On the Mets beat

There are a lot of never going to happen, in pretty much everything that you suggested.

Posada is still decent, but just don't see him playing elsewhere. Besides who in the heck would the Yanks get instead?

Pettitte? No chance he wants to play for the Mets. Didn't he already say that while in Houston? He will do the Astro's again if in Texas.

Rivera? If he is not resigned, then he would sign with the Cubs, Philly (if they were smart they should do that), Atl. or Det.

Abreu option won't be picked up, he stinks and someone will over pay him like $12M to play for them. hopefully it won't be the mets.

Yeah, Torre worked out so well for the Mets the first time he managed them.

Pass.

Why put Arod at third and move Delgado in favor of Wright at first?

I'd sign ARod and place him at second. That's the Mets biggest hole and has been for two years (calling Kaz Matsui!!!!)

Delgado's "lame attitude"?

Surely you jest.

how about instead of a-rod to second, we put a-rod at third and put wright at second? wright would automatically join utley as the two best offensive second basemen in the game

Wright is already among the best offensive third basemen in the league. His defense will only get better, and I wouldn't want to mess with where he is - see Jose Reyes moving to 2nd in 2004. I'd much rather pass on A-Rod and all the drama that he would bring and make some serious moves to get a .300+ hitter into the outfield. With Wright, Delgado, Beltran and Alou, Mets will have plenty of pop, it's the consistent hitting that they've been lacking.

Save the 25+ mil/year (probably over the next 4 years) you would need to pay A-Rod for a #1 starter ($18-20mil/yr) and a #1 reliever ($10-12mil/yr). This chunk of change would get us some decent arms without giving anything up. A-Rod's 50 home runs and 140 rbi's won't make up for the 9-7 losses the Mets will have to endure all season long with the current pitching staff.

If the Mets sign A-Rod it is for one reason only: to play SS because Reyes is traded to Minn. for Santana.

the mets should take a look into trading everything they have to, short of jose reyes and david wright for jake peavy, he might be available with the padres track record of trading away players before their contracts get too expensive. Joe Blanton could be a possibility but he's no Jake Peavy, skip out on Dontrelle Willis i think something bigger is wrong with him, his production has gone way down and he could potentially be another Doc Gooden (see wasted potential). Really Johan Santana is not realistic simply for the fact that theyre throwing out Jose Reyes name in return and fiscally the mets cant afford that.

Sign A-Rod and play him at short, keep Wright at 3B and Trade Reyes to Tampa and get Kazmir back.....s

Maybe Torre would consider being Willie's bench coach. Could be fun.

you cannot trade reyes, its foolish and plain and simple dumb. hes signed to a long term deal that will pay him pennies comparatively with the ALLSTAR numbers he puts up. yes he had a bad couple months but ill take my 24 year old superstar shortstop on the rise over a 31 year old thatll cost about 30 mil or more a year. Kazmir would be great, god he'd be great but he's still young and not worthy of reyes, i think there are other pitchers, ala jake peavy, brandon webb, dan haren on the verge of free agency (08-09) whose teams will be looking to trade them because they cant afford them. we've got talent not named reyes or wright, have a little self respect and hold onto the only everyday guys worth a damn on your team.

something must be wrong with you people. there is no chance the mets would sign choke rod. of everything mentioned, the only possibility is posada. as far as reyes goes, i wouldnt trade him for anybody in baseball. his upside is far greater then anyone the mets could get in return including santana. do you realize that santana is a free agent at the end of the season. that means the mets could have their cake and eat it too. lets make some moves to get younger like get rid of glavine, move el duque to the pen and get a spot for humber or pelfry. in the offseason of next year, wilpon should open up his check book and lets sign santana and not trade for him. HE IS NOT WORTH WHAT JOSE REYES IS!!!!

Reyes has 2 bad months and you people forget how good he has been his whole time here. Let's get off his back, we are lucky to have him here. You'll be sorry when he is gone.

