He was one of the guys we gave up in the JJ Putz trade last year. He was in A ball at the timeo f the trade so nobody paid much attention to him. He just got added to the Mariners 40 man roster though and  he is only 22. This guy seems like a top prospect to me. Check out his stats (courtesy of TheBaseballCube), 2009 stats are in bold.

 

Year	Team	Lg	Age	Org.	Level	Pos	Ln	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	HBP	IBB	SH	SF	DP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
2007	GCL Mets	GCL	20	NYM	Rk	of		45	179	41	61	8	3	1	26	16	5	26	29	2	0	2	0	0	.341	.430	.436	866
	Brooklyn	NYPL	20	NYM	A-	of		20	70	11	21	2	0	0	6	6	1	4	13	1	0	2	0	0	.300	.347	.329	676
2008	St. Lucie	FSL	21	NYM	A+	of		114	430	61	113	11	12	7	29	28	9	46	86	9	1	6	3	6	.263	.344	.393	737
2009	West Tennessee	Sou	22	SEA	AA			91	329	68	111	12	4	2	38	27	13	59	62	4	1	10	3	4	.337	.441	.416	857
Minor League Totals - 3 Season(s)								270	1008	181	306	33	19	10	99	77	28	135	190	16	2	20	6	10	.304	.392	.404	796

 

 

I thought it was a bad trade at the time of the deal and I didn't even know who this guy was back then. Now I hate it even more and it will really make me mad if he turns out to be a good player in the bigs because I think he was the best guy we gave up in the whole trade.

So everyone knows how we invited Jose Valentin to Spring Training last year and he just wasn't that good as a player anymore. He played in the minors for a little bit I think, but he is pretty much done playing now at age 40. Everyone was talking about bringing him back as a coach later on. Do you think later on is now? Everyone talks about all these players who have grission but aren't good players. They would all make good coaches. But didn't he say before that he wanted to coach and he wanted to come back to the Mets? I would love to have Jose Valentin (and his mustache) back.

So the Mets have been trying very hard to move Luis Castillo and the DBacks have been trying to move Chris Snyder. A bad contract for a bad contract. However, everything has been complicated by a third team and Milton Bradley. First it is Lyle Overbay. Then it is Kevin Millwood, whats next?

 

The Mets obviously need a catcher. They want power. I've heard the Diamondbacks want a second baseman with speed and who is a veteran to lead their young infield, someone who can also get on base. Castillo fits that mold.

 

So I say ditch the third team and do Castillo for Snyder straight up. What do you guys think?

Poll

Is Castillo for Snyder straight up a fair trade?

• Yes
• No

  48 votes | Results

My Mets fix is as follows, in no particular order:

LineUp Changes

1) Trade David Wright (and some cash) for Adrian Gonzalez.  Nice knowing you David Wright, but the walls at Citi field do not accommodate your power range.  Both players’ stat lines are about equal over a career, and Gonzalez would still have power to knock them out of Citi.

2) Sign Chone Figgins and place him in left field (and away from the Phillies).  He doesn't have the power we need, but the speed and slap shot style of hitting would lead to many doubles / triples at Citi, and replace the steals we lose in the Wright trade.  Plus, with him and Reyes at the top of the order, it'd be fun to watch.

3) Work a three way trade with the Cubs and Marlins.  Cubs get Luis Castillo (whom Hendry loves), Mets get Dan Uggla (lots of production for a 2nd baseman), and Marlins get low / mid-grade prospects from both teams to rebuild their roster for the new stadium in 2012.

4) Trade for Ryan Doumit of the Pirates if he's available.  Depending on the lower level prospects we send in return, this guy could be a steal as he's coming off of a down year.

5) Sign Carlos Delgado back in an incentive laden deal to play first base.  He's worth the risk if he is fully recovered, and is much more enticing than watching Daniel Murphy play at first.

New LineUp

1. Figgins
2. Reyes
3. Gonzalez
4. Beltran
5. Delgado
6. Uggla
7. Francoeur
8. Doumit

Pitching Changes

1) Trade Fernando Martinez, Ike Davis, Nick Evans, John Maine, and whomever else for Roy Halladay.  The guy is an absolute stud and has proven himself time and again.  He's an innings eater and a Yankees killer.  A one-two punch of Santana and Halladay would destroy the National League.  (Reminds me of that Randy Johnson / Curt Schilling duo).

