You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone Applesauce: Beltran and Reyes mean wins, Thole and Paulino mean passed balls, Pirates just mean business

by Jeffrey Paternostro on Jul 20, 2011 8:52 AM EDT in Applesauce

Lather. Rinse. Repeat. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Meet the Mets

The Mets line-up today looked more like the line-up of an actual professional baseball team and that was enough to dispatch Kyle Lohse and the Cardinals. Reyes and Beltran returned to the team, and were predictably awesome. Of course, selfish Beltran was only awesome because scouts were watching him.

Dillon Gee won his ninth game, and "Gee Whiz" takes a commanding lead for most overused headline this year.

To make room for Reyes on the roster, Ruben Tejada was sent back to Buffalo, and then he wasn't. He should end up back there tomorrow, though. Maybe this means less Luis Hernandez clogging up my minors box scores from now on. Not the worst trade off.

Jason Isringhausen got the save, because he is a proven closer, and because it made life easier for the Mets beat writers.

Ike Davis apparently lied to a bunch of children, and is going to try and make it back this year. This is the biggest non-story I have ever covered in Applesauce.

Day Two of 'Shin Watch,' the much less interesting sequel to 'Hamstring Watch.'

Patrick Flood talks Josh Thole's defense. For reference, you can see the full BTBS catcher defensive ratings here. I think they confirm what we all know, that Paulino and Thole aren't exactly Johnny Bench. I can't be too hard on Josh Thole, though, as he just had a kid. Congrats, Josh.

David Wright is fast making his case for FSL MVP. Of course, he is repeating the league, since he hit .270/.369/.459 there in 2003.

The Phillies are interested in more than just Carlos Beltran. I know teams don't like to trade in-division, but I would probably have to trade Byrdak and Hairston for Trevor May and Jarrod Cosart. It would be a sacrifice, but I'd do it.

I would also trade Carlos Beltran for Dominic Brown. The difference, Jon Heyman, is that my trade proposals were clearly fictitious.

Ted Berg talks to Will Leitch, formerly of Deadspin, now of NY Mag. He looks uncomfortably like a McPoyle now. Leitch, not Berg.

Around the NL East

The Braves are apparently in on Beltran as well. I guess they think he can play CF, or maybe they will stick him in left. Jon Heyman thinks the Mets can get Julio Teheran for him.

The Phillies may trade for a bunch of people, too. The more teams in on Beltran, the higher the price ends up. So good luck to all the bidders.

Marc Hulet of fangraphs takes a look back at the NL East Preseason Top 10 prospect lists. I make a cameo appearance in the comment thread. Robert Carson? Come on now.

In baseball action, the Braves fell to Ubaldo and the Rox.

Tim Stauffer and the Pads blanked the Marlins 4-0.

The Cubs pen coughed it up against the Phillies, wasting a perfectly good start by Matt Garza.

And Houston held off a comeback attempt by the Nationals to win a 7-6 squeaker.

Around MLB

Break up the Pirates. Seriously.

Man, those Central divisions are terrible. With the Tigers' win they move 6 over .500 and into a tie for first.

The Rangers ran their win streak to 12 as Alexei Ogando shut out the Angels.

Once upon a time Mets prospect Jeff Keppinger got dealt from the Astros to the Giants for a couple of live arms. Sosa interested me as a potential third piece in a Beltran deal. The Astros called up top prospect Jose Altuve to replace him, making Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein very excited. The Giants seem to be realizing that having an actual offense is preferable, as they also recalled Brandon Belt and he struck the big blow against the Dodgers.

The Rays avenged last night's tough loss to the Yankees and evened their series at a game a piece.

The Blue Jays are all set to retire Roberto Alomar's number.

