The Mets Moves so far.

[Bree22]

I am happy with the moves so far but I thought we gave up alot for Delgado but he is a force in the middle of the lineup. I would like to get Zito and move either Zambrano or Benson (Glavine would be top but nobody is going to take him). I think Benson will have a better year and then last year and Trachsel will just be solid maybe .500 to .650 win ptg? I don't know if Seo can and will have the same year again though. Hopefully Pedro holds up for amother year.

 

If we can get Zito we can have a nice base to work around for the next 5 years.

 

Zito, Beltran, Wright, Reyes are all under 30 now.

[Guest Cherni]

I am happy with the moves so far but I thought we gave up alot for Delgado but he is a force in the middle of the lineup.  I would like to get Zito and move either Zambrano or Benson (Glavine would be top but nobody is going to take him).  I think Benson will have a better year and then last year and Trachsel will just be solid maybe .500 to .650 win ptg?  I don't know if Seo can and will have the same year again though.  Hopefully Pedro holds up for amother year.

 

If we can get Zito we can have a nice base to work around for the next 5 years.

 

Zito, Beltran, Wright, Reyes are all under 30 now.

 

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I don't think we gave up too much for Delgado. Mike Jacobs looked good for an abbreviated call-up, but pitchers WILL figure him out. Shoot, I have him figured out, don't give him anything to hit low and away. He'll be nothing more than an average 1B. The one pitching prospect we gave away might be good, but we got Delgado, screw the prospect.

 

It looks like Benson has thrown his last game as a Met, he'll be gone by Jan 1st. The Mets look awesome right now, all we need is some middle relief, I heard Affeldt and McDougal from the Royals for... I forget, but it fell through. Mets will win the East this year. You heard it here first.

[Bree22]

I don't think we gave up too much for Delgado. Mike Jacobs looked good for an abbreviated call-up, but pitchers WILL figure him out. Shoot, I have him figured out, don't give him anything to hit low and away. He'll be nothing more than an average 1B. The one pitching prospect we gave away might be good, but we got Delgado, screw the prospect.

 

It looks like Benson has thrown his last game as a Met, he'll be gone by Jan 1st. The Mets look awesome right now, all we need is some middle relief, I heard Affeldt and McDougal from the Royals for... I forget, but it fell through. Mets will win the East this year. You heard it here first.

 

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Affeldt and McDougal for Benson was the trade offer. I would like to see the Mets bring up at least a prospect a year. Leaving the 5th spot in the rotation for one of your prospect is good to help them develope. when do you think they will bring up Milledge? The Kid will be 21 by the being of the year. Philip G Humber had tom john surgery so he is at least another year or 2 away. What about Michael A Pelfrey? He is the same age as kazmir. Maybe another year for him?

[Skrappy1]

The Mets have made some solid moves. Their starting pitching was fine last year, and they already had some very good young positional talent (Wright/Reyes/Beltran). They've improved the end of their bullpen HUGHley with Billy Wagner and Delgado will help their lineup bigtime too. I'm not exactly sure what they see in Xavier Nady...he couldn't keep a full-time gig in a bad Padres' lineup, he's nothing more than a solid bench player IMO. I also think LoDuca is kind of overrated, but I guess they could do worse at catcher.

 

The glaring problem that they have right now I believe is their infield defense. Wright needs to improve there bigtime, especially his throwing. Matsui, even if he stays healthy and hits a little, is absolutely atrocious as a fielder, again, particularly with his throwing. Delgado is below average defensively as well, and those throwing problems will be magnified this season with no Mientcawiectz (however you spell it) to scoop the bad throws up.

 

They need to still get some more bullpen help too, but I think that they will do before the season begins, but the defense will be big issue that isn't so easily solved unless they can get rid of Matsui and replace him with someone who doesn't suck.

Edited December 9, 2005 by Skrappy1

[Guest Cherni]

Affeldt and McDougal for Benson was the trade offer.  I would like to see the Mets bring up at least a prospect a year.  Leaving the 5th spot in the rotation for one of your prospect is good to help them develope.  when do you think they will bring up Milledge?  The Kid will be 21 by the being of the year.  Philip G Humber had tom john surgery so he is at least another year or 2 away.  What about Michael A Pelfrey?  He is the same age as kazmir.  Maybe another year for him?

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I liked that deal. I really don't care too much for Benson, way too inconsistent and I feel like he plays soft. Anna Benson is hot, but whatever. Milledge is going to be amazing when he comes up. I really liked watching him in the minors, he tore shizznit up down there. I don't know much about Pelfrey, but mentioning Kazmir makes me really depressed. Duquette really f'd up on that. Moron, Kazmir for Zambrano b/c he was making a playoff push. PLAYOFFS? PLAYOFFS?

