The Nationals, as they said they would during the actual season, have let Chad Cordero walk (essentially let him walk, they offered him a AAA contract, and he said no thanks). Cordero, before injury was amazing. He was a great closer, he was young, and still is young, and he had good stuff. He is coming off of a tough injury, which has teams a little iffy on him. The Mets have tried to trade for him before, so what about now?

I say go get him. He's a bargain right now and we don't need him to be a closer. We need another 7th or 8th inning guy, and Cordero could easily bring that into the bullpen. I think that signing Cordero, especially if he is cheap, would be a great pick up for the bullpen. Before we look at Cordero's numbers remember Bradford? When the Mets made that signing before 2006, there were a lot of question marks about him, he was coming off of an injury, and the Mets knew what they would do with him and he was great with the Mets. He then went to the Orioles who overpayed him and and didn't use him correctly in 2007 (but he rebounded with a good 2008).

In the height of his carear thus far, between 05 and 07, he had an ERA of 1.82, 3.19 and 3.36. During that time he had 47, 29 and 37 saves. One thing the injury he had cannot hold stop is his pitching mentality. He is mentally tough. So, as you can probably tell from reading this, I am a Cordero fan, and think he would be a great 7th inning guy, depending on how he is recovering from his injury (even if he has to stay a bit in the minors and make his resurgence in 2010, that wouldn't be a problem either, Cordero is a good pickup).

Today was the start of the offseason and already we have deals being made (the most notable deal of the day of course would be the Jacobs trade, but thats for a discussion at another time), the Mets made their first signing of the offseason by signing Fernando Tatis to a one year deal.

This was a good move for the Mets start of the season. If he wasn't injuried the last two weeks, things might have gone differently for the Mets. A lot of people claim that it was jus thte 17 games left in the season curse again, but if you look at the roster at that time, that was the same time that Tatis went out for the entire season. The Mets don't need him to play everyday, they don't need him to be the big bat always, but coming off of the bench he is crucial. We need his bat in the late innings to bring in the W's in the book.

I don't think he will have a great as a season as he did this year where he really made a great comeback. But this was a step in the right direction. He's good on the bench, he's a good back up player, and most of all, he is a well liked player in New York. The boo birds do not boo Tatis because he delivers. And now he will be delivering in 2009.

With the Phillies win in the World Series last night, we can finally put the 2008 season behind us, and open up the 08-09 offseason. The moment we have been waiting for a month has arrived as the teams are getting ready to wheel and deal and set the rosters for 09. We have already seen click snippits of some of the big stories for this offseason but as they stand now these are the offseason prizes to be had. Who will win these derbys? Only time can tell.
     1) CC Sabbathia
     2) Fransisco K-Rod Rodriguez
     3) Mark Texeria
     4) Manny Ramierez
     5) Brian Fuentes
     6) Jake Peavy (trade)
     7) Prince Fielder (trade)
     8) Matt Holiday (trade)
Those are some of the big story lines. But there are also plenty of others that will be thrown around. As of now, it seems unlikely that Burrel will stay with the Phillies (depending what they offer), Jacobs is possibly close to be traded to Kansas City, where will other great players like Lowe, Pudge, and Sheets go?. According to MLBtraderumors.com, there are 31 type A free agents this year and 35 type B's. Will any Japanese Players cross over the Majors this year? Which teams will go for a fire sale? Which teams will open the bank? Let the offseason derby begin!

I looked at some new pictures of Citi Field today, and the stadium looks amazing. It looks modern, it is starting to get nice details, it looks like there a ton of video boards, and it looks very cozy. If I was going to an away game, I would be amazed at the stadium, it would be the highlight of the trip, even if the Mets won (assuming that the Mets were the road team).

But what about it being a home game?

I have been very excited for a while when I heard the Mets were getting a new stadium. But something hit me hard today when I was looking at the pictures. The stadium isn't home. I never really relized how much of Shea I tied with the Mets, especially considering I have aways been an away fan. I am hoping, and I know, that by the time season starts, Citi will start to feel like home.

