Jon Heyman of SI.com believes the Mets are not in a rush to sign Oliver Perez, who is still seeking a five-year, $60 million deal.
According to Heyman, “Perez remains by far the Mets’ first choice for their final rotation spot, but club executives don’t appear quite as confident in their chances as before and are surveying other viable starters,” such as Ben Sheets, as well as Randy Wolf and Jon Garland.
Heyman also feels the Mets are worrisome that the Yankees may become suitors for Perez again.
Heyman says some Mets people ‘love Sheets,’ but are taking a second look at his medical records, adding, “Some Mets people are now wondering whether one or two years for Sheets might be a better gamble than four or five for Perez.”
…well, as i wrote last week, count me among the people who would rather sheets on a two-year deal over perez on a four– or five-year deal… sheets, plus a Freddy Garcia and Tim Redding, with John Maine, Mike Pelfrey and Johan Santana, with Jon Niese waiting on deck, is fine by me… there are a lot of question marks, but in a perfect world that is a strong rotation…
{ 332 comments }
Well this sounds like a positive report. The Mets seem to really like Sheets and are going over his medical reports again. I hope they check out good.
If they are ok with the reports lets make an offer, lock him up and than go on to Garland.
sheets/garcia + manny = promised land
I posted this before. her is is again
Forget Ollie. I like Sheets and Garland.
Santana
Sheets
Garland
Maine
Pelfrey
I’m sorry but that is nasty by any ones standards. Sheets AND Garland will cost less than what Ollie wants, and what was paid to Lowe. It’s a no brainer. If one goes down for some time due to injury there’s
Redding
Neise
waiting to fill in.
Like I said NASTY.
I like Ollie’s big-game chops, but I am tending to agree with this approach.
Garland is very underrated to me. And he was no slouch during the White Sox run in ‘05, if we’re talking big game chops.
Garland needs a good team with a solid defense behind him. But if he has this, he will win games. You know what you’re getting: 32 starts, he’ll pitch you into the 7th, works quickly, doesn’t hurt himself with walks.
I knock a half run off his ERA and .2 off his WHIP pitching for the Mets in the NL. What’s that worth?
They need to just be bold and sign Sheets. Take the chance. Offer 2 years with a vesting 3rd year option. Tell Ollie to stick it where the sun don’t shine and be on with it already.
This waiting game is going to continue to cost us reliable starters
We all know the reasons why Perez fits, but as Matt said. Two years and around 4 million cheaper from Sheets as opposed to 4 for Perez, may be the way to go.
Sheets + MANNY = promised land
holla
Sheets + MANNY = promised land
DO IT! I would take the chance on sheets…if he goes down, so be it, at least make a statement to the phillies by signing him and when u do have him healthy, it’s like an automatic win (granted the bullpen doesn’t blow)
I totally agree. Just sign him than go get Garland and Garcia. If Sheets gets hurt they would still have Garcia, Redding, Neise and Parnell that can fill in and hopefully he won’t be out for the season. If he doesn’t get hurt they will have two aces as a 1 2 punch
I’m not sure I get the “statement to the Phillies” part.
Hasn’t the statement for the last two years been outspending them and making big name acquisitions…only to lose?
I go with Sheets. He is more reliable and will cost much less.
He’s more reliable when he is healthy.. right?
Reliable? Where was he in the postseason last year?
Let’s see someone else show REAL interest in Perez (not Boras-induced Heyman speculation) before four and five years are even mentioned.
Yea I am pretty sure Heyman is a mouthpiece/tool for Boras. He always says some of the most outrageous things that are always in favor of boras
Duh.
Completely agree. 85% start for Sheets is much better than 100% start for Ollie.
If the Mets are willing to spend 10 mil for Ollie and 14 for Lowe, why not give Sheets 8 guaranteed plus performance incentive which can go upto 14 mil.
thinking about it now..i say sign sheets, and if u can get a lowball deal then try for perez and make a rotation of Santana, Sheets, Pelf, Maine, Perez w redding and neise as back ups….that sounds good..and if perez is no go, pick up freddy garcia
sheets, garland, dunn. Honestly you could probably get all 3 for around the same cost as manny. I know the mets dont want to increase payroll that much like say 20-25 million but if that money goes into 3 solid players rather than 1 great player with issues maybe they will be more inclined to do so.
If the Mets can pull off Sheets, Garland and Dunn that would be awesome. I would still try and sign Garcia to a minor league deal for the extra depth. Having Dunn in LF would be a big help to the Mets offense and with that rotation and the newly rebuilt bulpen they should be very good.
Those aren’t three solid players, they are three shaky players.
Adam Dunn has put up virtually the exact same numbers for the past 5 years how is that not solid, Jon Garland has thrown over 200 innings 4 of the last 5 years with only 196 last year. Ben Sheets ill give you is not solid in the sense that his health is a concern but considering hes a “great” player when healthy id say 2 solid and 1 possibly great is still better than 1 great with definite character flaws.
garland and dunn are far from shaky.
Adam Dunn has 40 HR and 100 BB every year for 5 straight years…after getting out of Cincy he had his best OBP ever for the time he was in AZ. How can anyone call him shaky?
Agreed. I would be very happy with those 3 players. Reinforces the lineup and solidifies the rotation into one of the best in the league when healthy, and if an injury happens it you still have many solid, if unspectacular, pitchers outside of Johan. With a solid bullpen, it has the Phillies recipe of sucess written all over it (and our rotation should be much better than their 2008)
When healthy Sheets is one of the best pitchers in the National League. I don’t know if I can say the same about Ollie.
Exactly. They were willing to give Ollie 10 mil per. I think healthy Sheets is worth much more than that.
8 mil + performance incentive caps at 14 mil sounds very fair to me.
As many people suggested Sheets and Ollie, does still seem very likely. But maybe 2 weeks from now when Feburary rolls around they both may be beggin for a contract and take what they can get. aka bargain for Mets. But this surplus of pitching allowing Redding to pen is the only way I would accept the less than stellar offense the way it is as of now.
Getting both Ollie and Sheets is likely? Yea maybe in a dream world. The Mets are either gonna get Ollie or they are gonna get Sheets and Garland. They are not gonna get Sheets and Ollie.
I meant doesn’t. Cmon you knew that. And all of the people that suggested it I shot down geratly. I’m just saying when your a couple weeks away from pitchers and catchers report, you may get a bargain for a talented, availible player.
Wolf is GARBAGE.
sorry wrong thread. but he is garbage
He is, I rather get Garland or Garcia
I 100% think that this is what we should do; however, its all worthless if he’s not healthy for the playoffs like last year…it’s something that has to be considered…otherwise we’re having a repeat of 2006 with el duque…that being said he has better stuff then lowe and perez and i would be happy if we signed him
let’s worry about that, when we get there.
Skip Freddy Garcia. Make it Sheets and Wolf (we need another lefty in the rotation) plus Manny. Then we’re set!
Are there any other teams going after OP? Seriously going after him?
Sign Sheets, Sign Manny.
Manny will transform our offense.
I wish
I wish I was a baller
Split the difference with Sheets- give him 14 million guaranteed for 2 years plus incentives. Offer Garland 17 million for 2 years with no incentives. That’s about the same guaranteed $ as Perez is asking, but it gives you a much deeper rotation that will take about 150 innings off your bullpen’s shoulders. If Sheets meets his performance-based incentives you’d gladly pay him an extra 6-7 million. A starting staff of Santana, Sheets, Garland, Maine and Pelfrey is good for 900 innings or more, with lots of quality starts. Neise and Redding could step in if/when Maine and Sheets are sidelined.
I think Sheets is asking for 9 mil guaranteed plus incentives.
That’s why I said split the difference. Mets are offering 1-2 years @ $5M. He wants 2 @ $9M. Split the difference and give him $7M.
If not getting Sheets hinges on a difference in salary that’s the equivalent of Alex Cora’s salary, they need to sell the team and buy a middle market franchise…stop playing this cheap game of poker and be an elite team…
shets and manny…plus pedro
I think the Mets are offering 7 mil per. At least that’s what I thought I had read somewhere.
If we’re going to go forward with such a questionable rotation, they DAMN SURE better upgrade the offense. If only there was a right handed, middle of the order left fielder still on the market.
from Washington Heights
I haven’t heard of any other team going for Perez. If the Mets sign Sheets and either Garland or Wolf the bottom will fall out for Ollie and his price will have to come down. Personally if I was Ollie and the Mets sign Sheets I would jump all over the 3 years 30 million before they sign someone else.
