Comments on: Buzz: Mets and Phillies compete for Figgins

By: metskat

metskat — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:12:00 +0000

like sherman says, having Jose Reyes, figgins and Carlos Beltran at the top of the order would allow for a lot of creative baseball in Citi Field…

…and with a mind like jerry manuals’ (talk about creative NOT)…

By: Lorenzo23

Lorenzo23 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:37:10 +0000

Figgins extra base hit production would increase signficantly considering the outfield gaps at Citifield. He would hit both more doubles and triples – Something Luis Castillo doesn’t do nearly enough of! Not to mention Castillo is soooo shot he cant even steal bases anymore and isn’t a good number 2 hitter either.

Figgins would be a perfect addition to this lineup and would play perfectly to the Citifield dimensions. NOT even close to a lateral move. Have you even looked at their numbers?????

And who said we would have to eat any of Castillo’s contract? If the deal for Overbay went down we wouldnt have had to eat any of Castillo’s contract. Its not automatic that we would have to eat some of his contract.

And 10 million dollars a year for Figgins to keep him out of Philli is worth it to me. Good luck beating them next season if they get him. Their lineup would be soooo solid.

By: MetsFan06

MetsFan06 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:06:27 +0000

No thankyou. I’ll take Phillips any time

By: The Eephus

The Eephus — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:41:39 +0000

I will absolutely give you the more triples (especially to the 415 rcf spot) side of things. But in the end, we all need to realize that it is not of consequence. We need to go for good hitters period, namely power hitters, and stop trying to mold certain players into our Citi Field player ideal, because too much has been made of the stadium. Conversely, we should not be afraid to go for sluggers based upon “their numbers will decline in Citi Field.” Roger Cedeno’s speed certainly did not help him at Shea. The big plue building of symetry did not seem to affect Ventura or Piazza’s power numbers, nor did it kill the numbers of Bobby Bonilla or Eddie Murray in 92. Obviously, their are Mo Vaughn and Lance Johnson stories too, but if you like speed and defense (even though modern history suggests against it) over power, just say it rather than cloaking it with it suits Citi Field better, because I doubt it does.

By: Old Backstop

Old Backstop — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:18:21 +0000

Agreed (as mentioned above). But I do think Citi Field may increase the chances of a triple over a double, while also reducing the homerun to either a double, triple or flyout.

In the end though, the park is the same for both the Mets and their opponents, so it doesn’t really matter all that much.

Good hitters – PERIOD – on the Mets will have far more impact than hitters designed to excel in Citi Field, because very few guys would really benefit more from Citi Field than anywhere else as such that it would make a substantive difference. Meanwhile, good hitters will be good hitters, and especially on the road in neutral parks. Logic tells you that if a guy is suited to hit in Citi Field, then he’s going to diminish outside of it.

Chone’s line from last year:
.291, 30 2B, 7 3B, 5 HR, 42 SB

Translated for Citi Field:
.290, 25 2B, 10 3B, 3 HR, 42 SB

Any real difference? :)

By: The Eephus

The Eephus — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:41:49 +0000

Pouring money into Figgins takes away the budget elsewhere. Plus, as previously mentioned, he is not much better than Castillo, just another weak slap hitter and we already have Reyes for speed. On another note, to those who keep saying (whether it is regarding Holliday, Figgins, or others) that Citi Field will produce more doubles for a player, I ask-why???? As another poster mentioned, it ALEEGEDLY (and only in the minds of small ball fans who are allergic to power) takes away HRs… But unless I am crazy, does the field magically get wider between the foul lines in big ballparks? Do they increase the distance between 1b and 2b? Or, is “more doubles” really a translation for fewer HRs and more fly outs? Substitute “doubles hitter” for “warning track power” and I think the point is made. Doubles ballparks are a myth, geometry does not change with location.

By: Old Backstop

Old Backstop — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:45:03 +0000

I fail to see how Citi Field would increase Figgins number of doubles (unless you mean in that it will reduce his number of HR).

If anything, I see him losing a few HR and doubles that end up being triples, which is essentially a wash.

Yes, he has better speed that Castillo, but we already know that the worth of a stolen base isn’t all that great, and it’s not as if Castillo is a horrible base-runner.

Castillo’s also probably a similar defensive 2B since he’s a gold glover at the position and Chone historically has struggled when playing SS and 2B.

It’s a lateral move. Maybe a marginal improvement, but certainly not worth what it would cost for Chone + what we would have to eat of Castillo’s contract. If Chone was 9 million and we had to eat 3 mill per of Castillo’s contract to make room for Chone, is Chone really worth 12MM per year because he hits 10 more doubles and steals 10 more bases? Of course not.

By: Nicky Noodles

Nicky Noodles — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:16:26 +0000

The sad thing is that you’re probably right. And that line up isn’t even that far fetched. We could easily nabb Holliday, Figgens, Molina and Wolf this year.

But, b/c the Wilpons won’t pony up the $, we won’t. Holliday to a 6 yr contract. Molina two yrs. Wolf/Figs get 3 yrs.

Then put together a package deal for Halladay. Include Pelf and FMart if you have to but get it done.

By: 7train

7train — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:14:06 +0000

I ‘d rather Brandon Phillips. I want more power all around.

By: Hit The Weights Zeile

Hit The Weights Zeile — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:51:38 +0000

I dont think there is a Mets fan out there that doesnt love that lineup and of course add some SPs too. Unfortunately the Wilpons will not do that. Some people defend them for this, frankly I think its pretty pathetic. So don’t get your hopes up bc our 2010 lineup will probably look nothing like that and probably feature an aging injury prone Jermaine Dye.