Wednesday, December 08, 2004
It's Kickin' In
Al Leiter. Richard Hidalgo. John Franco. Todd Zeile. Ricky Bottalico. Mo Vaughn. All gone. Mike DeJean. Back at a reasonable rate. The Mets got a lot done by not doing much of anything in the last couple of days, but now the offseason proper is underway and it's time to see what Omar Minaya's really up to.
Leiter's exit is the most welcome because of what it means for the immediate future, but it's still at least a little bit sad after what he meant in the not so recent past. Leiter had quite a career on the field in a New York Mets' uniform, providing numerous memorable moments, October 4th, 1999 chief among them. He played a significant role in the most recent good times for the New York Mets, and the role he may or may not have played in the most recent bad times shouldn't obscure that. Still, it'll be nice to see him in black and teal next year issuing free passes to many a New York Met.
Hidalgo was the only other real decision the team had to make, and even that wasn't too tough of a call. The Mets are in a position where they might be wise to take a one year gamble on a player with an abundance of ability locating his consistency, but given that Hidalgo will turn thirty next year and would've gotten more money than is wise to gamble from an arbitrator, it was time to move on. And so, young Victor Diaz notwithstanding, the Mets are left with one starting outfield position unaccounted for at the present time. And if early rumors are any indication, Minaya is willing to try just about anything to fill it.
The ill-conceived idea of trading for Sammy Sosa appears to have gone by the wayside, due at least in part to the uproar surrounding Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds in the last week, if you believe what you read in the newspapers. But now those same papers are saying that the Mets, in their quest to sidestep the steroid controversy, are looking seriously at acquiring a thirty-eight year old outfielder who's coming off a season in which he produced a serious and curious late-career power spike. I wouldn't presume to accuse Moises Alou of anything, but in view of the contrast between his 2004 season and the numbers he produced in 2002 and 2003, he seems an odd choice to deflect questions about performance enhancement.
And more importantly, at least as concerns the team's fortunes on the field, he seems an odd choice to play a role in the resurrection of the New York Mets given his age and the fact that he produced just one slugging percentage higher than .462 in the last three years playing for the Cubs. Alou's resurgence might be both legitimate and sustainable, but taking a chance on him doesn't quite fit with the idea of a team trying to get better now while keeping an eye on the future. When picturing the Mets' next playoff team in your head, let the presence of players in their forties in important offensive positions serve as a sign that you're not thinking realistically.
There are a number of outfield options worth looking at on the free agent market, with Carlos Beltran, Magglio Ordonez and JD Drew chief among them. Ordonez comes with serious health questions after what happened to him this season and Drew's lengthy injury history is certainly something to be wary of, but those two were also not offered arbitration by their former teams and thus will cost the Mets nothing but money to acquire. Beltran is obviously the most attractive option, draft pick or no draft pick, but if this offseason goes like so many recent ones have for the Mets and they fail to acquire the best available option at a position where they have a need, I think Drew is a very intriguing alternative. Playing 145 games in the final year of his contract certainly doesn't erase concerns about his durability, but he also put up higher on base and slugging percentages than any Beltran has ever produced and is only a year and a half older than the newly minted playoff hero. Signing Drew would surely be risky for a team with plenty of injury concerns already. But given his age and proven offensive ability, he is definitely worth a serious inquiry from the Mets.
As for the rest of the Mets' moves, bringing back DeJean is the only one of consequence, and even that will hardly make or break the season. DeJean was awful with the Orioles for about forty innings this year before being traded to the Mets and pitching twenty-one and one-third very good innings. DeJean kept up a good strikeout rate and reduced his walks on his way to a 1.69 ERA in New York. There's plenty of reason to question whether he can maintain anything resembling that success, as he has only posted an ERA under 3.00 once in his eight-year major league career. He could just be another Rick Peterson mirage, like Matt Ginter. But the Mets gave him a very reasonable contract so he's worth a shot.