2) Sign Andy Pettitte (at a reasonable price) to a one year deal and away from the Yankees.  He's a big game pitcher and can definitely handle the pressures of New York.

3) Sign Jason Marquis to a bargain deal.  The guy wants to be a Met, and he has a decent stat line throughout his career.  Plus, he may give us a home team discount if he wants to be here that bad.

4) Sign Joe Beimel as a lefty specialist to setup for Rodriguez.  He's not overpowering but consistently shuts down the opposition.

5) Sign JJ Putz back in an incentive laden deal.  He has something to prove and I love his stuff when he's healthy.

6) Bring back Rick Peterson as special pitching advisor to Oliver Perez.  Ollie was lights out for stretches with Peterson guiding his progress.  It's worth a shot if we want to get any production out of Ollie.

New Pitching Staff

1. Santana
2. Halladay
3. Pettitte
4. Pelfrey
5. Marquis
6. Perez
7. Niese

I know we'd be stripping the farm system, but we'd be getting some absolute talent back.  We'd  be taking a lot of payroll on with Halladay & Figgins, but Pettitte, Delgado, Wright's bloated contract, and a few others would be clearing the books before the excalator clauses kicked in.  Enjoy, any thoughts?

- Jim

I took about 2 hours typing this up on Sunday night after looking at AA for the past two months but never creating an account. I created it on Sunday night but I couldn’t post this until after the AAOP deadline. I know I’m not eligible for the contest, but I took the time to type it so I might as well post it. Enjoy – feel free to comment.

 

My 2010 New York Mets AAOP

 

INTERNAL MOVES

1: Get off of the idea and just accept the fact that Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo will be on the 2010 New York Mets.

EXPLANATION: Perez is owed $24 million over the next 2 seasons. He is one of several bad free agent pitching signings from a myriad of teams in the past few years. Just accept the fact that he will be throwing for the New York Mets next season, for better or worse. Put him as a #5 starter, hope that you get glimpses of the ‘’good Ollie’’ every few weeks, and just keep cursing Omar Minaya for giving him this contract until he is no longer the general manager of the New York Mets. That, or just secretly hope that he gets hurt or pitches a gem against the Phillies every now and then?

 

As for Castillo, I know everyone is ready to toss him aside and get Orlando Hudson or Felipe Lopez. Besides the fact that Placido Polanco is the only second baseman I’d really like here (Hudson lost his job in LA and Lopez is about as hot-and-cold as they come), no one is going to take Castillo unless we take back a bad contract. I can’t rationalize having a hothead like Milton Bradley or Jose Guillen getting returned for Castillo for the sake of trying to sign Orlando Hudson for the same price we had Castillo signed for. That would be doubling up on a bad investment, as Orlando Hudson is no sure thing either. Castillo is a sunken cost – so the best thing we could do is accept his barely average defense and hope that he gets a .400 on-base percentage next year out of the #2 hole.

 

2: Start John Maine in the bullpen next season as an option-in-waiting.

EXPLANATION: I really like John Maine, and I wish he would stop walking people and get healthy. If late-year starts are any indication, we could hope that he builds upon his last start of the year and gets back to that point where he is a reliable Major League starter. I would tender Maine a contract but start him out in long-relief to stretch him out, and then allow him to start again when injuries or inefficiencies arise. It is better to keep him around as an option than to plug him in as a rotation cog for next season (as they did last year).

 

3: Send Josh Thole down to AAA to start next season.

EXPLANATION: … with intentions of having him come up as soon as the Mets realize that Omir Santos really sucks. He wasn’t quite ready to be a major leaguer yet, but it is good that he got that taste of the majors. Now go back down to Buffalo, learn your position better, and be prepared for a phone call.

 

 

FREE AGENT SIGNINGS

1: Sign OF Matt Holliday to a 6-year, $120 million contract.

EXPLANATION:  I don’t feel that Holliday deserves the money that Mark Teixeira made, but I also feel that a 6-year commitment at $20/million year is more than enough. My reasoning extends beyond the need for power in left field. Not only does the culture of the current team need to be changed, but this would make the big splash that would make the Mets and their fans forget about the past couple of years. In thinking about the future, Holliday, Johan Santana and David Wright would make up the (likely) future of the New York Mets, with Carlos Beltran’s knees past the next two seasons being an issue, and Jose Reyes’ growth hinging on whether he gets extended in the future. Even if Beltran and Reyes don’t return in the future, the Mets still have a plan with Holliday signed through his age-35 season.

