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Update, 7:50 pm:
Interestingly, during tonight’s Hot Stove show on the MLB Network, SI.com’s Jon Heyman said, while Omar Minaya prefers Oliver Perez to Lowe, some in the team’s front-office prefer Lowe, because he is a ground-ball pitcher – this is important because when David Wright and others took batting practice in Citi Field last September, the new stadium played as a hitter’s park.
Original Post:
Tonight on SNY’s Mets Hot Stove Report, FoxSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal said he still believes the Mets are the front-runners to sign free-agent RHP Derek Lowe, despite the pitcher’s meeting with the Braves today.
Rosenthal said, “From what I understand, the Braves are not interested in going beyond the three-year, $36 million offer from the Mets… I still don’t see the Braves going where Scott Boras will want them to go.”
In the end, does not see how it is possible the Mets lose out on both Lowe and free-agent LHP Oliver Perez.
By the way, Rosenthal says, at this point, he is unable to find a GM who is interested in Perez, outside of Omar Minaya.
…hey, Scott Boras, i’m in the middle of a ridiculous negotiation to buy a home – can you help get me what i want… thanks…
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I have always been quick to criticize omar but if he pulls off an anti-boras move with derek lowe and gets him for relatively cheap he’d deserve alot of credit. As far as position players with burrell signing for 8 per and bradley for 10 per is it possible we could get dunn for 2/15 or 2/16. I mean at that rate i really think we’d be crazy not to at least look into it.
you guys see f mart’s bomb in winter ball on youtube…. what a shot
Remember these comments from Fall 2007 (upon his signing with the Braves) when Glavine signs with another club:
“This is the best, and probably the only, scenario I would’ve played under,” said Glavine, 41, who’d declined a $13 million option to return to the Mets, taking a $3 million buyout instead. He described the last five seasons as “not a struggle, but a juggling act, Chris and the kids [including his daughter, Amber] flying back and forth.”
“Whether people want to believe me or not, I wasn’t sure I wanted to play again,” said Glavine, who played 16 seasons here from 1987-2002. Playing in New York, “There was stuff I missed out on at times, whether Little League games or hockey games. The kicker for me was the last weekend of the year.”
amazing shot…that swing reminds me of strawberry. It’s amazing to think he’s not 20 yet. my goodness, makes me glad we haven’t traded him yet.
Wut’ I tell ya?
Relax , kick back, crack open a beer
I love beer! But I’d much rather celebrate a Ben Sheets signing than a Lowe signing.
While I absolutely DO want Manny Ramirez on the team, I can’t argue a rotation of: Johan/Lowe/Ollie/Pelfrey/Maine instead.
Only sorted it that way to separate lefties Johan/Ollie, sinkerballers Lowe/Pelfrey, and fly ball pitchers Johan/Ollie/Maine.
Wait a minute…. no GM besides Minaya wants Perez? Seriously? No team wants a 27 year old “big game” lefty with “ace” like stuff?? Don’t these clowns realize, that he’s just destined to become an ace next year, even though he has no control, little durability, and an underwhelming amount of brain capacity??? GIVE OLLIE 5 YEARS AND 70 MILLION NOW OMAR, OR YOU FAIL, YOU FAIL BAD!
LOL I would love to believe 1 day Oliver can be a go to Ace with us of course. He can pitch the big game thats for sure but 5/70 is alot for what he has done so far.
sarcasm, dude, sarcasm
what big game has Ollie ever won???
LOL True but I think he means games against the Phillies & Atlanta when we have needed them….And has had sucess against yanks..No playoff luck yet though.
I guess you were not watching baseball in October of 2006.
yes i remember Ollie giving up 5 runs in his first start (he did get the win though as the Mets won 12-5) and in his second start he got a ND only b/c Endy made the most ridiculous catch ever…
I was watching in Sept 2007 when Ollie had a complete meltdown in the first game of that final 3 game series with the Marlins.
Also in Sept 2008 he wasn’t so hot against them then either.
I’d prefer Lowe and Redding, with the money saved on Ollie going toward Dunn and taking a flyer on Cordero (for a reasonable sum).
Omar better start doing something…if we dont improve our team we are in serious trouble
Two words Matt:
Homestead Exemption
Apply immediately after you land your home… Ouch!
If Lowe signs do you think DWright can convince him to wear a shirt under his jersey? Not the orange one DWright does (Only Cliff Floyd can rock the orange undershirt), but just an undershirt period. He reminds me of my father in a FSU Football jersey and Greg Maddux… Yikes
HAHAHAHAHAHA maybe he doesn’t wear an undershirt because he sweats too much
haha, I also hope he doesnt come out wearing a sweated up Mets cap every game…i hope they give him like 30 caps for the season.
haha, i hope they give him 35 caps to wear for the regular season. And another 6 or 7 caps for the playoffs.
I thought the issue with Manny is that the Wilpons don’t like him.
Forget Dunn he’s a strikeout machine lets just land Lowe & get to work on the NL East again…No reason we should not bounce back from last 2 disasters…
Lowe would be an astronomical improvement over Perez. It would then be possible for the Mets to get 4 starters with an ERA under 4.00…
If we get lowe and perez, the mets will win the division. That would make our rotation the best in the NL. I would not mind Dunn for a 1 year deal, whats wrong with a guy who can mash 40 homeruns. Yea he will strike out plenty, but 40hr 100 rbis is hard to find.
while that is correct, I dont see how Dunn helps us avoid a collapse.
