Omir Santos' homer against Jonathan Pabelbon was one of the few Mets' highlights last season. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

Last season, Omir Santos was one of the few guys that was a breath of fresh air. He hit a game-winning homer against Jonathan Pabelbon, and now, Santos finds himself as the likely odd man out for a spot on the major league team. Does that seem fair?

While Santos did what he needed to do with the bat, he wasn’t the most successful catcher with working with a staff. Sure, he was single handedly responsible for driving Ramon Castro out of town, but he was often on a different page as the pitchers that he was catching, and the Mets need someone who can be a general on the field.

They had a guy last year who was good with the pitchers, and that was Brian Schneider. Unfortunately for Schneider, he couldn’t hit a ball of a tee, and it almost seemed like he was more of an automatic out than the pitcher’s spot in the lineup.

It looked like Bengie Molina was going to be the new guy to be brought in to shoulder the load, but differences over money and contract length paved the way for Molina to return to San Francisco. The Mets then decided to go with a defensive tandem behind the plate when they signed Henry Blanco and Rod Barajas, and now Santos might be out of luck.

Take it to the next level now. Buffalo would seem to be all set as well. Remember, the Mets also signed Chris Coste, and one would imagine that he is set to open the season as the backup in Buffalo for Josh Thole. So where does Santos fit in?

I would imagine Omir probably is the first guy who will be called up from Buffalo if someone gets hurt. He most likely will out duel Coste for the backup gig in Buffalo, and the Mets won’t want to call up Thole unless he is playing every day.

Does anyone think Santos has any trade value? As a career minor leaguer, I would guess not, but if the Mets could flip him in exchange for a prospect, I would imagine they would do that in a second.

I feel a little bad for Santos, but he has been a career minor leaguer for a reason…he’s just not that good.

Omir Santos is definitely getting the short end of the stick. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

When Omir Santos emerged onto the scene last season, nobody really knew what to think of him. He was an unproven career minor leaguer that had limited experience in the big leagues. Nobody in their wildest dreams expected that he would be the guy to eventually run Ramon Castro out of town, and he would also become the Mets’ primary catcher.

He did a very nice job in this role considering the circumstances. He hit .260, which is definitely a respectable average. He also hit seven homers and drove in 60 RBI. On the down side, he rarely walked and had a putrid .296 on base percentage, but that does not justify the fate that seems to be coming to him for the 2010 season.

With the signings of Henry Blanco and Chris Coste, it seems like the Mets are positioning with depth. The Mets are also rumored to not be done at catcher, and their interest in catchers Bengie Molina and Ivan Rodriguez is well documented. It seems like the Mets are looking to pair one of those guys up with Blanco, meaning Santos’ ultimate destination would be Triple A.

And he wouldn’t even be starting there. The Mets seem to hope that the ultimate future goal will be to have Josh Thole as their everyday catcher, but he certainly has some work to do before he would be ready for the big club.

I honestly don’t get it. Santos proved himself to be more then just a body last season. He came up with a number of big hits early on in the season, including a game-winning homer off of Red Sox closer Jonathon Papelbon. I honestly feel like the Mets owe it to Santos to see if there’s a team that would be willing to play him, and then the Mets should try to get a prospect in exchange.

I definitely feel like there would be a team who would give up a decent prospect for him. I mean, Santos could hit and catch. He is worth more than Chris Coste, and one could argue that he’s better than Henry Blanco as well.

Someone is definitely getting the short end of the stick.

How many game winning hits will Omir hit in 2010?

BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

It’s a dream to have a catcher that can impact the offense. Unfortunately there aren’t many of them that can. Most catchers are under .300 in career batting average, don’t have much pop in thier bat and are slow. This doesn’t mean they are not important to a club. It’s quite the opposite. They are paramount, they play a huge role in the clubs ability to win, day in and day out. But finding a Victor Martinez or Joe Mauer doesn’t happen easily. This is why I was for, giving up anything the Indians wanted in return for Martinez. Currently the Mets catcher position is up in the air but I ask the real question.

Do the Mets REALLY need a catcher?

Omir Santos caused Omar Minaya to trade back up catcher Ramon Castro to the White Sox by playing extremely well during a stretch of games in the first half of the season. When it was all said and done Santos had these numbers to boast : In 281 AB’s he batted .260 with 7 Home Runs and 40 RBI’s. Slugged just under .400 and had an OBP just under .300. Not bad for a backup, actually pretty good when you consider the clutch hits he provided in April, May and June. Specifically the go ahead two run Home Run in Fenway Park. This is all while putting up pretty solid defensive numbers behind the plate and handling the staff.

