I didn't know which thread to post this in, so I figured I'd just put it here. I'm not here to rub it in at all. I just want to say I feel bad for you guys. Honestly, I can't believe you lost. I've been posting for the last week or so that there was no way you'd miss the playoffs, and I believed that. I've often said that I don't hate any local team and I mean that. I'm obviously not as affected as a true Mets' fan, but I do feel bad that you guys are missing out. I never watched enough of your games to know who is truly at fault, so I really can't comment there. I'd keep my heads up if I were you guys though. The sting of this year will fade, and it'll be April before you know it. There's a lot of young talent on your team, and you'll compete again through the near future.
In Wagner's defense, he had clarified his comments, saying that Peterson and Willie were not helping emotionally on mound visits and shit like that, because they've never been in a situation where they've had to close out a game. I don't have time to find the article now, but he hadn't meant to throw them under the bus or anything, he was just saying they can't relate to the pressure.
I saw this in the paper as well. Maybe that's what he meant, but it's still a pretty stupid thing to say - after all, how many pitching coaches or managers have been closers? Probably about zero. The fact is that he was unhittable from April through August, and then inexplicably he completely lost the ability to pitch at a major league level. He gets plenty of the blame there is to spread around.
He can "clarify" all he likes but I'm still pretty sure that this was the same gripe it always is with Wagner and he was upset at being brought into games in non-save situations etc. There was also the whole Willie saying he needed a day off thing then Wagner coming out and saying he didn't multiple times this year. Anyway, how many times did Willie/Peterson go out to the mound when Wagner was pitching anyway? They pretty much left him out there to win it or lose it. Maybe that's part of what he was talking about too.
A couple of offseason predictions... -This could be one of the worst offseasons since Jeff Torborg -The roster is going to be a year older(particularly Delgado) and less offensively reliable as Milledge or Gomez(whichever is around) adjusts to full-time duty. Sillie will put either of them in the eight spot making it all the more difficult for them to succeed. -The Mets will overpay for bullpen help or a middle of the rotation starter, someone like Joe Blanton. -We will have to plod through another disappointing mediocre season as the rest of the NL East catches up.
What makes you think that Willie will be back? Even if Omar is in his corner after his bad year I don't think he the pull to save him from the owners. I mean in the last couple weeks we've seen stories of the Mets owners openly pining for Manny Acta and regretting not giving him the job 3 years ago and about how they didn't want to give Willie an extension after last year because they felt anyone could've won with that talent. Not to mention that from a fan perspective they need a scapegoat to try and erase the memory of this season. I disagree with you about Milledge, I'd be shocked if he wasn't an upgrade in RF next year when he's finally given a chance to start. As far as middle of the rotation starters I'd rather they just sign a guy like Josh Fogg then actually give up players for Joe Blanton.
They shouldn't have to trade for middle of the rotation starters. As for bullpen help, even if they were to overspend there again this year, they really can't screw up much worse than last offseason. I don't think it's necessary to spend a lot on the bullpen because the team already has some good arms they can put in place. Still, if Omar would spend his money wisely and look at a player's career stats instead of a 16 game burst, he would have made out better than signing a guy like Schoeneweis who has a very pedestrian WHIP and a career ERA above the league average. I'm not concerned about RF if Milledge takes over the position. He's batted as well as Green, who was hot early and late but cold during the middle of the season. Offensive production will drop if Gomez takes over the position though.
