According to 1050 ESPN Radio, Rich Coutinho reports the Mets are close to signing free-agent C Bengie Molina to a two-year deal.
Earlier today, WFAN’s Mike Francesa said Molina still wants a three-year contract, while the Mets had only offered a one-year deal, with a vesting option for 2011.
Last week, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com said there are indications Molina might be willing to accept a two-year contract.
…in the days following the Winter Meetings, word was molina was seeking a three-year, $20 million contract, which is laughable… but, that would suggest he’s asking for around $6.5 million per season… so, let’s assume the Mets and molina could meet in the middle, say, two years and $13 million… i still think that is way, way too much for a guy who is only marginally better at the plate than what they had last season, but who is significantly slower and 36 years old… yes, i know, i know, he works well with the pitching staff, and the Mets feel he and Henry Blanco can grab hold of Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez and John Maine, in a way that will be worth much of his salary… but, it’s just so difficult to see how one year from now, the Mets aren’t scrambling to try to unload a 37–year-old catcher making $6.5 million for 2011, you know what i mean…
Okay… Omar lives another day.
I can live with 2 years, I hate too,……but for the sake of getting it done so that Omar can shift his focus to pitching, I’ll live with it.
2yrs is a horrible deal, Thole 2011!
2010: Molina / Blanco
2011: Thole / Molina
high priced insurance policy that can play 1B against LHP. Not ideal, but I can live with it.
Agree with you. I think the idea is to have Thole learn from a veteran catcher in the minors (Coste) and by 2011 have another veteran splitting time with him (Molina).
BTW, I knew he would be the next to sign once the Mets filled the LF hole.
At least some good news. Now it’s time to find 1 or 2 starters.
Is he an amigo of Zambrano
ya know how Omar likes to put old friends together
Man…I really dont want Molina on the Mets. let him and his horrid OBP go somewhere else.
this guy should get 0 years. we need PITCHING!
Omar! My man! 2years-6mill. Your on fire. Maybe we can do that Zambrano trade too. Omar, you woke up today and must have had a good night sllep. Good job! I like it
Now go out and get Sheets with an incentive laden contract.
Seriously. This had better be a one year contract with a second year option. Much like the original offer that was submitted by Omar. We’re in desperate need of pitching right now. So perhaps Omar is working on a trade with Cincy or Chicago?
I don’t know that I would say our pitching is in “desperate need” but atleast one upgrade pitcher is certainly on the menu I would hope!.
how about Cincy and Chicago?
let’s shake it up, baby!
yes, I’d like one Arroyo, with a Phillips on the side! lol,…..to go please!
That works for me!
I hope Minaya is looking for a starter out of Chicago (Zambrano?) or Cinci (Harang). That would really improve the team. Although Zambrano’s contract scares me ($18MM per for 5 years), he is still 28 years old. When he is right, the guy is a very strong #2, with his Ace stuff. Plus he can hit!! ;-) Maybe the Mets can use the LaRussa lineup by using Zambrano in the 8th and Castillo in the 9th spot.
Mmmm…I wonder if both of these signings leave us some tools to trade with.
I like the way you think,……….mostly because I was thinking the same thing! lol
Well I hope it is the original one year deal with one year option.
nice, Molina is solid guys, who cares if he’s fat and slow, which catcher is burning the bases anyway, the dude can play and is a sold vet, two years is great, no more then that.
I have been seeing a whole lot of OBP nonsense on this blog recently. While it is definitely a telling statistic, it should not be the lone motivation to sign a player. Yes, Molina is getting older and likely will not produce what he has in the past. Having said that (Curb… anyone?), he is a veteran catcher with a lot more to offer than OBP. I think most young catchers like Thole would love to learn from Molina’s experience. More so than Santos, at least.
Also, Molina can still hit and can provide a pretty powerful spark lower in the order. Especially because we have been seeing a serious dropoff around that 6,7,8 part of the order.
making outs. He’ll make so so so many outs. OBP nonsense. Caveman.
ha! caveman! any guesses for how long it will take for sportsman to flip out at his TV after yet another 4 pitch half inning with frenchy, bengie, etc up?
Fantastic, 2 yrs yea yea everyone will complain but is their not a possibility that they keep 3 catchers and teach Molina to platoon at 1B and then keep Santos on the roster too?
