to nats for brian schneider and ryan church...
headscratcher, no?
A below average catcher and a 4th OFer.
Was LoDuca really that bad?
3 backup catchers don't equal a starting catcher.
I haven't been following the Metropolitans as much as I used to, but why do I get the feeling this is going to backfire like the Scott Kazmir deal did?
I bet Isiah is happy this happened today. Takes some heat off of him for a little portion of the day.
No pitching in return?
What the hell do they need another catcher for? And Church is garbage.
On top of all that, Milledge has serious potential. This trade is strange as hell.
Damn, I'm not a Mets fan, but NY needs to stand up. This sports scene is disgusting.
Keith Law on ESPN.com
Nats score big with Milledge
posted: Friday, November 30, 2007
Lastings Milledge is still one of the better young outfield prospects in the game. By dealing him for an awful player in Brian Schneider, the Mets sold low on a former first-round pick with a lot of upside and committed two years and too much money to a catcher who can't hit.
The Mets get ... nothing, or close to it. Schneider will earn $10.3 million over the next two years to sit behind the plate when the rules call for it, and to make 300-odd outs at the plate while hitting .230/.320/.330 or thereabouts. He is the definition of replacement level -- his offensive production was roughly as valuable as what Guillermo Quiroz did in eleven plate appearances for Texas last year -- and paying him $10 million is bad enough. Giving up something of value to acquire that contract is horrible. It would be better to pay Johnny Estrada $3-4 million to be bad for one year than Schneider over $10 million to be worse for two years.
There's a small silver lining for the Mets in the acquisition of Ryan Church, a capable platoon bat in left or right field if you have a right-handed caddy for him. Unlike Schneider, he has value on a big league roster, but even swapping Milledge straight-up for Church wouldn't make sense because of Church's struggles against lefties, his long history of minor injuries, his age and his expense as a super-two player this winter.
Milledge could easily be the second-best hitter in the Nationals' lineup in 2008, and moved back to his natural position of center field, he gives them two plus defenders on the field as well. Milledge has quick wrists with line-drive power, and good plate coverage. His pitch recognition is weak right now, and he's vulnerable to anyone who can change speeds. This wasn't as much of a problem for him in the minors, so there's reason to expect an improvement. He played mostly right field in the majors for the Mets and never adjusted to the different looks a fielder gets from that position, but in center field, he has plus range and an above-average arm. He's probably not a star, but he projects as an above-average bat who plays a good defensive center field, and Washington has his rights for the next five years. Milledge's value was down due to some concerns over his attitude, but those were really overblown, and Washington just picked up a good prospect for about 20 cents on the dollar.
The only way this deal doesn't turn out to be a disaster for the Mets -- second in this decade only to the Victor Zambrano-Scott Kazmir deal -- is if Milledge doesn't pan out as a hitter, and the smart money is that he will. This is a heist for Washington, and a serious mismanagement of assets for the Mets.
Thats the key. A serious mismanagement of assets. I have my questions about Milledge's future potential, and he has had off the field issues, but how can Minaya justify giving him away? If the trade market was that tepid, hang on to him and revisit trade scenarios in the future. These two scrubs from Washington add nothing. Its actually subtraction by addition.
Minaya got played.
Minaya likes to wheel and deal. I think he was starting to feel left out and feels pressure to do something after the collapse last year.
If I were a Mets fan, and I thank God every morning that I'm not, I'd be worried about this team. They need to start doing what the Yankees did and build up their farm system with power arms. They can always buy bats and have Reyes and Wright to build their offense around but you can't buy top pitching that easily. The Mets are in seriously need of good young pitching.
i think it's a pretty fair trade... i don't see Milledge as having all this supposed trade value right now... he proved to have many flaws in both his personality & his game... not sure how the trade really helps the Mets though when they were in dire need of pitching... just another senseless move by the genius Omar.
Posted by islesfan:
Minaya likes to wheel and deal. I think he was starting to feel left out and feels pressure to do something after the collapse last year.
If I were a Mets fan, and I thank God every morning that I'm not, I'd be worried about this team. They need to start doing what the Yankees did and build up their farm system with power arms. They can always buy bats and have Reyes and Wright to build their offense around but you can't buy top pitching that easily. The Mets are in seriously need of good young pitching.