I mean what good is it to bring in a player will more often than not make an O for in the biggest game of the year.
Thats why I want Manny here even though it seems unlikely. When the season is on the line I expect Manny to go 2-5 where as Adam Dunn would go 0-4 and a BB
The thing is Dunn has a good OBP. So instead of grounding out to short, or popping up, etc., he strikes out.
sure he gets on base a lot but like i said before with the game on the line Dunn is one of the last guys you want up…
WHY are so many of you fantasy baseball obsessed?? ADAM DUNN?!? The overwhelming belief about this guy is that he flat out does not enjoy playing baseball! Is that the kind of guy you want in a clubhouse that we have vowed to cleanse (and have done a poor job of doing so to this point)? We would like Lowe, yes, but please, let’s not forget about our off-season goal to change the environment surrounding this team.
I understand that Luis Castillo is owed 18mill over the next 3yrs but there must be a way that we can defer some of that money and cut ties with this loser. Think about our one real hot streak we had last year…who was on the DL for that period? Castillo. What happened in ‘07 when he first arrived in August and in ‘08 when he came back in August? September collapse 1 and 2. I don’t care what his stats or playing time was during those periods, it’s just the aura of being a loser that he brings to this team. GET RID OF HIM!
Bring in Eckstein for 2/7.5 or wishful thinking, O-Hud for 3/21 (he’s not getting more than 8 a year from any team). Let’s keep the resolution to change the culture of this ballclub so we don’t have to stare at the same team that has ripped our hearts out the past 3 years (’06 is included because we should have won the NLCS in 5).
Another thing that is infuriating me on this site recently are people saying:
“Get Manny, Lowe, Ollie, O-Hud” etc. There are rules to signing Type A free-agents and we can only sign two more, so PLEASE keep that in mind before compiling these unrealistic wish lists. I feel like we missed the boat with Baldelli but Ollie or Lowe, preferably Lowe, another back-end starter, and Eckstein would be a nice off-season. That said, if we could land Manny for 2 years with an option for 3, I wouldn’t be dissapointed whatsoever.
If our objective is to AVOID a collapse that isn’t worth anything. We should be looking at trying to win, not trying not to lose.
the only problem with that is that we are not gonna get both lowe AND perez
nor would I want Perez.
I’d rather have a cheaper guy like Redding, a 1st round pick + and an extra 8 million than sign Perez.
omar is going to school boras. lowe/ollie combo. best pitching staff in baseball.
no the Yankees and Red Sox have us beat easily regardless of who we sign. Luckily that’s of no concern to us…
Wow Yanks and Red sox have great Rotations?
Beckett, Dice-K, Lester, Wakefield, Penny/Smoltz
CC, Burnett(20 starts), Wang, Joba?, Hughes?
Sorry if somehow Omar pulls off Ollie and Lowe, You can’t discredit Johan, Lowe, Ollie, Maine, Pelfrey as possibly the best in baseball, if not top 3.
Bostons is solid and the yanks if Burnett stays healthy, which he never has outside contract years, is also solid 1-3. I don’t know many 1-5’s that strong.
hmm…
johan > CC
lowe > burnett
pelf > wang
ollie > Joba (if hes even in the rotation)
maine > hughes
i think our rotationwould be better my friend
dude ur an idiot for saying ollie is better than Joba…thats outrageous. And a healthy Burnett is def better than Lowe. And Pelf> Wang although i believe could be true right now is def not true
kk maybe ur right bout joba..but pelf is def better than wang…our starting 5 would be better than the yankees
Joba has some of best stuff i’ve ever seen. I wouldnt be suprised if he won a Cy Young in the next 2 years…
Wang was 19-6 in 2006 and 19-7 in 2007 and Pelf is better than Wang? I would like what your smoking.
Santana>CC (noone is better than Santana
Lowe> Burnett (slight edge to Lowe)
Pelfrey > Wang (not even close…Wang is much better)
Ollie>Joba (you just lost all credability as a poster)
Maine>Pettitte (no Pettitte is better)
ummm pettite is not on the yankees and will not be on the yankees this year..so u lose out there….i already admitted that i was wrong bout the ollie joba thing but i do think pelf is a better pitcher than wang
I’d like to see Joba have a full year as a starter before we say for sure that he is better than Perez. He only made 12 starts last year, went 7 innings in only 1, and eventually broke down. Who knows if he has what it takes to last a full season as a starter or if the league will figure him out the more they see him
I love big pelf, but in all honesty, he’s had 4 good months, wang has been solid for 3 years. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone in baseball that would take pelfrey over Wang.
Hate to tell you – Ollie is better than Joba until Joba proves he can stay healthy. As for Pettite, he is not a Yankee buddy – so your smart a$$ just lost all credibility as a poster.
Let’s settle down with Pelfrey being better than Wang…Wang had 2 straight years with 19 wins and 7 or fewer losses and an ERA of better than 3.70. Pelf’s only real year he was 13-11 with a 3.73 ERA. I hope he turns out to be better, but he certainly is not yet. I agree with the rest for the most part though Joba may be better than Perez. All that being said, I would like nothing more than getting both of them, and that includes getting Manny.
Yes, there is absolutely no way you can reasonably argue that Pelf is better than Wang. Does he have the potential to be better than Wang, even after this upcoming season? Most definitely, but he has to produce first.