 

2: Sign LHP Randy Wolf to a 3-year, $30 million contract.

EXPLANATION: I am somewhat biased, as I’ve been a fan of Randy Wolf for years. The injuries that bothered him in Philadelphia are long gone, as his past two seasons have been healthy ones. He has always been a decent strikeout pitcher, has very good breaking stuff, and would make an excellent #3 starter on this team. He had a great season in 2009 and stepped up as a leader of the staff when Los Angeles needed him most. There is the argument of the NL West being a contributing factor to his success, but he was very good at the end of 2008 in Houston as well. I can’t justify spending all that money on John Lackey when a bunch of teams will be in for his services. And in not undervaluing the impact of fan loyalty, the Wolf Pack would make its way to Citi Field – tell me you wouldn’t want to see that happen!!!

 

3: Sign 1B/OF Aubrey Huff to a 2-year, $6 million contract.

EXPLANATION: Firstly, I would not even touch bringing Carlos Delgado back. After an injury-pledged 2009 season, I can’t bring Delgado back with an open mind considering that he was such a big part of the core in the past. I think the culture of the team needs to be changed, and that starts with Delgado going elsewhere.  

Now onto Huff: I know that the Mets have another left-handed first baseman in Daniel Murphy, and I also know that Huff was absolutely miserable in Detroit. However, he was a Silver Slugger in ’08 with Baltimore and had a decent season in ’09 with them as well. Bill James has him projected at .267/20/66 in this upcoming season, which I wouldn’t expect to be much better if Delgado were around. Huff is not a terrible defensive first baseman and could also spell Jeff Francoeur in right field as a left-handed platoon partner if Francoeur struggles in a full-time role (even though his outfield defense stinks). At the very worst, Huff would be a solid bench bat. At the most, he would be a solid power-hitting first baseman at a reduced rate.

I’m guessing this would be a reasonable contract, as his performance (or lack thereof) in Detroit might linger in the minds of GMs.

 

4: Sign C Gregg Zaun to a 1-year, $2 million contract.

EXPLANATION: It’s simple: Zaun is a switch-hitting catcher and would be a temporary solution to a long-standing problem since Paul Lo Duca left the team. Bengie Molina was hobbling around the field late last year and his OBP was WORSE than his batting average for about 3 months of the season last year. Zaun is a veteran, knows how to get on base and take pitches, and is a perfect stopgap until something better arises. Plus, we could plug Josh Thole in if Santos is ineffective without sacrificing the platoon.

 

5: Sign RHP Justin Speier to a minor league contract.

EXPLANATION: He has been pretty miserable in the past two years, but the guy has been successful in years past. He was a main cog in that bullpen with Scot Shields and Francisco Rodriguez for all of those Angels playoff runs. Definitely worth a look…

 

6: Sign RHP Juan Rincon to a minor league contract.

EXPLANATION: Same concept: throw it against the wall, see what sticks…

 

7: Sign RHP Eric Gagne to a minor league contract.

EXPLANATION: I know the controversy behind this one: Gagne is a former steroid user and he will likely be blackballed by teams in his attempt to return to the Majors. But then again, wouldn’t you want to be the team that struck gold with a solid 8th inning pitcher for nothing, just because you gave a former CY YOUNG winner an invite to spring training? This move really can’t hurt, regardless of how crappy Gagne was in Milwaukee two years ago. Everyone knows that, if Gagne were to kill major league pitching next year at minimum salary, you guys will be on this website screaming your head off that we didn’t take the opportunity to sign him.

 

8: Give three journeymen left-handed relievers an invitation to spring training.

EXPLANATION: Jack Taschner, Patrick Misch, Ron Villone – come on down!! Pedro Feliciano’s arm is about to fall off, for Christ’s sake!!!

The thinking here is that, K-Rod, Green, and Feliciano are main members of this bullpen. The other members make no difference – just fill out spots. Hell, bring Scott Schoeneweis back if need be (JUST KIDDING!!!)

