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Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

bmfc1 Jan 22 2010 08:36 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jan 22 2010 08:42 AM

Tweets say that the Mets have acquired Gary Matthews, Jr. # SI_JonHeyman #angels will pay a lot of $ on matthews' contract, says AL source. beltran expected back in late april, but #mets concerned 2 minutes ago from web # Jon Heyman SI_JonHeyman #mets are acquiring gary matthews jr. from angels, according to an AL source. story will be up soon on si.com. 4 minutes ago from web

metirish Jan 22 2010 08:39 AM Re: Gary Matthews, Jr.

The Mets have a deal to acquire Gary Matthews Jr. from the Los Angeles Angels according to an American League source. Matthews has two years at $10 million a year remaining on his contract and the Angels will be paying the vast portion of that money. The Mets are concerned about Carlos Beltran, their star centerfielder who underwent knee surgery last week and is expected to miss the first three weeks of the season. Matthews batted .250 in a part-time role for the Angels in 2009. He has spent 11 seasons in the majors with six teams, including a two-game cameo with the Mets back in 200 Heyman

bmfc1 Jan 22 2010 08:39 AM Re: Gary Matthews, Jr.

I should have said "re-acquired": http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/ ... hews.shtml

seawolf17 Jan 22 2010 08:42 AM Re: Gary Matthews, Jr.

Thankfully, they only gave up Niese, Tejada, Fartinez, and two draft picks for him.

A Boy Named Seo Jan 22 2010 08:45 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Can't see why I'd want that dude out there instead of Pagan.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 22 2010 08:46 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

So much for the "No Stupid Moves" theme of the offseason. Ah.... who'd we give up?

bmfc1 Jan 22 2010 08:46 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr. Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jan 22 2010 08:49 AM

If you're interested, I found a thread on an Angels message board: http://www.angelswin.com/forum/forums/t ... =6&start=1 Heyman says that he hears that Castillo is not part of the deal. The Angels are paying most of his big contract (I think he said 20 of 23 million).

metirish Jan 22 2010 08:48 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Check out tense2 profile pic.....BOING Angels fans are happy of course

Edgy DC Jan 22 2010 08:49 AM Re: Gary Matthews, Jr.

[quote="seawolf17":2w9x1wij]Thankfully, they only gave up Niese, Tejada, Fartinez, and two draft picks for him.[/quote:2w9x1wij] For a microsecond. Had me for a microsecond.

Centerfield Jan 22 2010 08:52 AM Re: Gary Matthews, Jr.

[quote="metirish"] Matthews batted .250 in a part-time role for the Angels in 2009. He has spent 11 seasons in the majors with six teams, including a two-game cameo with the Mets back in 200 Heyman

Year 200? Guy must be mad old.

metirish Jan 22 2010 08:53 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

[quote="John Cougar Lunchbucket"]So much for the "No Stupid Moves" theme of the offseason. Ah.... who'd we give up?

Heyman speculates

Instead, he speculates a low-level minor-leaguer or relief pitcher will go the Angels.

Edgy DC Jan 22 2010 08:53 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

WFAN: How can the Angels GM unload their garbage without taking back ours? Yeah, we should've made them take Francesa.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 22 2010 08:58 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Plot ought to thicken here.

seawolf17 Jan 22 2010 09:02 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Now I'm seeing tweets that say the Reds are involved. Matthews to them for a pitcher, perhaps?

metirish Jan 22 2010 09:06 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr. Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jan 22 2010 09:08 AM

[quote="seawolf17":2spq2j1o]Now I'm seeing tweets that say the Reds are involved. Matthews to them for a pitcher, perhaps?[/quote:2spq2j1o] Now your talking....or tweeting Wayne Krivsky must be all over this shit.....Volquez please....thanks

Edgy DC Jan 22 2010 09:06 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Thinking of Gary Matthews as a replacement for Carlos Beltran as our dynamic multi-talented centerfielder, that's painful. Thinking of Gary Matthews as a replacment for Gary Sheffield, as our washed up over-priced fourth or fifth outfielder, paid by another team and named Gary, that's not as painful.

bmfc1 Jan 22 2010 09:08 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

[quote="Edgy DC"] WFAN: How can the Angels GM unload their garbage without taking back ours? Yeah, we should've made them take Francesa.

BOC Nominee!

