This is just in response to the nay-sayers and scolders of my last post:

Mets Hurting;Red Sox-Mets Potential Trade

(http://www.majorleagueblogging.com/major-league-baseball/mets-hurtingred-sox-mets-potential-trade/comment-page-1/#comment-1100).

There were a few scolding comments, however, the idea was again brought up via MetsBlog.com (probably the top Mets Blog). Matthew Cerrone (author and site creator) had this to say:

…lastly, i’d have to think long and hard about what can be had for Jose Reyes, whose ultimate potential i am starting to lose faith in… last month, Boston talk-radio host Danny Picard suggested on his blog I’m Just Sayin, that, in the off season, the Red Sox should offer RHP Clay Buchholz, top prospect RHP Michael Bowden, OF Jacoby Ellsbury and SS Jed Lowrie to the Mets for reyes… this would be super tempting, to say the least…

Obviously, this is A LOT to give up for Reyes and that good of an offer won’t happen, but Buchholz, Bowden, and Lowrie for Reyes+… I don’t see how that couldn’t happen (before Reyes’ injury). Hopefully his injury isn’t catastrophic and if he’s back in time healthy by the deadline, I can see such a deal being at least talked about, and I want credit.

After the first loss to the Phillies this past series, MetsBlog.com writer, Regis Courtemanche wrote, “Win or lose, I love the way the Mets are playing right now.  They seem completely focused on the task at hand, and Citi Field seems to have finally come alive. Still disappointing to let this one get away though.” FYI, MetsBlog is one of the best (Mets) Blogs out there. To be honest, I disagree with the statement, however the Mets are without their starting SS, 1b, 2 SP’s and both our set-up men. That’s right – “both.” Eventually this season, the Mets will have Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, JJ Putz, Billy Wagner, Oliver Perez (and John Maine now) all coming off the DL. The Phillies are only 4 games ahead, but with a bullpen of K-rod, and potentially healthy and effective relievers, such as Wagner and Putz, the Mets rotation will only have to pitch 6 effective innings each night (for the most part). And that’s great because it seems Redding , Maine , and Oliver (and often times Santana and Pelfrey) can never pass that plateau. The offense will have to come out romping, however – something they couldn’t do last year and something they haven’t been able to do this season even prior to Reyes and Delgado going down. With that said, I’m still very willing to “wait and see” how the Mets perform after Reyes, Delgado, Maine, Oliver, Putz, and Wagner come back, however, the question is and will be – is it too late?

Do the Mets need to do something to shake the team up? In a prior post (http://www.majorleagueblogging.com/major-league-baseball/lets-play-gm-mets-crazy-trade-scenarios/), I talked about the potential need to shake up the team, and I threw out some crazy trade scenarios. The reality is, people, reporters, and teams are catching on that the Red Sox have 9 at least effective or ready major league starters. It’s also fairly clear they could use an effective shortstop, which is where, to me, the Mets should come in to play. I love Reyes, but could he land us both Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden? I think he could. I think that’s worth it – for both teams. We could potentially add a catching prospect to the deal (Francisco Pena or Josh Thole) – they’re young, but the Red Sox have and may have a need for a catcher in the future if they don’t trade for/sign Joe Mauer/Twins (after or during) next year. Another potential aspect I would add to to the deal (if I were Omar Minaya) is Oliver Perez. This is only to free up salaray to trade for and sign another need (Matt Holliday)? That’s not essential, but if the Red Sox were willing to take on Perez’s salary in addition to losing their top 2 pitching prospects in the deal, then I would do that. I’d then, however, ask for a more than effective reliever: Manny Delcarmen/Takashi Saito. So i’d potentially like to see:

Mets Receive: Clay Buchholz/sp; Michael Bowden/sp; Takashi Saito/rp; Jed Lowrie/ss