“staff” not just rotation. granted i think we would have a better rotation than either of those teams too, but my post was regarding the whole staff…. not just 1-5. you dont know what anyone in the yankees rotation is going to give you aside from CC.
according to Heyman.. Wright, Evans and few others had batting practice at Citi field. Apparently the balls are flying out.
That had to be chilly.
Thats true, but Citi still had a good amount of work left to be done when they took BP, so things can change. Plus, wind patterns in Aug/Sept (when they took BP) aren’t always the same.
thank you for news thats about 5 months old.
does that make you feel better about yourself chief. Oh the big guy knew that already. Well Sir some of us who actively follow the Mets must have missed that.
are the people on this blog supposed only post info that is new to you..
Get a life.
lol you’re going to buy a home when you already know it’s going to be worth at least 25% less in a year? i hope that was just an attempt at humor…
what a surprise…omar prefers the latin american player than the american one
And I was starting to get excited that perhaps Minaya had given up on the all latino thing after all of the players we got in the Putz deal were white guys….
Dude get off the Hispanic thing, it’s old and lame and if the season started today our starting rotation would be 4 white guys (Maine, pelfrey, niese, brandon knight{that’s what the website says}) and the best pitcher in baseball. Besides, even if he was racist towards hispanics, who cares thats where the majority of baseball talent is right now. I hate ignorance.
Its more fun to be ignorant
That’s cute
lcs487
“That’s right….because Manny helped those Dodgers win the 2008 World Series!
Oh wait….you mean he CHOKED at the plate against the Phillies? THAT Manny Ramierez? I must be dreaming….”
That Manny Ramirez batted .533 with 2 HR 7 RBI a .682 OBP 7 BB and 1 K.
My point is, if you listen to the people on this board, everyone seems to think that Manny Ramierez is the cure to all of our problems….we still need two front line starting pitchers, a halfway decent second baseman and a halfway decent second baseman…..one guy is not going to get us to a WS, as shown in the series against the Phillies.
id rather have Lowe, Redding, Manny, Castillo than Lowe, Ollie/Wolf/Garland, Murphy/Tatis, Hudson
I agree, so go drop a check to freddy Wilpon for 30-40 million so we can sign all those guys. Ignorance.
I take back my comment, i misread your post. My apologies Oleosmirf
Just sign Lowe and Ollie and be done with it. There are more issues to focus on…2B
We are missing out on other trades
supposedly alex rodriguez was out on the streets of new york city asking random people for a blowjob
I wondered where Nostradumas was today
Hey Matt, amazing that some can be banned from yoou blog for thoughtful,informed criticism of Omar(the Teflon Don), while
others are allowed to use language posted
above.
not too mention that this kid thought Pelf was better than Wang and Ollie was better than Joba.
he should be thrown off just for stupidity…
alright already…i said that i was wrong about the ollie and joba thing…ok….also it was my opinioon that pelf is better than wang…yes wang has put up great numbers for a couple years now..i just feel that pelfrey is going to have a great year…i was just trying to prove a point that the mets rotation would be better than the yankees if we signed lowe and ollie…to have ollie as a number 4 would be amazing
I really dont think a healthy Lowe is nearly any better than a healthy Burnett..Why do u think the yankees paid him AJ the money he got and signed him instead of Lowe
because the yankees are stupid…i think its because he is younger and they wanted more of a power lights out kind of guy….they rediculously overpayed him
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA
Its pretty much Matt’s fault if we are unable to get Lowe. The money sny and the Mets spent on this blog and matt’s services must of broken the bank..
I’m teasing of course.. you are well worth it Matt. As long as the money is well spent.
not sure if the housing market can fall any further. Interest rates are low, so it probably is a good time to buy.
I wonder if the Mets have to start thinking about OP even if they sign Lowe if his asking price goes down to $8M over 4?
Are the Wilpons really that worried about Money right now???? Are they forgetting the embarrasment and shame the new york mets have showed their fans the past 2 seasons? Do they expect us to come support a team that failed 2 straight seasons without signing a significant player other than a closer and 1 reliever
Airfeet, those answers would be:
Yes,Yes & Yes.
the offseason isn’t over, there are still approx. 100 FA still available, I think the mets are far from done.
The Mets should go and sign both of them.
I want lowe because of his consistency but the guy is a #3 starter, With that said, he will make us better.
Ollie I like a lot. The guy gives up a lot less hits per inning pitched which is very impressive. If he can find a way to harness the walks, he can be dominating, #1 starter possibility.
The mets should sign both players. If you can have Ollie for 10 million a year you do it. We can always trade Neise midseason for offense if our rotation is off the hook.
Agree on all points.
I would not hate this.
Although I’ll like Manny to be with us, it bothers me what he did in Boston, and if he did it once he could do it again, it was unprofessional and disrespectful to his teammates, to the sport and all fans in general, he was on the brink to be suspended from the game, so I have mixing feelings about this guy in our team, while I know he will be entering the twilight of his career, he still can put up some great numbers while helping us get over the hump, but since the market is down, specially for him, I wonder which Many will show up, the one from Boston or the Dodgers one, remember he is not going to get pay what he though he will, “the gas is down now”, and he definitely will not get 5 years, he will be unhappy.
I’ve been thinking about this same thing, which Manny are you gonna get? is the risk worth the reward? Personally the financially stranglehold he would probably put on this team for the next few years would not be worth it for me. I’m fearful of high risk high reward.
