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Alex Cora is close to finalizing a one-year, $2 million deal with the Mets, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI Radio in Boston.
In 75 games for the Red Sox in 2008, the 33–year-old Cora hit .270 with a .371 OBP, while playing second base and shortstop.
In his 11–year career, he has played short, second, left field, third base and first base.
He is hitting .245 through 2,800 career at-bats.
…i was hoping they would sign David Eckstein instead, but, like Ty Wigginton, he’s probably holding out for a starting job some place…the thing is, cora may end up being the starting second baseman before the season is over…
…from what i understand, the Mets had been eyeing cora for a while, because they had been in search of a middle infielder who could serve as a back-up, but be trusted to step in and start at second should Luis Castillo stumble yet again…
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i heard the deal was done …. WOOOHOO OMAR CAN DO 2 THINGS AT ONCE – SIGN A UTILITY INFEILDER —- AND NOT OFFER A CONTRACT TO OLLIE lol – sorry had to vent
btw on mlbtr they reported that the mets are “considering ” sheets now me thinks our rotation might be as follows
johan
pelf
maine
sheets
pedro
neise/ redding as insurance
anyone agree disagree???
No way in hell you can feasibly rely on Sheets at 4 and Pedro at 5. Might as well have signed Hampton, El Duque, and Burnett to fill out the rotation. Don’t get me wrong – I absolutely love the Sheets idea – you just can’t rely on him AND Pedro to stay healthy. Omar needs to sign Sheets and Ollie with Redding as a solid contingency plan if Sheets misses time. I think you give Sheets a 2 year/$20 million deal with performance bonuses. Perez is going to end up at 4 years/$45 million.
Ii’m calling this a def-con 5 / worse case scenario runreyes – i hope it doesnt come to this – same goes for wolf – too inconsistant
Omar is not going to sigh Sheets and Ollie. You MIGHT get Sheets and Wolf tops but that does not solve your injury problem. If you brought in Sheets and Pedro/Garcia/Wolf/other you would still have Redding and Niese to fill in for injuries.
someone is going to take a chance on Pedro for a small guaranteed major league contract if we dont, but I totally agree that we cant rely on him and Sheets.
Ollie and Sheets would be perfect and I actually like it more than Ollie and Lowe, but I also agree that wont happen. So I think if you sign Ollie you should sign Pedro as well. But if you go with Sheets only you have to give our minor league deals to every starting pitcher with a small chance of an upside that will take one. Colon is one name that comes to mind.
TRS:
You’re probably right about not getting both Ollie and Sheets….but, if Omar can get creative and work their contracts with a low 2009 salary, and increase it for 2010 after Wags’ $10.5M comes off the books, I think it COULD be doable.
Santana
Sheets
Pelfrey
Maine
Redding
Please… No Pedro!!! Use Neise at times. Do not re-sign Ollie, are u kidding me, he is way to inconsistant, i can’t take another season of this. He does throw great games don’t get me wrong, but I also am tired of those games were he is out by the 3rd because he walked 8 batters.
Also, Cora is fine, but I want Eckstein if we can’t land O-Dawg. Eckstein plays everyday, were as Cora would be more of a platoon situation.
Also, how about Mike Napoli from the Angels to play catcher?
Before the naysayers get their say, I will endorse this move. For the past two-three years, the Mets have not had a backup middle-infielder, who could play SS in addition to 2B. Therefore, Jose has had to play all the time. With Cora, the Mets can give Jose a couple more days off throughout the season.
For those advocates of Murphy for 2B, would you really feel comfortable with him playing in the field in late innings with a small lead? Cora can come in for him if necessary and will spell Castillo frequently. For what it’s worth, Cora is a Boras client so Ollie might be on the way soon.
no offence darling but who was martinez gotay and that ex yankee we had in 06? mariano duncan i think – not sure – look i like the cora signing – i just think that could wait until the heavy lifting was done
Rusty, you are not forgetting the immortal Miguel Cairo I hope!
lol RUBEN Gotay, and Miguel Cairo…and even Jose Valentin
i think those are the guys ur gettin at…
Martinez was a late season addition, Gotay could not play 2nd base much less short and Cairo’s days were behind him as well.
I would not like to see Cora as our starting 2B – he’s more slappy than slappy himself!
But I do like him as a backup infielder. He had a really good OBP last year and he’s a lot younger than Easley (and it’s only a one year deal).
i will miss damiens bat though prismo – ya gotta give him that
guys as per mlbtr
Contrary to Jon Heyman’s report yesterday, Shpigel says the Mets have not yet made an offer to Oliver Perez. He expects that to happen within a day or two. The Mets are also “weighing a run at Ben Sheets, but are wary of his injury history.” This Sheets-Mets idea is picking up steam. Sheets is also a “person of interest” for the Rangers, but they have not made an offer. Randy Wolf seems to be Mets’ fallback plan.