Red Sox Receive: Jose Reyes/ss; Oliver Perez/sp; Josh Thole or Francisco Pena/c

I guess there’s a contingency – Jose Reyes’ health. Would this prevent such a trade? The Sox do still have Nick Green and Julio Lugo to hold down the ss job while Reyes is out. Again this would then allow us to potentially go for Matt Holliday, Mark Derosa, or other outfielders via trade this season or free agency after, so Daniel Murphy could stay at first next year with the assumption that Carlos Delgado will be gone. Our lineup would obviously hurt without Reyes for the rest of the year, but if we trade for another bat for the lineup, the Rotation with Buchholz and or Bowden would be much more effective than Tim Redding.

Agreed?

If Sheffield/Church doesn’t stay healthy, Fernando Martinez doesn’t yet perform, and Daniel Murphy has to play 1b with Carlos Delgado out (all likely, all happening now), do we go crazy and sign Barry Bonds to play LF???

I dont know…

Should we? Yay? Nay?

I have posted this under the category ‘Steroids in Baseball’ just to clarify.

And I’m not even talking about their trade for Nate Mclouth from the Rates,Pir. I’m talking about their call-up of Tommy Hanson who has a 1.50 era and 90 k’s in 66+ innings. He’ll be successul right away in the MLB.

Fantasy-eers should pick him up immediately. This does definitely worry me as a Mets fan. Not only can the Phillies do what the Mets can’t (sweep a team that they should sweep and rack in the runs), but now the Braves have by far the best rotation in the NL East – they probably did prior to Hanson’s call up, but now they’ll be even better. I’m sure Mclouth will help them a bit as well since their production in the OF has been extremely sub-par.

The Mets need to make a move asap. They need pitching. Livan Hernandez against good teams in big spots and Tim Redding won’t do it. Jon Niese will be better than Redding and Livan, but at this point, he wouldn’t do it as well.

We need a number 2 or 3 pitcher in addition to just Maine and Pelfrey. I don’t think Oliver Perez will get healthy and stay consistent either. Maybe Matt Holliday/lf would help offensively. We’ve already had confirmed that Omar Minaya won’t trade Fernando Martinez/of for him, and therefore probably won’t be trading him at all, which pretty much also confirms we won’t be acquiring a top notch starter. I really can’t believe the Mets are going to attempt to win this division with our number 4 and 5 starters being Livan Hernandez, Tim Redding, Oliver Perez, and or Jon Niese.

I feel as though the Mets can definitely land a top notch starter with their recent performances from ‘2nd tier’ pitching prospects (Brad Holt & Jenrry Mejia) in addition to decent ss prospects (Reese Havens, who just went on the Minor League DL, Ruben Tejada, and Wilmer Flores, who are still so young), and Jon Niese. I’m not only worried about the Phillies now, but also the Braves. I honestly think they need to shake up the team and make some moves:

http://www.majorleagueblogging.com/major-league-baseball/lets-play-gm-mets-crazy-trade-scenarios/

Let’s have some fantasy fun. Here I have my Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda 2009 fantasy team. Obviously there are a sundry of guys you could have drafted in each round (ala Mark Reynolds in rounds 15-17 or Aaron Hill in round 17-20, etc.). I didn’t go crazy though and say Edwin Jackson in round 20, because who would have thought he was going to be so dominant thus far. For the most part, I was fair putting players near their average draft position. I utlized a Late Odd Round/Early Even Round draft (say one of the last 4 picks in the first round and first 4 picks in the 2nd round). You get the point. So Evan Longoria, I liked at 3b late round 1/early round 2. I love seeing Morneau drop to round 3 some times, but I had him as a high 2nd rounder, and so on and so on. The last column for each player is according to Ron Shandler/BaseballHQ.com’s Actual vs. Projected Worth Values via USA Today.The positive values obviously depict that each player has performed more well than expected. A negative value of course means the opposite. So even though Robinson Cano/2b has performed very well – it’s less than expected according to Mr. Shandler, Fantasy Guru. I could have chosen Aaron Hill/2b with a positive value of 14, however this is just one possible Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda Draft round by round.

