Moving Over To Shea Nation

In the anticipation of the merger of sites and unified name of One Mets Nation.com, David Rubin and Jonathan Elfenbein will be moving over to Shea Nation full time.

To read any of their terrific articles or in depth analysis use this link (Shea Nation).

Thanks go out to all the faithful readers of Mets Trades, Tirades and GM Grades and we hope that you love the merger as much as us three do.

Thank you and as always…

Let’s Go Mets!

Will Gotay Get Sent Down For Alou?

I heard a caller on WFAN yesterday say that the Mets might send Ruben Gotay down to Triple-A when Moises Alou is ready to come off the disabled list. What? Why would the Mets do that?

Do the Mets not see what Gotay is doing from the bench this season? He’s now hitting .317, 3 HR, 12 RBI; 1 SB. If that doesn’t warrant you a spot on the roster, everyone should be sent down to the Zephyrs.

I’m not saying that this is what is going to happen, just what one fan heard from another and so on.

The obvious choice would have to be Carlos Gomez. Not because he’s not playing well, but rather because he was brought up to help in Alou’s absence.

Don’t believe everything you hear, but keep an open ear to what may be happening to the struggling Mets (hopefully not for too much longer).

Beltran Loves The All-Star Game

Steve Popper at North Jersey, writes about Carlos Beltran and how he feels about the All-Star game:

"That's the way I look at it," Beltran said. "Some people probably go there to have fun. I want to have fun. I want to enjoy every moment of it. But I also will try to take advantage of the opportunity.

"Last year I went with [Albert] Pujols to the cage. We worked together. He was showing me the drills that he does, why it worked for him. Sometimes it works for you, sometimes it doesn't. It doesn't work for everybody. But at least I have an idea of what he does. Maybe you can add that to your game and it can make you better."

Mets Should Go After Conine

As we approach the Trade Deadline this season, I will be trying to come out with one trade idea that could potentially make the Mets a better team. Periodically I have proposed a trade idea every couple of days, but with the deadline looming I’m going to be stepping it up a notch. Enough talking, here’s the latest that I’ve come up with:

The Mets are in need of Ruben Gotay starting second base, just look at his numbers compared to Jose Valentin’s and Damion Easley’s:

Ruben Gotay: .310 BA, 3 HR, 12 RBI; 1 SB
Jose Valentin: .261 BA, 3 HR; 17 RBI
Damion Easley: .255 BA, 8 HR; 20 RBI

Gotay has put up those numbers all while having about 100 less at bats.

My proposal isn’t to trade for a second baseman, but instead to trade away one of the second baseman and another utility player.

Julio Franco has been nothing short of a player coach this year and has become a sort of dead weight on the bench. If you’re interested, here’s his numbers:

Julio Franco: .188 BA, 1 HR, 8 RBI; 2 SB

The Mets simply have to get rid of him and one of the utility second basemen, but for whom? Well how about the Reds’ Jeff Conine?

Conine is having a solid year for the Reds and could be unloaded in the “fire sale” the Reds are said to be having this season. Here’s Conine’s numbers:

Jeff Conine: .276 BA, 4 HR, 24 RBI; 3 SB

Conine has played first, third and the outfield for the Reds this season and with the two players I’m proposing the Mets unload, they could cover his ground while not costing the Reds as much as Conine ($1.7M vs. $850M and $1.1M). Now of course the Mets would have to eat up a portion of Franco’s contract to bring it well below a million, maybe half. It may seem like a lot of money to pay a player to play for another team, but it’s a small price to pay to have Gotay on second and Conine backing them up.

Reds Get: Julio Franco and Damion Easley
Mets Get: Jeff Conine

Vargas Gets The Call...Again

David Lennon at Newsday, writes about Oliver Perez on the DL and Jason Vargas taking his place:

Perez was scratched from Sunday's start in Philadelphia because of a stiff lower back, but the Mets still considered using him at some point this week. In the long run, however, it made more sense to put him on the DL and recall Jason Vargas from Triple-A New Orleans for tonight's start. The move is retroactive to June 26, the day after Perez's last start, and the Mets expect him to be as good as new when the season resumes on July 12.

