Dave's Mostly Mets Blog

The Big Move

2005-03-14T11:30:00.000-05:00

I finally got around to getting the blog onto my own domain. Now that this move is done I will be able to post more regularly. I hope to see you all there.

The Fish That Got Away

2005-01-26T10:29:00.000-05:00

Carlos Delgado has signed with the Florida Marlins for $1 million more than the Mets offered. (Actually, it's been reported that all told the Mets offer would have been worth about $38,000 more but let's not nitpick.) Delgado's agent, David Sloan, appears to have used the Mets as a ploy to get more money out of the Marlins. Based on some of Sloan's actions (like telling the press that the Mets were out of the running before telling Omar Minaya) it didn't look like the agent had any interest at all in putting his only star client in New York.

As mentioned yesterday I had mixed feelings about the prospect of acquiring Delgado so I don't really view it as a great loss. We'll just watch him in Florida and see if he lives up to my Murray/Vaughn theory. (Of course the Murray/Vaughn theory doesn't apply as much in Florida since the pressures are different in New York and definitely contributed to their downfalls.)

Be that as it may, the Mets immediately went to plan B and traded single A 1B Ian Bladergroen to the Red Sox for Doug Mientkiewicz. An official announcement will come later today. Mientkiewicz's defensive prowess will help with the relatively inexperienced and out of position players in the rest of the infield and his bat, while not as great as Delgado's, is not a tremendous liability. He's got a .363 career OBP. We'll see if he can continue such production in the NL.

In the final analysis, adding Mientkiewicz is an upgrade. It's just not the upgrade that the Mets and most of the fans had in mind.

Goodbye, Johnny B Good

2005-01-25T13:57:00.000-05:00

John Franco signed with Houston the other day finalizing his detachment from the Mets. I'd like to thank Franco for 14 years of loyal service. His best days are clearly behind him (even he realizes that) but I have to say that I've enjoyed his presence on this club and appreciate what he gave it. Good luck, Johnny Be Good.

Delgado: To Sign or Not To Sign (or History May Teach Us Something)

2005-01-25T13:22:00.000-05:00

I haven't weighed in on the idea of signing Carlos Delgado yet because I'm really not sure about it. On the one hand there are definite pluses to signing another bat to make the lineup more potent. On the other hand, with a young left side of the infield (David Wright at 3B & Jose Reyes at SS) and a second baseman playing the position for the first time (Kaz Matsui) someone with more sound defensive skills to anchor the infield may be a better fit (perhaps someone in the John Olerud mold). It's really a toss up but I like the way the Mets have handled the situation thus far. Though they reopened talks after their deadline for a deal was not met they have now put a final offer on the table for Delgado to take or leave. If he takes it then they have their new bat. If not then it's time to explore other options (Doug Mientkiewicz and Travis Lee are a couple of the other possibilities as well as Andres Galarraga).

The two things that stick in my mind about signing Delgado are this:

Eddie Murray

Mo Vaughn

I know it sounds weird but Murray and Vaughn are two relatively recent examples of a problem that we could see happen to Delgado as well. All three players were career American Leaguers when they signed with the Mets. Both Murray and Vaughn ended their careers with the Mets (due to slumps, injuries, etc.). While it's true that Murray and Vaughn were clearly on the downside of their careers when they came to the Mets it's not certain if Delgado is at that point in his career. However, history is wrought with stories of guys changing leagues late in their careers and not being able to make the adjustment. This is why I won't shed a tear if the Mets lose out on Delgado and why I'm indifferent about acquiring him.

Goodbye, Paul Hackett

2005-01-19T13:50:00.000-05:00

Jets offensive coordinator Paul Hackett resigned today. Good riddance.

I'm glad a change is being made but I'm not one of those who have gotten on the "Hackett Must Go" bangwagon as a result of Sundays overtime loss to Pittsburgh. I've been unhappy with his offensive scheemes for a couple of years now. I felt they should have fired him after last season but I guess they didn't feel like working with 2 new coordinators this year after firing former defensive coordinator Ted Cotrell.