The reason this is hitting home to me in a different way is the camp that I went to for many years as a child, and went back last year as a Counselor, has gone through huge changes. The Bunks that have been around for over 50 years are all being knocked down this week and at one end its exciting for something new, but there is sad feeling when you know a huge part of tradition gets cut out. Bringing the apple back to Citi is a great way to bring some tradition back to life. So, here's to looking forward to new traditions starting next year and to making home games feel like home (Luckily for us, the biggest factor of being "home" is the fans, so we will make Citi home).

The closer free agent market is pretty limited to just K-Rod and Fuentes, but there are a good number of closers that can be acquired based on trade. Is that right way to go? My gut inclination right now is just screaming NO.

The Players we would acquire through trade would make us have to trade more of our young talent away, and I know that most of the time young stars don't pan out but there is something to be said about having young players on the team. Young stars, the stars that are not making the big bucks yet, play with a fire, with an intensity to stay in the big leagues. Dan Murphy energized this club this year. We need Veterans for the clubhouse, but we need young blood to make shockwaves in the lineup and rotation.

The other big reason for this is the Braves are on the verge of a ton of good, talented young players to spring up from their farm system and onto the field. The Marlins always seem to be doing this, and is why they are a good scrappy, hard nose team (apparently now Jacobs is now on the trading  block to get more young players). If we don't trade our farm system, this could be us in a season or too, we could have our core players still, because they will still be signed through, and have exciting young players like Fmart, Murphy, Parnell, Niese, Bolt, and Flores. I'm not saying they all will make it, but I think its time to test the draftees of the Minaya effort.

The other case against trading for a closer is that Fuentes (because K-rod is a bit too expensive) is better than the closers on the market. And thats really the main thing, if we can buy the better part, and in the loing run, the money spent could be cheaper than the talent loss in a trade, then on an economic and on a team building level, signing Fuentes is the right move for the Mets organization to make.

First off, Lower cost is relative. This solution guide is basically the other path to go instead of signing one (or two, but doubtful) of KRod, CC, and Manny. There are three other names that seem to be good fits for the Mets. I'm talking of course about Derrick Lowe, Fuentes, and Hudson.

Why Lowe over CC? CC is amazing, he is an ace. Can we afford another ace? We have one, but our pockets might not able to shell out for another. To get anything else this offseason would mean that we would have to trade from our already light farm system that we just started to rebuild. Lowe is a solid starter, and thats what the Mets need, just another solid starter.

Why Fuentes over Krod? They are both good, and we will save money on Fuentes over Krod. The goal is to save money because we want to be able fix the most issues in one offseason as we can, because for the msot part, we are ready to win now, just need a few more pieces, which leads to why Hudson? A lot of people are talking about the Floyd void, and I believe in that. They need a strong voice in the clubhouse that keeps the team going, and Hudson is that. The challenge with Hudson is then dumping Castillo.

The team that seems most active, at least in the rumor mill, for the Peavy trade is the Atlanta Braves. Can the Braves do this though? I read earlier today on mlbtraderumors.com a list of untouchable Braves, and I don't think a trade for Peavy can get done without these players being involved.

A few of the players that jumped off the page where Jason Heyward and Tommy Hanson, with Jordan Schafer and Gorkys Hernandez close to untouchable. Why is this a big deal? Well first off, in my personal opinion, I think Hernandez could be ready to play in the bigs next year. Earlier this year I was at a Frederick Keys game against the High A league team for the Braves and Hernandez was playing and he is all he is cracked up to be. He has a great swing, he hit several doubles in the game. He also made a few great plays out in Centerfield. I know he is a big piece in the Braves Machine (and could be dangerous for teams playing against the Braves). All of the other players are amazing too.

Peavy is amazing at pitching. A trade should demand at least one of these untouchables and Escobar in my opinion. If I was the GM of the Braves, I do not make this trade. The Braves pitching staff with Glavine, Smoltz, etc, is aging (or retiring). I think its more important for the Braves to cool it for a year, because the farm system that is boiling underneith is scary if you are not a Braves fan. I would wait, I would let the Phillies, and the Mets trade away their prospects, and then be in a position to set up another winning streak in a few seasons.

That being said, its becoming more evident in my mind that the Mets sihouldn't do much by trade this year, they need to build up some players to finish off their youth movement, but thats a topic for another day. 

