Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Arbitration thoughts

Cub fans are probably feling pretty good right now. Nomar, Todd Walker, and Henry Blanco all sign. Jim Hendry made a few questionable moves at last year's trading deadline (Ben Grieve, anyone?), but there is no question he can GM a World Series winner.

The Yankees now have Jaret Wright, Tony Womack, and will soon have Eric Milton. ATM-George are moving fast. But you know they are going to make one big splash...

Much to my surprise, Atlanta declines arbitration with JD Drew, effectively ending his tenure in Turner-ville. I doubt he winds up in New York. He would look good in that 3-spot behind Reyes and Matsui though.

The Mets re-sign Mike DeJean to a 1 year 1.5 million dollar deal, which I think is a solid move. He pitched very well until he broke his tibia. He gives this team a good veteran presence. With Looper, Fortunato, DeJean, Strickland, this Soler kid, and Moreno, this bullpen could be good. And it would be a huge lift if Tyler Yates gets going.

One article in the Daily News concerns me. I was OK letting Richard Hidalgo go if we got a solid replacement for him. To me, Moises Alou does not qualify. I know he put up nice numbers last year. But he's 38, and his numbers at Wrigley were superior to his road numbers. And I don't think his attitude would be very welcome in my clubhouse. The Mets are not one player away from a World Series. They need to develop/get a nucleus instead of a quick fix. How about pursuing an Ordonez, a Beltran, or a Dye before we rush to another 38-year old relic? Same old, same old, same old in Flushing Meadow Park.

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