Why am I happy to see a change? Several reasons:

I've seen Hackett's offense get far too conservative when playing with a lead late in games. Most often this gives the opposition reason to believe they can win the game and puts far too much pressure on the defense. This leads to the inevitable loss or game that ends far too close for comfort. When you have an opportunity to put the game away you need to take it.

On third and long you're supposed to call a play that's get you past the first down marker. You're not supposed to call a screen pass that falls 2 yards short. You're not supposed to hand it off to your star running back who can't get the long yardage on every play.

You're allowed to pass to your tight ends.

You call that a West Coast offense? Where's the vertical game. Don't tell me Chad Pannington doesn't have the right arm for it. The few times I've seen some aggressive play calling (such as the third quarter of the playoff game against Pittsburgh) Pennington acquitted himself quite well.

There are other reasons too but I can't think of them right now.

Hackett seems like a good man and he knows his business very well. I just don't think he's the right fit for this team and hasn't been for quite some time. This week's game may have been the nail in the coffin but this change was inevitable for a while. I wish coach Hackett well in his future endeavors and look forward to ctriticizing the next guy.

Cameron Accepts Right Field

2005-01-19T11:04:00.000-05:00

On their way to the Dominican Republic a group of Mets officials stopped in Atlanta to meet with Mike Cameron. After the meeting all sides were saying the right thing. The basic gist is that Cameron will play right field because it's for the best of the team.

While it's good news that Cameron's fallen in line and accepted to make the move that he himself had offered to make I'm still a little wary of the situation and am not as convinced as others are that this calls off the possibility of trading him. I know Cameron's a professional but it's obvious that this isn't the position he wants to play. Comments like "Imagine somebody coming in and telling you to do something different than you've always done" and "I'll always view myself as a center fielder" don't show a healthy attitude toward the move and are signs that this isn't the end of the discussion here.

I stand by what I've said previously. A man playing a position he doesn't really want to play and whose role has been degraded in the offense (especially if the Mets end up signing Carlos Delgado) could lead to bad things.

A quick note on the Delgado front: Mets brass will meet with Delgado on Thursday in Puerto Rico. Don't expect him to sign anywhere before the weekend.

Big Whoop!

2005-01-18T13:33:00.000-05:00

Several media outlets are reporting that Carlos Delgado has narrowed his choices down to 4 teams: the Mets, Marlins, Orioles and Rangers. The source for this information is Delgado's agent, David Sloane. It's nice that the Mets are among his choices but I'm trying to figure out how this is news. The same reporters who spit back this information have been reporting for weeks that these were the only teams interested in signing him. I can understand Sloane making information like this public in an effort to start a bidding war between the teams involved but why is it being reported? There's nothing new there. Find something real to report on and get back to us later.

In other news, the Mike Cameron saga continues. The last time I wrote about Cameron I was criticizing him for waiting so long to get surgery on his ailing left wrist which was injured in the second to last game of the season. I was quite vehement about it because I hate it when injuries don't get treated properly as early in the off season as possible because that leads to unnecessary missed games early in the following season. Then last week Cameron reportedly reneged on his offer to move from centerfield to right field after Carlos Beltran was signed. This development has sparked rumors of a trade to Oakland in exchange for Eric Byrnes. Byrnes had been a rumored acquisition to fill in for Cameron in center while the surgery kept Cameron out for the first month or so of the season but has since become the central figure in an exchange for Cameron.

There's been a lot of discussion in the media and on the blogs about whether or not the Mets should make such a deal. Most people (especially bloggers) would go into a long drawn out statistical analysis to support their opinions but you know that I don't depend on obscure stats, just basic numbers together with my own knowledge and instincts. These tools tell me that now's the right time to trade Cameron.

With Beltran aboard, David Wright coming in at the start of the season and a healthy Jose Reyes, Cameron's role in the offense will be minimized (especially if Delgado ends up signing). He'll be dropped down in the order and will not be happy about it. The last thing you want on your team when you're trying to get things going in the right direction is a guy pouting because he's not playing the position he wants and he's not batting in the right spot in the order.

