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Ben Shpigel of the New York Times believes the 
Mets and Alex Cora have agreed to a one-year, $2 million deal, “according to a person in baseball with direct knowledge of the team’s plans who was not authorized to speak publicly about the acquisition because it is not complete.”
…the news here isn’t cora, but that shpigel was able to break the record for Most Words Used to Source the Signing of a Back-Up Middle Infielder… congratulations…
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the downfalls of a hyper-litigal society.
worst sports report ever? not in the fact we signed Cora to a deal, but just how it was all worded…
story for the sake of a story out of the Times
We wouldn’t overpay for Derek Lowe. But we’re happy to overpay for someone who could be replaced easily for the league minimum salary.
ok so give an example of who would sign for the league minimum that plays 2b&ss.
argenis reyes
haha yea right, i hope you arent serious.
exactly
Well, just about any triple journeyman middle infielder can put together a pathetic OBP of .313 and an equally pathetic OPS of .660 as Cora has done in his career.
Ramon Martinez has a higher career OPS than Cora and can be had for less than half of what Cora got paid (Martinez made 700k in 2007) and probably less last season in AAA most of the year.
Wanny Dykstra must have a ridiculously small penis to be complaining about signing Alex Cora for 2MM a year. Lowe isn’t all that special. Most of you idiots talk about him like he is Tom Seaver. The guy is a serviceable starter that eats innings. Once he got here people would have found flaws in his game and been calling for Omars head for signing him for so much money. But what else would you expect from a bunch of idiots with no knowledge of the game?
And we only saved $58MM!
One other note….you know what Cora’s contract with the Red Sox was? Yup, 2 years, $4MM.
So how do you figure the Mets “overpaid” or that he could have been had for the league minimum, when they gave him the SAME salary!
Did it occur to you that the Red Sox overpaid too?
Do you think that it is difficult to find someone capable of posting a .313 OBP (Cora’s career avg) or .660 OPS (Cora’s career average) among many minor league veterans?
Cora’s .660 career OPS is about the same as former Mets journeymen 4A guys like Ruben Gotay’s and Jeff Keppinger’s from last season and lower than league minimum guys like Luis Rodriguez and rookie Eugenio Velez.
The difference being Cora is a lot more likely to put up those numbers in 2009 than the other guys you mention. Gotay has no at-bats for instance. I’d have cut Argenis from AAA. 2 million is virtually nothing in the scheme of things. if Cora can be semi-productive off the bench, that’s all we really need.
ok signing for a backup middle infielder… If Garland could be had for less than Ollie (and he should be), then the Mets should sign him instead. He’s been much more consistent and he’s been an innings eater.
Sheets would be nice, but only if they pick up Garland also. High risk..high reward kinda guy, but the Mets need another bonafide starter that’s gonna give them 200 innings… Sheets would be icing on the cake..
I have to believe that Omar has something up his sleeve with regard to a trade for a starter. His lack of desire to close on a pitcher quickly means he must have some good feelers out there. Just remember, the Putz deal came out of nowhere….and these so called hot stove ‘experts’ are wrong way more than they’re right….
We can only hope that Omar has something up his sleeve because if they end up signing Wolf then we could be in trouble
ollie, garland, sheets in that order. ollie gets the slight edge over garland as a lefty. please pretty please no wolf
Me thinks you give Omar too much credit my friend. He will either overpay for O.P. or sign Randy Wolf and head to spring training. He is still basking in the glow of his pen acquisitions and will look for outfield help at the trading deadline if we are not too far out of it by then. Each year it is the same story with this guy. He does just enough to avoid getting blasted and always stops short of what we all know it will take to get over the hump.
Too bad that whatever players Omar does acquire, you will probably blame their failures on…Omar.
Why not? Everyone blamed Willie for everything last season. Its time Omar takes the heat.
absolutely no one saw the putz trade coming so you can’t rule anything out. i think we still need a solid 2 slash 3 starter and a decent offensive upgrade somewhere (preferably leff) to consider this a really successful offseason.
with regard to the blame, people can blame the shortcomings of the past two seasons on willie/omar/manuel all they want. if we miss the playoffs this year we need a firesale. screw the “core”. they better get it done this year
Dave27… Are you trying to get a job with the Mets or something? Do you even like Mets? You are one strange cat dude. All you do is bash the people that criticize the moves Omar makes..
I asked you yesterday, To make some sort of a stand and you didn’t reply. What players do you think are acceptable, taking everything that has happened the past 3 seasons into account?
I get the sense the Darth Manuel needs to get laid…………….
what are you……… 17 years old? I bet your a big myspace guy too. Watch out for this guy.. He knows how to read people. Do you wear tight shirts and have spikey hair?
Garland is just awful. Ollie’s awful whip was much better then Garlands, and Garland doesn’t even walk people. He is just very hittable. Garland would get hit hard by a lot of good highschool teams.
Castillo has a lot to prove, and he seems intent to prove that he’ll be the player he once was. He deserves a shot this year to redeem himself to the fans and the organization.
We don’t have a choice anyway. With his salary, he’s gonna be our second baseman on opening day. He knows that his career is in the balance this year, so I expect him to give it everything.