I think the hiring of Ricky Henderson had alot to do with Jose Reyes down turn late in the season.If the Mets want a mentor for Reyes,fine.But not an ego driven self centered jerk like Henderson.Is this really the type of player they want their young superstar to emulate?Did they learn nothing the first time around?

I don't want Torre, please!
Warts and all, Randolph is a million times more of a fit for these Mets than Torre would ever be. I want a young team, and getting ole Joe is a bad idea.
And any talk of trading away Reyes is beyond insanity.
This team would regret it more than possibly any other trade. Don't forget, Reyes is still very young; he had two bad months - that's it! And you can't blame the calamities that befell the team solely on him anyway. So, there's no need for panic and stupid trades.
Posada might be worth a look-see, but most definitely not "Axle Rod." We've got an infield, we need pitching, pitching, and more pitching.
The great meltdown of '07 was the by-product of a "juice-free" Mota, Wagner choking like Armando Benitez and even Heilman doing his part in that fiasco. Duaner Sanchez's return should help the pen, but here's hoping the Wilpons spend some money and get some top quality young pitching.

If the Mets trade Reyes for Santana, Reyes will take a step forward toward becoming a franchise player (he is only 24, four years away from his peak seasons), while one of three things (all bad) will happen to Santana: (1) he turns into the next Barry Zito, (2) he blows out his elbow, or (3) he decides he hates New York and signs with the Braves after the 2008 season.

As for Torre, I hate seeing a class act like him getting treated like garbage by Slimebrenner and his cronies. I would love to see Slimebrenner offer Torre one more season only to have Torre say "Take this job and shove it" and sign to manage the D-Rays, so Slimebrenner has to see him all year round in Tampa!

I wish some of you guys were in the las blog entitled the most hated team. Everyone in there kept making comments about Reyes. It was driving me nuts. I am glad to see that finally a group of people have come to there senses. Maybe we could all agree on one thing; Lets go Rockies!!!

David, what is wrong with W Matthews? Did a Wilpon beat him up at school (so hard to imagine)? Did Omar insult his family? He is a rabid dog; the entire department suffers by association. He sounds like a crazed, drunken Yankee fan. He was a hell of a writer back in the day. What made him the damaged goods we read today? Please keep in mind today's column is simply the latest edition. He vented and raged against the new stadium and everything else under the sun all year long.

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Dear Newsday:
It is time to fire wallace matthews.Yes the mets collapsed, but what has happened to the yankees over the last few seasons is just as bad if not worse . a payroll of millions of dollars after 2001 has brought humiliating losses to anaheim, florida, cleveland, and the classic choke job against boston in 2004. his journalism is unbalanced, irresponsible and sad. Please newsday. take the right steps,and fire wallace matthews.

if you have basic reading comprehension and read the article and English is not your second language ( 2 things that Met fans may not have) then you will see that everything in the article is based on facts. Deluca did get ejected from a critical game for arguing stikes, Reyes did dog it on the bases and even Met announcers Darling and Hernandez commented on the air how stupid Reyes was for picking a fight againt the Marlinas in game 161. then proceeded to fall behind by 7 runs in the 1st inning in game 162. No one outside of Flushing takes the Muts seriously, they Flushed away a season and like the 8-8 NFL Giants last year are still sitting at home telling themselves that they are better than the teams still playing. Mathews only error was that Mut fans don't want to hear and can't handle the truth.... a well written Factual article.... get over it kids. Part of growing up is admitting mistakes and trying harder next time. IN the Mets case that would be trying smarter also...

To the writer of the above post. Your lack of civility, grace,and sense are clearly apparent in your writings. You sound like a yankee fan. If you are, consider our team and yours even. Your team, in spite of a muti million dollar payroll has not gotten the job done since 2001 with the highlight being a classic choke in 2001. the mets choked this september. However all this this is a fact: Wallace Matthews is not a journalist. he is a wandering 'star' who never stays long wherever he is: be it the new york post, or talkradio.He has a personal axe to grind with the mets, flaws or not. As for the mets admitting mistakes the manager, gm and several players have been honest and open with what happened with this club,and for that I commend them. Your favorite team has blogs. go there please.