If we average those numbers out over the course of a full season, let’s say 450 AB’s what kind of production would you anticipate from Santos? Would you take a .250 ish average with 12-16 Home Runs, 70-80 RBI’s in the 8 hole of a national league lineup? Let me further ask this question. Who, as I will post the free agent market for catchers, would you like to sign for this list to catch for the 2010 Mets? Can you give me the guy who can possibly come close to that production?

Paul Bako, Brad Ausmus, Josh Bard, Rod Barajas, Henry Blanco, Ramon Castro, Jason Kendall, Jason LaRue, Bengie Molina, Jose Molina, Miguel Olivo, Mike Redmond, Ivan Rodriguez, Yorvit Torrealba, Greg Zaun.

Ok I already know who you are going to say. Bengie Molina right? My rebuttal would be he is 35 years old and he just made 6.5MM playing for San Fran. He is probably seeking a 2-3 year deal worth at least half that, most likely more. Also he’s a Type A Free Agent which means the Mets would lose a pick if they signed him. I win. Rod Barajas? His career batting average is .238 and even though he has some pop Santos can provide the same stats for less money. Miguel Olivo is the only guy on that list that I can’t really argue about if the Mets wanted to sign him. He’s 31, hits home runs and plays pretty solid behind the dish. I’d still prefer to spend the money elsewhere though. The rest of the list is rubbish as the Brits say.

With Thole on the horizon why would the Mets committ to anyone past 2010? I wouldn’t mind signing Castro back. Now you’re talking pop on the bench and a backup to Santos who already knows the staff. Ramon has proven he cannot handle day to day catching duties so he’ll be cheap. Nobody on the market is worth a deal that will prove to be worthless once Thole continues to hit in the minors. Nobody likes a 3MM a year backup catcher on the bench.

Santos should be the catcher. Let’s not reach, elite catchers are not available this year, not even via trade. The money you use to sign an average catcher, when you already have an average catcher on the roster, could be used elsewhere.

Time for Hot Stove Baseball folks.

BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

Well, I am glad that ordeal is over with. Yankees won, blah blah blah. You can’t get away from it. They’ll have a parade and they will get some keys to the city and then hoepfully them and their rotten fans will go to sleep until April. I mean all I heard from my Yankee friends was how long it’s been since they won a championship. Puh-lease. The only good thing that came out of this is that Pedro lost and the Phillies are not champions. Oh and now the Mets are not mentioned everytime someone says “the last time the Yankees won was against the Mets in 2000″. So thank the good lord for not making me a Yankee.

I want to move on to the off season, Nov 9-11 are the GM meetings in Chicago, great town. Maybe one day Ganci will get some press credentials and then we can really get this ball rolling. The winter meetings are mid December I think (too lazy to check) and that’s always interesting. In my opinion the Mets needs to address the following positions.

After the game you and your friends could always enjoy a nice game of online poker.

First Base, Left Field, Cathcer, Starting Pitching, Middle Relief, Bench.

For Left Field we want Holliday or Bay. I don’t think we’ll land either though. So Omar must be creative. Hopefully he want throw 3 years 35MM at Matusi after he won the MVP.

First Base, I am ok with bringing back Delgado for a reasonable amount. If he balks at a one year deal so be it.

Catcher, anyone or keep Santos. Thole will be the starter come July.

Starting Pitching, a true #2 would be nice. Something Pelfrey is not. As the non WBC spring training camps open I want to have a little bit of faith that Oliver Perez is going to be on the right track. Maine, I think should move to a middle/late relief role. I think he’d be electric out of the pen. With his tailing and sometimes rising or sinking fastball and his injury past and all the “tired shoulder” problems I think his career as a Starter is over.

Middle relief, I haven’t assessed this market yet but a solid veteran with high KK:BB ratio would be nice for a change.

Bench, Alex Cora is nice off the pine, I wouldn’t mind seeing Sheffield back in the role he originally was bought in for. A big bat from the right side late in games. Also a Ryan Garko type, a true utility guy perhaps.

Over the course of the next few weeks I plan on breaking down each position need for the Daily Stache audience right here. So stay tuned.