The only excuse for not signing both Sheets and Perez is if they bring in Manny….otherwise, it’s just disgusting.
couldn’t say it any better than that
Here’s an excuse – Team Owner just lost $600million
Then sell…
Lets not forget the whenever we play Sheets he kills us so it can’t be that bad to have him on our team.
Except for the fact that he could continue the trend of killing us.
this should be a no brainer. Sheets can be a stud. Put together a contract that is so incentive laden that if he hits some milestones, an option for next year vests that has a very nice payday. ollie is too erratic. when healthy, sheets’ whip hovers around 1.000. Wouldn’t it be nice to have another pitcher who doesn’t walk anyone.
So far this offseason, the Yankees have spent $450 million on FA’s while Mets fans have watched the Mets spend a paltry $36 million on FA’s. That’s over a 10-fold difference, and we’re going into a new stadium with a lot of revenue from a tv network, Citi, etc, for God’s sake.
Can we at least have Ben Sheets ?!!!! Maybe overpay a little? Is that so much to ask?? I’m so sick of this penny pinching.
Ante up Freddie!!
Heres a whacky thought …Sign Sheets 10mil w/ 2 incentives …
then throw Minor league deals to Garcia & Kenny Rogers (theres ur lefty)
then sign Dunn 2 yrs 20mill (6 – 1st year 14 in year 2 ) the 14 is ok for next year..he can cover Delgado’s departure @ 1st and also hit as many homers and RBIs if not more. for the same Delgado is coming off the books.
I can see it now. The bases are loaded and Rogers walks in the winning run.
did you say Kenny Rogers??? Were you a fan in 1999? Here’s a recap – WALKED IN THE WINNING RUN IN GAME 6 OF THE PLAYOFFS!
Maybe all these Sheets rumor is to lower Ollie’s price.
Or maybe they are real and the Mets will get Sheets and the draft picks when someone else signs Perez.
If the Dodgers or Brewers get Perez, we’d get their 1st round draft pick plus a sandwich pick. That replaces the first round pick we’d lose because of KRod and the 2nd round pick we’d lose because of Sheets.
Let him go. Perez and Boras can be happy together somewhere else unless the price comes way down. If we get Sheets I would put a 2 year offer at 7 million a year on the table for Perez and tell him this is the final offer.
If Sheets is medically sound, then the Mets must sign him, period.
He is the 2nd best FA pitcher this year (behind CC).
He is the 2nd best FA pitcher this year if healthy. If not healthy it is a waste of money especially in this economy.
Agreed. They need to have a through review of his records and a real physical (not by the Doctor that check out Victor Zambrano either).
A base of $7.5M with lots with incentives that make this a $13-15M deal is the way to go.
41seaver — The Mets had famous doctors review Zambrano’s files. Everyone has heard of Dr. Phil and Dr. Ruth, right?
:-)
Sorry I meant to say the Mets have spent ~$40 million on free agents (I forgot about the garbage signings of Redding, Cora)- that’s still about 1/11th what the Yankees have spent this offseason (40 million- NYM vs. 450 million-NYY).
Sign Sheets now- overpay if you have to. Enough penny pinching.
And when was the last time the Yankees even went to the World Series? Five years and the highest payroll don’t get you anywhere. If the object is to collect players, we should pay more. If the object is to win, we should pay wisely. Spending more only draws more fans on the road, spending wisely draws the same fans and also gets you more gate days at the end of the year.
And if I recall, the loose spending habits of the TB Rays got them to the Series.
Remember when sources were saying the Yankees were on the verge of getting into the bidding for Beltran four years ago? That was a good one. Never happened, but several reporters, including Bob Klapish, kept throwing that out.
Mets should sign Sheets and wish Boras good luck getting the Yankees or another team to sign Perez. Franky, I can do without wondering before each start whether we’ll get Good Ollie or Bad Ollie. The guy has a 4.22 ERA. Give me a break
Exactly!!
I would love to see OP sign a 1yr 10mil contract after the Mets sign Sheets. ARod opt out redux.
I also like 2 yrs for Sheets better than 4+ for Ollie. But I don’t see it as possible that — after signing Sheets — Garland would come to the Mets.
In this scenario, Garland knows that the Mets are committed to Santana, Sheets, Pelfrey & Maine. They’ve also committed $2mm to Redding, and have Niese in AAA. Why would he want a situation where, after 3 bad starts, every tabloid was screaming for Redding or Niese or both?
And, are we all that certain that Garland is that much better than Redding or Niese?
Garland has a mid 4’s ERA in the AL which would go down just for coming to the NL. He also throws 200 innings a year. Having an inning eater like that at the back end of the rotation is key to keep the pen sharp all year.
I can guarantee you that if the Mets sign Sheets, they’re not signing Garland. Freddy Coupons.
I think we can get Sheets for:
7.5 mil. garanteed for 2 years + team option 9 million (turns to player option if get 30 wins as a Met)
1 mil + for 30 starts
0.5 mil for 10 wins
0.5 for 200 innings
0.25 for All-Star
0.25 for 100 Strike-Outs
1 mil for 2-4th in Cy Young
2 mil for Cy Young award
So thats a 7.5 million $ risk. If he believes he can produce to fufill his potential then I see no way this deal couldn’t get done.
So at MOST you pay 12 million. For a Cy Young preformance. Unlikely, but I don’t think anyone has a problem paying someone with a Cy Young year 12 million. 11 million if 2-4th best pitcher in leage. So realistically Sheets having a good #2 starter year earning 9 or 10 million.
Nice structure — but IMO you’d need something like $3mm for 28 starts (30 starts can be manipulated by going to a 6-man rotation for 2 weeks or skipping Sheets a few times) and another $2mm for 200 innings, rather than a bonus for wins (which is a team stat). If Sheets is full-time durable, then he deserves full-time money, which is $7.5 + $3 + $2 + $250k for Ks = $12.75mm before all-star/cy-young money.
Anybody know what is going on with Maine and the whole arbitration thing? All I know is “Starting pitcher John Maine asked for $3 million, with the club offering $2.2 million” – International Herald Tribune
If they don’t agree on something, then he can become a free agent, right? I hope that doesn’t happen, seeing as how Maine is my favorite player.
No Maine will not be a free agent if the Mets and Maine can’t come to an salary agreement. I believe the dollar figure gets decided by an arbiter without altering the contract length.
Okay, that’s good to hear. I’ve been reading conflicting definitions online, so i was really confused.
Yeah, you cannot be a free agent until you have 6 years big league service…Maine shall be a Met for at least two more years barring a trade…if they do not come to an agreement, which the Mets usually do in these cases, an arbitration hearing takes place and each side presents their case to someone who decides which salary he gets for one year….
I really like him too….
i dont understand why ollie is “by far” the front runner in this. I know hes a good pitcher, great at times, but a cheaper ben sheets plus garland would be much better for the team and not cost that much more
Welcome to teh Sheets bandwagon Omar. What took you so long!
So yeah, this report is a positive one. Sheets/Wolf makes me happy. I think O.P. on a five year deal is just as big of a gamble. I could see the Yanks sneeking in on O.P., but I really doubt that they fork over five years for O.P.
While I would still like Ollie in our rotation, I think Sheets is a must.
Here’s another reason to sign Sheets and Manny. We already lost our first round draft pick when we signed K-Rod. Not much more to lose by signing other Type A FA’s. Thats exactly what the Yanks were thinking – sign them all this year since the good draft pick is gone anyway.
I think you keep losing draft picks. For instance, I believe you lose your second round picks and then third round picks. Our system isn’t strong enough yet to do that.
Today, was a day to buy stocks and plenty of em!
Omar is wise to wait this FA market out.
He is gonna get some bargains in the next couple a weeks.
Come on, Omar! LET’s GO METS!
id go for both since we have between 15-20 million to spend. 11.5 for ollie for 4 years and 7 plus incentives for 2 years for sheets
Sheets actually pitched more innings than Ollie did last year.
yes he also had more wins and had a much lower ERA but apparently Ollie has some hidden potential somewhere
I think every person on here agrees that Sheets is better than Ollie. No doubt about it. And yes, he pitched 4 more innings than Ollie and had much better stats last year, but he hurt himself—again—at the end of the year.