As we approach the end of the month, the first round of bidding on Shea memorabilia will end on MLB Auctions, and the prices for items, some items you just wouldn't initially think as popular, have skyrocketed. There used to be a collection of items up for a flat fee, but they disappeared quickly (mainly being Shea Bricks for 50 and Outfield walk bricks for 100) and those were the cheapest items really up for bid. Here are some of the highlights:

The Mets Ketchup/Mustard holder (big plastic black thing with the Mets logo on it), right now there are 17 bids on it, and it is at 485 dollars. I just never thought of that being a popular item, but it is. (It actually takes me back to this summer though when my Mom and I went to a game and she pointed out how even the condiment holders have the Mets logos on it, remember, living in Baltimore, we are not used to seeing our team logos, everywhere).

The yearbook covers in general are surprising to me. They are all well over 300 dolloars and the only thing that makes them different than finding the actual ones is that they were hangining in the executive office.

For over 750 dollars, you can get the menu board at some of Shea's best eats. I really like this idea, its an interesting piece of Mets history (of course its more modern history than some of the other peices that you can get).

If you are interested in checking out the auction, check it here. Check around the other auctions too, I found a Pedro Feliciano game used World Baseball Classic Locker Tag for 25, which is very very cheap in comparision to the other items being acutioned (for example, most game used balls are at least 50, and there is only one locker tag, so its monetary value they demand sometimes doesn't make sense).

Yesterday, I expressed my concerns about Kunz because of an inning where a manager allowed Kunz to stay in the game for one out and allow 8 runs. I was worried that type of performance would carry over to his next one (and possibly for a while, because that is the type of outing that scars a player for a while).

Well he pitched yesterday and the verdict was...He did fine. He pitched an inning very similar to all of the other innings he has pitched this season besides that bad outing. He allowed no hits, no runs, no walks in an inning pitched and struck out a batter. Bringing his season total to 3 walks and 5 K's over 5.1 innings. I also forgot to mention yesterday that he has 2 saves this fall as well. So, it looks like he was able to put that bad outting behind him, lets see if he can keep going.

A while ago, I wrote an entry about how we do not have a rivalry with the Phillies. If you ask me that question again today I will stick with my answer that we do not. However, the Phils have been doing a few things as of late that are really starting to press, not that we have a rivalry but just things that aren't right. The best way I can explaine it is referring to last weeks South Park episode, if you didn't see it, two characters got into an argument, they were about the fight, but one charater gets detention on purpose to get out of the fight, tells his mom about the fight (not the whole story, just the part that makes him look good) and the other character (I forget her name) can't fight Cartmen now because her parents would ground her. No one believes her at school, and Cartmen just rubs the entire situation in her face, he has already won, but he won't stop showing off the situation to her face.

That is what is going on now. Ok Phils, you won the division, congrats but you are doing two things in particular that go so far outside of bad sportsmanship, it makes me cry inside for image you portray. The first would be Victorino mocking Reyes after a home run by putting his finger in the air as he ran around the bases, and then posting that picture in their locker room with the tagline "Jose Reyes". That is beyond picking on a team, that is attacking a single player. Its wrong and its really outside of what a professional sports team should be doing. There is no reason to be doing that right now either. The Mets aren't in the postseaon, you can drop that stuff now. If you are to do it, save it for when we can still play against you. Its like pushing the kid that can't push back, its cowardly.
The other thing is not so much bad sportsmanship, but it still makes my blood get hot and boil. The Phillies have adopted "Ya Gotta Believe". Thats our saying! We did that. If I see a Phillies fan chant that around campus I might just go off on them because thats not their saying!.

All this being said, my frustrations shining through, I still don't think we have a rivalry with them, if they start to suck, I really won't care about them so much, but I will always care about beatting the Braves.