One of the best moments of the year was when Omir Santos homered off Jonathon Papelbon. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

When the Mets signed a guy named Omir Santos last off season, I had no idea who the heck he was. I figured he was this year’s Robinson Cancel. He was a guy that would be counted on for depth, but he wasn’t someone who should be taken very seriously. Never in a million years would I have been able to imagine that he would have 281 at-bats during the 2009 campaign with the Mets. I was wrong on that one.

Not only did Omir come to the big leagues, but he made an impact. This is a guy that has been a career minor leaguer. He made his major league debut last year in a brief stint with the Baltimore Orioles. He appeared in 11 games, and he had just a single in 10 at-bats, but the Mets clearly saw something they liked when they took a waiver on him, and they were rewarded for giving the guy a chance.

He hit seven homers and knocked in 40 runs in limited action, and he was the guy who drove Ramon Castro out of town. I was at the game in which Santos hit a walk off single to send the Mets to victory earlier in the year. Steve Somers told us on the drive home that the Mets had dealt Ramon Castros to the White Sox for some guy named Lance Broadway, who we wouldn’t see any of until the season was down the tubes.

Did I mention that Castro caught Mark Buehrle’s perfect game on July 23. We still have zero. Karma is a funny thing I guess.

I find myself conflicted when talking about Santos. He doesn’t strike out much, but he also doesn’t have much of an eye at the plate. Like most hitters on this level, he could hit a fastball, but he seems susceptible to the off speed pitches. The pitching staff likes working with him, but I feel like he might be a guy who can get exposed if we send him out there too much. The solution? Platoon!

I know it’s only been limited action, but I love what I have seen from Josh Thole. He seems eager to get in the swing of things, and he has already shown that he can work a count. He is a tough strikeout, and defense had been the thing that people in the system have said can be his Achilles heal. We haven’t really seen that in his brief stint in the pros, but I am sure that will become apparent if he doesn’t work to improve himself.

There isn’t much on the open market in terms of quality, unless Jason Varitek decides to come to Queens. I would be open to bringing him in because I love his attitude. He knows the winning culture, and as long as we give him breaks from time to time, he could help turn things around with the rest of the hopefully healthy team.

In terms of Santos, I think he definitely has a chance to be a part of this team in 2010.

A home run off of Jonathon Pabelbon got people talking about Omir Santos. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

Before this season, Omir Santos was an unknown. If you mentioned him to fans around baseball, people would probably shrug and say that they had never heard of him. Luckily for him, that isn’t really the case anymore. Thanks to his excellent play early in the year, people started taking notice. Ramon Castro was shipped off of Broadway for Broadway, go figure. But I am here to explain to everyone why this guy is not the long term solution at catcher.

I am not going to lie. I was excited by his play earlier in the year just like everyone else. I was also a big advocate for cutting ties with Brian Schneider rather than Ramon Castro, but money and the fact that he bats left handed prevented that from happening. Schneider has stuck around and impressed everyone with his .185 batting average.

I was in a deli this morning, and I overheard two gentlemen talking about how the Mets need to be fixed. One guy voiced his opinions about Schneider, and the other followed with “What about Santos? It’s his first full year. He’s just a kid.” Sorry sir. That’s an incorrect statement. The kid is 29-years old, and he was drafted in 2001 by our crosstown Yankees. But what took him so long to get to the big show?

Santos actually debuted last year with the Orioles. He had 10 at-bats and had registered one career hit. Then something clicked with the Mets. He knows how to handle the pitchers, and it seemed like too good of a situation to happen to us. He was hitting and fielding well, but all of a sudden he started to come back to life. Pitchers figured out how to work him, and now he just faded into the middle of the pack.

His .267 average is just that…average. He has a little bit of pop, but he really doesn’t seem like the right guy to lead this team into the future for many years to come. It seems like some people are under that assumption that he can handle that responsibility. I just don’t think so. He has no patience at the plate, which is very much evidenced by the 12 walks he has accumulated. That is not good.

I would love to see Josh Thole come up and take the job, and Santos would be a more than capable backup. I am just not sure that a guy who it took eight years to get to the Major Leagues can just take charge of the pitching staff.

I wonder how management feels about him.

Some Mets fans still have their Heads in the Clouds

BY JOSEPH STONE
STACHE WRITER

This might have been funny, if there was a punch line. Oh wait, at this point “Mets” is a punchline. Bleh. Another beating at the hands of one of our fellow second division friends. At least we all now will be able to appreciate the plights of the Third World fans located in such exotic locales as the Repulic of Pittsburgh, the sunny tropical island of Kansas City, and that lovable military junta on Washington, D.C.