It will be interesting to see what happens to the Wolfs of the world – do those guys all end up with one-year, $8MM deals?
if wolf is our 4th man i will be mortified and the hazing from my yankee fan co-workers will be unbearable – i mean this sin’t rick reed or even bobby jones here – sorry don’t mean to get negative – the lowe mishap has left a bad tast in my mouth
rusty – Lowe was not a mishap – no way should we have paid that kind of money or years for him. Unlike the Yankees who go out and spend 40 million more for a player no one else is bidding on, Omar was careful and stuck to his plan.
As for your co-workers – man up and remember that they’re the one’s under pressure this year and they’re the ones that are going to be mortified and humiliated when all that money they spent fails yet again to win them a championship.
don’t get me wrong cleon i wouldnt of signed him for what he’s got i woulda went 3/14 and try to scare the competiton – i wouldnt of offered a 4th year – i meant if wolf is our answer then i woulnt hear the end of it from my mental midgit yankee co-workers
i agree cleon…
something tells me that omar never wanted him in the first place, and that hte wilpons are taking a more proactive approach this year..
i think Omar wanted ollie and sheets all along. If anyone remembers, when omar first got here, in inquired on 3 pitchers, peavy, oswalt, and sheets. Peavy simply wasnt available, brewers wanted a full season out of sheets, and we were close to a deal for Oswalt…
but in any case, we know he loves ollie, and now hopefully, it looks like he’s trying to acquire a guy he inquired about when he first took the reigns
I just don’t see us getting Sheets and Perez. I could see Sheets and Odalis Perez. In fact that would not be a bad move at all. Both would be on 1-2 year contracts and undervalued.
Johan, Sheets, Pelfrey, Maine, Perez, Redding, Niese, Figgy is a lot of depth for once.
In fact, even though the Nats were bad you just added their 1 and 2 to the staff.
based on the ebb and flow of THIS off season, no, i dont see it either
but if sheets REALLY is gonna only get like 2 years 18 mil, plus incentives and options, and ollie signs for say 12 mil, there’s no way we CANT get both…
its just ridiculous that after these last 2 seasons, and coming into a brand new stadium, we’re NOT raising payroll even as much as 5-10 mill…it’s silly
i’ll stick with this offense if we upgrade the pitchign with k rod, putz, green, ollie, and sheets
oh yeah metsgeek gave us the highest grade for our off season moves thus far – a c+ !!! damn now i feel better lol
Why take anything seriously at all from that poor excuse of a fan blog.
Good move for a good utility infielder. Good job, Omar :)
very good move – woulda like gruszy though – more pop in his bat – come to think of it LURE SPIKE OWEN OUTTA RETIREMENT – DO IT NOW OMAR !!! :P
FROM METS FEVER GUYS
Jon Heyman was on MLB network tonight during the hot stove report and discussed the Lowe deal. I heard this myself so I am comfortable discussing and I am paraphrasing but in reviewing the Braves acquiring Lowe from what seemed like an inevitable Mets signing, Heyman stated that the Mets attempted to “Bottom Feed” with a low ball offer and that the Braves came in and “stole him”. To Heyman’s credit when everybody questioned why the Mets should raise their offer and that there was no competition, Heyman was adamant that there was no way that offer would get it done. When asked where the Mets turn now he stated to Ollie Perez but that there current offer wouldn’t get it done and that there were multiple teams who would come forward as soon as the Ollie market started heating up
Was he wearing a “team Boras” ball cap (like the poker players wear on the televised poker matches?)
Maybe a nice hockey jersey too.
i definitely think he works for Boras, but hes actually right here. They should go to 4/48 for Ollie and give him a deadline, that has to get it done. We cant lose him too and I know its not the most popular opinion, but I have no problem giving him 4 years.
btw happy 25th birthday big pelf!!
Big Pelf is busy expanding his trophy room for this year’s Cy Young.
And I have been enjoying the ongoing Today in Met History Moment With Rusty!
this is a very good move by omar…..also, is castillo is really that bad then cora can probably play there cuz i know he started alot of games for the sox at short
While I don’t mind this move, why does it seem that the Mets always pay a couple of million for these types of guys rather than 750k or something? Yes, they undercut Lowe but 2MM for Cora?
I could be wrong as I have done no research on what older utility guys go for these days but 2MM just seems like a lot as a gut reaction.
No not anymore. Grudzy at age 38 will make more.
cb32: agreed. 2mm for a backup infielder? seems like a lot but i dont care too much.
the fact that theyve been mentioned on the Sheets front is making me very happy.
