This morning, Mets GM Omar Minaya appeared as a guest on WFAN’s Boomer and Carton Show, which you can listen to live, every morning, from 6 am to 10 am, on WFAN.com.
When asked about Manny Ramirez, Minaya told WFAN, ‘I think I’ve been pretty clear… This is the team we’re going with, I think we’ve made improvements and I look forward to spring training.”
Minaya acknowledged that the bottom of his batting order is ‘light,’ but he is still looking to pick up a few players on minor-league deals, including acquiring a right-handed bat.
He sees Brian Schneider as his starting catcher – and, ‘right now,’ a 
platoon of Fernando Tatis and Daniel Murphy in left field, adding, ‘today, of course, things can change as we go in to spring training.’
Minaya says he likes Murphy a lot, he likes his intensity, he likes how he hits with two strikes, saying the intensity he brings is what this team needs.
Minaya says he likes a mix of veterans and young players – he always likes to bring along one or two minor leaguers through the season.
Ryan Church is healthy, Minaya said, after having checked in with him, team trainers and doctors. Church will be important this season, 
according to Minaya, because they need his defense, noting Citi Field will require a center field-type defender in right field.
Minaya watched Luis Castillo in the Dominican Republic last week, where he’s working out every day at the team’s facility. Minaya told Castillo he needs to perform, he’s been a good player for 10 years, ‘but the bottom line is he has to perform and he knows that.’
Jerry Manuel and the coaching staff have also been in contact with Castillo. Minaya and Manuel have told Castillo, ‘The fans will keep an eye on you, and you have to overcome that.’
Minaya says it takes a mental toughness to succeed in New York, and Castillo will need to rise to that – in fact, this is one of the reasons he wanted to bring Oliver Perez back, ‘because, so far, Oliver Perez has shown he can handle New York.’
Francisco Rodriguez could handle the pressure in Winter Ball, which is worse than New York, Minaya says, ‘Here, you blow a save and they just talk about it, there if you blow a save your life may be on the line.”
The reality, he explains, is that every pitching staff on every team is a ‘leap of faith,’ because of health. However, he pointed out, the average age of his staff is 27 years old.
To listen to this entire 20–minute interview, go to WFAN.com.
Well, this should keep the comments section hopping for the morning!
lol, wow, i wonder how carlton would keep pushing him about manny..
omg this guy Omar is maddening at times…im a FULL omar supporter, but come on…”this is the team we’re going with….TODAY….but that can change”
wtf lol…..just say “we’re gonna look into all options and if it makes sense we’ll do it”
yeah, if somebody gets injure then ot won’t be the same team.. yu knowhatimsyaing
If he thinks what he has is a championship team he is smoking something that is altering his mind.
You know Omar isn’t going to tell the general public any future deals they might be looking at. You wouldn’t expect him to – that would just be bad business. Therefore any questions concerning that will have a rather vague answer.
Sure Ollie can handle NY, he just cant handle any bad teams lineup.
I do like Omar’s talk about the starting staff.
Agreed. He made some good points, like if not those 5, then who? – especially based on what was available.
Absolutely. Also just the ages of the players is pretty exciting, I hate having a team full of old fogies. It’s exciting to think that probably half of the team’s starting rotation + starting fielders haven’t hit their primes yet. (Thinking Pelf, Maine, Ollie, Wright, Reyes, Murphy, and potentially Church)
I know that Omar has said that they are done with “major” moves. However, as long as Manny is out there, I don’t believe it one bit, knowing how well he would fit in the lineup, and Omar’s past infatuation with him.
Personally, I feel that the Mets game plan is to monitor the Manny situation, particularly whether the Dodgers go in a different direction or not. I’m sure that Omar and co. have a value affixed to Manny, and if LA drops out, and the going rate on Ramirez drops to within that threshold, then Omar will in fact actively pursue.
What are we going to do with Fernando Martinez once hes ready for mlb. He doesnt have a spot on this team right now until Murphy is either traded or moved to 1b when Delgado is gone.
Don’t worry about it. FMart has 1-2 years left in the minors. By then I’d be shocked if there wasn’t a vacancy at either LF or RF.
I agree, we are kidding ourselves to think this guy will be ready for full time duty for at least a year or 2, let him prove himself for a whole year first.
theres a definite chance he’ll be ready by mid summer performance wise if he begins to put things together as he has in the domincan leagues this winter
He hit one home run. Chill out. The jury is still out on young Mr. Martinez.
I heard the first Manny question that Carton asked Omar, and you could tell that Omar didn’t want to shut the door. After he said that he thinks the current team is ready to go, he said that it doesn’t mean he can’t still have dialogue about players, and then commented how he had dialogue with Boras yesterday during Ollies press conference.
hahaha oh here we go again…
Let. It. Go.
Dude, what part don’t you get about the team not going over $140 mln or so for the budget. Manny is not happening. Its disappointing because he is certainly affordable on a two year deal, because he would likely pay for himself, but the front office has been adamant about the budget. Met fans need to move on quickly and accept the team we have.
The reality is, it will not come to a complete close until the day Manny actually signs a contract.
IMO, cause 99% of you know it alls will kill me but….
“Keep hope alive”
NOOOOOO… Game over man! Game over!
Manny to the Mets was never even close to being a reality… why can’t we move on? :(
well, guys, let’s get our gear on and go to battle with the team.. make sure we all know CPR…
Hahaha. Thanks for the laugh.
