Which Free Agent Pitcher Should The Mets Sign?

Let me borrow a technique from Rob Neyer.

Consider these still available free agents, with their 2007 ages and their 2006 regular season stats:

Pitcher A (RHP, 30 years old) 8-14, 5.76 ERA, 107 K's in 172 innings
Pitcher B (RHP 31 years old) 4-5, 4.82 ERA, 50 K's in 97 innings
Pitcher C (RHP 29 years old) 9-12, 5.03 ERA, 97 K's in 154 innings
Pitcher D (RHP 36 years old) 15-8, 4.97 ERA, 79 Ks in 164 innings

Pretty much a no-brainer to try and sign Pitcher D, huh? Problem his, Pitcher D is one Stephen Christopher Trachsel. Of course, there's hardly a chance of the Mets re-signing him. And can you believe with the contracts handed out to pitchers this offseason that we haven't heard a rumor of him signing anywhere?

Now, I'm not advocating re-signing Trachsel. But, if we don't think much of Trachsel, why should the Mets sign any of the other guys. If they are worse than the guy they'd replace, then why bother? I've got a lot more faith in Perez, Maine, Pelfrey or Humber than:

Jeff Weaver (RHP, 30 years old) 8-14, 5.76 ERA, 107 K's in 172 innings
Tomo Ohka (RHP 31 years old) 4-5, 4.82 ERA, 50 K's in 97 innings
Tony Armas (RHP 29 years old) 9-12, 5.03 ERA, 97 K's in 154 innings
Steve Trachsel (RHP 36 years old) 15-8, 4.97 ERA, 79 Ks in 164 innings

Transplanted Ex-Mets Update: Minky's a Yankee

Transplanted ex-Met Doug Mienkiewicz is headed back to the Big Apple, coming to terms with the Yankees to back up Juicin' Giambi at first base.

Everyone knows that Minky made the put out that brought the Red Sox their 2004 World Championship, and that he stunk up the plate at Shea Stadium so badly he resorted to booing himself. What nobody knows is how to spell his name.

Offensively, Dougie Eye-chart had a bit of a bounce-back year for the Royals last season, hitting .283 with 43 RBIs in 91 games before his season ended in August due to back problems. He had season-ending back surgery on August 29th.

Thanks to Metsblog for the news.

How about Ohka?

So, this is what it's come to, huh? We dreamed of Dontrelle Willis, came within an eyelash of Roy Oswalt, flirted with Barry Zito, but now the top remaining free agent pitcher available to us is one Tomokazu Ohka. Oh boy. Mets fans have a right to be less than excited about the prospects of signing this guy, as he has a lifetime 3-7 record with a 4.10 ERA in 13 career starts against the Mets. He went 4-5 with a 4.82 ERA in 18 starts in 2006, missing two-and-a-half months with a partial tear in his right rotator cuff, following a season in which he was run out of D.C. after showing up Frank Robinson. For his MLB career, the Japanese righthander is 48-58 with a 4.04 ERA.

Most people will say the Mets desperately need an ace, but what they really need next season is quality innings from their starters. The Mets got just five complete games last season, with one from Steve Trachsel and one from Alay Soler. None of the starters logged 200 innings, and bringing in Ohka wouldn't solve that issue. He's never pitched 200 innings in his career, and he's coming off surgery. On the other hand, he'd essentially be replacing Steve Trachsel, who only logged 201 innings over the past two seasons, while Ohka pitched 277 over the same time period. And while Ohka got in trouble for not wanting to get taken out of a game, Trachsel's reputation was marred for the opposite reason.

Photos of Citi Field Construction

My buddy Tubby and I drove to Shea Stadium last week to try and get some photos of the construction of Citi Field. You can't see anything from the parking lot, so we had to buy a Metrocard to get onto the subway platform.

Here are the shots I was able to get, on Flickr.

For more photos, visit the stadiumpage website.

Let me tell you, it will be a nightmare to park at Shea the next two seasons. Mass transportation will be the way to go! Or, you can do what Derek Bell used to do: park your yacht at the marina, and ride your bicycle over to the stadium!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Mets fans! I look forward to this space being even more heavily posted than in 2007. Check back here often for all things Mets!

Bad News Wednesday - MLB.com says Zito to Sign With GiantsMets days on WFAN May Be Numbered

I hate to post negative posts, but I must. I am fortunate enough to be in New York this week, seeing my family and friends to ring in the New Year. There is also some Mets business to take care of. My buddy and I are off to Shea Stadium to take an early glimpse of Citi Field construction. If there's anything to see, I'll post the pictures when I get back to Greensboro.

MLB.com has a story posted where it's said that Zito's representatives have told the Rangers he will not be signing with Texas. For some reason, the Rangers took that to mean he will soon sign with the San Francisco Giants.