Sign Sheets and Pettitte to 1 year 10 million deals with option years.
Johan, Sheets, Pettitte, Pelfrey, Maine is a SOLID rotation.
no petite. Partly personal, but I also don’t expect him to last any better than Wolf, and he won’t be cheap. Might as well just get Pedro!
Besides the fact that Petitte is LH he is a much better pitcher at this stage than Pedro or Wolf.
Wolf has not pitched over 200 inning since 2002, Pettitte has not sense… last year. Their ERA’s and WHIP are very close yet Pettitte did his in the AL East where Wolf did his in Houston and SD.
I like my idea from last night. Get Sheets for a smotlz-ish type deal, as-suming there is worry about how long he can hold up (sometimes these structural problems blow up right away, or he may make a couple years (like Pedro) before it does).
Say, 5 mill base, + 1 mill for every start from 21-30, so if he pitches close to a full year, he makes 15 million.
Add a vesting option for year 2 @15 mill based on starts or IP.
a win-win!
Then, get 1 more guy that isn’t an injury risk for the 5 hole, and move Redding to long relief. he will get plenty of starts.
Ollie would be fine if he ends up at 3/30, 3/36, 4/42 say.
Or, Garland becomes a nice fit here, if his price (and years) is depressed.
Don’t want Pedro, and Wolf could give you another injury guy, but again, if he is cheap and 1-2 years? Go for it.
Always have Redding and Neise in reserve.
Santana/sheets (for 20+)/pelf/maine and 1 of garland/ollie/redding/wolf can be a nice rotation.
How does Alex Cora replace Damien Easley? Cora has ZERO power off the bench, and the Mets aren’t exactly rife with bench power. I’ve always been a big Marlon Anderson guy, but I don’t think the Mets are in their right to carry him with this roster. They need more bench pop. I’m not with out ideas…the first and third one might be a bit fantastic, but the second one should be seriously explored….
TIGERS GET – Marlon Anderson, Andruw Jones
TIGERS GIVE – Norm Robertson
DODGERS GET – Norm Robertson
DODGERS GIVE – Andruw Jones, Yhancy Brazoban
METS GET – Yhancy Brazoban
METS GIVE – Marlon Anderson
——————————————————————-
or
MARINERS GET – Marlon Anderson
METS GET – VICTOR DIAZ!!!
——————————————————————
or how about…
ASTROS GET – Luis Castillo, Marlon Anderson
METS GET – Miguel Tejada
SIGN MANNY!!!!!!!
Oh, I should of specified…I was suggesting to replace Easley’s pop with none other than Damien Easley…re-sign him. He’s worth it. Good clutch player….
SIGN MANNY, OLLIE, AND SHEETS!!!! wanna win the World Series….that’ll do it.
I would of signed Omar Vizquel over Cora.
Forget Easily and these fantastical Trades. No need to make this more difficult than they have to. All they have to do is sign an everyday Left Fielder. That pushes Tatis & Murph to the Bench. That is plenty of power off the bench from both sides.
I like it…Sign Manny!
Mets really need to dump Schneider, and upgrade at Catcher too…this is disgusting….go after Teagarden or Saltalamaccia already.
Oh, and for what it’s worth to all those in Mets land…My brother knows a guy who’s working on Citi-field, and David Wright was there recently…the guy asked right for his autograph, and the guy’s foreman was gonna fire him for it…but David Wright stepped up, and said “hey, you don’t do that” or something to that effect, saved the guy’s job, and gave him an autograph…thought people should hear it…D-Wright is the man…good guy…good things should happen to good guys…OMAR!!, GET THIS GUY MANNY WOULD YA!!! Oh, is that for me too? FINE!!….get him BEN SHEETS AND OLLIE THEN!! Well, get D-Wright a ring is what I’m saying….and US!!!
Wright*….the guy asked WRIGHT* for his autograph…
That’s a really good story about Wright. I met him personally down at spring training 2 years ago and he really is a great guy. He went out of his way to take a picture with me and sign a ball for me … while he also signed for about 75 other people … while he was bowling!
He interacted with everyone around him too. It’s good to hear he hasn’t changed since then.
$2 million seems excessive for someone of Alex Cora’s caliber (or lack thereof)
Check out other utility signings this year. Such is the way of the beast now.
Finally we make a big Splash!! Welcome Cora.
Check another need off the list. This is a decent signing, from what’s left out there. We needed someone who could play both second and SS.
Agreed. Now sign Pudge and trade Schnieder or Castro for a LHRP.
I’d be leery of signing Pudge if Castro was our second catcher. 38 year old catchers are normally past their prime and Castro can never stay healthy for a full season.
