Master Index of Archived Threads


I'd Love to Have Green on the Team Next Year

Elster88 Sep 08 2007 12:20 PM

As a bench player.

Rockin' Doc Sep 08 2007 12:32 PM

If the price is reasonable, I'd be fine with that too. He would be pretty good as a 4th, that can back up at first base, and provide a little pop off the bench. He seems to have a good, team oriented attitude as well. I guess it will come down to whether or not he gets offers to be a fulltime player elsewhere.

Johnny Dickshot Sep 08 2007 12:59 PM

I think it'll come down to whether someone in a better city (in Green's estimation) asks him to be a backup I would guess.

Kid Carsey Sep 08 2007 01:16 PM

Who Green plays for next year and in what capacity is pretty low on my planning for 2008 Mets campaign list.

Edgy DC Sep 08 2007 01:51 PM

Well, the 2008 Mets are a little of a back burner priority right now.

Elster88 Sep 08 2007 02:46 PM

Kid Carsey wrote: Who Green plays for next year and in what capacity is pretty low on my planning for 2008 Mets campaign list. Thank you for contributing.

G-Fafif Sep 08 2007 04:09 PM

I wonder if there's a Daniel Joseph Staub finishing school that converts aging everyday former stars into pinch-hitters deluxe. So far Shawn seems unsuited to that role, but I wonder if with a little Le Grande training if he could do a little of that as well as a little of first (a very little of the outfield). Of course Marlon's already an awesome PH and he's unsigned.

Kid Carsey Sep 08 2007 04:28 PM

E88: >>>Thank you for contributing<<< Thank you for acknowledging my contribution (or making sport of me, it's hard to tell with you). I don't really see how: a: I want Green as bench player next year or b: I ain't thinking about Green and where he plays next year is much of a riveting contribution on either end so go chew on a mitt instead of singling me out in your dead-end thread.

Edgy DC Sep 08 2007 10:35 PM

I think the problem with the Staub model is that our 24-hour bitch cycle of contemporary sports media has very little patience and tolerance for a diminsihing star.

RealityChuck Sep 10 2007 10:25 AM

I don't dislike Green, but I can't see any reason to keep him. He's bound to want more than Millege or Gomez or Endy. Keep Alou if you want a veteran who can hit (though he would certainly prefer to be a regular).

attgig Sep 10 2007 10:48 AM

Alou should be a DH or play platoon. he probably won't figure into the mets plans next year. green could be a decent utility guy, but after paying him 10+ this year, i just feel bad keeping him around and throwing more excess $$ at him.

Benjamin Grimm Sep 10 2007 11:19 AM

If the Mets do, in fact, go with a starting outfield of Beltran, Milledge, and Gomez next year, then I'd like to see a veteran reserve on the bench who can step in and play as little or as often as needed. Green can be that guy, or someone else can. (I don't think it would be Alou, though.) Right now my guess is that they'll be willing to plan on Milledge being an everyday player in 2008, but they may still feel they haven't seen enough of Gomez. If that's the case, they may sign another veteran to a one-year deal and let Gomez be a reserve outfielder. Committing to Gomez over the winter would be a daring move (for the Mets, anyway) and I'd be pleased if they did it, but I'd also be at least a little surprised.

Centerfield Sep 10 2007 11:32 AM

Milledge OPS: .796 Gomez OPS: .630 I would not be happy at all if these were the corner outfielders next year considering our question marks at 2B, C and declining production at 1B.

Valadius Sep 10 2007 11:46 AM

I am not at ALL comfortable with Gomez. Milledge is getting there, but Gomez might be ready to start in 2009, if at all. I'd keep Alou around, and I like Green, but keeping Green is not a must. However, if we let Green go, we need to bring in an older, more proven bat for a year, similar to what Reggie Sanders was doing a few years back, bouncing around the league while hitting 20 homers every year.

soupcan Sep 10 2007 11:47 AM

Is 2B a question mark? If Castillo's a FA I would like to think they'd sign him.

metirish Sep 10 2007 11:47 AM

Agree with CF........not much pop in that outfield either,they might hit 15-20 home runs between them at Shea over a full season. As for Green yes I think he would be a good fit playing of the bench,probably play more than the usual bench player though and still contribute. Edit to answer Soupcan...Castillo is a FA.....