 

9: Sign RHP Nelson Figueroa to a minor league contract.

EXPLANATION: Figgy has kind of acquired a cult following here. I like him, he’s a local boy, and he would just provide depth either in the case of injury or for AAA Buffalo’s rotation.

 

10: Sign IF Mark Loretta to a 1-year, $2 million contract.

EXPLANATION: Loretta is one of the most underrated players of our time. I was hoping the Mets would sign him last year, and they blessed us with Alex Cora. Anyway, Loretta plays all around the infield, is a solid veteran leader, and has never been an easy out. Sounds good for our bench!

 

11: Sign IF Ruben Gotay  to a minor league contract.

EXPLANATION: Welcome back, Rube!

 

TRADES

1: Trade Reese Havens, Brant Rustich, and Eddie Kunz to the Cincinnati Reds for Aaron Harang and $2.5 million cash.

EXPLANATION: I can’t see the Mets spending all that money on John Lackey, nor do I want to see another free agent starter be on the books for the next 5 years at more than $10 million a year with Santana on the team. I’ll also apply that logic to the situation with Roy Halladay. I know a quick fix is reasonable now, but I don’t want to pay Roy Halladay $21 million in 2015 after I gutted my farm system to get him. The Mets already made that type of trade for Johan Santana – now imagine a new GM that isn’t anxious to get rid of him (thanks again, Bill Smith!!) and then imagine the package going to Toronto for Halladay. Not worth it to me…

 

Now regardless of what you think of Harang, the guy was an absolute force until DUSTY BAKER became the manager of the Cincinnati Reds in 2008. Regardless of whether this was the reason for his ineffectiveness, Harang is owed $10 million next season (with the $2.5 million being applied), and has a mutual option for 2011. If Harang is effective, that could allow us to pick up the option at $13-$14 million. If he fails, it was a decent high-reward risk that allows us to reject the option and take the $2.5 million hit, but dive into the free agent market for a starter in a packed free agent class next offseason. It is not a long-term investment that could really hurt us in the future – unlike a Halladay acquisition or something along those lines.

 

From the Reds standpoint, they are freeing up $10 million on next year’s payroll, $2 million on next year’s payroll, and they’re getting a solid infield prospect in Havens along with some possible help on the pitching staff in Rustich and Kunz.

 

ARBITRATION SIGNINGS

1: Sign OF Jeff Francoeur to a 1 year, $4 million contract.

EXPLANATION: Francoeur bought him a year in New York after he played out the string with his finger in a sling. Francoeur bought my respect with that move. He no longer has that pressure put upon him that existed in Atlanta, and I think he wants to be here. That, and I feel that David Wright will have a very positive effect on him.

 

2: Sign SP John Maine to a 1-year, $3 million contract.

3: Sign LHP Pedro Feliciano to a 1-year, $2.5 million contract.

4: Sign RHP Sean Green to a 1-year, $750,000 contract.

5: Sign OF Angel Pagan to a 1-year, $600,000 contract.

NON-TENDERS: Cory Sullivan, Jeremy Reed.

EXPLANATION: Pretty self-explanatory.

 

LINEUP

1: SS Jose Reyes (S)

2: 2B Luis Castillo (S)

3: CF Carlos Beltran (S)

4: LF Matt Holliday (R)

5: 3B David Wright (R)

6: RF Jeff Francoeur (R)

7: 1B Aubrey Huff (L)

8: C Gregg Zaun (S)

9: PITCHER

 

BENCH

OF: Angel Pagan (S)

IF/OF: Daniel Murphy (L)

IF: Mark Loretta (R)

C: Omir Santos (R)

IF/OF: Nick Evans (R)

OTHER POSSIBILITIES: Anderson Hernandez, Fernando Martinez, Chris Carter, any possible spring training invitees.

 

EXPLANATION: The top three of the order remains the same. Reyes, if healthy, would benefit greatly from a healthy Castillo given his plate discipline. The 4-6 spots in the lineup would be extremely right-handed, but I would bat Francoeur behind Wright to perhaps get him some solid RBI opportunities for a month or two to get him off to a good start. The bottom half of the order also has some pop with Francoeur and Huff.

