Dan Graziano of the Star-Ledger wrote this great article on the Mets needs on the offense this off-season. The veteran baseball columnist goes into detail on what the Mets can get position by position.

As for the outfield, he says, “It’s tough to find a perfect fit here, and the Mets seem to want/need to spend their off-season money on pitching. But I think this is where Omar Minaya needs to get creative — to remember the work he did in the 05-06 off-season to create a deep, multifaceted lineup with a strong bench, and to identify that as the main difference between his outstanding 2006 team and the disappointing units that gagged away playoff spots in 2007 and 2008.”

It’s good suff and a must read.

Posted under New York Mets

Not much in the papers. Ken Davidoff in Newsday went over the options for the Mets again, including closer, starter and outfield.

Pretty much it’s K-Rod  or Brian Fuentes for the ninth.

“The Mets expressed some interest in free agent Kerry Wood, and they asked in trade discussions about the White Sox’s Bobby Jenks, Seattle’s J.J. Putz and Colorado’s Huston Street. However, they are wary of Wood’s injury history, and they’d rather pay the money for the free agents than give up prospects in a trade.”

If anything else comes about I will post it.

Posted under Hot Stove

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

Rays outfielder Rocco Baldelli, who is from Rhode Island, on beating the Red Sox in the ALCS: “This might sound funny to everyone, but I don’t want to go home and have to see every single person that I know rub it in my face every single day for the rest of my life. And that would happen [if we lost]. I’m 100 percent serious. To beat those guys and not have to listen to everyone where I live, it’s a nice feeling.”

Baldelli will be a free-agent after the World Series and would fit in nicely in the Mets’ outfield.

Posted under New York Mets