In a word......NO

Mets hijackers of the world rejoice....

they could swap righty Aaron Heilman for Tampa Bay closer Danys Baez if they wished.

I could swap a 100 dollar bill for a 20 dollar bill if I wished.

This is a ####### stupid article. Dotel has 11 offers?

The Post's Kevin Kernan recently reported Kris Benson could be dealt for Baltimore's Jorge Julio, and it's not impossible that the Mets would see Tejada as a substantial improvement on Reyes and expand that deal to include those players.

golly, those crackerjack Mets scouts don't miss a trick!

IN other Mets news, they are mulling signing Bob Gibson, Josh Gibson, Debbie Gibson, Debbie Boone, Bob Boone and Bob Barker to shore up their bullpen.

At the very least, the Mets seem to be trouncing the Yankees in the off-season War For Publicity. For what that's worth.

And somehow they'll still finish in fourth. Somehow.

And I'd like to welcome everyone to Porn Valley, by the way.

To make a real title run, the Mets must upgrade their starting pitching. Their doing so has been the topic of few rumors so far.

Also, its nice to have Reyes batting leadoff for developmental purposes. But, the .300 OBP from the leadoff spot is problematic for a team that wants to have one of the league's better offenses.

At the very least, the Mets seem to be trouncing the Yankees in the off-season War For Publicity. For what that's worth.


too bad the Boston owner doesn't have a Broadway musical he's trying to finance

"And I'd like to welcome everyone to Porn Valley, by the way."

Around here, we like to refer to it as "Flavor Country".

Also, its nice to have Reyes batting leadoff for developmental purposes. But, the .300 OBP from the leadoff spot is problematic for a team that wants to have one of the league's better offenses.

Getting on base 35% of the time can't possible mean that much as opposed to 30%, particularly with Reyes' knack for scoring once he reaches base. I bet it costs the Mets a win at most.

And Reyes steals second, then he steals third, then he steals home...

But wait, he cannot steal first...

Are the Mets getting Bonds?

Yep, straight up for Benson.

Benson for Bonds, Anna for the Bonds girl. Call it a push

Getting on base 35% of the time can't possible mean that much as opposed to 30%, particularly with Reyes' knack for scoring once he reaches base. I bet it costs the Mets a win at most.

It's not just about how many runs Reyes scores (although if he raised his OBP to .350 it would be a lot more). It's also about how many outs he's making. To have that OBP with the 733 PAs he had, he'd have needed to reach base 257 times. As it was, he reached based 219 times -- which means he made 38 more outs (assuming no DPs in tose PAs) than he would have otherwise. If a team can turn 38 outs into times a player reaches base (especially a player like Reyes who is so deadly once he reaches base*), it will be a significant boost to the offense.

The point is, just because Reyes does well when he reaches base does NOT mean the Mets aren't paying a significant price in offense for his low OBP. They are.

* - Remember, Reyes scored 99 runs while reaching base 219 times. If he maintained that ratio in the additional 38 times on base, that's an extra 17 runs, before we even account for the fact we are reducing the number of outs the Mets are making per PA.

And I'd like to welcome everyone to Porn Valley, by the way.

Everyone say hello to your host, former Cub and Royal first baseman Pete LaCock.

Up here, we spell it Flavour Country. And Pourn Valley.

I'd actually be pretty darn happy with a Reyes/Tejada deal. I fear a situation with Reyes where he repeats 2005 three more times, costs us significantly in three straight pennant races because it's very tough to win with a leadoff hitter doing that, and yet we're still sitting here saying that he's still only 25 and he's still going to break through one day. His "limitless potential" label is dangerous in a way, because it doesn't matter how he actually performs, he will just play no matter what. I don't think Reyes is ever going to be as good as Tejada, and I think there's at least a good chance that he won't ever even get particularly close.

I'm not sure Baltimore would do a deal centered around Reyes/Tejada, though; aside from shedding salary, which I don't think they care much about, what does it really accomplish? I'm not sure the Mets would do it either, they obviously think the world of Reyes.

What the O's need is 2 or 3 average starters. The Mets have several to spare. And I would move reyes to second base without thinking twice.

The Mets average starters have surely been generating a lot of interest. I hear the O's wouldn't give up Julio for Benson, but if you're asking for Tejada, I'm sure the O's would jump headfirst. Ya can't pass up on a guy like Benson...

Hey, I respect Benson's sucktacularity factor as much as the next guy, but if it's so easy for teams to find average starting pitchers, what's with, you know, the BALTIMORE ORIOLES?

Everyone say hello to your host, former Cub and Royal first baseman Pete LaCock.

Rusty Kuntz says hi.

i think the only guy worse than benson that they have/had was ponson...

Except for the rest of the staff, I agree.

hey guys, someone I know in PR recently saw Soler pitch. He told me Alay looked very good the last time he saw him. He said his fastball is consistently around 91-94MPH and that his slider came in at 80MPH. He told me the fastball is a dominant pitch, but that the slider is just average. He talked to some scouts who saw him in the DR last year, and they said that Soler has the ability to be either a good reliever or an okay starter. The problem with him is that when he gets into trouble, he starts overthrowing the ball.