At age 32 and coming off a career high 30 HR year Cameron's got nowhere to go but down. His value is as high as it will ever be so you may as well get as much as you can for him before it's too late. If Oakland wants him then you do your best to work out a deal.

Don't get me wrong as far as Cameron goes. Despite my recent knocks on him I think he's a great ballplayer. I just think the time is right for a move.

Beltran Takes The '7' Train (sorry, that's the best I can do)

2005-01-10T10:04:00.000-05:00

The Mets have come to contract terms with Carlos Beltran. Beltran will take a physical today and is expected to be intorduced at a press conference tomorrow (Tuesday). This is fantastic news and finally shows a commitment on the part of the Wilpons.

The developments that led to the signing were interesting. Beltran turned down the Astros offer based strictly on the fact that they would not give him a no trade clause. Aparently he felt that if Houston gave Andy Pettitte a no trade clause last year when Pettitte signed with an iffy elbow then he (Beltran) should certainly get one. Rumor has it that Beltran then went to the Yankees and offered his services at a "discount" of just under $100 million for 7 years. George Steinbrenner turned him down citing the luxury tax on that would ammount to $40 million over the life of the contract. I guess the Boss does have limits. Anyway, the Mets were the next stop and they were willing to give $119 million and a no trade clause.

The addition of Beltran gives the Mets a solid bat on the way up in his career. This is a great thing but this is also the company line. I'm always one who looks back while looking forward and I see something that alarms me. If you compare Beltran's stats from last year to those of Bobby Bonilla the year before he joined the Mets you'll see some similarities. Does that mean that he'll go south like Bonilla did after joining the Mets? No. It's just something to keep in mind.

The other thing that bothers me is that the last few years the Mets have turned away Alex Rodriguez and Vladimir Guerrero. Regardless of money ARod and Vlad were sure things where, as good as Beltran is, I can't help but that those guys were much better equiped and even more talented than Beltran hence making them more ideal players to help bring the franchise to back to respectability. The Wilpon's clearly should have opened up to them the way they opened up to Beltran. Beltran's got a great agent and PR machine around him. I just hope he lives up to the hype and can take the heat in New York when he hits his first slump.

Anyway, Omar Minaya has said that the signing of Beltran does not preclude the possibility of signing Carlos Delgado as well. How deep the Wilpons pockets really are this winter will determine what happens there.

Goodbye Vance Wilson

2005-01-07T09:12:00.000-05:00

I didn't get a chance to post yesterday after I heard the news that Vance Wilson was traded to the Tigers for minor league shortstop Anderson Hernandez. Considering Hernandez is not major league ready yet this deal confirms the Mets intentions of using Mike Piazza as the regular catcher with Jason Phillips as his backup. Add the recent signing of Andres Galarraga to the mix and it's obvious that they don't plan on playing either Piazza or Phillips at first base regularly.

No news on the Carlos Beltran front today. A decision is expected in the next 48 hours.

New Webhost

2005-01-06T11:16:00.000-05:00

I finally got myself a new webhost. As such I will be moving the blog as soon as I can finish up some development on the new site. Stay tuned for more information.

On Time

2005-01-06T10:57:00.000-05:00

It looks like my warning about not celebrating the Carlos Beltran signing before it's a done deal came at the right time. Various media outlets are reporting that Beltran's agent, Scott Boras, is claiming that 5 teams have put in offers that meet his opening criteria. Is Boras bluffing? Probably. But if he's saying 5 then there's probably 3. And if he's saying they all made $110 million offers then probably only one of them have done that and the others have come in within the ballpark of that figure. By all accounts the Mets seem to be the frontrunner right now as far as contract goes. But this deal is not done yet.

In other new, there was a story out yesterday that said Pedro Martinez plans on reporting to camp when it opens. Maybe it's just me but isn't that what he's paid to do? Why exactly is a story like that newsworthy? If you have an explanation please leave a comment.

Perez Signs With Dodgers

2005-01-05T13:40:00.000-05:00

For all those who were wishing the Mets would sign Odalis Perez it's time to stop wishing. The AP is reporting that Perez signed with the Dodgers.

