They're All in Line for 2009

The big game is over. We can stop wondering what all those speedy world-beating Cardinals were doing in the eighteen seconds it took Harrison to traverse those hundred yards to pay dirt and no longer ponder the prevent defense that could’ve killed the Steelers in the end. We can just get out in the snow and play.

Omar Minaya sure got on with his life, and that of the Mets at the same time, by finally signing good old Ollie. That would be Oliver Perez, of course, the schizoid lefthander from, as John Madden put it while describing an Oakland lineman whose head was steaming in the cold, the University of Mars.

That moniker would certainly fit Mr. Perez. Maybe the kindest thing you could say about him is that he’s not boring. Masterful one game and horrible the next, Perez is usually at his best against the best and just as bad against the worst. He also seems to lose interest after five innings, a dangerous habit especially for a team that had such an, um…….. exciting bullpen.

But he’s a year older now and, while experience certainly doesn’t guarantee anything, that should do nothing but good for mad Ollie. It’s to be hoped that the 36 million won’t go to his head, and since nothing else seems to penetrate that skull of his, I doubt that money has one chance in hell.

So ends, I would imagine, the free agent acquisitions for the Mets this season. Yeah, Pedro is still out there as is “El Comedulce”, sweet Bobby Abreu. And who knows? If they’re allowed to keep the Citi money, maybe they’ll even swing a trade for Xavier Nady, who the Yanks may have soured on, incredible as that seems to me. Of course, if there’s a bad move to be made, Cashman will find it.

Nobody could say Minaya hasn’t been on point though. He needed relievers, he got relievers; he needed a couple of starters, he got some nice ones. There have been no flights of fancy, no 43 year old left fielders, no ancient pinch-hitters or second basemen, just good solid value so far, or so it would seem anyway.

If you’re into probability though, signing guys in their twenties beats signing a bunch of old men any day of the week. As much as I like Pedro, I hope he looks great in the World Baseball Classic and signs with Boston, or even the Dodgers where he can be reunited with Manny.

There are those who will say he should have gone after Ramirez, or he should have picked up Abreu, but I really think you need to reward your current people for jobs well done. That young platoon in left field did quite nicely in left field last year, and who says they can’t get even better?

A team needs life, and that life often comes from those unproven guys in the lineup, those hustlers, those young guns trying to prove themselves. It’s what the Yankees have lacked year after year, for the most part, unless you count the young pitchers they threw into the fire last year.

You may think that last crack is a contradiction. Why is it good to give a left fielder a chance but not a pitcher? It has to do with expectations of success, I think. I’d rather go with Murphy, who showed promise for much of last season, at a less critical position, left field, than go with a rookie at a critical position, starting pitcher, for TWO rookies who really hadn’t shown much at the major league level.

Starting two rookies at starting pitcher alarms the whole team. Starting a deserving 2nd year guy in left field is a reason for optimism. It shows that the team will reward hard work and solid play. Decidedly not what the Mets had shown when they ditched Nady for a potential relief pitcher who never panned out. (That was another flight of fancy).

The Mets depth chart currently shows Murphy and Tatis in left field. It shows Nick Evans at third base. Maybe they’re expecting Wright to get tired after his World Baseball Classic. He certainly seemed to be tired in some very big spots last year.

Those are the kinds of things I’d worry about as a Mets fan, drop-offs in performance from guys who have done it in the past. I’d like to see some depth at first base, and Nick Evans is not my idea of depth at third. Delgado, Reyes, Beltran and Wright have been real workhorses for the Mets for a long time. Probability says it can’t continue. Somebody’s got to break down.

I hate to even suggest the possibility of losing any of those core guys. Who plays center like Beltran? Who can come close to providing the all-around game you usually get from Reyes or Wright? Not anybody, of course, but really, there are currently only six infielders shown on the roster, one of whom is Alex Cora at shortstop, who’s a little long in the tooth himself.

Well, it’s still early. Maybe we’ll see some new blood manning those infield positions, especially when they get into a bind. Argenis Reyes filled in nicely at second base last year. And, despite Castillo’s horrible last year, there is reason to believe he’ll recover the form he once had.

Marlon Anderson did nothing last year. That should change too, at least part of the time, as he’s an old-timer too, but he’s the Mets’ current backup for Delgado at first base. There are three catchers, Brian Schneider, Ramon Castro and Robinson Cancel, a nice threesome. Schneider is solid, Castro is a clutch hitter and seems to be the designated catcher for Santana. Cancel delivered some big hits too.

All in all, though, the Mets are all in line for 2009. The core is solid, the pitching is very good all around, but there is no depth. Depth can be had fairly easily. Omar?