Disgruntled Mets Fan

I heard this idea come up again a few days ago. I’ve kicked it around, and I’m going to make a case for it. I’m not sure that I believe in it 100%, but, again, I’m just seeing where going in this direction takes us. This sort of plan gears more towards “building for the future.”

David Wright, while he has been a Gold Glove third baseman twice, is not an elite fielder. His UZR has never been that great-never in the top tier of MLB third baseman. He’s been above average a few times, but never that great. He does not have a strong third baseman’s arm-Just watch the throws he makes versus the throws A-Rod makes. A-Rod has the arm to side-arm sling the ball across the diamond with accuracy EVERY time. Wright has struggled with his arm slot in the past, switching from over-the-top to side-arm and back again. Since the middle of 2008 he’s had trouble throwing the ball down the line (towards home, if looking at first base from second base) and making low throws in the dirt. However, he does have great reflexes and great hands for backhanding the balls to his left and right. He has good range. But again, the arm puts a damper on his third base ability

I’m confident that David could learn to play first base well. He is an open-minded, smart, team-first ballplayer. First base is one of the least complex positions to learn on the field. Furthermore, the move to first allows the Mets to make several changes that I am attaching to this argument. Move Wright to first, and sign Chone Figgins. Wright should give the Mets at least what Carlos Delgado gave them, which was average to below-average defense at first base. Chone Figgins would be an improvement over Wright, as Figgins is a true elite fielder. He also can play multiple other positions, and could gear the Mets more towards being a speed-oriented team-perhaps molding them in the form of the Anaheim Angels. The Mets already steal a good amount of bases, and Figgins could add another 40-steal guy to the top of a lineup that already has Jose Reyes.

Now, with these changes in place, I would not advocate signing Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, or any high-profile position player this offseason. They would probably have enough money after a Figgins signing to get Lackey. For left field, I would advocate “building for the future.” For a year, you could plug the spot with Angel Pagan. You also allow Fernando Martinez to compete for the job in Spring Training, along with Chris Carter and maybe, in the future, Ike Davis (who has played RF during his minor-league tenure). However, ultimately there is an odd man out…which, conveniently enough, leaves trade bait that the Mets could readily move-perhaps for some more pitching depth.

It’s an idea to think about, because I would be comfortable with this plan knowing that it allows the Mets to a) make a high profile signing(s), but b) still build for the future by allowing young guys to compete for the spot in left field and c) leave a prospect open as trade bait, whether it’s Davis, Martinez, or even Pagan, who teams seem to like.

The 800 pound gorilla that lives over the Triborough Bridge (I’ll never call it the RFK Bridge), the World Champion New York Yankees, are a team to be reckoned with. A team that redefines what “Championship Caliber” means.

Three superstars in the infield alone that will be sure to steal away MVP voting from each other for years to come, a strong top half of the rotation that showed it can dominate in the post season, and the best closer of all time.

All the talk around the Mets blogosphere saying what the Mets should or shouldn’t do makes me crazy. What the Mets should be doing is figuring out a way they can beat the Yankees. If they field a team that can beat the Yankees, then they should be able to beat anyone that the National League teams can put on the field.

How can they beat the Yankees?

Step 1: Sign John Lackey

The only thing Lackey will cost the team is money. All indications suggest that the team is willing to spend the money necessary to get a guy like Lackey. I hope they pull through. He would legitimize the top of the rotation, and will be a key part in the three-headed monster staff that my plan will build.

Step 2: Trade for Roy Halladay

Sure, Halladay wants to sign an extension before being traded. Sure, it’s going to cost someone a lot of money to get him.

The other sure thing about Halladay is that he’ll be worth the money. (See Johan Santana & CC Sabathia).

Some may think that trading away your farm system for a guy like Halladay is a foolish move, but I call those people fools. I pointed out a while back that farm system prospects aren’t always what they were cracked up to be.

I’m aware of the kind of money it would take to put a pitching staff like this together, but anyone should be aware of how historically good the top of the rotation could be.

I also like the idea of Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, and Oliver Perez competing for the bottom two spots in the rotation. I don’t think I’m the only one that realizes that’s where these pitchers really belong.

Step 3: Sign a Cheap Power Bat for Left Field

All the talk has been about Jason Bay and Matt Holliday. While I believe either would provide an infusion of life to the middle of the line up, I feel like the money it would cost to get them should be spent on pitching.