Heck, we let Piazza go at that age, right? His defensive skills behind the plate had really fallen off and moving him to first was a failed experiment…
Lot of a difference in Piazza’s defense and Pudge’s.
I could not care less about Castro or Schnieder. Either one traded is good with me as they are both FA after this year. I would be just as happy with a Pudge, Cancel tandem as Schnieder/Castro.
While I am not happy the Braves got Lowe, I don’t really follow why so many are angry with Omar. There was no way he was going to reach the deal the Braves did. People on here were discussing whether we give Lowe either more money or an extra year to the “offered” 3 years/36 million. The Braves did both and I am glad we didn’t offer that deal to a 36 year old pitcher.
That being said, I think we should try to do the following to shore up our pitching staff…
1. trade Church and a prospect to the Giants for Sanchez
2. Sign Pettite to a 2 year deal: he will give consistancy
3. Sign Perez or Sheets.
The Giants are looking for a young major league outfielder with pop. We could then go sign an outfielder like Abreu for 2 years or expand the trade with the Giants to include Randy Winn.
The Giants would not want Church and it would not make sense for us to give him up. We would still have a hole in LF and Abreu is not going to give you THAT much more than Church stat wise for the price difference.
I agree we should get Sanchez but it should come from guys like Murphy, Evans, Kunz….
You want the Mets to trade our only right fielder for the first of THREE starting pitcher acquisitions?
We already have
Santana
Pelfrey
Maine
Redding
Niese
You want to add
Sanchez
Pettitte
Perez/Sheets
Having 6 starters plus Niese in AAA is possible…but 8 total starters?! Not to mention that we’d have no right fielder.
Right now it’s
Reed/Pagan, Tatis/Murphy, CastroSchnieder, Cora and Marlon. We really need to upgrade that Marlon position to a LH with some pop.
Yeah, I’d like to see that too. Marlon was real good coming off the bench for us a couple of years ago but his time has come and gone I think. Not to mention his injuries last year…
Don’t forget Evans.
Evans should not be up. He won’t get enough playing time and he’s right handed.
Apparently Reed brings similar defense to Endy , I think he gets that job. Marlon should definitely be gone. I would explore trading Pagan because he is similar to Reed and Reed has the upper hand. If we dont get an everyday LF and move Murphy to the bench I think we need a RH with pop. Omar really missed the boat on Gabe Kapler, he would have been perfect
No Prismo, not all of the moves, but just one would fill out our rotation. I just get real nervous about relying on Sheets and even Perez but that might be our only option. I was just throwing out ideas to help the pitching staff
Haha, alright. As long as you didn’t want all three done!
No, just one. I am not greedy. I just don’t want the situation where we have a makeshift #4 and 5 starter if Redding doesn’t work out. We can’t have the Jose Lima’s of the world in our starting rotation this year if we want to compete.
OMAR, PLEASE SIGN BEN SHEETS!!! you cannot settle with a guy who led the lead in WALKS!!!!!!
While I have always liked Sheets. I pulled this up.. Highlights of his 2007 Career. The way he ended the season with those injuries scares me alot. However I still think the mets should take a small gamble say on a 1 yr deal around 10mm. or somwhere in that ballpark.. Nonetheless take a look….
Went 12-5 with a 3.82 ERA in 24 starts…Produced 14 quality starts…Tied his career high for wins (12 in 2004) and also tied Dave Bush and Jeff Suppan for the team lead…Was selected to his third All-Star Game…Was named Brewers Pitcher of the Month for both May (6gs, 4-1, 3.29) and June (6gs, 5-0, 2.16)…..was also named National League Pitcher of the Month for June…Made his fifth Opening Day start on 4/2 vs. Los Angeles and tossed a complete-game 2-hitter in the Brewers’ 7-1 win (9ip, 2h, 1r, 1er, 0bb, 3k, 1hr)…..he retired 22 straight batters between hits (Kent homer/Clark double)…Was the first to throw a complete game with 2 or fewer hits and no walks on Opening Day since Hall of Famer Lefty Grove did it with the Red Sox in a 1-0 victory on 4/16/40 at Washington…Left his start on 4/25 at Chicago-NL after 3.0 innings with a strained right groin…..following that start produced 8 consecutive quality starts, going 5-1 with a 2.45 ERA in that stretch (51.1ip, 14er)…Tossed a career-high 22.0 consecutive scoreless innings from 5/29-6/14, the longest streak by a Brewer in 2007…Recorded his 1,000th career strikeout (Mike Rabelo) on 6/14 at Detroit to join Teddy Higuera (1,081) as the only Brewers pitchers with 1,000 strikeouts…Threw his second complete game of the year in a 6-2 win on 6/19 vs. San Francisco (9ip, 6h, 2r, 2er, 1bb, 4k, 1hr)…Notched his only double-digit strikeout game of the year in a 13-4 win on 6/30 at Chicago-NL as he struck out 11 batters over 8.0 innings…Left his start on 7/14 vs. Colorado in the fourth inning with a distal sprain of the right middle finger…..was placed on the 15-day disabled list from 7/16-8/28…..an ultrasound performed on 7/17 showed a partial tearing of the tissue surrounding the tendon of the middle finger…Was reinstated from the DL on 8/29 and went 2-1 with a 6.14 ERA in his last 5 starts (22ip, 15er)…Made his final start of the season on 9/18 at Houston and left after 1.0 inning with tightness in his left hamstring
Here’s the thing lips, WHY is it ok for omar to take risk on players like pedro, alou, el duque, castillo but not sheets?? doesn’t that strike u as weird?? he’s good young and at a point better than any of them guys were.. (maybe except pedro) i don’t understand this cheap ness we got going on, we got enuff to sign him AND another starter… we obviously are not getting manny so we might as well beef up our rotation, coz i am foreseeing a lot of 3-2 4-3 games for us..