The bench has a great middle infielder in Loretta, a good 4th outfielder in Angel Pagan, a right-handed bat with some opportunities in Nick Evans (perhaps at first in a platoon). As for Daniel Murphy, I’d get him accustomed to playing anywhere needed. He will share at-bats with Huff and Evans at first as well. I feel that first base won’t be such an eyesore with the team finally getting some pop from a corner outfield position.

 

ROTATION

1: LHP Johan Santana

2: RHP Aaron Harang

3: LHP Randy Wolf

4: RHP Mike Pelfrey

5: LHP Oliver Perez

DEPTH: LHP Jon Niese, RHP John Maine, RHP Dillon Gee, RHP Nelson Figueroa, RHP Fernando Nieve

EXPLANATION: Harang, if healthy, would make a fantastic #2 starter behind Santana. Even if Johan were to go down with an injury (God forbid!), Harang has been the Ace of the Reds for five years. I don’t think he’d miss a beat if he was healthy. As for Wolf and Pelfrey, they make a great #3-#4 combo. And as for Oliver Perez, he would either be effective or replaced by a rejuvenated Maine or an up-and-coming Niese in this scenario.

 

Also, aside from Harang, this is a fairly healthy starting rotation. I would not want Justin Duchscherer, Erik Bedard, Ben Sheets, or Rich Harden going anywhere near this rotation. Those four guys are walking time bombs, especially those with emotional problems like Bedard and Duchscherer. This is New York, not a city in the Midwest.

 

BULLPEN

RHP Francisco Rodriguez

RHP Sean Green

LHP Pedro Feliciano

RHP Bobby Parnell

RHP Brian Stokes

RHP John Maine

RHP (Justin Speier, Eric Gagne, Juan Rincon, etc.)/LHP (Jack Taschner, Patrick Misch, Jamie Walker)

 

EXPLANATION: By the way, that seven man bullpen is contingent upon Maine moving out of the bullpen in due time, plus at least one of those guys sticking.

Bullpens are like going out on dates with several women. You go out with enough, sooner or later something is bound to stick and one of them will be acceptable. If not, you keep trying until you find one. There are so many relievers, and so many non-tender candidates in this upcoming offseason, that I wouldn’t spend a dime on relievers. That especially applies when you have a $12 million closer. The Mets should just invite a bunch of guys with past success to spring training and see what happens.

 

2010 AND 2011 PAYROLL COMMITMENTS

 

HITTERS

 

Jose Reyes

2010: $9 million; 2011: $11 million option

Luis Castillo

2010: $6 million; 2011: $6 million

Carlos Beltran

2010: $18.5 million; 2011: $18.5 million

Matt Holliday

2010: $20 million; 2011: $20 million

David Wright

2010: $10 million; 2011: $14 million

Jeff Francoeur

2010: $4 million; 2011: ARB

Aubrey Huff

2010: $3 million; 2011: $3 million

Gregg Zaun

2010: $2 million; 2011: F/A

Angel Pagan

2010: $600,000; 2011: ARB

Daniel Murphy

2010: $400,000; 2011: $400,000

Mark Loretta

2010: $2 million; 2011: F/A

Omir Santos

2010: $400,000; 2011: $400,000

Nick Evans

2010: $400,000; 2011: $400,000

 

2010 Lineup Commitments: $76.3 million

2011 Lineup Commitments: $72.7 million (w/ Reyes’ option picked up)

 

PITCHERS

 

Johan Santana

2010: $21 million; 2011: $22.5 million

Aaron Harang

2010: $10 million; 2011: $14 million ($2.5 million buyout)

Randy Wolf

2010: $10 million; 2011: $10 million

Mike Pelfrey

2010: $400,000; 2011: ARB?

Oliver Perez

2010: $12 million; 2011: $12 million

Francisco Rodriguez

2010: $11.5 million; 2011: $11.5 million

John Maine

2010: $3 million; 2011: ARB

Sean Green

2010: $750,000; 2011: ARB

Pedro Feliciano

2010: $2.5 million; 2011: F/A

Bobby Parnell

2010: $400,000; 2011: $400,000

Brian Stokes

2010: $400,000; 2011: ARB?

Justin Speier/Eric Gagne/Juan Rincon/Ron Villone/Jamie Walker/Pat Misch/etc.

2010: $400,000; 2011: F/A

(I will put those players up as one, with the possibility of more than one of them making the roster, obviously).