I hope that’s the plan. The lineup will be able to hit we have to admit that
Our lineup has a Franceour, a Molina, a Castillo and a pitcher. You could also throw a Murphy into that mix if he doesn’t produce.
Beltran, Reyes, Wright and Bay are horses … but the other guys have some serious holes. While I like Murphy, he is unproven. Castillo can’t hit his way out of a wet paper bag and has the power of a pitcher. Francoeur and Molina have the plate discipline of a pitcher. And the pitcher … well … hits like a pitcher too :)
I’d love to see one more well rounded bat slapped in there, and it appears to have to come from 2B. Someone like a Hudson, who at least will give you 10 HR and 30 doubles (instead of Castillo’s 1 inside the park HR and 30 infield singles)
I’d love to see Phillips, Hudson, or (dream scenario) Jose Lopez ;) Then you have yourself a pretty tough lineup provided Murphy can be productive.
getting molina done at two years in the same market where jason kendall and pudge rodriguez also got two years is a nice deal. he has 20 HR power and can handle a pitching staff: something that is highly underrated and a very even trade off to his high strike out totals. molina hitting 6th or 7th in this order looks good to me:
reyes
castillo
beltran
bay
wright
francouer
molina
murphy
Looks good to me!
That’s a very righty heavy bottom of the order. I net it looks more like this:
Reyes
Castillo
Wright
Beltran
Bay
Frency
Murphy
Molina
both wrong
reyes
murphy
wright
bay
beltran
francoeur
molina
castillo
swap Castillo and the pitcher
not a bad idea maybe run it by jerry?
Larussa loves it here in St Louis. Given Castillo’s only true offensive weapon is getting on base batting him 8th is a waste. Let Molina get on, bunt his fat rear over to 2nd then let Castillo get a single. 1st and 3rd or, let’s face reality, 1st and 2nd.
I like helsbels lineup it breaks up the strike out duo in Frenchy and Molina
So this is where everyone ran off to. I was still on the Bay thread.
We meet again. Are you still at work. That’s cool when you are doing all this Mets news when your at work. You can’t do that when you caddy.
yeah still at work. I’m leaving soon. Do you have an iPhone. Its difficult to use but I still keep up and post with it.
Ugh moderation… let me rephrase…
I wish I could be on here at work… My blackberry gives me issues when I try to log into Wordpad… I just got out now after a 10hr shift
iPhone. Trust me, I’ve had both and I love my iPhone.
No Money… College student and my work is an unpaid internship at the police station…
My money goes towards… booze
I have an I-Touch. It has internet and I use that sometimes. I was thinking about getting the new I-Phone, I think its the 3GS for my birthday. Although, that’s in July, so they’ll probably make a new one. My touch is not that hard but I hate that you have to keep on changing from 3′s to letters. They should make it like an actual keyboard format.
I grew up on a rotary phone and Black & White TV so I do not feeel your pain..
Those rotary phones look quite fun. I still don’t get how to use them though.
gotta run, later taters
put ur finger in the number then scroll it all the way to the (counter clockwise i think) end. Do that for every number… I never see it as that big of a deal, but if u mess up once u gotta hang up and do em all again.
My grandma has one and I broke it before and she got so mad. She likes to repair everything so she made me repair it. Then she said see if it works so then I was like okay and it took me like 15minutes to figure out how to dial.
i knew u would be back sooner or later.
Wow Forty Nine never felt so old!
sorry. My dad is 51
50 here. It is now legal for me to be crotchety
wow- people older than me!
(checking in at 47)
wow people older than me checking in at a teen in HS still.
I kinda hope its a Varitek type deal that he had last year… Year 1-6Mil, Year 2 Club Option for 6Mil, Player Option for 3Mil…
This way if we say goodbye and he picks up his option anyway, hes just a 3mil backup for Thole
Good point
hopfully if its 2 yrs its less than 6 mil a yr
I hope it’s 2 years at 5-6mill. Omar you did a good. job. If you can trade for Zambrano and sign Hudson, I think you proved u all all wrong. And yes Sylow59, I made up my mind and I’m with you.
Molina has one of the best strikeout ratios in baseball, he doesn’t walk but he always puts the ball in play.