2nd base did not blow it for the Mets last year….the pitching (especially the bp) did. 2nd base will not blow it this year either, as long as they improve in the clutch and get another bonafide (or two) starting pitcher…
Unfortunately, you’re in the minority. People would rather scream and call for his head and boo him.
He’s disappointed in himself, and wants to improve.
He’s had a full year to recover from the surgery that he wasn’t recovered from when the season started last year.
Due to internal politics and personal issues, he never really got a rehab when he came back and Manuel refused to give him regular playing time to get back into the swing of things.
I can see Castillo having an acceptable year, at least as good or much better than the handful of scrubs that have been suggested to replace him.
What ever made you think the Mets would give a nearly 36 year old #2 starter a 4 year deal at $15M per?
I’m glad they didn’t… The Braves will regret it. You woulda thought they learned from Mike Hampton…go figure..
Matt, I just heard you on the radio show and you were great! You’ve really gotten so polished and smooth – keep it up!
well thank g-d. start the season now!!!!!!!
I guess we didn’t need Manny afterall :)
I agree with mikey, maybe omar has a backup plan to trade for a starter.
I would bet big bucks that Omar is working every possible angle to get a good starting pitcher. I don’t think they really want Perez back at all, but are making it seem like they have some interest just in case. I know Omar has been way too deliberate this offseason, but something is brewing. We should know by the weekend where Perez is going, at least according to mlbtraderumors, which is a pretty good site. On a side note, I see Andrew Jones will be released tomorrow. Anyone want to take a flyer on him?
Matt, promise me you will never go on that show again. Those guys are as odd and empty headed then the most optimistic Jets fan.
He’s above average as far as backup IFs go. That’s his job; don’t compare him to Manny or DWright or ARod.
So the roster is:
Delgado-Castillo-Reyes-Wright
Cora
Church-Beltran-Murphy/Tatis
Reed
Schneider – Castro
12 position players — 1 slot left. I just hope it doesn’t go to Marlon Anderson…
Third catcher?
Oh my, please no, not again. If I have to look at Robinson Cancel’s fat arse again next year I’m going to get ill.
what about Ruben Gotay???? Remember him? he’s a free agent and plays all four midle infield positions. Plus he’s got more pop than alex cora. making Cora the defensive replacement and Gotay the pinch hitter.
You mean the guy that had a .235 BA, .322 OBP and can’t field a lick? Oh that Gotay.
Unfortunately Marlon is signed for this coming season.
For practically nothing and can be released.
We can not forget Angel Pagan, he must be in the mix
I think we would all do good to forget about Angel Pagan. That guy stinks. He is incredibly stupid, which wastes his skill.
If there was a word that would sum up this deal in my mind, it would be “eh”.
what about niese,parnell,evans and kunz for roy oswalt. the astros want to cut payroll. and he is nasty.
I’d do it, but it’s not happening.
Stupid.
Let’s be realistic for a second…and please correct me if you have a strong reason. We’re an okay-to-good team, far from great and probably not as solid as 06.
Schneider – Defense solid (not great) Bat awful
Delgado – Defense below avg, Bat in question
Castillo – Could be horrible both sides
Wright – Defense avg, Bat Excellent
Reyes – Defense solid, Bat Excellent but missing at times
Murphy/Tatis – Below avg to avg both sides
Beltran – Excellent both sides
Church – Defense slightly above avg, Bat okay (in question)
Bench – Questionable to okay
Santana – Amazing
Pelfrey – avg (he probably won’t perform like LY)
Maine – avg (in question)
Redding – Decent 5, but not even questionable 4
K-Rod – Solid but some concerns with velocity
Putz – Excellent set-up man but some injury concerns
Rest of Pen – Slightly below avg.
We need to address some issues. This was a huge free agent cla-s-s and so far we’ve only got one real piece (Redding and Cora, good for what they are).
I think the bench – shaping up to be Cora, Reed, Anderson, Castro, and Tatis/Murphy has potential to be pretty good.
I think Reed could be a real sleeper in that deal. Guy was a major prospect and might benefit from the change of scenery. At least – much as we all loved Endy – he probably won’t look as clueless at the plate as Endy often did.
I have a tendency to agree with you, but do you remember Endy in 06? He had a pretty solid year at the plate, some pretty big hits for us. But say we put the bench at slightly above avg, I’m still majorly concerned about the rotation.
Of course…Endy is just one of those guys who will come up with big hits but at time look like he doesn’t even know what side of the bat to hold….
I think everyone realized that Endy was routinely exposed with too much playing time. Reed has the potential to be a guy who could come in for a long stretch due to an injury and perform.
Both Green and Reed are totally under the radar, still, but I think they were valuable pickups
Jeremy has rare talents indeed. He can neither get on base, hit for power or steal bases.
He’d better be real good with the mitt.
My biggest concern about the bench is that outside of Castro we have a bunch of guys that could be nothing this year, and Castro can’t get too many PH opportunities unless we get a third catcher, which doesn’t really help us with PH bop late in a game.
Everytime that I think of the Philthies being #1 I get ill, and I’m not sure that we’re as good as them yet. YET…(here’s to Omar p u l l i n g something off).
