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Newsday ST Special
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Topic Started: Feb 13 2006, 03:44 AM (73 Views)
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Gategem
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Feb 13 2006, 03:44 AM
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Member In Exile
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Mets: Rotation a source of concern now
BY DAVID LENNON, STAFF WRITER
February 11, 2006, 11:10 PM EST
There probably are a number of reasons why the Mets traded Jae Seo and Kris Benson during a three-week span last month, but general manager Omar Minaya insists it was for bullpen help.
They did get back two serviceable relievers in Duaner Sanchez and Jorge Julio, but the Mets sacrificed a pair of pitchers who went a combined 18-10 with a 3.60 ERA. And Seo had a superb second half, outperforming Pedro Martinez.
The point is that the Mets turned a position of strength -- their rotation -- into an area of concern, and the next six weeks will begin to determine if Minaya took too big a gamble.
The plan is for Aaron Heilman to fill the void left by the Benson trade, with a handful of unproven starters waiting in a backup role. Of that group, only John Maine -- acquired along with Julio for Benson -- has any major-league experience. The others include Cuban defector Alay Soler, Japanese transfer Yusaku Iriki and prospect Brian Bannister.
"I think it's going to be experimental," Minaya said. "We owe it to some of the guys we're bringing in to have the chance to step up. So we're going to experiment and keep our eyes open to see what's going on in the marketplace."
One of the pitchers Minaya will continue to monitor is White Sox righthander Jose Contreras. Minaya dealt for Kaz Ishii last March when Steve Trachsel needed back surgery, and judging by Minaya's track record dating to his Expos days, he usually acquires pitching help during spring training.
When asked Friday about his willingness to make a deal, Minaya brought up two spring training trades he pulled off as Expos GM -- getting Livan Hernandez from the Giants and John Patterson from the Diamondbacks.
"I've been able to pick up guys," Minaya said. "There's opportunity out there."
When you figure that Minaya generally can't go two weeks without making a transaction, it's likely a safe bet that the rotation will be upgraded before Opening Day. After that, Minaya can always wait to see how the Athletics fare during the first half, then swoop in with an aggressive bid for Barry Zito by the trade deadline. There's a better chance of that happening than Victor Zambrano surviving in the rotation, and don't expect the Mets to be quite as patient with so much at stake this season.
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Time to transform Mets into winners
In many ways, the winter always seems to be the easy part for the Mets.
Sign Pedro Martinez away from the Red Sox? Done.
Lure Carlos Beltran to Flushing instead of the Bronx? Ditto.
Get Billy Wagner to defect from the Phillies? Check.
The Marlins need to dump Carlos Delgado? Name your prospects.
If only securing a playoff spot were as effortless as opening a checkbook. But it's not all about the money, of course.
Give credit to general manager Omar Minaya and chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon for ultimately turning the club's wish list into reality for the second year in a row. But now it's time to transform these remodeled Mets into winners, and that's the task that awaits manager Willie Randolph when pitchers and catchers report to Port St. Lucie on Wednesday.
Randolph has a new closer in Wagner, a new cleanup hitter in Delgado, a new catcher in Paul Lo Duca and a pitching staff that at this point has as many questions as answers.
There's little doubt, however, that the Mets are an improved team entering Randolph's second season as manager. That brings raised expectations for a franchise that is selling tickets at a much faster pace than last year and will debut its own television network next month.
Even the Braves are in the midst of what appears to be a rebuilding period. Could things be lining up any better for the Mets in 2006?
"I feel really good about our chances," Delgado said at last month's winter caravan. "We've got a pretty complete ballclub to me."
Getting Delgado was a huge part of Minaya's offseason makeover, but he was an unexpected bonus, a surprise gift from the cost-conscious Marlins. The GM actually had his eyes on Manny Ramirez, but he shifted gears when Delgado became available, and that was only the beginning of what became a very active offseason.
Minaya signed Wagner to a four-year, $43-million contract the same week he completed the Delgado trade, and that was after the Mets already had traded unhappy outfielder Mike Cameron to the Padres for Xavier Nady.
