You've Got To Know When To Hold 'Em

I applaud Omar for his aggressiveness and his desire to make this the best team in the league. I applaud his desire to win at all costs and shoot for the stars. However, why bother moving Kris Benson at this point? No one has been busier and it seems he has worked as hard as he can to get his other ace and another big bat, but none of the moves seem to make ultimate sense because of what is will presumably cost the Mets and the remaining options.



Forget the fact that you just cannot trade Santa, but the market is just not there for him. Now that Javy is gone it might pick up, but there are not a lot of teams lining up to get him and actually give anything back. Show him the weight room and tell him to get his stamina up. At times last year Kris pitched sparkling with a great, tight slider. Then he looked like a guy who had nothing left in his arm and for the second year in a row had burned out his arm by the end of the year.

The Mets might end up just giving him away to get rid of him, but I'm thinking Omar ink Tavares for the bullpen and hold all his chips right now. Benson could be valuable at the trading deadline and might be able to net more. The fact is Tejada is probably staying and Manny is proving to be quite a difficult acquisition. It's clear that no deal that is worked out will be beneficial for either team. Omar has come so far in his short term as the GM and they are good team right now and could compete. We all want a stronger rotation, deeper bullpen, and another bat, but at what cost? You cannot force something that is not possible. The Mets still have the best rotation in the NL East and the best aside from the Cubbies.

You just cannot get everything you want all the time. I like this team right now and I think Omar should just stay the course when you look at everything that is going on. Maybe all this trade talk will fuel Benson to go out and have the year that people always thought he was capable of.

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Dan Cichalski goes over everything Met-related with a fantasy spin.

I'd try to deal Victor Zambrano before Kris Benson because I think Benson could have a stellar year if healthy in 2006.

Agreed, but one would assume you can net more for Benson than Zambrano. However, when faced with the dilemma of not being able to get a substantial return for Benson and everyone else asking for the moon in anything you want, you have to back down and go with what you got. Zambrano out of the bullpen with the ability to start is not the worst thing I've heard of.

Wright is clearly the best hitter and perhaps the most well-rounded player on the team after leading the Mets in average, runs and RBI in 2005. He's got the ability and the fire to be a superstar and to take on the responsibilities of hitting third in a lineup full of superstars. With Mike Piazza gone, Wright also has the prettiest swing on the team. He was one run short of a 100 RBI/100 R season this year and with this kind of talent around him, I don't think it's a stretch to expect from him a .320 average, 30 HR, 120 RBI, 110 R, 40 2B and 20 SB.

Crazy to think about those numbers, but he can do it with Delgado behind him and Reyes and Beltran in front of him.

The two-hole is also a better spot for him to drop down a bunt, something he liked to do last season but is not what you really want to see from your third-place hitter. With a year in New York under his belt and the chance to start next year fresh and healthy, Beltran could get a further boost from move up in the order, something that could bring him closer to being a 30/30 player again instead of a 15/20 guy.

Yup, yup, and yup. If LoDuca is batting second with Wright or Floyd batting sixth, it will make no sense.

Kenny Williams going for it?

So, are the Sox done dealing? A local radio report had the Sox mulling a trade in which shortstop Juan Uribe and either Garland or McCarthy would be sent to Baltimore for star shortstop Miguel Tejada.

Would Garland and Uribe be enough? The Orioles are desperate for pitching, but it is a tough call. Garland was a Cy Young pitcher for most of the year and the Orioles would finally have their ace. It is interesting if nothing else, but probably baseless.

Williams did shoot down a rumor that the Sox are offering shortstop Juan Uribe and starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy to the Baltimore Orioles in a trade for shortstop Miguel Tejada.

Got to give them credit...

The Sox offered Manny Ramírez straight up for Tejada last Friday and the Orioles, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation, countered by asking for Ramírez, a pitcher, and a pitching prospect.

Wow. Nuts. They have nuts.