The AFL has been going on a couple weeks now, so it seems like a good time to update the progress of our players out west. Lets start out with the player that we are looking at the most, especially with the full force of the offseason around the corner, Dan Murphy. Murphy has played in 7 games so far this fall with 25 AB, he has a BA .440 with 11 hits, 10 runs, 2 doubles, a homer, 7 RBI, and 8 BB (which makes his OBP .559!). This is amazing. Murphy, thus far, has continued his great run from the start of the season and will hopefully bring this streak with him to New York next season. This also further adds to the the offseason options. Does he stay in the OF? Does he move to 2B? Does he move to 1B? It gives the Mets a lot of options depneding on how the offseason plays out.

Bowman has also been putting together a good fall with his .345 BA over 7 games and 29 AB. He has 6 runs, 10 hits, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 7 RBI's and 2 walks. This is surprising, but good surprising. Lets see if this continues throughout the fall. Thole is starting to hit now as he has recently brought his BA up to .250, which is the result of 3 hits in 12 trips.

On the mound side, the Mets have been represented pretty well. Kunz's first 4 outings were very nice, as he went 4 innings, allowed 3 hits, walked 2 and struck out 4. However, his stats balooned in his last outing which lasted one out and saw Kunz allow 8 runs. I don't know how to read that. I think its important to see how he reacts his next time out. I don't know how a manager leaves a pitcher in that long for that to happen, it can be scaring, so lets hope he gets over that and remembers how good he has been in all of his other outings. Parnell has only had two outings where he has pitched 2.1 innings, and allowed 2 runs over all. In his first outing, he lasted one inning and allowed no runs, in his last outing, he lasted 1.1 innings and allowed 2 runs. He has struck out a total of 4 batters during that time. Stoner has had a lot of innings in the AFL so far, 7.2, and has allowed only one run over that stretch (ERA of 1.17). He hasn't started any games, but he does have two wins (vs 0 losses) 2 BB and 6 K. If he continues these numbers, he will be looked at more in the Mets farm system. Finally, the Mets best pitcher so far, has been Vargas who has also pitched 7.2 innings and has allowed 0 runs over that stretch. During those innings, he has allowed a walk and struck out 6 batters. Could he reenter himself into rotation talks? Could he make himself trade bait?

I know this goes against what I wrote earlier today, but part of running a blog is writing what pops in your head, so here it goes again. One area where there will be, if not already, a lot of debate internally in the Mets front office is how much to spend on the bullpen. Do we pour everything there to buy away the demons this year? Do we tweak areas?

Well I would go for the latter. K-rod is tantalyzing, but 5 years feels like we could be walking on a rope bridge that gives out halfway through. Personally, what I am for (as of 10:45 10/15, because this will change like it has many times already) is something like this:
1) Sign Fuentes
2) Sign Hudson
3) Sign Manny
This combo allows the Mets to trade a player like Delgado because the Mets will then have an excess of 3,4,5 hitters, although the lineup would be killer with Reyes, Hudson, Wright, Manny, Delgado, Beltran (I can't believe it, but it that situation it makes sense to have Beltran batting sixth), we would be able to flip Delgado for starting pitching. I just can't see the Mets making three signings like this and then having money to go get starting pitching, and we will need at least one starter. I'm sure a flip of Heilman and Castillo would produce some sort of starter, but not what the Mets need. That being said, if they can find a gem for cheap (similar to what they did with Kris Benson trade for Julio and Maine) then lets keep Delgado.

Going back the mindset I was in this morning, it is still very earlier to start seeing how these things fall out because they all depend on eachother, they all depend on the other players on the market, how teams act and such, its going to be an interesting offseason. That being said, surprisingly, I would almost make an arguement that Hudson might be as important as Fuentes to the Mets. Hudson adds that fighting spirit. We also don't know the effect yet of removing a Heilman or removing a Perez from the clubhouse (or the adverse effects of removing a Pedro). There is a lot to consider.

The Big advantage for the Mets going into the offseason is that the core of the lineup, and the core of the starting rotation are intact. Our 1-2-3 guys in the starting rotation will be here next year (that is saying that Pelfrey rose to 2 and Maine going into the season last year before his injuries was projected at 2 or 3 depending on Pedro). In terms of the lineup, the leadoff hitter, the 3 hole, the cleanup hitter, the RBI spot (5th) are all there as well. This is great for the Mets because the core is still around.

If the core is around, that is a reason to be optimistic and happy, why doesn't it feel that way?