With this draft, you would probably score top place points in every category other than maybe stolen bases and saves – maybe wins, but obviously, you would overwhelmingly come in first place with this team (approximately 59 pts on offense and 57 pts with your pitching – yeilding 116pts). On average, 90+ points would give you first place, so you can see how dominant such a team would be. The one player i’d utterly scold myself on is Joe Mauer, and of course not many saw this type of a power, and a .400+avg with that much playing time is beyond amazing. I live in Minnesota and he’s the Albert Pujols of St. Louis + the David Wright of New York + the Chase Utley of Philadelphia. Simply, Amazing – at Catcher! The question is will he be a Yankee or Red Sock after 2010? He can potentially command an A-rod contract with consistent health here on out.

Hindsight is 20-20, but it’s always fun to see who you could have had and where. Below the actual team is Ron Shandler’s Players with the Highest Postive Actual vs. Projected Worth Values and Lowest (Negative) Actual vs. Projected Worth Values for some reference.

Well I think it’s time to shake up the Mets, no? I don’t think Ryan Church, Alex Cora, and even Jose Reyes coming back will throw the Mets into a winning mindset. So let’s play GM and see what we can do with the Mets farm system and available players (not named Wright, Santana, K-rod, Maine, or Pelfrey). I have two proposals to be performed in succession:

The Indians need to realize there’s no way to compete this year and get what they can for Cliff Lee if they don’t plan on extending him. Mark Derosa isn’t worth keeping for them, and a healthy Victor Martinez can help them acquire a sundry of talent.

We all know how much the Red Sox want a stellar short stop and catcher. The Mets would now have Victor Martinez or Jose Reyes to provide them so long as they provide the Mets with both Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden. We can still give them a SS prospect (Reese Havens/Wilmer Flores/Ruben Tejada) if they choose Victor Martinez over Jose Reyes and I think that would be a no brainer for them. I think Derosa at SS with Victor at C is a little better for the Mets than Reyes at SS and Omir Santos and or Brian Schneider at C, but if the Red Sox would rather Victor Martinez at C over Jose Reyes at SS then I guess it’s moot. I know I’m in fantasy GM land, but why not?

I had a friend text me again. He asked what I thought about the following trade:

He would give up Alex Rodriguez/3b; Kyle Lohse/sp; Stephen Drew/ss and receive Ian Kinsler/2b; Joba Chamberlain/sp>rp; and Mark Derosa/if.

I told him there were a few contingencies:

1) Is it a keeper league? If so, go for it because I’d definitely keep Kinsler + Joba over Arod + Drew. Kinsler’s younger and cheaper than Arod (even in fantasy depending on how your keeper league might work).

2) Is his middle infielders killing him?

3) Does he have a solid 3b/corner infield to back up for A-rod’s absence (hoping Derosa isn’t it)

4) Finally, I told him to attempt to wait it out and see if Joba will become a reliever since the Yankees have Wang back and the young Philip Hughes. My opinion is that he will becuase he was much more dominant there and Wang’s stuff is meant to start and Hughes is a stud.

Therefore, I told him the only player straight up I’d trade A-rod for is Pujols and maybe Hanley. Unless he believes Joba will remain a starter and so long as it’s not a keeper league, I suggested him not to do it. 1+ Months out of baseball, and A-rod is still on pace for 45+ homers.

The Baltimore Orioles. A good offensive fantasy baseball team. But that’s about it, unfortunately. They’re a Pitching Staff and a Bullpen away from a playoff spot – and 3 top MLB teams as well (Red Sox, Yankees, Rays -probably respectively). You have to absolutely love their lineup (i’ll include Matt Wieters of course over Gregg Zaun):

1-Brian Roberts/2b: According to ESPN Player Rater (http://games.espn.go.com/flb/playerrater?) he’s the 3rd best 2b as of now. Probably more like the 5th or 6th best, but still top notch in r;sb;295+avg

2-Adam Jones/cf: ranked 10th overall by ESPN Player Rater. Enough said. HR/SB + R/RBI + 315+Avg?!