[Skrappy1]

PTI just reported that the Mets signed Julio Franco to a 2-year deal. Yes, the 158-year old Julio Franco. I don't care if he's played pretty well off the bench for Atlanta, this seems like a very questionable (read BAD) move to me.

[darin3]

The Mets aren't gonna get Zito.

[Donutrun Jellies]

The Mets aren't gonna get Zito.

 

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Yeah, why the speculation that Zito would play in AAA ball this season -- or are they letting the Mets stay in the Majors another year??

[Guest Cherni]

PTI just reported that the Mets signed Julio Franco to a 2-year deal. Yes, the 158-year old Julio Franco. I don't care if he's played pretty well off the bench for Atlanta, this seems like a very questionable (read BAD) move to me.

 

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I don't know if it's a BAD move. It's not a good move, but the guy will see extremely limited playing time. He knows the NL East pitchers, and he's a veteran presence on the bench. I don't think this moves hurts the team, or really helps the team.

[Bree22]

I don't know if it's a BAD move. It's not a good move, but the guy will see extremely limited playing time. He knows the NL East pitchers, and he's a veteran presence on the bench. I don't think this moves hurts the team, or really helps the team.

 

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I agree somtimes you sign guys that will help in the clubhouse and actually play on the field.

[Guest Cherni]

I agree somtimes you sign guys that will help in the clubhouse and actually play on the field.

 

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typo???

[isleseeya]

Manny ?? any chance or belief we get him ...if Orioles do not get him ( for Tejada ) and Phillies do not get him ( for abreu ) , i think mets have an outside chance ....may need a 3rd team to get involved ...

[Guest Cherni]

Manny to the Mets has been going on for over 2 years now. I don't think there's much of a chance of it happening. I'll be honest, as a Mets fan for almost 30 years, I don't want him. Here's why:

 

He's a HUGE defensive liability and has tendencies to shag fly balls and not run out ground balls and pop fly's. This doesn't exactly win the fans over. The media will kill him for doing what's been termed as "Manny just being Manny". I know Boston is a tough town, this and that, but NY is different. The media is relentless and there are probably 10 times the amount of beat writers.

 

As for Manny's offensive production, it's not happening at Shea, plain and simple. Playing at Shea, with no Green Monster to pound balls off of, his average will drop 20-30 points, as most players do when they come to Shea. All those HR's over The Monster, well, they're just long fly balls at Shea, warning track outs.

 

Add in his enormous salary, his piss poor attitude, and his propensity for being lazy and seemingly indifferent about his teams success. I know many people disagree with me, but I don't think it would be in the Mets best interest to acquire him.

 

HOWEVER... Pedro's on the team and they have a history. They seemed like 2 peas in a pod in Boston and looked like they brought a lot of excitement and laughs to the dugout. That helps create a loose team that has fun playing the game. If we got him and Boston or another team paid a signficant portion of his salary, without giving up Milledge, I could tolerate it. Even if it does happen I really don't see him putting up the kind of production that you're used to seeing out of Manny Ramirez.

 

Whoa, I'm out of breath... LOL.

[juanruiz13]

Don't know if any of you have read this yet... long read, but I think it's very interesting.

 

 

Who's footing the bill?

New revenue fuels Mets' winter spending spree

 

On the day the New York Mets introduced their $13.7-million-per-year first baseman, they reached agreement to pay their new closer $10.7 million while hoping to pay a new catcher about $8 million a year and continued to talk about a certain $19-million-a-year outfielder from Boston. The obvious question, after you get past wondering whether the Mets will end this winter as the team to beat in the National League, is where is all this money coming from?

It's too simple to assign the Mets' spending to the regional sports network the club will launch next year. What the network has done is altered the Mets' philosophy, imbuing a sense of urgency into their planning. As chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon put it, "We want to put an exciting product on the field and on the network. Obviously, waiting for the minor league system to produce is not as exciting."

The Wilpons own 65 percent of the network. "Based on the way they run their other businesses," said one Mets insider, "they will run it as a stand-alone business to be profitable in its own right." Translation: the Wilpons don't want to take from one pocket to put in the other.

Indeed, Wilpon explained that the Mets would be spending like this regardless of the launching of the network. He did allow that the network gives the budget "a little more room."

