Thoughts on the Mets

I’d bring Carlos Delgado back to the Mets if I were Omar Minaya, provided he appears healthy. He’s their best option at first, far better than Adam LaRoche, and he has a real presence in the lineup. He’s older, but he could probably be had for short term and it would allow the team to go hard at Matt Holliday to play left, which is a major need (Jason Bay would be a possible backup, though how he might fare in Citi Field worries me). The team also desperately needs a No. 2 starter and will be shopping in a weak market: Joel Pineiro, late of the Cardinals, seems like a fluke; Randy Wolf has too many injury questions to bring onto a staff with injury and consistency issues; Jason Marquis and Jon Garland are innings eaters, who would seem to be the best fits, but not only if the money is right.

Also on the radar, apparently, are Orlando Hudson (if the Mets can rid themselves of Luis Castillo) and Bengie Molina, who still has some gas in his tank but is not the player he was when he signed with the Giants three years ago.

In the best of all worlds, the Mets lineup would look like this:

  1. SS Jose Reyes
  2. 3B David Wright
  3. CF Carlos Beltran
  4. LF Matt Holliday
  5. 1b Carlos Delgado
  6. RF Jeff Francoer
  7. C Benie Molina
  8. 2b Orlando Hudson

Wright hitting second? Only because it seems silly to push Francoer to the seven spot. What I like about the structure of this lineup is its balance — 1, 3 and 5 are either swith hitters more comfortable as lefties or lefties, while 2, 4 and 6 are righties.

And yet, I just have this sense that the Mets will be running some mix of mediocrities out there in left and that Henry Blanco will be getting way too many at bats for the Mets to contend.

Email me at grassroots at comcast dot net.
Unknown's avatar

Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie.

One thought on “Thoughts on the Mets”

  1. No Daniel Murphy? He may not be good enough to be an every day 1st baseman, but I doubt the Mets will contend in 2010 anyway. I'd rather see him at 1st rather than spending on Delgado.Minaya's history of too much money and too many years (see contracts of Castillo and Perez) makes me afraid that he'll give too much money to Delgado and too many years to Molina.I'd rather see what Murphy can do and concentrate on improvements that will help them contend in 2011. Perhaps a good #2 starter becomes available at the trade deadline, that they can jump on, provided they have the resources to do so?

    Reply

Leave a comment