Things are likely to remain interesting from here on out until the Mets have filled all of the vacancies on their roster. So far the rumors of things Omar Minaya is thinking about doing have been much scarier than the things he's actually done, so maybe this team will turn out all right. There are still plenty of things for Minaya to do to make it so. ¶ joe | 10:19 PM |
Al Leiter. Richard Hidalgo. John Franco. Todd Zeile. Ricky Bottalico. Mo Vaughn. All gone. Mike DeJean. Back at a reasonable rate. The Mets got a lot done by not doing much of anything in the last couple of days, but now the offseason proper is underway and it's time to see what Omar Minaya's really up to.
Leiter's exit is the most welcome because of what it means for the immediate future, but it's still at least a little bit sad after what he meant in the not so recent past. Leiter had quite a career on the field in a New York Mets' uniform, providing numerous memorable moments, October 4th, 1999 chief among them. He played a significant role in the most recent good times for the New York Mets, and the role he may or may not have played in the most recent bad times shouldn't obscure that. Still, it'll be nice to see him in black and teal next year issuing free passes to many a New York Met.
Hidalgo was the only other real decision the team had to make, and even that wasn't too tough of a call. The Mets are in a position where they might be wise to take a one year gamble on a player with an abundance of ability locating his consistency, but given that Hidalgo will turn thirty next year and would've gotten more money than is wise to gamble from an arbitrator, it was time to move on. And so, young Victor Diaz notwithstanding, the Mets are left with one starting outfield position unaccounted for at the present time. And if early rumors are any indication, Minaya is willing to try just about anything to fill it.
The ill-conceived idea of trading for Sammy Sosa appears to have gone by the wayside, due at least in part to the uproar surrounding Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds in the last week, if you believe what you read in the newspapers. But now those same papers are saying that the Mets, in their quest to sidestep the steroid controversy, are looking seriously at acquiring a thirty-eight year old outfielder who's coming off a season in which he produced a serious and curious late-career power spike. I wouldn't presume to accuse Moises Alou of anything, but in view of the contrast between his 2004 season and the numbers he produced in 2002 and 2003, he seems an odd choice to deflect questions about performance enhancement.
And more importantly, at least as concerns the team's fortunes on the field, he seems an odd choice to play a role in the resurrection of the New York Mets given his age and the fact that he produced just one slugging percentage higher than .462 in the last three years playing for the Cubs. Alou's resurgence might be both legitimate and sustainable, but taking a chance on him doesn't quite fit with the idea of a team trying to get better now while keeping an eye on the future. When picturing the Mets' next playoff team in your head, let the presence of players in their forties in important offensive positions serve as a sign that you're not thinking realistically.
There are a number of outfield options worth looking at on the free agent market, with Carlos Beltran, Magglio Ordonez and JD Drew chief among them. Ordonez comes with serious health questions after what happened to him this season and Drew's lengthy injury history is certainly something to be wary of, but those two were also not offered arbitration by their former teams and thus will cost the Mets nothing but money to acquire. Beltran is obviously the most attractive option, draft pick or no draft pick, but if this offseason goes like so many recent ones have for the Mets and they fail to acquire the best available option at a position where they have a need, I think Drew is a very intriguing alternative. Playing 145 games in the final year of his contract certainly doesn't erase concerns about his durability, but he also put up higher on base and slugging percentages than any Beltran has ever produced and is only a year and a half older than the newly minted playoff hero. Signing Drew would surely be risky for a team with plenty of injury concerns already. But given his age and proven offensive ability, he is definitely worth a serious inquiry from the Mets.
As for the rest of the Mets' moves, bringing back DeJean is the only one of consequence, and even that will hardly make or break the season. DeJean was awful with the Orioles for about forty innings this year before being traded to the Mets and pitching twenty-one and one-third very good innings. DeJean kept up a good strikeout rate and reduced his walks on his way to a 1.69 ERA in New York. There's plenty of reason to question whether he can maintain anything resembling that success, as he has only posted an ERA under 3.00 once in his eight-year major league career. He could just be another Rick Peterson mirage, like Matt Ginter. But the Mets gave him a very reasonable contract so he's worth a shot.
Things are likely to remain interesting from here on out until the Mets have filled all of the vacancies on their roster. So far the rumors of things Omar Minaya is thinking about doing have been much scarier than the things he's actually done, so maybe this team will turn out all right. There are still plenty of things for Minaya to do to make it so. ¶ joe | 10:19 PM |