Metphistopheles has a posting speculating that the Mets days on WFAN are numbered, as one by one, Infinity stations are giving up their rights to local baseball teams. This is bad news for transplanted, out-of-market Mets fans who are within WFAN's signal, which extends pretty far at night. The Mets contract with WFAN ends after teh 2008 season, and Infinity has the rights to Yankees games on WCBS. Theoretically they could let the Mets go and move the Yankees broadcasts down to their sports station.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I just report what I read, folks!

The Zito Chronicles

Almost everyone suspects that the Mets have been the frontrunners all along for aquiring Zito's services, it really comes down to dollars and sense. It's a big cat and mouse game between the Mets and Boras about how much to pay Zito.

First we heard Zito was uber-interested in playing for the Mets and reuniting with his old pitching coach Rick Peterson. Advantage: Mets

Then we heard Texas would get involved in the derby, with Tom Hicks and his deep pockets firmly in pursuit of Barry. Advantage: Boras

Contracts begin being signed by lesser free agents for ridiculous dollar amounts. Advantage: Boras

Tom Glavine re-signs with the Mets, lessening the Mets desperation. Advantage: Mets

Zito and Boras meet with the Rangers in Texas. Advantage: Boras

Jeff Suppan, the Mets fall-back option, signs with Milwaukee. Advantage: Boras

The Yankees look to trade Randy Johnson, and it's speculated that successfully moving him would put them in the Zito sweepstakes. Advantage: Boras.

Texas lets it be known that if they don't come to an agreement with Zito this weekend, they'll move on to pursue other options. Advantage: Mets?

We fans are just caught in the balance!

Stay Focused Omar, Stay Focused.

I know there are distractions out there, Mr. Minaya. But please, I implore you. There is only one prize you need concern yourself with, so ignore Plans A through Y, and stay focused on Plan Z. Put Barry Zito in a Mets uniform! The other options are mere mirages.

Roger Clemens says he only would be willing to pitch for the Yankees Red Sox or Astros, but I bet you think you could persuade him to pitch at Shea. Listen, there's only one reason this guy can still pitch lights out at age 90: he's stone cold psycho. You thought you saw the cracks in his psyche when he launched a bat at Mike Piazza? That was nothing. This guy's one busted synapse away from going postal on an entire clubhouse. Forget him.

I bet you think you could trick Jeffery Loria into letting Dontrelle Willis go. Forget it. I know he's got a lifetime 11-2 record with a 2.00 against the Mets, but if you check his stats against other clubs you'll realize the D-Train is running out of steam. And besides, there's only one way you can soil the classiness of a Bentley. Get arrested for urinating in the street next to it, drunk. Goes to show you just can't buy class.

Yes, NLCS MVP Jeff Suppan is available for about half the price of Zito. And I know his stats look pretty good since coming to the National League. But here's the thing Omar, you bring this guy to Queens and he'll be a lightning rod for the media. Appearing in a political ad countering Michael J. Fox might go over just fine in red state Missouri, but that's not gonna fly in New York. Remember when he appeared along side Jim Cavezial urging voters to strike down a stem cell research amendment because he claimed it protected cloning as "a constitutional right?" Only problem: if he'd actually read the 2000 words of the bill he'd have seen it specifically banned cloning. (1) No person may clone or attempt to clone a human being. Now, I don't like to get political on this blog. Baseball is baseball and politics are politics, but at least deal with the facts, man. Cloning people is creepy. Science isn't creepy! More to the point of this blog: Barry Zito isn't creepy!

Sammy Sosa really wants back into baseball. He put on a hitting show in the Dominican Republic today, holding an open workout and launching 15 home runs. He says the year layoff won't hurt him at all:

"Ted Williams went to war and lost a couple years. More recently, Barry Bonds stayed away for more than a year and came back, and the same happened with Frank Thomas because of injuries,"

Wow, that's quite eloquent, coming from a guy who didn't speak English well enough to answer the Congressmen's questions during the hearing on steroids. I know you have a man-crush on this guy, Omar, but please, move away!

Focus Omar, focus. There might not be time enough left to bring us a Barry Merry Mets Christmas, but how about a Zito New Year?

Best of The Blogs

My fellow Mets bloggers are in the holiday spirit this week...

Mets Guy in Michigan rewrites "The Twelve Days Of Christmas" and then posts his favorite Christmas albums of the year.

Dan from Lonestar Mets rewrites "A Wonderful Life" (the whole movie!) as a Mets movie.

Steve at The Eddie Kranepool Society has dreams of a Rios and Zito New Year.

Greg at Faith and Fear in Flushing has apparently been watching Ben Franklin's biography on The History Channel.

Metstradamus blames himself for Chris Woodward's departure to the dark side.