Player Update: Moises Alou

David Lennon at Newsday, writes about Moises Alou and his status:

After another week of physical therapy in New York, Alou will head to Port St. Lucie to begin limited baseball activity on Monday, with the hope he could be ready to return by the end of this month. Ricco said yesterday Alou will need a rehab assignment somewhere between Port St. Lucie and returning to the Mets.

Still A Chance For Maine

After reading David Lennon’s last post on his Newsday blog (On The Mets Beat), I realized that there is still a chance that John Maine could become an All-Star this year.

Common sense would tell us that if even one starting pitcher backs out of the game, that Maine would have to be next in line. If not, then I would begin to get a little irritated on how much the pitchers are weighed on their reputation and not their performance.

Here’s some of David Lennon’s post:

Just lifted this chart from today's Newsday regarding Tony La Russa's pitching selections. John Maine definitely deserved a spot. Even so, there's probably a good chance he'll make it anyway. In this final week before the break, players are always bowing out for one reason or another.

Could The Mets Get Hillenbrand?

Things don’t seem to be getting better for Carlos Delgado and may not ever get well. That’s, at least, what many Met fans are thinking. Delgado’s hitting .223 and has only hit11 home runs this season. He’s just, plainly, not hitting with runners in scoring position and it’s starting to ware on him a little. Maybe a change of scenery is what he needs.

One possible trade scenario is with the Angels for Shea Hillenbrand who will be designated for assignment on Friday. That means the Angels have ten days to either trade Hillenbrand or flat out release him. So far for the season, Hillenbrand is hitting .254 and has 3 home runs.

This might not seem like a player that the mets would want on their team, but last year for the Blue Jays he hit .301 and had 12 home runs before being traded to the Giants. My opinion with Hillenbrand is that he needs to find a place where he can play everyday and if he doesn’t work out, the Mets could just as easily move Shawn Green to first and keep Gomez up when Alou comes off the Disabled List.

Angels get: Carlos Delgado

Mets get: Shea Hillenbrand

Mets May Be In For Trouble

With the Phillies only three and a half games behind the Mets and about to enter a four game series against the second place rivals, the Mets may have their hands full.

The Mets may have won five of their last six, but they’re still not hitting the ball as well as they could. I could go on and on about the number of Mets who haven’t come through this month, but you already know.

On the other hand, the Phillies are entering the space program with the number of home runs they’ve been hitting and that can all be attributed to the resurgent Ryan Howard. In the past ten games, Howard is hitting .326 and has four home runs.

Mets pitching is going to have to be on the top of their game if the bats don’t heat up soon. I hate to say it, but the Mets may be in for some more hard times, but let’s hope they can get started.

Gomez's Case Gets Stronger

With last night’s third inning home run we are starting to see why Omar Minaya is saying that Carlos Gomez’s power will only take a matter of time and when it does, he will turn into certified five tool player.

Gomez has gotten his average up to .279 when he went one for three in last night’s extra innings win over the Cardinals. He’s making a strong case to stay up with the Mets, even when Moises Alou is able to come off of the Disabled List. My thinking is that the Mets should keep Gomez in left field and maybe think about trading Alou or keeping him on as a bench player.

Alou could be a very tantalizing trade option with numerous teams looking for some outfield power to add to their playoff hopes and the Mets may be able to come away from such a deal with possibly some high level prospects or even a bullpen arm.

A Moises Alou trade is probably not in the cards, but that doesn’t mean that we should think that the Omar and the Mets are going to rule that option out. Nothing is beyond what Omar is willing to do to make the team better and if it does somehow happen, remember that you read it here first.

Pelfrey To Get The Call

Toby Hyde at Shea Baseball, writes about Mike Pelfrey and the probability of him getting the call up:

Marty Noble reports that Mike Pelfrey is the frontrunner to start one end of the Mets doubleheader in Philly. I had this one a few days ago, but forgot to write. Someday I’ll scoop the man. Pelfrey had an OK outing Friday night with both good and bad.