TransMonk Sep 10 2007 12:02 PM

="attgig"]green could be a decent utility guy, but after paying him 10+ this year, i just feel bad keeping him around and throwing more excess $$ at him. Actually, when Green was traded from Arizona he had $12.75M remaining on his contract for the remainder of '06 and '07. Arizona kicked in $6.3M towards that amount. So the Mets as a team have only paid $6.45M to Green for this year and a month of last year. The Mets were left with the $10M option for '08 with a $2M buyout. I feel there are far more pieces that need to fall into place before the Mets know whether they should commit another $8M to Green: -Is Moises' option picked up? If so, it could make Green redundant...especially if the regular outfield is going to be Beltran, Gomez and Milledge next year. Alou's option is cheaper than Green's and he's going to provide more offense if he's healthy. -Is Castillo resigned? If not, is Gotay going to be the starting 2B in 2008? If so, is Valentin's option going to be picked up? Not that Green will play second, but if Alou, Castillo and Valentin are all gone next year, the Mets got really young really fast. My guess is they will stick with 2 of the 3 2B, but you never know. -What is Delgado's problem? If Delgado's offensive problems are mental, then that's one thing, but if it is physical either through injury or decline, then that's another. To be perfectly honest, with the way Delgado has played this year, I feel the lineup is just as potent with Green playing first and Milledge/Endy in RF at this moment in time. Not that Delgado won't eventually get back to his old form and maybe even soon, but I have this sinking feeling that Delgado is hurt more severely than he or the club is letting on...who knows if he'll need offseason surgery with rehab time or how much time he may miss next year due to nagging injuries like he's out with now. Green could serve as a backup at 1B as well as the OF. -Who's catching next year? Loduca seems all but gone. Castro seems to go on the DL for long periods of time each year. The FA catching market is thin. Again, like with 2B, Green is not going to catch. But it's another postion where we may be starved for offense next year if it and other positions go down with injury. The only non-question marks next year are Beltran, Wright and Reyes. In my mind all of the other offensive positions have issues. Some are more positive questions than others (Milledge/Gomez), but some are glaring (Delgado, 2B, C). Green could provide some consistent insurance should the Millegde/Gomez/Delgado questions go the wrong way.

Johnny Dickshot Sep 10 2007 12:20 PM

Alou's option not picked up yet, some observers (the radio guys) think they will unless Alou retires. Good point about the relative cheapness of the optins, that should come into play. Green btw has also spoke of retiring after this season. Gotay will not be an everyday 2B for the Mets or he would already. Castillo looks practically crippled most of the time out there but he has done a fine job on balance. I think they try to re-hook him 2 yrs. Valentin -- longshot as a bench option I would guess. Gotay -- if he could learn some OF could be a super valuable bench guy. I was going to remark shorttly before his injury that Delgado to me looked.. well, if not fat, lumpier than he had in the past, especially around the ass. I think he's getting old. I think we trade for or sign a new catcher or three.

Benjamin Grimm Sep 10 2007 12:28 PM

Is Pudge Rodriguez a free agent? I wouldn't be surprised to see him on a short-term deal, though I'd like them to find the catcher of the future, the guy who's going to be around for the next six to eight years.

TransMonk Sep 10 2007 12:31 PM

Pudge has a $13M club option for next year with a $3M buyout.