I believe what happen in Boston was a blow to the fans perception of him and his HOF status. Not a terrible blow but still a thorn in his side. I dont believe, wherever he goes, that he would ever do that again. I’m sure he wants to go into the hall as a shining star and have what happened forgotten.
” Citi Field, the new ballpark for the New York Mets, is poised to become MLB’s new Grand Canyon. City Field is a vast, cool weather, sea-level stadium, and those factors will have a hugely negative impact on home runs.
*snip*
Johan Santana and the rest of the Mets pitching staff will like the new park, but the Mets’ front office should sign their power hitters now, before the word gets out. In spring 2009, baseball fans are going to get a live demonstration of what happens when a team sets out to design a pitcher’s park, and overdoes it.”
Go to amazinavenue to read the rest if you haven’t. Greg Rybarczyk of Hit Tracker had an article in the Hardball Times Annual. He predicts Citifield to kill homeruns.
“Really, Citi Field is not even close to Shea dimension-wise, and home runs will be drastically reduced. I predict this because over the last three years, my analysis of every home run hit in MLB revealed that approximately 29% of all home runs have cleared the fence by 10 feet or less. At least half of the Citi Field outfield fence is either 10 or more feet deeper, or effectively 10 or more feet deeper due to a combination of longer distance and higher fence height”
Interesting that after a BP session they thought it would be a hitter’s park…will be interesting to see what actually happens…
The thought of Citi field being a hitters park is rather depressing.
I believe they said that it seemed the wind was funneling out toward centerfield in citi at that batting practice
OK
1-The Mets are not getting Manny-That’s that
2-Lowe is a solid,no a very solid pitcher.
3-Ollie is still a head case and is now way worth 14 million a year.What has he proved-Nothing.He has had some stellar games but also so real and I mean real stinkers,like the game in San Fran
We really need some solid bench players.I hope Omar does not forget that.
I would personally like to see the mets somehow get Nady.
I agree on all points, I see these bench guys getting gobbled up for low money (miles, bodelli, hairston) I hope he doesn’t wait too long.
I flew 3,000 miles to see the Mets play in SF and that’s the game I got – it was over in about 6 batters. Not good times.
Wheres the shake up Omar?? 4 months ago we were talking about a real “shake up” considering trading 1 of our core players. Now we are looking like we are going to be heading into the 2009 season with the same exact lineup as the 2007 and 2008 failing mets. Yeah we fixed up our pen nicely so far but we are down 2 starters with delgado and castillo a year older. DO SOMETHING OMAR!
The Wilpons think this September will be different.
Our hitters are due for a big month eventually.
Will the hitters start to feel the pressure if things start to go bad, of course they will their human.
It’s a chance the Wilpons are willing to take.
Even though their is a legitimate HOF hitter available,
a real difference maker, and all the fans know it.
September will turn ugly if it happens again.
It could get ugly alot earlier than that my friend
if Reyes,Wright, Beltron,Delgado or Johan
go down with any type of serious injury.
LA apparently has no problem with manny being manny
mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090108&content_id=3737271&vkey=hotstove2008&fext=.jsp
Nor did the Sox while Manny helped them not
only snap an almost century old jinx but then
flip it on the Yankees. AND do these Manny
haters really think once he receives his last
contract and comes home his focus won’t
be on bringing a championship here,further
adding to his legend while also adding to his
already HOF numbers?
Are you sure he’s not just looking for one more big payday? Saying hey I’m already a HOF, i got my big money I’m just gonna phone this in. I can’t believe I’m saying that, but with Manny you never know.
You never know with any of these guys But
as I stated above there are motivating factors
for Manny which can’t be ignored.And really
with the exception of what went down last
yr in Boston(thanks largely to switching to Boras as his agent)hasn’t Manny always been a gamer? And if the Wilpons/Omar really wanted to do whatever is needed to try
and win a championship ain’t this a gamble
you have to make/take?
uggg…take a deep breathe, hold your nose and jump in…I guess. I’m not saying it’s a gamble you HAVE to take, I understand the arguments for both sides. I stated before he’s very high risk, very high reward. If he becomes a met I’ll be the first in line to buy his jersey. I just hope it works.
Let’s please re-focus and concentrate on what builds a championship team as opposed to what looks good in a Playstation 2 game. WHY are so many of you fantasy baseball obsessed?? ADAM DUNN?!? The overwhelming belief about this guy is that he flat out does not enjoy playing baseball! Is that the kind of guy you want in a clubhouse that we have vowed to cleanse (and have done a poor job of doing so to this point)? We would like Lowe, yes, but please, let’s not forget about our off-season goal to change the environment surrounding this team. WE STILL HAVE NO GRIT!!
I understand that Luis Castillo is owed 18mill over the next 3yrs but there must be a way that we can defer some of that money and cut ties with this loser. Think about our one real hot streak we had last year…who was on the DL for that period? Castillo. What happened in ‘07 when he first arrived in August and in ‘08 when he came back in August? September collapse 1 and 2. I don’t care what his stats or playing time was during those periods, it’s just the aura of being a loser that he brings to this team. GET RID OF HIM!
Bring in Eckstein for 2/7.5 or wishful thinking, O-Hud for 3/21 (he’s not getting more than 8 a year from any team). Let’s keep the resolution to change the culture of this ballclub so we don’t have to stare at the same team that has ripped our hearts out the past 3 years (’06 is included because we should have won the NLCS in 5).
