What Got Into Ledee?

Lauren Kobylarz at Mets.com, writes about Rickey Ledee and the great night at the plate he had yesterday:

Ledee's performance on the night brought his total hits for the season to four -- already surpassing his total of three from last season.

"You learn to play like that, you learn to play off the bench," Ledee said after the Mets' 8-1 win over the Twins. "You learn not to get caught off guard. It could be an important at-bat, or it could be a blowout, or if for any different reason somebody has to come out."

What If The Mets Did This?

I'm a huge fan of trading up for a team. In the fantasy league I'm in, I think, I've been involved in more trades than anyone else. It let's you know that your GM still cares (not that Omar doesn't).

So with that said, I’ll throw out a couple of trade proposals to make the Mets younger and better for years to come.

1. The Mets give Oakland Lastings Millege and Aaron Heilman for Dan Haren.

I know, I know. This trade has been bounced around more times than a pinball. But, I think Billy Beane is finally ready to pull the trigger. Call it a gut feeling. And as MLB Trade Rumors said it in a previous post,” Dan Haren on the other hand… could challenge for Cy Youngs as a Met.”

2. The Mets give Pittsburgh Rubin Gotay, Ricky Ledee and Ambriorix Burgos for Freddy Sanchez.

Sanchez is probably at the lowest selling point right now. He’s hitting only .258 and has only 4 RBI’s. A change of scenery will most likely do him good. The Mets need a second baseman with a decent bat and a good glove. Sanchez is both of these.

From the Pirates side of the table, Gotay could replace Sanchez at Second, Burgos would go to a pen that desperately needs help (28th in the Majors) and Ledee would go to a team that’s in need of veteran leadership.

It’s by far a win, win for each team.

The rotation would shape up like this:

Tom Glavine
John Maine
Dan Haren
Oliver Perez
Jorge Sosa

The batting order would shape up like this:

Jose Reyes
Freddy Sanchez
Carlos Beltran
Carlos Delgado
David Wright
Moises Alou
Shawn Green
Paul Lo Duca
Pitcher

Note From David Rubin: I think that, if we are willing to part with both Milledge AND Heilman, we could expect to receive Rich Harden back in a deal. Even though Harden has been chronically hurt, a la Mark Prior, he still represents a unique talent who, when healthy, is capable of becoming one of the top 10 pitchers in the game, a designation not unknown to Mr. Beane. Second, I HATE dealing with Beane, because he always seems to make one-sided trades. Finally, I think that the Bucs would want more than the package above for Sanchez, as he is, after all, the reigning NL batting champ. I know a bunch of folks who worked with the kid when he was a busboy back in SoCal, and they all said what a great person he is and what a student of the game he is as well. I'm sure the Bucs have no doubt that he'll pick up his pace soon, as he's probably not as good as he was last year, but is certainly far better than he's showing this year. I think we'd have to offer a better pitching prospect, as well as a good hitting prospect to acquire a talent like Sanchez, as the days of prying talent away from Pittsburgh for a song are now seemingly over. I would not mind Haren, but would want to give up less...I would definitely want Sanchez, but we'd have to give up more...and I DON'T want Cantu, unless he's our last option, for the reasons stated in another post on the site. But, GM-In-Training that he is, John is certainly guilty of one thing- Throwing good ideas out there to get the "hot stove league" spinning...keep it up, bud!!!!

Who Should Come Up?

The Mets are seemingly falling from the sky at this point. They’re now a half a game out of first place to the Braves and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any easier. If this is truly our season, why can’t the Mets seem to gain any ground and separate themselves from the rest of the pack.

Now Moises Alou might go on the Disabled List. That leaves yet another gap to be filled by a player from the Minors. At this rate, we might as well be called the New York Zephyrs. So I guess we now have to sit around and wonder who might take his spot. With Endy Chavez ready to take over the playing time for Alou in right field, the Mets only need a bench player. Though this is going to weaken the bench more, it seems inevitable.

Let’s take a look at the potential roster filler from Triple A:

Carlos Gomez is doing what you want one of your star prospects doing, dominating. In twenty five games and ninety three at bats, Gomez in hitting.301, with 7 doubles, 2 triples, 9 RBI’s, and has an on base percentage of .387.

The Mets might not opt to bring the quick footed Gomez up to the Majors just yet, in fear of taking away consistent at bats from the prized prospect. So I’d give this option up, as it would take Green and Beltran going down at the same time as Alou to bring Gomez up to the Mets roster.

Ben Johnson isn’t faring too well in Triple A this year. Hitting only.238 in 28 at bats. He’s only sporting 1 double and 4 RBI’s so far. So I think it’s safe to say, Johnson is going nowhere but the Zephyr’s bus to face the next Triple A team.

Ricky Ledee is doing a mediocre job with the Zephyrs this season. Hitting .288 in 59 at bats. He’s also got 1 home run, 2 doubles and 13 RBI’s. If anybody, Ledee is going to be the one called up. He’s a veteran, and in no way is he viewed as a prized possession by the Mets.

So after the look at the three possibilities, it seems as though, Ricky Ledee better pack his bags and say goodbye to the youngsters for a little while because he’s going to be riding the pine for the Mets for a week or two.