Gomez Gets Overwhelmed

To go along with Dave's last Post, at the Gotham Baseball Forum, Not4Nuttin (screen name) writes about Carlos Gomez and how he has a tendency of getting overwhelmed to a new level of ball:

Gomez seems to have a history of being overwhelmed when he first jumpt to a new level (this year at AAA being the exception). Last year, he started extremely slowly at AA last year, hovered at or below the mendoza line, then turned it on for the last few months of the season, batting over .300 if I recall. Same pattern had happened the prior year, if I recall correctly.

The most noticeable difference in Gomez over the past few weeks is that he has cut down on what was a Dave Kingman looking, all-or-nothing type of swing. He can still make it more compact, but seems much more controlled now and slightly more comfortable at the plate.

Player Update: Pedro Martinez

At Rotoworld, they write about Pedro Martinez and his latest bullpen session:

Pedro Martinez (shoulder) threw his fifth bullpen session on Tuesday.

The Mets original schedule had him throwing 8-to-10 bullpen sessions before facing live batters, which would have him throwing batting practice in about two weeks. He should throw another bullpen session on Friday.

Manuel Could Go To The O's

David Lennon at On The Mets Beat, writes about Mets Bench Coach Jerry Manuel and that he could be a candidate for the O's Managing position:

Manuel could be at the top of the Orioles' list. YES analyst and 2006 Manager of the Year Joe Girardi also is being mentioned as a candidate, though it seems that the former Yankee catcher is waiting out Joe Torre for the skipper's job in the Bronx.

The Mets likely won't stand in the way of Manuel leaving. But that would be a huge blow to manager Willie Randolph, who has benefited greatly from having Manuel beside him as a trusted confidante. Stay tuned.

The Quad Is Fine

David Lennon at On The Mets Beat, writes about Carlos Beltran and that he says that his quad is OK:

After creating a media tempest this weekend by mentioning his leg problems as a possible cause of his slump, Beltran did an about face following batting practice.

"I don't want to talk about the quad anymore," Beltran said. "The quad is fine. I don't know what you guys are trying to do. You guys go write whatever you want. Let's talk about baseball. I'm tired of talking about it."

What Got Into Ledee?

Lauren Kobylarz at Mets.com, writes about Rickey Ledee and the great night at the plate he had yesterday:

Ledee's performance on the night brought his total hits for the season to four -- already surpassing his total of three from last season.

"You learn to play like that, you learn to play off the bench," Ledee said after the Mets' 8-1 win over the Twins. "You learn not to get caught off guard. It could be an important at-bat, or it could be a blowout, or if for any different reason somebody has to come out."

Buehrle for Milledge???

Trade season is in full bloom! In his daily blog, ESPN's Buster Olney believes there is the framework for a trade of White Sox starter (and soon-to-be free agent) Mark Buehrle to the Mets, along with another player, for Met OFer Lastings Milledge. Sox GM Ken Williams is still torn whether or not to become a seller or a buyer, and with his club so many games out in the fierce AL Central (never thought I'd be using THOSE words to describe THAT division), it is likely that Buehrle and OFer Jermaine Dye might soon be wearing another teams' uniforms. Right now, starting pitching is NOT our greatest need; line-up consistency and probably another outfield bat would have to rank number one. However, Buehrle is the type of pitcher who traditionally comes over to the NL and does very well (a la Bob Ojeda), and, if we so desired, we could probably lock him up to a 3 or 4 year deal to replace Tom Glavine next year. As much as we'd hate to see Milledge go (see Diaz, Victor, in Texas) the thought of acquiring another solid rotation arm like Buehrle makes it almost impossible to say no to this trade, if the offer ever comes...

RX For What Ails Us!