Thats because our strength, our core, is also our biggest weakness mentally. Mentally, we would all like to see something or see a player overhaul that would make the Mets look very different on paper. Looking different takes away the memories. Looking different allows us to forget that much sooner. However much the heart wants to forget, wants to move on, the brain, the baseball brain, knows that is impossible because our core set up is one of the best in baseball, it doesn't make sense to remove it or change it because of how good it is.

Our solution this offseason has to be little tweaks. We will probably be keeping Smith, Feliciano and a few others in the pen and the pen still might be overhauled, but its going to feel like little tweaks. Mentally, we are going to have to digest these tweaks as the solution to the problem and convince ourselves to be optimistic because we have every reason to be optimistic.

In other words, worrying so much about next season right now is the natural thing to do right now, but it also still very close time wise to the depressing event of not makign the postseason. We havn't given ourselves yet the time to move on and we havn't given ourselves the oppotunity to look at solutions on how to fix the Mets through an objective analysis. I am guilty of immediatly thinking of ways to fix the Mets. I am always thinking of ways to fix the Mets, but I am also mentally fighting this feeling that we need time to move alway from the depressing events of last season just so we can give ourselves the chance to keep our biggest strength from staying our biggest weakness.

Earlier this year I read 100 Things Mets Fans Should Know and Do Before they Die. This book by Matthew Silverman is a pretty quick and enjoyable read. Its not exactly what you think though. The book is 100 chapters (like the title suggests) but it is a lot more of what Mets fans should know instead of what they should do. He goes over a lot of the basics (Like Seaver, Mookie) and over a lot Mets favorites in general.

The group of people I reccomend this book the most to is that new Mets fan in your family. Lets say your child is now old enough to read adult books, this is a great way for your child to learn a lot about the history of the New York Mets. The second group of people this book is very good for is for those who want to remember the glory years of the Mets.

The "do" stuff is basic, but they are good. They include, for example, go to an away game, which I totally agree with. If you are a Mets fan and you have never been to an away game, you are missing out. Over the last few years they have been crazy because there are more Mets fans around now and especially in DC, it feels like a Mets home game, just on the road. Its a party and I end up talking to more fans that I do not know on away games because you buddy up. Anyway, this book is a good read it also looks good on the shelf without the cover on. In short, I recommend it.

Today, several Mets players will start play in the Arizona Fall League. I mentioned some stats about these players before, who are Dan Murphy, Eddie Kunz, Bob Parnel, Tobi Stoner, Jason Vargas, S Bowman and Thole. The big story line with these players is Dan Murphy who will be playing in the infield (most likely at 2B or 1B) which could be a hint at things to come in Queens for the Mets next year. Murphy has been a big surprise for the Mets this year, who really just exploded on the scene. Smaller stories involve Parnell and Kunz. Kunz, who will be heading to the Mets pen one day, needs more tuning and Parnell could end up in the pen like his brief time this year, or could be a starter like how he was in the minors this year. So lets take a look into Murphy, Kunz and Parnell.

Dan Murphy
MILB 08: (3 Levels) 99 G, 375 AB, 59 R, 118 H, 26 2B, 13 HR, 69 RBI, .315 BA
MLB 08: 49 G, 131 AB, 24 R, 41 H, 9 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 17 RBI, .313 BA, .397 OBP
There are a couple of numbers that need to be highlighted here. The first is his BA, which stayed pretty constant from the Minors to the Majors. In both situations he started very hot, tailed off, and then evened out. (So the numbers you saw from him at the start of his majors career was very similar to what he did in his time in the minors). To feel better about the drop in BA, I would hope that he puts up a BA in the fall league around .300. That would be very nice. He also had a lot of power in the minors, that hasn't translated yet into the majors, but the 9 doubles is a start. We all know that doubles, turn into homers (look at players like Wright) and especially for Murphy because he is a bit slower than the average player his age. All in all, he is the main player to watch this fall because his performance will have a direct impact on what the lineup of the Mets looks like in 2009.