Dear Newsday..it is time to let the 'wandering star' wallace matthews, wander into another job. He is making a once great newspaper a mockery

Good article, overall. Yes, maybe we can hit the Hot Stove League a little early this year. I thought of the A-Rod over Delgado thing too, but had A-Rod moving to first, not David. They both have problems in the field, periodically. But Torre, Posada, and Pettit? No thanks. I'll keep Randolph, Castro, and I don't think Pettite has any interest in the Mets. But there are probably some Yanks I'd like to see in Shea next year.... but they aren't going anywhere (Cabrera, Cano, Hughes)

Thinking outside of the box why not talk to Joe about the GM job. He is not a great game manager but an excellent judge of character. Kind of important right now. The biggest problem might be the financial side of the job. He was a union rep but that was many moons ago. He is a loyal guy and might not want to take over for Willie. Joe as GM would have Willie's back. The players would know you could not run around saying things to upper management. Willie was doing fine until he started having upper management enemies this year. I can not know what Torre really feels inside but if the Yanks are foolish to fire him the Mets would be just as foolish to not make a very serous effort to find a mutually beneficial position in the Mets organization for this guy.

He has never shown an inkling of the skills that a GM is required to master. A roving Special Asst role is the only thing he is suited for off field. The Yanks figure to offer him that. Additionally, I have no interest in buying Yankees, regardless of the quality of their character. We are not them, should never attempt to be.

Get Dan Haren. If you have to trade Milledge or Gomez, do it!

Check this argument:

http://blogs.msg.com/gameon/2007/10/shea-hey-to-a-r.html

The same people that are down on J. Reyes now are the same ones that wanted to trade him when he came up. You do NOT trade a shortstop like that unless you get a position superstar back, NOT a pitcher. Mets should go with young pitchers and keep moving them up. Not old retreads.

Also with above comment. DO NOT trade Gomez. He has speed and defense. His hitting will come around. He should steal 40 bases with Mets if he plays all year.

I disagree,Gomez has only one of the five tools.He's not a great hitter,has little or no power,doesn't have a great arm and is only average in the field.If the Mets can package Gomez and some prospects for a guy like Harden,then I think they should do it.Especially now that Tom Glavine won't be back.

looks like the Mets have a candidate for a new coach

PLEASE..... No Glavine.....
No Mota.....No Delgado.......No
trading Reyes.... no getting A-Rod..... No Torre......

YES to Starting Pitchers
Yes to Young Pitchers
Yes to Relievers

As for coaching changes, here's one. Get rid of rickey, obviously, and our bench coach Manuel. Hire Mazilli as the new bench coach. He has fire and can be the anti-Wille, as far as emotion goes, and kick butt.

If there is anything which has been proven in this years' postseason is the (heavy) premium put on pitching. With that said, the Mets need to make a concerted effort to land J. Santana from the Twins. To those who follow the game closely, should be aware of the Twins (tenured) fiscal baseball operations practice. Coupled with what will in all probability be a host of suitors for Santana's services, will be the need to present affordable, quality players to secure the services for Santana.