 

2010 Pitching Commitments: $72.35 million

2011 Pitching Commitments: $70.4 million ($58.9 million without Harang’s option)

 

2010 Total Payroll: $148.65 million

2011 Total Payroll: $143.1 million ($132.6 million without Harang)

EXPLANATION: $149 million is a few million more than where the Mets were last season, with new expectations with Matt Holliday around. The 2010 offseason sets up a little restrictively for this team payroll-wise, but the entire core of the team would be intact with Reyes, Wright, Holliday, and Beltran in the lineup and the rotation still intact with Wolf and Santana and Harang’s option being picked up, or else a few million to play with since losing Harang would save us $11.5 million.

.

The 2011 offseason would also become extremely exciting and telling for the Mets. Perez, Castillo, Beltran, and Reyes would be coming off the books, and the team would have a bunch of decisions to make at that point. That, and since we will have most of our prospects still around at that point, hopefully guys like Holt, Davis, and Martinez will begin taking the place of the big-money contracts.

 

Thank you for reading, AA!!

Just get Pujols.  And Utley, Mauer, Crawford, Holliday, Halladay, and Lincecum.  And Cliff Lee.

Just get them, and then we can win the World Series!

 

 

(Note:  I realize I'm way too late for the AAOP contest.  I'm just posting this entry to throw out ideas and generate debate,.  Your comments are welcome, of course)

My offseason plan is as follows:

(1)  Trade prospects for Curtis Granderson. As Sam Page has pointed out, Granderson brings one of the best packages of power, speed, defense, & walks in baseball, is only 28, and comes at a great bargain.  By adding Granderson as their power bat instead of breaking the bank on a Matt Holliday or Jason Bay, the Mets retain the payroll flexibility to supplement their core with high-value role players, the absence of which has hurt the Mets significantly the last 3 years.    

Trading for Granderson would boost the Mets payroll by $5.5 million in 2010.

 (2) Sign Placido Polanco.  Polanco is perhaps the best-fielding second baseman in the major leagues.  Admittedly, Polanco is somewhat light with the bat: his wOBA has declined from .371 to .339 to .321 since 2007.  However, Polanco's awesome glove more more than makes up for it; according to Fangraphs, Polanco's value in 2009 to the Tigers was  $14.1 million.  I'm estimating Polanco would command something like a 2-year deal at a total value of $13 to $16 million, so let's figure an addition to the 2010 payroll of $7.25 million.   

(3) Sign Ben Sheets.  Sheets is coming off elbow surgery, but his agent insists he'll be 100% healthy by spring training.  Of course, Sheets has a history of losing time due to injuries: from 2005 to 2008, he averaged only 150 innings, and made over 30 starts in only one of those seasons.  That being said, when he's healthy, Sheets is one of the most dominating pitchers in baseball.  100-to-150 innings of Sheets would still provide significant value to the Mets.  The most attractive thing about getting Sheets is that he probably could be signed  for a low base salary with lots of incentives. I'm estimating a base salary of $4 million. 

(4) Sign Jon Garland.  Garland is kind of a "meh" pitcher,; he doesn't strike out a lot of batters (career K/9 of 4.72), and for that reason, doesn't particularly enthuse many fans.  But whatever Garland's limits, he's been durable & consistent.  He's made more than 30 starts each of the last 8 season, and has posted FIP's between 4.24 and 4.76 since 2005.  He's the perfect complement to the high-risk/high-reward Sheets.  I estimate it would take between $7 and $9 million to sign Garland.  

(5) Sign Gregg Zaun as Catcher.  Zaun brings good plate discipline and decent pop for a catcher, and according to Driveline Mechanics, was an average defender.    I figure we can get him for around $2 million (the price at which the Rays refused to extend his option).

(6) Keep Daniel Murphy as the 1st baseman, but bring in a right-handed bat to platoon with him.  My choice would be Ryan Garko, who the Giants are likely to non-tender.  Garko has mashed lefties to the tune of  .313 /.392/.495 in his career, and should be available at a cheap price (around $1 million).  Plus, if Murphy falters in 2010, Garko is capable enough to take over the starting job.

