"We've added speed, defense and pitching..." -Omar Minaya

When he was asked to identify the club's improvements on pitching, his response was, "Our defense makes our pitching better."

Inconceivable! I am praying every night that Minaya backs his way into a deal for Bedard, who seems like the most likely (and that's not saying much) pitcher we might be able to deal for. I would definitely offer a package of Heilman, Pelfrey/Humber/Mulvey and Gomez for Bedard. There's a 90% chance that all four of the pitchers I mentioned suck, and with Alou, Church, and Anderson all requiring time at the corner outfield spots, and Martinez a few years away, he's expendable. Meanwhile Bedard can strike people out, and we don't have a single pticher who can do that right now. He was 13-5 with a 3.17 ERA and 220 strikeouts on a team that was 24 games under .500 last year. Check out his splits against the Red Sox, Yankees, and his inter-league games against the NL. He was dominant. If we got him for the cadre of underachievers and projections we can give them, I'd be ecstatic. Plus I don't know his contract length, but he was only paid 3.4 mil last year, and he's only 28 (will turn 29 on March 6th). I don't know how anyone can be against this.

Rescinded!

So this past weekend was a flurry of activity. The Mets apparently balked at a shoulder injury Torrealba sustained while lifting weights before last season (yeah, that's what it was) and withdrew their offer. You'd think they'd have worked out these kinds of defects at the lab, but I guess we'll have to wait for the '09 model of stout hispanic catcher.

In other news, the Mets were apparently in talks with Cardinal shortstop David Eckstein to play second base. I cannot express how furious I was at hearing this. To put this in context, here is a list of the top 5 things I would do with a time machine that I sent to my brother after the 2006 NLCS:

1) Take a dump in David Eckstein's 10th birthday cake
2) Drink champagne out of the 1994 Stanley Cup
3) Save Lincoln or kill Hitler or something.
4) Stop Biff from building a gambling empire
5) Write "Separate Ways", sell to Steve Perry, make millions and be a legend for the rest of my life.

The number one thing I would've done with a time machine was make a 10 year old David Eckstein (probably) cry and (hopefully) eat a mouthful of my feces. He's not even the kind of guy you hate until he's on your team. He's just the kind of guy you hate. Not in a T.O. "what a cocky bastard" way or in a Todd Bertuzzi "if it weren't for hockey he'd be mugging people behind a Sears" sort of way, but because he's the little guy you grew up with who never believed he was little. Some people might find that inspiring, I find it enraging. You're 5'4", know your place and stop being better than me at basketball. Luckily we didn't sign him, but instead used our interest as a bargaining chip to leverage a 32 year old Luis Castillo who couldn't walk at the end of last season into accepting a way-above-market-value 4 year deal at over 6 million per. Way to go Omar.

Minaya Vows to Solve Pitching Woes, Signs Light-Hitting Catcher

So the Mets began to unlock the puzzle of their 2007 Hindenberg job this off-season, starting off with an impact move that will solve the production problems at the catcher's spot. LoDuca's diminishing production (.272/9HR/54RBI in 445 ABs) will be replaced by 29 year old Yorvit Torrealba (.255/8HR/47RBI in 396 ABs). Obviously this is only Minaya's first off-season move, and he's already stated that he'll be pursuing a front-line starting pitcher for next season, but I think the real issue here is where all these squat, jowly Latino catchers coming from? And who shapes their whisper-thin goatees for them? Consider our new catching battery:



And juxtapose those lovely mugs with pictures of all 3 Molina brothers, Henry Blanco, Einar Diaz, Johnny Estrada, Ramon Hernandez, Dioner Navarro, Miguel Olivo, Humberto Quintero, Guillermo Quiroz, and Javier Valentin, and you might as well be rolling these guys off an assembly line. They're all between 5'9" and 6', weight between 200 and 225 pounds, and hit around .265 with moderate power. I expect a lab to be uncovered somewhere in Venezuela with plump hispanic catchers suspended in liquid chambers and vials marked "Ivan Rodriguez DNA" lining the walls.