Wright is a well above-average defender. The only knock on him is an erratic arm, and he was #10 baseball in fielding percentage (I am using fielding percentage here because that’s where his errors would show up; I know it’s a dumb stat) and again showed very good range.
The rest is more or less accurate; I’m more bullish on our pitchers. We needed to sign a 2nd baseman who would have been able to start, since even Cora will be starting over Castillo eventually. We might want to trade Murphy to the Braves for either Kelly Johnson or Martin Prado. The Braves need an OF worse than we do.
I don’t like Kelly Johnson. I think there are better answers than that. Wright is great as far as range defensively, but his arm not only makes too many errors, but at horrible times.
I’m in the middle here. I think Wright is just slightly above average defensively.
Yeah Omar did great this off season so far makes me pumped for the season to start……….NOT!!!!!!
I didn’t know we had Johnny Bench on the roster.
Omar’s always got something up his sleeve.
It’s nice to see someone give Beltran some love for a change.
I just had to respond to this over pesimistic post. My responses will be in ( ).
“Let’s be realistic for a second…and please correct me if you have a strong reason. We’re an okay-to-good team, far from great and probably not as solid as 06.
Schneider – Defense solid (not great) Bat awful (Bat was 3 points higher than league average in BA and much higher in OBP, and HR)
Delgado – Defense below avg (actually at or slightly above, depending on what stat you use, league average), Bat in question (Even in a down year he still produces)
Castillo – Could be horrible both sides (defense was league average last year, offense was WAY below 2007 output when he needed surgery)
Wright – Defense avg (Defense way above league average), Bat Excellent
Reyes – Defense solid, Bat Excellent but missing at times
Murphy/Tatis – Below avg to avg both sides (when numbers were put into a platoon they played league average defense and offense)
Beltran – Excellent both sides
Church – Defense slightly above avg (defense well above average), Bat okay (in question)
Bench – Questionable to okay (much improved from last year with one more spot most likely to be filled)
Santana – Amazing
Pelfrey – avg (he probably won’t perform like LY) (what makes you think he won’t perform like last year? Dumb luck?)
Maine – avg (in question) (minor surgery)
Redding – Decent 5, but not even questionable 4 (actually put up better than league average #4’s)
K-Rod – Solid but some concerns with velocity
Putz – Excellent set-up man but some injury concerns
Rest of Pen – Slightly below avg. (How is the rest of the pen slightly below average? Have you even looked at numbers for middle relievers? They are terrible)
WOW, some of you guys need to think before you post!
Cora’s lifetime batting average = .245. Mark Loretta was signed for $750k less and is hands down a better baseball player than Cora along with Omar’s guy Castillo. Bottom line is terrible job by Minaya.
I think Cora is better defensively than Loretta.
False. Loretta had a .995 Fielding percentage last year and Cora had a .971 percentage. Cora is garbage.
Cora is far from garbage.
“Hey here’s a guy using fielding percentage to judge a defensive player’s ability. Boy he really knows how to use his stats.”
“Ok kids, here we have the prehistoric caveman and next to him we have the guy that still uses fielding percentage as a tool.” “Mrs. Johnson, he must be really old?” “Yes cavemen were very strong and may have survived the ice age.” “No the other guy, he must have survived the common sense age”
Loretta can’t spell Jose at short. Big plus for Cora.
Loretta played 5 games at SS last year. Cora played 7 games at 2B. Which position is going to require a fill-in more often??? So glad Minaya brought in a .245 hitting backup SS.
… what if we get Orlando Hudson?
And committed 2 errors. Why don’t you understand that Lorretta would have NEVER come here. Not even if you paid him 2 million instead of what he got. He wanted to be close to home.
There are opinions, and there are facts.
Fact: Cora is a better fielder than Loretta, at both 2B and SS.
Fact: The Mets want someone on the bench who can play SS capably when necessary. It’s why Easley is not being re-signed.
Reasonable people can disagree about whether having a backup SS should be a priority. If you agree, then Cora’s a good signing.
Personally, I think it’s a good idea to have a capable backup for all the high-skill positions — 2B, SS, CF, C, and maybe 3B.
Where are you getting your facts? I provided statistics… you’re providing opinion. Cora is terrible.
Loretta’s fielding stats last season showed him to be an above average 2B (though for his career he is below average to average).
Cora is a below average to average fielder (according to his stats, for whatever they’re worth) at either position.
If the Mets had a choice between the two, Loretta would have been the easy choice. He’s a much better hitter (career .730 OPS to .660) and is an adequate fielder at a position that will likely require some backup, He can play SS the two times a year Reyes sits.
I’ve actually understated the offensive disparity. Loretta has a career .760 OPS. A hundred points higher than Cora!!!
While there’s no appreciable statistical difference in their defense, there sure is one in their offense.
For a career yes, but not last year. Cora is younger while Loretta is much older.
Still fact remains that we could not have gotten Loretta so it’s all a moot point.
something most everyone around here misses because you’re all so simple minded, maybe Loretta WANTED to sign where he signed, maybe he didnt’ WANT to sign with the Mets. Maybe just maybe, he did what he did, because he wanted to do that. Has that ever crossed any of your minds? This isnt’ a fantasy league where you just pick up any player you want in order. Some players are just more comfortable in certain places, their agents are more comfortable with certain GM’s, etc…. please, wake up people (that is unless of course you are loretta’s agent/a major league GM or you are the first person in the entire world capable of looking in the minds of people and reading their exact thoughts)
Chris Burke signed for less than a million for San Diego…
Young, Cheap righty that plays everywhere
The guy hit .194 with a .310 BA.