If the Mets aren't throwing around cable money, then where did the loot come from? First of all, it's not as much of a payroll leap for New York as it seems. The Mets spent $101 million on payroll in 2005 (third in baseball behind the Yankees and Red Sox) and expect to spend between $115 million and $120 million in 2006, which should keep them third and still far from the luxury tax threshold.

Much has been made about the so-called loophole that allows any first-time violators of the luxury tax in 2006 to enjoy a tax-free season. But remember, the tax threshold for 2006 is $136.5 million. "No way,'' Wilpon said, will the Mets even come close to that number. The loophole is a moot point.

New first baseman Carlos Delgado, closer Billy Wagner, a catcher to be determined (likely Ramon Hernandez or Bengie Molina) and Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez, who remains on their radar, would cost about $51 million on an average annual value basis. (Privately, the Mets say they won't take on Ramirez without significant salary relief, either with Boston eating some of the $57 million due him over the next three years and/or the Red Sox taking on some Mets' salaries in a trade, i.e. the $22 million still owed Cliff Floyd and Kris Benson.) Here's where the Mets are getting some of the non-TV

revenues:

* $30 million coming off their payroll. Money that went to Mike Piazza, Braden Looper, Doug Mientkiewicz, Mike Cameron, Roger Cedeno, Mike Stanton and others is being reinvested in players.

* $20 million in additional ballpark revenue. The 2005 Mets, despite another non-playoff season with only 83 wins, posted the third-highest single-season jump in attendance in franchise history, selling about half a million more tickets last season than they did in 2004. (Feel free to subscribe some of that buzz to the halo factor created by the signing and pitching of Pedro Martinez, a terrific investment.) The Mets figure about $40 in revenue (ticket price, parking and concessions) for every ticket sold. That's an extra $20 million they didn't have from what was generated in 2004.

It gets better for the Mets. They anticipate selling at least three million tickets in 2006 -- another $8 million jump in revenue. And if you don't think New York is the capital of the baseball world, chew on this: next year the Yankees and Mets will draw more than three million fans in the same season and possibly draw a combined seven million fans. Even last season, a year in which neither team won a playoff series, the city of New York alone outdrew the entire National League in 1952, part of the so-called Golden Era of baseball, and the entire sport in 1934. These are the good old days, folks. The game never has been better.

"The biggest variable has always been ballpark revenue," Mets executive vice president David Howard said. "And the key element to increasing your season ticket base is access to postseason tickets. It's what drove sellouts for the Knicks and Rangers all those years. Yankees fans have had postseason tickets for 10 years in a row."

Now Mets fans have a legitimate reason to expect postseason games at Shea Stadium. Nothing is guaranteed, but the Mets did fill their two biggest holes -- first base and closer -- with the two best available players at those positions.

The Mets' appeal goes beyond Shea, too. Do you know the top draws on the road last year? Here's the list: 1. Red Sox. 2. Yankees. 3. Cubs. 4. Mets.

Like any commissioner, Bud Selig knows that having two strong teams in New York is good for business.

* $23 million in additional MLB-distributed money from satellite radio, advanced media and coming sale proceeds from the Washington Nationals. The satellite radio money (about $2 million per team) did kick in for the 2005 season, but after payrolls were set. The Mets say they do not count their share of the Nationals profit (about $11.4 million) as operating income, but however they account for it, they can expect a nice check in the mail soon.

The Mets, even with their TV network set aside for a moment, have a good business plan in place. Delgado, Wagner, Martinez, Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, David Wright and their catcher to be named all will be under their control through at least 2008, which happens to be their final season in Shea Stadium. That means the Mets should remain an interesting, competitive team in the years leading to their privately-funded ballpark, when their revenues should rise again, even with their debt service factored. And should the Mets become must-see TV, and especially if they return to the postseason, they will have even more money to spend in subsequent winters.

[Guest Cherni]

Good info Juan.

[Bree22]

typo???

 

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yea oooppppss. I meant "then" instead of "and" actually play .....

[Robash]

the latest Manny talk is a three way deal with baltimore...but i doubt it happes. Omar will constantly be inquiring, but i doubt they ever get him.

 

the most common name i keep hearing in a deal for manny is carlos beltran...and id no to that deal if i was the owner

[Guest Cherni]

the latest Manny talk is a three way deal with baltimore...but i doubt it happes. Omar will constantly be inquiring, but i doubt they ever get him.

 

the most common name i keep hearing in a deal for manny is carlos beltran...and id no to that deal if i was the owner

 

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I would trade Beltran for Manny. I don't think Carlos is ever going to be the player he was with KC/Houston for that one magical season. I hope I'm wrong I just don't think he's going to be a stud again.

