Peavy

Right now the Mets are not playing great baseball. They have been decent their last 5 games, winning 3 of them. The biggest concern with the Mets is probably their rotation. If I were Omar I would get on the phone with Kevin Towers, Padres GM, and try to work out a deal for Peavy. Yes, Peavy does have a no-trade clause and can dictate if he wants to come to the Mets or not. If Peavy wants to win it would be smart to accept a trade to the Mets. This also wouldn't be a rental player for the Mets because Peavy is signed through 2012 with an option for 2013. He is making $11 this year, $15 million next year, $16 million in 2011, $17 mil in 2012, and $22 in 2013 if the club picks up the option (or $4 mil buy out). The Mets would probably have to give up Fernando Martinez and Jon Niese along with some other players (Flores, Marte, maybe even Dan Murphy). Would the Mets farm system be depleted? Yes, but in my eyes it is worth it because of what we are recieving in return. The Mets would have the deadliest 1-2 punch in baseball in both their rotation and bullpen in Johan, Peavy, Putz and K-Rod. It would take pressure off of Perez and Maine, both of whose biggest problem is their own mind. With Peavy, the Mets could have the best rotation in baseball depending on how Pelfry's arm holds up, if Ollie can reach his potential, and if Maine can build off of his last start versus the Marlins. The Mets time to win is now and Peavy could be the piece that puts us over the top. Plus he is having a not so great season so we maybe able to get him for a bit cheaper than usual. Win now while Beltran and Johan are in their prime and before Delgado's production falls off.

Redding, Church, LOB, and Pitching

So in about 10 days Tim Redding will be ready to come back from the DL and join the major league club. The question is where will he be put? He could be the long man out of the pen or the 5th starter. If he goes to the pen who will be cut? Parnell has options so he can be sent to the minors without chance of losing him but he has been good so far and has become one of Manuel's favorites out of the pen. The logical choice would be Casey Fossum who has not done well at all for the major league club and almost cost them Figureoa. However he is the only other lefty out of the pen besides Feliciano. I would cut Fossum and hope he doesn't get claimed off of waivers. The other option would be to cut Livan and have Redding take over as the 5th starter, or cut Fossum and move Livan to the pen to be the long man which could make sense because Livan has been solid the first few innings and then blows up. The Mets could also try to send Ollie to the minors although he would have to accept the assignment. Ollie has had one good start and 3 bad ones. He needs to turn it around.

Ryan Church has been everything the Mets could have asked for this year. He has had the most pressure put on him from a roster POV. From Manuel claiming Murphy would be the regular LF and Church may lose playing time, to singing Sheffield and Willy Mo Pena. Church has responded well by playing his usual good defense, and hitting well (.358 BA). Manuel however continues to bench him against lefties in place of Tatis (who is one of my favorites) and Sheff (who I'm begining to like a little bit more) . I understand the need to have Tatis and Sheff getting at bats but I think Church has showed he should be in the line up everyday. If you want to get Sheff and Church at bats bench Delgado (who could use a day off because he has been slumping lately) and Murphy and put Sheff and Tatis in. I love Church and think he has done everything we could have asked and is the main reason the trade is looking more and more like a success.

The Mets have done a terrible job at hitting with men on base. The Mets should be doing much better than their record shows. They have several players hitting over .300, with Beltran and Castillo being 1 and 2 in hitting in the league. They will eventually start to hit with men on base but it is a serious problem now. They are putting too much pressure on themselves in these situations.

The Mets other problem is their starting rotation. Santana has been absolutely amazing. He is leading the league in ERA and has just been fantastic. Maine had a rough opening to the season but should come back around and has had a solid outing last game. Pelfry pitched good yesterday but was terrible earlier in the year when dealing with his tendonitis. I don't think he'll be as good as the Mets expected this year. I like Big Pelf alot and think he will eventually be a very good number 2 possibly even number 1 pitcher, just not yet. Livan has been ok and actually better than expected. He pitches good early in the games and then falls apart which has also been Ollie's problem. Ollie has been terrible. He pitched one good game against the Padres and has been terrible otherwise, usually beeing good early in the game then falling apart around the fifth inning. I think he will turn it around but his velocity is down and he needs to make some changes because he can't continue pitching like this.

The one truly bright spot is the bullpen. The Mets pen has been spectacular and should continue to be throughout the year. The Mets for the first time in history have a power pen with Parnell, Stokes, K-Rod, and Putz all bringing the mid-90's heat. Putz's velocity has been down a little bit but I think it'll be back soon. Feliciano hasn't been great but he should get a little bit better. Fossum hasn't been good and I would have liked to see Figuroea stay as the long man after his decent start. I'm really glad he came back after the way the Mets screwed up by cutting him for Fossum. I love Figgy and he'll be good as depth for the rotation/bullpen. Redding will be back soon which will strenghten the bullpen. The Mets will definitely be playing better the rest of th year and won't continue playing as poorly has they have.

WILLY MO!!!!

The Mets signed Willy Mo Pena to a minor league contract. I love Willy Mo since he was playing on the Staten Island Yankees. This is a good low risk/high reward type of move because Willy Mo is still young and has tremendous power.

Figueroa's DFA and Fossum's Up

Nelson Figueroa was designated for assignment today after pitching a decent game in place of Pelfrey. The Mets called up Casey Fossum to replace Figueroa. Fossum was once a top prospect but never panned out. He's a lefty starter who will be used out of the bullpen. I love Figueroa but it makes sense to bring up Fossum because he has more upside and is another lefty to compliment Feliciano.

O'Day Gone and Figueroa's Back

With the news that Mike Pelfrey has tendinitis in arm and will thus be skipped today in the rotation, Nelson Figueroa will be called up to take his spot in the rotation and Darren O'Day will be placed on Rule V waivers, which means if no team claims him he must be offered back to the Angels. I liked O'Day and would have put Pelfrey on the DL instead. However it looks like he will be able to make his next start. I love Nelson Figueroa so I cannot be too upset about the move, especially since he will be the long man out of the bullpen for those days when Bad Ollie shows up. The Mets rotation is clearly the biggest question mark this season. Will Oliver Perez live up to his potential? Will John Maine get back on track after his minor surgery in the offseason? Will Pelfrey live up to his potential and avoid the "Verducci Effect"? Will Livan Hernandez stay solid or will he go back to the guy who had an ERA over 6 last year? Will Johan Santana continue to be absolutely amazing? I am optimistic about the rotation when it comes to Johan, Maine, and Ollie. Pelfrey I am not as optimistic about for this year. I actually love Pelfrey but I dont think he will have as good of a year as everyone expects. I think he will be a very good pitcher in a year or two but I don't think that year is now. Let's hope I'm wrong.

Sheff is a Met

The Mets signed Gary Sheffield yesterday. Sheff was released by the Tigers earlier in the week. I personally hate Sheff more than any player with the exception of Roger Clemens. However this may not be that bad of a move. He was signed for the league minimum which means it won't be a problem to cut him. He is a right handed power bat off the bench which is exactly what the Mets needed. As long as Sheff's personality doens't cause too much turmoil in the clubhouse then I think this move could turn out to be a pretty decent one. The signing will probably end Marlon Anderson's time with the Mets which I have mixed feelings about. He was terrible last year but he was also battling injuries the whole year. I had high hopes for him because I do really like him but he was a bad fielder and a left handed bat without a lot of power. He was however a great clubhouse figure and a good leader. Hopefully Sheff's onfield prescence can overcome Anderson's off field prescence. Also, Sheff going for his 500th HR may bring some more fans into the stands from the Wilpons' point of view.