Eddi Kunz
MILB 08: (2 Levels) 1-5, 50 G, 54 IP, 3.33 ERA (2.79 ERA in AA), 27 BB, 43 K
MLB 08: 4 G, 2.2 IP, 4 ER, BB, K, 13.50 ERA
Kunz was flying in double AA this year, he was looking very good. He hit a snag though in AAA and in the majors. He still has very good stuff but it is becoming more and more clear that 09 might not be his time yet, it might be 2010. Now he of course can change this by having a great fall and a great spring. The way the Mets pen is, and the way Mets fans are about the pen, might propell Kunz through the system faster than he should go. So it will be interesting to see how all of this plays out over the offseason to the beginning of the 2009 season.

Bobby Parnel
MILB 08: (2 Levels): 12-8, 29 G, 28 GS, 148 IP, 4.62 ERA, 91 K, 57 BB
MLB 08: 6 G, 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 5.40 ERA
First 4 Games: 4.2 IP, ER, BB, 3K, 1.93
Fans were crying out for Parnell at the end of the season, and rightfully so because until the last week, he was actually getting people out. The question with Parnell is now what? Do we rush him through to the pen? Do we develop him into a starting pitcher? He has good stuff and probably could also be used as trade bait. His ability to be in the pen and the rotation gives the Mets a lot of options and could give other teams a lot of options. Either way it goes, this fall will be looked at to determine his future.

A prospect who is sure to get a lot of attention this off season is 22 year old Brad Holt. The Mets drafted Holt out of UNC Wilmington this past June as the 33rd pick in the first round. He was our supplemental pick for Glavine's signing with Atlanta. What has impressed scouts is Holts ability to just go after the strikeouts. He has developed an arm that just wants to get the batter out before they leave the plate. Here are his college stats:
   06: 3-3, 3.48 ERA,14 G, 54.1 IP, 6.96 K/9
   07: 5-5, 5.90 ERA, 15 G, 76.1 IP, 6.25 K/9
   08: 11-1, 3.18 ERA, 15 G, 2 CG, 95K, 36 BB, 93.1 IP, 9.16 K/9
From his numbers, he rounded a corner after his bad 2007 season and then excelled to an 11-1 record in 2008. The turnaround was really incredible. He was consistent in his K/9 record in 06 and 07, and then he really turned it up in 08. How did he do in his first season in the minors?
   08: 5-3, 1.87 ERA, 14 G, 72.1 IP, 96 K, 33 BB, 11.94 K/9
He took his great season in college and turned it to an amazin season in Brooklyn. That ERA is incredible and he made his K/9 even better. So whats next? At the age of 22, he is still young and he could use at least another season in the minors. If I was in charge of assigning players, I would have him come to Spring Training, then stay in Pt. St. Lucie with the A+ squad, and have him work his way up to AA next year. If he is still puthing up these numbers (demonstrating that this past year was not a fluke) then in September, call him up to the big squad. If he is lights out, then he should be with the Mets in their rotation in 2009. More than likely, he will be seeing a fulltime rotation spot maybe in 2010 (This of course assumes the Mets do not trade him).

Here are some of the main posts to look forward to this week:
     Monday: Get To Know a Prospect: Brad Holt
     Tuesday: Arizona Fall League Preview
     Wednesday: Looking Back: Burgos for Bannister
     Thursday: Book Review: 100 Things Mets Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die
     Friday: Wright States By Month
     Saturday: Mets On YouTube Surprise
     Sunday: K-Rod Stats Look
Of course, these are not the only posts I will have this week, but these are main ones to look out for.
 

As part of the tour of the team directly after of the season, today we move to the Outfield. I always have a weird feeling with the Outfield because sometimes I feel its could be one of our stronger assets and sometimes its very, very weak. Case and Point: On paper last year we had Alou, Beltran, Church, the ABC outfield that Beltran and Alou were going to drive in a boatload of runs and anything we got out of Church was going to be appreciated. It then became the Pagan, Beltran, Church outfield, which first seemed bad, and then seemed worse when Beltran started to struggle, but Pagan really provided and Church was looking like our MVP. Then Pagan got injured, then Church got injured. We started to rely on Tatis, Evans and Murphy. Who all ended up being nice surprises. What does that teach us? Sometimes we are actually lucky.