Bottom line is, until Manny officially signs with another team, everyyone on this board will have Manny on the mind. Omar did an okay job closing the door yesterday but he still left it open a bit. Does that mean I think they’ll go after Manny? Prolly not. I believe that this is our team unless some sort of miracle happens. But hey, you never know, right?
well, 145 millions in this payroll.. i guess we added 2 millions to the payroll compare’s to last year… so, i guess we’re not cheap, just unfortunate to have the money not so well invested..
the manny money is invested in Santana. So unless you were complaining about the Mets signing him last year (becasue it would eat up the 2009 payroll budget), you can’t really complain now.
Or give back K rod and Putz, and replace them with Stokes and Parnell I guess. tuff like that.
the Mets don’t really have money tied up in bad contracts (Cstillo is bad, but really for the years, the annual salary isn’t terrrible). Not guys like Guillen or Zito. And I know you wil throw out COra, but even if they had him for 1/2 the price, it wouldn’t make a real difference toward getting a contract like Manny.
Just the price you pay for having a core of stars that get paid the big money. Just means that corners have to be cut elsewhere.
how u mention core starts?? reyes and wright combine make 15 millions!! santana 21 and beltran 17 millions..that’s 53 millions.. that’s 53 millions in our “CORE” guys.. please gimme a break..
Thats basically A-Rod and Jeter put together lol
So go with rookies at 2-3 positions and save some payroll.
oh ok.. nice comeback stick..
Just trying to figure out what you want to see Alex (other than Manny, of course).
Youth and athleticism? Old veterans that get paid huge money?
I’m just guessing that if the Mets went with more young guys and they missed the playoffs you would roast Omar for nt having vets at every position, and they cost more money.
And I really don’t think you are a big proponent of rebuilding!
i am sitck, but by rebuilding what u mean? and having young guys what u mean? tatis is like 34 and he was out of baseball for 2 years, murphy we don’t know yet, other than that we got our core guys in place, but vets all over the place? i never preach that once, but if we’re getting someone old, make sure is good, not the likes of alou and el duqques of the world who can only play 50 games and start none a year.. please..
Is that Rally still going to happen?
Matt if you hear anything can you please try to post it today. some of us are coming from far away. (Philly)
By the way the philly fans are breathing a sigh of relief about the mets not going after manny, they were getting tense for a little while, it was nice to see the fear in them for a little while
oh yeah??
well, now i can go to work since the mets put some fear in the heart of the phillies, unfortunetely is february..
Yes. The rally is still on.
The most laughable moment of the interview was Omar’s comment that Schneider brings power to the team. Yes, him and his lifetime .376 slugging percentage.
I mean, yeah, he’s Barry Bonds compared to Castillo, but who are you trying to kid Omar?
“Bottom line is, until Manny officially signs with another team, the mannyacs(c) will have Manny on the mind.”
I corrected it for you.
Only the delusional still feel Manny is a possibility.
Lots of us knew from the start of the winter that the chance of Manny coming to the Mets was longer than a long shot.
after having a roster full of guys who CAN’T hit in the clutch manny would’ve been the perfect addition, but our GM created a team that left so many holes we couldn’t do anything but sign ALEX CORA and C. SULLIVAN to the team offensively.. yeah, good luck with that..
The Mets have players who have already proven they can hit in the clutch. The “choke” thing is way overblown. If the pen hadn’t blown so many leads there wouldn’t have been that issue.
And Manny is no guarantee, with an expected decline with the bat. His defense is already a liability that would cost the Mets runs and that will only get worse too.
As for Cora, he’s a great backup infielder defensively. Even if he’s overpaid, he will be an as-set to the team. I’m glad they didn’t compromise the defense this year by getting Manny.
Thank you VC. Although I doubt you will convince Alex that players actually fluctuate year to year in “clutch” situations (based on numbers like late/close, RISP, etc.).
And that Met players, including DW, have had excellent #s in past years (and for their careers) in those situtions.
Or that just because a player did X in 2008 does not mean that he will do X again in 2009.
Nope, everyone on the roster is a choker, they always choke, and are predetermined to choke in 2009 too.
You know nothing.
.216 BA w/ Bases loaded (29th in MLB)
.246 BA after the 7th inning (23rd in MLB)
.253 BA with RISP (24th in MLB)
.223 BA with RISP & 2 outs (25th in MLB)
.258 BA with bases empty (22nd in MLB)
SO ALL OFTHAT EQUALS????
I was responding to VCarver.
This offense is awful.
i know i wanted you to fininsh the sentence.. lol..
Lol @ drawing conclusions from one stat, let alone the stat BA…
Allow me to make sweeping generalizations from a single stat.
One team in the NL scored more runs than the Mets last year, so our offense is awesome.
Late and close in 2008 the Mets hit: .265 .351 .375
Overall the Mets hit: .266 .340 .420
What a surprise that the Mets hit about the same in these “clutch” situations as they did overall — the situations described by too many people on this board as the Mets inability to score runs after the fifth inning.
ralf, you looked at one year … and the year that was impacted IMO by the lousy bullpen. This crap of a bullpen put added pressure on the offense that other teams did NOT have to deal with.
If you look at previous years, the team has good situational numbers.
The pen has actually been really bad in September for two years running.
The offense is AWFUL??
Wow, you move to the head of the ever-growing cla*s of completely unreasonable, illogical, spoiled-rotten-Yankee-type fans on here.
F mart shouldn’t see the big club this year (other than a Sept. call up) unless there is an injury (the way Gomez arrived in 2007), or if someone else (Murphy or Church) is just doing absolutely terrible. or of course, if there is a trade.
