospects for Nady. He’s a decent player but he’s not a player worth prospect. Look at his numbers once he went back to the Yankees, he had a few awesome months and then quickly went back to being a 4th outfielder type. He’d be a nice player to add next year when he’s an FA or if the Yankees will move him for scrap heap minor leaguers, which would be hilarious considering how much they gave up for him. But not real prospects.
And if money isn’t the issue with Manny then I expect them to use it somewhere else after after Lowe I something like Dunn, Ohman, a middle infield utility type and a 5th starter.
I’ll take 280 Batting Ave with 20 to 25 hr out of LF, with great defense, what did we have last year? I think he is a Kevin Mcreynolds type of player, more or less.
Nady doesn’t really play great defense, is good but it’s not nearly as good as someone like Church’s just for comparison. And that statline is likely what you can expect from a Murphy/Tatis platoon, except with a better obp from Murphy at least.
I agree, but we need a righty in LF that is why i’ll take Bradley or Nady, what else is out there? Guillen? Stay away from him, next year we could go after Holliday, but we need a right hander bat this year out of the outfield.
I’ll say that he is a better defender than Murphy/Tatis put together.
He’s better than Tatis, but it’s not hard to be better than them, and Murphy is young enough that it’s feasible he could improve with more playing time there. And regardless he’s not good enough to make it worth sending anything of value for him, especially since he’ll be an FA after this season anyway, and there’s outfielders available in free agency who are bigger upgrades and won’t cost prospects.
In another note, soon we are going to have a surplus of good players, Cuba is breaking down, and they have a ton of good players over there, I mean young players, not like el duke that he was already on the downside of his career, young kids like Viciedo or in their prime like Ramirez, I’m looking forward to that, those Cubans player leave their heart out on the field.
I never even thought of that, it will be interesting to see what happens with those guys.
Gina, I’ll not trade the farm for Nady, it was just hypothetical, Bradley I like him more, and yes it will be interesting and good for baseball to see how that will turn out, the Cubans has as much baseball history as we, they teach Puerto Rico and Dominicans the game, and the first non american that play in the ML was Cuban, actually before bringing Robinson as the first black player they were thinking in bringing Silvio Garcia but WWII happened and by the time they did it, Jackie was younger and a better choice.
I would like to wish you all a merry christmas and a trip to the playoffs next year :D
Same to you, and Thanks.
Id like to sign Lowe and Perez.. Then sign a bobby abreu or adam dunn.
I don’t mind the idea of signing Lowe AND Perez, but I think there is no possibility that will happen. Best case scenario for pitching would be Lowe and Wolf. Signing Abreu or Dunn doesn’t make a lot of sense. While they both work counts great, Abreu does not have the power for the middle of the order that we could use and Dunn strikes out too much with RISP (one of the weak points of this team the last two seasons). Aside from Manny there are not many FA OF options that make sense for the Mets at this time. Unfortunately there is essentially zero chance we sign Manny, so a trade may be our only worthwhile option.
I agree with that aswell and if Neise really starts to get good then we trade Maine or Ollie and get a decent return. But that wont be this year.
I don’t like Perez and we need a righty bat, we have enough lefties in our ball club, and Martinez is coming up, another lefty. I think Lowe for 3 years and Niese could do the job.
Although I’ll not pay more than 13 M per year. Tim Redding is another interesting option, I think he is going to have a very good year, if he stay healthy.
I love what Daniel Murphy did for us last year, but there is not a large sample size to judge him from. To expect him to have an OBP near .400 for all of next year is unrealistic. While I think he’ll be a serviceable player in a platoon with Tatis, signing a more proven player would lower the risk of Tatis/Murphy greatly.
IMO it depends on who the more proven player is. Bradley I like but with his injury risks can you expect him to last long as an everyday outfielder? Burrel I’m not a huge fan of I don’t think he’s going to age well and he’s already one of the worst fielders in baseball so any decline in his bat is going to severely hurt his value, same with Dunn even, though he’s about 3 years younger than Burrel should be a little further off.
i wouldnt take that thug for free. keep his ghetto @$$ off our team
gina
there is no comparison between Nady and Tatis. and this idea that Nady is a 4th outfielder is ridiculous.
Theres a better chance Tatis hits himself into AAA, than repeating what he did last season…
Nady hit 17, 20 and 25 HR the last 3 years and batted .280, .278 and .305.
Sure the Yankees gave up too much for him but to compare him to Tatis and call him a 4th OF is laughable.
Personally, I think to make any prediction about Tatis, whether it be optimistic, pessimistic or even keeled reflects much more on the predictor than the predictee because what does one have to go on? His career path thus far has been pretty unique and I think we all just have to wait and see.