Another thing that is infuriating me on this site recently are people saying:
“Get Manny, Lowe, Ollie, O-Hud” etc. There are rules to signing Type A free-agents and we can only sign two more, so PLEASE keep that in mind before compiling these unrealistic wish lists. I feel like we missed the boat with Baldelli but Ollie or Lowe, preferably Lowe, another back-end starter, and Eckstein would be a nice off-season. That said, if we could land Manny for 2 years with an option for 3, I wouldn’t be dissapointed whatsoever.
“AND do these Manny
haters really think once he receives his last
contract and comes home his focus won’t
be on bringing a championship here,further
adding to his legend while also adding to his
already HOF numbers?”
In short: yes.
Well then,your just being a blind Manny hater
and theres obviously nothing that can be said
to change your mind. Plus, if you think that this team can be a serious threat w/Church,
Tatis&Murphy as our corner OFers, then my
fellow fan you are clueless.
I never said I was a Manny hater; I actually want him on the team. But what you said is pure speculation and can be spun either way….and it doesn’t make Manny haters clueless either. Look at both sides of the coin.
We Were Throwbacks-
There’s a limit to signing type a free agents?
I don’t say your wrong I just ask can you show me where this rule is?
Pretty sure the Yankees prove there is no limit to A-type free-agents.
Yes, a limit is set based on whatever is written in the CBA.
From Keith Law’s blog:
• If fewer than 14 Type A or B players elect free agency, no club may sign more than one such player.
• If 15-38 Type A or B players elect free agency, no club may sign more than two such players.
• If 39-62 Type A or B players elect free agency, no club may sign more than three such players.
• If 63 or more Type A or B players elect free agency, “the Club quotas shall be increased accordingly,” according to the basic agreement.
Since 93 Type A or B free agents filed for free agency this winter, the per-club quota this offseason is eight. However, each team may sign as many Type A or B free agents as it loses in any particular winter, even if those signings would put it over the quota for that winter. At this writing, only Baltimore has signed three such free agents (Baez, Bradford, and Jamie Walker, who was a Type B).
Apparently the quota is 8 though, not 3….
hah…I just realized that blog entry was from 2006….my bad. But anyway, that’s the jargon from the CBA. I guess 62 FAs are up, so the limit is three.
Not saying you are wrong, but why do writers still speculate on the Yankees and Manny? Or Lowe? Or even Pettitte??
The max is 9 A’s and B’s this year. Yes, 9.
Check out Mlbtraderumors they always get this stuff.
I spent 2 days going in circles with a guy on here saying the Mets could only sign 2 guys. There are over 100 FA still left.
Let’s all keep in mind, we offered Ollie arbitration. If he gets no significant interest we’re not going to get him on the cheap for a long-term deal. He’ll accept arbitration, take the 1-year deal, and try again next season.
healready rejected arbitration. Too loate for that.
Although it woulod have been nice (the way things have turned out) if he did take it.
He could still take a 1 year deal from any team though.
Why would Ollie do that? He’s not going to make more than 8 million in arbitration. You know there would be plenty of teams that would give him 10 million for 1 year.
We Were Throwbacks -
Seems like Sadclown differs he says 8. What you say?
You see sadclown NOW you tell me LOL
So anyone can shed light on 2008 cba limits for signing type A free agents?
Im at a crossroads here
You can sign 9 total A’s and B’s this year. It’s always on Mlbtraderumors.
I say till Manny signs or ownership says we are not signing Ramirez in 2009 I hold out hope.
Second.
so if we can get lowe for omar’s price or a little bit more..you think he will go after ollie since no one seems to want him?…or do you think that omar and co. will go away from him?
I cannot believe that no one wants him. I bet a lot of teams would love to sign him, depending on the years and money involved.
I think the teams that are interested in him are hanging back until Lowe signs as that contract will help set Ollie’s price.
Perez declined arbitration, that’s why he’s a free agent, so that plan won’t work. Not that we can’t sign him for one year, but I doubt he’ll go for one year, though you never know.
this is important because when David Wright and others took batting practice in Citi Field last September, the new stadium played as a hitter’s park.
I can’t believe they made that determination from one batting practice session. That sounds as silly as Steve Phillips and BV acquiring Mo Vaughn based on watching him in a single batting session.
In the meantime, someone has done a study of the park’s dimensions and has concluded it will be a severe pitchers park! See …
amazinavenue.com/2009/1/7/711009/citi-field-where-homeruns
Honestly I don’t know how anyone can know either way without having played a full season there, but the safest as-sumption to make now based on its dimensions is that it will be a pitchers park.
I sure hope there were a lot of more significant reasons for making Lowe their #1 than a projected park factor.
I am really excited to see how Citi Field plays. I have heard some reports saying it is gonna be a hitters park and others saying it is gonna be a pitchers park. I guess time can only tell.
Hitter’s Park, Pitcher’s Park
Guess all you want but Time Will Only Tell
If Oliver Perez was not the number 2 starter while he was here in New York, why is Omar preferring him to Derek Lowe who is a clear number 2 starter?
Yes, I know the age difference, but the other 4 predicted starters are under 30.
Sign Lowe and be done with it before someone steals him away. With Boras you never know.