a middle finger problem? That’s it, off the list! Way too injury prone!
note, that was sarcasm.
Got you… maybe sheets is not old enough to enter the mets retirement plan..
I am cool with Cora for sure. He can back up Castillo if he stinks and is MUCH more reliable then what they had last yr
Murphy is the LF people. They just need to sign or trade for a Right Handed platoon
I don’t see Anderson on this team either
As of right now the bench has
Castro C R
Cora SS/2B L
Reed OF L
Tatis 3B/1B/ LF/RF R
Pagan OF S
Anderson LF/RF/1B…..odd man out and they have a few other Lefty bats now
Anderson If/OF
There’s no way Marlon should step out of the Mets dugout this season.
LMFAO
This is the best the Omar can do? What a freaking joke. I honestly think I could do better.
Eric Hinskie would be a perfect addition to the bench, Nomar although RH would be good, Jose Vidro is Marlon Anderson with some pop left, Darryl Ward may have eat Marlon and would be a good addition as well. Other names, Juan Uribe, Emil Brown.
Here are 2 other names that could fit and would be interesting names. Cliff Floyd and Jeff Kent.
Cliff Floyd and Jeff Kent.
TRS:
are you joking?? coz if you are that was hilarious..
Marlon Anderson has gotten 215, 95, 138 AB’s the last 3 years. During that time he has played about 300 innings in 3 years. 100 innings a year. Floyd or Kent could easily do that.
But trs, the thing is, honestly ask even yourself, we’ve finnally gotte rid of some of the old broken down players and u want them back again on the team, we’re starting to get young and you want kent and floyd?? come on man.. is time for somebody to step in and tell omar no to this old players man.. specially old and often injury.. if there be steroids like before it’d be a different story..
You can’t find GOOD young bench players that can provide what those guys can in terms of ability and experience. You don’t want your starters to be old but as bench players it does not hurt at all. If Kent goes down then you bring Evans up. How has that really damaged things?
Exactly why the Phillies are thinking about bringing in Nomar. That would be a huge addition for them.
well, while i agree u about old and experience you also have to remember that they’re so old an often injure that they may be thinking retirement, kent most likely will stay in the bay area, and floyd at best will only be a pinch hitter.. trs, i totally disagree wit u on this one..
does anyone remember that post a week or two ago that ‘reported’ omar would go about this offseason methodically and address the team’s needs in order of importance? so i guess omar sees closer and setup man the most important, 5th starter and backup util infielder next, and left field and #2 starter are somewhere near the backend. it just amazes me how much crap people in the media invent when there’s nothing else to write. then again i guess we’re to blame for reading it. i’m really bored. please start the season
Alex Cora at $2M or Felipe Lopez at $3.5M. Who do you sign?
ALEX cora…
Felipe Lopez actually…not even close
sense my name.. then the sarcasm
thank you
well, we’re gonna be stuck wit pretty much the same pitching staff as last year, the bullpen improve but the offense we’re gonna to pray it does good again.. ugh..
Alex, the bullpen is going to be the best in the game and will be our strength.
I promise!
Did Putz tell you that himself?
Yes, he did! We were helping Raul get settled into his as*isted living facility in Philly, and when Raul kept saying how sorry he was that the Mets didn’t have Tex to help battle the Phils, JJ told him it won’t matter, as we will have clinched by July 4.