It Aint' Over 'Til It's Over

2005-01-05T09:57:00.000-05:00

Everyone is making a big deal over the Mets offer to Carlos Beltran. While I agree that it's very encouraging to see the Wilpons take such an aggressive step I believe it's way too early to celebrate (as many fans are doing already). Even if the offer is as good as people say and makes the Mets the highest bidder you can't get too happy until his signature is on the contract.

Houston has until midnight Saturday to negotiate with Beltran and you know that Astros owner Drayton McLane will use every minute of negotiating time he has. McLane is a businessman and knows how to negotiate. You make an offer or two to your free agent. The free agent shops around and sees what else he can get from other teams. If the free agent likes your team then he'll bring those offers back to you and give you a chance to beat them before making a final decision. This is the script and it is being followed to the T in this scenario. McLane, Beltran and Beltran's agent, Scott Boras, will have many conversations over the next few days and you can bet that Houston's offer will get better. Will it be good enough to make Beltran turn down the Mets' offer? We won't know until Saturday night.

Good News for Mets Fans!

2005-01-04T10:53:00.000-05:00

Various sources are reporting that the Yankees have pulled out of the Carlos Beltran sweepstakes. Apparently the acquisition of Randy Johnson (reportedly approved by Bud Selig last night) has tapped out boss Steinbrenner. That leaves the Mets and Houston as the current contenders. With the Yankees out of the picture I expect other possible suitors to appear but this still helps the Mets chances. As for Carlos Delgado, don't expect any news until after Beltran is signed. Once Beltran goes Delgado becomes the premier available free agent and his asking price can be adjusted accordingly.

The Return of the Orb and the Loss of Alou

2004-12-23T09:17:00.000-05:00

The Mets re-signed righty reliever Orber Moreno. They gave him a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. They had previously non-tendered him making him a free agent but had all intentions of signing him. The move was apparently done to avoid arbitration. Moreno had arthroscopic surgery on his pitching shoulder on October 21 which probably scared other teams. He was mostly good coming out of the bullpen in 2004 posting a 3.38 ERA with 29 hits, 29 Ks and 11 BBs in 34.2 innings. He expects to be ready for spring training.

In other news, it looks like Moises Alou has signed with the San Francisco Giants. The deal is pending Alou passing a physical. If he passes he will be working under his father, Felipe Alou, who is currently the Giants' manager.

Now that Alou is out of the picture maybe Omar Minaya will focus on other players. Today's Daily News reports that the Mets have already turned their attention to signing Carlos Degado in the wake of the Alou signing. Carlos Beltran is another big name the Mets have their eyes on. With the Astros having reportedly offered Beltran a six-year, $96 million deal and George Steinbrenner trying to get the outfielder in pinstripes Minaya surely has his work cut out for him and will have to be a bit more aggressive in trying to recruit Beltran.

Mets Interested in A's Byrnes

2004-12-22T09:45:00.000-05:00

Bob Klapisch reports today on NorthJersey.com that the Mets have shown interest in acquiring A's outfielder Eric Byrnes to patrol centerfield until Mike Cameron is ready to return from arthroscopic surgery on his left wrist. Klapisch says this will not impact the Mets pursuit of big name free agents such as Moises Alou, Carlos Beltran or Carlos Delgado and would likely cost the Mets a prospect.

Byrnes could be a good fit for the Mets. A natural leftfielder, Byrnes can play all three outfield positions and could be a great addition even if all the outfield positions were secured (which they obviously aren't right now). He has some pop in his bat and is a good baserunner as is evidenced by his 20 HRs and 91 Rs in 2004. He'd provide some depth and flexibility in the outfield and could compete for a starting job depending on what happens between now and whenever Cameron will be ready to return (expected to be some time in May).

Mets Close to Signing Galarraga?

2004-12-22T09:28:00.000-05:00

Here's one I didn't see coming. There are reports this morning that the Mets are close to signing Andres Galarraga to a minor legue contract and inviting him to spring training. I think this is a good move by Omar Minaya. Galarraga adds experience and depth to a position where the Mets need it and also provides a backup plan in case they miss out on Carlos Delgado, who is not a sure thing.