Willie absolutely has to be the 1st change, fire him yesterday. As far as mangers I'm not sure who they go after. Joe Girardi is the first that comes to mind but I don't know about bringing in back to back Yankee scum. Maybe last year with the Marlins was an aboration. I think you need to overhaul alot of the roster to be competitive next year. I think it's no coincidence that we blew a 7 game lead to the Phils. I thought they were a superior team back in March. It's gonna take alot to keep pace with them and Atlanta. I think the 1st thing to do is see how the Arod contract plays out with the Yanks. I think if he opts out you absolutely have to make a move. I know with Reyes and Wright he is without a position but who would you rather have at SS or 3rd? Maybe he can play 1st or move Reyes back to 2nd. It's not like Reyes was anything to write home about this year. Aside from the SB Reyes was a monumental failure and he needs to share in this collapse as well. He turned into Rey Ordonez since the AS break without the glove. Reyes is the maybe the 3rd best SS in the NL East I'm wavering on him or Renteria. There certainly needs to be an upgrade in the pen. If it means getting rid of Wagner so be it. I think guys like Linebrink or even Dotel would be good upgrades over the garbage we've got. I'm still pissed over the Sanchez situation, riding around in cabs. Corner OFs, I'm not crazy about the oft injured Alou or Shawn Green who I am certain will not be back. I'd like to see the Mets go after Kosuke Fukudome for the RF position. From what I've read he is a pretty good avg hitter with some power maybe a 20 HR guy with 100 RBI potential. I've also read he has a cannon for an arm, they say better than Ichiro. If the Yankees and Red Sox are looking at him we need to as well. If they sign Fukudome then leave Alou in left with Milledge or Chavez. I think Gomez or Milledge are expendable but I'd like to see Lastings get a legit shot before we attempt to trade him. There really aren't alot of options at catcher, I don't see us going after Posada, Pudge or Barrett. I think LoDuca and Castro splitting time is fine as long as they aren't in the top of the order. SP is going to be tough to fill, there aren't alot of options but I think relying on Pedro and El Duque is insane. They need to get younger and if it means letting Humber and Pelfry take their lumps than that's what needs to be done. To me the middle relief and closer are in more dire need of an upgrade than the SP but I definately think Glavine needs to go which makes trading away Bannister even more stupid.
The Mets ownership may indeed fire Willie, but I feel like we'd have heard something by now. I think they're really on the fence here, and I fully expect the players to come down on his side. Moreover, with a new stadium opening, they're going to need a solid showing. I think as bad as it sounds they'll decide that a few tweaks is preferable to a major overhaul. My "Blanton" trade is based primarily on the idea that Omar is going to jump the gun. I think they badly assessed the roster this year and they'll continue to do so. It is absolutely critical that they get an innings eater and that's a guy they seemed to be in love with...Oakland pitchers in general. If they sign a Josh Fogg there's no pitch there. That would be a move along the lines of Steve Trachsel, and would do nothing more than further infuriate the fan base. If we're looking at end of the rotation types from teams that have absolutely no choice, I'd at least expect Minaya to go after a Hispanic player who throws hard and can't hit the broad side of a barn, or a washed up Bartolo Colon/Livan Hernandez type. If Willie's back, I expect more of the same. I expect him to put Milledge in a very poor position to succeed, or platoon Milledge/Gomez(whichever one they don't trade) and cost them precious at bats. I expect the season to start with Delgado batting fifth despite his obviously declining skills. Unfortunately, I think this is the most likely outcome. -X-
Here's an ideal lineup for me: Reyes Milledge (Let's give him a chance in the two hole) Wright Beltran Alou Delgado (no one will take him) Iguchi (I like him, better than most of the options, unless we bring Castillo back) Castro (We could use a strong back-up to protect him, but I think he's adequate) I think 1-8, that lineup would get the job done. Rotation is a lot more tricky, no particular order: Maine, Perez, Pedro, El Duque, Fogg. I like Fogg, especially leaving Coors (4.15 ERA on the road). The ideal would be a Santana trade, but that's so unrealistic... Bullpen: Wagner, Heilman, Feliciano, Linebrink, Sanchez, Show, (insert long man here, not sure who would be good). Oh, and NO WILLIE RANDOLPH.