Centerfield Jan 22 2010 09:09 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

I know right? Dude's raking today.

smg58 Jan 22 2010 09:11 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Well the Mets do need somebody else in addition to Pagan who can play center, and if we're paying him $3M over two years and giving up nothing, it's not that big a deal. There's no reason why he should play over Pagan, and hopefully Manuel realizes that, but the depth won't hurt.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 22 2010 09:24 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Heyman is hinting that this guy might be headed to Anaheim for Matthews:

Centerfield Jan 22 2010 09:25 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Really? I would have an issue with that. Stokes has been pretty useful, and has the stuff to be even better. I would hope the Mets gave up less than that.

Edgy DC Jan 22 2010 09:26 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Doesn't have much of a role, though, and has been redundant with Figueroa.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 22 2010 09:29 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

I'd also prefer that it wasn't Stokes. It's starting to sound like the Angels are getting a minor leaguer. Heyman had reported that the Angels were interested in Stokes, but that doesn't mean they're getting him.

Edgy DC Jan 22 2010 09:32 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Well, I'd prefer it was a package of expired first-aid supplies, but I imagine the Halos won't get somebody completely useless if they're paying most of the freight on Sarge Jr.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 22 2010 09:34 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Stokes is the kinda pitcher you move for a reserve outfielder.

batmagadanleadoff Jan 22 2010 09:55 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Tommie Agee is Mathews, Jr.'s sixth best all-time comp according to Baseball Reference's similarity scores. We're probably getting this Agee, though:

Ceetar Jan 22 2010 10:03 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Eh. I'm indifferent. I doubt he wins a job over Pagan. He has more power than Jeremy Reed, and he had a good 2006, which means Manuel will trust him first in every power situation that the Pitcher, Pagan, or Castillo get up in after the 6th inning.

attgig Jan 22 2010 10:04 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

can he still play cf well? his defensive abilities were much exaggerated as I remember. how long before Jerry uses him at First like he did with reed?

Frayed Knot Jan 22 2010 10:07 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Keith was big-time friends with Gary Sr. ... not that that has anything to do with anything. For (virtually) free, I don't have any problem with this. I had already heard rumors of rumors about Castillo for Mathews which, predictably, some Met fans thought sounded delightful but would have, in fact, been idiotic to the Nth degree.

smg58 Jan 22 2010 10:08 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

[quote="John Cougar Lunchbucket":dn8orlcz]Stokes is the kinda pitcher you move for a reserve outfielder.[/quote:dn8orlcz] I'd wait to see the price of some of the remaining free agents (like Randy Winn, for example) before giving up somebody I might miss. Stokes was generally effective at getting righties out, and certainly had his moments for us. Matthews has had some very good seasons, but he was sub-replacement the last two years.

MFS62 Jan 22 2010 10:19 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

It is Stokes, confirmed by Fox Sports. (The security on the computer where I am won't let me post the link). Later

duan Jan 22 2010 10:28 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

I don't know you can't complain about getting someone for $ 3 million. Lord knows we may catch a bit of lightning in a bottle or he may get on HGH. We can so easily just waive him and forget about it if it's truly disastrous. Correct me If I'm wrong, but there seemed to be decent chunks of the year where rightly or wrongly Stokes went unused for five plus days (I seem to remember it being 12 at one stage) that means that the management don't trust him. If they reckon they're NOT going to revise that opinion, then moving him's cool with me. Although my surname is truly hurt.

bmfc1 Jan 22 2010 10:35 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr. Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jan 22 2010 10:36 AM

Matthews for Stokes and $2 million of Matthew's salary. At minimum, if Matthews remembers how many outs there are and which base to throw to, he's an improvement over Pagan. If he's in a "I'll show them!" mode, all the better.

seawolf17 Jan 22 2010 10:35 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Shame. Stokes was hilarious as the neighbor on "Frasier."

A Boy Named Seo Jan 22 2010 10:46 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Sounds like the Mets wanted someone strictly centerfieldery, in case Pagan gets hurt or flames out and Fartinez isn't ready to take over. They're pretty damn thin at CF and this helps with the depth there. That said, not sure if there's a better option on the FA market that wouldn't have cost a usable arm for similar $$. If there was a poll, I'd be choosing between "indifferent" and "mildly disappointed".