If the Mets are to be real players in the Santana sweepstakes it's going to have to start with Reyes. And from viewing a majority of the posts from this blog, an unpopular choice at that. But again considering the above mentioned, affordable, quality. Reyes fits the criteria to a tee. Coupled with Pelfrey and or Humber and or Perez and or Milledge would represent an attractive package to the Twins as well the fan base that would be losing a perennial CY Yong award candidate. The Mets could then boost one of the strongest starting rotations in baseball: J. Santana, P. Martinez, J. Maine, and one of the above not included in the Santana trade. How would this look in a 5-7 game series? A trade of this magnitude would have to be beneficial for both ballclubs, in this case it would. This may or may not be viewed as steep. But there is already talk out of Boston that they would be prepared to offer for Santana: C. Buckholtz ('07 no-hitter), J. Lester (fully recovered from cancer), C. Hensen ('06 1st. rd. pick) and their top-rated infield positional player. As mentioned there will be a host of other teams ready to pony up top players and or prospects to get Santana. I'm hopeful Minaya has the vision, guts, to make this trade! A wonderfully gifted ss, phone to enigmatic, immature behavior for probably the best pitcher in baseball?? - You do it in a heartbeat!

Ed A, do you even watch the game??? Gomez possesses each of the criterias for the term, 5-Tool player. He maybe the highest rated player in the entire organization. Him and D. Wright are probably the only untouchables in the organization.

Sean, you are an idiot. I am not just saying that because if you read Marty Noble on the Mets website, he would tell you the same. You do not consider trading Reyes for Santana unless they through in Mauer or Morneau. Enough from everybody about trading the most dynamic player the Mets have ever had in team history...
Go Rockies!!!!!

Hey, scottie-tissue, wipe marty's love juice off your face! I didn't know marty was the new g.m. Like his opinion matters.
Jerk-off, don't waste my time replying to my posts!!!!!!!

Oh yeah, I am sorry that I offended you great master. I will not respond to your posts because I am so scared of you and wasting your time. Go back to your job making $8 per hour and use your power trip on someone who cares what you think. Your an idiot like I said and the proof is you wanting to trade Reyes for someone who will be a free agent. If we wait genious, then we can have both of them and it wont cost anything. Hows that for novel thinking you moron.

Why not trade Reyes and, Delgado or Gomez for Santana (hands down the best lefty in the game.)Please get off the young player kick, Reyes is great but A-Rod is legendary. Does anyone recall A-Rod played a majority of his time in the bigs at short and I believe he might have won a gold glove. Reyes could never live up to the type of player A-Rod is. Also believe me the Mets have the money that is a fact. Bring Torre to The Mets are you people serious? He couched other teams and stunk. For 8 years he has done no good for the yanks. Yeah I know four championships but who couldn't have won with the teams he had. Sometimes I wonder if he is even awake in the dugout.

I'm a long time Mets fan. The Mets can do 2 things: 1) Bring in A-Rod (the only Yankee we can use), put him at first base & dump Delgado -- don't mess with the left side of the infield. Jose Reyes may have had a bad second half this past season, but by far he is going down in history as the greatest leadoff hitter this team has ever had. 2) Hire Tom Seaver as pitching coach and dump Rick Peterson. Make Seaver an offer he can't refuse. It amazes me that Seaver doesn't have a MLB gig (apart from the Hall of Fame Veterans' Committee). I think he understands the mental & mechanical aspects of pitching far better than Peterson or any other pitching coach the Mets can find.

'm a long time Mets fan. The Mets can do 2 things: 1) Bring in A-Rod (the only Yankee we can use), put him at first base & dump Delgado -- don't mess with the left side of the infield. Jose Reyes may have had a bad second half this past season, but by far he is going down in history as the greatest leadoff hitter this team has ever had. 2) Hire Tom Seaver as pitching coach and dump Rick Peterson. Make Seaver an offer he can't refuse. It amazes me that Seaver doesn't have a MLB gig (apart from the Hall of Fame Veterans' Committee). I think he understands the mental & mechanical aspects of pitching far better than anyone else the Mets could bring in.