Not to mention the guy backing up Castillo needed to be either a SH or LH. Castillo does much better from the right side of the plate.
Exactly, the guy is from Santa Monica.
Off topic. MLB is showing casing the ‘86 Mets season 8-9pm. Now THAT was a team. Oh, how I loved watching them that year.
Distant, distant memory….
response to exile in LA … how about last roster spot to Garciaparra … nomar must have a little pop left, RH, plays a few positions … not possible that any team would offer him a starting position, is it? Also, i’d like to see Pagan back over Reed … switch hitter, great D, had a nice run for us last year before injury
I agree, I’d like to see Pagan over Reed.
Yeah I forgot about Pagan…will make for good competition….
I thought Nomaaahhhh signed with the Phillies.
No, he did not. The Phillies signed Marcus Giles (hehehehehe).
Marcus Giles did…Nomar too? Are you sure on that?
Newspaper articles in Philly, where I live, made it seem as though he was about to be signed. But nothing’s happened yet.
Agreed on Pagan. Garciaparra would be interesting if cheap.
Yay! Our season is saved!
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m getting a little tired of waiting for Ollie to figure out whether he wants to play for the Mets. If we can get Sheets for 2 years and an option, then Ollie can go play for Toronto or Texas or wherever.
Perhaps I’m wrong, but $4 million for the pair of Tim Redding and Alex Cora seems a tad excessive, doesn’t it?
What do you care? And why are you counting pennies? If we signed them both for $3.5 million, would that make your day?
Yep, throwing away cash on crappy players and then crying poverty on the big boys is getting a little tiresome this offseason.
Yeah. I especially can’t believe he “cried poverty” on K-Rod. We needed a frontline closer! WTF! I mean if…wait, hold on…what’s that? We did sign K-Rod? He was the first big free-agent to sign you say? But I thought Omar was cheap and lazy?
And what’s that, while that was being finalized he FLEECED not one but two teams in a deal involving 12 players…the best of which not only did he get…but who, if the players in the deal were ranked on a scale of 1-10 and Putz were given a 10, the next best player in the deal would barely rate a 5?
Jeez, is this Jay Horowitz? What a deluded fan.
the Mets have 2 players with $100 contracts, soon to be 3 when they resign Wright. Name the other teams who can say that…
im pretty sure that the yankees can. and the cubs have a $136 mil and $91.5 mil
exactly, only the yankees, one team, so how does that make us poverty stricken…that’s my point
I think those signings were right on market.
Absolutely, those signings were right on market. People here are just tired b/c we haven’t gotten what we truly need yet.
Thanks for a sane summary.
What “fiya minaya” and pretty much everyone else on this blog seems to have missed regarding Alex Cora is that his AGENT IS SCOTT BORAS!!!
So, not only is it clear he was one of the guys Minaya and Boras talked about last week, but it’s also a way for Minaya to re-set the bar with Boras, so to speak, by taking care of one of his minor contracts and gearing up to talk Ollie with Lowe now in the rear view.
But, I’m sure you all knew that. I’m sure you all knew also that his last deal with Boston was 2 years at $4MM – so exactly the same as what Omar just gave him. And I’m sure you know that Mark Loretta, while a nice hitter, can’t play SS or run a lick…two things Omar wanted for that spot. Or that Loretta wanted to go back to LA and signed quickly to just get it done.
I’m sure you know all of that, and still choose to whine incessantly about a move by Omar that was minor, sound, and could play a big role in upcoming negotiations.
Amen.
I could care less what the Red Sox paid for Cora two years ago when Cora was still in his 20’s. Overpaying Boras for a crappy 30something middle infielder is not some shrewd maneuver- especially if it leads to Minaya outbidding himself on the bullpen killer Ollie Perez.
But keeping drinking the kool aid. Wilpon needs fans like you.
the yankees need more fans like, waste your time elsewhere you TROLL
Cora was 31 when he signed that contract.
And even the most jaded of Mets fans would have to admit the Red Sox of the past 4-5 years are as close to a model organization as there is in baseball…and they saw fit to make this guy a critical member of a bench that won a World Series in 2007.
Anything else?
And if you are going to keep referring to Cora as “overpaid” then maybe you should care what someone else was paying him. You know, if you have any interest in being remotely informed….
Just because the Sox paid a guy who stinks $2 million doesn’t make it okay for the Mets to do it.
You don’t see the Sox cutting costs with the front of their rotation.
there dozens of aaa veterans who can do what cora does.
I get the sense that Fiya Minaya and Darth Manuel need to get laid……or some kind of relase.
what are you……… 17 years old? I bet your a big myspace guy too. Watch out for this guy.. He knows how to read people. Do you wear tight shirts and have spikey hair? Do you go to lots of clubs with your BOYZ..
If Cora is 33 now, how was he in his 20s two years ago? Just checking.