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jan 22 2010 10:46 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr. Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jan 22 2010 10:50 AM

[quote="smg58":27mmlzic][quote="John Cougar Lunchbucket":27mmlzic]Stokes is the kinda pitcher you move for a reserve outfielder.[/quote:27mmlzic] I'd wait to see the price of some of the remaining free agents (like Randy Winn, for example) before giving up somebody I might miss. Stokes was generally effective at getting righties out, and certainly had his moments for us. Matthews has had some very good seasons, but he was sub-replacement the last two years.[/quote:27mmlzic] This. Cripes. 'Cause... fuck. This guy costs 500K on the open market. Instead, it's 2M and a useful resource (even if he's redundant, he's more useful in virtually any other deal). And Lil' Sarge was beyond sub-replacement last year... he was putrid (-0.8 to -1.8 WAR, depending on who's calculating... in a HALF SEASON). But hey-- he made that catch once! And that other catch! So he's a Platinum Glover! Unless... wait... did the Angels throw in the PEDs he'll need to be effective/durable again? 'Cause that would be awesome.

A Boy Named Seo Jan 22 2010 10:48 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Winn's an outfielder sure, but would you really want that dude playing centerfield in Citi? As I recall, he's been in RF in SF for a good while now and ain't getting younger.

metirish Jan 22 2010 10:50 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

I was surprised to see that Gary Matthews Jr is 35(same as Winn)

Benjamin Grimm Jan 22 2010 10:52 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Yeah, Gary Matthews Jr. is now almost as old as Gary Matthews Sr.

G-Fafif Jan 22 2010 11:19 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

If Matthews doesn't work out, we can always bring in McKay Christensen two days later.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 22 2010 11:38 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Weren't we recently wondering about if there were any Mets who were more productive during their second stint than their first? Well, it looks like Gary Matthews has a pretty good chance to do that. He appeared in one game as a pinch-hitter (flied to left field) and another as a pinch runner.

Centerfield Jan 22 2010 11:46 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

I guarantee you his OPS won't be any worse.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jan 22 2010 11:53 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

So he's got that going for him... which is nice.

G-Fafif Jan 22 2010 12:16 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Thirty-four Mets became Recidivist Mets -- former Mets who went on to play for another big league club before returning to play for the Mets again -- through 2009. Only Lenny Harris and Mike Jorgensen strike me as undeniably more productive the second time around. You could make a case for Jeromy Burnitz based on his getting more playing time and your having nothing better to do than making a case for Jeromy Burnitz. Rusty Staub and Lee Mazzilli acquitted themselves in more limited roles in Mets II. Dave Kingman had his moments before a severe downturn both times. Tom Seaver simply had to show up again. Anderson Hernandez seemed less impressive defensively last year, less hopeless offensively. Jeff McKnight was steadily Jeff McKnight in all his stints. Gary Matthews has a Brady Clark type bar to clear. Alas, Brady Clark couldn't clear it.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 22 2010 12:38 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

I just got an e-mail from the Mets, announcing this trade, so I guess it's officially official. The Associated Press is reporting that the Angels are sending the Mets $21 million to pay the remaining $23 million of Matthews' contract. They must have really wanted to get rid of him.

Farmer Ted Jan 22 2010 12:40 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

The Mets need to offset the Bobby Bonilla money which, I believe, comes back on-line next year ($1.7 mill+ per year for a gazillion years).

Benjamin Grimm Jan 22 2010 12:43 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Well, that $21 million will be offsetting the Gary Matthews money. They won't be able do do anything else with that dough unless they're able to trade Matthews elsewhere without throwing in any money. And if they were to do that, they'd likely be getting a similar huge contract in return.

Ceetar Jan 22 2010 02:26 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Best case is Pagan (Or Evans or Carter or whatever..I guess those guys aren't really CFers..) is lighting it up, and Matthews is hitting well too. Hopefully Beltran has resumed baseball activity by the start of the season and maybe Omar can flip GMJ for a pitcher or something. Or he's a decent pop-guy off the bench. Hey, Francoeur came here and got better, why not?

Edgy DC Jan 22 2010 02:27 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

It'd be nice if he has one or two more of these in his pocket:

Edgy DC Jan 22 2010 02:33 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Fingered in the 2007 case of that PED ring broken up by the Albany DA. He denied using HGH, but got named in the Mitchell Report. He has on occasion since been referred to Gary Matthews Juicer.

Centerfield Jan 22 2010 02:34 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

[quote="Edgy DC"]It'd be nice if he has one or two more of these in his pocket:

He's going to need some major ups to be able to get that at Citi.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jan 22 2010 02:39 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Most every metric under the sun-- include my patented I-BLLZ system-- says the only way he's got one of those in his pocket now is via photograph. And I suspect that may be part of why the Mets got him-- highlight memories. It's been two years since he's been good, or even half-decent.