'm a long time Mets fan. The Mets can do 2 things: 1) Bring in A-Rod (the only Yankee we can use), put him at first base & dump Delgado -- don't mess with the left side of the infield. Jose Reyes may have had a bad second half this past season, but by far he is going down in history as the greatest leadoff hitter this team has ever had. 2) Hire Tom Seaver as pitching coach and dump Rick Peterson. Make Seaver an offer he can't refuse. It amazes me that Seaver doesn't have a MLB gig (apart from the Hall of Fame Veterans' Committee). I think he understands the mental & mechanical aspects of pitching far better than Peterson does.

Great post, Brad L! Can't tell how good it is to see some intelligence displayed on this blog! I am also in agreement that in order to secure Santana, Reyes would in all probability have to be included in the package. And though I would also include Delgado in the deal the Twins have had a long-time fiscal budget practice. Additionally, their current 1B, Justin Morneau was the league's M.V.P. in '06. Coupled with he's a year or two away from salary arbitration, making for a very attractive player for a fiscally conscience organization.

As I've posted in the past a package centering around Reyes and including Milledge and one of the young pitchers, Humber, Pelfrey, Perez, would present a very competitive, attractive offer for the Twins who will in all certainty have a host of suitors for Santana's services. This is strengthened by last night’s dominating performance from Josh Beckett for Boston. The name of the game for over 100yrs. is PITCHING. Especially in the postseason. The Twins are no dummies, they’re going to have to be knocked off their feet to consider trading arguably the best pitcher in the game today. As well as demonstrating to their fan base they’re getting equal or close to equal value in return. Another thought is Reyes based on his considerable skills could limit the amount of additional players needed to be added to the package. He could be viewed as a franchise type player though based on his ’06 second half the jury is still out. At the end of ’06 his stock had plummeted from being the top SS in the NL to arguably the 4th. best SS in the NL East alone behind H. Rollins, H. Ramirez and E. Renteria.

Clearly, Reyes is a fan favorite and would be tough to trade him. But a look at some recent trades of star / impact players shows that equal value must be exchanged. Boston getting Beckett required the above mentioned H. Ramirez (.322 BA, 212 hits, 125 runs scored) and Annabel Sanchez (’06 no-hitter). Atlanta had to give up their 2 top-rated minor league positional players to obtain M. Teixeira. At this year’s trading deadline Boston gave up 2 blue-chip prospects to obtain E. Gagne to strengthen an already dominant bullpen. Like the saying goes, ‘You’ve got to give to get’.

Now I thought this was clear even to the most casual of fans but was surprised by the STUPIDITY of one of the posters from this site claiming “why trade away a franchise player for Santana when he becomes a FA after the ’08 season??.” “This way we’ll have both players and it won’t cots us anything!!” There is this simple process known as a proposed suitor being given a 2-3wk. window to negotiate a long-term contract with the acquiring player. COMMON SENSE! Minaya certainly doesn’t give up a possible franchise player(s) without first getting Santana signed long-term! And at 150MM for 6-7yrs. the probable cost for a long-term contract, I certainly wouldn’t term this “for nothing”. Utterly, shocking one wouldn’t be aware of this!

The Mets could then boast a formidable starting rotation of: J. Santana, P. Martinez, J. Maine and one not included in the above proposed deal. With this pitching-heavy rotation the Mets can afford to have Anderson Hernandez take over at SS. A light hitter but more importantly a very sound fielder. Think the pitching staff would appreciate that?? You bet’ cha!

The deal works for both sides. The Mets get an ace to anchor their staff and the Twins get affordable young players with a lot of upside. Add to that their young phenom Francisco Liriano is on schedule to ready to go for spring training ’08.

Wow, thanks for the book Sean. Now lets look at the facts. Anibal Sanchez has been terrible since his no hitter. The braves traded there top prospect because they have Mccan who is only a couple years older then Simontacci. That Gagne trade has worked out really well for the Sox right? And even though the Mets would have 2 weeks to talk to Santana, most agents are smart enough to know that you will get more money if there are other suitors for a player like Santana. Dont be such an idiot and think that Santana would sign without going through the free agency period. Like I have said, trading Reyes is as dumb a move as there gets. Now go back to stocking shelves at Path Mark...