Alex Cora a career .245 hitter, big move Omar. Instead of spending your time trying to lock up a utility bench player why dont you try to negotiating for an impact starter or work to swing a deal. U know Cora would be sitting around available the day before spring training started. What a joke
well, who do you want agetting?? and i guarantee it won’t happen.. he’s got 2 more deals to do.. perez and maybe a LF.. that’s it..
I want to see a blockbuster trade involving Church and a prospect or 2 to get us a valuable player in return, sign Ollie, and lets get teh season started
u still haven’t told me who u want?? and i’m shocked u want perez if u demandind a trade, perez is the worst best pitcher right out there, i am through with this guy, he’d be lucky to get 3 years 30 let alone 4 years 44 mills..
Carl Crawford? There are plenty of players out there that would be great to get our hands on in a deal
tampa is not getting rid of crawford for church.. and if they do we better hand out a good prospect..
Yesterday, Omar is getting ripped for not multitasking and today he is getting ripped for mulittasking. Must be hard being a GM. That’s all I got to say about that.
HOW IS IT MULTITASKING!!!! seriously??!!! alex cora would’ve been a free agent DURING the season!! he needed to make a move for us to see he’s active!!! PLEASE TRS cut the crap and don’t defend this guy!!! HE’S TOP 5 WORST GM’S in the game for me!!
How many GM’s do you have?
So, this def means no Manny.
Our bench is:
Cora
Anderson
Tatis/Murphy
Reed or Pagan
Castro
If you bring in Manny, then Murphy has to be sent down or Anderson has to get DFA’d.
that bench is ugly…and worse than last years. lol, and Omar was boasting about his ability to scout players and produce great benches…
This has nothing to do with Manny at all
Right now the bench would be
Castro/Schnieder, Tatis/Murphy, Pagan, Reed/Anderson, Cora. If Manny or another OF were to come in then it would be the end of need for Reed/Anderson or indeed Murphy would be working on 2B in the minors.
Well, I was using Manny to represent any legit OFer. I could’ve said Abreu, but chose Manny instead.
Castillo Church Schneider Delgado Tatis/Murphy??????? these are 5 HUGE question marks in our lineup. Remember when delgado was going bad and Manuel referred to the mets lineup as a VERY poor lineup right around the Seattle Mariners beat down at shea stadium. This offense could be right around the same level. Heck, what if Reyes or Wright goes down with an injury. How can Omar not do anything about this?
We have Reyes, Beltran, and Wright, 3 of the most productive players in baseball.
We scored the 2nd most runs in the NL last year and had the 4th best OBP.
Our offense was, and will be, fine.
Real fine when we had one of the lowest averages with RISP last season. Couldn’t get a man home from 3rd with nobody out in the biggest game of the season for 3 consecutive innings. Im not saying the mets had a terrible lineup or anything but they dont nearly deserve the credit you are giving them. Please…
These things change from year to year. Look at ARod. Two years ago his clutch numbers were off the charts, last year miserable. We can come through in the clutch. Beltran, Reyes, and Wright will be tremendous. There’s reason to believe Delgado and Church will have decent years. It’s not as bad as it’s being made out to be.
Seasons are not measured by ONE AT BAT, or even one game. The bullpen lost us the season last year, NOT the offense.
If you want to blame the offense for something, the 2006 NLCS is the only logical place to go with that silliness……
No!!!! Your logic hurts my fragile mind! Second most runs in the NL?!!?! Without Manny this team is DESTINED for a FOURTH place finish.
/half the fans on Metsblog
What did those 799 Runs win last year? NOTHING. SO IT CLEARLY WASN’T ENOUGH!!!
SIGN MANNY!!!
actually, they won 89 games, often overcoming a BP that was giving runs back as fast (or faster!) then they could be scored.
I’ve often wondered about a contingency plan for reyes and wright being injured. however cora could play short, murpht/tatis could play 3rd.
that being said, its the small, complimentary moves that helps solidify a team. as has been said here before, we cant have a superstar at ever position. building on that, what young superstar wants to be a bench player??
omar, imo, has done a great job so far this offseason. addressing our bullpen needs, a utility IF, and the addition of redding is bigger than most people realize. (and he has done this for relatively little money/years)
redding is huge for a couple reasons, stabalizes the back end of the rotation (no more revolving door like we have had the past 3 years) OR pitches in long relief if ollie and sheets were to be signed. then have him or neise move to the rotation for any spot starts.
omar has significantly upgraded the pen, and has added depth to our SP options. (two MAJOR reasons for our failures the past couple of years).
People rip omar all the time, some of it justified, but a lot of way over blown. wait till the season is over to judge omars moves in the offseason.
you’re incredibly wrong, and a discredit to Mets fans everywhere. You should be ashamed of yourself, and expect better from the team you pay to see.