I have a feeling that were going to look like this
Reyes
Church/F-Mart
Wright
Delgado
Beltran
Tatis/Murphy
Schneider/Castro
Castillo
Santana
Lowe
Pelf
Maine
Redding
K-Rod
Putz
Chad Cordero
Green
Robertson
Parnell
Sanchez
Feliciano
that lineup has second place written all over it lol. manny is NECESSARY
Signing Lowe or Sheets would be nice, or both would be nice. But you also have to remember that both players are type-A free agents. It will cost you millions of dollars and a draft pick to bring these guys in. Just the same if another team chooses to sign Oliver Perez, they will owe the mets a high pick. To help some of you further understand I found a interesting article by Buster Olney (Senior Writer at Espn the magazine) which stated the following below. It would be nice to get our hands on Lowe, Sheets, and Perez, but keep in mind signing certain players may cost you more than some cash.
The prices for free agents are dropping far enough that suddenly teams that haven’t made moves in the offseason may be in a position to nab a player they might’ve thought of as out of their price range a month ago.
But there remains a group of players residing in compensation-pick purgatory — Type A free agents who rejected arbitration offers last month. Among those: shortstop Orlando Cabrera, reliever Juan Cruz, catcher Jason Varitek and starting pitcher Ben Sheets. Any team interested in signing one of those players would have to give up a draft pick that probably would fall among the top 100 choices in this year’s draft — and at a time when teams are locking down budgets and placing an even greater premium on young players, this is a problem.
For example: Cabrera is a productive major league veteran who might fit with any number of teams, particularly the Toronto Blue Jays, and he won’t demand a high salary. But Toronto would have to give up a draft pick to add Cabrera, and the Jays won’t be inclined to do that — which gashes Cabrera’s market value. “I like Cabrera, and think he could help us,” one highly ranked Blue Jays executive said. “But I cannot justify giving up a pick for a 34-year-old shortstop on a one- or two-year deal. It makes absolutely no sense for us. None.”
Another example: The Florida Marlins have a talented young pitching staff and a need at catcher. On paper, Varitek would fit them perfectly, with the Marlins perhaps even willing to go above and beyond their typical expenditure to sign him. But Florida is a team that must live and breathe on the power of its player development, and surrendering a first-round draft pick to sign a 36-year-old catcher whose best days are behind him is simply not logical for a small-market team. One team recently had internal deliberations about possibly opening its negotiations with Varitek with an offer of $5 million in salary for 2009 but quickly tabled the idea after weighing the cost/benefit of signing the catcher and losing its top draft pick.
Type A free agents
(A) 2008 salary; (B) what the player might’ve gotten in salary for 2009 through arbitration; (C) offseason status:
A.J. Burnett, RHP: (A) $12 million; (B) $14 million; (C) Signed five-year, $82.5 million deal (will make $16.5 million in ‘09)
Orlando Cabrera, SS: (A) $9 million; (B) $10 million; (C) Unsigned
Juan Cruz, RHP: (A) $1.9375 million; (B) $3 million; (C) Unsigned
Brian Fuentes, LHP: (A) $5.05 million; (B) $7 million; (C) Signed two-year, $17.5 million deal (will make $8.5 million in ‘09)
Orlando Hudson, 2B: (A) $6.25 million; (B) $8 million; (C) Unsigned
Raul Ibanez, OF: (A) $5.5 million; (B) $8 million; (C) Signed a three-year, $31.5 million deal (will make $8.5 million in ‘09)
Derek Lowe, RHP: (A) $10 million; (B) $11 million; (C) Unsigned
Oliver Perez, LHP: (A) $6.5 million; (B) $8 million; (C) Unsigned
Manny Ramirez, OF: (A) $20 million; (B) $22 million; (C) Unsigned
Francisco Rodriguez, RHP (A) $10 million; (B) $12 million; (C) Signed three-year, $37 million deal (will make $10.5 million in ‘09)
CC Sabathia, LHP: (A) $9 million; (B) $18 million; (C) Signed seven-year, $161 million deal (will make $23 million in ‘09)
Ben Sheets, RHP: (A) $11 million; (B) $12 million; (C) Unsigned
Mark Teixeira, 1B: (A) $12.5 million; (B) $18M; (C) Signed eight-year, $180 million deal (will make $25 million in ‘09)
Jason Varitek, C: (A) $9 million; (B) $10 million; (C) Unsigned
Type B free agents
Casey Blake, 3B: (A) $6.1 million; (B) $6.5 million; (C) Signed three-year, $17.5 million deal (will make $5 million in ‘09)
Milton Bradley, OF: (A) $5 million; (B) $8 million; (C) Signed three-year, $30 million deal (will make $10 million in ‘09)
Paul Byrd, RHP: (A) $7.5 million; (B) $8.5 million; (C) Unsigned
Jon Garland, RHP: (A) $12 million; (B) $13 million; (C) Unsigned
Mark Grudzielanek, 2B: (A) $4 million; (B) $4.5 million; (C) Unsigned
Dennys Reyes, LHP: (A) $1 million; (B) $2 million; (C) Unsigned
Brian Shouse, LHP: (A) $2 million; (B) $2.5 million; (C) Unsigned
Here’s the thing with that. Once a team has already signed a type A FA they are only giving up 2nd round picks or later. If Perez signs with someone else we will most likely still get a 1st round pick. We would lose a 1st rounder because of Krod and then anyone else signed would be 2nd or later.
that is a great list to see, here’s what i notice, most people who’ve signed so far this year, will make less or just slightly more than what they could have got in arbitration. except CC and tex who will make 12 mil more. Yeah let’s be more like the yankees. It’s laughable.