If we signed Sheets and Manny and called it a day, and Sheets got hurt and we had Redding and Niese as 4 and 5, I can only imagine what this site’s comments would look like!
Ollie’s potential is right there I think, and he is 3 years younger than Sheets, and doesn’t get hurt.
I agree he is not the optimal choice, but spring training is closing in and there are not too many choices left…..
i’d rather take a risk on Sheets (who is a legit ace when healthy) than pay Ollie 12 mil over 4 years to throw the season away like he did last year…
Santana and Sheets pitch 7+ innings almost every start and Pelfrey looks like he might be just as durable.
with Putz and K-Rod closing down games it makes for one hell of pitching staff. signing Ollie makes us use 1-3 extra pitchers per game. that kills a bullpen
I pretty much agree with all of that Oleo…I just think that if we miss out on Sheets, Ollie is the next best pitcher out there, despite his flaws. And he pitches well against the Phils and Marlins, who could be our biggest rivals the next couple of years.
I am actually incredibly pumped for the new bullpen, and think it will be the strength of the team. So I guess I am thinking if Johan and Pelf can go 7 every time out, and if we don’t get Sheets, the new pen can deal with Ollie’s 6 IP every time out…..but you are right, Ollie is a bullpen-taxer.
Don’t Soil the Sheets!
Sign him pronto!
Let Ollie go to the Yankees. He wont last 3 months in the Bronx…
“Let Ollie go to the Yankees. He wont last 3 months in the Bronx…”
hahaha I can actually picture him crying in the dugout after he walks five in an inning for the Yankee faithful.
Santana
Sheets
Pelfrey
Maine
Niese/Redding
not bad
Not bad at all….if you could slide Ollie or Garland in there too and have Redding as #6/long man and Niese in AAA, then we would really have something!
What is a better fit;
another SP option or another threat at the plate?
I’d like to see some balance there….
do we still need a L RP ?
I think first we need one more SP….after we sign one of Sheets/Ollie/Garland, then I think Omar looks really hard at Abreu/Dunn, if either or both are left….
I love the idea of getting Sheets and see it as a must for the Mets but what scares me is that Heyman didnt mention Garland signing along with Sheets as an option. Omar must get both Sheets AND Garland considering the money saved letting Perez and Boras walk and the much needed depth and need for a 200 inning guy in Garland with a injury risk rotation. Abreu is the final piece for the order as well. The perfect #2 hitter we need. Sheets, Garland, and Abreu would cost around the same as one Manny but we get 3 glaring holes filled. I would be pumped for all 3!
Reality check: Sheets will start a guaranteed 28 games only if you play Strat-O-Matic. Otherwise there is a lot of risk involved banking on him this season. Sign him as in addition to ex. Garland – yes, but not alone. That could spell disaster.
Sheets for 24 starts and Niese for the other 10 is better than 34 starts of Ollie
What part of risk is unfathomable? What if it is 0 G Sheets? or 1G? There is no guarantee, or indication at this point given his current injuries, that he’s going to start 24 games this year. If he does then great, if not then what? If he is the only SP signed and he goes down sometime in May then what?
thats so ridiculous, what’s to say maine, pelfrey don’t get injured too? you can’t predict anything!
umm, 7 DL stints and a current injury is cause for concern? Perhaps an indication of risk? What if Yellowstone were to blow tomorrow? That could happen. There are degrees of risk and Sheets is, unfortunately, a high risk.
You do know that Sheets has been hurt every year for the last four years, right? Injury prone pitchers tend to keep getting hurt….see Mike Hampton, Pedro Martinez, El Duque, Carl Pavano, Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, etc.
Sheets is great and I want him, but only with signing either Ollie or Garland along with him, as they are much less likely to get hurt and hedge the risk of Sheets getting hurt again.
Not sure if the yanks can afford Ollie…
they are gonna have to resign Jeter soon…
their infield is posada…locked up for 3 more years…a-rod…locked up for 9 more years…texiera…locked up for 8 more years…
“Not sure if the yanks can afford . . .”
Those words can never be true.
see Beltran situation in 2004
Fact of the matter is, we need another hitter. There’s a very good chance that Delgado is not going to repeat what he did last year.
Everyone blames the bullpen the last two years, but let’s not forget that the bats failed us as well. I don’t have solid numbers, but we were averaging something like 3 runs a game.
The lineup that we put out last year needs to be improved upon this year.
Get Manny. DO IT Omar, you sneaky bastid. I’m confident you have a fifth ace up your sleeve.
why you don’t want Nick Evans batting 5th in the most important game of the year???
3 runs a game? We scored 799 runs, 2nd in the NL, which is a tiny shade under 5 runs a game.
Delgado was hurt and there is not reason to think he cannot do 30/100 again, which he has done EVERY YEAR for the last 11 except for 2007.
Most people blame the bullpen, because it was absolutely and postively 100% of the reason we missed the playoffs in 2008.
Delgado was NOT hurt.
Bullpen to blame in 2008? yes.
In 2007, it was about timing. The bullpen was great when the offense stunk and the bullpen failed when the offense was hitting. But the offense never scored enough in either case.
Sorry. I meant to say that the Mets scored about 3 runs a game at the end of the season . . .
In the last 3 games against the Marlins when the ENTIRE SEASON was on the line, the Mets mustered 5 runs.
We squeezed out ONE WIN b/c Johan threw a shutout. Manny would have gotten us 5 runs by himself in the span of those 3 games.
Delgado was still recovering from having WRIST SURGERY. I think your wrists play a role in how you swing.
Once he got back on track, it was just good ol regular Delgado.
wwhether its sheets, garland or garcia…it better be manny….or it will be “i told ya so” in octtober :)
As much as I would love to see Ollie killing the Yankees bullpen for several years to come, I think we are all forgetting that there is one very critical reason that we all DON’T WANT them to sign him. If the Brewers, Dodgers or hopefully Cardinals sign him, we get their 1st round draft pick. If the Yankees sign him, we get their 4th round draft pick.
With all that in mind, I’ll take the Cardinals 1st round pick and let him give LaRussa nightmares for a few years with all his bullpen playing games, and help pay them back for ‘06.
It looks like the max amount we have left to add to the roster is 14 or 15 million in salary. This might not be enough for both an incentives laden contract for Sheets and another 5th starter like Garcia or Garland. I really hope it is but It may only be enough just for Sheets.
Ryan Church 2.8Mil avoided arb today per SI.com
btw we definitely need another hitter and if the price on Dunn is dropping, that would be great!
dunn is a LEFTY….and a bum. we dont need either. WE NEED MANNY!
Can you make an intelligent argument as to why you call Dunn a bum? He has 40 HR and 100 BB every year for the last 5 years. This is a bum?
And if LH Dunn bats 2nd, between SH Reyes and RH Wright, what is wrong with that?
It’s wrong b/c Dunn should bat 4th and smack the ball around and get 130RBI’s
matt u gotta make a new poll
would u rather have
ollie
sheets and garcia
or
garland and wolf
no brainer>>>>sheets & garcia
next would be garland/wolf/pedro
regardless, we NEED manny
watching the baseball hot stove on the MLB network makes me wish the Wilpons would just get over whatever they don’t like about Manny and sign him. the mets are not the best team in the division right now and he could help change that.
They better get off there rear and sign someone already
maine and feliciano havent agreed to deals yet
maine asking for 3 mil while were offering 2.2
feliciano asking for 1.95 mil while were offering 1.35
If that’s the case, why in the name in all that is holy did they pay double market value for a backup infielder and another $600K on an outfielder who’s a duplicate of someone they already have?!?!? That’s $1.6M on garbage…if they end up losing out on a guy like Sheets over a $2 million discrepancy, when they just overspent on lesser or non-existent needs, they really should turn in their badges and head for another town…
if you think the mets are going to target a guy, agree on the years, but not come to an agreement because of TWO MILLION DOLLARS your out of your mind..relax we added some depth .. things take time
If you recall, they came close to letting Santana walk over a difference of $5 million last year…that’s $5 million total, as in $800K per year or so…it’s not beyond this administration’s capacity to be that foolish. If K-Rod wouldn’t have agreed to below-market value, they would have let him walk as well.
