The Cliffy Quandry

Cliff Floyd, usually clear-eyed and optimistic, all but issued a concession speech when he said, "things aren't looking bright. There's no light at the end of the tunnel."

All of this Cliff Floyd has to be traded stuff originated from the above statement. After walking off the field in 2003 when he played his last game on August 18th to a standing ovation at Shea Stadium, he could not be further away from his current standing in the organization. Cliff had raised his batting average from .271 to .290 in five games while he was hobbling around playing through pain at the end of his season. Cliff is not a malcontent and he is a team player and made one error in judgment after one game. He got down in what was an extremely tough stretch in a season that was frustrating. All the injuries and losing can mount up and when the press keeps asking you questions, things are going to come out in the heat of the moment.

Let's not forget, Mike Cameron had made this statement last season:

Mike Cameron, another upbeat Met, echoed the dreary sentiment, saying, "San Diego took everything we had away from us. They took everything."

His comments were not as scrutinized by Floyd's, and I think that is a bit unfair. What is one of the things the Mets looking for this off season? They are looking for a lefty bat to put in the lineup to replace Cliff Floyd's presence should he be moved. Yes, I know he has not topped 120 games with the Mets in his two years. However, the previous to years he notched 149 and 146 games. If the Mets cannot move Floyd and get something back, which seems very likely at this point, why not keep him? Bring in another bat for right field via free agency or another trade (I'm not going to suggest anyone) and have Victor Diaz at AAA refining his approach at the plate and working on whatever he needs to work on. Let him put the finishing touches on his game and prepare for 2006. The big worry with Cliff is his health. If he goes down, there is a more than capable insurance policy at AAA waiting to take over. If Cliffy proves he's healthy he could be a more valuable trading chip with one year left on his contract or would provide some good trading fodder for the deadline if he his healthy and the Mets could most likely extract more from teams for him. If he gets injured again, then he will not be valued any less next off season and will be less of risk due to one year remaining on his contract and the Mets could eat the entire thing if necessary. I just do not see the burning need to jettison Cliff away as if he is a clubhouse cancer while the Mets foot most of the bill or have to take another big contract back. If (and this is always a big IF with Cliffy) he is healthy, he will put up numbers that will make his contract look like a huge bargain. Also, power hitting outfielders that bat from the left side of the plate do not come around often for $6.5 million dollars with a lifetime average of .283 either. He could deliver a .280 average, 25 homers, and 90 RBIs if he can stay in 140 games. With the deals that we have been hearing involving Floyd, it makes more sense to have in the lineup for the Mets this upcoming season. It's time for Omar to stop looking at Cliffy for Sosa or Cliffy for Soriano deals and start focusing on upgrading the rotation, finding a first baseman, and finding a right fielder. Like Piazza, if dealing Cliff is not a total salary dump, then they are more valuable to the team. It's time to give Cliff one more chance to prove himself in NY and a healthy Cliff Floyd could add tremendous production in 2005.

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Random Anna Benson pic

From the LA Times:

The Angels are one of five teams that have expressed interest in Cuban defector Kendry Morales, a switch-hitting first baseman and left fielder. Morales, 21, might be willing to sign an incentive-laden contract for the opportunity to play in the major leagues, his agent, David Valdes, said.

"This is a kid that hit cleanup on the Cuban national team at 19 years old," said Eddie Bane, the Angels' scouting director. "This isn't like anyone else who has come out of Cuba. He's legitimate."

If this kid will take an incentive laden deal, I'm not sure how someone could not take a chance on him.

This auction is closing fast.



Art Howe's baseball card is ONLY 2.99 for the starting bid. The only problem is that is that the auction has been on for seven days and not one person has bit yet.

C'mon, that card is not not totally useless. Can't someone use it as kindling for their fireplace?