My Evening With Barry

First let me preface this entry by stating how happy I am with the decision not to post on a regular basis, headline chase, and follow every instinct I have about the team, because then things like the last week happen, and everyone who commented along the way pretty much looked like idiots. First the bluster before the Philly series, then the despair afterwards, only for us to have swept the Braves, take 2 of 3 from the suddenly competent Reds, and sweep the (dis)Astros. That's why they play the games. Anyway.

So it was the week of the San Francisco series at Shea in late May, and my uncle calls me with two tickets, right along the left field line. I already have my usual Tuesday/Friday seats for the 29th, but I opt to sell my seat for that game and go on Wednesday. Usually these things backfire on me bigtime, but Barry doesn't play on Tuesday, and is in the lineup for Wednesday. I depart the 7 train at around 6:30 and am immediately aware of the circus surrounding me. People with derrogatory t-shirts, steroids chants (outside the stadium!) and of course several competing anti-Bonds websites with party favors. The one that stuck with me most was boycottbarry.com, who were giving out sleep masks in the hopes that everyone in the stadium would don them as Barry came to bat.

My uncle and I make it to our seats and patiently await Barry's first appearance. After retiring the first two batters, Glavine gives up a double, and guess whose turn it is. Of course the boos come out, and it's honestly like nothing I've borne witness to at Shea before. At this point, some of the more conscientious sleep mask holders cover their eyes with their free handouts, but they are in the vast minority. In retrospect, it was a bit ambitious to expect even a small percentage of patrons to cover their eyes in such a manner; you don't even get everybody to clap their hands when they announce "Everybody clap your hands." I'm glad boycottbarry.com wasted their money on that stupid idea. Anyway the first inning (finally) ends after 2 Giant runs, and Barry makes his way out to left field, greeted by the lusty boos of my entire section (I chose to remain neutral). To my surprise, he tosses the ball around with Victor, the left field ball boy, a routine he would repeat before the bottom half of every inning. This must have been some night for Victor. Ball boys get a lot of abuse during the season; I hope he got laid because he played soft-toss with the new disputed Home Run King. Anyway Vic acquitted himself very nicely despite the pressure, with only a few slightly errant throws all game. God knows if it was me out there I would've broken out in hives and looked like the 2006 Detroit Tigers infield during the world series. Nobody would've been safe.

The bottom of the first continues on, and the boos do not subside. Barry's response to this, and I suppose the entire reason for this post, could be described as "amused dismissal." He smiled at the crowd, waved a little, and even flexed his muscles as the usual torrent of steroids accusations flew at him. I never would have expected this given his demeanor during his (admittedly choreographed) plays to the media, such as the interview when he dragged his son into the whole mess a few years back, and the "reality" show "Bonds on Bonds" where he (presumably) emoted into the camera about how tough it was being Barry Bonds and (definitely) dressed in drag for a spring training game.

As the game wore on and it became apparent that not only wasn't Bonds bothered by the cat-calling and steroid accusals, but that he was actually enjoying the attention, the fans in my section became much less vocal. They actually became speechless. One fan who had been the most vocal even resorted to talking under his breath to Barry and pretending he was having an intimate conversation with him. I think it's safe to say that Barry "got to him." In all, I think the amount of time Bonds spent looking at the crowd vs. the amount of time he spent paying attention to the game could be accurately summarized as a 70/30 split. There's no point in speculating as to whether Bonds' critics that night would have the guts to say all those things to his face one on one, because when it came down to it, they didn't even have the wherewithal to get under his skin with 54,000 reinforcements.