Castro is horrible in the everyday role. He is best suited for backup. The lineup you have is worse than the one we had this year. I don't mind Milledge in right field. Delgado needs to be gone. The Mets will not bring back almost the same exact bullpen as last season. Heilman won't be here. Feliciano will be lucky to have a job here next year. Sanchez might not even be the same guy we saw in 2006, so you can't bank on him. If Schoeneweis is back, Omar should be fired on the spot. As far as the rotation goes, they need to stay away from Glavine this offseason, let him walk. Release El Duque, because he can't make it through the season healthy in the first place, for the 2nd straight year. The Mets really need to go out and get a true starting pitcher. Cain, Willis, Santana, anything.
I just don't think Blanton is worth what they'd have to give up to get him, as opposed to a FA like Fogg. Blanton's got an ERA over 5 on the road the past 2 seasons and the Oakland stadium has been 24th and 29th in park factor. I don't know what the "sell" for Blanton would be anyway? That he's a "winner"? I'm unsure about Iguchi, his road OPS is barely above .700 and he's played in hitters parks his whole career. I'm comfortable with a Gotay/Ahern platoon here at the bottom of the order. edit: FITM, you don't actually want Willis, do you? They'd be paying a premium in terms of a trade for him, and getting a project in return.
I like the idea of a platoon. I didn't see enough from Castillo to justify sitting a young guy like Gotay. I have no idea what they have in mind but I'm hoping that we don't see any more deals of the Bannister ilk so that we might win 88 games and miss the playoffs again next year. -X-
Let's get Humber and Pelfrey ready. Does anything think there's a chance Gomez will be an every day player?
Um, the Mets won 88 games this year, and over 90 last year...you want to completely overhaul the team? More importantly, how do you expect to get rid of all those players? Where would they go? What could we get for them (particularly Delgado)?
I'd like to point out the 2006 and 2007 lineups for comparison's sake: 2006 Reyes Lo Duca Beltran Wright Delgado Floyd/Green Nady/Green/Valentin Valentin/Chavez 2007 Reyes Castillo Wright Beltran Alou Delgado Lo Duca Green As far as I'm concerned, there isn't much difference at the top of the order. As for the middle, if Alou was available for the whole season, I think he would have easily surpassed Delgado's overall production in 2006. Delgado in 2007 was more productive than Floyd in 2006. Next year, I think Milledge can succeed in the second spot because he'd see better pitches with Wright or Beltran batting behind him. Overall, the offense isn't really the biggest concern. I would be comfortable without any major changes on offense in 2008, plus it's too early to speculate about player acquisitions at this point and I have no idea right now what trades would be attainable. However, if I were to reshuffle the lineup for next year with what I know the team has, it would look like this: Reyes Milledge Wright Beltran Alou/Delgado Delgado/Castro Lo Duca/Chavez Gotay I expect the bullpen to be overhauled with Wagner being the only immovable piece. I'd give Sanchez and Burgos a shot in spring training to see what they can do. If they need a proven reliever, target Cordero or Linebrink. If you can piss away money on Schoeneweis, you can do the same for either Cordero or Linebrink and get proven results. I'd rather have Cordero because both lefty and righty batters have trouble with him. As for starting pitching, I already consider Maine and Perez to be middle rotation pitchers rather than the aces that fans wanted them to be. I like El Duque, but he was injured a lot and I'm not counting on him. His injuries bumped up Maine and Perez a spot in the rotation and Glavine's mediocrity left the team with no real ace until Pedro returned. The team is going to need someone at the front of the rotation with Pedro. I'm not sold on Pelfrey, but if he can improve at all over the winter, he'll be a serviceable #5. Fogg doesn't impress me at all, but if the team needs a sure #5, he'll do.
Cordero will probably want to close though, won't he? And he's not going to on the Mets. I do like your line-up though. I'd like an insurance policy if Gotay craps out, and if Lo Duca comes back in any capacity Willie can't, because he would overuse him.
Burgos had Tommy John surgery about a month ago so obviously that puts him out of the mix for spring training next year. Given the reports we heard about Sanchez's work ethic in spring training last year and the fact he hasn't pitched in over a year I wouldn't be counting on anything from him either.
