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[robot_god]

Dontrelle, but I contend that sooner or later hitters are going to catch up to him the way they tend to with pitchers with wacky deliveries.

I wouldn't say that, D-Train has alot more than just a funky delivery.  Plus, he's a better hitter than anyone who has played in the Mets middle infield for the past four years, except maybe for Miguel Cairo.

Anyway, that is the point with Soriano.  Any decent hitter will be an improvement at second base.  Besides for all-aspects of relief pitching, second base has been the Mets weakest point for a long time, followed by Jose Reyes' knowledge of the fundamentals of the game.

[Emmoh]

It's not so much the defense that irks me, as much as the paycheck (admittedly not a problem for a New York team) and the wretched attitude.

You are definately right, it would be an upgrade over the disasterous Kaz experiment (though Hideki isn't in such great shape right now either) and a lifelong utility man. But we have far, far, FAR bigger problems than you guys, and I shuddered at the rumors that had him coming here this winter. When a guy is REFUSING to play where he's asked...I don't care if you're Alex freakin' Rodriguez...you're worthless.

What about Keppinger?

[Emmoh]

I wouldn't say that, D-Train has alot more than just a funky delivery.  Plus, he's a better hitter than anyone who has played in the Mets middle infield for the past four years, except maybe for Miguel Cairo.

He does have a solid bat...but pretty much as evidence, and this may be shoddy, I point to his down the stretch record...guy does not fare well when teams get a second and third look at him.

[Carlos del Vaca]

Take Soriano!  PLEASE!  Send us prospects!
Take Christian Guzman while you're at it!

[littlefallsmets]

Keppinger? I... guess.

He's not exactly tearing the cover off the ball down on the farm, he'd probably be playing about equal to what Matsui's doing with a little less power but... clearly, the kid (kid, he's a year younger than me) has a hell of a lot more upside than the One-Man Kamikaze Squad.

I'd go for that.

[JorgeFabregas]

I'm a White Sox fan. I'm not sure which month I discovered the team in, but it was during 1993  .

I am justifiably optimistic about the team, though I am a bit concerned about the bullpen and a couple of the less proven starters. My stepdaugher and I spotted Paul Konerko, with wife and baby in tow, while we were waiting for the el a couple weeks back. Her favorite player. Neat.

[Turbo Ninja]

I have to deal with the incongruity of the Indians' talent vs. the Indians' record.

Why oh why did they have to let Bob Howry leave?  And how oh how could they think Danny Graves was a suitable replacement?

[Emmoh]

Keppinger? I... guess.

He's not exactly tearing the cover off the ball down on the farm, he'd probably be playing about equal to what Matsui's doing with a little less power but... clearly, the kid (kid, he's a year younger than me) has a hell of a lot more upside than the One-Man Kamikaze Squad.

I'd go for that.

I didn't realize it had already been two years since he had been up...he looked pretty damn good then. In any case, it seems like the Twins are turning it around, but if they don't, I have to imagine Castillo would become somewhat available for some young talent. He would be a real good fit with Reyes in front of the mashers.

I'm a White Sox fan. I'm not sure which month I discovered the team in, but it was during 1993  .

I am justifiably optimistic about the team, though I am a bit concerned about the bullpen and a couple of the less proven starters. My stepdaugher and I spotted Paul Konerko, with wife and baby in tow, while we were waiting for the el a couple weeks back. Her favorite player. Neat.

Clearly you are a fan from Old Times, or you would have taken this opportunity to kick me in the ribs. That's what I love about baseball in this town, though, so many sightings. I want to hate Paulie, but I can't, pure class.

[JorgeFabregas]

I have to deal with the incongruity of the Indians' talent vs. the Indians' record.

Why oh why did they have to let Bob Howry leave?  And how oh how could they think Danny Graves was a suitable replacement?

I saw Danny Graves wearing some hairband in the dugout and it seemed as if it might have been some piece that was attached to fake hair. What's the deal?

[Carlos del Vaca]

Any fantasy baseball types?

Would you trade away Randy Johnson for Brett Tomko, Randy Winn and Jeff Francouer? My current OF is Burrell, Manny, Gibbons, and Miguel Cabrera. My starting pitching has been terrible.

[robot_god]

Randy will improve in the next few months, a little bit.

He might not be ace material, but right now might not be the time to trade him.  His last start, although not perfect, showed alot of improvement.  Strikeout count was up (6?) and most of the hits off him came off good pitches.

[littlefallsmets]

Randy... is at a crossroads.

If he can try and reinvent himself as a location pitcher, he might be able to have another year and a half in the tank but... when a power pitcher loses his power and DOESN'T reinvent himself as a location pitcher? He just ends up overthrowing to compensate and overthrowing leads to walks and homeruns.