Not always a good thing considering his size… he better bat 7th because Id get pissed if he hits into a ton of Double Plays with the pitcher behind him…
Reyes
Castillo
Beltran
Bay
Wright
Molina/F-Core
Murphy
F-Core/Molina
Id rather
Reyes
Castillo
Wright
Beltran
Bay
FCore
Molina
Murphy
Mainly because to me the #8 hitter should be mad patient… he should be able to walk or get a single with 2 out and noone on, just to clear the pitchers spot… Francouer is way too aggressive for that spot… I like him on the team, but he’s good at #6 or 7, someone to give a decent amount of protection to the #4+5 because hes not an easy out. Molina does K alot, and he also will hit into a dbp, so to me hes 7…
In a good lineup at this point in murphys career hes either a 2 or an 8, Castillo is better at #2… but if like u want, the mets trade for Phillips and Arroyo and unload castillo… then to me Murphy slots into #2, Phillips goes #6 and Fcore and Molina slot into 7+8 respectively.
Agree. Or the Mets can do that trade with Zambrano and then just sign hudson.
Yeah, he’s very slow, so the ball off the wall will be a single. A ball hit into the right-center gap will be a double. Watch, he’ll steal a base.
I dont care if he gets hits, but if as Moses says he always puts the ball in play… How many times are we gunna see “Runner on first one out…. Molina up… Ground ball…. double play inning over”
I would put the runner in action.
Every pitch? lol you cant know when Molinas gunna hit the ball, and if the runner goes every pitch he will be picked off or a pitchout and since it will be either Murphy or F-Core, theyd be dead on the spot
just imagining that if your in the crowd. that would be funny. I meant in like if you have Wright on 1st and your up by 2, you don’t do it. But if your down by 2, you do it.
I saw a what must have been a 350 pound 38ish Willie Stargell try to steal 2nd. He misread the sign. He was about halfway to 2nd when the ball got there. He kind of walked the rest of the way and kept signaling for a time-out.
remember when prince fielder stole 2nd a couple of years ago? I bet the SS prayed to god he wouldn’t die.
I’m giddy with Free Agent – mania.
Meat of the order looks very right handed.
except for beltran
and Reyes and Murphy and sometimes y
thought you meant the whole order
Reyes and murphy arent really the meat of the order lol…
I know. I misread the thing
All you need is a tough righty to eat up Bay, Wright, Frenchy and Molina
Ah, dam. Doc is a righty. Well, maybe we can swap Wright with Beltran when were facing a tough righty.
maybe, but I was talking in the pen.
oh
wow, our lineup will be SICK!!!now get us a pitcher and we are ready to go!!!
or pitcher(s) we can make the trade for Zambrano and sign Hudson or get Sheets and Garland.
reyes reyes
murphy castillo
beltran beltran
delgado bay
wright wright
church francouer
schneider murphy
castillo molina
much better lineup!
agree.
Johan- Johan
Pelfrey-Sheets
Perez-Pelfrey
Maine-Perez
Livan-Maine
At the least we’ll get one pitcher. Maybe we’ll get Garland.
We aren’t gonna get Garland anywhere near NY without seriously overpaying! Not too mention if they really wanted a Garland type they probably would have inked Marquis for less money. My guess would be Sheets, Maya, or Pineiro will be the move unless, they swing a trade.
yeah, your right. I heard he wants to remain on the west coast. Lets get Sheets but they will probably get Pinerio. Maybe a trade with Zambrano will be nice. Or with Arroyo but why would the Reds do that just to free up mooney.
Cause they need the money! They’d rather part with Harang, but Arroyo has the better (recent) track record and the more favorable contract.
.257/ .339 /.367 /.707 (Brian Schneider’s 2008 line)
.265 /.285/ .442 /.727 (Bengie Molina’s 2009 line)
Do you guys remember when we acquired Schneider how we were sold on his defense and his ability to work with pitchers?
And do you guys remember how horrible we all thought Schneider was last year, his OBP was still higher then Molina’s. Granted, Molina has more pop. But he’s an old, overweight catcher who Josh Thole can probably out perform NOW. I’d rather use some sort of Santos/Thole/Blanco platoon then bring this guy on board for one year, let alone two.