Poor, Scottie-tissue! Don't worry we're in the 21st. century. You can always get Minny games on satellite TV. to watch your hero Reyes! While Mets fans will watch the start of a dynasty! Funny, you selectively address certain players of the trades I mentioned, of course when it benefits you. But I'm not sure you fully comprehended the point I was making which was to demonstrate that in order to acquire all-star caliber players one has got to give equal or near equal value. I guess you'd like to trade D. Newhan straight up for Santana! Another of your dim light points is about a player's agent steering his client to FA. So, I guess C. Zambrano's agent did him a disservice by advising him to re-up with the Cubbies at 17MM for 6yrs. instead of testing the FA market??? Zito set the market last year for 'ace' pitchers, 7yrs. 126MM. How much does Santana, arguably the best pitcher in the game demand??? Say, 150-175MM over 6-7yrs.??? I think that's what I proposed in my post. But according to dim-light Scottie his agent should steer him towards FA. Yeah, because the market will yield more??? Highly unlikely.

Santana gets a chance to play for a perennial contending team in the media capital of the world with one of the largest Latin populations and throw in the 'little' 25-27MM annual salary and he turns that down??

Gotta get back to packing bags at Wal-Mart!

Sean,

The only thing that I would disagree with concerning your post is the length of the contract should the Mets get Santana. Even though he's in his prime, the going trend for pitcher's contracts now may be no more than 4 years. There have been some teams that have gotten burned with long contracts for pitchers.
That being said, I would love for the Mets to get him, but there's a lot of work that needs to be done with this staff.

Continue to show your ignorance sean. You have shown us all that more people need to attend college. The only person that I "selectively" forgot was Hanley Ramirez. He is great and I bet that if it wasnt for Becketts' great post season, the Red Sox would have to reconsider that trade. Julio Lugo is total crap and Hanley could win the MVP. Johan Santana is a great pitcher but, he might not even be the best on his team. When I read people saying that a rotation of Santana, Martinez and Maine would be a great 1,2,3 I truley laugh. Pedro has not pitched a full season with the Mets since he has been here. We would be lucky if we have him for a total of 1/2 a season next year. Maine is a good pitcher and a descent #3 guy. But, you lose your leadoff guy, stolen base guy and potential gold glove guy. Just out of curiousity, how many all star games has Santana started? Answer; not as many as Reyes. Have fun watching football today. Oh wait, you cant. No TV at the supermarket...

Gerald, I'm in total agreement with you with regard to the length of the contract. Though, it's the (baseball) economic landscape we live in. I would hate for the length of contract to be a deal-breaker. With Boston winning the WS last nite this could be 1 less team in the running for Santana, which is good for the Mets! Also, with Santana coming to the NL it will automatically mean less innings pitched, thus, less fatigue on the arm due to no DH in the NL.

Scottie-Tissue, stop rambling. You're sooooo love-struck for Reyes it's clouding your judgment. The inclusion of Reyes in a deal for Santana would vaunt the Mets to the top of the list of potential suitors for Santana. There is no other team who could put a package together blending all-star caliber players (Reyes) with blue-chip prospects (Humber and or Pelfrey and or Perez and or Milledge). As well as having the financial resources to sign Santana long-term. Again, Dim-Light the reference of the trades was not the results (player stats) but the type of players needed in order to make the trade work for both sides. Didn't they teach you that at Harvard??? I'm not sure if you saw Martinez's 4 Sept. starts. They were ALL solid - less than a year removed from MAJOR shoulder surgery. He's poised to have a big year in '08! Somehow you did get something right with Maine. Solid #3 starter who's only going to get better.

What on earth is the reference for Santana starting an all-star game???? That must mean he's a scrub? Yeah, let's throw this by the experts whose consensus opinion is Santana is arguably the best pitcher in the game!