Thank God beer is sold by the case. Too bad Budweiser hasn’t started putting morphine in there, too. This has passed brutal and gone into unimagined territory. The 2009 season for the New York Metropolitians is officially over. Oh, I know several of you old fashioned fans will look to your calendars and say, “Hey, dumbass, there’s still a month and a half left of games.” I’ll counter with a witty rejoinder, such as “Well, DUH!!!”, or some such statement expressing my disgust at your bourgeois thinking.

This lost cause of a team’s on-field exploits will no longer be acknowledged by this here blogger. We (the editorial use of the word) will not cover one more happening in the real world for the Mets. (At least until I decide to beak my rule sometime next week). No sir, no more discussion of the dull, dreary winddown of this steaming pile of fail that was 2009. I, however, will be covering fantasy baseball with this team for the duration. Most of you will say, “Good, at least I can kill two birds with one Stone article and check out the fantasy numbers without having to go to momsbasementisnice.com.”

Not so fast, twinkle toes. I am not talking about rotisserie league updates, that shite’s gay. No, no, I’ll just be making up highlights in my head and reporting them as fact. Kind of like what politicians do, but without wrapping myself in the flag and masturbating whilst doing it. Did you see the five homers Señor Beard Trimmer, Santos, hit tonight? That gem of a no-no Livan “Las Vegas” Hernandez chucked against the Phillies? Pure Magic. See? It’s easy. Just make it up, type it, and print. Kind of like a municipal budget that way.

This -the fantasizing, I mean, not the budgeting- is something I would recommend to all of you forlorn fans out there. Just make it all up. It makes the day go a lot easier. Mets lost? Screw that, Marjorie, they kicked holy hell out of the Friars! Didn’t happen, but so what? Life is one big fiction, so make it work for you. In my mind’s eye, D Wright smacked that dude so hard the other night, his hat popped fifteen feet in the air. Then he went over and frog-splashed Phat Albert, just for good measure.

Joining the melee, Failcoeur grabbed the douchenozzle, Molina, by the ankles and beat Rick Ankiel half to death with his body. Effing AWESOME!!!! The highlights took ten minutes to cover, and that was just the fight. So this is where my mind will be wondering for the near future. Maybe we’ll get lucky, and our favorite team will decide to bring up all these untouchables, like my fellow stache writer suggested earlier today.

Probably not, but you know what? Ike Davis went 17 for 12 in the game in my head today. You say that’s impossible? I say it’s impossible for a team to actually have all 25 members of their active squad go on the DL at once, but the Mets are proving me wrong one day at a time. Poor Jon Niese, I do feel bad for him. But he’ll be back on the bump for me next week, with one leg, mowing down 27 straight. So enjoy the next few weeks.

Soon enough, baseball will be over, blink, and it will be Thanksgiving, turn around, Christmas is over and Easter is tomorrow. These days fly by so fast, we can’t lose sleep over a teams mis-fortunes. There will be better days ahead for the Flushing Faithful. With a little creativity, and pharmaceuticals, those better days are in your head now.

Building a Team after this Moment has been very hard for the Mets (Courtesy of Boston.com)

BY JOSEPH STONE
STACHE WRITER

I have heard it said the the Mets mission statement over the last two years was to win Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS. That they wanted to eradicate the memory of the loss and somehow change the course of history. I don’t think that’s quite true. I think that was something we the interactive fans and the professional writers inferred upon the team, that that particular game was somehow still winnable.

The Mets, in a wise move, just stuck with the core of a team over the next three years that was thisclose to the World Series in 2006, and are just now feeling the fallout from a long barren run at post-season success. After the outcome of the 2006 season, obviously the Mets, as an organization, felt that essentially standing pat with a team that was so close to the promised land was the right choice, hence the Alou signing as a stopgap to shore up RBI production and keep the train rolling.

Management felt that the veteran presence would assist, and not even a beat would be missed on the march back to October. They were absolutely correct. The 2007 season was going along according to script until…no need for specifics in rehashing at this point, we are all well versed. The team that had steamrolled along all year hit the wall and blew up. It happens. Only once in a blue moon, but strange things can happen in baseball. Ask the Cubs, or the Phillies.