Please God do not let Molina and Francoeur hit back to back in next year.
no. put Murphy in between.
yea but how many at bats though? Molina hit #4 in the lineup where you are paid to drive in runs versus 7 or 8 (where Schneider hit) where you are really moreso trying to get on, not to Mention Schneider didn’t hit anywhere near 20 HR’s in ’09
He hit 3… lol
lol. Idk. I think your post above was the best line-up with Murphy as the #8. As you said, the #8 has to be patient so he gets walks and I strongly agree on that.
i like this :
vs righties:
reyes
murphy
wright
bay
beltran
francoeur
molina
castillo
vs lefties:
reyes
castillo
beltran
bay
wright
francouer
garko
molina
Me too, thats why I posted it :) lol
We do have a heavy amount of Righties, with Reyes, Beltran, Castillo and Murphy being our only Switch/Lefties… and with Reyes Beltran and Castillo all in the top 4 of our lineup, It creates a vulnerability in the back end of our lineup unless Manuel configues the lineup in a way I can’t see.
The man is a loon… He might try to make Reyes 3rd again…
this could work:
reyes
murphy
wright
bay
beltran
francouer
castillo
molina
Unfortunately, in the mindset im in now, I am just gunna not want Molina batting 8th lol… My opinion might change later
switch Molina and Castillo and I’m in… But If you make that line up I can see alot of innings going like this…
F-Core K’s
Castillo Singles
Molina DBP..
And now the next inning we start off with the P
reyes 3rd hmm?
castillo
beltran
reyes
bay
wright
francouer
murphy
molina
I thought of posting that… But then I realized thats just a wierder stupider version of Reyes Castillo Beltran as ur 1-2-3… and it still doesnt help the fact that we got 3/4 of the bottom half of our order(5-8) being RH
Molina has had a poor OBP his entire career, and I doubt he was hitting clean-up the entire time.
Just because you hit clean-up doesn’t mean your not trying to get on base. Look at Beltran when he hit clean-up for us. The best clean up hitters in baseball get on base a lot, if your a feared clean-up hitter walks should be easier to come by.
Clearly he’s not going to get on at a .400 clip, but given the power he brings, the game calling, and the other options out there we can live with him at 2yr 12 million.
agree.
6 million for 15 homers and a horrible OBP?
And Schneider made how much??? Clearly there is an upgrade there in Molina,…….is he the ideal player, no but given the other choices and the needs, I can’t kill the Mets for a 2 year signing of a guy that clearly offers more than Schneider ever did.
When did I say Schneider’s deal was a good one, they’re both horrible deals.
Just because this deal isn’t as bad as another horrible deal doesn’t make it a good one. If it was a one year deal I wouldnt really complain, but the 6 million he’ll make in 2011 will essentially be dead money.
When did I say this was a good deal??? I feel it’s a reasonable deal that doesn’t kill us in our payroll or behind the plate, while giving us more pop in the lineup. That said, we can’t say or assume that the 6 or so million in 2011 is as you say “dead money” as there are no guarantees Thole will be ready. It seems he will be, but who knows what happens between now and then?
well, there the fact that he frames pitches well, and drives in rbi’s.
EXT. CENTRAL PARK. DAY
The Molina brothers jog.
BENGIE: We have to keep in shape this off-season.
JOSE: Yeah.
YADIER: Guys, slow down. You’re killing me! (Puff, puff).
Suddenly, they feel a breeze blow past them near their feet.
JOSE: Whoa!
BENGIE: Yeah! That snail is some show-off.
YADIER: No kidding. (huff, gasp) Reminds me of that time Ramon Castro went tearing past us in his new Chuck Taylors.
LMAO!
lmao
lol.good one. Prince fielder should be in that.
Ramon goin’ first to third;
the most exciting 9 minutes in MLB history!
Ha, ha
look at this guys
http://www.sportsmemorabilia.com/files/cache/jason-bay-autographed-baseball-card-new-york-mets-2002-topps-total2_d23f2df24cd1bad927412afad31ce97a.jpg
welcome back bay!!!
Welcome home.
We paid 5 million for Brian Sucker last year.. Still definitely a upgrade especially at the bottom of the order
Now that Atkins is in Baltimore can we get Ty Wiggs for Bobby Parnell and sign Dotel???
wiggy?? for what?? and for parnell??..no way!