3-Nick Markakis/rf: top 45, but Avg should raise and make him top 25

4-Aubrey Huff/1b: i’ll take him and his rbi on the O’s for one more year

5-Melvin Mora/3b: should put up acceptable #5 hitter stats in this lineup

6-Matt Wieters/c: I’m sure you already heard the Evan Longoria at 3b comparisons

7-Luke Scott/dh: 3 hr and 7 rbi in his last 2 games back from shoulder injury

8-Nolan Reimold/lf: top 6 prospect for the O’s (3 hr the past 3 games; 5hr in 53 ab’s)

9-Cesar Izturis/ss: Bleh. Sorry.

Their rotation consists of (for the most part): Jeremy Guthrie; Koji Uehera; Rich Hill; and then a sundry of guys. Their pitching prospects (that rate from B to B-) are David Hernandez; Troy Patton; Chris Tilman; Brian Matusz; Jake Arrieta; Brandon Erbe; and Zach Britton.

So the question is, what should/can they do? Honestly the Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays should be great for years to come with their payroll availability, players, and rotations (minus payroll for the Rays of course). This year (although only 6 games outs), they probably don’t have a chance. Not without a solid rotation or bullpen. They have the third worst ERA in all of baseball.

I think they have some pieces other teams should be interested in that are more than expendable: Felix Pie/of, Ty Wigginton/if, and Gregg Zaun/c. This first tier probably won’t yield many good players in return. The next tier consists of Aubrey Huff/1b, Jeremy Guthrie/sp and maybe Melvin Mora/3b. They have 7 pitching prospects that are generally rated b- or better.

Aubrey Huff + Jeremy Guthrie to maybe the Mets could work out. The Mets should be looking for a 1b/of replacement for Carlos Delgado and an additional SP that can be more consistent than Oliver Perez, Livan Hernandez, Tim Redding, and Jon Niese. I think Huff + Guthrie can net the Orioles a group of Tim Redding (a MLB starter); Jon Niese(sp) or Brad Holt (sp); Reese Havens or Wilmer Flores (ss); Joe Kunz(rp); and Jefrey Marte(3b) or Ike Davis(1b). This deal provides them a young sp for Guthrie plus a needed relief arm along with someone who can at least pitch for them now (Redding). In addition, it provides the Orioles with a 3b and ss for when Mora and Izturis are done/not worth it. As a Mets fan, I think it’s a bit much, but I’m attempting to be realistic. I’d rather the Mets go for Nick Johnson/Nationals for cheap and keep Daniel Murphy in LF. Honestly, I just want the Mets to get another Ace and forget about everything else – especially if the Phillies end up landing another SP.

Unless the Orioles want to trade Wieters+ to Boston, since they would love the Catcher, for Clay Buchholz + Michael Bowden – if the Red Sox or Orioles would even do that, obviously, Wieters should be untouchable. A deal like this, however, may make them a contender this year or next. The Red Sox rotation is probably deep enough: Beckett; Lester; Dicek; Penny; Smoltz; Wakefield; Masterson to maintain pace. A rotation of Guthrie; Ueherea; Buchholz; Bowden; Hill + Prospects looks pretty good.

So in my fantasy land, if I was the Orioles GM, I would perform the following trades:

In about 2-3 years, the team could then potentially compete for the AL East or at least the Wild Card. Else, at least the Orioles should enjoy watching their only 4 current bright spots for years to come (Roberts; Jones; Markakis; Wieters) with hopeful pitching prospects.

