Kuzul

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The Mets start the second half of the season in a good position to reach the playoffs. There’s still a cloud of uncertainty hanging around the team, but that doesn’t mean they can’t do some serious damage. Don’t believe me? Look at some similarities to the last Mets team make the World Series:

• Jeff Franceour = Derrek Bell : Bell had a fantastic April, and then disappeared afterwards, and lost playing time because of it. Franceour also had a fantastic April, and then much like Bell disappeared afterwards, and is going to lose playing time because of it, like Bell did.
• Mike Pelfrey = Al Leiter :  Although Leiter was seond in the rotation he pitched like an ace, and so far Pelfrey has done the same.
• Johan Santana = Mike Hampton : Hampton started the season unexpectedly bad, and turned it around in the second half. Santana also started the season unexpectedly bad, and has started to turn it around. Can Santana continue to turn it around like Hampton did in 2000? Santana has a history of being a second half pitcher.
• Glendon Rusch/Bobby Jones = R.A. Dickey : Rusch and Jones solidified the back end of the rotation, a rotation that looked questionable after the third slot. Dickey has done much the same in a rotation that looked questionable after the third spot in the rotation Dickey has stepped in and solidified the fourth spot in the rotation.  Will the Mets acquire a started to push back Jon Niese and Dickey, and solidify the back end of the rotation like Rusch and Jones did in 2000?
• Mike Piazza = David Wright : Piazza ended 2000 with 38 HR’s 113 RBI’s and a batting average of .324. Wright is on pace for 26 HR’s 120 RBI’s with a .314 batting average.
• Todd Zeile = Ike Davis : Zeile ended 2000 with 22 HR’s and 79 RBI’s. Davis is on pace for 22 HR’s and 79 RBI’s.
• Armando Benitez = Francisco Rodriguez : No explanation necessary.

Read the rest….

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The New York Mets finally have their ideal lineup, and now it’s time to start producing.

Throughout the season, I’ve had a feeling Jerry Manual was going with the saying from last year that didn’t impress any fans. He wanted to basically stay within striking distance until players came off the disabled list.

We know Jose Reyes is at the top of the lineup and Carlos Beltran is hitting cleanup; the Mets should have no lack of offense from top to the eight-hole (I’ll give the pitcher a little slack).

With Angel Pagan holding more than his own while he replaced Beltran, players such as Jeff Francoeur and Jason Bay need to pick it up. Bay isn’t producing in the home-run department like he was expected to, and Franceour’s bat is so bad that his terrific arm in right field just isn’t a good enough replacement to get him starts every day.

Granted, the Mets paid Bay enough money to play him everyday, but his bat may become a liability toward the end of the season if he doesn’t start producing.

David Wright has surpassed his terrible season from last year, so anything he has put up so far is a bonus. When Reyes scores, the Mets win. I know it’s much easier said than done, but it’s a fact.

Mike Pelfrey isn’t doing what he did in the first two months of the season, so the bullpen is going to be in high demand; it may be time for the front office to make a move to bring in a solid reliever.

Oliver Perez is scheduled to come off the disabled list this week and he could rejoin the team in Arizona; he is headed to the bullpen. I’m still not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but I guess we will find out soon enough.

With rookie Jon Niese and journeyman R.A. Dickey anchoring the staff, all they need to do is keep the Mets in games and hope their offense can come through in the late innings.

This should be a very interesting last few months of the season.

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Jason Bay is on pace to hit just 12 home runs this season. Yes, 12. Considering he has averaged 30 over the last six seasons, that would be miserable—an almost shameful return on the Mets’ investment, right?

In many respects, Bay has changed his game since coming to Citi Field. He is utilizing the gaps in the alleys to drive the ball for extra-base hits, and he is being a lot more aggressive on the basepaths.

Still, like I’ve said before, the Mets didn’t bring him over from Boston to bat .265 and steal 20 bases. His walk rate and strikeout rate are both down in proportion with each other which has kept his BB:K ratio in line with career averages.

Interestingly though, he is hitting more line drives than in previous years, and he is hitting almost as many fly balls as he did in ’09 when he hit 36 home runs. The problem is that only 5.6 percent of his fly balls are going out of the yard, compared with almost 20 percent 12 months ago.

Yes, it’s a bigger ballpark, and yes, he needs time to adjust, but he is digging himself into a hole. He is over-pressing and trying to force too much at the plate. He is swinging at more pitches outside the zone (26.2 percent) than ever before, rather than waiting for a pitch he can drive hard or put an uppercut swing on.

