Daily Archives: October 18, 2009
In a post to his blog for Newsday, Ken Davidoff says that Matt Holliday‘s first choice is to sign with the Yankees, then the Mets.
Davidoff doesn’t believe the Yankees will be willing to take on another long-term commitment, such as Holliday, while his primary reservation about signing with the Mets are the dimensions of Citi Field.
…with Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon both coming off the books, i’m not going to believe the Yankees aren’t in on the holliday until he signs somewhere else, considering how they played their hand in the Mark Teixeira game last winter… and considering that Scott Boras is his agent, and both New York teams being big spenders, this could also be a ploy to drive holliday’s price tag up…
For more on Holliday, as well as Rudy Jaramillo, check out Davidoff’s post, here.
Adam Rubin, in a post to his blog for the Daily News, says that Tony Bernazard is close to signing with super-agent Scott Boras’ agency.
Rubin cites a report from Bill Madden, and Madden says that Bernazard’s rapport with Latin players would be an asset to Boras.
Tagged News |
Joe Janish, in a post to Mets Today, wonders whether or not the Mets should exercise the $8.6 million option for J.J. Putz.
Janish points out that the Mets ignored the elbow problem that kept him out of action for a month in 2008, and that Jerry Manuel rode him hard early on.
…i think that Putz‘ option is steep, but thats not to say that the Mets shouldn’t consider bringing him back…his health will be a question mark early on, but i am confident that he will be healthy next year…
…if they let him walk, then he will want to close somewhere else so if the Mets wish to retain him, they will have to pick up his option…then again, i don’t believe the Mets should handcuff Putz into being a setup guy if he isn’t happy doing that because that will eventually effect his performance and the team dynamic in one way or another…
Janish also reminds fans that they never saw Putz at his best, and if they do let him go, the Mets will need to find a new setup man for the eighth inning.
…i think this is the key reason why they should exercise the option, but as i said, only if he is happy in that role…
For more on this, check out Janish’s post.
Adam Rubin, in a post to his blog for the Daily News, says that former Nationals manager Manny Acta could return to the Mets as their third base coach.
Acta served as Willie Randolph third base coach in 2006, and is currently interviewing for a managerial job with the Houston Astros.
Joel Sherman, in today’s New York Post, believe that the Mets do not have the right plan in place to make the Mets a contender in 2010.
Sherman believes that even if the Mets add a hitter like Matt Holliday, their success next season depends on the performances of players already on the team.
…true…but if the Mets put their money in the right places, then their supporting cast can pick up the load if one or two players have disappointing seasons again, which is part of why the Mets couldn’t rebound from their injuries in 2009…
…i think a key to the success of this offseason is the mindset of management and ownership…if they can recognize that the Mets problems go beyond their injuries and that their team is no longer dynamic, then i believe they will bring in the right pieces and be successful once again…
In addition, while he believes the Mets might have the pieces to make a deal for Roy Halladay, he doesn’t believe that John Lackey is interested in playing in New York, as he says:
“[Lackey] is a Texan who longs to pitch for the Rangers.”
…i think that is a fair point, but one thing that we learned last off-season with Mark Teixeira is that money can change a free-agent’s opinion…the question is whether or not the Mets can offer enough to convince any player to come to a 90+ loss team, let alone New York…
Sherman recommends that the Mets shift gears and look at flyball pitchers who had disappointing seasons in the American League, such as Jeremy Guthrie, Gil Meche, or Ervin Santana.
…this is where i disagree…i am never in support of a team bargain hunting on high-upside talent, especially pitchers who have had arm trouble…Meche was shutdown with shoulder problems during the season, Santana is not even in the Angels postseason rotation, and Guthrie lost 17 games with a 5+ ERA which made him part of the problem in Baltimore…
…the goal for the Mets should be to acquire a pitcher, or players in general who play to Citi Field’s strengths, but lets not forget that a starter, if healthy, will make up to half of their starts on the road, and many of those starts will come in hitters parks…the fact of the matter is they need to acquire the best talent they can find to fill their holes and overpay if need be in order to bring in that talent, just like what they did after the 2004 season…
Tagged News |