Edgy DC Jan 22 2010 02:47 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

They do employ scouts. I've seen their names and everything in the media guide. I'm sure they know how he's performed over the last two years.

Ashie62 Jan 22 2010 06:18 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

I like the pickup...Can fill in and be 4th outfielder

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jan 22 2010 07:39 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Those same scouts-- at least according to what their FO leaked-- liked Bay's defense over Holliday's because he'd once played center field. I hope he can contribute. But I'll say this, and I'll say no more about it until at least ST: the Angels just paid $21 million dollars to make sure he wouldn't be their FIFTH outfielder.

Edgy DC Jan 22 2010 08:13 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

You can look at it that way. But you can look at every trade that way. How good can it be if some other rich and smart organization wanted the exact opposite end of the deal that you wanted?

Fman99 Jan 22 2010 08:49 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

For all of the reality of what Matthews isn't, or won't be, the reality is that Stokes has a career ERA/WHIP of 5.02/1.62 and spent much of 2009 serving up pin-straight fastballs to any hitter willing to tee the ball up. I'm fine with this -- another bat/glove in the OF in Beltran's absence, and a replaceable arm in Stokes.

Ashie62 Jan 22 2010 09:09 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

[quote="Farmer Ted":2b7vt4jz]The Mets need to offset the Bobby Bonilla money which, I believe, comes back on-line next year ($1.7 mill+ per year for a gazillion years).[/quote:2b7vt4jz] Bonilla is being paid until 2032 and Mo vaughn similarly

Edgy DC Jan 23 2010 05:23 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

[quote="Fman99":4d3c8qpl]For all of the reality of what Matthews isn't, or won't be, the reality is that Stokes has a career ERA/WHIP of 5.02/1.62 and spent much of 2009 serving up pin-straight fastballs to any hitter willing to tee the ball up.[/quote:4d3c8qpl] If Stokes had anything, he had movement.

metirish Jan 23 2010 06:57 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Omar says "I felt, with Carlos being out, it's an opportunity to get a guy who's versatile and who - in our ballpark - can play all outfield positions," Mets general manager Omar Minaya said in a telephone news conference Friday. "With Carlos or without Carlos, it makes our team better." "He's mostly a change-of-scenery guy," Minaya said of Matthews. "He has an opportunity to come to New York and hopefully get some more playing time. The key for him is going to be playing time. He has had some years of reasonable production and some of lower production." Minaya said he still is pursuing catchers and starting pitchers, although he sounded more confident about sticking with his current group of catchers - Henry Blanco, Chris Coste, Omir Santos and Josh Thole. Newsday You can hear the audio right here. http://www.metsblog.com/2010/01/22/vide ... tthews-jr/

bmfc1 Jan 23 2010 08:06 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Brutal reports on Matthews from Olney's ESPN column, today: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- After the Mets completed their trade for Gary Matthews Jr. on Friday, committing about $2.5 million and a middle reliever to land him, one talent evaluator dug into his team's scouting reports, wondering if maybe his general impression that Matthews was a player in decline was wrong. The reports for his team were clear: Matthews is a player to be avoided. Slow bat. Declining range. And above all else, a player who wants to be a regular and will be an unhappy distraction in your clubhouse when he's not in the lineup every day. Said an executive with another team of the Mets' efforts to acquire Matthews -- which have been extensive, including the discussion of one possible four-team deal this winter: "Baffling." The Angels signed Matthews to a five-year, $50 million deal after he had a strong 2006 season, in which he reached a career highs in batting average (.313), homers (19) and OPS (.866). It wasn't long after that Matthews was linked, with intense scrutiny, to past acquisition of human growth hormone. His OPS the last three seasons: .742, .675 and .697; the last number ranked 90th among 104 outfielders with at least 300 plate appearances. His slugging percentage of .361 ranked 96th among 104 outfielders with at least 300 plate appearances. He is now 35 years old. The Mets are seeing something in him that other teams are not seeing -- especially the Angels, who also have a need for an extra outfielder but essentially ate $21.5 million just to get Matthews off their team. I asked a scout with a team not involved in this deal for his observations on Matthew's play. His response: "I still see Matthews as an expensive extra outfielder," said the scout. "The Angels knew they were fooled by his Texas numbers before they went after Hunter. He should still be able to play center field while Beltran is out, but he hasn't shown any sock since he was outed for receiving shipments of HGH a couple years ago. His bat has been dragging through the zone the last couple years. Nevertheless, he should benefit from getting more consistent at bats in NY than he had been getting in Anaheim." His defense? Well, Mark Simon of ESPN Research sent along his year-by-year UZR/150 ratings from FanGraphs. Let's just say there's a trend in the numbers: * 2002: 23.8 (1st among 107 outfielders with at least 500-plus innings) * 2003: 6.6 (33rd of 105) * 2004: 21.3 (9th of 107) * 2005: 18.7 (15th of 112) * 2006: 1.0 (46th of 108) * 2007: -12.2 (88th of 108) * 2008: -13.7 (94th of 112) * 2009: -24.6 (109th of 115) The winter's market has had other guys who could've fit the role of extra outfielder. Randy Winn. Jeremy Reed. Endy Chavez, who reportedly is making progress in his rehabilitation. To sum up the view of Matthews within the game: He can't hit for average, can't hit for power, his defense ranks statistically among the worst outfielders in the majors, and, to top it off, rival scouts have been reporting that in recent years he has been a clubhouse negative. If Matthews were a free agent, he would be a player who might get a $500,000 non-guaranteed minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. And yet the Mets opted to commit $2.5 million to get him, as well as trade a serviceable pitcher in Brian Stokes, to get a player whose effectiveness might have ended years ago. Very strange.