So, in any scenerio, thee will be a spot on the field for him! I just don’t see him forcing his way onto the team based on his perfromance. And if he does even make the case, a good problem for the Mets to have.
You would think Omar would pressure the Wilpons to get Manny. Because if the Mets do the old choke job again this year Omar could be out the door.
If the mets do the old choke job again Minaya will get another extension….please
3 more years this team though..
what’s the precedent for late season collapses? has a team ever had three in a row before? if so was their gm booted?
well, i guess we’ll see this year..
Maybe that’s precisely why he didn’t go after Manny.
Omar’s rep has taken a big hit with his past acquisitions of a lot of older players who declined or got hurt. If he paid manny big bucks only to see that happen with him this year, his job security would be seriously compromised.
And since he had a budget, signing manny would have meant skimping on the pen or rotation. Not a prescription for winning anything.
LMAO!!
vcarver, u must be nuts, manny is 36, he went after lowe who’s also 36.. please, is better off if u say is about the money but not about age.. manny 3 years here is better than what we’ll have in LF in the next 3 years..
alex, look at all the projections. They all say Manny is most likely to decline this year. PECOTA has him down for a big decline so that he’s not much more of an improvement over someone like Dunn.
As for Manny’s glove, it’s already been like crap for years and costs his teams runs.. Expect a further decline in his fielding as well.
Sure Omar went after Lowe, but if you paid attention, Ollie was always his first choice. It is apparent most of his staff wanted Lowe, while Omar preferred Ollie.
I think Omar learned the hard way the pitfall of having too many older players on the team.
They all say Manny is most likely to decline this year. PECOTA has him down for a big decline so that he’s not much more of an improvement over someone like Dunn.
check delgado’s, schneider’s, castillo’s, tatis, church and murphy, get back at me then..
“check delgado’s, schneider’s, castillo’s, tatis, church and murphy, get back at me then.”
None of them are projected to have as big a decline with the bat as Manny. None of them have cost their teams as many runs in the field in recent years. And none of them will cost over $20 million a year.
vcarver,
i am amazed u get infatutaed by what a comp says about a player, is projections, ask anybody in here who they rather have delgado and tatis or manny.. i’m sure the comp couldn’t have projected rollins to have like 30+ hr’s in 2007.. please leave comp out of baseball, u play in the field..
What is a “comp?”
If you mean a stat/projection, I am not infatuated by it.
And of course you play in the fieldl. But it’s precisely because a GM doesn’t pay attention to projections — or common sense — that he gets stuck with underperforming contracts for guys like El Duque, Alou and Pedro who can’t play in the field.
And just because a majority of fans want something doesn’t make it right. A majority of fans wanted Mota and El Duque and Alou.
A majority of fans wanted Mota and El Duque and Alou”
ARE YOU SERIOUS???
which fans??? alou maybe, but mota and el duque???
wow..
alex, stop the revisionist history.
A majority of fans here agreed with Omar bringing back both el duque and Mota.
A majority of fans aren’t necessarily right. They won’t be either when it comes to Manny. He will fall off with the bat, still have a crappy glove, and will likely misbehave again.
And what the heck is a “comp?”
comp= COMPUTER..
VCarver, you’re so silly with your computer and numbers and logic. Don’t you know great GMs sign players based on what they see? You can’t measure grit and heart with your silly projections. Go back to watching StarTrek in your mom’s basement.
/sarcasm
VCarver > alex
/truth
MetsLv31 … LOL, I am so glad you put the “sarcasm” in your post or I would have taken you seriously and fired back. My sarcasm meter has been sorely taxed the last month by the war of the mannyacs.
I think a good GM needs BOTH stats and instinct/feel to put together a good team. He has to strike a balance. But you never ignore stats. And I bet Omar has started to pay attention to them more.
I’m guessing — and admittedly it”s a pure guess — that Manny’s age and poor defensive stats are a big reason Omar didn’t purse Manny this winter.
agreed its a huge risk on a 3-4 yr deal, but if you could scoop him up for 2 yrs. the mets really should have entertained the idea, atleast do a cost benefit analysis
Look this team had way to many holes that it would have been unrealistic to expect them to cover all of them. Omar tackled the biggest one. Now lets see what happens this time around where the bullpen can actually (on paper) hold a lead.
Just to be devils advocate, but the GM did his job if the team has the talent to be in 1st place late in September every year. Should he really be fired becasue the team ‘choked”?
yes, becoz he’s the architec.. or what, should he fired manuel too??
Maybe Omar doesn’t have the “full atonomy” hes always bragged about
Technically, the average age of starters with Garcia #5 is 28…
with Niese #5 it is 26
and with Redding #5 it is 27, as Omar says…
Does this mean Redding is our leading candidate right now, or that Omar went with the overall average ;)
I still won’t be surprised to see Omar swing a deal that reshapes the team. And of course he is going to say that he is satisfied with the team as it. Would be dumb not to.
Besides, it really is a pretty go team. No, not perfect, and yes, thee are some questions marks. Same as with every other team, including the Yankees.
Omar plugged holes that needed to get plugged. And if other positions aren’t performing up to expectations, he will make adjustments along the way.
Just because they go into ST with Schneider, Murphy and Castillo starting doesn’t mean they start the season with those 3. And if they do, any of thos spots could be different a couple of months into the season.
If nothing else, this could be an active trade year, and it could easily start well before the trade deadline, with teams looking to shed payroll.
As I asked last night….
