I never thought the Mets would have or could have gotten Jason Bay. I also never thought they should have at the expense of pitching, which is still the team’s top priority. I had Bay returning to the Red Sox and didn’t think the Mets would go as high as potentially $80 million for him. I was surprised they targeted offense first considering the holes in their rotation.
Bay will make them better, and his production will at times overcome the defects of Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez. The three-run homer, as Earl Weaver used to say, is baseball’s great eraser.
There are reports the Mets are also close to getting Bengie Molina for two years. I’m against signing a 35-year-old catcher to a two-year deal, but he might be the ticket in turning Perez around. Perhaps there will be a chemistry between the two.
This post was written by John Delcos on December 30, 2009
Loading ...
First off, your poll is silly, Pitching is always priority 1, that doesn’t mean upgrading the offense was useless. Why should I have to say offense is their num 1 priority to say I am pleased we got Bay?
I want a quality #2 guy to slot behind Santana, but to me, signing Lackey to 85 million was nothing but a mistake. And there isn’t exactly a lot of other choices out there to make that #2 guy appear. If we can get the right player in a deal like Zambrano (contract ick) or Harrang/Arroyo (contract and age/talent issues), or pick up Piniero I will be much happier.
The point is we are a better team today than we were yesterday, by quite a bit. You improve the team where you can and how you can. We are doing that with Bay.
(1) Jsmes: I attacked JD about that in the other thread. Gotta sell papers ya know. lol
What’s Pedro’s status these days?
Aren’t we all saying that here?
Essentially what Jim says in post #1 is what John says in this posting.
to wit: Pitching is what we need.
The difference is that JD is positing that the Mets should have used the money used for Bay to improve the pitching. Jim is saying they are not mutually exclusive.
I don’t know what the budget is, but in the past money has always come up as an issue to get the next guy.
OT – the NHL will play hockey at Fenway Park on January 1, 2010
Here’s the link
http://www.nhl.com/ice/eventhome.htm?location=/winterclassic/2010
(3) & (6) Annie: Pedro is still a free agent. Probably drawing no interest from anyone since he can only pitch well with 15 days rest. lol. I loved watching the first game that they had a few years ago in Buffalo when they played hockey in the snow! This time it is supposed to rain, so the game might be cancelled.
Here’s a pretty good assessment of the top 10 Met prospects:
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/new-york-mets-top-10-prospects/
JD, I hear that white wine helps to take the bitterness of eating crow away. CHEERS!
Steve (7): Thanks for the link. It is appreciated.-JD
Steve – I live in the town where Brian Leetch grew up, so we all follow hockey (not happy campers when the Rangers let him go to the Bruins, but much happier when they hung his uniform shirt #2 from the MSG rafters).
Brad Ausmus grew up here too, and he and Brian were the pitcher/catcher combo that won a state baseball title. Multi talented kids.
8. Sadecki….. You are a tough hombre! But notice the thread all throughout sports. Turn on the radio or ESPN or go to sites like this, and you hear the Mets made a bad deal because they need pitching. A year ago the Mets were blasted for not getting a power bat and now they are without Delgado and they get a power bat leaving them where they were a year ago, a power bat short, and they are blasted for getting a power bat.
A year ago the Mets were blaseted for not getting Ibanez, a guy who was 36 at the stsrt of his 3 year deal, now they are blasted for getting Bay, who the blasters say is too old for a 5 year deal, the guy who will be 36/37 at the end of the deal. So Bay is too old but Ibanez wasn’t?? They should have gotten Ibanez who can’t cover ground but they shouldn’t have gotten Bay because he can’t cover ground? Give me a break. Evey Omar move isn’t bad no matter what you think of hin.
(10) Wow. I did not know that about Leetch and Ausmus (who is my hero because he is one of a few jewish ballplayers lol) Him, Braun, Youkilis, Ian Kinsler from the Texas Rangers…all rank up high for me. lol
(11) Harry: Sometimes I think it’s because ripping on the Mets is such the in vogue thing to do. Let’s face it, they’ve been an easy mark for the last two years. And i’m sure the scribes are pretty pissed that Francessa got the scoop instead of them. That’s also why I don’t put much credence in to Molina almost signing here when Francessa said Molina was still asking for 3 years.
11
actually, last year i thought we needed to upgrade the pen and the rotation. the OF i thought we could get a platoon guy.
this year we need rotation help, just like the past 4 years.
the needs are the same because the gm has not fulfilled those needs in his time here.
11.Chiti, Aww cant a guy have a little fun anymore? the writers love to pick on the mets every chance they get. Its good to have a forum to pick on a writer who disparages my favorite team. Kudos to John for confessing his sin. You are forgiven, my son. LOL!!
12. Steve, you must have loved the “Hebrew Hammer.” do you know who I am talking about?
Well that is now Braun’s nickname, but I assume your speaking of Ron Blomberg?