Valadius Sep 10 2007 12:32 PM

We could look down to the minors for some help in these areas. If Delgado gets hobbled, I honestly would like to give Andy Tracy a bit of a look as a backup. He's 34, but he put up good numbers this year at New Orleans. Or we could look at Brett Harper, who tore the cover off the ball for the B-Mets. I also like Chip Ambres as a better long-term option in the outfield over Carlos Gomez. We'll figure out what we're doing at second base, but finding another catcher is going to be a huge challenge.

metirish Sep 10 2007 12:33 PM

The Tigers have a 13M club option,3M buyout. contracts. http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/

metirish Sep 10 2007 12:35 PM

Val really there are two things wrong I can see there,it's Andy Tracy and he's 34.

Johnny Dickshot Sep 10 2007 12:40 PM

] I also like Chip Ambres as a better long-term option in the outfield over Carlos Gomez. No you don't.

Benjamin Grimm Sep 10 2007 12:42 PM

That raised my eyebrows too.

metirish Sep 10 2007 12:43 PM

Sometimes I wonder if Val really is Omar on here getting a feel for things...know what I'm saying?

Valadius Sep 10 2007 12:52 PM

Huh. I thought Ambres was like 24. Turns out he's almost 28. Oh well. I just would like to see more power out of our corner outfield spots, and Ambres put up power numbers in the minors. The search continues, I guess.

Benjamin Grimm Sep 10 2007 01:02 PM

I think that right now the long term plan for the outfield is Beltran, Milledge, Gomez. Whether that happens in 2008 or 2009 remains to be seen. I think Milledge would hit 20 or more homers playing full time. If Gomez is short on power, Beltran makes up for it. (It's normal to have one outfielder without a lot of home run power. Usually it's the centerfielder, but, if in this scenario it's a corner outfielder I don't see that as a problem.)

Johnny Dickshot Sep 10 2007 01:36 PM

The thing with Gomez is, he's a big guy who, if he "fills out" looks like he could be a power hitter. Look at him the next time he hits. He's big! He's got... projectability!

attgig Sep 10 2007 01:38 PM

Yancy Street Gang wrote: I think that right now the long term plan for the outfield is Beltran, Milledge, Gomez. Whether that happens in 2008 or 2009 remains to be seen. I think Milledge would hit 20 or more homers playing full time. If Gomez is short on power, Beltran makes up for it. (It's normal to have one outfielder without a lot of home run power. Usually it's the centerfielder, but, if in this scenario it's a corner outfielder I don't see that as a problem.) where does martinez go in a year or two? i thought scouts liked him more than they liked gomez.

Gwreck Sep 10 2007 02:10 PM

I don't see Green or Valentin returning, but a Moises/Beltran/Milledge outfield would seem to be just fine. Gomez can return to AAA and get called up when Moises goes on his inevitable DL stint. I actually think the chances of LoDuca staying are higher than we might think. Have you seen a list of FA catchers? Aside from Posada (who is about as old as LoDuca), it's total crap.

Benjamin Grimm Sep 10 2007 03:12 PM

attgig wrote: where does martinez go in a year or two? i thought scouts liked him more than they liked gomez. That's something to determine when the time comes. Maybe Gomez or Milledge (or Beltran) will be gone or less productive and the decision will be easy.

Elster88 Sep 10 2007 11:16 PM

RealityChuck wrote: I don't dislike Green, but I can't see any reason to keep him. He's bound to want more than Millege or Gomez or Endy. Keep Alou if you want a veteran who can hit (though he would certainly prefer to be a regular). Wow you really missed everything that was being said, huh?