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Comments

Murph

I haven’t seen any Dan Murphy trade rumors. Wouldn’t he be a good candidate to sell high? He certainly has been getting on base a lot this season, and he is passable at three infield positions . . .

by Nomenclaturist on Jul 20, 2011 9:08 AM EDT reply actions

Anyone

is in theory a sell-high candidate if you could get enough for him – say, a top-tier prospect (Teheran, for example). On the other hand, I doubt that many other teams would really pay a high price for Murphy given perceived and/or deficiencies in his game – namely, his defense and lack of significant power. So if that’s the case, given that Murph is good, cheap and under team control, it probably makes sense to hold on to him.

by dontstopbelieving on Jul 20, 2011 9:23 AM EDT up reply actions

Yeah

Murphy seems quite undervalued, not overvalued enough to shop. I’m not ruling out getting a truly good offer for him, but it seems unlikely.

by anonymous on Jul 20, 2011 10:10 AM EDT up reply actions

my list on mets to be traded possibily

Carlos Voltron
Izzy
Pagan
Buchholtz

I hate Philadelphia so much.

by the caveman on Jul 20, 2011 9:20 AM EDT via mobile reply actions

woops

I ment byrdek

I hate Philadelphia so much.

by the caveman on Jul 20, 2011 9:20 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Pagan?

This would surprise me.

Any task BIG or small, Do it well or not at all

by Rickfansince76 on Jul 20, 2011 9:40 AM EDT up reply actions

i could see him bundled

I hate Philadelphia so much.

by the caveman on Jul 20, 2011 9:44 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Why trade Pagan?

Who are we going to have in the OF next year if we trade him? We would have to fill both RF and CF, not to mention that Pagan has years of team control left.

by Balagast on Jul 20, 2011 9:57 AM EDT up reply actions

he does have terms

like I said I could see it. Bundle him with izzy maybe to get a slightly better player back. As for the of, it be bay,prospect via tron trade, ?

I hate Philadelphia so much.

by the caveman on Jul 20, 2011 10:14 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Pagan would be selling low, i dont see him being moved

Hey, wait! I'm having one of those things. You know? A headache with pictures?

by KeithsMoustache on Jul 20, 2011 11:22 AM EDT up reply actions

the mcpoyle's

Part of 2 of the best sunny episodes; the die hard parody episode and “the gang gets invincible”

I hate Philadelphia so much.

by the caveman on Jul 20, 2011 9:27 AM EDT via mobile reply actions

dee and dennis go on welfare

“We’ll just do a little more crack, then we’ll get jobs” or something like that. classic.

by BigBoyJacobs on Jul 20, 2011 11:43 AM EDT up reply actions

Why are all these guys wearing capes?

"And that's why anybody who invested with Lenny Dykstra should really call that number. Lawyers are standing by."

by BobbyV_Incognito on Jul 20, 2011 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions

heyman

like jp intimated, it’s pretty incredible that for someone who spends so much time in ‘baseball circles’ how little jon heyman understands situations and can actually infer when the story isn’t served up to him on a platter. i mean seriously, teheran? that’s laughable.

rumors about mike minor are much more realistic and to be honest are fine by me but we couldn’t get teheran from them if we offered jose.

and to continue my grumpy wednesday morning rant, not sure how duda’s 2011 performance would make anyone more confident about leaving him off a mets top 10 list. same for robert carson and keeping him on said top 10. can you tell i don’t like that list?

by Rob Castellano on Jul 20, 2011 9:32 AM EDT reply actions

This is why

the msm morans always want to trade everybody. They think you can always get whomever you want in return. When in reality you usually get much less than you think or expect.

"Sometimes you make a mistake and you get hit in the head." - Eli Manning

by blains2000 on Jul 20, 2011 9:41 AM EDT up reply actions

I don't think Heyman actually said they could get Teheran

It was a reference to his tweet speculating whether they’d ask for Domonic Brown from the Phillies.

by dontstopbelieving on Jul 20, 2011 9:49 AM EDT up reply actions

Even though it’s farfetched, wouldn’t Beltran to the Phils have to start and end with Brown?

There are enough teams interested that the Mets will likely have some very similar (and possibly very good) offers on the table. The Phillies aren’t just a team in the division, they have become THE rival. As such, they should need to beat any offer by a significant amount.