I guess you didn’t realize that Loretta is a better 2B than Cora and that Cora’s career defensive statistics make him a below average to average fielder, at best (well below average RF and average RF9 stats). Loretta can play SS the two days a season Reyes needs to sit.
Plus, Cora can’t hit a lick (.660 OPS v. Loretta’s .730).
And if Omar is looking for someone who can run, I don’t know why he would think Cora is the guy that fits the bill. Cora has never run much in his career.
I should say Loretta has a .760 OPS v. Cora’s .660 and there is no appreciable difference in their fielding stats.
I think Andy Green, Ramon Martinez or Abraham Nunez could accomplish a .313 OBP.
wanny i think you forgetting about the 2nd basemen we have already, don’t you think loretta wud want to go to LA for a better chance to start over dewitt than to come here and play under castillo?
In fact at this point he is listed as the starting 2B and he is in LA. He was born in Santa Monica people.
Give ‘em he – ll man, Give ‘em he-ll!!
i posted this the other night … didn’t really see why my math is wrong, so i’ll re-post … I am trying to figure out where 2009 payroll really is. i count 128M INCLUDING Perez for 14M per.
35M for Starting rotation of Santana, Pelfrey, Maine, Perez, Redding (15M for 2009 Santana, who deferred 5M, guess 2.5M for arb eligible Maine)(15M, .8M, 2.5M, 14M, 2.25M)
19M for Bullpen of K-rod, Putz, Sanchez, Feliciano, Stokes, Green, Neise (10.5M, 5M, 1.25M, 1.25M, .5M, .5M, .5M)
7.4M for Catchers Castro and Schneider (2.5M, 4.9M)
35M for Infield of Delgado, Castillo, Reyes, Wright, Cora and Garciaparra for 1.5M (my wish list) (12M, 6M, 5.75M, 7.5M, 2M, 1.75M)
19M for Outfield of Church, Beltran, Murphy, Tatis, Pagan (say 3M for arb eligible Church, 13M for Beltran (not counting another 5.5M deferred)(3M, 13M, .5M, 1.7M, .5M)
14M for Injured player and deferred payments … Wagner at 10.5M, Schoenweis 1.6M, Pedro 2M
Adds up to 130M INCLUDING Perez … last year;s opening day payroll according to Cot’s Baseball Contracts was 138M … what else is there?? i don’t accept that we don’t have another 20M to upgrade this roster
I agree. We should have it. I think that Madoff had more of an effect than Wilpon admitted to.
Shout out the free agent you want. NO MANNY!!
Ben Sheets
AND Oliver Perez.
Jon Garland
Same here.
ben sheets
best channel ever – MLB Channel
love this channel
yea its off topic
This signing was so insignificant, it didn’t even make the rotoworld.com or Newsday sports page.
Los Mets
Watch out.. the rabid kool aid drinkers will come after you for those types of comments.
It’s funny…most people follow sports with the hope that it might bring them some happiness and joy…if you are going to freak out about everything in January, you should probably pick up a new pastime.
I’ve been following the Mets for too long to give up now. Unfortunately I realized after the ‘07 collapse (I probably should have realized it after the ‘06 playoff collapse) that the team is being run by a charlatan for a GM. Until a change is made at GM, I will eye the team critically.
Charlatan. See Barack Obama
dude, don’t even joke, you know, no matter what, you’re ALWAYS going to be critical of the Mets, no matter what.
Sellout
It’s Alex Cora… it doesn’t deserve positive or negative praise, he’s a decent bench player, that’s it.
Oh, and you can’t be that stupid to believe the Los Mets b.s., right?
Hey, the two Nattering Nabobs of Negativity have found each other!
mistermet, do you take Fiya to be your miserably wedded pessimist? Fiya, do you take mistermet to be your racially challenged never-positive numbskull?
Har har har. Must be nice to go through life lobotomized. The type of fan Wilpon loves.
Well, the lobotomy was indeed fun, as are the maintenance treatments.
Sorry man, I know everyone is entitled to their opinion, but the unbelievably negative folks like you and mistermet are just so depressing to be confronted with on a daily basis.
As Dave says, following sports is supposed to be a source of fun and entertainment, and I guess you and I have to agree to disagree about that.
lobotomized? this is baseball, and you spend far too much energy being overly negative about everything. If you looked at your own life as critically as you do the Mets, you’d probably not be relegated to sitting in front of a computer typing upset rants on a blog for the better part of everyday.
Kong, you are da man.
kingman – LOLOLOL awesome!!!
Sign Sheets, Dunn…otherwise deal with the wrath of a revolting fan base.
Well mistermet, you most certainly do set an impressive example on here almost daily of our revolting fan base.
hey mistermet – how about signing garland along with sheets? move redding to the pen, and when sheets gets hurt we can slide redding/neise in his spot (i dont see the difference between that and slotting brian lawrence in for el duque do you?) then, instead of “clutch” hit or miss dunn – who is a lefty – we move tatis and murphy to the bench and sign ty wiggington to start in left field (darth manuel is feeling like a proud father right now while reading this) – he is a righty, the fans love him, and he would start, not only that, he can play the infield
sheets 2/22 (plus incentives)
garland (1/8)
wiggy (2/14)
comes out to 26 mil added to the yearly salary and it identifies this teams needs (lefty in the pen would be nice)
I for one will revolt if the Mets DO sign Dunn. I had enough the first time, when he was named Jeromy Burnitz (although that is an insult to Burnitz’s defense).