As soon as Wagner donned his jersey and cap, he was asked if the Mets have a chance to get to the World Series. "No doubt," Wagner said. "That's what I'm here for."
That would be quite a jump for a team that won 83 games last season. But the Mets stayed in contention until late August and wound up finishing seven games behind the Braves, the first time since 2001 they ended the year within double-digits of Atlanta.
But that Mets team suffered from a serious lack of run production and a suspect bullpen, two of the main areas Minaya addressed this winter. Delgado replaces the fading Mike Piazza in the lineup, and Wagner anchors a relief corps that has added two hard-throwing setup men in Jorge Julio and Duaner Sanchez.
"When you're going out there as a pitcher, there are some times where you feel like you can't afford to give up a run or two runs," Tom Glavine said. "That carries a lot of pressure. With the way we're set up right now, you don't figure that to be the case. You figure that these guys are going to score some runs, they're going to play defense and we know we've got a great bullpen coming in behind us."
Glavine knows what he's talking about. He finished 13-13 last season despite a 3.53 ERA, and the lack of run support was something that Glavine eventually grew tired of talking about. That shouldn't be as much of a problem for the Mets now, not with a top five that will feature Jose Reyes, Beltran, David Wright, Delgado and Cliff Floyd, possibly in that order.
Reyes and Wright have another season of experience, and Bel.tran, after a disappointing first year in Flushing, should rebound. The Mets also are keeping their fingers crossed that Floyd can stay upright as well as he did last season, when he played 150 games and hit 34 home runs.
With all of the offseason moves, and all of that money invested, Minaya simply wants this team intact on Opening Day.
"The most important thing is for us to get out of there healthy," Minaya said. "The second thing is to see if we can buy into the belief that we're all dependent on each other if we're going to win. We're going to have to win together, from top to bottom. To me, that's the goal."
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YankeeBaseball
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Feb 13 2006, 09:21 AM
Post #2
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Sounds good, but I'd rather have kept Seo in the rotation and Heilman as your primary setup man. Also, why trade Cameron for Nady? :wtf: Couldn't he get any better return than that???
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Gategem
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Feb 13 2006, 02:14 PM
Post #3
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Member In Exile
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Wilpon wouldn't let Omar sign Wagner and trade for Delgado without clearing salary. Omar took the first deal to clear the salary room so he could act quickly on signing Wagner and trading for Delgado.
Peterson didn't like Seo b/c it was the pitching coach at Norfolk that turned Seo around. That pitching coach was hired by the Dodgers as a bp coach. Smart move.
I still think the plan is to trade Heilman in a package deal for a starting pitcher. They can now do this without impacting their bp.
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FloydNbunch
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Feb 13 2006, 08:35 PM
Post #4
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Does WrightNbunch sound good?
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- Gategem
- Feb 13 2006, 01:14 PM
Wilpon wouldn't let Omar sign Wagner and trade for Delgado without clearing salary. Omar took the first deal to clear the salary room so he could act quickly on signing Wagner and trading for Delgado.
Peterson didn't like Seo b/c it was the pitching coach at Norfolk that turned Seo around. That pitching coach was hired by the Dodgers as a bp coach. Smart move.
I still think the plan is to trade Heilman in a package deal for a starting pitcher. They can now do this without impacting their bp.
Yeah but I wouldnt trade Heilman for Contreras
I'd rather just keep Heilman
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YankeeBaseball
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Feb 13 2006, 10:38 PM
Post #5
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- Gategem
- Feb 13 2006, 02:14 PM
Wilpon wouldn't let Omar sign Wagner and trade for Delgado without clearing salary. Omar took the first deal to clear the salary room so he could act quickly on signing Wagner and trading for Delgado.
Peterson didn't like Seo b/c it was the pitching coach at Norfolk that turned Seo around. That pitching coach was hired by the Dodgers as a bp coach. Smart move.
I still think the plan is to trade Heilman in a package deal for a starting pitcher. They can now do this without impacting their bp.