You forgot $1.7 million on Duaner Sanchez.
Is that the amount of money we need to feed his fat 4SS?
Can you people stop being a cheerleader for Dunn at 1st base? I don’t think he is a terrible hitter, but he has said he won’t play 1st. So why even go there?
Give me Ollie!
i just looked it up to confirm a fact that someone stated earlier. Nick evans and Ramon martinez were our 5 and 6 hitters in the most important game of the year. wow
Give me Ollie and give me death.
Please, Omar; make our team worse and more expensive and inefficient!
i swear omar should be a religious reader of metsblog because we have been saying the same thing for at least 2 weeks!
with a side of sheets
reilly he is thats why he hasnt signed anyone he cant take his eyes away from metsblog
Gotta love the fiscal restraint of the Biloxi Mets.
Aren’t we due for another confidence rating?
Signing Sullivan has affected mine greatly. :(
Sheets
Garland
Manny
sounds great
about 35-45 mill
no way omar and the wilpons would do that
Dunn is not a bad player he just does nothing for us.
in regards to Manny the only way i see us winning without him is if we sign Sheets, Garland/Wolf/Ollie and get a RH LF to bat behind Delgado (Wigginton makes so much sense)
i like wiggy too but we already have a right handed hitter with pop that plays the outfield as well as the infield in tatis
Matt,
If you can, start a poll on giving Ben Sheets (2yrs with a third option) or Ollie 4 years, with a 5th as an option.
I’m curious to see how that ends up.
Maybe if the Mets choke again this season they’ll raise Omar’s off-season stipend a cool 2 million.
when are they going to understand that we need 2 starters(sheets and garland) and a right handed left fielder that can hit (manny or lee)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reyes, Murphy, Beltran, Wright, Delgado, Wigginton (2B), Church, Catcher would be a very solid lineup with only 1 weak spot.
add a rotation of Santana, Sheets, Pelfrey, Garland/Wolf, Maine and the new bullpen and that is a fantastic team
I doubt they would sign Wiggington, especially under the circumstances of having him play second base. It would nullify the Cora signing.
not really b/c we need a backup SS.
a bench of castro, cora, castillo, tatis, reed/pagan/sullivan still makes sense.
also wigginton would play some LF and RF as well
Cora is our backup SS, as well. Unfortunately, we can’t have a designated bench player to cover every single position on the field.
Wigginton would play a sloppy 2B. Our defense would be atrocious. We need solid D and sold SP to go with our revamped bullpen.
i’d rather have Murphy and Wigginton than Murphy and Castillo, plus we have a guy that can play the OF in case Murphy struggles or Church gets hurt
someone pointed out the possibility of a trade for lee and I liked how it sounded
Cliff Lee? Carlos Lee? deelee?
I would sign sheets for 2 yrs w/options instead of 5 years at 15 million per yr for Ollie. He, Ollie has not shown that he is worth that money in spite of his agents ramblings. He is young, good stuff and lefty but where is the maturity and consistency you want for that kind of money. Sign Ollie for 1 year and let him prove he has turned the corner, if not then I would def take a chance on Sheets who has proven that, when healthy, he is up there with the top pitchers in the game. Come on Omar, make it work so that the top of rotation has Santana, Sheets, Pelfrey, Maine, Redding and maybe a Garland or Wolf w/Niese on speed dial.
No one is giving 5 years 15 mil. The Mets offer was 3 year 10 mil. Not that many teams are interested in him buddy. There have been a few whispers from the Yankees but I don’t think anyone is paying him that kind of money. There is a difference between him asking and him getting.
b/c the other teams know how bad Ollie can me
it was neise, church, and two other small name prospects, but that leaves us a hole in right that we can fill with murphy and tatis. over all the trade wold give us a scary right handed hitter in the middle of the lineup without blowing up the farm system or paying manny 20-30 million a year
This site is getting boring to read the same stuff over and over about what we want I want to read something concrete that Omar has done….
I’m with Oleosmirf. That is the rotation we need, with the exception of still trying to get Perez:
Santana
Sheets
Pelfrey
Perez/Garland/Wolf
Maine
Redding
I don’t mind the Cory Sullivan signing, as long as it doesn’t take away from an unwavering pursuit of starting pitching. Pitching wins championships!
If Omar doesn’t get 2 more quality starters, then he better go out and get O-Hudson or a sluggin’ left fielder!
-k-rod
-putz
-green
-reed
-getting rid of heilmann, schoenweis
-cora
-sullivan
-being wise and overpaying for lowe or giving him a forth year
-some avoiding arbitration stuff
not* overpaying
-fossum
-playing games with boras
anything i missed?
I am a huge fan of Sheets’ “stuff.” He is such a talent, it is unfortunate that he has a track record for injury. I’d like to see it as a fortunate situation for us, being able to sign a pitcher of his caliber, without the huge contract. In my opinion, he has better “stuff” than CC.
Just to make it easy on everyone the Mets should just sign EVERY free agent thats left.
ok, no agknolegement, its alright
Sorry on the 15 million per I quoted. I just “mis-remembered the dollar amount.
as i continue wasting my time putting up comments that no one even looks at…
the carlos lee trade, all the transactions, just look right over them, ya know, there only my comments anyway, who even cares
wish we could add manny to that list of transactions.
I don’t understand why some are OK with the lineup as is. The fact is it wasn’t good enough last year and def will not be good enough this year.
As i look at his stats at the plate, Abreu, is looking better and better to me.
im ok with the lineup but it defenitely could be better….we just need to get a starter beore doing anything else…id love to see the mets get manny but its not gunna happen…..the reason we didnt win the division last year had nothing to do with the offense…it was the bullpen blwing 20-30 saves.
yea the bullpen got the bad wrap as it should have, but there were times that we couldn’t bring across runners standing on 3rd base with nobody out to win the game.
I just cant accept Evans and Ramon Martinez in our 5 and 6 slots on some nights…that might be OK at Binghamton, but not at Citi Field.
Imagine an Abreu, an RBI machine getting it done when we needed it last season. We need that to win in September and beyond.
Abreu is an old dude.
delgado and church/tatis will be manning the 5 and 6 holes
we were also linked with a few of the Japanese pitchers as well, but nothing came of it. i think it Uehara and some other guys.
Sign Sheets and have “The Rocket” come in and train him in the finer points ( needle points ) of power pitchin’.
har har
Omar, make us happy….
once again…
sheets – 2year 17 mil
dunn – 1 year 8 mil
garcia – 1 year 3 mil
that adds up to 28 mil…
i dont know if im right witht the numbers but this would be ideal and would cost us far less than ollie or lowe
Sheets
Garland
Wigginton
maybe even a Beimel or D. Reyes if theres room
then you have a team right there with very few holes
whats the deal with u and wigginton???? he really is not that good….and where would u put him? left field?? id rather see murphy out there…murphy is defenitely bettter than wiggy
i dont think you realize that Wigginton batted .285 with 23 HR thats better than Church and Murphy combined…
comparing churchs numbers and wiggintons numbers, they are not much different.
as for murphy, he proved last year that he is consistant and very good offensively…id rather see him then wiggington
Murphy hasn’t proved anything. I’m not saying not to play murphy but a Murphy/Wigginton platoon would be great and if Murphy plays well, Wigginton moves permantly to 2B.
do u realize he played in a field with little league fences in LF
even though he’d be playing alot, would wigginton sign on to being a utility guy? I thought he wanted to be a bonafide starter.
he would split time with Murphy, Church and Castillo and if Murphy establishes himself then Wigginton becomes our everyday 2B.
Wigginton batted .285 with 23 HR last season. He’d provide a solid RH bat behind Delgado and give us some pop down in the order…
That would work, and provide rest so that guys aren’t running themselves into the ground before September starts. I’d love to see Wright/Reyes geting some games off.
Right now, I’m on Abreu though. He’d give us 100 RBI and a .300 avg out of LF. I feel if its not Manny he works out.
i can’t argue against Abreu although signing Wigginton allows for castillo to go to the bench thus leaving Schneider as the only weak spot in the lineup, which we can easily deal with…
you cant sign both garcia and sheets, they are both injury prone. it would have to be garland
thats true..i was just trying to save money…lol
i have a question for u
do u know how to reply to a comment? u click the button that says reply…it is really annoying seeing ur comments out in the open
ok, sorry, lol
In the end the offer to Ollie will be for 4 guaranteed years, $50M with a vesting 5th year based on his 4th year performance. Sheets can probably be had for about $16M over 2 years with a vesting option for year 3. Sheets is already a superior starter, a legitimate ace but he cannot be counted on more than 25 starts a year so unless he’s signed with someone like Garcia or Wolf slotting into the 5 slot leaving Redding as the 6th starter it doesn’t make much sense.
