I have one thought running through my head after the Mets and Johan Santana won 5-0 last night, and it has nothing to do with anything that happened in that game:
Moises Alou got hurt again?!?!
This is not a joke.
Alou was removed from his AA start with a pain in his quad. I think Omar Minaya should give Alou just one more shot. He has one more chance to slowly work himself back into shape and attempt to make it on the team. If he goes on the DL just one more time, it's adios muchacho!
Endy Chavez has been filling in admirably, batting well over .350 as a starter. The season started for him so poorly, but he has really turned a corner when given a chance to start. He also fits beautifully in the #2 hole, right behind Jose Reyes.
I don't feel like the Mets have a pressing need to go out and land a everyday outfielder. I wouldn't mind looking, but I'm sure everything will be costly, and the minor leagues isn't exactly filled with great players right now. Everyone the team has down there, I think they would prefer to keep.
If Minaya could land a quality 3/4 outfielder, I think that would be something plausible and helpful, without giving up too much. I have no specific names for you, but there are some fringe players out there who could be had for cheap, and might be able to add a little something to the squad.
Honestly, Moises, it's about time to hang 'em up. Or at least sign with an AL team so you can DH and not have to play the field. Unbelievable. He gets hurt more than me, and if you know me, it's a lot.
I just don't agree that our outfield is "fine as is," to be honest. Even if Alou came back, his stint on the team would probably consist of microseconds, and who knows about Church? Not to mention defense, we need another big right handed bat, and because of the outfield situation, the need should probably be filled by an outfielder, who can spell one of the corner outfielders and put at least one of them back on the bench where he properly belongs.
ReplyDeleteI say release Alou; wait until Church is eligible to come off the DL and re-evaluate him, and if no significant progress is evident, sit him down for the rest of the year, and go after an outfielder or two, or maybe an outfielder and an infielder, or whatever combo works.
I think Alou is done. I think one more shot is fine -- why not? -- but I'm not holding out much hope. They should proceed from here under the assumption that he'll never be back.
ReplyDeleteI'm fine with waiting until we see if Church can make it back or not for the stretch run. If he can't, I agree that we'll need something more in the outfield than Chavez/Tatis. I like Endy and quite honestly I think the team is playing much better with him and Easley in the lineup, but one more bat with pop would really nice.
Don't you think we could hoodwink Pittsburgh into giving us Xavier back for Castillo?? ;) I wish!!
lets argenis reyes play outfield. im joking, but he played very well last night. its been said a million times, but just to further emphasize, the mets are playing better because of 2 out hits with RISP. that is the key to baseball. i might look at past seasons and look at correlations, but it seems pretty obvious that this might be the most important stat. or maybe given a certain team OBP, or some other condition. you get the idea.
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