(6) Go with Angel Pagan as the starting rightfielder.  Personally, I'm skeptical that Pagan's 2009 was a fluke (we're talking about a guy with a career minor league OPS of  .715).  I'd prefer to sign an established free agent and use Pagan off the bench.    However, if we want to trade for Granderson and sign Polanco, Sheets & Garland and stay within our budget, this is one of the places where we have to be frugal.  I prefer Pagan to Francoeur, so I'm going with Angel. 

(7)  Because of budget constraints, we're limited in who we can add to the bullpen.  I'd love to add a proven setup guy like Rafael Betancourt or Brandon Lyon, but we don't have the money to do it.  Improving our position players & our starting pitching takes priority over the bullpen.  Therefore, I'm going to limit us to signing Joe Biemel, at a price around $1 million.  Biemel would be the 2nd lefty in the bullpen, but who actually has some ability to get righties out (career OPS of .790 against them).

(8)  Move John Maine to the bullpen.  With the additions of Garland & Sheets, we're going to have to move one of our starters to the bullpen.  Maine seems like a better fit for the bullpen than Pelfrey or Ollie. Of course, when Sheets suffers the inevitable injury, Maine will be available to fill in for him. 

(9)  Trade Luis Castillo &  Jeff Francoeur.  I don't hate Castillo the way some Mets fans do, but the combination of extreme lack of power & horrible range at 2b, plus the likelihood that he'll continue to decline with age, make it imperative to get rid of his contract.  (Plus, we have to move him if we want to sign Polanco).  I'm confident that if we're willing to eat most or all of Luis' contract, we can find somebody to take him off our hands. 

As for Francouer, there is no need to reiterate his flaws to AA readers..  Unlike Castillo, Frenchy doesn't come with an expensive contract, so finding a team that's stupid enough to take him shouldn't be hard.  The Royals seem like a definite possibility; Dayton Moore is said to have an affinity for Francoeur. 

Our projected starting lineup looks like this:

C: Zaun

1B: Murphy/Garko

2B: Polanco

SS:  Reyes

3B: Wright:

RF: Pagan

CF: Beltran

LF: Granderson

Rotation

Santana

Sheets

Garland

Ollie

Pelfrey

Bullpen:

K-Rod

Parnell

Green

Biemel

Feliciano

Figueroa//Nieve/Stokes

Maine

Note:  We'd be adding around $30 million to our payroll, which leaves us with the $150 million budget that the Mets are looking at. 

First thing to do is to make sure that if the Padres are going to trade Adrian Gonzalez, they trade him to the Mets.  I'd offer Fernando Martinez, Ike Davis (expendable with Gonzalez coming in), John Maine, Wilmer Flores and Brad Holt.  If you think that's too much, then it's probably just enough.

Second thing to do is to see how much the Diamondbacks want to dump Chris Snyder.  I'd offer Castillo, Mejia and Nick Evans for Snyder and Brandon Webb (last year of his contract at $8.5mil).  The D-backs do this trade because they need 2b help, they hate the Snyder contract (3 years $12mil), are afraid they can't keep Webb and because it opens up additonal payroll for them to make a run at Lackey.

Then I'd see if we could sign both Gonzalez and Webb to long-term deals.  Given that Webb missed almost the whole season last year, he might sign something like 4 years $50mil if we tear up the $8.5mil for 2010.  And Gonzalez, I'd offer Teixeira money as a start. 

Third thing to do is to offer Jason Bay a 3-year $45mil contract.  I don't love Holliday, and I'm suspicious of any player whose numbers seem so dependant on playing in a certain ballpark.  Given the Mets' first year in Citi, I don't want to take a chance of being tied to a guy who has suddenly become a .276 hitter with 38 doubles and 15 home runs for $16mil per over 5-6 years.  And since I've used all our trading chips on Webb and Gonzalez, and the drop-off is significant after Bay, I see no other choice.  How's that for a ringing endorsement for a $15mil a year player?  "We have no other choice!" 

Then we need to shore up the bullpen by bringing back Octavio Dotel and bringing in Rafael Betancourt.  Last 2 years Dotel has been healthy, pitching to a 3.33 ERA in '09 with 75K in 62.1 IP pitching in a hitters' park in Chicago.  Betancourt has career ERA of 3.16 and WHIP of 1.12 with more than 1 K per IP. 