I simply don’t think he has confidence right now to sit back on the ball as long as he needs to to really generate the momentum needed to put a home run swing on the ball.

If the Mets win 95 games and make it to the playoffs, people won’t care too much whether Bay hits six home runs or 26 home runs. There will be massive questions in the offseason about just what they are paying him for, but if his power is the only real thing that takes a hit in 2010, fans will accept it more if he helps the team win.

Right now the boos are understandable, but when I spoke to him last he said that he knew as much as anyone that he had some things to work on. The funny thing is that his peripheral numbers, home runs aside, have remained pretty constant, so there’s every chance he will bounce back in the second half.

He will have a little more protection near the meat of the lineup when Carlos Beltran returns, and it’s only a matter of when Bay starts to hit, rather than if .

He’s not going to get 30 home runs, but anything in the 18-20 range isn’t as far fetched as it might seem. He needs one home run every fifth or sixth game to reach these numbers, and considering he has gone deep once every 4.9 games as a full-time player it certainly could happen.

Odds of Bay hitting 20 home runs: 65 percent

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Happy Canada Day to all!

For most Americans, Canada is the wilderness to our north, a place of moose and mounties. But in more recent times, Canada has also been a hotbed of baseball talent, giving us a Hall of Famer pitcher in Ferguson Jenkins and some great sluggers, like Larry Walker.

Today, Canadian ballplayers are some of the headliners on MVP ballots, Cy Young races, and could one day see Hall of Fame consideration. Who is the most talented Canadian major leaguer today? Here are the top 10.

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By the time the New York Mets get through with Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals this weekend they will be exactly half way through their 162-game regular season schedule.

As we near the mid point of the season, let’s revisit five questions the Mets had coming into the season.

Will the Mets Pitching Hold Up?

Yes and no. First, the good. The Mets will have a 10-game winner at the All-Star break in Mike Pelfrey and the team currently has a collective ERA of 3.77, good enough for sixth in the league. The team has combined for more shutouts than any other team in baseball and no team has held baserunners in check than the Mets.

R.A Dickey has been a revelation, starting the year 6-0 before losing to the Marlins in San Juan, and nobody would have guessed that Hisanori Takahashi would be 6-3. Pedro Feliciano has been an absolute workhorse and Jenrry Mejia has shown the Mets the future, even if the club mishandled him.

Now for the average and the bad. While he’s not been terrible by any means, Johan Santana has been far from dominant. He sports a 5-5 record through 16 starts and his only real problems have came from an increased walk rate and far fewer strikeouts.

Oliver Perez has been a massive joke and I hope we have seen the end of him, and John Maine was battered on a regular basis before his trip to the DL.

Still, the good far outweighs the bad so far in 2010.

If you would have told the Mets they would be 10 games over .500 at the start of July even though Santana could count his wins on one hand, you’d snap their arm off in a heartbeat.

Can the Mets Keep Pace With the Phillies

Philadelphia was the team to beat heading into 2010. They had been to back-to-back World Series and three consecutive postseasons and many pundits thought they were as strong as ever before.

The Phillies came out of the blocks pretty well through the first six weeks, establishing a 4.5-game lead in the NL East where nobody could really find any consistency. After dropping a series at home to the Red Sox in the third week of May, the Mets really helped put the breaks on the Phils.

New York blanked them for three consecutive games, and the division lead was gone just four days later. The Phillies have not even been a .500 team since that series, and it’s fair to say the Mets are holding their own.

Both teams have been dealing with injuries, and while the Mets hope to have Carlos Beltran back healthy after the All-Star break, the Phillies have just lost two of their infielders to injury, just a week after DL-ing catcher Carlos Ruiz and welcoming Jimmy Rollins back from his second stint on the shelf.

The Phillies will no doubt be there or there abouts at the end of the season, but right now, the Mets are keeping pace with the defending National League champs and then some.

Will Jason Bay Be Worth Four Years and $66 million?

Jason Bay is the seventh-highest earning Met on the payroll in 2010, and his salary will more than double next season. But is he earning his $8.6 million so far this season?

He came to Citi Field with a reputation as being a power hitter with a decent batting average and a little speed, but his lack of pop has been the talking point so far this season.

His .278 average is perfectly in line with his career average, and he’s running like it’s 2005 and he’s in a Pittsburgh jersey. He has learned pretty quickly how to utilize the spacious gaps and deep alleys in Flushing, and there’s every chance he could hit 40 doubles and double-digit triples.