If he wanted to clear salary without impacting the team talent wise, he could have eaten a good amount of Kaz's contract and dealt him. I'd have done that rather than "dumping" Cameron. :peace:
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timotime
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Feb 13 2006, 11:04 PM
Post #6
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- YankeeBaseball
- Feb 13 2006, 10:38 PM
- Gategem
- Feb 13 2006, 02:14 PM
Wilpon wouldn't let Omar sign Wagner and trade for Delgado without clearing salary. Omar took the first deal to clear the salary room so he could act quickly on signing Wagner and trading for Delgado.
Peterson didn't like Seo b/c it was the pitching coach at Norfolk that turned Seo around. That pitching coach was hired by the Dodgers as a bp coach. Smart move.
I still think the plan is to trade Heilman in a package deal for a starting pitcher. They can now do this without impacting their bp.
If he wanted to clear salary without impacting the team talent wise, he could have eaten a good amount of Kaz's contract and dealt him. I'd have done that rather than "dumping" Cameron. :peace:
Read what you said. Eat a large part of the salary. They only would have saved about 2M.
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YankeeBaseball
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Feb 13 2006, 11:19 PM
Post #7
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- timotime
- Feb 13 2006, 11:04 PM
- YankeeBaseball
- Feb 13 2006, 10:38 PM
- Gategem
- Feb 13 2006, 02:14 PM
Wilpon wouldn't let Omar sign Wagner and trade for Delgado without clearing salary. Omar took the first deal to clear the salary room so he could act quickly on signing Wagner and trading for Delgado.
Peterson didn't like Seo b/c it was the pitching coach at Norfolk that turned Seo around. That pitching coach was hired by the Dodgers as a bp coach. Smart move.
I still think the plan is to trade Heilman in a package deal for a starting pitcher. They can now do this without impacting their bp.
If he wanted to clear salary without impacting the team talent wise, he could have eaten a good amount of Kaz's contract and dealt him. I'd have done that rather than "dumping" Cameron. :peace:
Read what you said. Eat a large part of the salary. They only would have saved about 2M.
i figure they'd save 3mil on kaz. how much did they save on cameron, 5mil?
too bad wilpon is such a tight wad. :annoyed:
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timotime
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Feb 13 2006, 11:28 PM
Post #8
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- YankeeBaseball
- Feb 13 2006, 11:19 PM
- timotime
- Feb 13 2006, 11:04 PM
- YankeeBaseball
- Feb 13 2006, 10:38 PM
- Gategem
- Feb 13 2006, 02:14 PM
Wilpon wouldn't let Omar sign Wagner and trade for Delgado without clearing salary. Omar took the first deal to clear the salary room so he could act quickly on signing Wagner and trading for Delgado.
Peterson didn't like Seo b/c it was the pitching coach at Norfolk that turned Seo around. That pitching coach was hired by the Dodgers as a bp coach. Smart move.
I still think the plan is to trade Heilman in a package deal for a starting pitcher. They can now do this without impacting their bp.
If he wanted to clear salary without impacting the team talent wise, he could have eaten a good amount of Kaz's contract and dealt him. I'd have done that rather than "dumping" Cameron. :peace:
Read what you said. Eat a large part of the salary. They only would have saved about 2M.
i figure they'd save 3mil on kaz. how much did they save on cameron, 5mil? too bad wilpon is such a tight wad. :annoyed:
Probably about that.
Wilpon isn't a tight wad, he just has a budget. He's just the same as every other MLB owner excepting George Steinbrenner.
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VICTORious
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Feb 14 2006, 12:28 AM
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there is no worries about the starting rotation... victorious will pitch every 5 games and ray will owe me a car.
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MSUMet85
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Feb 14 2006, 03:51 AM
Post #10
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- VICTORious
- Feb 13 2006, 11:28 PM
there is no worries about the starting rotation... victorious will pitch every 5 games and ray will owe me a car.
:-|
And the sad part is that if things stay pact with the rotation we will have to depend on Zambrano :no1:
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