The Rockies of that year were the statistically anomoly that counterbalanced the Mets, winning beyond their fair share at the end of the season. In attempting to recover from that shock to the system that was September 2007, they jettisoned Glavine -good riddance!- and acquired the one piece the team had been missing, the workhorse Ace, Johan Santana. They traded the headcase, Milledge, for two servicable parts in Schneider and Church, thus restocking the cupboard.

On paper the 2008 Mets once again looked like world beaters. The core was still around and the rotation, featuring Santana and Pedro should have been dominant, and was, at times. But, as in all fantasy to reality tales, there was a snag. Petey couldn’t stay healthy. The staff had ups and downs. Nor could Alou or Church stay off the DL. Plug ins like Trot Nixon were busts. The pen, continually neglected, or worse, corrupted with bad pick ups -Matt Wise, anyone?- suffered blown leads continuously, until, after Wagner’s season ending injury, was threadbare and exposed.

Horrible play at second base and in the outfield led to defensive problems that cost an already shaky staff runs. A see-saw battle with the Fillies ended with the Mets on the outside looking in, when our man Ollie basically repeated Glavine’s lackluster season ending performance. We all witnessed it. We all felt the pain. “Pedro is going on Monday,” was the famous last words from that season. However, when spring 2009 rolled around, didn’t you think this was the year, even after all the agita of the past two years? Pelf, Maine, and Perez had another year under their belts.

The team, who owned the Fillies in the season series last year, would come back out with a re-built pen and finally win that Game 7 and head on to the championship that should rightly have been won just a few years previously. As the season wore on this year, and the MASH unit got worse, we fans bitched that the team sucks, management sucks, and, oh yeah, what the hell is wrong with the squad? We found out in a hurry the main problem was depth. There was none. With the team that was assembled for Opening Day, though, wouldn’t you have taken your chances, even with Murph in left field? Four Three years in a row, as a viable playoff team is good news to most fanbases.

Yes, they missed the playoffs two of those years, and in tremendous fashion the one year -I still don’t count 2008 as a choke job, just a lost battle- but isn’t this what we the fan ask of our team? To be in the hunt until game 162? What would you give this year to relive 2008 instead of this year? In hindsight, of course, there are a million moves Omar could have and should have made, all three years, but when you get right down to it, what gems from the farm would he have had to give up to get a B J Ryan, or a George Sherrill last year, or an extra starter the year before, and would it have changed anything? Would the Mets be hiding a third or fourth banner this year, too? Is the mission statement to win Game 7, 2006? No, but so what if it is, I don’t have a problem with that.

Building a team that can win big games should be the mission statement. We the fans are right to expect it, too. That game is gone, but using it as reference, the team can be built to win those types of games. A good GM has to look at his weaknesses and build to them. This season is the inevitable down year that happens to almost all franchises. Injuries torched what was going to be possibly the best of the four year stretch. As for what also is inevitable, though, is that the time has come to shake up the foundation of the team, because the weakness now is the farm system. Someone big needs to be traded to restock the minors. The staff is still moderately young, as well as the majority of the field.

Francoeur, Wright, and Reyes are all under 28 which is early middle age in baseball years. One of the three should fetch a healthy return for their services. Beltran, if fully healthy, could bring a king’s ransom in return. In his early 30′s, he is a senior citizen on the ball field. I personally would hate to see any of them go -yes, even Failcoeur- but if the expiration date on the post-season is up, changes should be made. If it prevents ever being caught as flat-footed as the Mets were against the injury bug as they were this year, I suggest one big trade happen. The need to pick up some young arms and rebuild in Cashen’s fashion is overwhelming. With more young, talented players, the team can weather the storm that any calmity could bring. Reyes and Parnell to the Royals for Greinke, Teahen and Bannister. Just a suggestion.

Too many opportunities out there to better the team, and possibly get younger. The Rangers are chock full of young talent. This would be what a GM using the longview would see. Bust it up a little to get better. In New York, however, this would take an entire regime change to pass muster. Omar painted himself into this corner. If he wants to give it one more good shot, which he essentially has to at this point, then trade for Halladay in the off-season. Trade for Brad Penny, or Javier Vasquez. Build a superstar type staff and go for the gusto in 2010. Just don’t give us another year of trying to win by re-tooling a bit, but also trying to build the farm at the same time.