Sheets, however, should be on the radar…they could pull off a steal there.
Alex Cora’s signing is a harbinger to the re-acqusition of Oliver Perez.
I think we should bury Castillo in a trade and eat a good portion of his salary. Then sign Orlando Hudson and backload his deal until the stench of Castillo has dissipated.
I then think we should recover Nady from our crosstown rivals.
Rotation: Santana, Pelfrey, Ollie, Maine & Redding.
Bullpen: F-Rod, Putz, Feliciano, Stokes, Kunz, Parnell & Loogey.
Line-up” Reyes, Hudson, Wright, Delgado, Beltran, Nady, Church/Tatis, Schneider/Castro
Bench: Cora, Murphy, Pagan, Tatis, Castro
*If Madoff coughs up some of what he stole, I’d like to add Sheets to the rotation and move Redding to longman role.
Omar has TRIED to get rid of Castillo. And tried and tried and tried. Nobody wants him. And if the Mets have to eat all $18M left on his deal, there’s no way he’ll be given a check for Orlando Hudson. Give it up.
I don’t understand all you guys who think the Mets have some huge problem on offense or think that Omar should be going after Dunn or some other outfield bat.
This team was tied for SECOND IN THE NL in runs scored last year. SECOND!!!
You people need to be patient. Ollie, Sheets, Garland, and Wolf are all still out there with few teams interested in spending any money.
Well i knew they were going to sign someone like this and now we all know who will be playing for castillo when he breaks down and bats 183 again
And another thing lowe is overhyped… this is why free agent market is a dream for guys like lowe. Lowe is nothing but now that he waited and is best out there hes getting offers that he does not deserve. Ollie is young has nasty stuff and can be the best. and i mean the BEST
i agree but he could also be the worst. hahaha… personally i rather take a chance on ben sheets, and i feel i speak for most mets fans when saying this.. nobody wants to see the same rotation with the same lineup
We can’t even beat the Marlins, THE MARLINS.. in one game 2 years in a row, to get into the playoffs.. still need improvements in the rotation and lineup (meaning don’t sign perez).
Atleast the Marlins made all those trades this offseason so maybe we’ll have a better shot next year… Pathetic!
Why not just resign Argenis Reyes? He’s 7 years younger and kinda proved that he can be a nice back up. And he’s good friends with Jose Reyes.
Or see if Eckstien is interested in a reduced role?
I wouldnt count on Wiggington. Theres still a market for him as a starter.
Cora brings nothing. He has no pop, no speed and is at best, adequate in the field? And he cost them $2 million.
Off topic a sec., why not test the waters for Eric Bedard? He’s only 30, has great numbers in terms of hits per innings pitched and Seattle doesnt want him anymore. And he’s a lefty!
Oh, and does anyone realize that Castillo makes more than Reyes? Good job Minaya!
someone who is making a comment about castillo making more than reyes obviously doesn’t understand the business side of baseball very well. It’s called a free agent market. Reyes has never been a free agent. When he is, he’ll make 5 times more than castillo.
And someone who advocates Argenis the Anemic and Erik Bedard the injured headcase clearly also knows very little about the baseball side of baseball.
But its o.k. for everyone here to bitch and whine about signing Sheets!!!???
You clearly lack baseball knowledge if you condone the signing of Alex Cora.
Castillio was traded for and then signed in the off season. What market was there for him?
You dont think Reyes could have waited till his contract was up to test the market?
The point is is that Minaya signed Castillo for more money for the same amount of years than Reyes in the same year.
Reyes was signed to avoid arbitration years with him, for him, it provided security. He will undoubtedly get a deal in the future that will be HUGE. Castillo did have a market, the Astros offered him a 3 year deal worth about the same amount of dollars as we gave him. Stop talking now before you realize you don’t know what you’re talking about.
Beckfan, you are setting a new benchmark for the cliche “apples and oranges” with this argument…..Castillo was a well-established free agent with other offers….Jose was still under the Mets’ control. Jose will, when he signs his next contract in the next 1–2 years, dwarf Castillo’s career earnings with the stroke of a pen.
And from the business side of it, should Omar have ripped up Jose’s contract and unilaterally raised it when he signed Castillo?
Not at all. He should have never offered Castillo that much. In terms of years or dollars, take your pick.
Nothing you can say will wake these fans up. To them, Castillo was a great signing and we should cheer him everytime he approaches the plate.
when did i say that? WHEN? man, if you even ATTEMPTED to be rational, you might make some headway around here getting your points across, but you don’t, you just bull your way through with idiocy and beligerent yelling. Castillo is easily Minaya’s worst signing, it was horrible, there’s no doubt about it. That was hardly the point I was trying to make, yet you’re simpleton mind can’t handle that kind of intellectual rigor (the kind of thinking required of an 8 year old).
Amazing, I make a few points but the one that attracts the most interest is the one with Castillo.
I love how everyone is so distracted by Minaya’s silly mistakes.
