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Best Winter

Edgy DC Dec 01 2008 09:47 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Dec 01 2008 09:54 AM

Marty Noble addresses what the best Mets offseason was in the recent mailbag. The questioner suggest 1986-1987, when they got Kevin McReyonlds and David Cone. I think he's being silly. Cone was a steal and a half, but McReynolds came at a dear price, and, while Dwight Gooden didn't test positive until spring training, it's his arrest that winter that sent up the red flag that next-best pitcher in Mets history was in trouble. I'm going to go with the Pedro, Carlos, and Omar winter of 2004-2005. For a sidebar, they swiped Henry Owens from the Pirates, picked up Roberto Hernandez, Chris Woodward, Marlon Anderson, and Mr. Koo (who was brilliant if only for a day) on the cheap. Yeah, signing Miguel Cairo, trading the Blade for Mientkiewicz, and moving Bono for Kaz Ishii didn't pan out, but neither did we get burned at the other end in those deals. Oh, yeah. They hired Willie Randolph. I didn't like that. But he seemed like he could be the right figure for a bit.

duan Dec 01 2008 09:51 AM

I don't think there's ever been a finer moment in baseball then koo's triple.

Edgy DC Dec 01 2008 09:56 AM

it wasn't a trip I was referring to (stats say he never had one) but scoring from second on a bunt a la Mookie Wilson. In fact, if you look at Mookie's name backwards, the word "KOO" appears.

Benjamin Grimm Dec 01 2008 09:56 AM

My first instinct was 1984-85, but looking at the details, there weren't a LOT of good trades, but there was a four-day span in which two very significant deals were made: ] December 7, 1984 New York Mets traded Walt Terrell to the Detroit Tigers for Howard Johnson. December 10, 1984 New York Mets traded Hubie Brooks, Mike Fitzgerald, Herm Winningham and Floyd Youmans to the Montreal Expos for Gary Carter.

Edgy DC Dec 01 2008 10:04 AM

That's a solid candidate you have there, even though I find the Carter trade to be over-rated. (We would have lost it had Hubie not gotten hurt.) It's certainly a great week. The downsides to that offseason included dealing Tim Leary (who would eventually resurge in time to help the Dodgers beat us in 1988) for a going-nowhere prospect and flipping Jose Oquendo on the eve of the season for another shortstop (also going nowhere) just as Oquendo was finding his landlegs. He was only 21 --- no time to give up on the guy.

Centerfield Dec 01 2008 10:10 AM

1998-1999 was pretty good too. Re-sign Piazza, Leiter. Bring aboard Ventura, Rickey. I think that was the year of the Hundley for Benitez-Cedeno trade as well.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 01 2008 10:10 AM

The winter of 1998-99 was pretty spectacular. *Piazza signed for 7 years * Ventura signed * Hundley traded to LAD for Charles Johnson and Roger Cedeno, Johnson flipped to Baltimore for Armando benitez. The Mets got the better of every player in that deal. * Two late veteran arrivals, Rickey Henderson and Orel Hershiser, signed on the cheap and turn out to be bargains. * Flier taken on pat Mahomes, comes up aces. To me though it seems like the Winters in the early 80s may have been less specacular, they included almost no bad moves and mainly all good moves. I'll nominate 1983: Keith Hernandez re-signed, Sid Fernamdez traded for, Davey Johnson hired. Other than the whole losing-Tom-Seaver thing, not a bad offseason.

Edgy DC Dec 01 2008 10:18 AM

The early eighties seemed less specatacular because it oft meant deals for quality younguns like Terrell, Darlin', Johnson and Siddd. No splash, but cheap, long-term Met history in their futures. Losing Seaver in 1983-1984 can't be dismissed lightly. He could have/should have been the difference in 1985 and possibly 1984 also.

metirish Dec 01 2008 11:06 AM

I am not that great at remembering the specifics of certain off-seasons but I would have gone with 2004/5 and the year they signed Pizza long term , then I read about Ventura and the rest in bucket and CF's post and that clinches it for me.

G-Fafif Dec 01 2008 11:21 AM

For pure wheeling and dealing, I remain a fan of 1974-75: • Sadecki and Moore for Torre • Dyer for Clines • Boswell for Gallagher • Martinez for Heidemann and Vail • McGraw, Schneck and Hahn for Unser, Stearns and Scarce • Cold hard cash for Kingman It's not so much that raging success boiled over as a result (though the Mets did improve by eleven games in the succeeding year). Nor is it that a new cast of characters who would write significant short- and long-term chapters in the Met saga (though a few did). It was the action, baby, the action. This was the penultimate pre-free agent winter and those winter meetings were a hotbed. The Tug-Del trade was the only one of the above that happened there but it was exciting to watch the Mets makes moves that, at least for 1975, didn't make them any worse than they already were. 2001-02 was also souped up (Appier for Vaughn; Lawton & Co. for Alomar; the nineteen-way deal that brought back Burnitz; re-signing Cedeno), but I'm not as big a fan, even though at the time I convinced myself I was. The aftermath has something to do with that.

smg58 Dec 01 2008 11:29 AM

You could also make a case for 05-06. They got more from Wagner than they did from Pedro, ultimately. Plus Delgado and LoDuca for good prices. Seo for Sanchez worked out really well for four months, and it's not like Seo has done anything since he left here. Benson for Maine and Julio (who ultimately got cashed in for El Duque) worked out better than we had any right to expect. Plus Chad Bradford and Darren Oliver were assets to our pen. For that stretch of time at least, Minaya could do no wrong.

Edgy DC Dec 01 2008 11:30 AM

I was not a fan.

G-Fafif Dec 01 2008 11:45 AM

Let's not forget the winter of 1961-62. Mets improved by 40 games as a result.

Edgy DC Dec 01 2008 11:53 AM

A lot can be said for standing still --- save for Wayne Garrett and Jack DiLauro --- in 1968-1969. In fact, yeah!

SteveJRogers Dec 01 2008 04:31 PM

="G-Fafif":3f4gjwnk] 2001-02 was also souped up (Appier for Vaughn; Lawton & Co. for Alomar; the nineteen-way deal that brought back Burnitz; re-signing Cedeno), but I'm not as big a fan, even though at the time I convinced myself I was. The aftermath has something to do with that.[/quote:3f4gjwnk] Lets not forget, even though we want to, 91-92. BONILLA! SABERHAGEN! MURRAY! RANDOLPH! TORBORG! PECOTA! It spawned Klap-Trap's hatred of the Mets pretty much!