Mike from Mike's Mets thinks Michael Morrissey needs to stop seeing the clouds in every silver lining.

Mets Grrl claims to have Barry Zito's iPod playlist.

Zoe likes the Mets new Santa Claus.

Finally, Toasty Joe takes a break from Isiah bashing to update his list of facts about Carols Beltran's mole.

And don't forget to visit Metsblog and HotFoot for the most comprehensive Mets coverage available!

Happy Holidays!

December Blues

Zito Zito Zito. It's wall to wall Zito. Will he sign with the Mets, or will he take the money and run to Texas like A-Rod and Chan Ho Park did? No one knows, maybe not even Barry Z.

- - - - - - - - -

I have a confession to make.

My wife and I volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters, and we've "adopted" an 8 year old boy for the past year. It's been one of the most rewarding things I've ever been involved in, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to "give back" but doesn't know what to do.

It's been great. Not only have I felt good about myself for providing a (somewhat) positive role model for an underprivileged youth, but I've also brainwashed a North Carolina kid into being a full-fledged Mets fan. When he gets into the car he even asks me to "Put on that Mets song," and he doesn't mean "Our Team, Our Time." It's great. But here's my confession:

Being Christmastime and all, I thought it was a good excuse to buy the kid a baseball glove. He's a southpaw, so it was hard to find one that fit him, at either Dick's or The Sports Authority. But we did find one. A Rawlings. Sweet looking glove. But here's the bad thing: the glove is endorsed, right in the pocket, with the name "A-Rod." Yes, it's true.

I feel horrible. I only have two possible spins: One, that he gets traded back to the AL West and I can stop rooting against him, or Two, that I can remind my "little brother" that when catching a ball, he wants the ball to land square into Alex Rodriguez's face.

- - - - - -

I'm headed to New York for New Years. I intend to make a pit stop at Shea and take some photos of the Citi Field construction. I'll post them here.

- - - -- --

So far my favorite news of the offseason is the addition of Howard Johnson to the major league coaching staff. HoJo was my favorite Met during his tenure as a player. I can't wait to chant "Ho JO! HO JO! HO-JO!" on Opening Day...

- - - --- -

Zito Zito Zito it's wall to wall Zito. When will we get actual news????

2007 Individual Game Tickets On Sale at Mets.com

While the full slate of games for the Mets 2007 season are not up for sale yet, there are ten dates (not including Opening Day) for which you can now buy Upper Reserved seats for just 5 bucks each. There are also three "Holiday Packs," groups of 5 dates, again none of which include Opening Day, for which you can buy seats for $37 per set. That's less than $7.50 per game! Go here to take advantage.

If only I weren't living in North Carolina I'd be asking for some of these for Christmas.


Meanwhile I still wait for Opening Day tickets to go on sale, or maybe the six-packs. For now just the above deals, Full-Season tickets, Half-season and mini plans are up for grabs. I used to have the Saturday plan and later the Sunday plan. That's when Shea Stadium was my "church!"

Omar Has 12 Shopping Days Left To Give Us A Barry Merry Zito ChristmasMeanwhile...

I will tell you, being now two months removed from the Mets early exit from the playoffs, that I am more firm in my belief that in 2006 the team just wasn't ready. Although they seemed to be ready - with the maturity of David Wright, the playoff acumen of Carols Beltran and Tom Glavine and the leadership of Delgado and Franco - still I think it was just too early. Clearly Mets fans were not ready either. Yes, we were hungry, nay starved for a title, and yet we have not gotten over self-doubt. When we booed Carlos Beltran in April we reeked of a lack of self-confidence. When we chanted "Yankees Suck" after beating the Padres in August it exposed us as a fanbase who were still looking over our shoulders. And in December, when the Atlanta Braves make a relatively minor trade for a set-up man and the commenters on MetsBlog all but lose their sh*t over this brilliant move by Schuerholz, all but anointing Atlanta the 2007 title, it shows we still have a ways to go in our self-confidence as fans of this team. Remember the swagger of 1986? I sure do. It wasn't just Darryl Doc and Dykstra's swagger - we fans had that air of confidence too. We were barely aware of our neighbors in the Bronx. We didn't seat any competitor. We need to get back to that. Pitchers and Catchers report in 66 days. Our self confidence needs to show up soon after.


The Darren Oliver Era: Over. Oliver is signing with the California Angels of The West Coast for 2007. Here's a guy who was all set to retire after the 2005 season, and the Mets invited him to Spring Training. He didn't crack the rotation, but he decided to stick around anyway and help out in the 'pen. He was an MVP (Mets Valuable Player) in the season in that on more than one occasion he bailed out a starter and kept us in the game, while also protecting the rest of the bullpen from being overworked. We won't forget his playoff performance either.

