Trouble Brewin'

Ut oh. Mike Pelfrey has looked worse and worse as time goes on and I still like him long term. I am betting big on 'ole Mikey boy, but right now? I want something a little more.

With Lohse signing for such a bargain deal (and he is a BIG bargain), you have to wonder what Omar was thinking. Or maybe wasn't thinking.... Again. This is akin to buying a brand new Ferrari and not buying insurance.

The Mets went out and built this magical and fantastical team that has me seeing lollipops, puppy dogs, unicorns, and rainbows everywhere I go and there is a very large hole that could have been covered up for about 3% of the total payroll. How could you not be in on Lohse at this point if you are Omar.

I am not going to say it is shameful, because that is too much....actually...fuck that. Shameful. Every team needs an extra starter or two and the Mets have a glaring depth issue at this point. I really think the Mets will be fine without him, but there will be big headaches and it will be much closer of a race then it needed to be.

* * *

All-Star game in Queens? Awesome.

The lone Met signed through 2013 is Johan Santana, who just inked a six-year, $137.5 million deal. David Wright's current six-year, $55 million package expires the previous season, although the Mets have an option for 2013 at $16 million. Barring a trade, teenage prodigy Fernando Martinez would still be under the Mets' control, having turned 24 years old.

$16 million for the best player in baseball in 2013? I just got chills.

Global warming take note... The Mets are on the case.

Pelfrey was 'so-so at best'.

"I'm really disappointed that I fell behind a lot of guys," said Pelfrey, who walked two, struck out one and threw 88 pitches. "I really wanted to be more aggressive. I wish I was a little more efficient than what I was."

Lazy Spring Days

I like Spring Training. It means real baseball is coming back. However, real baseball is still a bit away. Until then, we get games that do not mean much and stats that are very hard to decipher and that are for the most part meaningless. We also just get a plethora of human interest stories, fluff, and nonsense in the papers and on the internet. However, I must carry on.

The two biggest things emerging for me this spring are Carlos Beltran and the Mets rotation depth. I am not calling Beltran soft just yet as it would be extremely hard for me to make that determination. I do understand different people have different pain thresholds and different ways of dealing with things, but this is getting crazy.

"When you have surgery, you lose all the muscle in your quads, everything goes away," Beltran said. "Because the knees are fixed, the sensation of tendonitis I was having, I don't have anymore. But if I don't strengthen my quads, then all the pounding is going to be in the knees, and I'm going to aggravate the knees again."

He is undoubtedly one of my more favorite players in the league to watch. He has the elegance of stripper plying her craft on the pole when he plays and has a tremendous batting eye, the ability to hit for prodigious power, and a spectacular glove. However, we have rarely seen him 100% and he is not afraid to tell everyone about it.

Beltran, 30, was not lacking any confidence when he showed up for spring training and immediately echoed Jimmy Rollins' boast of the previous year by proclaiming the Mets "the team to beat."

Maybe he should have waited to make that statement until he was healthy and able to contribute. As for the rotation depth, I have been giving it more thought. The Mets need to see if Lohse will do a one year deal. Pelfrey might have to be a sacrificial lamb, but they have simply too much riding on this season to not hedge their bets.

There is only upside here and even if the Wilpons go over budget a bit, it will repay them immeasurably. With Lohse, the Mets will have four guys capable of 200 innings, which is just nuts. That should allay any concerns about the bullpen and give the Mets a seven deep staff which means no more Dave Williams, Chan Ho Parks, etc. I cannot say enough how important this is.

* * *

Gotay does not have a break and might be able to start playing next week. Good stuff.

Also from the above link...

Maine, who will be eligible for arbitration next year, did not sign the contract, which calls for a marginal bump, according to the Mets' salary slotting for pre-arbitration players. David Wright and Aaron Heilman also did not sign their contracts when they were renewed in years past. A signed contract could imply a player is satisfied, which could later impact arbitration.

"I'm not even worried about that," said Maine, a 15-game winner who earned $391,000 last season. "I'll still be able to pay off my cell phone bill."

Good to see someone has perspective and if Maine repeats '07 this season, he will be paid.

Maine is hoping the Mets will reach out to him with a multi-year offer before he gets to the arbitration process next off-season. A source close to the 26-year-old starter told The Post preliminary talks already have begun.

"[Maine] loves pitching in New York and loves pitching for the Mets," the source said. "He's not a guy who worries about what other people are doing."

While some people will tell fans to stop crying about these players complaining about their salaries, it is nice to see a guy like Maine around. He may not be ecstatic, but he realizes how good he has it and comes out looking very good after all of this.

"I'm thankful for everything I make in this league," he told The Post. "It's still a lot of money, and I'm grateful to the Mets. That's just the type of person I am. I'm lucky to be doing this for a living."

We here things about character guys all the time and Maine seems to be one of those guys and the Mets will take care of him.

Shea will be smoke free in '08 and Citi will be smoke free as well. I say great! So a few phlegm hacking smokers won't be able to continue to move forward with their quest for cancer during Met games. I'm sure they will get over it.

Mr. Billy Wags realizes he needs to switch up his game a bit.

Church is getting better.

The changing of the guards has begun.

The Mets' All-Star shortstop said he couldn't be happier about following Derek Jeter as the face of the video game's 2008 version, released nationally yesterday.

Sugary goodness.

I would hate to trade for a backup first baseman, but that is just what the Mets might have to do. Frankly with Beltran's bad wheels, he should move his bulking ass to first so he doesn't break.