Matt, good luck with getting your new home! Also, good luck to the Mets in getting Lowe. If it’s true, I find it absurd that Omar would be more interested in Perez than Lowe. If I try to analyze some of Omar’s moves, it seems sometimes, but certainly not always, that he is intrigued by trying to bring out the potential in a younger player or bring back the former glory to a veteran or journeyman who has fallen the wayside. Maybe the hunger for that challenge sometimes gets in the way of him getting the established ballplayer. OK, there are budgets that they are considering too much also. The Mets should spend a crapload of money for the best players they can get like Manny, who would make a HUGE difference. Beltran, Wright and Reyes are all reliable, if healthy, but past that, there are no guarantees. Omar and the Wilpons need to go to Blockbuster and rent MANNY AND LOWE!
I heard CitiField was meant to be a pitchers park. Ugh.
Random thoughts..
1) I don’t think anyone can really know what manny will do if he signs his last big deal. He could decide to let it all hang out to cement his HOF status (best player ever, whatever). Or, he could just go into cruise contrl, figuring he alreay is in the HOF so no need to work hard (so lots of little “vacations”)
COuld go either way.
So, IMO, don’t sign him for more than 2 years, so he is still playing for 1 more deal. A 4 year deal (even 3), especially for a NL team, is nuts.
2) someone earlier spent a lot of time discussing where the Mets better prospects play (OF vs. 1B) as a reason to get 1 FA vs. another. Well, some of the prospects will change positions (or can), and if you have an excess at 1 spot, you can always trade for other prospects (see young for Garzaa last year).
Get the best player, and work out the position situation later.
give him a third year team option. i tell you all, if we dont land that one BIGGGG bat (clutch, productive, cleanup) everything will be MOOT for 2009, i.e. a second (or third) place finish. lowe this, lowe that….signing manny is MORE important. hear me now, you WILL believe me in october (either way).
p.s. that BIGGGG bat needs to be a righty
Lol.. iagree on the lowe this lowe that.. he’s not that good, but it depends how you view him.. if you compare him to oliver perez thanh yeah, he’s better.. and in regard to manny… nostra, we need a big bat.. but son’t also forget how close we’ve been the past 2 years and if it wasn’t for the bullpen you know we wouldn’t even be discus-sing this at all..
you forget one thing bro, the current bats sleep in the clutch. manny never does. plus the mets NEED a righty cleanup bat that is productive…..and oh btw hapopens to play LF. manny is perfect for it.
Nostradamus our problem the past two years has been the pitching, we been up by 4 or 5 runs in the 7th and boom! all going by the ninth, so really the problem is pitching not hitting.
but then again his worry is legit, we don’t know how church will do, murphy and tatis could be a fluke, we know our 2b and catchers can’t hit and we’ve all seen how bad delgado can be if he doesn’t hit.. so,
you got it bro. manny would lift the entire lineup.
Brought this up yesterday. Trade Murphy and a couple of lower prospects for Delmon Young. Fills the OF vacancy with a very good cheap young hitter.
He does have potential, but be prepared for a selw of “not enough HR power for a corner OF” posts.
The kids 23 years old. He will eventually put up 20 HR’s. And with the Mets he would steal 30 bases.
I would do Murphy for Delmon Young in a second. Apart from that, it would depend on who else I would have to give up. No more than Murphy and Ike Davis. (I like Davis better than Evans actually. From all reports, it looks like he has the tools to play 2nd base.)
Apart from this, if it’s true that Minaya likes Perez better than Lowe, then Minaya will not last his full extension. If he is that bad as a talent evaluator, he will wear out his welcome quickly.
You are not accounting for raises due to:
Reyes, Wright, Beltran, Santana, K-Rod. Plus, if it is picked up, Putz’s option raises his salary as well.
ok metjet,
first i hate your attitude, but i can appreciate your math. I am not a manny supporter, but i do like your math. The way you put it, it looks nice. One thing to remember, manny would have to accept 13 mil this year. don’t get me wrong, he should especially if he’s gauranteed 3/65, but he would still take a 7 mil pay cut for this year. Also say he starts to go down hill, who’s gonna take an aging vet, who always brings a circus with him for 26 mil/year. thats a lot of money to lock up. lastly stop compairing yourself to the yankees. they are the exception not the rule. no one, I repeat no one spends like the yankees and there is a reason for that, BECAUSE ITS INSANE!!! You cannot compare yourself to the yankees same city or not. They spend and spend and last i checked, they have as many WS rings as the mets do since 2001. I don’t want a team full of pavano’s giambi’s, Randy Johnson’s, Kevin Brown’s, and Jonny Damon’s. If you read the last 4-6 posts by Matt, you should learn one thing, no one really knows what the heck is going on. Relax and let the offseason play out. The mets still have a top 3 payroll and has had the 2nd best offseason so far. Give this team a little credit. Remember it’s really easy to spend someone else’s money.
Where did you work? AIG, Bear Stearns, Arthur Anderson, Enron???
Also, if I am correct, Castillo, AND Church, who is arbitration eligible also stand to make more money in ‘10 than ‘09.
circus, huh??? don’t you know… manny’s his own circus. their is no circus without that clown…lol
good post.
That’s right….because Manny helped those Dodgers win the 2008 World Series!
Oh wait….you mean he CHOKED at the plate against the Phillies? THAT Manny Ramierez? I must be dreaming….