Why in the world would we want Wigginton back? Not too mention Parnell is worth like 3 Wiggingtons!
With all these catchers coming in and the depth we have at that position, i wonder if this means omar is trying to put a deal together where he can deal omir santos. I like him, but his value is still high so we might be able to use him as a good chip rather than letting him fester in AAA when we all know he deserves to be in the big leauges.
Parnell worth 3 Wiggingtons?? Are u bugging? Most people think thats not enough for Wiggy.. Why would we want him? Why wouldnt we? Mets need a power RH bat off the bench..He’s only a half a mil more than what Alex Cora is getting. He can split time with Murphy ,who he’s better than and can give us insurance for David Wright
there are similar players available that will only cost money. parnell had like a 3.65 ERA in the bullpen last season and can throw some serious gas. I will include him in a trade for a SP but not for a avg player.
We have enough R’s, Half of our lineup is R, Blanco, I see Evans being back, Pagan is Switch.
I dont thing Wiggington is better than Murphy… first of all wiggington is on the wrong side of 30, and Murphy needs to play everyday to develop… How do u expect him to get better against LHP if he never faces LHP…
Murphy batted .266 in his first full year and Wiggington batted .273, that difference is negligible considering Murphy will do better this year if you ask me. And its not like Wiggington crushed the ball, in 410 ABs he only had 11 HRs… Murphys OBP was .001 less but his SLG was .027 more…
Look, Wiggy was good in his prime, but he’s little more than bench player now. The fact that he makes more than Cora should tell you he’s not worth it considering he can’t play SS at all, or second all that well anymore. And we certainly aren’t going to move a Power Relief Pitcher capable of 100 mph on the gun, who is in his 20′s no less for a Bench player who makes more than Cora and also plays the same positions.
I agree with u, but they play diff positions lol… Cora is 2b/SS Wiggy is 1B/3B mainly and he did play other positions…
THese were Wiggys Positions by Games last year,
1B: 40, 2B: 8, 3B: 39, SS: 9, LF: 2, DH: 25,
Ok, fine ,…….how many games has David Wright taken off in the past 3 years?? How many do you think Murphy will miss if he’s allowed to play fulltime????? Yea, I’d say Wiggs would get in about 10 games tops,…….for more than Cora makes??,……I don’t think so.
Oh like I said I agree with you. Cora got too much if u ask me, Id rather have just used Anderson Hernandez as backup 2B/SS and just banked on the fact that Reyes would be Fine… Because I think if we lose Reyes for an extended period of time this year, the seasons a bust anyway. Paying Wiggy more than Cora to possibly play less because Wright and Murphy have no health issues is stupid
Bobby Parnell sucks!! Lets not play the over value our prospects game. We signed the wild hard throwing Japanese guy we can spare 1 Bobby Parnell,especially for Ty Wiggington, if thats enoguh
Parnell needs time to develop aswell. If you trade him now in 3 years you will want him back because he will be a great RHP(like he already is) out of the pen(Such as Dotel who u want) Or he will be a decent middle of the rotation starter(1 good #3 is always good)
Then why have several teams inquired about trading for him? Wiggy has no place on this team period,
Trade for Carlos Zambrano or Bronson Arroyo
Or get Sheets
one of those in addition to jon garland
we all like Garalnd but we will have to overpay for him to move to the east coast. He’s likely gonna stay on the West Coast. I think Sheets is the priority. Atleast we’ll get one SP.
We need pitching…
so how close is this deal, this week?
if this guy can realy help pelfrey or perez(good luck on that one), than it will be worth it….i find it hard to believe we will guarentee over ten million to a 36 year old, slow out of shape catcher for offense.
I’d be concerned seeing a report that says the mets are close to signing molina because it very well could be Omar bringing back everyone’s favorite fourth string catcher Gustavo Molina ahh him and Robinson Cancel those are two of my favorite Met catchers of all time.
oh. and casanova
2 years is ok..considering the upside of his offense in 09. In 2010, he can catch 100 games, and Thole the other 62 as the Mets future…and Thole will be ready to take over in 2011… After signing Molina, we need to trade for a bona fide #2 pitcher, then we’ll be set.. Perhaps Zambrano (if we can unload Perez), or Arroyo… Forget the rest of the free agent pool, and forget Pineiro, as he will not be enough in a short series if we make the playoffs… Lookin forward to Spring 2010.. GO METS!
