from The Boston Globe via Metsblog (where Mike Baron adds his absolutely riveting, unresearched take on the matter). I know his "sexy statistics" were kind of ugly with an ERA over 5 but hopping over to Fangraphs, his xFIP was a solid 3.72 (a career best) and his K/9 jumped up from 6.84 to a career best 8.28. His HR/9, HR/FB and BABIP all jumped up this season and his LOB% decreased by about 3% from his career avg. So what do you think? I'm guessing the Rays understand all of these things and will price him appropriately but on the off chance that we could get him on a discount, I think it'd be a good idea for the Mets to inquire (I actually like him better than Matt Garza who'll probably come at a higher cost due to reputation and better ERAs). Plus, Shields already has a sweet nickname--Big Game James.