Also, given that Nady has only had more than 500 plate appearances in 2 of his 6 seasons so far, and only played in more than 130 games once, perhaps a 3.5 OF is appropriate.
Nady’s career averages are .280 21 HR 78 RBI and he is certainly not a liabilty in the field.
If Nady is not an everyday player then i guess Ryan Church is a bench player and Tatis and Murphy belong in AAA…
While i agree that noone has any idea what Tatis will do, we can all agree on that Tatis cannot be relied on…
All this talk about Nady is probably a waste of time. The chances of the Yankees trading him to the Mets are pretty slim.
He has a career .793 ops. He basically had a hot 1.5 years and then regressed, quickly back to his career ops when he went back to the Yankees. Do you know how many left fielders last year did that or better 13/17 every day left fielders.
And his defense is decent in a slightly easier position, which is why right fielders usually hit less than left fielders. Church is a well above average defender, Nady is slightly above average, if Church played defense like Nady did and was stuck in lf he wouldn’t be nearly as valuable either. Not to mention Church more than likely would hit slightly better than Nady if he could stay healthy for a full season. That’s been Church’s problem more than anything health.
he had a hot 1.5 years??? thats a pretty long hot streak…
regardless Nady would be a perfect compliment in LF. Nady, Murphy and Church could all platoon for the 2 spots.
The chances of us getting him are slim to none but if we dont get Manny, thats the kind of player we need in LF, not a guy like Dunn who doesnt hit the ball when it counts or Abreu who’s a “quieter” hitter than Beltran…
With Church’s Health an issue wouldn’t you want Nady who can go over to RF no problem? And about all the talk about the Yankees not wanting to trade with the mets because there the mets just seems off to me. We dont trade with the Blue Jays very much but its not because we dont like to trade with the blue jays its because we havnt had a reason to. If it were Yankees BoSox that would be different but they only play six games against each other and its interleague.
gina -
check out this stat
in the first half of 2006 david wright hit 5th in the batting order and nady hit 6th…david hit 20 home runs in the first half
nady gets traded
wright his SIX home runs in the 2nd half of 2006
you may say he got tired…but i think it was mostly because he didnt have a guy like the x man to protect him
if we got nady to play left i would be more happy than if we got manny…xman was my boy!
Merry New Year
Gina,
I like some of your points about Nady. He isn’t an all-star left fielder, but he is a viable option. I would still feel more comfortable with him in left than I would with our potential platoon. Outside of Nady or the platoon (or Manny), what options are better? Bradley is the only one who fits what we need, and he comes with injury and attitude questions.
Imwondering if we could get Howie Kendrick for Delgado? He could solve the 2b problem, he once was a 5 tool player as a minor leaguer. We then move Murphy to 1st base. I realize it is just wishful. I love delgado as a leader , but we nee to face the facts he could revert back to what he was in 2007 . His value is high now
Murphy hasn’t prove that he can hit for power and he is not a established ML, we need Delgado at 1b, Castillo will do a decent job at 2b, we can’t fill every position with All Star, we need a least another stater (Lowe) and a corner right hander outfielder with some pop, Bradley will do just fine, ownership doesn’t want Manny, Burrell is not an option, Dunn and Abreu are lefties, who are you going to bring from the minors? Pasccssi?( I think that is his name), Aguila? Who? The Yanks are not going to trade Nady for second tier minor leaguers, they will prefer for him to walk away next year and get compensated in the draft.
Milton Bradley is a ghetto thug. If the Wilpons dont want Manny here than I have a better shot playing LF than Bradley…
I like the idea of having Howie Kendrick play second, but moving Delgado to have Murphy play first would be a HUGE mistake. Murphy will not have power numbers anywhere near Delgado’s next year. While I think Delgado is a concern and he is certainly on his way downhill he is a much needed commodity at this point.
we all know Delgado is past his prime but that doesnt mean we have to trade him.
He’s still going to be a very productive hitter and the only hitter we have that has proven he can carry the team.
Delgado is not Moises Alou or Mo Vaughn folks…
If the Angels would move Howie Kendrick in deal for Delgado, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Kendrick is a young hitting machine with fine defense, at a position, which we have struggled to properly fill since the days of Edgardo Alfonzo. We could easily replace Delgado’s production via free agency. Given that Carlos’ contract would be coming off the books, Manny would be the ideal fit. Though, there are a number of good bargains out on the market. It’s time to get creative.