What does:
[A] (i) max proceeds of a sell out (including suites) at Citi Field against the Yankees in 2009 divided by (ii) max proceeds of a sell out (including suites) at Shea against the Yankees in 2008)
multiplied by
[B] 143 million (which is the 2008 payroll).
Whatever that number is should be our payroll in 2009.
I betcha its greater than 143-145 million (based on my increased ticket cost)!
those 2 millions are exactly ALEX CORA’S contract.. right now he’s the different in this year’s payroll..
Or Redding. Or Mack, Sullivan and Reed. Just saving you time Alex.
no, CORA’s is the difference this year becoz of his “LEADERSHIP”..
Alex…not to be a wise as_s, as i have been enjoying your posts the entire off season plus, and even agree with you most of the time. It’s just that your killing me with one constant in your posts, and I’ve just reached my boiling point.
……The plural of million is…million.
There, I’ve finally got that off my chest.
By the way….don’t mind me, I’m just another disgruntled Manniac. I think all hope is lost at this point. What a shame for the miniscule sum he is going to command.
lmao.. sorry man, i’m dominican so we always use s in our plural.. lol.. thanks.. see..
Guys, it’s clear to me that Omar has made a committment to Daniel Murphy. Now of course that worries me as a fan a little but if you step back a little it is nice to see our GM actually value youth and make a committment to their development.
By using the word “commitment” you make it sound like he has a choice, which I don’t think he does.
I think he does. I think we have the money to bring in Dunn, Abreu, Wiggy (before he signed) or even the talent to make a trade. I just think since the end of the offseason he has been clear that he wants to get Murphy playing time.
Wiggy, for the price he went for, is the one they should have snapped up. Wouldn’t have even bent the budget.
Gabe Kaplar would have been an interesting addition too.
speed wins championship… reed and sullivan will provide that..
I agree. I think he would have been a great addition. A right handed bat that can play multiple positions (inf. and of)………It seems as if he would have rather signed to be an every day guy on a crappy team. And he will play everyday in Bmore with that god awful team. It probably isn’t even the money with him…..knowing what type of player he is. Our loss.
Also depends on how far it goes. If he flames out, someone else (who may not be on the roster at this time) will get PT in LF instead.
Heck, last year at this time, Alou was the starting LF, and we know how that went.
well, after our genious GM sign alou right away, he then slap all of us in the face by giving castillo a 4 year contract withouth even waiting for the medical reports.. great..
I know most of you are Daniel Murphy lovers, but the haters will be converts soon — even those that like him but are unsure will soon be converts. Forget the stats, the swing and discipline at that age shocked everyone, and he seems like the type of player to learn every year. I am extremely excited to watch this kid grow and only wonder where he will play every day (OF, 1B, 2B)… The plan seems to be F-Mart in LF and Murphy at 1b I guess, eventually.
I totally agree…and how cool would it be if we have Murphy, Jose, Wright, Pelf, and FMart as home-grown stars in a couple of years….I love seeing the home-grown guys succeed…I agree with those who think it is especially rewarding.
I still don’t understand why Minaya would not look into bringing Dunn in for a 1 year contract. Don’t get me wrong – I’m no Dunn fan and I can already see myself screaming at the TV when Dunn strikes out with the bases loaded; but, if we can bring him in on a 1 year contract for 6-8 million, why wouldn’t we? Despite his strikeouts and vulnerability to lefties, this is a guy who can give you 40 HRs and get on base 40% of the time. Also he is a big power threat and having him down the order will make opposing pitchers give our primary guys better pitches to hit. He may not be Manny, but for a cheap 1-yr contract he looks better than a Tatis/Murphy LF.
See my previous post. I think he is making a committment to Murphy. Like it or not it is a nice change. It may blow up in his face and I would love to have Dunn or Abreu but if Murphy turns out to be league average this season then I will be glad he gave him the shot.
TRS, don’t forget that a LF is probably the easiest place ont he field to find a guy on short notice. It would be a lot riskier taking a flyer on a rookie (yeah, I know about the 1 extra AB!) for SS, C, etc.
Tatis and Murphy weren’t on the ST radar. nor was Evans.
SO if they don’t work out, Omar will find someone to play the spot. maybe Sullivan, maybe someone raking in AAA, or a trade.
But it won’t be that hard to find a guy to plug into LF if they need one.
maybe even F mart? Man, i hope he puts up the numbers this year to eve make it a valid arguement! Although I think he should get a full year in the minors, if he can help, give him a taste.
i think fmart’s chances this year are better than they have ever been to at least be a sept callup…i think it all depends on where the team is at injury wise/standings wise.
I dont think the Wilpons are looking to spend another penny. I think they really didnt wanna spend any money to get another starter but had no choice and had to sign Ollie even though they didnt want to
Who WANTS to spend more money?
Who wants to WIN? If they don’t want to WIN or spend money, let me know so I can stop spending money on their product.
hey cuban long time
let me ask you this..if a team has no money to spend..do they not want to win?
When Omar talked about acquiering a right handed bat ; was it to a minor league contract
or in a trade?
Who does he have in mind? Jay Payton/Rich Aurillia or go out and get Dye (if sox get Abreu)
i hope is someone good for a change, he’s added nothing but scrapped heap players trying to get some glory..
You will find out when he arrives! I smell a trade, though it cold also be another reclaimation project (like Tatis)
are you praying it works like tatis? that sounds better.
If we don’t have the money for Abreu or Dunn then how would we have the money for Dye. I am sure that Omar will try and pick up a hitter at the deadline if needed.
When Omar said minor league deals, I immediately thought Moises Alou.
lmao.. oh god no..