RealityChuck Sep 11 2007 10:44 AM

Elster88 wrote: ="RealityChuck"]I don't dislike Green, but I can't see any reason to keep him. He's bound to want more than Millege or Gomez or Endy. Keep Alou if you want a veteran who can hit (though he would certainly prefer to be a regular). Wow you really missed everything that was being said, huh? Why the gratuitous snarkiness? I was merely disagreeing with you -- I don't think it's worth keeping Green. No post previous to mine proved conclusively otherwise (even if such a thing were possible for an opinion).

soupcan Sep 12 2007 07:33 AM

Today's NYTimes... September 12, 2007 Glavine, Not Green, May Be Back With the Mets Next Season By BEN SHPIGEL Toward the back of the Mets’ clubhouse yesterday, Tom Glavine faced a group of reporters and let out a familiar sigh. There are three topics that when broached with Glavine seem to elicit such a response: steroids, Barry Bonds or, in this instance, his plans for 2008. But even as Glavine was musing about the possibility of playing next season, off in another corner, Shawn Green, a two-time All-Star whose career has declined into a part-time role, was mulling his future, too. Green said he planned to sit down with his family at the end of the season and discuss whether he wanted to continue playing. Green was displaced as the starting right fielder last month and is platooning with Jeff Conine at first base until Carlos Delgado rejoins the lineup. Then he will return to what he had been doing, receiving an occasional start or pinch-hit appearance. The Mets can buy him out for $2 million, preferring not to exercise his $10 million option, and make him a free agent. But Green, who turns 35 in November, said he would not accept a similar utility role, and it seems unlikely that a team would sign him and guarantee a starting job. “I’ve always enjoyed this, and I’m grateful for the opportunity,” Green said. “But it’s not like I live and die by it.” Green has accepted, with resignation, this stage of his career. He no longer steals 35 bases, as he did in 1998, or bats .309, as he did in 1999, or even hits 20 homers, well short of the career-high 49 he hit in 2001. He has come full circle, becoming the modest complementary player he was for his first few seasons, but this time it is harder for him. “When you reach a certain level, a bar gets set, and there are expectations and all that,” said Green, who grounded out as a pinch-hitter in last night’s 13-5 loss to Atlanta, is batting .276 with 8 home runs and 42 runs batted in. “Every year, I come in expecting to get back to where I was, and it’s been very frustrating that I haven’t been able to do it.” Green has 1,987 hits, and he said that getting 13 more to reach 2,000 would be nice, but it would not be as important or momentous as 300 victories was to Glavine. Since spring training, Glavine indicated that, assuming he won his 300th game this season, he would wait until after the season before deciding if he would play in 2008. He has remained uncommitted throughout, although he was quoted in The New York Post yesterday as saying that he was at least entertaining the idea of coming back. Glavine is 13-6 with a 3.95 earned run average. “There are times right now, even with me pitching good and feeling good, I’d rather be home some days,” Glavine said. “I know that I can’t honestly answer that question from a physical standpoint and an emotional standpoint until I get home and assess how important baseball is to me versus how much I want to be home.” Glavine has a player option for next season that is worth at least $11 million and could increase to $13 million, assuming he reaches the 200-inning plateau (he is at 182 1/3). General Manager Omar Minaya said yesterday that the Mets were, “of course,” interested if Glavine wanted to come back. The Mets would seem inclined to decline the option and try to negotiate a new contract at a lower price. The Mets gave Glavine as much time as he wanted after last season to make his decision about playing in 2007, but circumstances were different then. Glavine was choosing between the Mets and the Braves. This time he will determine only one thing, and that is whether he wants to play at all. If he does, it would almost certainly be with the Mets. “The determining factor becomes how much does my enjoyment of the game outweigh the sacrifices that they’re making because, with each year that I play here, they’re older, they’re into more things,” Glavine said of his children. “They miss more things when they come up here, whether it’s baseball games or hockey games or things like that. The way I was brought up and the way I try to parent, I have a hard time accepting that they’re making sacrifices for me as opposed to the other way.”

Johnny Dickshot Sep 12 2007 07:54 AM

If I didn;t know better, and I don't, sure looks to me like Glavine is angling for a "Clemens" deal where he can show up only as often as he wants. Pedro will be sure to follow.

Benjamin Grimm Sep 12 2007 08:07 AM

I wouldn't be at all surprised. If it happens, I'd at least like to see Glavine with the Mets full time during the summer months when his kids aren't in school.