I’m really starting to think that Ramirez is the way to go and then you trade Murphy or Evans with Niese and bring in a strong starter via trade. Redding is a perfectly serviceable #5 starter, nothing more and nothing less.
again, GARCIA IS TO PRONE TO INJURY TO SIGN HIM WITH SHEETS
This is becoming like a bad nightmare. The psuedo Met fans are screaming for Sheets and kicking Ollie to the curb. “Oooh, Ollie is unreliable.” “Ollie won’t win enough games for us.” Hmmm. In 2007, he won 15 games with a suspect bullpen and now, with a revamped pen, he’s gonna win less?
Flash forward to next winter when the Mets are sitting home again lamenting over Sheets getting injured in his second Mets start and then needing Tommy John surgery while Ollie straightens out and wins 17 games elsewhere.
Instead of a 4/44 deal for Ollie with a club option and a 2/16 offer with heavy incentives for Sheets, the Mets will drop the ball again and the true Mets fans will order their seasonal case of Tums and Tylenol in advance.
and in 2008 he had 10 W and a 4.22 ERA with 105 BB and was partly responsible for the collapse…
His 5 inning performances also ruined the bullpen, along with Pedro. Let him go ruin some other team.
I wouldn’t say anyone who wants us to sign Sheets for 2 years instead of Ollie for 5 is a fickle Mets fan. Omar has said that Ollie is our priority, but he has Boras as his agent (and it’s fair to ask “what does THAT say about Perez?”). And Ollie is very up and down. Sheets, if health, is one of the best pitchers in baseball.
I say if Ollie doesn’t come to his senses, he leaves us no choice. We can’t get caught without getting one of those two.
Ollie needs to come down in price and years. Take the 3/30M or 3/36 at most. I’ll take my chances with Sheets if he goes above that. The guy taxed the bullpen harder than Gov. Patterson last season.
” . . . taxed the bullpen harder than Gov. Patterson last season.” LOL
LOL!!!!!
sheets, garland, willis, manny
willis could always end up his old self again
I like trying out Willis, how much would salary would we be taking on with him? It would be ideal if we could move castillo at the same in that deal.
he made 7 mil last year. i dont know about this year but he’s still only 26
i think he just turned 27 but whatever
A D-Train/Castillo swap would be awesome.
He could bring it at 94mph back with the marlins. If he doesn’t work out as a starter he could be a power arm out of the pen. That would be crazy with his stuff (if he could pull it back together).
i wonder what happened to him? who just hits a brick wall at 26 years old. he really got worse though. almost comparable to andrew jones lol
That would be closer stuff. Has anybody even inquired about dontrelle yet?
I think the first couple of starts out of the gate last season were horrible. couldn’t find the strike zone…don’t know his stats in the minors last season and if he got it back together.
A-bat? what about A-lou?
Yes, that Alou!
He has fallen off the earth.
When he is healthy, he is Manny-esque. Sure he is an inury risk. But a low base, high incentive offer (just like for Sheets) could be worth while.
Perhaps he even feels bad about 2008 and wants to sign for the minimum and give back to the Mets. Okay I am dreaming.
What is his status? No one speaks of him. Is he even healthy?
ive heard a few comments about him, i like the idea but manny still sounds a lot better
inviting Alou to spring training would be a great idea kind of like when we brought in Big Cat a few years ago
I don’t see how giving a potential ace on any other club (sans Johan) less than $10 mill a year for only 2 years is a problem when you’ll ponder giving (at best) a number 3 starter $10 mill plus for 5. We need sheets and O-Dawg and we’ll be cool. Take a bag of balls and pine tar for Castillo and just get rid of him to make the lineup/staff complete.
Call me crazy, but I bet my Metsicles that Castillo rebounds and has a decent year.
I just hope the fans give him a chance. Hate going to opening day and have the fans boo mercilessly before even the first pitch (i.e. last year).
i dont think he’ll do as bad as people think. and i love his all so frequent infield hits
I agree…as Case Street has said, give Luis a chance….
And Johan, I really appreciated your post up above with all the things Omar has done right this offseason. The bullpen is what we all will be worshipping come October….
Sign Sheets and Garland. Perez is not worth 5 years and 60 million. Sheets if healthy can be dominant. Perez will never be consistent. If we can get him for 3 years fine, otherwise have fun Yankees.
Here’s the thing – in Ollie’s favor – lefties tend to mature a little later than righties. Can you imagine an Ollie Perez with a consistent release point and solid control?
If ….
I can imagine it and it is excellent…Ollie can handle NY, is a central part of this group of Mets, and has great stuff.
Ollie plus either Garland OR Sheets, with the pen Omar has built, and we are all telling each other how ecstatic we are come October.
Alou might not be a bad idea. Have him as an extra outfielder/ a righty power bat off the bench. If he gets hurt again, then so be it. If he stays healthy, then fine. He should do the Mets a favor and take a minimum deal. After all, he did rob the team for the last two seasons.
I have to say, this idea is growing on me. If no one else offers him anything, he should do exactly what Chris says. Take a low-priced deal, be a supersub and pinch-hitter extraordinaire, and pay the Mets back!
Imagine what kind of pinch-hitter he could be!
qwertyuiop
Ben Sheets
Randy Wolf
Will Ohman (or substitute LOOGY of preference)
DONE
The Phillies Nation Blog is so funny. They get like 23 comments a post everyone is pretty laid back there. Here some posts get 500+ comments and everyone frantically reiterates the same points.
wow lol, i just checked it out and it was pretty weird. what made you go on there?
and thats true that everyone has to repeat the same thing over and over
ex: we need sheets and garland or wolf
or
MANNY MANNY MANNY MANNY!!!!!!
If I were a phillies fan Id be thrilled, they only lost 1 starter and replaced him with a better player. their rotation is the same and will probably be better with blanton for a whole season and their competition (the mets) while improving the bullpen in the grand scheme of things have gotten worse.
So how did they get worse, with an improvement in the bp?
You can also make the case that Lidge and Moyer pitched way over their heads last year, along with the Phils collective bullpen. They’re without Romero for the first 50 games. Utley is going to miss time. Ibanez is a better hitter but is older than Burrell and could miss time. Blanton seemed to be pitching out of major trouble during his time in Philly. You never know which Meyers is going to show up.
There are still a plethora of FAs left on the market that could help this team and this idea that the Mets have to spend $25M annually to improve an offense that was second in the league in runs is silly. The Mets wouldn’t need “clutch” hits if they didn’t have to mount 3 different comebacks every game because the bullpen was awful and the starters outside of Johan and Pelfrey could get out of the 5th inning consistently.
i agree about lidge and romero but i heard utley might be back by opening day
well the phillies fans should be laid back. they just won the world series, the team got better and their rivals are doing nothing to put a threat in them.
“nothing”? come on now. krod, putz, lots of depth in the outfield and completely revamping the bullpen
Correct again Johan!!!
We will all be worshipping this amazing bullpen in 9 months…..
lots of depth?…you mean pagan..tatis…murphy..corey sullivan…haha..thats a whole lot of depth of being crap..
Actually, I think Tatis, Murphy, and Pagan are all pretty good backups. Our bench problem is in our infield.
outfield depth? maybe if you value quantity over quality bc we got the 1st part but not the 2nd.
Completely inaccurate.
The Braves added Javier Vasquez, Derek Lowe, and Kenshin Kawakami.
The Mets have added K-Rod, Putz, gotten rid of Heilman and Schoenweis, and are still looking for a SP
Meanwhile, the Phillies have replaced Pat Burrell, with a a bat that’s worse offensively and defensively, and lefthanded. Oh, they also added Chan Ho Park. Mighty upgrade
A clear case of talking out of your…
STILL looking for a starting pitcher after they got krod and putz back in early december…need a good left fielder…contending teams dont have platoons in areas…2ns base…catcher…
enterkrod wud u have liked them to over pay for an injury plagued guy like aj burnett early like the yanks did or overpay for derrek lowe late like the braves did..is opening day tomorrow? relax man omar will get it done ya gotta believe what kind of met fan are u
The Phillies have a five star prospect in RHP Carlos Carrasco that could be ready to make the jump to the majors this year.
he has had some rough patches. He does have potential, but I would be shocked if he came up and dominated. Could be real good in a few years though.