Redding wasnt a terrible move but lets remember that mets fans want to actually make the playoffs and get over the top this year…not just tape up a damaged product.
If i am so wrong and “a discredit to mets fans everywhere” why dont you offer realistic, rational, and well thoughout out solutions to the holes this team had/has rather than just insult me? you make yourself sound juvenile and immature by merely insulting me without offering a concrete rebuttle. i await your reply.
Kherub,
You’re an idiot. Why don’t you go turn on MLB 2009 on your Xbox and work out a team for us. Then come back after the three weeks it takes you to finish it and post your fantasy team.
… or just don’t come back.
“People rip omar all the time, some of it justified, but a lot of way over blown. wait till the season is over to judge omars moves in the offseason”
well, he’s been the architect of a team that choke 2 years straight!!!! what do u say to that!!??
Id say I agree with you, he failed to address bullpen and SP depth issues (which is why redding, imo, is a great signing since it adds nothing more than competent insurance) for the 08 season. however he did make us relevant as a team again, if it wasnt for the other moves he made we wouldnt have been in a position to choke in the first place.
its a catch 22 honestly.
however he has (finally) realized his mistakes and is addressing those. redding is not an ace, nor is he a fix for the rotation. he is an insurance plan (a-s-s-uming omar signs ollie and sheets/wolf/garland/etc)
i personally would rather take a more positive approach and not be so negative all the time.
Whoop-de-damn-doo…
How about the cheap-o Wilpons bite the bullet on Castillo, sign Hudson, Ollie & Sheets and call it a success…
I want something back for Castillo, and I want MANNY!!!
You do realize how idiotic it is to call the Wilpons cheap, right? Second highest payroll in baseball, we are in the midst of a horrid recession (yes Hubie, again, you were right, it is affecting the game more than I thought it would at this point) and they lost tens of millions at least in the Madoff scam.
How many big-priced players have we brought in via free agency and trade the last few years? Pedro, Beltran, Wagner, KRod, Johan, etc.
Man, grow up!
I’m just venting. I want Hudson here and he won’t be unless Freddy & Jeffy eat the Castillo money…ie. pull a “Yankees” and buy their way out of a mistake.
They COULD do it, IMHO…
is he any better than Easly? I don’t think so.
Hudson better than Easley? Yes. I don’t really think he’s the answer, but he’s a lot better than Easley.
Cora, I’m talking about. Why not bring back Easly, who is better than Cora? Is Cora a primo clubhouse guy?
Maybe because Easley cant even play secondbase let alone back up at short anymore. You did happen to notice that it was A.Reyes and Martinez playing second at the end of last year right? Also Easley’s pop seemed to have pooped out last year.
I caught the Schmooz for a few minutes last night. He wants Perez back but not Pedro and thinks the rotation is the biggest concern. No surprise there!
However, he did say that he’s fine with Tatis/Murphy platoon, but after improvements to the rotation he’s concerned with 2B and C. The problem I see, though, is figuring out how Omar can possibly upgrade those positions. Any real thoughts?
Boston is still without a catcher and there was the rumors they were looking into schneider.
what if we find out what Tex wants for one of their young catchers, and try to work out a deal with boston for schneider and then try and get a catcher from Texas?
not sure if its feasible, but at least its a start…
at this point with castillo…either cut him or play him because nobody wants him. The mets dont seem inclined to add hudson to the payroll having castillo still able to walk for the most part. As far as catcher im sure there are teams interested in both schnider and castro but i guess omar is just waiting for the right deal..even though FO likes brian and thinks he is doing a good job.
Also, as for 2B, this year I think we are stuck. does anyone know what talent we have in the minors that could be utlized as either a september call up or an option next year?
Omar should just resign tomorrow
He already re-SIGNED last year and he’s doing fine.
i think the biggest question mark this year is going to be john maine….in 06 he was pitching like a #2….if he does that again then that would be great but if he pitches like he did last year then i think we might be in trouble
I agree. Maine pitched like an ace in the first half of 07 too. He can be tremendous or he can be a 4, so much hinges on his performance.
nah, like last year, it’ll be Delgado. He’s holds the key to the playoffs.
i do thinkt hat if omar can pull of a michael young trade we would be great…that of course means trading castillo…and it all comes out very expensive…but think or the lineup.
reyes
young
wright
delgado
beltran
church
murphy
schnieder
then all we gotta do is sign ollie/sheets and a reliever and we are set
Is ok for the mets to have 42 years old alou but is not ok to have 37 years old young when his contract expire.. don’t bring that up here anymore.. that’s the feeling of met nation..
ok he is 31 right now..but is a career 300 hitter….alou was a stupid move because he always gets injured….when he was on the field with the mets he was amazing but he got injured alot and the mets organization should have known that he cant play an entire season without getting hurt.
there is also a big difference between 37 years old and 43 years old…..that is a horrible way to compare players my friend……am i allowed to compare him to manny????? manny is 37 and he is gunna get a huge contract…u cant just start comparing young to players like alou who have a huge history on the DL
ptp:
im not comparing, i’m just saying that when that topic was brought up pretty much majority didn’t want young here, calling him over rated and all that, also saying his contract is horrible and all bunch of stuff.. i love to have him, specially coz it means castillo will be out of here..