Minaya shouldn’t be judged by Castillo alone. He should be judged on 3/4 missed playoff seasons with a top 5 payroll and three straight collapses in September and October due to old broken down players going down and neglected parts of the roster. By all objective standards, Minaya is an abject failure. Heck, even Phillips got a team to the World Series.
all your other points were boring and old
Ok this might sound crazy and everyone has said he fell off the map but Dontrelle Willis is probably cheap right now and i heard he has not lost his stuff or speed but he has had a little control problems if its cheap enough why not bring him in and try to get warthen to fix him he aint bad he helped ollie.
And if he cant keep it together in the starting rotation maybe we found our selves a dominate middle reliever
i have averaged out the ERA of the bullpen which is around 4.02.
It is getting better, but still not great.
you know, you are completely correct, metsboy12345
Would you knot as sume that Putz, Green and Krod’s ERA’s would go down in a new league?
sign manny, tame him, he is lethal at times. his bat would take loads of pressure off of Wright, Delgado, Beltran, and Church
Off the subject but you guys should check out the pics of Shea at Stadium page.com its almost down
Wow, depressing.
way to ruin the flow of the conversation…
anytime
cool
just for the heck of it:
current lineup:
Reyes
Beltran
Wright
Delgado
Church
Murphy/Tatis
Schnieder
Castillo
rotation:
Santana
Maine
Pelfrey
Redding
Neise
(wow, weak rotation)
a shell of the 06 mets
take a look at the rotation from 2006, just do it sometime, the pitchers that actually pitched games, because THAT starting rotation is a shell of this rotation.
well said, darkstar73.
In 2006, 65 of the Mets 162 games were started by: Steve Trachsel (4.97 ERA), Alay Soler (6.00), Ollie (6.38), unproven rookies Brian Bannister and Mike Pelfrey, Dave Williams (5.59), Victor Zambrano (6.75), Jose Lima (9.87), and Geremi Gonzalez (7.71).
Plus Pedro made 7 starts at less than 100% health at the end of the year and had an ERA of 7.84 in those games.
Everyone on here is so irrational. Just be patient. There are 4 good-to-very good free agent SP’s out there and not that many teams with money to spend.
Johan4Cy: That will NOT be the Mets rotation. They will sign Ollie, Sheets, Wolf or Garland.
And if Niese ever makes the rotation, it’ll be because he earned it.
Lineup’s not going to go Delgado, Church, Murphy, Schnieder.
Reyes, Murphy/Castillo (IF he’s healthy, Wright, Delgado, Beltran, Church, Schnieder/Castro, Castillo
This is a 3rd place team as currently constructed, and no better than a 2nd place team w/ Perez. I would sign Sheets, Dunn. If the offense isn’t upgraded at at least 2 positions, this team is going to fail miserably, just like last year- could not buy a big hit to save their lives when it counted.
If I hear one more person say “We’re fine! We scored the 2nd most runs in the NL last year! …I am going to yak. That is faulty logic- and this team could not get a big hit to save their lives when it counted. 2/3 of the lineup are practically automatic outs, and even Reyes/Wright were bad when it counted.
Get some offense in here, or finish 3rd.
Signing someone based on whether or not they could get a “big hit” is faulty logic itself.
‘If I hear one more person say “We’re fine! We scored the 2nd most runs in the NL last year! …I am going to yak.’
Why? It’s true. Kind of hard to blame the season on the offense. They put up incredible numbers on scoring runs in the early innings. Too many times they watched the BP give that lead up again. Then they’re asked to do it all over again in the late innings. What should have been no pressure tack on runs, becomes must do ‘clutch’ hits/runs. I can see why some would feel the pressure. That really had to be getting old…..
ugggh you disgust me
your logic that the offense should have continually gotten clutch hits late in the season to make up for a horrible bullpen that blew lead after lead is what is faulty logic. It just doesn’t make any sense. If you take into account a decent bullpen, our offense looks that much better, and doesn’t NEED to come up with game winning hits and come from behind victories every game (which simply does not happen that often). Yet people like you expected it to, why?
Because they don’t understand baseball.
If you look at ‘07, it was the same way. The Mets weren’t ‘flat’. The bullpen simply blew their comebacks again and again. remember the whole 3/10 is success? multiply that by having to overcome the bullpen giving the lead back twice and it’s virtually impossible.
The Marlins are going to be good! Real good! The NL east has 3 teams capable of 90wins. Its going to be a dog fight down the stretch and if we haven’t gotten over the issue choking and pressure, its going to be another heart breaker.
Go root for the Marlins then….please save us from your repetitive rants.
If the Mets sign Garland, do they get Lovieanne Jung too? She’s probably a better shortstop and hitter than Cora…
he’ll think his name is boo by april 24
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G,
We definitely have no depth in Starting rotation
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G,
Ollie,Sheets or Petite can strengthen our rotation
(Yes their is a risk factor duh)
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G,
offense needs help “Really bad!!!”
(2nd,C,LF,RF,1B, too many ???’s)
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G,
We may at last have signs of a great bullpen
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G,
Will Manny & Hudson make us regret not signing them?
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G,
Anyone know what Mets Strengths will be in 09?