Maybe being a bench guy/pinch hitter would allow him to stay healthy for 60 straight days? If so, man, what a pinch hitter he would be….for those who feel we have too many lefty bats, Alou coming in to pinch hit for Schneider late in the game might be the perfect cure.
well, i would as long as we have a designater runner for him right off the bat, so all he has to do is hit and go to the bench.. then yes..
Maybe we could petition MLB to have someone stand next to the batter’s box, and when Alou hits the ball, the runner can take off for him, as if he was trying to score on a sac fly…..
Lol, i like that idea.
Perhaps the AL is toying with that idea as we type. :)
I agree, i wouldnt mind seeing ALou pinch hit. I’d rather have him pinch hit than Castro, Marlon, etc…
I’d rather have Al Leiter pinch hit than Marlon Anderson.
Murphys numbers this year. .334 22 HRs 106 RBI
in MLB2K9??
you’ll see
If he starts, I see him hitting .315 15 HR’s and 80 RBI’s…
those numbers ur talking bout…I think could come in year 3…if he continues to develop as we hope…
Love the optimism….and Murphy showed better patience and plate discipline than just about any first year player I can remember. In addition, his minor league stats were very good, and improved across the board from A to AA ball…power, good OBP, not a lot of Ks….this guy can be really good.
Now that is optimism.
If he goes to AAA to play every day and learn a positon, he could easily approach that.
If he plays everyday for the Mets, he would need to hit 3rd to 5th to come close to that many RBI opportunities.
I’m not going to predict Murphy’s actual numbers.
But I will say that the difference between Manny and Tatis-Murphy will be anywhere from -15 to +15 runs at best when defense is counted in.
That is not enough of an edge to give Manny a contract.
Why are you so pessimistic? I see .370BA, .500OBP, 55HRS and 192RBI’s (look out Hack Wilson). :)
MEXICALI, Mexico — Dominican Republic outfielder Fernando Martinez wants to be a star in New York. Being a hero at the 2009 Caribbean Series in Mexico will suffice for now.
The top prospect in the Mets organization hit a two-run homer in the top of the seventh inning to push the Tigres de Licey past Puerto Rico’s Leones de Ponce, 2-1, in Tuesday’s matinee at Estadio Casas GEO.
There is no doubt in anyones mind that the kid has great talent. He just has to stay healthy.
young players go trough that, see jose reyes..
Hey guys…quick question cuz its been a long time…how long does this moderation stuff take? All my comments are awaiting moderation.
they never get posted
ANY word with the letters a-s-s, or m-a-n-a-g-e-m-e-n-t, and I think even n-o-s-t, ALL cause the comment to not get posted, in addition to profanity….silly, yes, but it has to do with banned posters as well as a selective filter…..hope that helps…just post hyphens or something in the middle and they get through….
Perhaps they should do the same with any post that has Manny in it. :)
Foolishly, I’m gonna still hold out hope for Manny, until he is off the market. BUT…I think I’m OK with this team if we add a RH bat. Even if it’s a trade for a guy like Benji Molina.
I think a lineup like this could work:
Reyes
Church
Beltran
Wright
Delgado
Molina
Murphy/Tatis
Castillo
Molina makes a lot of money. Only way that happens is if the Giants eat some of his contract or take on Castillo. For that amount of money we could have Adam Dunn or Orlando Hudson.
Molina is due $6M in 2009. Schneider will make $4.9M.
Move Schneider’s contract and bring in Molina’s for an additional $1.1M.
I thought it was one the more discouraging interviews I have ever heard.
Boomer and Carton really did not challenge Omar, especially on Castillo, who was supposed to have played in the DR winter league, and instead is hanging around the Mets DR complex, probably using the same bike Alou used last season.
Very discouraging. I can almost understand not signing Manny, but 2B is going to a huge black hole this season, mark my words. There are still quality 2B out there. Cora is not the answer. They need to get someone who can actually threaten to steal Castillo’s spot. I don’t buy for one second that (1) Castillo is healthy, and (2) that he even cares, if that was the case, he would not have reneged playing winter ball.
3 points:
1) LMAO to your name…
2) definetely agree wit your points
3) Cora’s cousin is in the blog RIGHT now, so..
Cora would be a good fit, if you already have a dependable 2B in place, that way Cora can fill the role he was supposed to have been signed for… utility player.
I really don’t think people want Cora getting 400 ABs over a full season after Castillo proves he can’t (or won’t) get it done.
He’s more of an older version of Argenis Reyes, who just about no one here, or other forums, even liked.
The problem is that the Mets are stuck with Castillo. He would be worthless on the bench but yet they would not see enough of an improvment to justify paying him and Hudson for just Hudson’s stats. Thus for the time being we are stuck hoping that Castillo recovers enough to hit .280, .360. If he does that then things will be fine.
Alex, are you stalking me? Your comment is getting kind of old. Do you still see me comment how you are obviously 16 years old in every post now? Nope I have dropped it. Mostly because I don’t care and secondly because people already know how immature you are.
I won’t quibble with your 2 points (I have no idea what to expect out of Castillo come ST), and can easily see him dropping out of sight quickly this year.
But, who are these quality 2Bs that are still out there that you mention? I can’t think of any.
I really think they should have made a play for Grudzalaniek. He’s simply a good baseball player (which the mets need MORE of, IMO) who still plays a high quality 2B, even at his age.
If they want someone even more multi-purpose, Ray Durham is available as well.
They need someone who is capable of being a starting player, even if it is short term, as I do not feel Castillo can be relied upon.
I like the Durham idea and think he could still be added.