To allay your concerns with the lead-off spot. That would fall to Castillo who just had surgery to clean-up cartilage in his right knee. Do you know Dim-Light, who has the better OBP??? Castillo by at least 20 percentage points! As well, Castillo has a better stolen base% than Reyes. He won't be as prolific as Reyes in the number of steals but will be more successful when attempting steals. Reyes who has been in the league as a full time player for 4 yrs. and still gets picked off base with regularity. A real concern for someone who steals as often as he does. It’s clearly an indication of his lack of focus, maturity and mastering his trade. Teaming up with Carlos Gomez (if he hits), the Mets would have a dynamic 1,2 hitters at the top of the lineup. Gomez may be the fastest player in the game today. And lastly, as long as Omar Vizquel is in the league the only gold Reyes will have is the one he wears around his neck.

You people tend to forget how good Reyes really is. He better not get traded. Geez, the guy has 2 bad months and let's all of a sudden get rid of him. He is still one of the most dynamic players in the game, and any team would love to have him. Wake up.

Wallace Matthews should stick to writing about boxing.

Wake up??! You need to go back to sleep or crawl back under the rock you came from. No one questions the considerable talent of J. Reyes. But his immaturity and loss of focus does raise concerns. And I'm not sure if one can attribute this to youth as one only need to looks a few feet to Reyes' right and see D. Wright who is about the same age as Reyes and has NEVER been characterized as being immature. As I've mentioned in prior posts it will be hard to trade a player like Reyes for all that he brings to the table everyday but in the interest of winning (especially in the postseason) it's going to take this type of player (Reyes) to get Santana. After this years WS think Boston has any regrets over giving up their (at the time) highest-rated positional player in SS H. Ramirez for Beckett??? H. Ramirez who incidentally had a far superior statical year than Reyes. Who could develop into a franchise player. Who, Boston then had to settle for J. Lugo playing a serviceable at best SS. Think there's any regrets?? NO, of course.

Realistic Mets Fan,

Thank you. I am so tired of the bag boy making his stupid comments. This argument is so dumb. If David Wright had as bad of an August and September as he did in April and May he would be calling for Wright to be traded for Santana. What the shmuck fails to understand is that Santana will be a free agent. The Mets have this wonderful history of losing big free agents (Mike Hampton). As for his argument about Pedro and his 4 starts, you have got to be kidding me. Let me remind him that HE ONLY HAD 4 STARTS LAST YEAR. I love Pedro but dont count on him being there for a full season. Johan Santana is great but he would be much better with Reyes winning gold gloves behind him.

I dont even want to be a met

You make an argument without presenting substantiated facts, non-sensical comments ALL in an effort to demonstrate your underlying LOVE for J. Reyes.

You're pathetic an embarrassment as a Mets fan. Let's see you Dec. 3-6th. Winter Meetings. That's when Omar swings the deal. YOU better hope he doesn't land Santana for your Lover, Reyes. He does, I'll bury you! CERTIFIABLE RETARD!

You don't trade Reyes for AT LEAST another 3 years. Pitchers are just too fragile to bank one of your most exciting players on. So stop this Reyes for Santana nonsense.

I hate the Yankees.

For all those people crying of what it would take to bring Alex to Queens think about it. Let's say 26 to 30 million is the asking price. Take Shawn Greens, Tom Glavines, half of Carlos Delgado salary away via trade and how much do you save... 24 Million? Just by jettising these salaries and you can't afford him?

How can you not afford him is the question? How can you not use his offense? New Stadium..... What's going to be your big draw there?

For a team with no Veteran Leadership... and don't give me any crap about Beltrance of Delgadon't being a leader in that club house... Something is needed to shake things up in there and you cannot count on "Clueless Willie" period. Who the SHOULD have fired, and replaced by Jarmirillo the hitting coach from Texas I believe... but thats another issue.

Things were SAID about how "disappointed" the upper management was about the collaspe as people put it, Now someone needs to DO something about it!