We have no desire to be like the Yankees. I for one enjoy the competitiveness and the ups and downs of a baseball season. There is no joy in watching one team steamroll another. Boorrrriiinnnnggg. As for us, we're fine. We have more than enough offense and pitching to compete for the pennant. However, if I were a Yankees fan, which thank God I'm not, I'd be more concerned about the Red Sox being your daddies for the next 5 years if they get Johan.
you got no ICE-CREAM! you got no ICE-CREAM!
Posted by TMS:
you got no ICE-CREAM! you got no ICE-CREAM!
You are fast becoming the most boring person on the internet. Instead of speaking in cute little innuendo's that you always love to do, how about just coming out and telling it like it is?
sheesh dude, i've tried reasoning w/u & all i get back is defensiveness & bitter insults from u... i cracked a little Eddie Murphy reference to break the tension a little... relax, take a deep breath, & enjoy life.
Posted by TMS:
sheesh dude, i've tried reasoning w/u & all i get back is defensiveness & bitter insults from u... i cracked a little Eddie Murphy reference to break the tension a little... relax, take a deep breath, & enjoy life.
Ah there you go. I'm perfectly fine, however, it is you that is not well. Like I said, just come out and say exactly what you mean, stop being a putz and we'll get along fine.
Posted by majorleads:
We have no desire to be like the Yankees. I for one enjoy the competitiveness and the ups and downs of a baseball season. There is no joy in watching one team steamroll another. Boorrrriiinnnnggg. As for us, we're fine. We have more than enough offense and pitching to compete for the pennant. However, if I were a Yankees fan, which thank God I'm not, I'd be more concerned about the Red Sox being your daddies for the next 5 years if they get Johan.
stop being so transparent... if the Mets stood any chance at all of getting Johan you wouldn't have any problem with shelling out the money it would take to sign him, but all of a sudden it's extremely boring to you to have teams like the Red Sox or Yankees get him... if you're so in favor of competitive balance, why did you Met fans cheer the signings of guys like Pedro, Delgado & Beltran? why is it only when the Yankees go after a big money player that they're trying to buy championships in your eyes? i've asked u this before & u still haven't given me an answer... fans of teams like the Mets who play in the exact same big market that the Yankees do & have their own freakin' cable network for God's sakes have NO business crying foul over competitive balance... give it up already.
Posted by majorleads:
Posted by TMS:
sheesh dude, i've tried reasoning w/u & all i get back is defensiveness & bitter insults from u... i cracked a little Eddie Murphy reference to break the tension a little... relax, take a deep breath, & enjoy life.
Ah there you go. I'm perfectly fine, however, it is you that is not well. Like I said, just come out and say exactly what you mean, stop being a putz and we'll get along fine.
hey dude, bite me... if you don't like the way i post u don't have to respond... simple.
Posted by TMS:
Posted by majorleads:
We have no desire to be like the Yankees. I for one enjoy the competitiveness and the ups and downs of a baseball season. There is no joy in watching one team steamroll another. Boorrrriiinnnnggg. As for us, we're fine. We have more than enough offense and pitching to compete for the pennant. However, if I were a Yankees fan, which thank God I'm not, I'd be more concerned about the Red Sox being your daddies for the next 5 years if they get Johan.
stop being so transparent... if the Mets stood any chance at all of getting Johan you wouldn't have any problem with shelling out the money it would take to sign him, but all of a sudden it's extremely boring to you to have teams like the Red Sox or Yankees get him... if you're so in favor of competitive balance, why did you Met fans cheer the signings of guys like Pedro, Delgado & Beltran? why is it only when the Yankees go after a big money player that they're trying to buy championships in your eyes? i've asked u this before & u still haven't given me an answer... fans of teams like the Mets who play in the exact same big market that the Yankees do & have their own freakin' cable network for God's sakes have NO business crying foul over competitive balance... give it up already.
Listen, anybody who knows me and knows my style whether it's on realgm or here, knows that I always mean what I say and say what I mean. How many times do I have to tell you that I would be SICK TO MY STOMACH if we suddenly became the Yankees and started jacking our payroll up to the sky before it sinks in?