Yes, I'd move Murphy to second base.  First of all, if he can hit like he did in the second half last year (.282 with 27 doubles) he'll hit plenty for a middle infielder.  And secondly, he showed great range and hands at first last year.  I think he'd be at least passable at 2nd.  I'd bring in someone like Craig Counsell or Adam Kennedy as a utility infielder and as a back-up in case Murphy is no better at second than he was in left field.

And the last thing is to bring in some veteran pitchers on minor league deals like Contreras, Prior, Brett Tomko, Jason Schimdt.  Get 2-3 guys like that for the "break glass in case of emergency" situations.

So the lineup is Reyes (ss), Wright (3b), Gonzalez (1b), Beltran (cf), Bay (lf), Francoeur (rf), Murphy (2b), Snyder (c).  Santos would share catching duties again, with Thole in AAA.  Bring back Tatis, Pagan and Counsell as utility players.

The rotation would be Santana, Webb, Pelfrey, Perez, Niese.

The bullpen would be Rodriguez, Dotel, Betancourt, Feliciano, Parnell, Stokes and Misch. 

By my count, if Gonzalez and Webb both agree to long-term contracts starting this year, the Payroll would be about $150mil.  If not, it'd be around $135mil. 

"...they won’t be satisfied with a ‘sissy’ game…They will expect and demand a stepped-up, more competitive type of play- rugged and hard, though fair. It is up to baseball to give these men the vigorous exhibitions they are expecting…It can be accomplished by good old-fashioned hustling on every play, and the display of an aggressive, competitive  spirit that is controlled, but not ruthlessly suppressed…"

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Amidst an array of wood-carved ducks, Rolex watches, and uninspired artwork, a shiny blue and orange jacket with a number 2 on one sleeve and a NY Mets emblem on the other was proudly displayed. Looking at it from the front, you might think it could have belonged to any Mets fan that made their way to Flushing Meadows over the years. You may even envision Tom Seaver standing safely at first base due to a botched sacrificed bunt ready to run the bases. Or perhaps this was the one shred of paraphernalia worn by a family friend who vowed to never take it off until the Mets won the World Series again.    

 

Whatever the case may be, when you proceed to investigate who this particular piece of clothing belongs to, it’s hard not to recoil in disgust. “MADOFF!” That’s right. The notorious mastermind of the most lucrative Ponzi-scheme of all-time was a New York Mets fan. So much so that he decided to pony up with the team’s ownership in hopes of expanding his evil empire until it all came crashing to a devastating halt. Nevertheless, to imagine Bernie Madoff donning his most prized Mets possession (bought at auction for $14,500) brings to mind our most recently notorious Mets aficionados.

 

Up first is pitcher Jerry Koosman. The legendary left-hander had his best years as a Met. But as the saying goes, it’s not how you start its how you finish. Koosman felt he was above the law or in this case the IRS and is currently serving a six-month jail sentence for tax evasion. Lenny Dykstra, who is fortunately not behind bars, owes tons of money to several financial institutions. “Nails” is so far in debt that he had to pawn away his championship rings and other sought after memorabilia that he acquired over the years as a professional baseball player.

 

As Koosman and Dykstra continue their honorary fall from grace, the Mets organization has recently announced that Wally Backman, another of the team’s black sheep, will be taking over the managerial duties for the Brooklyn Cyclones next season.

 

“He has always been a fan favorite in New York, symbolizing the blue-collar work ethic and unbridled dedication to winning that this city – and particularly this borough – values above all else in its sports stars,” Cyclones general manager Steve Cohen said. “Brooklyn and Backman were made for each other.” Perhaps, we will be seeing those exact words atop the Kosciusko Bridge on our way into Kings County.

 

As if Brooklyn doesn’t have enough of a slightly skewed reputation, now it has to embrace someone who has been arrested twice and has had financial problems in the past. Not to mention that Backman was also canned after just four days on a job once. I guess everybody deserves a second chance. I, personally, think the hiring of the fiery Backman is a good thing. It makes perfect sense. As long as he keeps his shirt on or jacket (haha) in this instance, he should have nothing to worry about.

 

Oh, by the way, Backman was released from the Chicago White Sox organization in 2003 as a minor league manager. Why? He was lobbying for the White Sox manager position. From who, you ask? Jerry Manuel.