However, Eck signed to be a starter. That is why he took less money.
I’ve always liked Grudzalaniek. But is this the year when his age starts to show?
At this point I would take Alou to play LF for 60 games. Alou/Murphy platoon with Tatis off the bench. That is a better option.
And if Omar is that high on Murphy (as a lot of us are here), then Murphy should be the LF day-in-day out. None of this platoon nonsense, as doing this already weakens and very weak bench.
I’d like to see Tatis as the all-purpose righty stick off the bench. Besides 2B, the Mets bench is horrendous. Other than Tatis, there is no pop. Too many similar players (slap hitting, speedy types). Always can use one or two bats off the bench that can hit the long ball…
I’m thinking that the plan (hope?) is for Murphy to take the FT LF job and not have a strict platoon. He seemed to do fine against lefties last year. Tatis will likely get some starts against the tougher lefties though, and otherwise fill the role you describe.
not sure what to think of the rest of the bench though. Guess we should really wait until opening day to see who ends up being on it!
because a world series team like the RAYs have alot of pop on their team?
I actually think Omar will give Murphy the chance to win the position outright in ST and if not then he will ease him into the position sitting him against tough lefties only.
Hello all…good to be back…I needed a sabbatical from this team after the 2nd September collapse, but with pitchers and catchers around the corner and Omar’s interview I can no longer take it any longer…
HOW CAN THIS BE THE TEAM WE GO TO WAR WITH? The Phillies are reigning World Champions… sure we got a closer and got a better pen, but Tatis will not be nearly as good as last year. Delgado is doubtful to give you the same production. Castillo is a joke and we are leaving one of the best pure right-handed bats on the table without so much as an offer. As constructed this is an 85-win team. I’m sorry, but that is not good enough. This is the complacency of thinking that they will have a packed BailoutField for the whole year. What they need to realize is that this isn’t Pittsburgh where fans are just happy to have a new stadium…if the team s*cks, in NY, we’ll find better things to do. If this team is 10 games out in August, they will not be packing the house, regardless of how new the bathrooms are
Welcome back, but I don’t think you took quite long enough off! But at least you are in mid season form.
Someone has to be in mid-season form…I can guarantee you that I’m in better shape than Castillo right now…thats for sure.
Careful Cuban, you’ll be labeled a “whiner” and told to go root for another team, for simply stating your opinion about the flaws of the Mets.
hear hear.. i’m label that by the aliance..
Shhh the alliance is watching your every move.
How is this possible when it was all Willie’s fault and he’s been gone for ages??????
Willie was a big problem.
But … but, cuban said it was a championship team last year and only willie was holding it back. What happened?
Maybe if Willie was let go sooner, like he should have been, they could have been in the playoffs at the least. Who knows.
ok, you and cuban can believe what you want but IMO, last year proved it wasn’t willie –with the possible exception of Delgado but then that speaks poorly of him if he was not trying his hardest in the fist half.
VCarver, this team had and still has a lot of problems. Willie was one of them. They are much better off without him. The GM is a problem too. He’s the one that hired him in the first place … and botched the firing. He’s just average and that’s not good enough for NY.
The GM is a problem too. He’s the one that hired him in the first place … and botched the firing. He’s just average and that’s not good enough for NY.
Oh, the irony! This is exactly what I was telling you and Cuban last May-June when you kept saying Willie was the main problem. I thought Willie was a minor issue at worst.
It’s you guys who are changing your tune.
I have always held that the GM is mainly responsible for the outcome of a team. I have never waivered. I still feel this way.
I was never a huge Omar supporter … I’m glad that Willie is gone. That being said, a fish rots from the head.
Ownership is the biggest problem. I know you disagree so you don’t have to tell me.
mikey … I have also said often in the past that if the Wilpons are to blame, it’s for their own poor hiring decisions. Was a 3-year extension really warranted for Omar last year?
They don’t have a good record of hiring GMs. Duquette was a joke and so was Phillips.
But they aren’t cheap. Just poor executive recruiters.
So I half agree with you.
Yeah well I didn’t say they were cheap. They just almost never make the right decisions and they are not the best in making a good brand out of their product.
So maybe, we 100% agree. That would be something.
Well VCarver…you might have been right…I said get rid of Willie and see if the problems went away…then you look at Omar…well…the time is here…FIRE OMAR…you kno wha I’m sayin’?
And since you brought him up, why is there a Willie Randolph tag on this post. He was mentioned for 2 seconds on the interview only in reference to the Torre book. I’ve moved on…can the rest of us?
I’ve moved on from Willie, but I can’t forget how you literally spammed the board last year with “fire willie” posts, so when I see your name, it just pops into my head.
And I actually think Omar did a good job this winter, with the possible exception of the bench. But that is enough to overcome the great job he did fixing the pen.
I think Omar did an OK job. Not bad, not great. Just OK.
If they avoid major injuries and go deep into the postseason, will he have done a “good” enough job?
Yes but a lot of things have to go right. It’s a huge gamble.
NY Cuban, I agree with you but tell that to NYMETSFAN718. Especially how the team right now is a 85-win team.
I just dont see how this team is an 85 win team. They won 89 games last year and ALOT and i mean ALOT of things went wrong. They did not get any worse, in fact they improved their team.
you cant justify the idea of an 85 win team.
we are a better team then we were last year. period!
our outfield is going to have really good depth after Beltran with Church, Murphy, Tatis, Pagan, etc. && not to mention Fmart if a serious injury occurs. Like Omar said he likes to bring up some young players, and we rushed Gomez so don’t be surprised with this team.
we have a consistent little spunky player that can back up Castillo if he flaunders which i doubt he will, in Cora.