Congratulations, Mookie

2004-12-21T14:51:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Mookie Wilson on being named the manager of the Brooklyn Cyclones for the 2005 season.

Cameron Out

2004-12-21T10:00:00.000-05:00

OK. It's been a long time since I blogged on the Mets and I'm feeling ready to get back into the fray. I've missed some important stories such as Al Leiter's departure and last week's signing of Pedro Martinez (which I find to be risky but at least the Mets are being active and actually trying). But today's news on Mike Cameron woke me up.

I have a pet peeve about people who suffer injuries and then wait until late in the off season to discover they need surgery. Let me backtrack this story a little bit so we can get the full flavor of what happened here with Cameron.

Cameron sat out the last 2 games of the 2004 campaign with a wrist injury which was suffered in the third to last game of the season while batting against Montreal. The, during workouts last week, he felt discomfort in the wrist (the left one). It turns out he had cartilage damage and had to have arthroscopic surgery to repair it yesterday. My question is why wasn't the wrist examined more thoroughly immediately after the season ended? This could have been discovered and remedied much earlier in the off season instead of causing Cameron to miss the first month of the season (he will not be ready to play until May).

To his credit Cameron had surgery on his right wrist earlier in the off season. But when a guy is quoted as saying "My hands bothered me most of last year and I don't want to go through that experience again" you have to wonder why a more detailed examination wasn't done earlier.

Still Looking for New Web Host

2004-07-22T10:29:00.000-04:00

I'm still looking for a new web host for my website so I can get this blog off of blogspot again as well as do some other things with my website. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

The Wright Stuff?

2004-07-22T09:36:00.000-04:00

David Wright's first day in a Mets uniform was not bad despite going 0 for 4. In the interviews that I've seen and the quotes that I've read he's certainly talking the right talk. On the field he made a couple of nice defensive plays.

Relief pitcher Dan Wheeler turned out to be the odd man out as he was sent to the minors to make room for Wright. Catcher Tom Wilson was designated for assignment.

Another note to fans: don't be too hard on Wright. We don't want another Alex Ochoa on our hands.

The Wright Move?

2004-07-21T15:05:00.000-04:00

David Wright will make his Major League debut tonight for the Mets against the Expos. This comes in the wake of Mike Piazza's wrist injury but I hope that wasn't the reason for the call up. I'd like to think that this was a planned date based on the schedule and level of competition and how Wright was progressing at AAA. I mean, it can't be a coincidence that they're bringing him in between Florida and Atlanta for a series against the Expos. The idea being to bring him in against lower level competition at home to break him in easy.

Ty Wigginton will be moved to first base until Piazza is ready to return and then he'll be relegated to the bench or traded. He'd probably go straight to the bench in favor of Todd Zeile at first base were it not for the fact that they've been trying to trade him.

Anyway, the move brings up a big question. How exactly will the roster be managed in the meantime? I mean if Piazza is not put on the DL (which is what it looks like right now) then someone will need to be sent down or designated for assignment. With Karim Garcia already having been traded Wright cannot take his roster spot (it's already been taken by Mike DeJean). How about Jason Phillips? Considering how he's been hitting this year he would be a logical choice but then you could get caught short at catcher if something should happen to Vance Wilson while Piazza is hurt. So who goes? I don't know. It'll be interesting to see what Duquette and company decide to do.

Regardless of how the roster shuffling end up the reality is that Wright is finally here so I'll end this post with a word of caution. David Wright is here to learn how to play at the Major League level. Although he has done very well at all levels of professional baseball before today you can't put too much pressure on him. Don't over analyze every move. Don't second guess every mistake. Don't put him under too strong a microscope. Otherwise we could end up with another Gregg jeffries on our hands.

Erickson Is Coming

2004-07-15T10:03:00.000-04:00

Has it really been 15 days since my last post? Wow. A lot of things are going in my life right now (mostly good things) and I've been busy with them. I'm going to try to post as often as possible through this.