But it will take more than luck to win next year, because our bag of luck runs out in September (I wonder if anyone has pointed out yet that the Mets started to fall apart this year after Tatis went down on injury. He could have been a much bigger impact than we originally thought). The problem with the Outfield the last couple of years is that it starts out old, gets injured, and then we need to find solutions so here are my solutions, as of October 5th, because I know they will change as the free agent and trade market start to develop after the playoffs are over.

One solution is that we do not go out for extra peices, we take what we already have. Beltran is in, Church is in, all we need is left field. We could bring up Fmart and platoon him with Evans and possibly Pagan or between Church, Evans, Fmart, and Pagan we have a spring training battle to see who gets spots in the OF and who will be on the bench and who might have to go back to the minors. The competition will dip a bit with other solutions which involve trading Church for starting or relief pitching. Even though the OF gets banged up a lot, there are a lot of players in our minors system that can play, and could be called up, so trading Church, although a very well liked player, might benefit overall. That would make more sense to if we decide to resign Tatis, who might be worth a low risk contract depending on how his injury goes this offseason.

The next time I do the Outfield options article, it will be more focused on if we should do any trade bundles because the trade market will have actually developed by then, and we will know who is available and for what.

In what will be the first of many discussions about the rotation,here are some of the options that the Mets can pursue this offseason. When it comes to the rotation, there are only three spots that are set: Santana, Pelfrey, Maine. Lets start with Perez. There is good stuff about him, there is bad stuff about him, personally, I'm ready to cut ties with him. Partially because he is a type A free agent and he will demand a lot of money. That money could be spent on another starter or on the bullpen. The other reason I am against signing him is I feel the Mets will sign a type A agent, thus losing a first round pick, if the Perez gets signed by another team, the Mets get their first round pick and a supplement (Remember thats how we got Wright, and one of our prosepcts this year, Brad Holt).

So what happens with those other spots? One solution is CC Sabathia. I can't see the Mets getting both Sabbathia and K-Rod unless they are really trying to do a massive overhaul (In other words, its not impossible, its just very unlikely). I'm just worried that this could cause the Mets to lose out on both if they decide to pursue both. The other options are on the trade market. Peavy will be on the market, who will demand a lot. Another spot can be filled from within. Niese, if he has an impressive Spring, could find himself up here, although I am for another year in the minors for good measure.

So at this point in time, the only thing I feel the Mets have to do is not sign Perez. Get the draft picks, save the money for other parts of the team that need work.

About a week and a half ago, I was in a hurry so I grabbed a quick meal in my school's cafeteria, and on TV was sportscenter. They were showing the Baseball races and I was watching it, and this guy next to me started cursing about the Mets and tried to see if I agreed with him that they stunk and that the Phillies were better.

I turned around and then he realized I was wearing a Carlos Beltran shirt and quickly "apologized" and started talking about how the Mets' and the Phillies' rivalry is good for baseball.

Looking back at that conversation, where I spent most of my time nodding my head in polite agreement, not wanting to get in a debate in fear of missing my next class, I think I really should have told him what I think at that moment. The Mets and the Phillies do not have a full blown rivalry like he was describing. The competetive nature that comes between the two teams is mostly due to a) they are both good at this moment in time and b) Philly and New York are close, but its only a proximity issue that makes it a rivarly.

The reason I came to this conclusion is I judged my own reactions over the past few years when I pass someone wearing a hat or a shirt from the Phils compared to someone wearing one of the Braves. I normally want to Puke when I see the Phils, but thats mainly because its a reminder of 2007. When I see a Braves hat though, its an entirely different feeling that starts to swarm inside of me. Its very hard to put in words but its like every part of my body wants to be better than that person soley because he or she is a Braves fan. Once I saw these differences in emotions, it became clear to me that although I do not like Philly, and I always want to beat them, it is nothing like beating the Braves.

Even when the Mets were bad, when they played the Braves, there was a different feeling in air than when they would play the Phils. That makes our relationship with the Braves a rivalry. No matter where the other team is in the standings, no matter the season, there is this complete and total feeling of wanting a domination of the other team. In my opinon, the Braves are our rivals, not the Phillies.