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G,
31 days to pitchers & catchers
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G,
Our Roster is still in so much flux
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G,
Darkstar, Fiyaminaya, Beck admit it deep down you know all your bickering back & forth stems from a desire to see your Mets sign Manny.
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G,
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G,
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G,
this still could happen but we all know its not
Reyes
Beltran
Delgado
Manny
Wright
Church/Tatis/Murphy
Castillo/Cora
Schneider/Castro
Santana
Sheets
Ollie
Pelf
Maine
K-rod
Putz
Chad Cordero
Green
Parnell
Robertson
Feliciano
Sanchez
it really is a shame that that team is a fantasy team that has no chance of existing on the field, when it could 100 percent be realistically put together.
who is robertson?
Over/Under on how gray Omar Minaya’s hair will be by spring training?
Went searching on the net for Donnie Moore’s career b/c I was curious. Wound up on a blog for the Angels called Halosheaven. Curiously, there wasn’t one fan on that site that wanted to see KRod back. Most were like ‘good riddance’. In ‘08, out of 69 save opportunities, he had 62 and blew 7 with an ERA of 2.24 in 68.1 innings with 77 SOs. What am I not seeing here that the Angel fans hated so much? I guess his regular season success didn’t translate so well in the post season for the Angels?
Man, the way they talked, no one wanted to see him take the mound in any of those games against Boston. Reminded me of how we felt anytime anyone from our BP was entering a game….
Here is my take on it as we tend to do the same with our players. K-Rod rejected a contract offer from the Angels and then I’d say most Angels fans thought they could do better and of course the whispers of K-Rod’s violent motion and blah blah blah.
They also think differently than we do because they are not used to grabbing every free agent as a New York fan would be used to either, so probably they were readying themselves for it. Plus, they are in a eh division where the Oakland A’s got buried by the Angels even without Tex.
So, they don’t have the “Oh, we need to get him” because of the division. Angels have been to the postseason and they haven’t experienced two straight collaspes either. Many things factor in not caring about letting K-Rod go.
I just had to respond to this over pesimistic post. My responses will be in ( ).
“Let’s be realistic for a second…and please correct me if you have a strong reason. We’re an okay-to-good team, far from great and probably not as solid as 06.
Schneider – Defense solid not great Bat awful (Bat was 3 points higher than league average in BA and much higher in OBP, and HR)
Delgado – Defense below avg (actually at or slightly above, depending on what stat you use, league average), Bat in question (Even in a down year he still produces)
Castillo – Could be horrible both sides (defense was league average last year, offense was WAY below 2007 output when he needed surgery)
Wright – Defense avg (Defense way above league average), Bat Excellent
Reyes – Defense solid, Bat Excellent but missing at times
Murphy/Tatis – Below avg to avg both sides (when numbers were put into a platoon they played league average defense and offense)
Beltran – Excellent both sides
Church – Defense slightly above avg (defense well above average), Bat okay in question
Bench – Questionable to okay much improved from last year with one more spot most likely to be filled
Santana – Amazing
Pelfrey – avg he probably won’t perform like LY (what makes you think he won’t perform like last year? Dumb luck?)
Maine – avg in question (minor surgery)
Redding – Decent 5, but not even questionable 4 (actually put up better than league average #4’s)
K-Rod – Solid but some concerns with velocity
Putz – Excellent set-up man but some injury concerns
Rest of Pen – Slightly below avg. (How is the rest of the pen slightly below average? Have you even looked at numbers for middle relievers? They are terrible)
(WOW, some of you guys need to think before you post)
Yes, you do need to think before you post.
You are way over valuing Wright’s defense. He gave up more runs than league avg last year.
Church prevented 2 more runs than league average, that is most certainly NOT well above average.
Schneider’s AVG was league average, his OBP was 8 points above league avg (essentially avg.) but his SLG was well below league average (46 points).
I won’t go into details on each individual in the pen, because this has been done in countless posts.
Redding’s innings were above that of average 4’s but all of his peripherals were that of a 5.
Where are you coming from? You think that is pessimistic? Your comments in parantheses are not true.
Which one? All the stat ones are true.
Delgado, Wright, and Church…
I see where you’re coming from with Delgado, but he’s very questionable. Wright is way overrated defensively. Church is decent, but he’s no Vlad in his heyday.
Do you really think Schneider is above average offensively?
I don’t mean to be pessimistic. I actually think with the above said we can be good with 2 or 3 more pieces. I’m actually pretty optimistic about the team.
The only thing more pathetic than this signing is the amteur way this site and its pawn owner describes another person’s writing. Shame on you Cerrone.
Here is something everyone is missing. Castillo, who last year was a statistical mess, is much better as a RH than a LH. That is why it was important to bring in a LH backup. Loretta and Burke were both RH. Now with Loretta he obviously wanted to play close to home. Burke is a horrible offensive player. But still I think it’s obvious that the Mets plan to platoon Castillo if he does not do well. Thus a need for Cora.
“It’s Alex Cora… it doesn’t deserve positive or negative praise, he’s a decent bench player, that’s it. ”
Thank you for the piece of reasoning.
I couldn’t believe that we got him…….
I finally can sleep at night……..
Who needs Manny we got Cora….
(BTW, I don’t know where “Your comment is awaiting moderation” comes from)