willpie Jan 23 2010 08:48 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Yikes.

MFS62 Jan 23 2010 08:49 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

But he's nice to small animals? So, with some lower cost alternatives still out there, ....., why? Later

metirish Jan 23 2010 09:13 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

I don't think anyone here is surprised by what is in Olney's article , as bad as it reads even,

Frayed Knot Jan 23 2010 11:11 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

The parts about his defense are disturbing. Other than that, all it's essentially saying is that he's no longer anywhere near being a starting outfielder - which is fine seeing as that's not how we're planning on using him - only 3/5 of the way through what might qualify as the worst FA contract of the decade. As far as the alternates mentioned there: - Winn has been discussed here before, but can in part call his own shots and is he going to agree to take a job where he'd be battling for a 4th/5th spot? - Reed ... been there, done that, no thanks - Endy ... much better defense but BTDT too, plus he's recovering from a pretty severe leg injury

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jan 23 2010 12:41 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr. Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jan 23 2010 01:31 PM

Just to brighten things up a bit... I thought I'd point out a couple more things: 1) Remember how shitty Jeremy Reed was last year? Remember how about 2/3 of us-- as much as we diverged on other matters-- agreed that he didn't even deserve top-30 consideration among last year's Mets? How, the year before, he'd been pretty damn iffy, too? He was more valuable over the last two years than Gary Matthews with bat and glove (-0.9 WAR vs. -1.6 WAR, as per Fangraphs). 2) Team player Gary Matthews, it seems, is likely expecting to start, and, according to ML-front-office scuttlebutt (as in the Olney article) doesn't suffer in silence. From October, LA Times: “I’m ready to play for an organization that wants me to play every day. This organization has other plans, and that’s OK.” Ultimately, this isn't a terrible trade... it's just kind of pointless; there's so much more "Why" than "Why not" to this, especially considering the alternatives. Among the cheap, potentially better options still out there are guys like Rocco Baldelli and Gabe Gross. Even Johnny Damon-- plus bat making up for slightly-below-average glove-- would be better at his likely price. (Yes, there are concerns with all. Yes, they are both significantly better than GMJ.) (Dammit. I broke my promise.)

metirish Jan 23 2010 12:50 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Davidoff Yuck. I think all you have to know about this deal is, over the past three seasons _ since Matthews enjoyed a breakthrough 2006 that quite likely included HGH usage and resulted in a huge contract - Matthews has put up a combined rWAR of -.6. In other words, during his time with the Angels, when he was making $10 million a season, he was worse than your standard, Quadruple-A player. Brian Stokes? He has a .1 rWAR in the same period. He's a tick better than your Quadruple-A player. And just counting, 2008 and 2009? Stokes' figure goes up to .9. Matthews' goes down to -2.2, thanks to apparently deteriorating defensive skills. Omar MInaya mentioned the "change of scenery" thing, and hey, stranger things have happened. Matthews clearly grew deterred after the Angels, deterred by Matthews' poor 2007, relegated him to fourth-outfielder status by signing Torii Hunter. But $1 million per season is not worth a "change of scenery" risk. Not when Matthews, for the most part, hasn't been a very good player. Very bad trade.

