Comments on: News: Mets Meet with Chapman

By: metsfan1

metsfan1 — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 02:24:08 +0000

Of course the Mets are not going to bid on this guy. I love how they say he could be a bust. As if half of the guys signed by Minaya haven’t been a bust. Hello, Ollie Perez anyone. Luis Castillo anyone. Moises Alou. What wins? Pitching. What do we need? Pitching. We don’t have to give up any picks. Be bold Mets. Go after this guy and Lackey. Then you really have some chips worth trading such as Pelfrey and Maine for bats. We keep hearing if we sign a type A free agent we give up picks and that is why our minors have been depleted. Guess what, it will only cost $$$ to get him. 100mph sounds good. And even if he turns out to be a decent pitcher, someone will take him in a trade in a year or two.

By: Sylow59

Sylow59 — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 21:22:36 +0000

Risky? He is HIGH RISK!!! His bb/9 is high and his k/9 is pedestrian given his level of competition. How many real scouts have seen him? How much is known about his competition. How much is known about injuries, mental makeup? How much real vetting has occured?

I know your frustration but this is not a $5M risk here. Look at how Castillo’s contract has handcuffed the Mets. $50+M is slot of money. That is two years of ARod, Santana, Manny, Tex, CC, or Puljols. Give me a break. Draft overslot big time and you are much better off. This type of money for a few good innings is insane

By: The Eephus

The Eephus — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:14:45 +0000

Have some fans lost their minds? This is a team with few high ceiling prospects. Here is a young, well built lefty who throws hard and has shown flashes of ability to get big leaguers out, and we call him a risk?????? Ok the price tag is hefty, but I guess in some troubled minds Jason Marquis and Randy Wolf are safer bets????? This kind of stupidity is what plagues the Met universe. Go with the known, albeit mediocre, entity rather than shoot for the moon on a high ceiling player. When was the last time the Mets sniffed the musk of a high ceiling player?

By: gomets019

gomets019 — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:13:24 +0000

….and as for the lack of track record everyone is using as an excuse, why doesn’t that ever stop us from signing people with bad track records, like Schneider, Perez and Redding, or guys you know are made of glass and can’t stay on the field like Alou and Floyd?

By: gomets019

gomets019 — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:03:06 +0000

Look, the Mets are a mess. An absolute mess. If Beltrans injury lingers into the next couple of seasons you are looking at the Nationals passing us. I guarantee it. Even our stars have question marks now with all the injuries. Yes its true if eveyone returns to perfect health and form we could compete with the addition of a Lackey and a bat, but will we be better than the braves, marlins, and phils even then? The AA and AAA teams suck too. Signing Chapman, the japanese lefty, and drafting the best pitcher with our early first round pick combined with Holt and Meija would go a long way towards re-establishing this franchise. Much was made of Omar rescuing this club from irrelevance but the Wilpons have allowed this to come full circle. I would rather pay top dollar to assemble an entire rotation of top young prospects than spend the money on lackluster free agents. Holliday and Lackey only look good cause we are desperate. Holliday for Beltran money would be laughable in any other year. Spend on the kids and cross your fingers that the injuries get better and we’ll have a decent club next year with a bright future. Maybe pick up a bargain type A or 2 (Abreu, Nady)that other teams stay away from because their draft pick isn’t protected and thats it. Holliday and Bay are not Manny or Pujols. Lackey is a better fit but for 5 years? The Mets have an opportunity here to stock the farm with 3 top pitching prospects in a single year without giving up players and with Davis, Havens, Fmart, Thole and Flores still developing we could leapfrog a lot of teams next year in minor league talent.

By: buenosdiazfive

buenosdiazfive — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:22:22 +0000

I think we are on the same page. Mentioning Dice-K’s contract was right….not mentioning his falling WAY short of the hype was my mistake. And he had a track record over in the Japanese league. Chapman has NADA!! Nothing but a few solid innings in the WBC….which is pretty much spring training for most of the MLB players there anyway!! He could have been in mid season form at that point against guys trying to adjust their swings and timing. PASS.

By: Mingo

Mingo — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:53:43 +0000

I think the Mets need to do something about their future pitching staffs.

By: thedude

thedude — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:00:52 +0000

I was originally on board with grabbing this guy, but that’s just an insane amount of money. The Mets might end up regretting it, but I think you have to pass on this guy.

First, who knows if he’s really 21. Given the history of Latin American players’ ages (especially from Cuba), if he’s really 24 or 25, is he that much of a hot shot prospect? I dont care how great his stuff is, but he’s really raw and a 25-year-old in AA isn’t some can’t-miss prospect.

He’s not nearly as seasoned as someone like Dice-K and he’s been a big-time disappointment for Red Sox fans. He had a great W-L last year, but that was a fluke. And the Sox repeatedly phantom DL’d him, Ollie-style, this year.

That money would be far better spent drafting over slot in each of the first 10 rounds of next year’s draft. If you drafted the BEST player regardless of signability in each round, you’re talking maybe an extra 15-20 million, probably closer to 10-15 million. I’d much rather do that, and get a boatload of prospects than take a 50 million dollar gamble on this guy.

By: buenosdiazfive

buenosdiazfive — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:37:21 +0000

he could be a $40 million bust. I really like this kid, and have said so, but they’re asking for more than triple what Strasburg got. And like others have said, at least we’ve been able to see Strasburg develop over the last few years. 3 weeks of WBC is not nearly enough time to justify $40-60 mil IMO.

His never heard of agent is looking to land the big one and jump into the big pool with the big boys…..and honestly, I don’t blame him bcuz I’d do the same. But for that much money, which is more or around how much Dice-K ended up for, we need more of a track record. I’d much rather go down to the Dom Rep, Venezuela, or somewhere else and spread that money out on 10 guys with upside, than one guy who frankly is a big question mark, as enticing as he may be.

Sure he hits upper 90′s. But how do we know how often he’s been injured? He could have had the best 3 weeks of his life during the WBC. I don’t trust the stats the Cuban league has given us through his agent and if you do, then I have a bridge in Manhattan I can sell you! I was pretty high on this guy, but there’s zero history and it’s like spending $100 in quarters trying to win one of those stuffed animals with a 3-pronged mechanical arm that is only strong enough to pick up a toothpick. Pass for that much…..half that and I’d reconsider. Plus it’s easy for us to get upset with the Wilpon’s cuz it isn’t OUR money. When do we talk with Kikuchi?

By: metskat

metskat — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 15:31:11 +0000

spend some money on someone with a track record…would rathrer gamble on sheets than this guy and it wouldnt cost as much…and why do i feel like if he goes to someone else he will be lights out and if he comes here he will suck…