Look at our roster at the time we signed Pedro, Beltran and Delgado. We had no big time players except for Piazza who was on his last legs and last year of his contract. We had money to spend that offseason and in fact, I believe our payroll was even less the year we had acquired those 3 than in the previous season. Also at the time we had no farm system and no credibility because of Phillips and Duquette. Oh and if you look at Delgado's contract, we're only paying 13.5 million per season on it because the Marlins are paying the rest. And Beltran, all the Yankees fans like to point out he would have come to the Yankees for less money. Not entirely true. In the end it was more money with the Mets on paper, but that is only because a good chunk of his contract is DEFERRED from 2012-2018. Present value wise, the contract would have been worth more with the Yankees because Boras wanted a straight contract from them with no deferred money.
As for Johan, I want the Mets to get him, but we're not in a position to do so because we're not loaded in prospects at the moment. Next season, we lose Delgado and Alou, thats 20 million right there and could have gone to Johan. And like I said, I don't care if he goes to the Red Sox or Yankees just as long as he doesn't go to the Braves or Phillies. Did I stutter there? I'm all in favor of seeing the Yankees give up Hughes because I think that guy is a stud. Again, I've praised the Yankee prospects on numerous occasions but you've been too blind to see that. My whole thing with Melky was with you guys overrating him. I mean come on, he's a nice player but decent outfielders are a dime a dozen and shouldn't be looked at like oh my God how are we ever going to cope with losing Melky.
And another thing, I loathe giving any pitcher more than a 4 year contract UNLESS, the pitcher was from our own farm system and was great. 5 years is my absolute limit on outside pitchers. I'd rather pay more per season short term than give out additional years. That goes for the Knicks too. It's not the amount of money per season, it's the guaranteed years
for a guy who keeps saying he would be sick to his stomach if the Mets ever tried to become like the Yankees, you sure are doing a lousy job of proving it. the Mets have not only signed several big money players to longterm contracts in recent years, they've also hired an ex-Yankee & longtime Torre disciple to be their manager, tried to woo Jorge Posada over to their side last week, & decided they wanted to cash in on the success of the YES network by starting up their own cable televsion network & following almost to a T the Yankees' model... u even admit you would love for the Mets to get Johan, but criticize the Yankees for wanting to do the same... if you want to have logical discussion, then you have to stop being hypocritical & bashing the Yankees for trying to make the same exact moves you would've wanted your own damn team to make.
Posted by TMS:
for a guy who keeps saying he would be sick to his stomach if the Mets ever tried to become like the Yankees, you sure are doing a lousy job of proving it. the Mets have not only signed several big money players to longterm contracts in recent years, they've also hired an ex-Yankee & longtime Torre disciple to be their manager, tried to woo Jorge Posada over to their side last week, & decided they wanted to cash in on the success of the YES network by starting up their own cable televsion network & following almost to a T the Yankees' model... u even admit you would love for the Mets to get Johan, but criticize the Yankees for wanting to do the same... if you want to have logical discussion, then you have to stop being hypocritical & bashing the Yankees for trying to make the same exact moves you would've wanted your own damn team to make.
Ehhh whats the use. Your payroll is ONE HUNDRED MILLION MORE than us. Come on, who are you trying to kid here?!?!? 50 million more than the Red Sox! FIFTY MILLION! Thats more than some teams!! And when all is said and done, your payroll might approach 250 million for next season!! Our payroll is high for the NL, but the Dodgers are higher and we're in a decent enough range of the majority of teams where we don't have some HUMONGOUS advantage like the Yankees do. Again like I've always said, baseball needs a salary cap and I'm 100% in favor of it. Are you? Uh no.
And you want to compare how many players the Mets have signed to "big money long term contracts" since 2000, to how many the Yankees have signed? I think the Yankees have signed more in one season.
Not exactly sure what Willie Randolph being the Mets manager has anything to do with how much each team spends on players. Or the Mets wanting their own network. And the Mets never got Posada, they were outbid by the Yankees.
Oh and where and when did I "criticize" the Yankees for wanting Santana? I criticize the amount of the Yankees payroll yes, but I would never criticize anyone going after one of the best pitchers in the game. However, the problem is that YOU GUYS JUST SPENT 300 MILLION ON ARod, 60 MILLION ON POSADA AND 45 MILLION ON MARIANO. Thats OVER 400 MILLION and then you want to add another 150 MILLION on Johan Santana!!! Holy sh it !! After all is said and done, you will have committed over 550 million in guaranteed contracts in one offseason!! wow wow wow wow wow wow OMFG OMFG OMFG OMFG OMFG OMFG !!! ??? !!?##$?#?% #@?!!!@$@?$@!$% $#%@#$@#$35234234253525233422 $$$$$