It's mid-June, and the Yankees are beating us in the 8th inning of game 3 of this weekend series, 8-1. O-Hern got clobbered, and sadly threw few bad pitches - the Yankees just hit all of them! Although we won one game, we were clearly out-classed this weekend, and, no excuses, we should have played better- in a week when the supposed "SI Jinx" may have struck again. That being said, there are many things not quite working as they should right now. Without further ado, here is our prescription for shaking up the Mets - although we do NOT have any reason to panic!


1.) Bring up Sandy Alomar Jr., allow Ramon Castro to play more, DH Lo Duca wherever possible, or play him in left field, and allow either PLD or Castro to pinch-hit whenever necessary, which means that Alomar can be the 3rd catcher for such situations.

2.) Waive Aaron Sele and bring up Mike Pelfrey - allow Sele to catch on with a team that will use him, and allow Pelfrey to gain confidence in the majors while not relying on him as a starter while building not just confidence but arm-strength.

3.) Put Scott Schoenweis on the DL and bring up Jason Vargas- it's obvious that Scott is not well, and although he's a gamer, he's not helping the team right now. Vargas can go long or short, and it's a good chance to see what he has (again) on a major league level.





4.) In a similar vein, place Carlos Beltran, the ULTIMATE GAMER, on the DL and allow him to get healthy. Move Carlos Gomez to CF and let him roam, as he's made multiple, great catches and will at least not hurt us defensively in Beltran's absence. A healthy Beltran will bring us 2006-like numbers; the present version is on a collision course with 2005!


5.) Accelerate Julio Franco's eventual coaching career, sending him down to the minors to begin his coaching career while trading for the Reds' Jeff Conine. Conine can play in LF while Beltran is on the bench, and then can spell Delgado once in a while when Beltran comes back. He's a great veteran, has won and is supposedly great in the clubhouse- just what the doctor ordered!

6.) Play Ruben Gotay more- he's hitting well (when he gets to play), fielding well (when he gets to play) and can split time with Damon Easley. If they don't get Conine or another similar player, Valentin can move temporarily to LF until Beltran comes back.

7.) Demote Mr. Mota, until he reclaims his stuff, and promote one of the many AAA relievers (whoever is most deserving, in Mr. Peterson's opinion). Mota has looked eminently hittable, and he's not getting "back on the juice" so he'd better figure SOMETHING out! Better to have him find his game when he can't hurt us any more than his long absence already has.

8.) I'm not a huge believer in line-up "match-ups", but it seems that Paul Lo Duca is best from the number 2 hole, as he's not an RBI guy and works so well with Jose Reyes.

There are a lot more things that can be done, and goodness knows, no one is better-suited to "fix" things on this roster than our beloved GM, Omar! Just some food for thought, and some suggestions to get things going. Let us know what YOU would like to see...

Hoping To End Losing Ways

John Klima at Mets.com, writes about the Mets losing streak and how they want to end it:

"We're not scoring runs, and we're not getting hits," first baseman Carlos Delgado said. "Let's bear down a little, let's focus a little, let's do what we need to do.

"It won't be easy for the Mets, who entered the series finale losers of four consecutive series against quality opponents and facing Brad Penny on Wednesday and Clemens on Friday."The guys are not happy," manager Willie Randolph said. "They're not ready to cut their wrists or anything, but they know tonight is the time to get it done."

The Mets pitched well in the first two games, but the Dodgers bullpen was outstanding, putting an extra degree of pressure on the Mets to swing the bats.

"I don't think it's confidence," closer Billy Wagner said. "I think it's more along the lines of frustration. It's not a lack of effort. It's a lack of focus. You need a few things to go your way, but the only way to get that is to make it happen. For the last 12 games, we haven't done that."

Sosa's Second Loss

At Rotoworld, they write about Jorge Sosa and his first loss:

Jorge Sosa threw 5 2/3 innings and surrendered six runs Wednesday in a loss to the

Dodgers.Sosa, who has received a decision in every start since joining the Mets, fell to 6-2 with a 3.42 ERA. He's still a fine play in NL-only leagues versus the Twins next week.