Could This Be The End For Gogs?
According to many sources the Mets and Dodgers are close to making a trade that would send Jason Phillips to LA in exchange for Kazuhisa Ishii. Ishii would be acquired to be the 5th starter in the Mets rotation ahead of current frontrunner Matt Ginter. (This is the spot that became available when Steve Trachsel went down with a herniated disc. Trachsel was scheduled to have surgery for that injury today and is expected to be out at least 3 months and probably more than that.)
I don’t have very much to say about this trade except that I don’t like it. Though Phillips didnt have a very good year last year we saw enough of him in 2003 to know what he is capable of. Though he could be having a better spring I’m still confident that he can rebound and have a good year now that his role would be more definitely defined (backup catcher and occassional first baseman). Ishii, on the other hand, provides no upgrade from Ginter in the rotation. Don’t let his 13-8 record last year fool you. He has a career 4.30 ERA and is a BB machine. My advice to the Mets front office – you could do better for a fifth starter and you could do better in a trade for Phillips.
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Replacing Trachs
Todays edition of Newsday reports that have begun looking outside the organization for a starting pitcher in the wake of Steve Trachsel‘s back injury. The team is apparently interested in Houston Astos RHP Tim Redding among others. I find this to be curious. I mean, how exactly is this an upgrade from Matt Ginter? If you look at their career numbers the only real advantage to Redding, statistically speaking, is that he’s pitched more Major League innings. But beyond that Redding is not an upgrade but rather a lateral shift. I’d have to say that if your choice is using Ginter, who is already in house, or trading for Redding, who you’d have to give something for (even if it’s something small), I’d rather stick with Ginter. Save the minor leaguers and players to be named later for a better acquisition. Maybe Tony Armas Jr. or Zach Day who could be had from the Expos. Ooops, I mean the Nationals. Just a thought.
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Koch Available
The Toronto Blue Jays have released reliever Billy Koch. With pitching coach Rick Peterson having a good relationship with Koch from their days together with the Oakland A’s don’t be surprised if the Mets get mentioned in connection with Koch as he searches for a new team.
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Goodbye, Super Joe
It’s official. The Mets put out a press release anouncing the release of Joe McEwing. McEwing was caught in the same roster crunch that made Danny Garcia. With the spring that Chris Woodward is having and the addition of infielder Miguel Cairo nobody should be surprised to see Joe or Garcia go. Still, I liked McEwing. He didn’t have alot but whatever he did have he left on the field. Good luck, Super Joe.
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What Do You Think?
I’ve had the new version of the blog up for a few days now and am curious what people think about the new layout. Please leave me some comments using the link below and let me know what you think.
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Guthrie Released by DRays
According to the HeraldTribune the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have released lefty Mark Guthrie. Guthrie, 39, may be a bit old but was having a very good spring before he was released. I’m thinking Omar Minaya should invite him to Mets camp to see what he has. With Steve Trachsel out the team could use an experienced starter. If he does well in camp give him an incentive laden 1 year deal and the 5th spot in the rotation. Nothing to lose.
Edit: It’s been pointed out to me in the comments that Guthrie is actually a reliver. I actually knew that (from his previous stint with the Mets) but with Trachsel out and a story of a veteran pitcher being released I didn’t stop and think. I jumped on the story as soon as I saw it and missed the very important step of actually thinking about what I was writing (as well as fact checking it) before publishing it. My bad. Sorry about that.
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Gar-SeeYa Later
Danny Garcia was released by the Mets yesterday. Though there’s talk that there was an attitude problem the basic fact that there is a glut of people on the roster at his position was the major cause. With Doug Mientkiewicz, David Wright, Jose Reyes and Kazuo Matsui the starters in the infield and several others in camp vying for backup spots Garcia, who played in 58 games for the Mets last season, was expendable. Though his numbers were not that great I saw just enough of Garcia last year to like him. But the fact is there are better players than him in camp so this shouldn’t impact the club too much.
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Back-Trach-ed
Tests have revealed that Steve Trachsel has a herniated disc and could be out for as long as 6 months. Trachsel was going to be the #4 starter behind Pedro Martinez, Tom Glavine and Kris Benson. VÃctor Zambrano is the 5th starter. Right now it looks like Matt Ginter is the favorite to tacke Trachsel’s spot. Jae Seo and Aaron Heilman are two other possibilities. Yusmeiro Petit has also been mentioned by some as a possibility but I’d be surprised if he gets it. He’s a good young arm but you don’t want to rush an arm like that into the majors. My money’s on Ginter.
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Gammons on Wright
Peter Gammons recently wrote an article on espn.com in which he listed 10 players that MLB should market. Mets 3B David Wright was listed among them. Gammons says of Wright “Trust me. Scott Rolen II.” High praise, indeed.
In the same article Gammons discusses his rookies to watch for this season. Listed among them is Phil Humber, the Mets first round pick last year.
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Reason to Hope for Zambrano
There’s been a lot of criticism of Mets pitcher VÃctor Zambrano since he came to Shea in exchange for prized pitching prospect Scott Kazmir. But recently Zambrano got a good review by his former manager with the Devil Rays, Lou Piniella. Sweet Lou said that Zambrano was the Devil Rays best pitcher last year. Piniella also gave this analysis:
He can beat the good teams and he can beat the bad teams. The only thing that can hold him back is him.
This probably won’t make Mets fans feel any better about the trade (Zambrano would probably have to win the Cy Young for the fans to finally give their approval) but it should give them an idea of the kind of pitcher he can be.
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