I Feel Like Talking Baseball
If you don't like baseball, skip this one

June 30, 2004

As a huge baseball fan, and a diehard Mets fan, this is a time of year when baseball dominates much of my idle thinking. This year, the Metsies are within striking distance of first place in the NL East (even with a record that's hovering around .500). For the first time in several years, I'm cautiously optimistic that the rest of the summer will provide meaningful games to watch. In order for them to take the next step, though, they need to make some changes in order to fix what is a somewhat flawed team. On The Mound The starting pitching has been better than expected (they lead the NL in team ERA as of this writing), though they could use a top-line starter to go along with Glavine, Leiter and Trachsel. I think Trachsel would make a dominant #4 guy, whereas he's simply adequate at #3. The problem here is the lack of available pitching that would represent a true upgrade. Jason Schmidt isn't going anywhere as long as the Giants are contending. Freddie Garcia has already been traded from Seattle to the White Sox. Meanwhile, Seattle says Jamie Moyer, a personal favorite, won't be going anywhere. Randy Johnson is a pipe dream, as the talent cost would be too high. Thanks to baseball's newfound parity, so many teams are on the bubble that the market won't open up until July 31. Bullpen-wise, I like a lot of the arms out there. Jose Parra looks like a keeper, and may be the guy to hold down the late-inning setup role vacated when David Weathers was traded to Houston. John Franco has been a revelation. Dan Wheeler is another personal favorite, and is already the Mets' unsung hero. I also like Ricky Bottalico's veteran presence. Braden Looper, who I wasn't sure about coming into the season, is everything you want in a closer and everything Armando Benitez wasn't during his time at Shea. The weak link in the bullpen at this point is Mike Stanton. Like his former Yankee mate Weathers, his time has passed and now represents an inconsistency that winning teams can't tolerate. If there's a way to trade him for a minor prospect, I'd do it yesterday, and give Franco his innings. Bats Even with all of the changes the Mets have made, they still have a lineup that isn't cutting it. They're too free-swinging, and not balanced. They have a good veteran bench, but with a couple of key reserves due to come off the DL, some changes are inevitable there. The infield has been acceptable at times, downright frustrating at others. The amazing thing is that it's not because the individual parts are so glaringly bad. The sum of the parts just falls short. A ton has been made of Kaz Matsui's failures at shortstop, and I can't disagree. He belongs at second, with Jose Reyes going back to short. It won't happen until next year, apparently, so other changes will come much sooner. At third, Ty Wigginton has again proved himself to be the kind of player I want on my team. He's a gritty, hard-nosed gamer. I have to admit, though, that if he's starting everyday at a power position, the Mets can only go so far. The answer is sitting in Norfolk. His name is David Wright. He's creating the type of buzz Reyes generated last season. He needs to be in Flushing. When he comes up, Wigginton should be turned into a super-sub. He can probably learn to be adequate at any position, including emergency catcher (he's got the body and arm for it). Unfortunately, this means Joe McEwing loses his job. I've loved Super Joe's play, but his skills have diminished. Hopefully, Mike Piazza will transition into more of a full-time first baseman. He'll be fine there. Unspectacular, but fine until he's ready to hang up the spikes. With Mike at first, Jason Phillips is your catcher. He had a great rookie season, but he's struggled this year. I still think he's got good skills, and is an above-average defensive catcher. His numbers are also much more acceptable behind the plate than at first. In the outfield, Cliff Floyd has been an anchor. In retrospect, losing him for all that time last season may have been a bigger blow than losing Piazza. He may not be the greatest glove out there, but he doesn't embarrass himself. I've always liked Mike Cameron, ever since he made a game-saving, home-run-stealing catch for Seattle early in his first season after being traded for Ken Griffey, Jr. I am willing to hold out hope that his final numbers will make us forget how disappointing he's been so far. Right field was the one spot on the Mets that could be filled by outside help, until they picked up Richard Hidalgo from Houston. So far he's shown some of the power he displayed with the Astros, but as a right-handed hitter prone to strikeouts, he's not the answer. Hidalgo's biggest selling point has been his price. He's only(?) costing the Mets in the neighborhood of $4 million this season, which isn't horrible. They key is that he could be turned around to another team looking to unload their salary. I read today that Seattle may be listening to offers for Ichiro Suzuki. Oh, man. I may be letting the fan in me take over, but I would love to land this guy. He's a brilliant right fielder, and can either lead off or hit third. Plus, he hits lefty, so he could help balance out the lineup. Also, just think of how much merchandise they'd sell to the Asian market with Ichiro and Matsui in orange and blue. How to get him? It'll obviously take prospects, which the Mets do have. Start the bidding with Scott Kazmir, Justin Huber, and Victor Diaz. Throw in Hidalgo for salary purposes. Pray. I can get pretty darn excited about a lineup like this: 1 Ichiro RF 2 Reyes SS 3 Piazza 1B 4 Floyd LF 5 Wright 3B 6 Matsui 2B 7 Cameron CF 8 Phillips C Not too shabby. I think Matsui can be more effective in an RBI role where his strikeouts won't stick out like a sore thumb. Wright would obviously be asked to carry a huge load for a young player, so you could flip-flop him and Matsui until he's ready. From there, you'd only need a classic middle infielder (the kind Ricky Guttierez was supposed to be but wasn't). I suggest grabbing Desi Relaford from KC. I really liked him when he was here before, and he's a rarity -- a guy you can count on to come off the bench to play some D or pinch-hit.

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