Edgy DC Jan 23 2010 01:15 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

So, accepting everything he says as true, the Mets are on the hook for $1 million per over the next two years for a player he says should be making $500,000. I can give them the benefit of the doubt on that one.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 23 2010 01:24 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

The only thing that can make this a bad trade is if they end up desperately needing Stokes. While I suppose that's possible, it's pretty likely that they'll uncover someone sufficiently Stokes-like.

Vic Sage Jan 24 2010 09:08 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

Make no mistake: This is a deal of a seventh reliever for a fifth outfielder. That’s nothing. This means very little in the grand scheme of things. But it’s frustrating and a little frightening because it shows, once again, how the Mets seem to judge talent in a way that departs so severely from the stats they should now have at their disposal, then overpay to acquire that talent. http://www.tedquarters.net/2010/01/22/the-issue-here/

attgig Jan 25 2010 09:14 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

[quote="Vic Sage"] Make no mistake: This is a deal of a seventh reliever for a fifth outfielder. That’s nothing. This means very little in the grand scheme of things. But it’s frustrating and a little frightening because it shows, once again, how the Mets seem to judge talent in a way that departs so severely from the stats they should now have at their disposal, then overpay to acquire that talent. http://www.tedquarters.net/2010/01/22/the-issue-here/

agreed with that point. these are the type of deals that befuddle me about omar. 2 year deal to julio franco. cora for 2 mil. alou for 5 mil+
I have a gut feeling that if matthews was a free agent, he may have given him more money than 1mil per to sign him which scares me.

Edgy DC Jan 25 2010 09:26 AM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

I wouldn't recommend allowing yourself scared over something you're speculating. Experienced bench players have a price also. The real issue is whether or not he has something to contribute while Beltran heals and/or Martinez develops. I don't know.

attgig Jan 25 2010 03:32 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

[quote="Edgy DC":2059a7lp]I wouldn't recommend allowing yourself scared over something you're speculating. Experienced bench players have a price also. The real issue is whether or not he has something to contribute while Beltran heals and/or Martinez develops. I don't know.[/quote:2059a7lp] well, those other deals i mentioned scare me too. and yeah, the issue at hand now is can matthews contribute to the club now that he's here for 2 years...i think he gets cut mid-season after briefly auditioning at 1b....

Ceetar Jan 25 2010 04:49 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

[quote="attgig":3973yeul][quote="Edgy DC":3973yeul]I wouldn't recommend allowing yourself scared over something you're speculating. Experienced bench players have a price also. The real issue is whether or not he has something to contribute while Beltran heals and/or Martinez develops. I don't know.[/quote:3973yeul] well, those other deals i mentioned scare me too. and yeah, the issue at hand now is can matthews contribute to the club now that he's here for 2 years...i think he gets cut mid-season after briefly auditioning at 1b....[/quote:3973yeul] Basically the same as Sheffield last year, which some people seem to think he contributed to the team in some positive way. I view GMJ much the same way. You can through out all the 'advanced' stats you want, but everyone interprets these different. To the Mets, they feel the gamble that GMJ can provide some adequate defense in a pinch, maybe have a hot streak here and there, be halfway decent in an emergency is greater than the gamble that Stokes develops into anything of value. Especially given they've already made the mistake of keeping Manuel, who views Stokes as having little value. So no reason to compound the mistake of keeping Manuel by keeping guys he won't utilize. (Which is another reason we can't bring back a guy like Tatis, who Manuel will bat like it's 2008 no matter what the stats say)

Edgy DC Jan 25 2010 06:19 PM Re: Welcome Gary Matthews, Jr.

[quote="attgig":3iqjuh1y][quote="Edgy DC":3iqjuh1y]I wouldn't recommend allowing yourself scared over something you're speculating. Experienced bench players have a price also. The real issue is whether or not he has something to contribute while Beltran heals and/or Martinez develops. I don't know.[/quote:3iqjuh1y] well, those other deals i mentioned scare me too. and yeah, the issue at hand now is can matthews contribute to the club now that he's here for 2 years...i think he gets cut mid-season after briefly auditioning at 1b....[/quote:3iqjuh1y] I don't think he ever makes it to first. But yeah, there's a good chance he doesn't get through the year alive.