Think about Pelfrey’s frist year. And hope the Phils get the same porduction out of this guy!
Why we should trade Santana:
With Manny we’re legitimate contenders for the WS. Without him we may not make the playoffs.
So if we’re not going to sign Manny, trade Santana — we can lose without him, so why waste the money?
And why waste Santana’s time? Let him go to a team that has a committment to winning.
There is not a .00000000000000000000001% chance they are going to trade Johan.
You do know this is baseball, not basketball. No one individual, not even Manny, can make the Mets “legitimate contenders for the WS”.
Give me a team with depth and role players who know how to execute well and can step up to the plate when called upon, and I’ll show you a championship caliber team.
Yes, Manny will be a HOFer and can crush the ball. However, last time I checked, the Dodgers didn’t make it to the WS and Cole Hamels was the NLCS MVP, not Manny.
“Give me a team with depth and role players who know how to execute well and can step up to the plate when called upon, and I’ll show you a championship caliber team.”
Geez Case, I still feel bad for being a little rude to you a couple of months ago….this paragraph is amazing, and sounds like a description of the 1986 Mets….or the 2009 Mets.
JJ Putz rules.
Thanks for the compliment, hopefully the description fits the 09 Mets.
I must have missed your little rudeness, so no harm done.
Did you get your Putz t-shirt yet?
The Dodgers would not have made it to the playoffs without Manny. Now can I prove it 100%. Only if you give me a time machine so I can go back in time and stop the Dodgers from acquiring Manny to see if they achieve the same results. Of course we can jump to a parallel universe where the Dodgers did not acquire Manny and see the results. Unfortunately I haven’t figured out how to make the move to that universe yet but I will ask Tinker Bell if she knows how.
The only thing we can do is hypothetically add Manny to the Mets’ roster and see how the projections are altered. Feel free to do so and get back to us.
BTW once you are in the playoffs it all becomes a crapshoot. It’s all about who gets hot at the right time. Using who gets to the WS and their performance therein is a poor example to make a point either for or against Manny.
You’re an absolute idiot.
congrats for posting the worst comment ever on metsblog…wow…wowwwwwwwww….thats worse than when everyone on this site was saying trade reyes for santana last year….WOWWWW
The Mets did fix the pen but our lineup has alot of question marks. We know what Wright, Reyes and Beltran will do. Castillo and Schndeir are useless, who knows what Delgado will do and Church is coming back from a serious head injury. No way Fernando Tatis repeats his 2008 season and who knows if Daniel Murphy is the real deal. If you don’t think the Mets need to add a big bat to the middle of that order then I really do not know what to tell you.
No disrespect to your opinion but you can say that about every team in the mlb. Who to say Untley will recover to full strength, Moyers might not be any good, what happen if the Phil are effected by the left heavy line up, and who to say theire bulpin will hold up this year. No body know. Why Tatis can’t do it again, Murphy can be the real deal, Church could start off right where he was before the head jam. We can only go by what we seen last.
The mets addressed the number one issue.
BULLPEN
Then they turned there attention to the seond biggest issue.
STARTING PITCHING
Then they will address the rest of the problems
It could go to Spring training or to the trading deadline(s).
Don’t give up.
We Can Win.
Yes We Can…
you definitely DO need help because unless you consider Tim Redding the savior to our rotation the mets have improved the bullpen while the rotation has gotten worse and the lineup will take a step back…as currently constructed, NO WE CANT.
I am an Ollie fan. The only way I am in favor of Sheets is if the Phillies try to get him. I was spying in the Phillies Nation Blog and those scumbuckets were talking about getting him. That would be scary and it can’t happen.
Reading all these posts over the past couple of weeks there is one thing we can be 100% positive of: our fan base is all over the place as to what constitutes fielding a contending team this year – LOL.
That being said, I’m all about pitching. Get the best we can, get some depth. Depth meaning two more SP, not one. I just cannot see Niese being our 6th starter right out of the gate. What happens if we have a Pedro 2.0 and a starter goes down on his first start of the season?
I may be greedy, but I want three more to push Figgy out of any Citi considerations.
Give me:
Santana
Sheets
Maine
Pelf
Garland
Garcia
Redding
Niese
Well, I’m all for that too but you know this is just a fantasy, right? No way they’re gonna sign us 3 more SPs….
I’m on Ollie fan. I’m hoping for Ollie and Sheets and call it done. Going with the odds, Ollie will be healthy all season – Sheets probably not so much. I still think Ollie can win us 15 games this year.
And couple that with a healthy Sheets? That’s a very good rotation….
No doubt Ollie and Sheets would be ideal, but that’s more of a fantasy than signing 3 more SPers, even though the team could probably afford both Ollie and Sheets.
“sheets, plus a Freddy Garcia and Tim Redding, with John Maine, Mike Pelfrey and Johan Santana, with Jon Niese waiting on deck, is fine by me”
Agreed. Anything that pushes Niese and Redding out of the top 5 would be welcome, and I like the risk/return factor on Sheets WAY more than Pedro, who’s burned us the last two seasons and is just SEEMS so so much more broken than Sheets.
Could Pettitte be in the works in lieu of Freddy Garcia? I’d kinda prefer that…
Next step starting pitching…..
So you know I’m bored – wanting to read something – anything that’s new. Took a look at Philles Nation. They’ve got a debate going about R. Howard’s arbitration. Philly offered him 14 mil, he wants 18 mil. Most of the fans say he’s not worth it.
Their solution? Trade Howard, move Ibanez to first (thought process is his defense can’t be any worse than Howards) and get Manny.
They’ve got about as much of a chance of getting Manny as we do…..
yea they have as much of a chance because both of us have no chance. I am more worried about the Phillies getting Sheets.
Well, after seeing Howard wants 4 Mil more than they offered him – and consensus being Howard will not settle and go to arbitration, I can’t see Phillies putting any offer out there for Sheets at this time….
We need a balance of lefties and righties which is why we need Ollie. Ollie is young and has great stuff. Tim Redding is a fine #5 starter as well. I mean compare him to the Phillies #5, I am pretty sure they have Kendrickson.
I’m all for balance and having a young left hander in the starting rotation. But I’d also like him to be somewhat more reliable and stop walking the ballpark. Some still view Perez as the 2004 guy that the Mets gave up useful parts to get him as a throw in.
Now the big bucks come in, we are talking about a 4 – 5 year deal worth over 50+ mil and I wouldn’t want the Mets to tie themselves up with a inconsistant pitcher that has trouble getting up for the bad teams or even average teams. 3 years plus an option is as far as I’d go.
Yes, the Phillies have the same rotation as last year…
If Hamels stays healthy all year and once again pitches over 40 innings more than any of his previous seasons.
If the Myers of the second half rather than the Myers of the first half shows up for a large chunk of the season.
If Blanton pitches like he did after the trade and not before the trade.
If Moyers actually repeats having by far his best performance in five years rather than going back to the pitcher he was from 2004 tom 2007, two seasons of which he had an ERA over 5.
If Kendrick and/or Eaton even remain usable on the major league level.
Honestly, we can say that we have some question marks in guys like Pelf and Maine (and, of course, our one or two new SPs), but the fact of the matter is that the Phillies entire rotation is not only questionable to repeat their performances, but is pretty unlikely to do so. Besides Hamels, who before last season was widely considered a huge injury risk, every Phillie starter has a very legitimate chance of having an ERA north of 5 next year, and the odds that all of them perform as well or better than they did last year are very very low.
hahaha – love your optimism, kid. And I tend to agree. After Cole, I see their rotation being as big a question mark as ours. Moyers is what? 46, oldest active player? And a pitcher to boot? You know at some point you have to see a decline. I’m betting on it being this year.
The thing is, in Moyer’s case, it’s not even about waiting for a decline. He already has declined- last year was an anomaly against his strong career trend that is such an outlier as to be pretty much unrepeatable.
You hit the nail on the head. The Phillies have just as many question marks as we do.