It makes us all crazy and then we start calling WFAN complaining about the fatal flaws, and Manuel’s inability to write a lineup. Or we write articles to get somebody fired, so we can take their place. I am not resigned to tearing the whole thing down or going out with guns blazing next year. The team has good talent, it’s just getting it on the field. They are legitimate contenders, if all hands are on deck. Is that a reasonable thought? Who knows anymore. If we are waiting for Holt, Davis, Flores, and Godot, though, why not restock at the same time by dishing off some of the highly paid spectators from 2009, and make 2010 and beyond a much brighter prospect.

Brian Schneider is one of several guys who could be heading out the door. (PHOTO BY ICON SMI)

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

The Mets have certainly had their fair share of mishaps this season, and there are many things that it can be blamed on. The most popular reason for the Mets’ struggles seems to be the injury bug. With guys like Reyes, Delgado, Beltran, Perez, Maine and Putz all missing extended time, the Mets are having trouble competing, and they sit 10 games behind the first place Phillies.

It is time to accept reality. This year just isn’t going to be our year. We would be better off looking ahead to free agency to make some infield additions to prepare for the 2010 season. But first, let’s take a look at who will be coming off of the books at season’s end.

We will start at the top with catcher and someone who may have slipped your mind. Brian Schneider will come off of the books this season, and you would think he would most likely be gone, considering how he will be 33 at the start of next season. But the alternatives don’t really excite me, and I am not convinced that Omir Santos is all of a sudden capable after being a career minor leaguer.

Here are the options:

Brad Ausmus (41)
Paul Bako (38)
Rod Barajas (34)
Josh Bard (32)
Michael Barrett (33) – club option
Henry Blanco (38)
Ramon Castro (34)
Sal Fasano (38)
Toby Hall (34)
Ramon Hernandez (34) – $8.5MM club option with a $1MM buyout
Jason Kendall (36)
Jason LaRue (36)
Victor Martinez (31) – $7MM club option with a $250K buyout
Bengie Molina (35)
Jose Molina (35)
Miguel Olivo (31) – $3.25MM mutual option
Mike Redmond (39)
Ivan Rodriguez (38)
Brian Schneider (33)
Yorvit Torrealba (31) – $4MM mutual option with a $500K buyout
Javier Valentin (34)
Jason Varitek (38) – $5MM club/$3MM player option plus incentives
Vance Wilson (37)
Gregg Zaun (39) – $2MM club option with a $500K buyout

I know what you are thinking. There isn’t much that makes you say, “I want him!” One guy who I think is an interesting case is a year older than Schneider, and that is current Reds’ backstop Ramon Hernandez. He currently is on the DL after having left knee surgery, but this is a guy who could be decent if he is in the right situation.

I believe he is capable of doing more with the bat than Schneider, and he has hit 20 homers or more twice in his career. He also has a .989 career fielding percentage, which is just .005 worse than Schneider. He is probably the best option if the Reds cut ties. And no, I didn’t ignore Victor Martinez, but he isn’t going anywhere. Not even worth acknowledging.

The next position that may need filling is first base, because Carlos Delgado’s contract is expiring. Initially, the thought seemed to be that Daniel Murphy would be the heir to the throne, but his bat has been inconsistent to say the least. The Mets need a guy there that hits higher than .240 and has some pop.

Let’s take a look at the options:

Rich Aurilia (38)
Russell Branyan (34)
Miguel Cairo (36)
Frank Catalanotto (36) – $5MM club option with a $2MM buyout
Tony Clark (38)
Carlos Delgado (38)
Nomar Garciaparra (36)
Ross Gload (34) – $2.6MM club option
Eric Hinske (32)
Nick Johnson (31)
Adam LaRoche (30)
Doug Mientkiewicz (36)
Kevin Millar (38)
Chad Tracy (30) – $7MM option with a $1MM buyout
Daryle Ward (35)
Dmitri Young (36) -$6MM option vests with 500 PAs in ’09

There’s really only one guy from this group who I think fits the mold, and that is Nick Johnson. I worry about what everyone does, and that is his health. This year, he has done everything to convince us that he is good to go, but I still have my reservations. He is a good hitter who gets on base, and his defense is stellar. But is he worth it?

Other guys who caught my eye are Adam LaRoche, who was just dealt to the Red Sox, and Chad Tracy. Neither guy has been in an ideal situation recently. Tracy fell out of favor after starting his D-Backs career out strong. He had back-to-back 20 homer seasons in ‘05 and ’06, but then he fell out of favor due to Mark Reynolds and his emergence. The Mets really aren’t in a place where they can afford to take chances.