But Omar Minaya didn’t bring him from Boston to hit doubles. It took him 20 games to hit his first home run this year and then 24 more games for his second. He only had four home runs on the season until he went deep twice against the Marlins on Monday, and it was the second time he has gone yard twice in a game.

Bay has never hit fewer than 25 home runs once in his whole career, but he’s barely on pace for 10 even if he stays healthy.

You’ve got to think that some of those doubles will eventually turn to home runs, but even if you include his plus defense as a big redeeming feature, he’s still not living up to his billing quite yet. It will come, there’s no doubt about that, but his swing isn’t quite paying back the hype.

Just How Badly Will the Mets Struggle Without Carlos Beltran?

When Beltran had his knee surgery in the offseason, one of the biggest questions centered around whether the Mets outfield would be able to tread water until he returned.

The outfield has actually been pretty solid, but nobody would have guessed that it would be Angel Pagan leading the way. While Bay has struggled with his power, as detailed above, and Jeff Francoeur has been on a rollercoaster of ups and downs, switch-hitting Pagan has commanded centerfield with All-Star efficiency.

He’s batting at a .302 clip and stealing bases, and he’s had more RBI than, Jeff Francoeur, Rob Barajas, and Ike Davis.

It’s pretty impressive when you consider he’s been batting leadoff, second, and sixth—hardly prime run-producing spots.

Ironically though, it is Pagan who may be shifted to the bench once Beltran returns, even though he has arguably been the Mets most valuable player in the first half of this season.

Pagan has been a pleasant surprise and he’s been keeping the Mets afloat when others have been struggling. The answer to this question could have been very different had Pagan been a below-average replacement. As it currently is, he’s one of the biggest reasons that the Mets are in touching distance in the NL East.

Will Jerry Manuel Still Have a Job By [inset month here]?

Whichever month you chose, the chances are that you would have said ‘no’. Sceptics might have said that he wouldn’t make it through April. Others might have thought that he was ripe for the chop after a four-game sweep in Florida mid May.

How about batting Reyes third, getting K-Rod to warm up against the Yankees only to bring in Raul Valdes to melt down, or telling beat reporters his team was unprepared to go against Livan Hernandez?

For all the calls for his head on a plate, Manuel has kept things in check and he’s ensured the Mets house is in order. There’s no infighting like in Chicago or players dogging after balls like in Florida or Tampa.

This isn’t 2009 and the Mets actually look like a team that could put teams on their backs in the playoffs.

There’s no reason to ditch Manuel now if the team was unwilling to part ways with him in May, and if the Mets get better as is expected when Beltran returns, there’s more than a punchers’ chance that he will make it through the season.

He’s going to be on a hot seat whenever the team slumps, but for now I think it’s fair to say that Manuel and the Mets are outperforming everyone’s preseason expectations.

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Sex and the City 2 and Jonah Hex have not been the only flops this summer. Fantasy baseball has had its fair share as well.  

We are more than two months into the 2010 baseball season, so its not too early to label certain superstars as busts. Sure, they could turn things around. They could play phenomenally from here on out and salvage their seasons, but right now they are giving their fantasy owners ulcers every time they go 0-for-4, blow a save, or get torched for seven runs in four innings.   

Here are the ten biggest busts in fantasy baseball!

Jason Bay, New York Mets

The Mets needed to keep up with the Yankees in the big-ticket item department, plus they needed outfield pop because they knew Carlos Beltran was going to miss the first half of the season. So they inked Bay, who had hit 30-plus homers and driven in 100-plus runs in four of the last five seasons. Smart move, right?

Wrong. Even though Bay has dealt with intense media scrutiny before (in Boston) and hitting in a pitcher’s ballpark (in Pittsburgh) during his career, he has been swinging like a lost soul all season. 

With only four homers and 29 RBI at this point, his chances of another 30-HR, 100-RBI campaign are slimmer than a Slim Jim.  At least Bay has been kind enough to steal (10 SB) and walk (.378 OBP) in lieu of hitting homers.    

Aramis Ramirez, Chicago Cubs

The knock on Ramirez with fantasy owners has always been that he is injury-prone.  Getting 162 games out of him is harder than getting Mark Teixeira to take a day off. But at least when Ramirez was on the field he was as productive as any third baseman around, capable of hitting .300 with 30 homers and 100 RBI when 100 percent healthy.