My friend also said he talked to some Met people, and that they say he'll make it to the majors next year. The plan is to let him start in the minors, but if he impresses during ST, there's a very good chance he'll go north with the team out of spring training. Take that with a grain of salt though. I'm not sure how well informed those scouts are/were.

that's very interesting, base.

the o's had two pitchers who had better era than benson, chen and bedard. they also had two more pitchers who, imho, would post better era than benson if they played in the nl for the mets in lopez and cabrera.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BAL/2005.shtml

benson, in baltimore, would be their #4 or #5 guy, and he'd be hard pressed to do significantly better than posting an era of 5 there. but the o's are too dumb to realize that, so they'll give up tejada for him.

i think the only guy worse than benson that they have/had was ponson...

The only starters that were better than Benson were Bedard and Chen, and neither by much. Benson was clearly better than Lpoez, Cabrera, and Ponson.

levski, check out RA+ on the Prospectus site.

shouldn't you guys do adjustment for league/park/defense? or better yet, shouldn't you wait for the benson for julio trade to go down, then just see the numbers that benson posts in 06 in baltimore? the o's should be counting their blessings if benson even manages ERA+ of 90...

ERA+ is league and park adjusted, is it not? And when was the last time Chen pitched as well as he did in 2005?

NEW YORK— With a week to go before pitchers and catchers report for spring training, the New York <strike>Yankees</strike> Mets shored up their pitching, hitting, and defense Monday by signing every player in professional baseball.


Some of the New York <strike>Yankees</strike> Mets' newest additions are introduced to the press.

"We'd like to welcome the entire roster of Major League Baseball into the <strike>Yankees</strike> Mets," said team owner Fred Wilpon, watching as the franchise's 928 newest additions held up their pinstripes at a <strike>Yankee Stadium</strike> Shea Stadium press conference. "With these acquisitions, we are in position to finally nab that elusive <strike>27th</strike> 3rd World Series title."

Sports reporters were not surprised by the move.

"This is not entirely unexpected," New York Times baseball writer Murray Chass said. "When the <strike>Yankees</strike> Mets followed up their signing of Japanese slugger <strike>Hideki</strike> Kaz 'Godzilla' Matsui by annexing Cuba for use as a Triple-A farm club, it was clear that <strike>Steinbrenner</strike> Wilpon was willing to do whatever it takes to win."

By noon, <strike>Yankees</strike> Mets GM <strike>Brian Cashman</strike> Omar Minaya had signed the entire National League and most of the American League to multi-year contracts. Some 10 hours later, the final opposing player, <strike>Texas Rangers shortstop Alex Rodriguez</strike> Baltimore Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada, had been acquired by the Yankees, who bought out the remainder of his contract for $300 million.

"It's an honor to be part of this team," said catcher Benito Santiago, picked up from the San Francisco Giants as insurance in case catchers Jorge Posada, Ivan Rodriguez, and Mike Piazza all go down with injuries. "It's a surprise, certainly, but I'd be crazy to turn down the opportunity to play on what is, by default, the greatest team in baseball."

<strike>Yankees manager Joe Torre</strike> Mets manager Willie Randolph, whose pitching rotation, prior to the mass signing, lacked a clear seventh ace, now has the luxury of starting each of his hurlers twice a season.

"As they say, you can never have enough pitching in this league," <strike>Torre</strike> Randolph said. "Especially come playoff time. Now, if we make it to the World Series, we'll be able to start Pedro Martinez in Game 1 and still have him fresh and ready to go for a Game 287, should it be necessary."

With so many egos to juggle and so many personnel decisions to make, <strike>Torre</strike> Randolph said his job will actually be harder this season, the lack of opposing players notwithstanding.

"Hey, I don't care who you've got on your team; winning in this league is tough—Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, and Randy Johnson or no Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, and Randy Johnson," <strike>Torre</strike> Randolph said. "And it's even tougher in New York. This is a baseball town, and some of these fans think the Yankees are the only team in baseball. Now that we truly are, the pressure to win will be that much greater."

The mass signing, extravagant even by Yankees standards, caused the <strike>Bronx Bombers</strike> Mets' payroll to skyrocket from a former league high of <strike>$149 million</strike> $105 million to $5.6 billion. <strike>Cashman</strike> Minaya noted that much of that figure is tied up in bonuses to be paid out to pitcher Tom Glavine, who at 37 will almost certainly not play out the entirety of his 15-year contract.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig approved the signing, noting that the other 29 major-league teams received ample financial compensation.

"I see no reason why a small-market team like the Twins or Expos can't continue to remain competitive, just because it lacks players," Selig said. "The league was due for contraction, anyway."

DIPS (2005):

Benson: 4.68

Lopez: 4.72

Chen: 5.03

they could swap righty Aaron Heilman for Tampa Bay closer Danys Baez if they wished.

Not quite the Zambrano for Baez that they wanted from the Cubs, but it's still a very good deal from the DRays' point of view.

Is Kazmir a free agent yet?

If the Mets trade Benson, who will be Santa this Christmas?

I assume that Roberto Hernandez was their first choice of Santas.

The orioles' pitching isn't great, but their problem in the 2nd half of 2005 was horrific hitting. They basically have two averagish pitchers (Chen and Lopez) and two averagish pitchers who might be well above average (Bedard and Cabrera).

Everyone say hello to your host, former Cub and Royal first baseman Pete LaCock.

Rusty Kuntz says hi.

That relationship is never gonna work. Pete only has one french appendage. Rusty is apparently a freak of nature.

P.s. I just got through with the 1974 draft in the Baseball Mogul game I have been playing, so I drafted Rusty Kuntz and switched him to his natural position, catcher. I wasn't able to get my favorite baseball name, Mark Lemongello. He went to Houston 1 pick ahead of Rusty.