Iam really not freakin about Molina. I think having him around for a couple years can only help our pitchers and the development of Thole. Then hopefully Omar will have had his fill of new catchers. Omar keeps the deal two years then he’s made a good deal. I like Bay as our left fielder. If We can add one strong starting pitcher and one more good lefty in the pen then this ball club should really compete. I would love the Mets to finally get the real Zambrano.
I also would love it. Since there was rumor about it, the mets should definately do of but then they should fill the second base pro len with Hudson. What an offseason it would be if omar did that.
We all need to be careful about what we wish for. This whole idea of Molina mentoring Thole can backfire; literally AND figuratively. What if Bengie teaches Josh how to get his money’s worth at the buffet? Then what?
Hopefully, Josh will know better than that. And Sylow59, not sure that I told you but remeber how we were debating if we should give up Niese. I made up my mind and said yes. Zambrano is just as good as Webb, Lackey and Beckett. And if you could get Hudson, you do it.
I like Niese, but the combination of Santana and Zambrano for the next three years is almost too good. Now let’s just hope it isn’t BS.
yeah. well, I gotta go to bed, big day tomorrow. nice talkin’. night.
I dunno. I like Carlos but if he has been good for anything its not staying in shape. It’s not like CC who is a big guy Carlos eats bad from what I hear and he’s a pain in the ass in the clubhouse. He’s also pitched alot of innings. I guess yeah I would do it but for a good price not over paying.
hey Omar, PITCHING!!!!!!
Don’t worry. He’ll take care of it. Hopefully they get sheets if they to the FA way or if they male a trade they make a trade they can get zambrano. IMO, be is just as good as Beckett, Webb and lackey. Thoughts?
here’s that link to the Zambrano rumor.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/316076-mets-closing-in-on-bay-molina-zambrano
this is just speculation from the guy who wrote it, he is just a fan like us.
The Mets are in a good position to sign a starting pitcher. By backloading Bay’s deal and the other big market teams off the market, the Mets are a sure thing to add either Piniero, Sheets, or Bedard.
I think they will definitely contend with this one more pitcher…
not too pleased about the lower part of our orders OBP next year with molina and frenchy…
Does anyone think we could get Sheets or Bedard AND Zambrano? Also, will Ollie ever play up to his potential? The combination of these things would give us the best rotation in the league. But only if we can get our money’s worth from these guys. And that’s a BIG if.
no, Bedard won’t be readey by June or May. Sheets is the pitcher we should get and Zambrano would be awesome. We still have to get Molina which looks good to me. But, who will be the odd man out.
i scroll through this thread checking out people’s projected lineups, and its awesome to see our fan-base excited again … and it feels and looks great to finally plug in bay FOR REAL, not just as projected
So can Molina play some 1B vs lefties and then carry Santos and Blanco?
That or sign Garko to play some 1B vs lefties but he would need to be more versitaile and play some 3B and corner OF too. Rather see new blood than Tatis again
I guess I’m in the minority but i wouldn’t mind seeing Tatis back AS A BENCH PLAYER not a regular, a super sub, or a platoon guy. A bench player. I feel he has a lot of value there seing as he can play all the infield positions (just as long as he dosen’t play the middle ones too often) and both corner outfield spots. He also is a decent RH powerbat off the bench. However, if the Mets are giving that role to Nick Evans/Chris Carter than i understand not resigning him. my only beef with that is i don’t think either of them could play 2B or SS at all. not that Tatis should be relied on for that, but look at last year in San Fran Reyes had “some injury” and was Day-to-Day but not available at all and Cora got hurt. (and I hope that this situation never arises again), but if it does than what happens? Castillo at SS and Murph at 2B with Carter/Evans at 1st? If they feel that that kind of a move could work for 1/2 a game without killing them then sure, but idk how i feel about it. Also with most of Murphy’s minor league time at 3B and Evans at 1B for the rare no Wright game does Murphy play 3B or Evans/Carter? (Evans has played 3B in the minors too, but far less than Murphy and I’m not sure if Carter ever has I’ll have to check)
Here’s how the minorleague games played/position breakdown:
Carter—542 games—340/1B—114/LF—44/RF—44/DH
Evans—493 games—396/1B—27/3B—60/LF—9/RF—1/DH
Murphy—230 games—13/1B—17/2B—196/3B—4/LF
and incase you were wondering here is the major league breakkdown (games played/ innings/ position)
Carter—3/17.0/LF—1/6.0/RF—1/DH
Evans—8/50.0/1B—38/260.2/LF
Murphy—101/849.1/1B—59/462.2/LF
Incase you havent noticed I am having trouble falling asleep and am incredibly bored.