Just tell me which 1b are you going to sign via FA, Manny is not coming to town, we already got our christmas gift (Rodriguez/Putz) and waiting for another (Lowe), how are you going to replace Delgado, remember Manny is not and option, and while I like his hitting, his attitude is unprofessional, you don’t stop playing faking an injury just because you are not happy with the 20M a year salary, I prefer a crazy sob like Bradley, a least we know he is not going to fake it, he is going to get injured doing some crazy s@*t.
lets see, Howie Kendrick in 3 years has a total of 945 AB, 123 R, and 106 RBI with 12 HR, how do you figure that this guy is replacing Delgado’s numbers, he hasn’t play in a full season yet.
Garfios, you’re missing my point. I’m not saying Kendrick is replacing Delgado’s production. If Delgado were to be traded for Kendrick, Daniel Murphy would become our starting first baseman. That’d be one dynamite young infield with Kendrick on board. And, we would easily be able sign someone from free agency that would replenish the loss of Delgado’s power. Especially with Delgado’s contract coming off the books in a trade, Manny would definitely be the first choice option. There are other alternatives that may even come in at a bargain rate because there’s a surplus of corner outfielders on the market.
On a side note, I have no idea how you can advocate signing Milton Bradley over Manny Ramirez. Mind boggling.
Other than Manny, who the wilpons don’t want, and Dunn who the front office apparently doesn’t like, and Bradley who is insane and a walking injury who are these players with enough power to replace Delgado?
Kevin Millar?
Kevin Millar slugged .394 last year. Somehow I don’t think that’s going to replace Delgado’s power. i think Castilo slugged more than that. Millar hasn’t hit for power since like 2002.
exactly only one player available is better than Delgado and his name is Manny Ramirez.
not to mention that Delgado is pretty much untradeable anyway…
Gina, I know what you’re saying. In the grand scheme of such a plan though, the Mets would have to succumb to changing their current views regarding the corner outfield market. I believe that they would. Manny along with any of the bargain corner outfielders would be under consideration in changed circumstances.
i know Omar says he wont get Manny but I still dont believe him.
Manny makes too much sense for the Mets to just ignore him…
and dont give the whole “well hes not worth the trouble”. The Mets arent good enough to just let him go someplace else.
I can understand if there were any other options but Dunn, Bradley and Abreu are not what this team needs at all…
I don’t think it’s up to Omar. It seems pretty clear the Wilpons are blocking Manny.
I really believe that the Mets are playing everyone for fools on Manny. The front office keep feeding into this perception that they don’t want him, as they should be doing actually. I wouldn’t put it past Omar that he’s trying to take hold of every single piece of leverage he can muster. Boras is going to come crawling to the Mets.
I could be dreaming about all of this, but these are certainly plausible tactics.
What would be the point of playing everyone for fools? Manny has no market right now, it’s not like he’s in high demand. What purpose would pretending to not be interested in him serve?
i got a K-Rod shirt for xmas!
Wow – someone who likes you is really on the ball. I’m jealous ’cause I didn’t get one…
Merry everything and Happy New Year to all my fellow Met fans.
Chemistry is overrated, the 1986 team didn’t have the best chemistry, Hernadez and Straw were not the best of friend, Knight was insane just like Dysktra who was competing with Wilson for playing time, still the won more than 100 games plus the WS, so I think we could squeeze Bradley in for a couple of years.
not to mention that half the team were bunch of wild drunks and cokeheads…
ha
OFF THE FIELD THEIR WERE NO SLEEPOVERS, NO PESONAL CHEMISTRY MAYBE, BUT ON THE FIELD NO ONE CAN DENY THAT THE MET’S WERE AN ABSOLUTE UNSTOPABLE FORCE, CAUSING WHITEY HERZOG (ONE OF THE GREAT MANAGER’S OF ALL TIME) TO CONCEDE THE DIVISION IN MAY OF “86.
‘Cocaine is a hell of a drug! – Rick James
Cool!
i just can’t understand how the Mets cant be interested in Manny.
I can understand them not wanting to give more than 2 years but to not be interested at all.
Sure he’s not the greatest teammate but i just cant see why Manny would be unhappy in NY.
He’d be playing for a team that caters to latino players, he’d be playing for the team he supposedly rooted for growing up, he’d be playing for a very easy going manager and he’d be playing for one of the best teams in the league and play in NY and theres no loudmouths like Wagner on the team who would ever call him out…
Delgado could be Manny’s Big Papi Pt. 2
Are we really going to keep Castillo? is this really going to happen?
maybe they r interested and don’t want to show their hands, in any case our real problem is pitching, BP is good now, we need another SP and the power bat will be a plus, but not as important as SP.
well all the top pitchers should be signed well before Manny does.
All the Mets really need to do is sign Lowe and the rest of the pitching staff can be solved internally or by small signings like Redding.