Again, I’m not saying I think it will happen, but I absolutely do think the Mets should insist on Brown.

by afrosupreme on Jul 20, 2011 9:39 AM EDT via mobile reply actions

well

Theoretically shouldn’t the Mets require ‘less’ from the division given that any trade both makes the Mets better and the Phillies worse? (assuming the idea is that this year is over and we don’t care what happens)

I dunno, I just don’t really want to think about it really. I’ve accepted it’s probably going to happen, but I’m trying not to think about it until it does and just enjoy him.

Also, Carlos Beltran has a history of hitting like a god in the NLCS and his team still losing, so I guess that could work for the Phillies

-Ceetar, the Optimistic Mets Fan

by Ceetar on Jul 20, 2011 9:44 AM EDT up reply actions

Not really, because teams are actively seeking Beltran, and there will be other good offers on the table. If it were the case that the Mets could expect less from a division rival, there would be no need to consider their offer. The only way you do it is if they are willing to overpay, because as you say, it will be hard for the fan base to stomach.

by afrosupreme on Jul 20, 2011 9:54 AM EDT up reply actions

Exactly.

"Mr. Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."

LET'S GO RANGERS!!!

by Moshe52792 on Jul 20, 2011 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Not sure why you'd ask for less in that case.

Wouldn’t you always want to get the best possible return for your assets, even more so when it’s from a division rival like Philly?

"And that's why anybody who invested with Lenny Dykstra should really call that number. Lawyers are standing by."

by BobbyV_Incognito on Jul 20, 2011 1:58 PM EDT up reply actions

You can ask

I just don’t see anyone trading a consensus top 10 prospect in baseball for a rental anymore. It just doesn’t happen.

I’d think you go big with your demands, but I was thinking more like two of the prep arms, say May and Cosart.

the artist formerly known as TeufelCat
@jeffpaternostro

by Jeffrey Paternostro on Jul 20, 2011 10:32 AM EDT up reply actions

I agree, I just think if that’s the level you end up at, you’ll find it from another team and you go that route.

Although, you never know. If we add Hairston and Byrdak, does that get us closer? Probably not much, but it might get it to where an additional mid-level prospect on our end gets it done.

by afrosupreme on Jul 20, 2011 11:07 AM EDT up reply actions

Applesauce headline made me think of

a very good Bob Dylan song. “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go”. Mr. Beltran’s departure will make me very sad when it comes and it will be compounded by anger if we don’t get some worthwhile prospects in return.

by Fmaxpont on Jul 20, 2011 9:39 AM EDT reply actions

Same here.

Great album

"I didn't come out of a cereal box." --Bob Dylan

by isles732 on Jul 20, 2011 1:55 PM EDT up reply actions

The headline

is actually ripped from a 13th Floor Elevators song.

the artist formerly known as TeufelCat
@jeffpaternostro

by Jeffrey Paternostro on Jul 20, 2011 2:50 PM EDT up reply actions

Endy Chavez

hit his 4th HR this season in Texas and is hitting well over .300 with a OPS around .900

great to see him back in MLB and playing so well. Hope to see him doing the same in the playoffs, maybe against NYY

Any task BIG or small, Do it well or not at all

by Rickfansince76 on Jul 20, 2011 9:39 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Beltran

with all teh rumors I find it harder and harder to believe he will be here after the deadline. It is great to see he is playing so well and he should get us some decent return. A lot better return than we would have gotten in Feb.

Any task BIG or small, Do it well or not at all

by Rickfansince76 on Jul 20, 2011 9:41 AM EDT reply actions

Catchers

Blanco (14), Barajas (19), Schneider (28), Nickeas (45), Cancel (51) and Santos (54) all ranked higher than Paulino (82) and Thole (91) – lol

Still annoyed about how Piazza was treated by the press in his last few years as a Met re: his defense. He was still good at blocking balls in dirt (better than Posada ever was) and called a decent game. To me the SBs were not that big a deal.

"Sometimes you make a mistake and you get hit in the head." - Eli Manning

by blains2000 on Jul 20, 2011 10:18 AM EDT reply actions