» shortstop

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?

Well we all know about the Mets at the Shortstop position….Jose…Jose..Jose..Joseeeee!  None other than Jose Reyes. This guy is a true pleasure to watch and will continue to be this season.

Less Swipes More RBI's?

Well there’s no telling how Jose Reyes will do because he just got back from playing in WBC. While in WBC, he only was 1-9. Jose will bat third in lineup according to Jerry Manuel. Luis Castillo has had pretty good spring training so far as the leadoff hitter, there’s no telling if this something that’s going to carry over into the regular season.

Overall I will look for a better fielding year for Jose this year, and one can expect him to show off the cannon early and often. I expect a dip in Stolen Bases, and a bit of a higher average than last season. More Home runs, and RBI’s is a given (I feel).

God forbid he gets injured…There’s a couple of young guys who are in development for the backup position. There’s a youngster by the name of Wilmer Flores, who’s only 16-17 years old. Then there’s the Reese Havens who’s been seeing some playing time while Jose was playing in WBC.

Coming Up next….Right Field.

For years the opening day shortstop has been a question for the Red Sox. Since Nomar Garciaparra was traded in 2004 the Sox had a new player at that position every year except 2008. Julio Lugo is the first player to be in the lineup since ‘04 when he did it in both ‘07 and ‘08. 2009 should be the same situation, but there is a battle for that position this spring.

Julio Lugo should have a bounce back 2009 for the Red Sox.

Jed Lowrie exceeded all expectations in his rookie season of 2008 after Lugo went down with an injury. He is viewed by many as the rightful starter, but I doubt he will. Not only am I not certain if Lowrie is ready for a full big league season, but if he starts the Red Sox won’t have a backup second baseman. Lugo won’t be able to play second, and Lowrie can play all over the infield.

Since I think he will be the starter, I also think Lugo will put up some similar numbers to his days in Tampa Bay. Lowrie will also contribute off the bench, but he might get off to a slow start and also get into a mid-season slump.

Julio Lugo got $36 Million for 4 years before the 2007 season. He knows it's time to give something back.

Julio Lugo, probably the worst signing in the American League in the past few seasons. Signed in the 2006 offseason to the tone of $36 Million for four years, Lugo hasn’t given much back to the team that won him his first ring. He hit just .237 in 2007, although he did have a good second half that year, hitting .280. In 2008 Lugo was looking to bouce back, and did get off to a decent start, but he suffered an injury midway through the season and only got 82 games in.

This opened the door for rookie Jed Lowrie, who more than erased the memory of Lugo constantly hitting into rally-killing double plays. Now Lugo and Lowrie will compete for the starting job, though many fans are calling it pointless and they already view Lowrie as the everyday starter.

However, Terry Francona is hinting that Lugo is the front runner, and I can’t blame him. While Lugo has struggled, he is still a proven veteran compared to the 2nd year Lowrie. Plus, the Red Sox never addressed the loss of utilityman Alex Cora, and are now left without a backup at 2nd Base. Lowrie can fill that position fine, but can you really see Lugo at 2nd Base? He struggled as LA’s utility man three years ago after being dealt by the Devil Rays at the trade deadline.

Anyway, Lugo believes this is the year he finally shows his worth. “I’m ready to do it now,” Lugo said. “I’m ready to get back to the level I was at. I’m hungry every day. That’s why I get paid so much money — to do well. That’s what I’m going to do.”

Well any way you look at it, Boston is stuck with him for another two years, so he may as well give us something to cheer about during this time.