17. Steve, I didnt know Braun stole away the moniker. Yes, it was ron bloomberg who I liked a lot more than the current mayor for life of NYC. you now officially qualify as an oldtimer or old fart, whichever you prefer. forgive me, I am feeling a little giddy today.
LOL Ray: I am an oldtimer. Enough to know that Sadecki’s nickname was Suds. lol. Blomberg also holds the title I believe of the very first AL Designated Hitter!
17/18/19. I was kind of fond of my teammate (well almost as he was cut before they brought me here)and fellow catcher of the 1962 NYMets, Joe Ginsberg. Of course, Joe only had about 5 ABs so I guess I was a far superior player to him. So Steve the O, is Shamsky your favorite Metsie of all time then? He wears his WS ring to synogoue!
Sadecki on the Mets Today site they have a comparison of Bay to one your faves, McReynolds. You may have second thoughts on the signing now.
20. Oy vey, Artie was my favorite met. could he hit a fastball? and those sideburns, I try but i can never produce those perfect mutton chops. and all that talk of him being a bit strange in his sexual habits? Its heresry, I say!!!
Ray: Some other players with the Hebrew Hammer nickname were: Gabe Kapler, Hank Greenberg, and Al Rosen
Harry: The only thing I regret about not signing Marquis is that he would have been the only jewish player on the Met roster. LOL
Steve, never mind the rest, we got ourselves a slugger. Jew or not it helps our team. The writers are just idiots. it must be in their contracts to hate the Mets whenever they get a chance. My yankee friends fear Bay and thats enough for me.
so pineiro is looking for 4/60.
anyone think he is worth that?
(25) Dave: Uh…NO! He’s not worth 3/30 either.
dave (25): I don’t, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. He just might get it.-JD
jd(25)
Ollie did!
dave (28): That’s right. Perez should tell us there’s no limits when it comes to asking for money.-JD
some guy signs for a 2.35 hit a duece and a qtr with 30 rbi in 100 games.
all of a sudden castillo’s contract is looking better.
how do these guys get paid so much for being a 25th man on a 25 man roster?
#4 I didn’t say the money is exclusive, I said that this was the best way available to improve the team. I am not taking Joel Piniero over Bay (especially for 4 darn years), nor Wolf nor Marquis.
I think we will do something to improve our pitching, but Lackey would have been a mistake and I like the upgrade Bay will make.
So as I said, I would love to upgrade my pitching, but I don’t take a lesser upgrade at pitching just because I want pitching.
#11, he wont even be 37, he only just turned 31, he will be 35 at the end of the 4 years and 36 if he does go 5.
32. And your point is what? I said he’d be 36/37 and your explaining how he’d be 36? So again what is the point? Was my premise wrong? If he isn’t 37 then it only strengthens my point.
I know I was agreeing with you, I know it must have been surprising
just came across this.
no wonder ppl have doubts about fmart.
In 2009, Davis played in 114 games, Martinez has never surpassed 86 in the minor-league season. In 2009, Davis hit 20 home runs, Martinez, who hit nine, has never surpassed 10 in a season.
no matter what the mets do. this guy needs to play one year in the minors. he needs to actually go through a season. he seems to have a lot of rough edges. in the little time he spent in queens he did ok. but there was nothing in his fielding that looked above avg. and as expected he was overmatched at the plate.
if nothing else he needs it for his confidence. that he can hit a rough patch and get through it. to see breaking balls and figure out what to do with them.
apparently we had this guy before courtesy of our gm.
And so, the Mets dealt Bay — along with left-hander Bobby Jones and minor-leaguer Josh Reynolds — to the Padres in exchange for starter Jason Middlebrook and reliever Steve Reed. Bay’s inclusion in a deal was not something that gave Phillips any pause.
my question is who are these guys we got for what at the time was a rising minor leaguer.
John, you were wrong. just admit it withoout the demonstrations you will look the better for it.
34. I just came back from hospital.. All it was was a body shock from agreement.
(36) It’s questionable if he was a “rising major leaguer” at that time. He rose in the Mets eyes from nothing to a possible 4th OF. Here is a good link that contains an interview with Steve Phillips about the trade.
http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/alex-speier/2009/12/29/life-comes-full-circle-jason-bay-mets
JD: No GM in their right mind is giving Joel Piniero a 4 year 60 million dollar contract.
Steve (40): Sure enough, but all he needs is to find a GM not in his right mind. Somebody gave Oliver Perez $36 million over three years. Omar isn’t the only one to hand out bad deals.-JD
39
from your link
“I didn’t get a chance to see him play. When I got a chance to go down to Port St. Lucie, we’d moved him to Binghamton. At that time, he was a prospect as more of a fifth-outfielder guy,” said Phillips. “We thought he was an extra outfielder guy. But he just kept getting better.”
so they traded him without knowing him.
at the time in omars org he had started to break out as well as in the mets system.
the gm never saw him so had no first hand impression and included him in a throw away trade for whoever those guys were.
my point is we had him and presumably could have had him for the last 7.