Delgado is healthy. Wright, you would think learned alot from last season && youd hope he performs better with RISP. Reyes was very consistent after a shaky first 2 months && youd hope it continues.
Schneider? Castro? very weak but then again how many teams can say that…. look at the red sox with Vtech…
The Starting Rotation while not great, very very solid. Not to mention for the first time in a while… we have a very DEEP rotation.
Santana
Pelfrey
Ollie
Maine
Redding
Garcia
Niese
Parnell
Armas
etc
solid depth
Bullpen? Greene is a workhorse && we’ll like him alot, Putz is a machine when healthy && Krod is a solid closer. Sanchez && Feliciano roles now become depreciated to the point where youd think they’re talents are better suited. Not to mention the depth with a hard throwing Stokes && a pontentially very good Middle Reliever in Parnell. Kunz could get another shot. && if Redding doesnt make the staff, he’ll be an extremely good long reliever.
we have a solid team folks. Believe.
You MAY be right, but the good thing about baseball is you MAY be very wrong. There is just as good of a posiblity that Tatis has found himself again, Delgado hits his career average and Castillo rebounds. I know it’s hard for you to see but those are just as likely as your suggestions.
Hey cuban welcome back…
I have to disagree with you. Just as you point out the flaws of the mets, one can easily point out the flaws of the phillies or braves or any team in the mlb. The fact is the phillies remained virtually the same as it did last year. We have improved however in the department that made the difference in a playoff berth for the last two seasons..the bullpen. The phillies need to depend on a perfect season again by lidge and the same “clutch” contributions from sh**erino,werth and dobbs. Everybody was playing above level for the phills last year and they got the job done(similar to us in 06 but dont need to revisist that). I dont get into the business of guessing how many games we will win because there are way to many factors that play into that but i just dont see why everyone is soo pessemistic about our chances this year…nobody really upgraded totally in our division but us and our bullpen….
This team, to me, is an 85-90 win team, IF things break the right way (meaning no injuries to the pitching staff, and some of the other issues work out fine).
So you think that with the same lineup/rotation as last year, + a much improved bullpen, this team is the same or worse?
Do you realize how much went WRONG last year?
Omar has always done a great job at the obvious. The pen should be fine now, but it isn’t as easy as people want to make it out to be. Since 2006, Omar has done a terrible job of rounding this team out. Something is ALWAYS lacking.
2B is a joke. The LF platoon is an unknown right now, and the bench is mediocre, at best.
Good to hear. I’d prefer one more SP and/or Abreu, but oh well.
I wonder if Omar’s waiting to see how Pedro does in the WBC before he offers him a deal.
Is Freddy Garcia pitching before ST?
Not to mention Church. Concussion are no joke, but people act as if he got a boo boo on his head, and he is guaranteed to be good to go for 2009…
if Church is working at full capacity which they say he is, he will be fine.
concussions are serious but if your able to put in 100% to workouts && drills without holding back due to dizzyness or strain, you will be able to perform.
Church is NOT our biggest worry. The guy will play hard && perform.
My argument isn’t whether Church will play hard… it is whether he will be ABLE to play hard.
Can’t trust anything the Mets say after they bungled Church’s first concussion.
agreed
concussion heal with rest not rehab.
the offseason will do wonders for him. i believe that
Since some people here seem good at predicting Manny’s future I was hoping they could give me this week’s winning Lotto #’s.
=)
Seriously…wow
At this point I would rather have an Alou/murphy platoon with Tatis off the bench… pretty sad this is my teams aspiration if I truely want to be a contender.
The bottom of our lineup are three sure outs. Our bench is poor at best and we still have no one who hits with risp when the game is on the line. Didn’t the Mets lead baseball in 1st inning runs? Too many things have to fall right. Tatis and Murph must be the players they were last year. Which Delgado shows up, along with Church’s health questions. Castillo and Schnider have to be better at the plate. Do I need to keep going?
Murph can hit. period Tatis has power && theyll offset each other well enough to be average LF production.
Delgado can rake && hes healthy. He’ll be what he was end of last year.
Castillo will be better, great? hell no. But he’ll get on base && hit at a 280 clip
bench is more consistent in terms of health.
cather is a problem && a big one at that but how many teams have that! Phillies won with coste && ruiz…..red sox last year with Vtech… etc
Pitching all around is solid && deep. Not great, but very solid.
They should sign Ken G Jr. at the league minimum…he has a serious chip on his shoulder and is a low risk/high reward type of guy.
Murphy will still get his at bats as Jr. isn’t gonna give us 160 games in LF anyway.
i have come to the conclusion that this board is very divided between optimists and pessimists.
but im sure when april 13th comes we will be reunited once again in our fight against the world. =)
so only another 2 months and 9 days of sibling bickerings to go!
Those are Mets fans for ya..
No, there are also “realists”.
That after two seasons that ended with big time choke jobs, and the roster pretty much is the same?
What HAS been consistent with the organization is that accountability is apparently not in their overall modus operandi.
It is difficult to be enthusiastic. Good team? Sure. Great team? Nope, not even close.
no team is really great. we, like many other teams are satisifed with putting out a decent squad and hoping for the best.
youknowhatimsayin: I’m with you 100%.
The notion that two bullpen guys are going to lead the Mets to the WS ignores what I saw on the field the last two Septembers.
This team has chronic failures way beyond bullpen. We were the laughingstock of the NL East two years in a row, but JJ Putz is the answer. “OK”.