Ty Wigginton Triumphantly Returns to Shea 9/7-9/9

Once upon a time (2003), when the Mets were terrible and resourceful fans could scalp the scalpers 5 minutes before gametime, we really didn't have much to look forward to at Shea. The tail end of the core that led us to the 2000 World Series was slowly proving that they had nothing left in the tank, and watching overpriced has-beens trot around the field was wearing thin. Rey Ordonez, once touted as a long-term solution at shortstop was gone. Mo Vaughn was (mercifully) gone. Fonzie and Jay Payton went on to greener pastures. The time was ripe for a new breed of Met to be brought up. Jason Phillips finished the season batting .298, and his AGP (Awesome Goggle Percentage) was a staggering 4.333 (same scoring system as OPS). And in a season where the Mets finished 66-96, Ty Wigginton led the team in at-bats (573), games played (156), hits (146), RBI's (71) total bases (227) and hustle (unofficial). He also led the team in strikeouts (124) and batted a pedestrian .255. Truth be told, any time any player is leading your team with those numbers, you know it's been a long season. (Side note, Wiggy also gave Mets fans one of the few bright spots of 2004 when he almost single-handedly decimated the Yankees going 3-4 with two HRs and a single to complete the Shea sweep of the Yankees that year). Anyway Jason was traded to the Dodgers after the 2004 season for (I believe) Jae Seo after batting .218 the prior year, and Ty was traded right before the 2004 trading deadline to the Pirates while hitting .285 and on pace to have a career year in almost every statistical category; sadly, his only crime was not being as good as David Wright('s considerable hype). Call me crazy, but to this day I cannot wholly give myself in support to D. Wright. Anyway Wiggy was traded for Kris Benson (who eventually turned into John Maine and Jorge Julio, the latter of which turned into El Duque). So you could say that Wiggy was (and still is) worth two front-of-the-rotation starters. You probably wouldn't*, but you could. Anyway as it turns out, I have tickets to the Mets/Astros game on 9/8 at Shea, AND the Dodgers/Astros game on 8/13 at the Ravine, and who turns out to be the mid-season replacement for the anemic Ensberg/Lamb combo at third? So when he's back in Flushing this September, I'll be there early to try to get him to sign my hat for a 3rd time, and hopefully he'll be remembered by the crowd, at least a little, for being a gritty, hard-nosed player, and one of the only entertaining parts (along with mercilessly booing Roger Cedeno) of what was an otherwise dismal season.


*Unless you were former Texas Rangers GM John Hart

Bravos Send 4 Prospects to Texas, Begin Practice Hoisting Tin-foil World Series Trophy

So the Braves, currently in 3rd place in the NL East dealt can't-miss catching prospect Jarrod Saltalamacchia and three quality arms to Texas for 1B Mark Teixeira and LHP Ron Mahay. This actually looks like a very good deal, despite the fact that Teixeira's power numbers are way down this year (currently on pace for 21 HR and 80 RBI). And with an aging core of Larry, Smoltz, and Andruw (just playing awful baseball and probably leaving after this season), I guess you have to roll the dice. Plus on paper Saltomacchia could be dealt because of Brian McCann, who I will never believe doesn't actually suck. Jeff Francoeur began the back-patting:

"It makes us a real World Series contender," Braves right fielder Jeff Francoeur said Monday afternoon. "I think especially in the National League, we now have the best lineup. One through eight [in the lineup], we have hitters that can jack it out of the park and rack up RBIs."

Which I might be inclined to entertain if that lineup did not also include Jeff Francoeur. But whatever, start printing the t-shirts. I'm still convinced that the Mets will be able to fend off both the Braves and Phillies, if for no other reason than they proved they could put them away when it mattered last year, going 11-8 against them post All-Star break (not spectacular, but remember both teams finished within 3 games of the NL Wild Card, and the Mets had no reason to bust it down the stretch). Plus I'm absolutely positive that Francoeur's Rollins-esque comments will result in bad karma similar to the Phillies' atrocious 2-8 start to the season immediately after declaring themlselves "the team to beat" in the NL East. How presicent, Jimmy. But hey, that's why they play the games.