One hundred and first!

If they think Lohse is a potential Gil Meche (i.e., signed to an optimistic amount because they're convinced they can get more out of him than he's shown so far), then fine, pull the trigger; don't get me wrong, you better be right if you're making calls like that, but I'd give them the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. If they don't see that in him and just want him to "eat innings", then forget it. I just don't buy the idea that we should spend $11M a year on a player who is the furthest thing from a superstar because "that's the market." My mom once informed me that if everyone else jumps off a bridge, I shouldn't do it too.

I've decided any guy who gets more than 70 replies in his free agent rumor thread is worth $10 million a year.

Surely you need to make a thread adjustment given that it's a Mets thread. The Primer thread factor for the Mets must be at least 3.5, making 103 posts worth fewer than 30 posts for a Primer-neutral team and about 4 for the Marlins.

they don't see that in him and just want him to "eat innings", then forget it. I just don't buy the idea that we should spend $11M a year on a player who is the furthest thing from a superstar because "that's the market."

I understand the Mets do have a budget but to me the question is...does Kyle Lohse make the Mets a better team and is the contract somewhat reasonable? If the answer is yes then the Mets should sign him. A 4/40 contract is reasonable for Lohse and should not limit the Mets' options when it comes to elite free agents. So if by some chance Santana is not traded and hits the open market the Mets would still be able to offer top dollar (and that strikes me as one of Omar's skills, convincing Freddy Coupons to open the wallet when necessary) even with Lohse's contract.

My mom once informed me that if everyone else jumps off a bridge, I shouldn't do it too.

This has always bothered me as practical advice, because if lots of people are jumping off the bridge all at once there's probably a good reason for it...

This has always bothered me as practical advice, because if lots of people are jumping off the bridge all at once there's probably a good reason for it...

Godzilla, perhaps.

A deep devotion to Bobbie Gentry?

A deep devotion to Bobbie Gentry?

Thanks Sam, for getting a bad song stuck in my head. I worked in a diner when that was a hit, and I would hear that song a couple of times an hour on the juke box. I used to put my own money in to play "Higher and Higher" just to break the cycle of bad songs.

Bad song???? Bad song??? Ode to Billie Joe is a great song! It made Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of the rock era, and Pitchfork put it # 144 among the 200 greatest songs of the '60s, saying:

Our "Law & Order"-corroded minds can all-too-easily guess what the singer and Billie Joe tossed off the bridge that night, but this Southern Gothic story-song is still a creeping horror, for the way Gentry teases out each character's reactions to a tragedy-- and for the dread that sinks in with every revelation.

Bad song??? Bah!

":
Because Brian Lawrence is a bad pitcher. He has no potential whatsoever and watching him try and pitch made it apparent that he's lost even the poor stuff that he used to get by on. The man was throwing 80 MPH fastballs.

And the Mets were already in a six man rotation by that point. Lawrence took the first start in it while Humber sat on the bench. He was the 7th starter.
"

This is all true, but not relevant to the question of whether the mets "screwed up Humber."

Worst signing ever! Forget the cash, just think about how fun it will be knowing that this barely-adequate-and-not-getting-better pitcher is securely welded onto the Mets' rotation through 2011. There will not be the excitement of watching a star, not the anticipation of watching a pitcher with potential, not even the toleration of watching a stopgap ready to be discarded at the first opportunity. One can't even enjoy the thought that they at least got a good deal financially.

Signings like this reek of stagnation and slow decay. Just say no.

If he performs at a league-average level and eats innings and for some reason the Mets find themselves with too much starting pitching(say all of Pelfrey, Humber, and Mulvey take steps forward next year and Santana declares he's coming to the NL), the Lohse (almost said Meche; sigh) can be traded.

This is all true, but not relevant to the question of whether the mets "screwed up Humber."

Of course it's relevant. One technique in screwing up a prospect is indicating that you have no confidence in him and don't want him to play at the major league level despite having him on the major-league roster. Not all players are entirely without self-doubt.

Ok, then it's only relevant in the most tenuous and speculative sense. Happy?

I'd like to think the one of the reasons that Omar Minaya is the GM of the Mets instead of me is that Omar is better at understanding this and making the right choices. Shoot, anyone could overpay for guaranteed medicority - it doesn't mean it's an optimal strategy.

Optimal, no, but for the Mets it's a sound strategy. Lack of another solid starter is one of the main reasons they missed the playoffs in 2007, and they'll have the same lack in 2008 if they don't make a move.
I don't like signing Lohse, but his reliable mediocrity is worth far more to the Mets than it is to most other teams.

Kyle Lohse's career ERA+ is four points higher than Dave Williams's. Just wanted to throw that out there.