If you get the best offensive threat, then go out and acquire the Most Dominate Lefty Starter in Santana. You would have to clear out all your young players and you'd have to Put young lefty swinging outfielder Fernando Martinez in right field and see if he's ready for the Jump from Double AA ball.

The only benefit that I really see in acquiring both players is that they are in the Prime of their careers. I think 31 and 30 respectivly. Each has 4 outstanding years ahead of them.

Being that you've now cleared out the farm system, you'd have to try and acquire either Dontrelle in 08 or Kazmir in 09 in free agency to shore up the pitching staffs.

A lineup of Reyes ss, Castillo 2b, Wright 1b, Rodriquez 3b, Beltran cf, Alou lf, F.Martinez rf, Castro C. Along with a staff of Santana, Maine, P.Martinez, O.Perez, ElDuqe with a healthy Duaner Sanchez & Burgouss along with Feliciano, Smith & Wagner isn't so bad

???

On a side note: The players you would have to send to Minnesota for J.Santana are: L.Milledge, C.Gomez, A.Heilman, R.Gotay, P.Humber & M.Pelfery. Twins need AAA prospects and low salaried players in order to be intrested in any trade involving J.Santana.

The Fan, I agree with you for the most part. Especially with regard to Santana and what should have been certain the firing of the manager!

Though, the list of players you've proposed lacks proven major league experience. Probably a certainty for the Twins considering there will be a host of suitors lined up to acquire him. As well, that's ALOT of blue-chip talent! If you were to insert J. Reyes into the equation for one the number of players going in the package would save on the fleecing of the farm system dramatically. Say, Reyes and Perez or Humber or Pelfrey. Secondly, this package would probably represent the best offer any of the other suitors could put together. Blending all-star caliber player (Reyes) with blue-chip talent. Before Boston won the WS this year there were reports that they were going to be active players in the Santana sweepstakes and was prepared to offer C. Buckholtz ('07 no-hitter), J. Lester (successful return from cancer) C. Hansen ('06 1st. round pick) and their highest-rated positional infielder. Again, there will be stiff competition for Santana' services. The Mets are going to have to trump ALL offers and using Reyes as the centerpiece for a trade 'trumps' the offer.

If like you've suggested they sign A-Rod obviously he's a natural fit to replace Reyes at SS. Though, I think it's unlikely the Mets will take on that financial burden. Super Agent Boras is asking for 30MM per for 10yrs. If we're successful in acquiring Santana he's a FA in '09. If Zito got 126MM over 7yrs. how much do you think Santana's price tag will be? For arguably the best pitcher in the game. 150MM over 5-6yrs.??? That's roughly 450MM or 64% of the total value of the franchise. If the Mets decide against signing A-Rod they have fine-fielding player in A. Hernandez who granted hasn't yet shown to be a good hitter but will catch everything hit his way. Certainly a plus for the pitching staff. L. Castillo slides into the lead-off spot (higher OBP, caught stealing %'s than Reyes).

D. Wright and C. Gomez should be the only untouchables in the franchise.

Well, if you insist on trading Reyes in a package for J.Santana... then you would have to find a lead off hitter. And the only player I would like to replace him with is Carl Crawford. He's a free agent after this year... so. I know, I know, they already S.Kazmir, but thats neither here nor there at this point. You'd have to take Milledge, Gotay and Pelfrey off that list for Santana and use them for Crawford. Then its Crawford, Castillo, Wright, Rodriquez, Beltran, Alou, F.Martinez and Castro. Still pretty good but your payroll in 2009. Jesus... 150 Million?

Oops i forgot. LOL.. You'd have to put Alou at 1st base... hahahaha... Delgado has to be traded peroid. Crawford in right and Fernando Martinez in left. oopiess my bad.
P.S. Alou can't be anyworse than Delgado at 1st, that shouldn't be a concern for anyone.