I’d love to see Xavier Nady make a return to the Mets. He’s only 31. He can hit for power, which he showed in 2008 when he hit 25 home runs and drove in 97 RBI. He’s a right-handed hitter that hits right-handed pitching well. He’s got a career .270 average against them, and a .308 average against lefties.

Sure, he’s coming off a season-ending injury that allowed him to only play in seven games last season, but I think he’s worth another look.

Step 4: Leave Luis Alone!

Luis Castillo, dropped fly ball and all, was one of the few bright spots for the Mets in 2009.

He worked hard in the off season to get in shape, and was able to keep healthy all season. Sure his range has diminished at second base, but he proved he was willing to try and earn his paycheck.

Plus, having Jose Reyes in the lineup ahead of him and David Wright in the lineup behind him will lead to more success. How could it not?

Step 5: Daniel Murphy, Starting First Baseman

Call me crazy…Maybe I got a heavier dose of the Daniel Murphy Kool-Aid, but I believe in him.

Maybe it’s the fact that he looks a lot like Don Mattingly in the box. I think with a full season working at first base, and the confidence that goes along with being the starting EVERY DAY first baseman will allow him to develop into the hitter we all think he can be.

He’s a No. 7 hitter, behind Reyes, Castillo, Wright, Beltran, Nady, and Francoeur, and having a No. 7 hitter that has a smooth swing and good power to the gaps is not the worst situation to be in.

I’m a big believer that the Mets don’t need to spend money to add power at first base because I hope having Reyes and Beltran back, and Wright hopefully returning the home run to his repertoire, will be more than enough. Especially with the dream pitching staff I listed above.

Now…

I’m not saying any of this will be easy or cheap. Steps one and two could conceivably cost over $40 million a year to do so.  But spending that kind of money can be effective .

I listened to as much of Jeff Wilpon and Omar Minaya’s press conference as I could yesterday. I read summaries of the parts I missed.

I’ve seen reactions from many people, from bloggers to people on Twitter. ALL are negative. But honestly, I’m going to ask these people: what do you want them to say that will make you happy?

Despite that I can’t fully get behind what Jeff is doing, and what Omar is doing, it seems like ANYTHING they do at this point is going to be met with full-on criticism.

Here are the main relevant points of Mike Francesa’s interview with these two:
-Wilpon feels this season was unacceptable.
-Misdiagnoses of injuries resulted from relying too much on other team’s trainers (dumb, but it happens)
-The Mets will spend money in the offseason as if it were any other year (unaffected by Madoff)
-Wilpon was most disappointed with the inability to drive in runs
-The Mets will likely make big changes to the supporting cast of the Mets, through both the free agent market (where they will be active) and potentially in trades, looking to trade members of the major-league squad or mid-level prospects.

Also, as announced on Monday, Luis Alicea (First base coach, baserunning coach) and Sandy Alomar Sr. (bench coach, infield coach) were fired, with the Mets citing their struggles on the bases and on defense as the reasons. Howard Johnson (hitting) and Dan Wharthen (pitching) will be retained, and Razor Shines will be reassigned from third base (likely to bench coach role).

So, what do you want from them? That’s my question. I feel like these guys are in a position where they can’t say anything without being blasted for it. So I ask, is a change in GM/ownership the only thing that’s going to satisfy anyone? Can you give this regime another shot?

Finally, the nightmare of the 2009 season that we’ve all been enduring is over.

It couldn’t have come soon enough.

Instead of reflecting back on things I’d prefer never to think about again, I’m going to revisit some ideas I had a few weeks ago about how the Mets could improve going into 2010.

In this series, I covered what I consider to be the most important issues for the Mets next season.

• Starting Pitching
• Catcher
• First Base
• Left Field

I think all the other position players the Mets have will and should be a part of the plan for next season, unless they are used as chips in a trade to pick up a player to cover one of the above categories.

I’m also happy to announce my participation in some voting with the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, where our emerging network of baseball bloggers will vote on all season awards.  I’ll be happy to post here when the results are up so any interested parties can come check them out.

Thanks for reading all season.  It’s been fun at times, more work than I planned.  I wish I still had some Mets related baseball games to cover going deeper into October, but it is what it is.

Let’s go 2010.