Just gonna comment on Soriano in the two hole--no way in my opinion. The best thing about having LoDuca in the two spot is he almost never struck out. That gave Reyes great chances to steal and hit and run. Soriano struck out some 140 times this past season. That gives a whole different look to the top of that lineup. He should probably be a 5 on this team, with Wright 6th.
I miss Larry David. He made me laugh. The duck in the woods just creeps me out. One of the best hitters of our generation is older and Boston is further away from a championship going into '07 than they were going into '06. They're not going to play the Yankee game of putting an expensive band-aid on it. Theo is there for a long haul and that will probably include an overhaul at some point. Florida, on the other hand is cheap and all of those great upcoming players will find success...on other teams when contracts are renegotiated/expire. Pelfry may be good, but will he be as good as Willis? Doubt it. Milledge just keeps the tradition alive of the Mets raising outfielders as pups who never reach their potential. Has one reached their potential since the Straw Man? No. And Heilman deserves a chance to begin anew somewhere.
Ack horrible horrible trades either way, first off we ain't getting Manny for Milledge and Heilman, and secondly Manny is getting old, his stupid act is only going to get worse while his production will go down. As for the Milledge, Pelfrey, and Heilman for Willis, that is equally horrible we would be getting robbed for that deal, first Willis is inconsistant, secondly, do you want the Marlins to be a major power in a year or 2? because giving them all of that would haunt us till our graves, and 3rd giving up Milledge for Willis is understandable, Heilman is getting a little older and we may be too stubborn to try him at starter so that is ok as well, but PELFREY??? he has ace potential, who may be ready by spring training next season, it is counterproductive to give away good pitching for good pitching when we need more pitching. Ugh, the time for horrible trade proposals are soon going to begin. :sad:
I love how you say "horrible trade, first off we aint getting Manny for Milledge and secondly...." Make up your mind dude. Is he gonna shit? Or is he gonna kill us? Ace POTENTIAL means nothing. We need Ace PROVEN. I want one championship for now. The sooner the better. Florida can win two or three after that. As it is now, they've won twice as many as us in the past 20 years. And how long have they been around? Manny produces runs, period. BTW...I forgot about Bannister. I'd throw any combination of players at Florida for Willis. The only hands-off guys are Reyes, Beltran and Wright. Pelfry has not shown enough yet for you to say that he's as good as Willis....in your "good pitching for good pitching" take on the trade I'd do. If we sign Zito, and we can trade for Willis...you're talking a nasty, filthy #1 and #2 before you can even say Pedro or Glavine or Perez or Maine, etc. Zito and Willis alone is a lethal combo (remember...the DTrain can hit at Shea as well). Yeah holding on to Pelfry will make other teams shiver with fear. Most MLB players are still saying "Mike who?" wondering what the f Mets fans are even talking about. No. Trading a potential bust in Milledge, an above average reliever in Heilman and, according to you, the next Tom Seaver in Pelfry for Willis you wouldn't do.
Sure my mind is made up about Manny, if the Sox does give Manny us we have 1 or 2 years at the most and then garbage but the deal won't matter anyway because we ain't getting him, as for Willis he has been HORRIBLE in the postseason, been inconsistant and isn't as good as you people are hyping him up to be, you talk about winning now with this deal and I think a fool makes this deal, this deal reminds me of the Beckett deal, in that the Sox got a pitcher that at his peak is very good but is very inconsistant, and gave away 2 potential studs that they wouldn't mind having right now, and if it wasn't for the fact that the Marlins forced Lowell on them it will be viewed as one of the worst trades in a long time, the only difference in these deals is that the Red Sox don't have to see them 19 times a season, trading for pitching is find especially if you need it, but you don't trade our best positional and best pitching prospect who both probably will be ready next season, along with our best setup man at the end of the season to our biggest competition in the division PERIOD, even for a guy who may win 20 games, however as he has shown in his career is also as likely to win just 13 games, who has shown a history of coming up small in the playoffs.