Yes I am aware that Manny batted .533 against the Phillies that series
Thanks
Wait dodgers didn’t have the pitching to compete…. Yet our entire season hinges on signing their ace…
Kill me now OMAR!!!!
Mets aren’t the yanks #1 and thank god…. #2 is while what your saying is fine, your not filling in the additional holes that are being created by Delgado leaving, + as was stated salary Arbitration to Maine, Church and others.
Mets didn’t want to go much over if at all over where they were last year. It’s simple. Mets aren’t the yankees. If you want them to be go root for the yankees.
And you replace the production in the lineup how? SO Murphy goes over there, say hits 310 with 20 homers, 80 RBI and 80 Runs Scored…. Good season, still not the 40 120 that delgado put/puts up and he doesn’t scare anyone in the middle of a lineup. Then you need to replace what Murphy did as a platoon with church/bench player with what evans or another minor leaguer who isn’t yet ready in the system? You can’t keep going to the well every season, and expect everyone to work.
That’s the point so you lose his 12 million, while Manny’s contract goes through the roof (up 13 in your scenario), lowes contract goes up a ton (5 mil), plus you get arbitration raises or you negotiate with the younger players for raises, Also your filling holes with players who might not be able to be Major league players. You get the Melky Cabrera’s, Brett Gardner’s of the world, because it’s the best you have in the minors, or in the mets system Nick Evans and the other Reyes.
What the Mets do have in the Minors are a plethora of Outfielders, not corner infielders with power. So if they were to splurge it should be on someone that can play 1st, catcher, 2nd or CF(for when beltran gets older). A corner outfielder the mets have F-Mart on the way, Flores who is projecting as an outfielder , Jeffrey Marte who is projecting as a 3rd baseman/outfielder.
SO what your saying is sign manny for 3 years which according to the mets budgets they can’t afford, when they have organizational depth in the minors where the top 2 at least, and looking like the top 3 prospects in the system are Outfielders. One of which is approaching major league ready late this year, early next year.
From what I can gather, I get the sense that anybody can do Matt’s job – just re-word and quote different articles and don’t forget to write “From what I can gather” before the start of the paragraph.
I had no problem registering at Happy Recap a couple of hours ago.
wow!–now THAT is a reach.
And just to clarify Mo Vaughs was acquired with 3 years left on his deal, coming off an injury. And his first year on the Mets was decent – he was something like 28 homers and 90+ rbi. He was hurt shortly into his 2nd season and all of his 3rd, and by keeping him on the roster the Mets recouped around 75% of his salray because he was insured – something that factored into them acquiring him (for Kevin Appier) in the first place.
If you are going to make analogies to bad signings, please make them relevant.
No one else spends as the Yankees do because no one else has the incredible revenue sources they do. Now, do they have the revenue to spend this way because of some divine right? Some of you seem to believe this. The fact is back in the 1980’s the Mets owned New York and could have continued to be the dominant franchise in New York with different ownership and decision making at the top. Steinbrenner purchased the Yankees in 1973 for 10 million dollars. Today, Forbes Magazine lists the New York Yankees being worth 1.3 billion dollars. The opportunity is there for the Mets to ascend as the Yankees have done. Unlike other venues the Mets are not limited by the Market size as say KC is limited. This is, after all, Professional Sports. It is entertainment and not some Holy Grail. In the entertainment business sometimes you spend a fortune to earn a greater fortune. If you find this to your disliking then I suggest you confine your rooting interests to amateur sports.
Since 2001 the Yankees and Mets have the same number of World Championships. But how many WS have the Mets been in and how many post season appearances have the Mets had compared to the Yankees?
I understand what you’re saying about advancing up, spend money to make money, I get all that. But again the yankees are the exception not the rule. most teams were bought and sold in the 70’s for that price. and today all teams in all sports are worth much more than they were 35 years ago. I commend Steinbrenner, as much as he represents everything that is evil in sports, he was revolutionary and one of the smartest business men ever. The mets are trying, they’re starting their own network. But the bottom line is the yankees aare the exception not the rule. There are very few Steinbrenner’s out there. It’s easy to retrospectively say we should have done this or that. It’s easy now to say, “i could have invented google.”
Especially since Mo Vaughn was not a free-agent.
LOVE your name…..from what I can gather……
Then stop reading the site. Would you prefer him to just make stories up? You can’t create news stories.
The Mets and Yankees both have 0 titles since 2001 but the Yankees missed the playoffs last year for the first time since ‘93 or ‘94. It would be nice if we could say that about the Mets instead of “almost” making the playoffs year after year. We need better ownership that puts the revenues back into the team.
I agree that there are very few Steinbrenners out there. But Fred Wilponzi had the same opportunity as Steinbrenner did. He couldn’t or wouldn’t take advantage of it. Perhaps the risk was too great for him. If this is true it’s ironic that Wilponzi lost $300 million.
You all have to remember. Mr. Steinbrenner did get suspended in the from 91-93, and he relinquished all control over the day to day team operations until the later 90’s. When the team was run and produced players like Bernie williams, Jeter, Posoda, Pettitte and many others who helped lead them to titles from the farm system. Plus they traded and signed guys who weren’t super-stars or the best at their positions and barely all-stars every season in O’neil, Tino, Scott Brosas, chuck knoblock, the list goes on.
The first Major Free agent i remember the yankee’s just blowing people out of the water for was Giambi. And it went all down here from there.