LaRoche is interesting. First of all, he is still a Brave in my mind, and that bothers me a little, but this season has been a bit of a hiccup for him. He has consistently teetered around 20 homers and 85 RBI for the last four years, but those numbers are down. He also strikes out way too much, which makes me believe that the Mets will probably pass.

Do you think they make Delgado an offer to stay? I don’t think that is out of the realm of possibilities.

The last infield spot that needs to be filled is utility guy. Alex Cora is a free agent at season’s end, and he may as well retire.

Let’s see the options:

Ronnie Belliard (35)
Jamey Carroll (36)
Alex Cora (34)
Craig Counsell (39)
Mark DeRosa (35)
David Eckstein (35)
Jerry Hairston Jr. (34)
Orlando Hudson (32)
Akinori Iwamura (31) – $4.25MM club option with a $250K buyout
Adam Kennedy (34)
Felipe Lopez (30)
Mark Loretta (38)
Pablo Ozuna (35)
Placido Polanco (34)
Freddy Sanchez (32) – $8MM club option with a $600K buyout; vests with 600 PAs
Juan Uribe (31)
Orlando Cabrera (35)
Bobby Crosby (30)
Adam Everett (33)
Chris Gomez (39)
Alex Gonzalez (32) – $6MM mutual option with a $500K buyout
Khalil Greene (30)
John McDonald (35)
Marco Scutaro (34)
Miguel Tejada (36)
Omar Vizquel (43)
Jack Wilson (32) – $8.4MM club option with a $600K buyout

There are a few guys on this list who are intriguing, including DeRosa, Eckstein, Hudson, Lopez, Polanco, Cabrera, Crosby and Jack Wilson. But let’s go by process of elimination here. DeRosa, Hudson, Polanco and Lopez will most definitely land starting gigs somewhere, so there is no real reason to have them on the list. Jack Wilson rubs me the wrong way because he is terribly inconsistent.

That leaves us with David Eckstein, Orlando Cabrera and Bobby Crosby. I would think all are realistic targets. Let’s start with Crosby. It is amazing how his stock has fallen. After the 2004 season, you would’ve thought him to be untouchable. Now, he can probably be had for a bag of baseballs. Peter Gammons actually picked him to be the AL MVP in ’05, but that didn’t exactly materialize. He hasn’t hit more than nine homers in a season since.

Orlando Cabrera was a pivotal part to bringing a championship to Boston. He also fills the mold of a guy who Omar likes to pluck on the cheap. He is having a decent year, hitting at a .274 clip, and he still has some zip in his bat. The speed is declining and the power isn’t there, but he is a good backup. I wouldn’t mind if the Mets pulled the trigger on him.

My favorite option is Eckstein. I have always been a fan of his, and I was a bit disappointed when the Mets failed to sign him last off season. Eckstein is a gritty player who plays multiple positions. A career .283 hitter, Eckstein had his best seasons in 2002 and 2005, each of which he tallied eight homers and more than 61 RBI. That won’t happen with him being a part-timer, but we know he is capable.

Changes are coming to the infield, and the only constants will be Reyes, Wright and Castillo.

Omir Santos' homer of Pabelbon seems like the only time the Mets have beaten a closer. (PHOTO COURTESY OF NEWSDAY)

BY ANTHONY LAFAMAN
STACHE WRITER

Without looking this up, when was the last time the Mets came from behind to win a game after the seventh or eighth inning? Forget the ninth. They go down 1-2-3 faster than Prince Fielder eats a red devil cupcake.

This team has no comeback ability. No magic. Outside of Santos jumping on Papelbon’s first pitch fastball in Boston a couple of months ago I can’t remember them beating the opposite’s team closer at all this year.

That is sad. We are witnessing a lost season guys. My optimism is starting to tarnish and all it took was one Oliver Perez start.

Injury Update:

We’re screwed. Move it along, nothing to see here.

Beltran’s bone bruise is so deep they called Linda Lovelace’s corpse to suck it out. Reyes is running half-speed, sort of like how most Mets run the bases now. Maine hasn’t been healthy in about a year now. Delgado is taking live BP and fielding grounders but still targets mid August, right around the time the Mets we’ll be looking at a double digit deficit in the Standings.