Now, if the Mets could just bench Matsui, platoon Milledge in with Floyd and stop using Jose Valentin off the bench, they might be able to make a little noise... they've got their pitching situation kinda fixed, with Julio gone and el Duque in the 5th spot, or at least they will when Bannister is healthy again but...

The work can't stop there. Left Field and 2nd Base, you just can't keep starting guys batting .220 there HOPING they'll turn it around eventually... not in the NL East, anyway. Maybe in the AL West or the NL West you can get away with it for a while... but the Braves are only getting better and the Phillies are pretty good themselves.

No time for laurel resting. Gotta call up Milledge and either get Soriano or call up Keppinger.

[Turbo Ninja]

Any fantasy baseball types?

Would you trade away Randy Johnson for Brett Tomko, Randy Winn and Jeff Francouer? My current OF is Burrell, Manny, Gibbons, and Miguel Cabrera. My starting pitching has been terrible.

I wouldn't make that trade.  Quantity is rarely worth quality, plus you'd (presumably) have to get rid of two guys to keep your roster within limits.  Who would you waive to make room for the new guys?

[littlefallsmets]

I am trying a new tactic with my appreciation of the Mets...

Here's the thing: I'm such a dork that I've analyzed out all of the Mets' losses and determined which of their twenty losses shouldn't have happened... my criteria being, you should not lose to Washington or Florida or Pittsburgh ever, you should not lose one-run games ever, you should not lose two-to-nothing shut-outs.

They should have the bats and the pitching to not lose those games, especially since they should've gotten Soriano and/or Manny in the off-season or at least called up Milledge and Keppinger at the beginning of the season, benching Matsui and platooning Milledge in through all injuries to the other outfielders.

One more bat, two more bats and their six one-run losses and their one two-nothing loss vanish... and probably their two losses to Washington and one loss to Florida vanish as well. By my math, if they had the balls to either (a) make the trades or (b) make the call-ups at day one, they are supposed to be 42-10 right now instead of the solid-but-underachieving 32-20 they're hanging in at right now.

They're supposed to be up on Philly and Atlanta by 16-plus games with nearly a third of the season gone.

But here's the thing... the silver lining I'm trying to convince myself of is... being just good instead of amazing and getting their outfield and starting rotation banged up early has forced them to make some of the moves they were supposed to in April. When these guys come back healthy, the team will be deeper and more experienced for it.

The struggles got Matsui benched... which is goddamned important. Okay, they're playing fill-in with Woodward and Valentin instead of calling up Keppinger's bat because a slightly shakey glove comes with it but... forcing the Mets to finally admit that Matsui was a total mistake and is an irredeemable mistake is important for the rest of this season and for seasons to come. Like an alcoholic hitting bottom to know they gotta get better, this is a good first step at second. With Valentin on a probably-short-lived hot streak, its buying some time.

The injuries got Milledge up. Maybe not as soon as he should've been, maybe not the way he should've... but he's up and he's already wowing people. This is a kid that needed to not be expected to just wake up and be the starting left fielder in April 2007 without a major league start, just some pinch hits in September garbage time. Endy Chavez being hot for about five-minutes is helping a lot too... we just have to make sure that the Mets remember that Chavez and Valentin over an entire season are going to be completely terrible, not mistake these hot streaks for actual fixes.

The injuries forced the Mets to realize that what they thought were their next-starters in AAA were actually horrifically bad and that changes would have to be made. Could you imagine going to Lima and Gonzalez as your fourth and fifth starters in the middle of a mid-August pennant race? Good. Gravy. That'd be a duketastrophe. Now, they made a few moves... Soler has the time to grow into a few more starts, El Duque is 200% better a fifth starter than Zamdrano (though, to be fair, I am completely out-of-shape and have never played organized baseball and would be 55% better a fifth starter than The Drain) and when Bannister comes back in early July, you can pick from those two whoever's in the groove to fill the last sport...

And most importantly... Jorge Julio, He Who Is Become Death, Ruiner of Worlds, Causer of Heart Attacks, Brandon Looper and Armando Benitez at once rolled together in a Satanic Burrito, is off to the land of twinkletoes to go wreck the Diamondbacks.

So, if this underachieving April and May taught them to grow and not hang onto project washouts when there's young people to bring up and trades to make? Maybe that's what needed to happen and they'll be a better team in August and September for it.

Is this new tactic delusional or am I onto something?

[Carlos del Vaca]

The guy who wanted to trade me crap for Randy Johnson went ahead and waived Brett Tomko.  So I picked him up for free.  Yee haw.

Also, I own Roger Clemens.  w00t!