Saturday, November 18, 2006

Mets May Sign Alou For Two Years, But It's Not A Handshake Deal Yet

I wonder if we'll ever see any Mets personnel and Moises Alou shaking hands, high-fiving or banging knuckles, unless he agrees to stop urinating on his hands.  In any case, FOX's Ken Rosenthal and Newsday are both saying the Mets are close to signing 40 year old Moises Alou to a two year contract, making him their new left fielder and essentially ending Cliff Floyd's tenure with the New York Mets. 

Alou is only slightly more durable than Cliffy but Omar still seems willing to hand out another multi-year deal to a man on the wrong side of 40.  Julio Franco got a two year deal last offseason, and Orlando Hernandez got one last week.  Wait, you believe El Duque is really 37?  Okay, then Franco is really 51.  We're even.  Tom Glavine might wind up with a two year deal too, but if you believe reports, Glavine's more concerned with a no-trade clause, which the Mets will likely grant but the Braves likely won't.

Anyway, back to Alou.  Here's a guy who was an absolute slugger in his prime, and who can still produce pretty good numbers - when he's healthy.  Some may view his signing as the first step out the door for Lastings Milledge, but I don't see it that way.  I see it as another veteran being brought in to try and smack some sense into the young kid.  Alou appeared in less than 100 games last season, and under 125 the year prior.  Clearly someone is going to have to back him up.  It may be Endy Chavez more often than not, but I think Lastings and Ben Johnson will also be getting 2007 outfield time with Shawn Green's power numbers on the decline.  At some point the Mets have to be thinking about their long-term outfield solutions and Green and Alou don't fit the bill.

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