Cerrone is funny- today he is happy with Ben Sheets and Freddy Garcia factoring in to the Mets 09 rotation, but if Heyman and Verducci said tomorrow that the Mets were leaning towards, say, Garland and trading for Brian Bannister he would favor that.
I’m not saying that Sheets and garcia would be bad, but I don’t get how you can stand by this organization that is decreasing payroll while increasing ticket prices…
What do you want Matt to say? “The Mets stink?” or “How dare the Wilpons for being so cheap?” Cerrone gets bashed no matter if he is supportive of the Mets or critical. He just will never win with Mets fans.
Matt is supposed to be a voice of Mets fans. Most Mets fans are upset that the Mets are loweing payroll while raising ticket prices.
It also bothers me that a team so close to a championship would suddenly become frugal after 4 years of putting the peices together to be in a position to win.
And yes, someone will respond and say “They got K-Rod and Putz, what’s wrong with you?” K-Rod is making $8.5 mil. Putz is making as much as Heilman and Chavez. Pedro, Perez, Alou, Duque, and Easley came off their books. To have a lower, or even flat payroll (where they seem to be heading), when you are asking your fans for more money per seat is disgusting.
I believe the Mets are only motivated to spend by fan outrage. Cerrone giving them a pat on the back for not spending, being afraid to negotiate with Perez because the Yankees “might” want him, is part of the problem. enough blind love already and call them out. Besides the ticket price increase, they have asked for and received millions in dollars in tax breaks for the city and state government- you and I will inevitably foot the bill for their millions in savings. The least they could do is put their best foot forward with providing their fans with the best team they possibly can.
This looks like another 88-90 win team that will fight and claw up the the last weekend, and if they have some injuries, willfall short a 4TH STRAIGHT YEAR.
Just being honest….
Matt’’s not obliged to be the “voice of Mets fans.” That’s not how blogs work. This site is just Matt’s take on issues and news related to the Mets. If you aren’t interested in his opinions, then don’t read them. Claiming that he, as a blogger, should only voice the opinion of the majority of Mets fans (which is impossible anyway, since we have to define what “fan” means in the first place and there’s no way to actually poll all of them), is like saying that a political blogger shouldn’t be allowed to praise George Bush because of his low approval ratings or be allowed to criticize Palin because that goes against the “voice of the people of Alaska.” The entire concept of a blog is that it’s just one person’s (or a rotating group of people’s) take on things- if you’re not interested in his personal opinion- regardless of how you or other Mets fans feel about it- then just read someone’s that you are interested in.
Xavier Nady is staying with the Yankees he agreed to a 1 year 6.8 mil extension or something.
That doesn’t mean anything; it’s just avoiding arbitration.
mets need to sign garcia, manny and sheets. this way if sheets is a flop they have either redding garcia or niese to fill the rest of the holes, and they need to sign manny.
in all reality the lineup they have now is nothing but above average at best. who knows what church will do schnieder is a joke and there is 10% chance castillo is back to his old self. not to mention the need for a clutch hitter. other than beltran and delgado of late last season the mets cant take pressure and manny doesnt even have the nerves that sense pressure of any sort. not to mention hes a righty and he will make whoever bats in front of him better as well cus nobdoy wants to face many with a man on base. if minaya thinks this lineup is ok hes dead wrong they will win maybe 90 games if they dont pick up a big stick
Now that Nady is staying with the Yanks I don’t see that many options for LF. There is still the unlikely Manny and the beloved Wigginton. Wigginton would be nice but I am wondering how his defense would be in RF?
im still sticking with manny…im tired of saying it already…
Kinda really off topic, but are people in NY able to get in stores more of the Player T-shirts than those that are available on MLB.com? I’m looking for a white Santana shirt or an Orange Reyes, but can’t find them anywhere.
Those are popular items and I would probably just shop online for it. I could imagine they sell out fast in stores but that’s just my opinion.
yeah try amazon.com orebay
santana
sheets
pelfrey
maine
redding
in the wings: neise garcia
reyes
castillo
wright
delgado
beltran
church
tatis
scheider
parnell
stokes
felicano
sanchez
green
putz
krod
cora
castro
pagan (reed)
murphy
anderson (evans)
the rotation is better off if it is like this:
santana
sheets
maine
pelfrey
redding or niese ( it is most likely niese considering that he will be the only other lefty other than Johan)
it makes a lot of sense to have maine be the number three for 3 reasons:
1) he is a Philly killer and pretty good against the marlins and Nats. you want to deal the 1,2,3 combo and a good chance of winning a series.
2) maine tends to go between 5 to 6 innings on average per start. so the bullpen is going to be used a lot.
3)Pelfrey will have a better chance of giving the bullpen some rest in between starts from Maine and who ever the number five is.
notsoaveragejoe
i think john maine not making it through the 5th and 6th innings was more of a aberation last year i think in 07 he made it to the 7th and 8th a bit more consistantly the problem as his inability to get his out itch over – due to his elbow problem which in turn raised his pitch counts that als tired him out quiker than usual – also willie had too quick of a hook and relied on the pen to often
John pitched at least 6 complete innings in 18 of his 32 starts in 2007, averaging just under 6 innings per start. I’m thinking I agree that last season’s lack of depth from him was due to the shoulder more than anything. I think that if John comes back in good shape, he’ll put up pretty good numbers for us this year. Everyone should keep in mind that the surgery wasn’t major, either.
i remember last spring traibning when maine was dominant – i hope he can do that for an entire year now
no figgy?
good morning all my fellow metsphiles
you know what time it is?? ITS TIME FOR RUSTY’S – THIS DAY IN METS INFAMY!!
heres todays entry
New York Mets traded Kris Benson to the Baltimore Orioles for John Maine and Jorge Julio on January 21, 2006.
- definitely one of the few brighter spots in this organizations histor
btw happy b-day perenial mets utility infielder and all around scrub – bill alman
Where IS Benson these days? Is he still playing? I don’t recall hearing anything about him in a while.
he’s trying out for teams this week i believe – i think theyd rather sign anna benson to a 2 year deal though lol
I’ll sign her to a two year deal, if you know what I mean.
the hottest chick with a jewish last name that isn’t jewish lol whats up prismo!! like what u had to say yesterday about that ignorant blogger concerning manny’s conversion lol
COUNT ME IN FOR SHEETS AT 2 YEARS OVER PEREZ AT 4-5. WE SHOULDN’T CARE IF THE STANKS WANT PEREZ OR NOT. LETS TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN HOUSE.
to quote gabby haynes in blazing sadles “roughry”!!!!
I would agree with Matt here…forget Ollie if he is looking for 13 million per year…
2 yrs 18 for sheets and then go out and get garcia or garland for insurance. I m thinking garland could be had for 2 yrs 10 mill.
Johan
Sheets
Pelf
Maine
Garland/Garcia
with Redding and Niese as spot starters when someone goes down.
And I want a LF but I dont think its gonna happen…
i do agree with you olerud but i think we need an insurance policy in case sheets breaks down – mark mulder perhaps? maybe garcia (shudder) – but i don’t think you can easily discount what ollie has done for this team either – he may just be the key
MLBTR said that one of the deals Garland turned down from AZ was supposedly 2/13 IIRC.
you will realize how important manny is to the mets in october….whether the mets sign him or not. and if not, i will be the first to say “i told ya so” :)
the first manny post of the mornin lol nostra what u drinkin decaf? or expresso with a bit of frangellico?
just plain strong coffee bro :)
Kris Benson (33)
Paul Byrd (38) – Type B, offered arb
Roger Clemens (46)
Josh Fogg (32)
Freddy Garcia (33)
Jon Garland (29) – Type B, offered arb
Tom Glavine (43)
Charlie Haeger (25)
Livan Hernandez (34)
Orlando Hernandez (43)
Chuck James (27)
Jason Jennings (30)
Jon Lieber (39)
Braden Looper (34) – Type B, not offered arb
Rodrigo Lopez (33)
Pedro Martinez (37)
Mark Mulder (31)
John Parrish (31)
Odalis Perez (32)
Oliver Perez (27) – Type A, offered arb
Andy Pettitte (37) – Type A, not offered arb
Sidney Ponson (32)
Kenny Rogers (44)
Curt Schilling (42)
Ben Sheets (30) – Type A, offered arb
Kip Wells (32)
Randy Wolf (32) – Type B, not offered arb
as per mlbtr
kennt rogers or curt schilling anyone?? (ducks from objects being hurled ) lol
I wouldn’t mind Kip Wells in AAA- he is an upgrade over Figgy and Knight as an emergency option (you always wind up using those guys)
That’s exactly right – Tatis and Murphy are perfect backups – not people you can rely on to start every day.