Another bad article about Lastings. I like Church and do not think the Mets received nothing in return for Milledge, but we should all let this go. Lastings' statements were hardly inflammatory and even had a lot of truth. He might not have been a great fit personality wise for this team, but he is not a malcontent and meant well in my opinion.

He is not David Wright when it comes to the media and maybe he makes some bad decisions, but he is a good ballplayer who has a certain style to his game that rubs some people the wrong way. I also just want to point out that Jose Reyes rubs some people the wrong way as well, including his manager.

The anti-Maine.

“Man, it’s a tough situation for me right now because I’m at a point where I feel like the position I’m in, there’s a certain standard that needs to be put in place here,” said Papelbon after his scoreless inning of work in the Red Sox’ 5-3 victory over the Pirates. “I feel like with me being at the top of my position, I feel like that standard needs to be set and I’m the one to set that standard."

Why do the players need to feel like they are battling the owners? Yes, the rake in a lot of money but they own the teams and players get compensated very well for what they do. The owners are not the enemy.

Tough Decisions on Tap

With The Duque looking worse by the day, the Mets have some serious decisions to make. They could run into the season with what they have and let Pelfrey have the fifth spot and they can hope The Duque will provide depth at a later date. Or, they can try and nip this thing in the ass right away and tell Pelfrey his time to shine will have to wait until someone gets hurt.

The buzz going around that Lohse can be nabbed for someone between $4 million and $10 million dollars for a one year contract. Since 2002, he posted an ERA+ of 105, 98, 89, 106, 78, and 100. Obviously one year is way out of the line and the others are very 2007 Tom Glavine-esquely average. He went from being a guy who was looking for a ridiculous contract that was way out of line with what it should have been to a guy who is a veritable bargain. Scott Boras overplayed his hand and a guy who should have easily had a job if they were reasonable from the start is now not doing much of anything.

              Glavine vs. Lohse in '07
          ERA  K/9 k/bb Batting Against Inn ERA+
Glavine  4.45 4.00 1.39 .281/.338/.438 200.1  96
Lohse    4.63 5.70 2.14 .279/.339/.447 192.2 100

I am fully aware that Glavine was a far better pitcher in prior to 2007 and I am kind of cherry picking numbers here, but you get what I'm saying. One guy was good enough for a $8 million dollar one year contract and a first round draft pick and the other guy is getting the Jose Canseco/Sammy Sosa/Barry Bonds treatment. If I were him, I would fire Boras right away and maybe he would get some work. Lohse was grossly mishandled and now he is sitting home instead of trying to gain some consistency in his career.

Furthermore, at 29, there is surely room for growth. He also posts decent k/bb ratios and strikes out enough people to satisfy me. I am torn for sure because I want the Duque in the bullpen and Mike Pelfrey in the rotation. However, the only problem with that is there is no depth that does not really compromise the bullpen if The Duque is pitching effectively from there and I think he will. With Lohse in the mix, Pelfrey is the #6 guy and The Duque is the emergency #7 guy with Vargas, Sosa, etc. as the shit hitting the fan group.

If anything, this current rash of injuries should make the Mets front office seriously consider bringing in too many pitchers to the fold. If someone goes down, the Mets will be in trouble. Who can they dish off to get anyone who is worth anything? Sure they can take a look at the scrapheap, but there are certainly better options.

If anything, the extra depth gives the Mets at least something to deal at the break if they needed to upgrade their team in other areas. Lohse could be dished off with no commitment following him and Pelfrey could take over mid year so they can monitor his usage over the course of the first half. At $40 million over four years, not taking Lohse is a no brainer. At $5 to $8 million over one season, it is a no brainer to go after him. With one more season like 2007, he also stands a pretty good chance of giving whomever picks him up a sandwich pick.

The Mets are primed for some pretty great things this season. To see them evaporate because of depth would truly be shame. When it was cost prohibitive it was one thing. However, Lohse is set to be a bargain in baseball terms and bargains make you rethink your original plans.

* * *

Mike Pelfrey continues to do the right things.

Mike Pelfrey allowed two hits, including an infield hit, and retired six batters on groundouts while pitching three scoreless innings in his second start of the spring.

A strikeout would not kill the kid, but the six groundballs is very nice.

Ruben might be more injured than than anyone previously thought. Not good for Gotay.

John Donovan is drinking the Pedro Martinez Kool-Aid and why not? Again, Pedro is not the first guy to get surgery. If he did not have a nice five game stint at the end of '07, I would be leery. But he came back before anyone thought he did and did much better as well.

Now, he is back in a Mets uniform and looking sharp. I have high expectations for him this season. Yes, I doubt he will toss 200 innings, but that is fine. 180 innings is more in line with what I'm expecting. We all have to remember he has the ability to be very economical with his pitches and get through 6+ innings with 90 pitches.

I think Wallace Matthews is trying to pull a fast one by switching his name around. Thanks for the shitty article.

Cory Patterson is now a Red. The man's line in the bigs is .258/.298/.414. He looked like a star in the making, but that never happened. Dusty Baker had been calling for him and now he has him, which means Jay Bruce is likely out. The fact is, if this team truly thinks they have a shot at the NL Central or the Wildcard, Bruce should be in.

If they truly do not believe that, then this move is just fine. For me, I think Volquez, Cueto, Bailey, and Votto are enough wildcards that give me pause before I say this team has no chance. The fact is, there is upside there. Arroyo, Harang, Bailey, and Cueto could potentially be a nice front four with Fogg and Affeldt still in the mix. Their bullpen could be greatly improved as well if Volquez and Affeldt are in there as well.