Transplanted Ex-Met Update: Jay Payton signed a two year deal with The Baltimore Birdcraps. He and fellow transplanted ex-mets Chad Bradford and Melvin Mora are headed for another year looking up at the Junkees, BoSox and Blue Jays, and will fight it out with the Florida Rays for the saddest franchise in the East.

Victor Zambrano Era: Over?
The Mets non-tendered Victor Zambrano yesterday, making him a free agent and meaning any other team can bid for his services. I would make a joke here but Tanyon Sturtze found himself a job this offseason so who the hell knows?

The Brian Bannister Era Is Over

Late last night, while transplanted ex-Met Mike Piazza was finishing up a deal to be the A's new DH, Omar made his first move of the Winter Meetings, shipping Brian Bannister off to Middle America for the Kansas City Royals' Ambiorix Burgos. Who the heck is Ambiorix Burgos, you might ask? Well, first of all he becomes only one of two kids named Ambiorix in the Mets organization. 23 year old outfielder Ambiorix Concepcion has been toiling in the lower levels of the Mets farm system for the past few years, but 2007 doesn't look to be the year when two dudes named Ambiorix share space on the same big league roster.

ANYWAY... the Ambiorix the Mets acquired yesterday is Ambiorix Burgos, a hard-throwing 21 year old right-handed pitcher who hails from the Dominican Republic. If he were a fictional character, he would be Charlie Sheen in Major League. This guy throws hard, real hard, but can't find the plate. He spent some time as the Royals closer last season and blew twelve saves out of 30 opportunities. Yes, he blew twelve saves out of thirty. Here's a clue why: He threw eleven wild pitches in 73 innings. Meanwhile, in 2005 he could claim the highest average fastball velocity of American League relievers, at 96.5 mph. Holy mackerel. Imagine being a batter facing this guy? 97 miles an hour and neither one of you have any idea where the pitch will wind up. This could be very interesting. Just don't ask me how to pronounce his name. I'm a blogger, not a linguist.

Speaking of interesting, Gary Carter and Howard Johnson were sitting around, anxiously waiting to find out which one of them would be named the Mets third base coach for 2007. Well yesterday Willie Randolph and Omar dropped a bombshell, indicating that Sandy Alomar will be shifting over to third base next season, and Rickey Henderson is a candidate to become the 2007 first base coach. Whuh??? There may still be an opening for HoJo or The Kid as Willie's bench coach, but we'll find out soon.

Rick Peterson is coming back in 2007. I had wondered if Texas wouldn't have thrown a boatload of cash at Peterson in their efforts to attract Barry Zito, but I guess Tom Hicks will have to stick with cash. Let's all not forget by the way, that Texas has no state income tax, so money from Texas is worth more than money from New York.

Mets Fan Lugo Signs With Sox

31 yr. old Julio Lugo, who earlier this offseason told the press that he grew up a Mets fan, has signed a four year deal with the Boston Red Sox.

Man, I love all these long-term big money deals that are cropping up around the league. Want to know why? I love seeing other teams get bogged down in bad contracts. I give the Cubbies two years before they are trying to unload Alfonso Soriano. Good luck.

There's money to be made this offseason if you're a free agent, and the Mets are wise to sit this one out, with the exception of the Z-man. Let the other clubs lock up their budgets into the next decade. A year from now the Mets will be one of the few clubs with financial flexibility.

Exhausting!

Omar Minaya must be walking around like a zombie right now. I'm not even at the Winter Meetings, yet I am exhausted from all the rumors floating around. I only check MetsBlog and HotFoot about 50 times a day, each, plus ESPN, FOX and SI's websites too.

But since Tom Glavine decided to take the Mets offer over the one he never got from the Braves, there's been no real action for Mets fans to discuss. The Mets want Barry Zito but haven't offered him anything. Is Omar worried that Zito might pull a Glavine and take the offer he has from Texas over the one he hasn't gotten yet from the Mets? No. Do you know why? Because Scott Boras is involved, and there's no room for any of that nonsense, I mean, classiness, that went on while we were waiting for Glavine to make up his mind. Boras will wait until this time next forever for the Mets to make their offer, if for no other reason than to increase his leverage somewhere.

This reminds me of A-Rod a bit, where everyone knew A-Rod wanted to come to the Mets, but the Mets didn't want to overpay, but Texas was willing to break the bank. But, whereas in the aftermath of A-Rod signing with Texas, every Mets fan from here to Long Island was screaming bloody hell about Steve Phillips allowing A-Rod to take Tom Hicks's $250 million, this time if Zito messes with Texas most Mets fans won't give a hoot. Zito would look awfully nice in the Mets rotation, sure, but this guy doesn't strike me as the kind of guy you blow off work to see pitch a day game for, like Pedro Martinez does. They still play day games at Shea, right?

So, we wait. And hit 'refresh'.