Thursday, June 17, 2004
Weathers out, Hidalgo in
I first heard this on WFAN and have since seen it reported on the ESPN bottom line, and I say right on. No one wants to see the Mets mortgage their future to make a run at the playoffs this year, and this is exactly the kind of trade they should be making, improving the team this year without affecting next year’s team in any significant way. There’s some speculation that management getting rid of Art Howe’s favorite reliever just days after getting rid of his buddy the hitting coach is yet more handwriting on the wall, and perhaps that’s true. But the important thing is that the Mets dumped an ineffective relief pitcher in exchange for upgrading a position that sorely needed it. David Weathers’s struggles this year have come as a surprise given how effective he’d been the last couple of years. Heck, before the season started I argued that he should’ve been considered for the closer job. But he clearly didn’t have it this year, and Art Howe wouldn’t let that stop him from using him in high leverage situations. So now the Mets have apparently relieved themselves of that problem and taken a step toward solving another.
Richard Hidalgo’s calling card is his inconsistency. But he’s also put up a monster season or two, and added a few above average offensive years in as well. And even his worst offensive stretch (2002’s .235/.319/.415) matches up pretty well with Karim Garcia’s career .242/.281/.428 line. Even this year, in which Hidalgo has tailed off miserably after a very hot start, he’s hit .256/.309/.412 compared to Garcia’s .236/..276/.407. Of course, Minute Maid Park is a far more hitter-friendly place than Shea Stadium, but it still seems to me that as long as Hidalgo doesn’t completely collapse, he’ll hit at least as well as Garcia, and he has the potential to bring a whole lot more to the table. And in addition to that, he’s one of the best defensive rightfielders in the game, which makes him a definite upgrade over anyone the Mets have been throwing out there up until now. And all it cost them was an ineffective bullpen arm and a bunch of Wilpon’s money. Sounds like a good deal to me.
The Mets currently have the best team ERA in all of baseball, and while that probably won't continue, given the quality of competition they have faced and will face, among other factors, they seem likely to continue to have one of the better pitching staffs in the game as long as Jae Weong Seo starts pitching in a manner somewhat similar to his 2003 and Al Leiter's arm doesn't fall off. They’re a long way from being the best team in baseball and a pretty good distance from being a serious playoff contender as well, but with the way the division favorites have stumbled, if the Mets can add some offense without giving up anyone who’s an important piece of this team or will be an important piece of the next great Mets team, there’s really no harm in doing it. If the Mets can get their offense going to some degree to go along with this pitching, they could put a pretty competitive team on the field. Jose Reyes, Richard Hidalgo, Jason Phillips, Mike Cameron and David Wright (maybe) are capable of outhitting Todd Zeile, Karim Garcia, 2004's Jason Phillips, 2004's Mike Cameron and Ty Wigginton (maybe) by a decent margin. The upcoming two weeks of games against the Yankees and Reds could be enough to put an end to the 2004 Mets’ chances, but if the Mets can grab some wins this weekend against the Tigers, survive that two weeks stretch and the division leaders continue to struggle, why can’t the Mets compete for the division? This is likely their last shot at it with this particular group of pitchers pitching anywhere near this well, and while they should resist the urge to go for broke because of that, making a smart move or two like this, maybe something to add another dependable bullpen arm, isn’t a bad idea at all.
EDIT: The Mets have apparently added Jeremy Griffiths to the trade. And to that I say "whatever." 31 strikeouts, 29 walks in 70 innings and I don't really care what your ERA is. ¶ joe | 1:19 PM |
I first heard this on WFAN and have since seen it reported on the ESPN bottom line, and I say right on. No one wants to see the Mets mortgage their future to make a run at the playoffs this year, and this is exactly the kind of trade they should be making, improving the team this year without affecting next year’s team in any significant way. There’s some speculation that management getting rid of Art Howe’s favorite reliever just days after getting rid of his buddy the hitting coach is yet more handwriting on the wall, and perhaps that’s true. But the important thing is that the Mets dumped an ineffective relief pitcher in exchange for upgrading a position that sorely needed it. David Weathers’s struggles this year have come as a surprise given how effective he’d been the last couple of years. Heck, before the season started I argued that he should’ve been considered for the closer job. But he clearly didn’t have it this year, and Art Howe wouldn’t let that stop him from using him in high leverage situations. So now the Mets have apparently relieved themselves of that problem and taken a step toward solving another.
Richard Hidalgo’s calling card is his inconsistency. But he’s also put up a monster season or two, and added a few above average offensive years in as well. And even his worst offensive stretch (2002’s .235/.319/.415) matches up pretty well with Karim Garcia’s career .242/.281/.428 line. Even this year, in which Hidalgo has tailed off miserably after a very hot start, he’s hit .256/.309/.412 compared to Garcia’s .236/..276/.407. Of course, Minute Maid Park is a far more hitter-friendly place than Shea Stadium, but it still seems to me that as long as Hidalgo doesn’t completely collapse, he’ll hit at least as well as Garcia, and he has the potential to bring a whole lot more to the table. And in addition to that, he’s one of the best defensive rightfielders in the game, which makes him a definite upgrade over anyone the Mets have been throwing out there up until now. And all it cost them was an ineffective bullpen arm and a bunch of Wilpon’s money. Sounds like a good deal to me.
The Mets currently have the best team ERA in all of baseball, and while that probably won't continue, given the quality of competition they have faced and will face, among other factors, they seem likely to continue to have one of the better pitching staffs in the game as long as Jae Weong Seo starts pitching in a manner somewhat similar to his 2003 and Al Leiter's arm doesn't fall off. They’re a long way from being the best team in baseball and a pretty good distance from being a serious playoff contender as well, but with the way the division favorites have stumbled, if the Mets can add some offense without giving up anyone who’s an important piece of this team or will be an important piece of the next great Mets team, there’s really no harm in doing it. If the Mets can get their offense going to some degree to go along with this pitching, they could put a pretty competitive team on the field. Jose Reyes, Richard Hidalgo, Jason Phillips, Mike Cameron and David Wright (maybe) are capable of outhitting Todd Zeile, Karim Garcia, 2004's Jason Phillips, 2004's Mike Cameron and Ty Wigginton (maybe) by a decent margin. The upcoming two weeks of games against the Yankees and Reds could be enough to put an end to the 2004 Mets’ chances, but if the Mets can grab some wins this weekend against the Tigers, survive that two weeks stretch and the division leaders continue to struggle, why can’t the Mets compete for the division? This is likely their last shot at it with this particular group of pitchers pitching anywhere near this well, and while they should resist the urge to go for broke because of that, making a smart move or two like this, maybe something to add another dependable bullpen arm, isn’t a bad idea at all.
EDIT: The Mets have apparently added Jeremy Griffiths to the trade. And to that I say "whatever." 31 strikeouts, 29 walks in 70 innings and I don't really care what your ERA is. ¶ joe | 1:19 PM |