THANK YOU!!!!!!
but someday SOON, murph WILL be a starter on the level of dwright
there seems to be a disconect on here about the SP (often from the same posters, in the same posts!)
One dead horse being beaten is that the mets SP is in shambles, they lost everyone, Omar needs to sign 3 top guys yesterday, etc.
But, the other nag is, Ollie was a BP killer and inconsistent, and needs to go. And don’t bring back Pedro, he is shot. And neise isn’t ready.
Well, the only changes from last years rotation is that the 2 worst guys (Ollie and Pedro) have been removed. And Neise is bumped back to prospect status since Maine will be back (the only reason he was pitching anyway).
So if only Ollie and Pedro are gone, how can the SP be this major danger zone, since they stunk (mostly) anyway?
Yeah, the Mets still need to replace them, but it will happen. And just about any legit ML SP should be at elast as good, and likely better.
And don’t discount getting a bonespur -free Maine back. That is a major upgrade over what they had in the 2nd half of the year.
Santana, Maine and Pelf are as good or better than just about any NL teams top 3. Who’s better? The Cubs? marlins? Who else?
If Jair Jurgens is a #4 starter, you have to consider ATL too. SF also sports a rotation of Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez, Unit, and Zito. Florida has Nolasco, Josh Johnson, Volstad, ASanchez and Andrew Miler. Mets rotation is good, but there are plenty of other good ones. With their resources and 81-sell outs per game, they should be able to justify having Perez and Sheets…
1-3, none of those are better. And isn’t JJ #3 on the Braves with Hudson out?
Lowe and Vazquez in the top 3 isn’t all that impressive either!
Anyway, just trying to make the point that the Mets actually have a strong top of the rotation, so they can be adding pitchers to fill in the 4/5 slots (or like a Sheets, a wild card that could go 2, 5 or DL)
I heard their Japanese import will be their #3- I just think the Mets should aim to have the best starting pitching. It is right there for them if they sign Sheets and Perez…
why not pettitte? the rotation needs a lefty. btw, i say no to ollie
Overaged, Overpriced, and fading.
If this guy was a car, he would have 220,000 miles on him with the original tranny.
but we are talking about a #4-5. he is as serviceable as most the others available (except a healthy sheets)
I would consider Pettitte more than servicable. I just don’t think he’s worth what he is asking (more than 10M if its true that he turned down a 1-yr offer fror this amount from the bronx)
Sheets at 2/18 is a better value. throw in wolf or garland at 7, I think we’d be in very good shape
How much do you want to spend on that though? He laready rejected 10 million from the Yaks as an “insult”.
Hey, in terms you can relate to, Petite and Murphy or Redding and Manny?
manny of course
o you wanna pay 10 millions to a #4 or #5?? wow nostra, thank god your not running the mets..
What another glaring boo-boo by Omar – this is what Ken Rosenthal had in his column:
One GM found it curious that the Mets signed Cory Sullivan to be an outfield reserve after they already had acquired Jeremy Reed, calling them “the exact same player.” Sullivan, 29, and Reed, 27, both are left-handed hitters, and both are out of minor-league options. Their adjusted career on-base/slugging percentages are nearly identical, and they’ve had almost the same number of career plate appearances …
don’t tell that to trs86, he vouched for omar… i keep saying all along, we’re set as a team, he will pretty much have the same choke artists in 2009.. he signs all this bums to see who works out and then he gets the glory.. “COREY SULLIVAN” jesus!!
Guess you aren’t buying the idea that Reed may be part of a trade?
I don’t quite understand the need for Sullivan either (although I did think Reed was a RH batter), especially if neither one can be sent down.
They certainly don’t need both, so it seems like theer has to be a trade in the works (and it must be for Reed, since any team could have just signed Sullivan as a FA).
Man, this Omar bashing has gotten ridiculous. I can’t think of any other GM that got this much abuse, other than Matt Millen and Isaih Thomas.
uh… well, he’s the architec of a team the CHOKED 2 years in a row, was given a 4 years contract in the midst of another collapse.. millen and isiah, nice group u ot omar with.. look where those franchises are..
Alex, you just made my point for me. Thanks!
Those guys destroyed franchises for years to come.
Omar put together a team that won 96(?), 89, 89, and the last 2 years was in contention for the post season in the last game of the season.
So obviously he put together a team with a lot of talent. Sorry they “choked”, but how exactly can you measure that when getting players (as opposed to talent/skill/production?)
Especially with players that one year are “clutch” and the next year “chokers”
Omar should have made moves at the deadline in 2007 and 2008, but the team he went north with was predicted by most to make the playoffs both times…
Omar is a weak GM in adjusting and making deadline moves. He could have had Brain Fuentes last year for Jonathan Niese. I guarantee that the Mets win the deivison with Fuentes. Our division winner won the WS. But, hey, we have Jonathan Niese in AAA!!!
I have no problem with acquiring two Endy Chavez replacements with upside. By having two, the chances are increased that one lives up to their potential and helps the team.. It’s actually the type of smart forward-thinking stuff Omar does that I like.
ok, so let’s get 2 bums to see..no no.. to hope one of them pans out.. chances are slim to none.. there’s a reason they are no good.. so all of the sudden one of the 2 will get better..??
please..
Well, 4 years ago Jeremy Reed was the #4 ranked prospect in the minor leagues- ranked ahead of people like BJ Upton, Ryan, Braun, our Lastings Milledge, etc. You’re saying there is no chance that he finally plays up to that ranking or at least becomes a serviceable 5th OFer?
I remember in 2006, when short on LH specialists, Omar tried a similar strategy and invited a lot of guys to camp and wound up with Darren Oliver AND Predro Feliciano and they won a division…
If nothing else, you need to let the entire off season play out before judging a GM. Often moves that don’t make sense at the time are just prelim moves to bigger ones down the road.
Or possibly, Omar “bought” sullivan even though he didn’t need him, because he felt he was a deal that was too good to pa-ss up. Like buying a car when you already have one because the dealer was rpactically giving it away!
He can always move one of the spare OFs if it comes down to that. maybe even Sullivan, if it gets to ST and some team finds itself in need of a cheap BU OF that has ML experience and a cheap contract.
Until opening day, the roster is always a work in prgress.
stick, here’s the thing, jose reyes 6 millions, wright 10 millions.. that’s 16 millions or so out of a team that’s 143 millions in the payroll.. so u mean to tell me that he’s invested 127 millions for a bunch of chokers??? wow.. coz that’s what he’s done..
w/o jose and wright this would be a 75 wins team.. and for 127 millions that is unaceptable!!!
Gotta tell you Alex, i think the stress is getting to you. I’m not even sure what your point is lately 9that is, you seem to be arguing both sides of an issue in the same post!)
Matt is supposed to be a voice of Mets fans. Most Mets fans are upset that the Mets are loweing payroll while raising ticket prices.
It also bothers me that a team so close to a championship would suddenly become frugal after 4 years of putting the peices together to be in a position to win.
And yes, someone will respond and say “They got K-Rod and Putz, what’s wrong with you?” K-Rod is making $8.5 mil. Putz is making as much as Heilman and Chavez. Pedro, Perez, Alou, Duque, and Easley came off their books. To have a lower, or even flat payroll (where they seem to be heading), when you are asking your fans for more money per seat is disgusting.
I believe the Mets are only motivated to spend by fan outrage. Cerrone giving them a pat on the back for not spending, being afraid to negotiate with Perez because the Yankees “might” want him, is part of the problem. enough blind love already and call them out. Besides the ticket price increase, they have asked for and received millions in dollars in tax breaks for the city and state government- you and I will inevitably foot the bill for their millions in savings. The least they could do is put their best foot forward with providing their fans with the best team they possibly can.
This looks like another 88-90 win team that will fight and claw up the the last weekend, and if they have some injuries, willfall short a 4TH STRAIGHT YEAR.
Just being honest….
in fairness to matt, he said that the mets should buy manny
Comments on this entry are closed.