[Robash]

its the youth factor thught for me i think id rather have a 280-290 type hitter with 20 homers and 80 rbi's a season than manny for 2 years...thats the long term me. the short term mesay giv ethem milledge and seel what a lineup of reyes,wright,floyd,delgado,beltran,manny, and loduca would do

[Guest Cherni]

I hear that, but I think Beltran is going to be more of a .260-.270 hitter during his tenure at Shea. He needs his legs to be successful, hopefully he stays healthy.

[Bree22]

its the youth factor thught for me i think id rather have a 280-290 type hitter with 20 homers and 80 rbi's a season than manny for 2 years...thats the long term me. the short term mesay giv ethem milledge and seel what a lineup of reyes,wright,floyd,delgado,beltran,manny, and loduca would do

 

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I agree. I would perfer Beltran over Manny for the future. I would perfer to hold on to Milledge and see what he can do. In a few years we are going to have to pay for Reyes and Wright. It would be nice to have productive players in the field that are inexpensive. Beside we should have at least one or two Starting pitchers from our farm system (we took SPs the last few drafts that are from college) by then (2yrs for now). If we can manage our payroll (bring up 1 position player from the farm system once every year or two) and stop trading away our farm system we can produce year in and year out. The Yankees had it right for 5 years but the last 5 years they have to much high salary (over aged stars) and no youth coming in from the farm system ( Cano, ???) like years past (Jeter, Rivera, Williams, Pettite Posada..etc)

[Guest Cherni]

I agree.  I would perfer Beltran over Manny for the future.  I would perfer to hold on to Milledge and see what he can do. In a few years we are going to have to pay for Reyes and Wright.  It would be nice to have productive players in the field that are inexpensive. Beside we should have at least one or two Starting pitchers from our farm system (we took SPs the last few drafts that are from college) by then (2yrs for now).  If we can manage our payroll (bring up 1 position player from the farm system once every year or two) and stop trading away our farm system we can produce year in and year out.  The Yankees had it right for 5 years but the last 5 years they have to much high salary (over aged stars) and no youth coming in from the farm system ( Cano, ???) like years past (Jeter, Rivera, Williams, Pettite Posada..etc)

 

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Couldn't agree with you more Bree. There's also something to be said about team chemistry and the right and wrong ways to manipulate it. Wright and Reyes aren't going to be cheap, and who knows? They're both special players that don't come around that often. By the end of the year they both played like old veterans. It was awesome.

[Bree22]

What are the Mets thinking. Trading Seo for relief pitching? From what I can tell the 2 guys we got back are not that good or am I missing something?

 

Chenri - do you think we are selling high on Seo? Is heilman going to be that good for us? I thought he was best projected as a #3 starter coming up through the system. He is just a young Glavin(spelling). with the new system in place he is not going to get the calls (foot off the plate for a strike) that glavin was getting in Atlanta.

 

With the moves the Mets this week I guess the 4 team trade is off the board for Manny. I can't see us giving up 2 more pitchers to just get Manny. That would be suicide.

[Guest Cherni]

I'm kind of up in the air on the Seo trade. On one hand I think that we're overloaded with SP and need RP bad. This guy Duaner is very tough against righties. He'll bridge the gap b/w SP and Wagner.

 

I do think we were selling high. Seo had a great season last year, maybe they saw something that they didn't like. Seo did sort of fall off towards the end of the season. Young pitchers are very shady in my opinion. Once the league sees his stuff, I don't see Seo (see-saw?) being as dominant as he was last year.

 

Sanchez is a good addition, whereas Schmoll isn't. He had an ERA above 5.00 last year and isn't particularly tough against righties or lefties. We have to see how this pans out, it might be a great move. We have to see what Omar does next.

[darin3]

I'm kind of up in the air on the Seo trade. On one hand I think that we're overloaded with SP and need RP bad. This guy Duaner is very tough against righties. He'll bridge the gap b/w SP and Wagner.

 

I do think we were selling high. Seo had a great season last year, maybe they saw something that they didn't like. Seo did sort of fall off towards the end of the season. Young pitchers are very shady in my opinion. Once the league sees his stuff, I don't see Seo (see-saw?) being as dominant as he was last year.

 

Sanchez is a good addition, whereas Schmoll isn't. He had an ERA above 5.00 last year and isn't particularly tough against righties or lefties. We have to see how this pans out, it might be a great move. We have to see what Omar does next.

 

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Great pickup, by the way. Sanchez is gonna be a solid contributor in your pen. I am not big on Seo, but who cares, I'm no Dodger fan.