Now Ramirez is injured AND hitting .162. He has actually increased his fantasy value by going on the disabled list. Here is a stat that should make you feel warm and fuzzy about him — in 47 games, Ramirez has been 0-for-3, 0-for-4, or 0-for-5 a grand total of 18 times. He also went 0-for-6 once, too. 

Trevor Hoffman, Milwaukee Brewers

Fantasy owners knew that sooner or later “Father Time” was going to throw Hoffman a curve of his own. What we didn’t know was that the curve was going to drop off the table like Barry Zito’s used to during his Oakland glory days.

Hoffman has gone from premier closer to premier failure in record time. After staving off old age with 37 saves and a 1.83 ERA in 2009, he has five saves, five blown saves, and a 9.00 ERA. He is now used in as many crucial late-game situations as Oliver Perez.

Chad Qualls, Arizona Diamondbacks

You know you are having trouble when Aaron Heilman is picked to save games over you.  Qualls made the transition from setup man to closer late last year and did quite well, but it looks like he was a one-hit wonder like The Baja Men.  

Qualls has an 8.87 ERA, a 2.27 WHIP, and more people after him than BP. He could very well get his closer job back eventually if he straightens out and Heilman falls to pieces, but for now it is nothing but non-save situations for him in the near future. 

Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals

Greinke has gone from Cy Young to Anthony Young in less than one year. The poor guy had to post a 2.16 ERA last season just to win 16 games, so you knew there would be trouble for his win-loss record if he had the nerve to have a mortal 3.94 ERA.    

No run support, no defense, no miracles.  That has translated into a 2-8 record for Greinke, despite ERA, WHIP, and strikeouts numbers that should get him a winning record.  Figure this out — Chicago White Sox starter Freddy Garcia has a much worse ERA and WHIP, yet he is 8-3.

Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers

Fantasy baseball’s largest vegetarian is eating more lettuce than driving in runs these days. His 27 RBI do not even rank him in the top 100 in the category as he trails lightweights like Yuniesky Betancourt, Juan Uribe, and Clint Barmes.  Jonny Gomes has almost driven in twice as many runs. 

Yes, Jonny Gomes.  

Is it that Corey Hart keeps knocking in all of the runners on base before Fielder comes to bat, leaving the porky power hitter with no RBI opportunities? No, Fielder has just not come up as huge as he did in 2009 when he racked up 141 ribbies. An RBI streak could be on the way knowing him, but for now Fielder is putting up the kind of stats Gaby Sanchez owners would be happy with, not Fielder owners.    

Gordon Beckham, Chicago White Sox

Changing positions can sometimes be a bigger distraction than having Lady Gaga sitting in the stands.  hat seems to be the case with Beckham, who looked destined to win several batting titles throughout his career, but now will be lucky to stay in the majors throughout the year.   

The former first-rounder has been sidelined by a sophomore slump that has kept him around the Mendoza line all season long. Moving from third base to second base seems like it has done more harm for his bat than good for his glove. Fantasy owners can only hope that a batting coach, family friend, or rotisserie god from above can solve the Beckham riddle and get him back pasting line drives again.   

Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers

This was supposed to be the season Kinsler challenged Chase Utley to be the most valuable second baseman in fantasy baseball. But while Utley has left the door open for Kinsler to take the title, Kinsler has fumbled it worse than Adrian Peterson would.

Kinsler, coming off a 31HR/31SB superstar season, has one homer and six steals so far.  Some of this has to do with his early season injuries and some of this has to do with him not hitting for power and not attempting to steal much. Kinsler might not still be 100 percent healthy, and he might be still shaking off some spring rust, but it certainly would be nice if his name started appearing more often in the HR and SB sections of the Texas boxscores.  

Aaron Hill, Toronto Blue Jays     

Here is another American League second baseman who went from being the next Jeff Kent to being the next Jeff Keppinger. Hill burst onto the fantasy scene last year with 35 homers, 108 RBI, and 103 runs. He was a feel good, Lifetime movie worthy story because of how he came back from a serious concussion that ruined his 2007 season.  

And now Hill is hitting .187.  

The power stroke is still kinda there (ten homers) and Hill has been kinda hitting better this month (.211 average in June). Still, .187 is .187. That will single handedly ruin a fantasy team’s batting average. You need a couple Joe Mauers in your lineup to even Hill’s average out. And you cannot rely on Hill’s track record to think he will bounce back because he has only had one great season in five-plus years.  

 

Nate McLouth, Atlanta Braves

Remember when Pittsburgh Pirates fans were rioting in the streets when McLouth was traded to Atlanta in the middle of last season?  You would have thought Sidney Crosby had been dealt to the Los Angeles Kings for a bunch of draft picks and pucks with the way people reacted.  