Some Cross Referencing here – According to Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse via MLB Trade Rumors (http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/), the Mets are talking trade with the Cleveland Indians. The talk surrounds Mark Derosa/infield-outfield. I think he can be valuable at ss/2b/1b/of. However, he’s batting only .255 with a .322 obp. Like MLB Trade rumors says, and it’s as obvious as it gets, the Indians will want the entire 4+ million off the books. I don’t have a problem with that, I just don’t want to give up any top notch talent or even a 2nd tier prospect…Unless of course we can also land a SP, such as Cliff Lee or more probable, Fausto Carmona in the deal. Then i’d give up 2 or 3 2nd teir prospects – Brad Holt or Jon Niese (sp) + Reese Havens or Wilmer Flores (ss) + maybe a Carlos Guzman (of). MLB Trade Rumors previously said that the Indians may be tired of waiting for Fausto Carmona to regain his dominance (http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/05/is-cleveland-losing-patience-with-fausto-carmona.html). I think we have a few more sp that will be considered a little bit more talented than Niese in another year or two, and in my opinion, Fausto Carmona + Mark Derosa will help us this year a lot more than Jon Niese. Derosa can plug in at ss until Reyes is back, 1b along with Daniel Murphy until Delgado is back, and OF in place of Church/Sheffield/Murphy. He can even plug in at 3b when Wright needs a break. And oh yeah, he can plug in at 2b when Castillo needs a break/get hurt – especially now that Alex Cora is also hurt. I think Derosa is a no brainer if he comes cheap enough – I just hope we can get Cliff Lee/Fausto Carmona as well (obviously we’d have to add Fernando Martinez/of + another SP prospect for Lee if the Indians don’t think they’ll be in the race). Ideally, we can somehow land Victor Martinez/c-1b, but I won’t get out of hand.

Well Carlos Delgado will have surgery and be out until around the All-Star break. Possible replacements that may possibly arrise via trade are Aubrey Huff/Orioles; Nick Johnson/Nationals; Victor Martinez/Indians; and maybe even Jorge Cantu/Florida if any of these guys are or become available. I can see all these teams saying they need 2 of the Mets top  prospects, and I honeslty don’t think any of them except Victor Martinez warrant them, however, I would be willing to trade both if we can also land a SP in the deal ala Cliff Lee or Fausto Carmona (even though he hasn’t been great) from Cleveland; and Jeremy Guthrie (even though he hasn’t been great) from Baltimore. I doubt the Indians are willing to trade Victor Martinez and or Cliff Lee/Fausto Carmona so soon, but if so I would be willing to trade Fernando Martinez(of), Jon Niese(sp), Reese Havens or Wilmer Flores(ss) for BOTH Victor Martinez and Fausto Carmona or Aubrey Huff and Jeremy Guthrie, potentially. I think at catcher and 1b, Victor Martinez would be a dream fit, but Huff/Johnson would be less attractive becasue then what do we do when Delgado is back? I guess Huff could play LF again which moves Murphy to RF and then Church and Sheffield become unhappy or Murphy loses playing time which I would thoroughly disagree with. I guess Nick Johnson/Washington can come quite cheap since they also have Adam Dunn and a sundry of outfielders. I just strongly want to emphasize if we trade for a 1b then we should attempt to land a SP along with them if we rid of our top prospect(s). Agreed?

Some other random suggestions/potential candidates:

Russel Branyan/1b, Jose Lopez/2b, Erik Bedard/sp – Mariners… I think something could work here

Adrian Gonzalez/1b, Jake Peavy/sp – Padres… I wish something could work here

Jermaine Dye/of – White Sox (Move Murphy to 1b)…He’s solid but we really need a SP also

Matt Holliday/of – Athletics (Move Murphy to 1b)…May require way too much for thus far subpar performance

Helton/Atkins/1b – Rockies… Hmm, maybe Helton Could come cheap other than money cost?

All these guys are probably tradable minus Adrian Gonzalez, but they have a top notch 1b prospect.