The fastest Oliver Perez moved all year was to file for free agency. I don’t think he took time to skip over the foul lines, either.

Perez will test the market, and the numbers I’m hearing are $15 million a year over five to start. With Scott Boras, that could be on the low side.

The guy is 27 with potentially dominating stuff. When he’s on he can blow away hitters. When he’s off he needs a guide dog to find the plate.

Well, you watched him enough. You know the good and the bad, and we’ve all seen the ugly.

Do you want him back or not?

Posted under New York Mets

The Mets picked up the $12 million option on first baseman Carlos Delgado, signed outfielder Fernando Tatis for $1.7 million, and learned Oliver Perez filed for free-agency where he stands to make much more.

By acting quickly, the Mets are addressing their offensive obligations before concentrating on pitching.

Bringing back Delgado should stifle most of the trade rumors and signing Tatis should lessen the need to go after an outfielder this winter (toward that end, Pat Burrell rejected a two-year, $22-million package from the Phillies).

Delgado, who made $16 million last year, turned around his season, and that of the Mets, with a hot second half, and over the final 85 games hit 27 homers with 80 RBI to merit MVP consideration. Tatis, who hit .297 with 11 homers and 47
RBI, is expected to share left field with Daniel Murphy.

Meanwhile, on the first day of the FA filing period, Perez, Damion Easley and reliever Matt Wise all filed.

Posted under New York Mets

As the Phillies were rolling around on the infield last night much to the dismay of most Mets fans, take solace in that 2008 is officially over. The last out of the World Series officially brings with it the start of the 2009 season, although the Mets have been thinking for the past month about what went wrong and what to do about it.

It’s time to build GM Omar Minaya’s shopping list for the Hot Stove Season.

Here’s my list:

1. Starter #1: Fixing the bullpen begins first with fixing the rotation. They need to add a starter to begin shaving innings from the bullpen total. They will attempt to re-sign Oliver Perez and add a solid, but not spectacular starter such as Derek Lowe.

2. Closer: The Phillies proved a dominant closer is better than a closer-by-committee format. Brian Fuentes appears first on their list. The money is too steep for Francisco Rodriguez.

3. Starter #2: The Mets need fifth starter. They could go in the market, they could gamble with Jon Niese or they could bring back Pedro Martinez.

4. Adding bullpen depth: The Mets’ bullpen blew 29 saves, but Billy Wagner only coughed it up seven times. There were a lot of collapses in the seventh and eighth innings. Help is needed.

5. Bench (right-handed hitting outfielder): Fernando Tatis should be re-signed, I could go with the platoon of he and Daniel Murphy. Adding a proven bat would be beneficial, but not at the expense of adding pitching.

6. Re-signing Carlos Delgado: It’s doubtful Delgado will duplicate last season’s second half, but there shouldn’t be that big a dropoff. I don’t understand the eagerness of some to trade him. Afterall, for a team with holes, trading him adds another. Delgado does have a no-trade clause so it will cost something to get him to waive it.

Posted under New York Mets

Cole Hamels will be out of the game, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the Rays have the advantage for the end of Game 5 tonight. They might have gained a sense of momentum after tying the game, but let’s not forget the Phillies have a rested bullpen.

As the weather becomes a storyline in this World Series, unfortunately we could be hearing a lot tonight and in the near future about the showcase event being played at a neutral site. Yeah, that was me you heard screaming.

There are some things that shouldn’t be considered, and that’s one of them.

Posted under New York Mets

This time, Ken Griffey would be a full-season rental. The White Sox will not re-sign Griffey, making him a free agent and available to the Mets.

Griffey falls into the category of an old player with an injury history, just the type GM Omar Minaya has been criticized of pursuing. Even so, he hit 18 homers with 71 RBI in 490 at-bats, so there’s still life in his bat.

Griffey has never been enamored with New York, but that was the Yankees. Griffey would only cost the Mets money, and a lot less than they’d pay for Manny Ramirez or Adam Dunn. The best thing is they won’t have to dip into their farm system.

So, if they want a rental bat for a year, Griffey could be a viable alternative. He doesn’t make the Mets younger, but improves their bench and outfield for a minimal cost.

Posted under New York Mets

We had an interesting question last night on the Message Board. Had the Dodgers and Giants stayed, could New York have been able to support three baseball teams?

Let’s mull on that for awhile. And, if there’s something you’d like to raise before they continue Game 5 of the World Series, let’s hear it.

Posted under New York Mets

What’s on your mind?

With no World Series tonight, and maybe not even tomorrow, there’s no limit about the things on your mind. Fill me in. Whether it’s the Series, the Phillies vs. Mets, or the free-agent options, if it’s on your mind put it here and we’ll talk about it.

JD

Posted under New York Mets

The World Series will resume tomorrow at the earliest. Thanks for not pushing us through another bad night of rain, wind and cold. Waiting an extra day is the right thing to do. Trying to force it tonight would have been a mess.

The announcement is play will resume at 8:37 p.m., which is truth in advertising. Actually, this would have been a perfect opportunity to try an earlier resumption time, but you can’t have everything.

MLB also gets kudos for an admission of a blown call on Evan Longoria’s tag of Jimmy Rollins. I’ve ripped MLB a number of times on a decline in the quality of umpiring, but an admission of bad calls is a step in the right direction.

Posted under New York Mets

Bud Selig said it and I believe him.

After Carlos Pena’s single drove in B.J. Upton with the tying run, and the grounds crew practically following him across the plate, Selig said he would have not allowed the Phillies be crowned champions with a rain-shortened victory.

“It’s not a way to end a World Series,” Selig said. “I would not have allowed the World Series to end that way.”

I believe he wouldn’t. He would have played his “best interest in baseball,” card and done the right thing.

Giving that, why couldn’t he have done the right thing earlier? Perhaps not start the game at all, given the forecast? Or, once it started, said, “if we have to stop this, we won’t have a rain-shortened winner?”

The late start times and scheduling are other matters he needs to correct. My thinking is the World Series is the ultimate. It’s baseball’s showcase event, and it should be treated that way. Too often MLB lets those who don’t love it make the decisions and that has to stop.

If Selig’s words are to be believed, he must follow them up with actions that mean something. So far, his legacy as commissioner has been the steroids era, interleague play, new divisional alignments and a work stoppage that killed the 1994 World Series.

Time to change that for the better. Schedule the Series start times so people can see the game, and if worse, to give you more leeway time with the weather. If you don’t like playing this late in October, then you’re going to have to do something about shortening the playoffs?

Since you won’t reduce the number of games, then you must alter the regular season schedule. I have already suggested in these pages to have at least one day-night doubleheader a month. That would give you six days to play with. There are things that can be done, and in the end they won’t hurt as bad as the embarrassment that was last night.

Posted under New York Mets

Good evening folks. What I’m hoping for tonight is for the Rays to prolong the Series and drag it out to seven. Just like the Red Sox did. Remember the beer commercial that had “man laws.”

I’m thinking there should be some baseball laws, too. The home team should win on Opening Day and the World Series should go seven. And, it would be nice if the National League won an occasional All-Star Game or two.

Anyway, I can tell by the nature of a lot posts that you guys are itching for the Hot Stove Season. It will be here enough. But, we’ve got a World Series to finish.

Posted under New York Mets