Lowe, Manny, Redding and a utlity infielder like Aaron Miles completes this team
i think those guys and will ohman really completes the team…we NEED another lefty in the pen
I’m just hoping that with little interest in him Manny would be willing to do a 2 year deal and at that point Omar can convince the Wilpons to let him go get him.
You see the Mets never try to sign Alexei Ramirez last year, if they did we wouldn’t have any problem now, he can play 2b and the OF.
To the Delorean!
I got the best Christmas gift….ever. My brother bought me a bottle of CaberReyes wine, lol… A bottle of wine that Jose Reyes face on it…love it….I haven’t opened it, and I might not, but it looks like good wine too…Cabernet Sauvignon…I’m just wondering if anybody has tried it? And if so, was it good? How awesome is that though? CaberReyes, lol…
A family member who knows I’m a huge Met fan bought me a bottle of that wine over the summer. Cabernet is my wine of choice too. I drank the wine. It wasn’t bad – basically just a middle of the road Cabernet. Considering most of that money for those bottles of wine with athletes picture on them goes to charity, I thought it was money well spent.
Now I’m trying to figure out how to get the label off the empty bottle so I can save it…
It’s the choice of winos. :)
this was probably talked about already but apparently a deal with lowe is not imminent ..omar says it wont be within the next few days…
i am not too worried about this, i believe omar will get it done, hes not theo epstein
i think the thing holding him back is the fact lowe wants 4 years, and looking back on the past couple signings where we gave the extra year, i would be hesitant at first too…
pedro
wagner
castillo – in this case…an extra 3.5 years
but like i said, i think omar will get it done…
So Omar is not Theo Epstein. I wish he was. :)
WHERE WERE WE BEFORE OMAR ?
……………………………….. EXACTLY.
ALL A GM CAN DO IS PUT A WINING PRODUCT ON THE FIELD, IF I’M NOT MISTAKEN OMAR HAS DONE THAT, WE’VE COMPETED SINCE “06.
I wish we could go back and switch castillo for alexi ramirez, he would be a perfect fit with reyes in my eyes…. I wish we could find a righty bat in the eric byrnes mold in my opnion he would be the perfect gritty player to add kind of out of the Lenny Dykstra mold…. Manny is a dream but if it was a reality it would mean big things…. If we all realize how big manny would be I think the front office has to know the same…. Moving Delgado and Castillo for a solid 2nd basemen and having murphy learn first would be big for the teams progression…. I like this lineup:
Reyes
Kendrick or solid 2nd basemen
Beltran
Manny
Wright
Church
Murphy
Castro
Pitcher
I doubt that the Angles would move Kendrick for Delgado.
Just throwing out FA names who hit right-handed and can play the OF:
Kevin Millar
Jay Payton
Rocco Baldelli
Jhonny Gomes
Emil Brown
Of the group, I would love to have Baldelli. Payton would not be bad either in a platoon role, but he might not be any better than Tatis. And Millar is clearly a good clubhouse guy that can spell Delgado at 1b. Millar is a decent power stick off the pine, something the Mets have not had in a while.
Another name to keep a tab on is Garret Anderson. If the Mets want a band-aid fix in LF for this year, Anderson would be a good fit. Although he is a lefty bat, he hit .290 last year off of lefties. What more can you want. In his career, he is about a .290 hitter off of lefties. On a one year deal, he might be the best bet possible. He is unspectacular, but his numbers will be as good, if not better than Ryan Church’s next year.
He is a professional hitter that can hit anywhere from 2nd to 7th in this Mets order. He will drive in 80 runs.
Also, I wonder if the Giants would be interested in Luis Castillo. As bad as Castillo was last year, I think there is a good chance that he gets closer to .280 next year, at least. If Omar paid half his deal and threw in Schneider, does anyone think we could nab Molina?
Molina, for a catcher (an underrated one at that), puts up some serious stats. .292 / 16 / 95 last year.
If Murphy could play 2b with Eckstein in a platoon, and the Mets were to sign Garret Anderson to play left (with Tatis giving him spells), then our team would really begin to take some good shape.
Reyes
Murphy
Wright
Delgado
Beltran
Anderson
Molina
Church
Tatis
Castro
M Anderson
Eckstein
Reed (?)
Not bad and no long-term commitments being shelled out. With the money being saved, the Mets retain flexibility and the ability to spend money on Lowe and perhaps Sheets.
By the way, the beat writer for the Giants on MLB.com mentioned Nady as a possible solution for them at 3B. Does Nady play 3B?
Matt, you have to change the margins on your threaded comments.
It’s behaving as if a reply to a previously replied to comment, is a new reply thread, thus narrowing the viewing field.