I like Tatis. But, then again it is 2 AM
And regarding all the fat and slow comments about Molina: I’m fat and slow too and it hasn’t interferred in the ability to do my job. Granted I am an actuary and not a catcher; but still I can sit in meetings like I was young and agile; especially if sandwiches are involved.
Love this post btw.
I also like Tatis and think the guy has been absurdly under-appreciated by Mets fans over the last two years.
Tatis as a bench player has given the Mets an OPS of .811 over two years, which is what most teams hope to get out of their STARTERS. He’s been a great XBH guy (20 HR, 40 doubles in two seasons as a part timer), and has decent OBP as well (.352). He’s played DH, 1B, 3B, LF, RF, 2B and SS. He hustles like crazy any time he’s on the bases, and stays healthy. He hits RHP fairly well.
If I told you I could give you a guy who produced a line of .290/.350/.460/.810 and could play LF, RF, 1B and 3B fairly well, ran the bases well and hit well against both LHP and RHP, you’d want him. That guy is Fernando Tatis.
I think a little too much em-phah-sis has been put on the wrong syll-abble here. We Met fans have been spoiled in recent years with the above average meaty years of Mike Piazza and some of us are still living in those years. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking Mike. He was a franchise changer in the realm of Seaver (even though he’s not from our farm sytem like Tom was). But we need to get away from the mentality that every catcher we have is going to be the second coming of Piazza. Most catchers irk fear and disgust when it comes to hitting and running. Mauer, Wieters, and hopefully Thole being exceptions. But the bottom line is we need to think of a catcher’s primary duties are what his position calls for…catching. Their job is to call a great game from some of our mental case pitchers like Perez and Pelf while providing above average defense. If you get some good stick with that, it’s a bonus. Because face it, if Thole develops the way it appears he might, all of these guys are here to hold down the fort while potentially providing some veteran leadership and guidance in the position in preperation for Josh’s arrival in 2011!!
If you take the actual player out of the equation, a 2 year deal on a veteran player that aptly fills an immediate current need without any sure-fire alternative in the farm system is fine (presuming that you are paying fair market value for the player, and that the player is healthy and has not already shown serious signs of aging).
In this case, Molina is a proven commodity. As far as catchers go defensively, he offsets what he lacks in fitness and quickness with a lot of experience and skill. His hands will be excellent, his knowledge of the game excellent and his leadership skills a plus. His age and mobility will rear it’s ugly head at times.
Offensively, just as with his defense, his strengths offset his weaknesses. He hits for average and power (especially for a catcher), but lacks OBP and strikes out a ton. Obviously he does not run well and will clog the bases, but the flip side is that he can clear them with XBH.
Although I am not a fan of bringing in Molina … I am not against it either, simply because he’s the only legit offensive catcher we would have on the roster, and as much as I like the high OBP potential of Thole, Thole has not proven anything and may not be ready next year (or ever). In a worst case scenario, Molina becomes your back-up in 2011. If that happens, it either means that Molina is so bad that someone else is starting, or it means that Thole is beating out Molina with the bat, which is a good thing.
I have two fears in regards to Molina:
1. That the Mets fail to improve in other key needed areas (pitching especially) because of the money spent on Molina.
2. That the Mets feel compelled to carry 3 catchers because Molina, on off days, can be a good pinch hitting option (2B and HR power off the bench late).
….nothing frustrates me more than double plays and when someone doesnt score from 2nd when he should…and whattabout NOT being able to score on sac fly to the mid outfield…i can deal with not that fast…but have issues with is that fat and slow…