minaya says he wants athletes on this team.manny is not an athlete.keep him away. ill take any of these @ 2nd base alfonso soriano adam kennedy julio lugo or maybe mr minaya has a trick up his sleeve for a good fielding athletic 2nd baseman
I will stand by my opinion of wanting Grudzielanek at 2B. He should have been an all-star last year and he would be a perfect fit as a role player. Granted he is only a few years younger than Valentin but I think he is a much better player than Valentin. At the OF position I'm not 100% sold on Milledge. I would like to keep him but another year at the triple A level would be better. I don't know if Gary Matthews can play RF but he is a guy I would look at if he'd make the move to right. To be honest I think they'd rather platoon Green with Milledge but I'd rather see a fulltime guy and IMO Green has been done for at least 2 years. In Left I'd like to see Ibanez, I think Seattle might be prime for a picking as this Japanese pitcher wants to play with Ichiro and Johjima so their attention may be diverted. I couldn't imagine how good our lineup would be if Ibanez was in it. The thing is that Milledge becomes expendable if we can bring in 2 corner OF's that can play. Although I see us targeting one and hanging onto Lastings. Pitching is the key to this team, I'm going with the attitude that we are on borrowed time with Pedro. I think his career is over and I think the Mets need to plan on life w/o Pedro. I think with the pitching staff you have to think of the future. Obviously Zito would be a big start and then go from there. I think a #2 would be a good idea too but I think Glavine can be that guy for another year. I like what little I saw of Bannister and Maine looks like he is going to be a good end of the rotation guy. I don't trust Perez even after his pitching in the playoffs. I think he has at least earned a chance to compete for the spot though. Pelfry is like Milledge, he should play another year of minor league ball and then play in 2008. We'd have a good young core with Pelfry, Bannister, and Maine. Throw in Zito and whoever we bring in after Glavine and our SP should be a strong point.
why is everyone overlooking the return of victor zambrano?????he could be our ace in the hole....... ducking to avoid flying food & trash
The Mets do need to have a backup plan in case Zito doesn't leave the West Coast. I think a good place to start would be Jason Schmidt but does anybody realistically see the Mets going after Daisuke? I heard today him going to the Yankees is far from a slam dunk, in fact it's more likely he goes to a team that doesn't have a Japanese star. San Francisco jumped out at me meaning we could try to get Schmidt instead of Zito.
If Matsuzaka had a preference, he would go to the Mariners or Yankees. But he doesn't have a choice in the matter.
No he doesn't. From what I understand the team that bids the highest for the first crack at negotiations with him gets the first shot. That money is refundable so for example if the Twins bid 15 million just to negotiate with him but he fails to reach an agreement they get that 15 million back. He does have a choice though as he can go down the list of teams and not reach an agreement with them until he comes to a team he wants to play for. From what I understand it is hugely in the intrest of teams that don't have Japanese players on their roster to grab one because of TV rights. Every Yankee game is carried in Japan because of Matsui, every Mariner game is carried because of Ichiro and Johjima. I'm thinking if I was Theo Epstein I'd do what I could to get Daisuke because they'll get that money back just from Japanese TV rights.
He would just wait until next year when he is a free agent to come over, if he cared so much about the team he was going to. But he has said, and it is a big deal in Japan, that he would like to play in Seattle because of Ichiro and Johjima, or the Yankees because of Matsui, and he has attended WS games in the past at Yankee Stadium and really enjoyed his experience. With Boras as his agent, he'll take the best deal he can get, and that will be from the first team that wins the rights. You're right, it is of great interest to have that revenue from Japan coming in, which is why it would be smart for big market teams that don't have a Japanese star, like the Mets and Red Sox, to win the bid.
Mets not pursuing Zito, Soriano, or trade for Manny. http://www.nypost.com/seven/1027200...mets_not_gunning_for_big_3_mets_mark_hale.htm