McLouth has hit like someone in serious need of glasses. He has a .176 batting average, and before he can turn things around and climb towards the .200 plateau, he first has to get off the disabled list. He is suffering from post-concussion symptoms after an outfield collision.  

McLouth is a 20-HR/20-SB guy when his mind and body are right.  The problem is we don’t know when both will be right again.  It may not be until 2011 (or ever) the way things are going.

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On Tuesday night I was fortunate enough to get the chance to speak with a number of the New York Mets about the 2010 season and their expectations for the second half of the year.

I spoke with Jason Bay about his power outage, Ike Davis about life as a rookie, and David Wright about the “Gaga for Wright” promotion at Citi Field to try and get him to the All-Star game.

You can read about what the players think about the return of Carlos Beltran here, check out the stars’ expectations here, or read about what Santana, Wright, Bay, Francoeur, and Co. think about trading for Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt here

With those links out of the way, here are some other news and notes from batting practice with the Mets.

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The New York Mets improved to 40-30 on Tuesday night, gaining ground on the Atlanta Braves and moving back to within 1.5 games back in the NL East.

After a successful 7-2 road trip which included back-to-back sweeps, the Mets are now on a roll and they are looking to finish the first half of the season strong.

I caught up with several Mets (David Wright, Johan Santana, Jason Bay, Jeff Francoeur, and Ike Davis) before Tuesday’s victory against Detroit at Citi Field to gauge the expectations among the players about just how far this team can go in 2010.

From Santana saying the Mets have assembled a team good enough to win it all to Bay saying the team hasn’t even hit its best form yet, there is certainly a vein of confidence running through the heart of the team.

This is what the players had to say about the expectations heading in to the All-Star break.

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Back when the Mets signed Jason Bay, I wrote an article titled “Bay Brings More Than Bat.” I wrote about his character, the “grit” that he has, the grinder that he is. I wrote about his professionalism, work ethic, how he goes about his business, the type of team mate that he is, and how that will rub off on his fellow Mets.

If you just look at his numbers this season you will be disappointed. If you are a fan who just looks for highlights and doesn’t really appreciate the small things, you could be disappointed in even watching him.

For true fans who really love the game, you have to respect and admire everything about Jason Bay: he handles the pressure so well, his demeanor is always the same, you can’t ever read if he is discouraged or frustrated. The main thing about him though is his hustle. No matter if he hits a fly ball or a little dribbler, he runs hard, always bursting out of the box.

Last year the Mets lacked hustle, they lacked basic fundamentals, and they made a lot of mental mistakes.  This year it’s totally different, and a lot of that has to be credited to Jason Bay.

In the first game against the Indians, SNY’s Gary Cohen spoke about how many infield hits the Mets had out of their twelve hits.  And even in the post game Chris Carlin spoke about it. Why did the Mets have so many infield hits? Besides errors by the Indians, it was because everyone was hustling out of the box and running hard. That one game alone is proof of the impact Jason Bay has had on this team, because last year that wasn’t the case at all.

Now, I’m not saying that he’s the only one who plays like that, because Francoeur plays like that and Rod Barajas is a grinder too. It’s different though when it’s Jason Bay because of his contract.  He is in the spotlight more, and as a result the team looks to him for guidance. For him to play the way he does, it just says a lot about his character.

A lot of the media who cover the Mets are talking about how there is something different about the Mets. Even when the Mets lose it’s different, because they are always fighting.  Everyone is talking about this fight that is driving the Mets. That wasn’t the case last year, and a lot of that was because all of the disappointments they endured with the injuries. They lost their will and spirit.

With Jason Bay, you want to see the numbers go up, but the fact that they are winning, the fact that he plays the way he does, means you can tolerate it for now. I heard someone speak about how Beltran had a slow start with the Mets too, he only hit 15 home-runs his first year. Hopefully we won’t have to wait a whole year, hopefully he gets really hot, but Met fans shouldn’t be too worried because as hard as he works, he will come around.

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The city of Chicago has seen its share of hard times. In 1871 they had a massive fire that lasted for days. It destroyed everything in it’s wake. The city rebuilt though and once again became a prominent destination in the United States, both economically and competitively.

They have had sports teams struggle in mediocrity and succeed to the heights of their profession. Among their teams are the Bears, who have such a storied history in the NFL that it speaks for itself and the Bulls, who have won many NBA championships and were the sports dynasty of the 90’s.

