Comments on: Players That Intrigue Me for 2010

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:39:41 +0000

I think the Mets should go after Orlando Hudson. Very good 2nd baseman & good offense. I’m beginning to wonder that ever since Rick Peterson left, notice how many pitchers are getting hurt. What the Mets also need to do is build their lineup according to their ballpark. Not many homeruns are gonna be hit there. Do what the Cardinals did in the 80′s. Very big outfield, get speed on that team & most singles will turn into doubles. The reason our bullpen is struggling, is by the time the starters get to the 5th inning, they are close to 100 pitches. Quit walking all these guys. Challenge them. Walking batters puts your fielders to sleep.

By: Mel

Mel — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:49:10 +0000

lets be real. if any of these guys is playing full time next yr the team is cooked

By: sukhi

sukhi — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:19:51 +0000

We can get by with Carter/Murphy/or one year stop gap type veteran combination at first base. Pagan and Francure should be the right field platoon. Legit power bat in the left. And a upgrade at second base. I always wonder why these fringe offensive players don’t change to offensively less demanding positions such as second base. Nick Evan seems like a very good athlete and should be able to learn to play second base thus increasing his value tremendously. Even Murphy has shown a very good range and good hands at first, why not learn to play second base where he will get a guaranteed roster spot. He doesn’t have the speed to play the outfield but definitely has the quickness to play the second. How about moving David Wright to play second ( he has the speed, quickness and good hands) and get someone else to play third, a position much easier to fill. Anyways we seem to have many third basemen in our system. David Wright at second with that offense could be a hall of fame type player. Can he not play better or equal to Robinson Cano?…

By: Gigi

Gigi — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:35:32 +0000

I have to say, I think our biggest problem is starting pitching–looking at Pelf, Perez, & Maine’s numbers from this year are quite frankly totally disappointing considering how much we were expecting from those guys. Of course, we need one real power bat to make up for the loss of Delgado. A real question is not only whether or not everyone will adequately recover from injury, but if D.Wright will recover from his season long power outage and if Beltran will put up power numbers ala 2006 (as opposed to 2005 or even 2008…). There are so many genuine unknowns about the 2010 team!

By: steven gerrard

steven gerrard — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 20:21:02 +0000

I agree with you Mike about Nick Evans. It’s annoying because you have Sullivan (who is hitting), but Francoeur (who has slumped a bit) playing, and you know what they do, but Evans gets an at bat a game.

By: Mike Silva

Mike Silva — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:18:53 +0000

Here is what I will say about F-Mart

Wake me up when he

1) Stays healthy

2) Puts together any semblance of a productive season either at MILB or MLB. Right now Ike Davis, IMO, is the Mets most polished positional prospect- not F-Mart

By: Metsguyinmichigan

Metsguyinmichigan — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 19:03:59 +0000

Are we writing off Fernando Martinez for 2010? Like Niese, F-Mart’s injury was a crying shame because we never got a real chance to see what he can do.

By: Nate W.

Nate W. — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:42:50 +0000

I’m liking the internal pitching options you mention to fill out the pitching staff next year. They may be nothing special, but having guys like Maine, Nieve, and Misch competing with Niese for the 5th starter spot, and for the last few spots in the pen will be a lot better than the Casey Fossum’s and Freddy Garcia’s of this past spring.

I agree with Dan, that a #2 starter is most important. If you are looking at one of the guys I named above as the 5th starter its a nice staff, but if you are looking at two of them following Santana, Pelfrey, and Perez then its not very pretty and frankly build on too much hope.

I’m thinking we won’t see a big bat addition and will be banking an improved offense on health. I just don’t see them blowing out the budget for Holliday however much they need more power.

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:24:04 +0000

One of the best posts I’ve seen in a long time. Here’s my take and it’s very similar to yours.

1) I think the Mets have to go with Thole/Santos next year. There aren’t any other options worth mentioning. The AAA+er as insurance (DiFelice, Cancel, etc) is correct, in my eyes. That’s our #8 or #7 hitter, too.

2) I think you nailed it with Pagan. I’m okay with Pagan in CF and Beltran in LF if we *have* to save money, but we have to get someone who can minimally put up a .270/.340/.460 at 1B. However, I think that…

3) We may need to roll the dice and see if Chris Carter is that masher. No, not long-term, but for a year, maybe two. He’ll be seasonal age 27 next year, which is close to if not as hit peak. He could put up a good-enough line from the 6 hole, and allow us to put money into our rotation. I’d prefer Derrek Lee or Prince Fielder, of course, but I don’t see either happening. Let’s say we can get Carl Crawford, though: I’d be OK with Carter/Crawford. Carter/Pagan, not so much.

4) Our biggest need is SP #2. Spend money there. Move John Maine to the 8th inning bullpen role, under the pretense of repetitive arm fatigue. Go with Niese as the #5 and, yes, OP as the #4.

By: Mike Silva

Mike Silva — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:57:26 +0000

Let me address the Niese situation.

I am considering Niese pretty much a part of the 2010 rotation mix. The guys mentioned above are “bubble” candidates. Some brought up Bobby Parnell. He doesn’t intrigue me as a starter, I already know he can relieve and believe that is where he belongs. Cubs game notwithstanding.

By: edog

edog — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:44:28 +0000

I completely disagree with Daniel Murphy.
He seems like a nice guy and is a hard worker and hustler but I find it crazy that so many fans want to give him a pass because he was learning a new position in the big leagues.
He wasn’t forced to play out of position for the good of the team. He had to learn 1B because he couldn’t play anywhere else.
To me, unfortunately, he is just an organizational guy to fill the AAA roster. He can’t hit well enough to play a corner and can’t field well enough to be a utility guy.
I have zero faith in Omar already but if he is considering Murphy as the 2010 1B, it would seal it.
I agree with Rob Neyer: You can reincarnate Ted Williams to play LF and it still would be no excuse for leaving Murphy at 1B.
It will be a good test for Omar to find a reasonable stopgap for next year until Ike Davis is ready which I hope won’t be til 2011.

By: Mike Silva

Mike Silva — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:29:32 +0000

I think the Mets would have been ok, if healthy. They were exposed in the pen earlier in the year and had to overwork Feliciano. A 2nd lefty is what I questioned all the way back in spring training. The other points are fair, but weren’t concerning to me. I thought they would have been able to compete.

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:09:22 +0000

I’m totally with you on Nick Evans. He deserves better. Nieve is a forgotten commodity and I really think he could be a good #3 or #4 starter in the future with that fastball.

By: R U Kidding

R U Kidding — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:33:44 +0000

Omar’s one huge mistake was not getting a second lefty for the bullpen? How about handing the LF job to Murphy and passing on Abreu? How about not trading Helilman for Marquis? How about not having a veteran 1B as insurance for a Delgado injury?

By: Dallas

Dallas — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:59:21 +0000

Hey Mike, I’m surprised you didnt mention Niese or Fmart. I found the Niese injury more disappointing than many of the others because he would have gotten the chance to cement his role in 2010 after dominating AAA for 3 months and it would have been a nice look to the future.