Omar has given this entire team some pretty decent depth all around. With the exception of the catcher position we are a very good team. Great? no
what the rays proved last year is if your solid consistent && healthy (alot of depth) you’ll win.
Again I will state, you do realize the pen blew 29 saves last yr right? Thats 29! We got the two best closers in the league added to that sorry excuse for a lineup. If we had a mediocre pen, we win the league by atleast 5 games. Though the offense disappeared in clutch situations, what do you wanna do? Trade the culprits, Reyes, Wright, and Beltran. And please dont say Manny because that wasnt a reaslistic option. I wanted on the team but this aint fantasy and there were more important holes to fill.
i really don’t see how the bullpen being catastrophically bad last season is any reason to not upgrade the offense in the off season.
It’s a matter of priorities and budget. Omar has a budget. He maxed it out addressing the priorities. He didn’t feel offense was a real priority and I agree with him. It doesn’t mean it couldn’t stand to be improved. There is not a single offense in baseball that is perfect. Not one.
QnsNative1718
thank you
UMM.. ? i said we HAVE a good team, not a bad one
am i missing something loll
I said with all the depth we have we are very similar to Rays of last year
My bad, that was actually to “you know…”
this whole manny ramirez saga has taught me that teams aren’t as concerned with winning as i thought they were. the yankees are the only team willing in this economy to purchase a 20+ million dollar a season type of player.
they have the same payroll as last year.
they had the flexibitly to make those signings with alot of money coming off the books.
they dont want to win anymore then most teams. however they all have to work among their means.
yeah but u cant tell me teams like the mets, dodgers, angels and some others can’t afford to do more than the little amount they have done this offseason.
new stadium is expensive
higher prices, less seats
economy is crap, less merchandise sales
this is pure speculation but we can’t keep saying that they have infinite resources when its obvious we don’t
we have limits man =( as much as i hate to admit it as a fan, we do…
Hey Derx,
Your right we differ on how to get their but all wanna get to same place. =)
W.S.
NY Mets – BRING IT IN 09!!!!
You know it’s gonna be another roller coaster of a year.
at least the bullpen is solid. in this age of parity, a solid bullpen could really be the difference between a non playoff team and a championship team.
Thats baseball, Jersey.
MLBTR says we are trying to show Ramon Castro…I guess they like Cancel that much more.
I meant “move” Castro in the last post.
Just saw on MLBTR a post referencing that the Mets are looking to move (shopping?) Castro. Reasoning (and TRS will love this!) is to free up money for other moves, and becasue Robinson Cancel can give comparable production for close to minimum wage.
How did you know Stickguy? I love the idea and then you bring in Pudge for 1 million. Thus you get better production, more games and less money.
How much does Castro make that they can clear salary with? Just curious as I don’t know.
2.5 mil
Thanks. So what would they use that 2.5 towards? I want to hear some speculation. =)
Believe it or not you could most likely get Gr if fey and Pudge for that.
oh god, we need to shop our backup catcher to make 2.5 million so we can buy a mediocre righty bat or lefty reliever. and we thought they had 25 mil to spend on manny. lol.
I really think it’s to bring in Pudge or to spend else where. The problem with Castro is that he is never healthy to be relied upon. And for those that think he is a good bat off the bench, he’s had 12 PH AB’s in the last 3 years.
I guess with you it’s damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
i want nothing to do with pudge rodriguez. manny ramirez is unnessecary, but a player far past his steroid enhanced prime is going to take us to the series?
Check out his numbers last year. They are actually above league average for a Catcher. He even still has some speed. He will at least bring what Castro does at half the price or less.
Don’t say “we” like we’re all delusional like you…
We, the Mets, need to shop Castro because he is not worth what he is being paid and Pudge would be a better alternative.
we have a solid team && while of coarse more is alwasy desirable, i am happy with this as the final product.
&& btw
the NL EAST this year should be sick.
Phillies have one less streaky player && brought on a consistent RBI threat in IBANEZ
Braves filled out their rotation with steady guys while maintaining their offense which was really good last year
Marlins cut back on offense this offseason but improved their defense && their pitching has the potential to be ridiculous
Nationals are somewhat better then last year with all their young players progressing however still no pitching.
Mets improved their bullpen by alot. The offense is the same but much more healthy && they have a good looking hitter in Murph && a power threat in Tatis which should both equal avergae LF numbers. Catcher is shotty but we’ll manage. Rotation is solid with great depth && less injury risks. Bench is much more consistent now in terms of health && we actually have a decent fill in for castillo if he underperforms.
NL east is gonna be awesome
I saw a picture of Bernie Madoff wearing a Phillies cap.
25 MAN ROSTER:?
1JOHAN
2 PELFREY
3 O PEREZ
4 MAINE
5 GARCIA
6 REDDING (Long Man)
7 K-ROD
8 JJ PUTZ
9 SEAN GREEN
10 P FELICIANO
11 DUANER SANCHEZ
12 STOKES
13 SCHNEIDER
14 CASTRO
15 REYES
16 WRIGHT
17 BELTRAN
18 DELGADO
19 CASTILLO
20 CHURCH
21 MURPHY
22 TATIS
23 CORA
24 PAGAN
25 M ANDERSON
Omissions?
SULLIVAN
REED
MACKOWIAK
CANCEL
PARNELL
NIESE
Who am I missing?
There you have your 3rd place team.
Mets offense is the same as the past two years. Can’t get a clutch hit. If 2 collapses doesn’t prove this to the front office, I don’t know what will.