Just a week ago, the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, the most prized trophy in the NHL.

Both the White Sox and the Cubs have tasted success as well, although the White Sox remain the only one of the two teams to win a World Series in the past century.

These days, despite all that success, the city is preparing for another fire of sorts: a fire sale. Both of the baseball teams are mired in over-sized contracts for players and have been underachieving.

Both the Cubs and the White Sox have openly discussed the possibility of trades for several players on each of the teams.

This rebuilding stage has led to other players wanting to be traded. The uproar has, and will, create a domino effect over the next month as the trade deadline looms closer.

As these teams unload their highest paid and most attractive talent, the frenzy can benefit a contending team.

Provided that there are teams that have a savvy general manager, I believe several other MLB competitors can grow stronger from the Chicago fire sale.

If a team is close to first or second place in their division, in other words if they’re in contention, expect them to become possible buyers for the talent that Chicago has to offer.

One such team is the New York Mets. They have a few weaknesses that, despite being a few games over the .500 mark, are still noticeable. They do need another starting pitcher to go along with their two aces, Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey.

The rumor swarm is buzzing all around the internet that the Mets are in serious contract talks with the Seattle Mariners for Cliff Lee.

However, the Mariners will be asking for a lot if they’re going to send Lee to Queens. In particular, they would want the man who just last week joined a small list of Mets pitchers to throw a one hitter, Jon Niese. To many fans, that will be too much to ask. Allow me to propose another alternative.

One player that does not want to stay around for the rebuilding in Chicago is Jake Peavy . 

Lee will be a free agent at the end of the season, and the Mets are not guaranteed the chance to resign him if they pull the trigger on that trade. So they would give up Niese and others for Lee for a half of a season.

Peavy may command just as much for the White Sox, but he is still under contract for several years. If the Mets have to include Niese in any package for a top tier pitcher, than it should be a pitcher under a contract like a Jake Peavy or a Roy Oswalt . Both have recently been rumored to being open to trades to contenders like the Mets.

Personally, I think the Mets should only pull the trigger if they can keep Niese and include someone else in a trade package.

There will be many mid-level starters open to trade as the deadline nears. Starters that would cost the Mets far less and still be productive for the team now and in the next few seasons.

These major trades are the hardest to pull off. The Mets would be more prudent if they were to think of small splashes instead of major tidal waves.

With this in mind, the Cubs have expressed interest in trading several players also. Players like Ryan Theriot and Kosuke Fukodome would cost far less for the Mets to acquire.

The Mets don’t have a need in the outfield, so Fukodome would not be worth any interest, but Theriot proposes an intriguing proposition. He is currently a .289 hitter with 14 stolen bases. He has been on winning teams, so he knows what that winning experience entails and what it takes to get there.

The Mets do need another starter, but they also need another utility infielder with a solid bat. They have tried Frank Catalanotto, Mike Jacobs, and Gary Mathews Jr. among others to fill that void on the bench.

Struggling defense or cold bats have led to all of them being demoted or released. The Mets still search for a bat to contribute in that part time role.

Theriot could be just that bat, and the Mets could get him with only giving up one player. Perhaps that player would be Nick Evans. I wrote on Evans being wasted in the minors. If the Mets don’t want to promote him to the majors or even to AAA to face better pitching, then perhaps they should consider using him as trade bait.

There are several players the Mets have to choose from at the minor league level. Despite the opinion of some, the Mets are deeper than most think in the farm system. Nick Evans makes more sense, though, because he has some experience at the major league level.

The Mets have a short list of untouchables. That list includes Johan Santana, David Wright, Jose Reyes, Mike Pelfrey, Carlos Beltran, Jason Bay, Francisco Rodriguez, Ike Davis, and Reuben Tejada.

Just about everyone else is up in the air. There are some players that no team would take off their hands. That list includes Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo, and John Maine.

The Mets have to be smart when they decide to make a move. They must consider financial restraints, roster depth, minor league depth, and impact on the current team. These are all factors. They can’t over spend and be stuck with an enormous contract.

They can’t trade too many prospects and leave the cupboard bare. They can’t tinker with the current team’s chemistry and cost them the confidence and unity that they have developed in recent games. However, they need to improve on a few aspects.

If the Mets can use the desperation of teams like the White Sox and Cubs to their advantage, they may be able to improve and not over spend or give up too much.

They must act with wisdom and patience if they are to make the right move for this current team. Otherwise, by the wrong deal or inactivity, they could be burned by the Chicago fire sale.

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