Scott Erickson is scheduled to start on Sunday. I haven't read much commentary about this story but I figure most fans are not going to be happy about it. That's ok but I choose to think of it this way. Decent pitching (even for the back end of the rotation) is in very short supply right now. The laws of supply and demand being what they are makes the price for these few pitchers that much higher. Obviously you have to try to work out a deal but you don't want to overpay. In the meantime, while you try to cut a deal for whatever is out there, you need to make the best of what you have. Erickson hasn't exactly been sharp in the minors but he is what the Mets have right now.

Erickson will be taking Matt Ginter's spot in the rotation. Ginter had some good starts but was losing his stuff with every start. With Erickson's less than stellar minor league record this year it looks like this could just be a lateral move but you have to try something and he's what's there.

Besides, the worst thing that could happen is we get to see Lisa Guerrero (aka Mrs. Erickson) at Shea a couple of times. It could be much worse.

To Glavine or Not Glavine Against the Yankees

2004-06-30T09:59:00.000-04:00

I've been a little preoccupied with real life the last several days so I haven't been able to post. The real job and fatherhood have kept me busy. But since I have a few minutes now I figured why not chime in on some issues. So here we go.

Art Howe has opted to keep Tom Glavine on rotation to pitch against the Reds this week instead of altering the rotation to have Glavine pitch against the Yankees. I've spoken with many people who are upset about this. Whenever I ask them why they say something like "how can you not have your best pitcher pitch in such an important series?". My next question, naturally, is why they think the Yankees series is so important. The answer is generally something lame like "they're the best team in baseball" or something along the lines of trying to gain bragging rights in the city. These people are idiots.

Although Art Howe has made some questionable moves that has had fans calling for his head, this move is not one of them. Games against the Yankees (and, to a lesser extent, other non-division opponents) are just not as important as division games.

Think of it this way. With the Phillies playing Baltimore and the Marlins playing Tampa Bay this weekend it's possible that the Mets could sweep a series and not move up at all in the standing. But a win against the Phillies on Monday would gain a full game in the standings against the division opponent. In the meantime, a loss to the Phillies would drop them another full game back. Clearly the Phillies games have a greater impact. So clearly Glavine should be kept on target to pitch to them.

Blinded By The Sun

2004-06-25T09:14:00.000-04:00

The heartbreaking season of Tom Glavine continues. Glavine pitched into the 7th inning last night allowing 9 hits, 2 earned runs, 0 walks and striking out 5. But with Ken Griffey Jr. up with 1 out and bases loaded a routine fly ball to centerfield would change everything as Mike Cameron lost the ball in the sun and lost the Mets the game.

Will someone please remind me why the Mets acquired this guy? It can't be for his scintillating offense. I mean, I know he's been hot lately. In his last 12 games he's brought his average up 21 points from .193 to a sparkling .214. (Mario Mendoza, eat your heart out.) And in that span he's only struck out 11 times. That's not a lot when you consider that during the previous 12 game stretch he struck out 15 times and has struck out 75 times in the 67 games he's played this season.

No, it wasn't his offense that brought him to New York. It was his defense. Maybe I'm being a little nitpicky about this but it would seem to me that someone who is as good a fielder as Cameron is supposed to be shouldn't be losing the ball in the sun. I guess he's out of practice with playing in the sun after spending the last 4 seasons playing in Seattle. I guess he's not comfortable playing with sunglasses after spending so much time under Safeco Field's retractable dome and Seattle's eternally overcast weather.

Am I being too rough on Cameron? Maybe. But this isn't the first time I've come down on him. Even if Cameron had made that play I'd still be opposed to him being the every day centerfielder. It's not because I don't understand the concept of defense in baseball. Quite the contrary. Defense makes the pitching better and helps put you in a position to win games. But it's my belief that in this day and age you're not going to win a lot of 2-1 ball games so a guy hitting around .200 doesn't belong in the starting lineup. Forget all the pomp about not spending all that money on a player for him just to be a late inning defensive replacement. The goal is to win ball games and if benching Cameron helps you score more runs and win more games then so be it. (On the flip side of this, the team has nobody more qualified to play the position right now. That's the biggest flaw of my argument.)

Anyway, if Cameron needs some help getting used to wearing sunglasses in the field I'm sure Kaz Matsui can give him some pointers. Oops, that's a whole other rant.