By Ollie/Sheets do you mean Ollie AND Sheets or Ollie OR Sheets. I’d love both, not sure if it’s in the cards though.
i actually meant ollie or sheets…but believe me i would love both of them…..i just dont see it happening
Yeah, I actually think this could work. We’re far from done, but we can easily be the best team in the division.
the cora signing is obviously a knee-jerk reaction to the lowe deal falling through. minaya just wanted to appease the fans.
He’s been talking about Cora for weeks.
sorry, sarcasm doesn’t work on the internet sometimes.
LOL…my bad.
I’m starting to think matt should add links to a suicide hotline and an anger mana-gement hotline for some of the posters here!
Cora is a decent MI bench guy, and a perfect role player type. It was fine for Omar to get this item crossed off the to-do list.
I still think he is looking to swing a trade (public comments about the line up not withstanding). But that won’t happen until he finishes with the FA market.
Still way too many guys out there to consider trading prospects yet. And conserving all of the valuable guys has been one of the best things he has done so far this off season (they wil come in handy at some point!).
I like the Sheets + plan (Ollie, Garland maybe)
He may also (or instead) end up trading for a SP. Will have to wait and see.
And for all the doomsday people, yeah, all the worst case what ifs, if they happen, could sink the team, but it is highly unlikely they all do, and you can say the same about any team.
Hey, if Hamels hurts his back again, Utley has a relapse, Howard has problems, Ibanez acts liek a 37 YO, Lidge pops his knee again (and that was an issue last ST), then the Phils might finish last in the division.
You’re right. This offseason is far from over. We still have some viable options. I like Omar’s approach. I would have loved to have Lowe, but not at 4/$60.
Yes! Alex Cora!
This one just put us over the top boys. Ecstatic!
LMAO1!!
BTW, the best part of the Cora signing is no more talks about Eckstein and his gritty play.
I was hoping Joey Cora would come out of retirement. He’s probably in his late 40s. That would have been sweet to sign him instead!
In all seriousness though, minor moves like this sometimes turn out to be the best ones GMs make.
yeah, when we sign aaron sele and brian lawrence i was really hoping for that to happen.. please gimme a break..
Dude…the Joey Cora comment was obviously a little sarcasm. Just a little bit.
He’s 43 or 44 and has been out of the game over 10 years.
Holy cow, the Mets are killin’ me during the season and now they are killin’ me during the off season…
I can’t sleep.
Maybe we could just retire #17 and give us peasants something to rejoice about!
Where do I sign the petition.
Matt, please make Rusty’s “This day in Mets history” a regular part of the Blog.
Thank you and good day!
2 million is a lot for Cora. I am shocked he could get that much. Eckstein will not get that much elsewhere, even if he signs a deal to be a starter.
My question is how the heck did we get Cora
for only a yr @2mil? What didn’t Boras bring
his 200pg book of Cora’s accomplishments?
And wasn’t there a mystery team?
Bad job, Scott.
Why didn’t we just keep awful reyes? he’s cheaper and like 7 years younger and they’re practically the same player.
Sheets, Odalis Perez, Ty Wigginton and Will Ohman. Sign me up!
If the payroll is at $125 mil now that we’ve signed Cora. (which is what I’ve heard) Maybe we can Sheets for $8-10 mil on 1 or 2 year deal. Odalis for $4 mil on a 1 year deal?
Ohman 2 year deal worth $3 or 4 mil per and Wiggy $5,6 mil per on a 1 or 2 year deal?
That’s about $148 mil or so total. (only $5 mil more than last years payroll) Delgado and Wagner come off the books after 2009 so that cuts it $25 mil back down to the $120’s again. Your Thoughts?
Wow, Alex Cora, WS here we come!
Again, Omar ignores Eckstein and Wiggy, 2 players who are better than Cora.
Big surprise Omar. Not.
Ahhhhhhh… life is good.
1 yr. @ $2,000,000. For an over-the-hump utility player.
Remember fans… when he hits a rousing .240 as a part time player, that it will take someone making $50K a year FORTY YEARS to earn what ol’ Alex will make in 2009, while picking up splinters in his butt.