Hey guys!
Its Tyler from Mets 4 Life. I wanted to let you know that I have started a fantasy baseball league on MLB.com. If anyone is interested in joining my private league, the draft is on Saturday @ 12:00 noon.
E-mail me (Ty flo mets4life at yahoo dot com) or leave a comment on Mets 4 Life if you are interested in joining! Remember that there are only 6 spots available!
From Network Member:Tyler Florence at Mets 4 Lfe:
We have reached the slowest part of the off-season and well, there is simply nothing to write about unless the signing of Matt Clement and Josh Towers.. but that has no effect on the Mets... but I've been thinking, what smart moves could Omar make? Well, here is a few suggestions from me...
Trade for Johan Santana...
I love our prospects but we need to get an edge. I would perfer that Omar waits until he becomes a free-agent next off-season but if we can pull a trade off that doesn't include Fernando Martinez, then I'm fine with it. Although most fans would haunt Omar Minaya for years if one of those prospects backfired in our faces, just like Scott Kazmir.
Sign Freddy Garcia to an incentive-laden contract with an option for 09'...
Freddy Garcia won't be ready until near the All-Star break but we need options. Gracia seems interested and there just simply aren't any better options. Unless you count Bartolo Colon, but he isn't even touching 90 MPH in the winter leagues. If Garcia would come back to form, the fans would love Omar Minaya again.
Sign Octavio Dotel to a 1-year contract with a vesting option for 09'...
Dotel is a very good reliable reliever out of the pen, when he is healthy. The thing is, he can't stay healthy.. but when he is, he can be a Duaner Sanchez type of pitcher. We need depth in our bullpen and that is what we lacked last season. Adding Octavio to the mix would definitely help solve that problem.
Sign Kevin Mench to a 1-year deal...
The recently acquired RF Ryan Church, is a very light hitting outfielder against left-handed pitchers.. so we need a platoon partner that can absolutely mash left-handers. Kevin Mench is our man. Last season, in 156 at-bats against Left-handers, Mench hit .314 with 8 homers and 26 RBI's. Combine that with Ryan Church vs right-handers, and we have a two headed monster in RF for 2008.
Sign Jason Jennings to a 1-2 year deal...
I know most of you are totally against him but in 2006 he was very good for the Rockies... and in the first half of 2007 he was decent with a 1-4 record and 4.07 ERA in 10 games started. The reason his record is so bad is because the Houston Astros offense was anemic all of last season... but he did blow up in the second half of the season, but thats the risk that your going to have to take.
I think all of these moves would be smart, but some would be risky. Either way I still believe that Mike Pelfrey should start for a full season in Flushing. If one of these starters were to be signed, we would just simply put Orlando Hernandez in the bullpen and keep Pelfrey as our #5. In my opinion, Kevin Mench would be a very smart signing for the Mets, and we should wait for Santana to be a free-agent at the end of the season... but if Omar pulls the trigger, I'll be fine with that too, just as long as we still have Fernando Martinez.
From Tyler Florence at Mets 4 Life...
There have been many people that think RHP Mike Pelfrey should be moved to the bullpen. I have even touched on this subject... but I have changed my mind about Pelfrey. As of right now, I think that he should have the #5 spot in MLB or AAA starting rotation. Some people may say "he sucked last year or he was 3-7!".. I look past that.. He showed what he is really capable of at the end of last season (3-0 in September). Putting Mike Pelfrey in the bullpen is probably the worst thing you can do right now. The thing he needs to do is develop his secondary pitches. Putting him in the pen would be encouraging him to throw nothing but fastballs, and he wouldn't be developing his slider/changeup combination which in the end will make him a much better pitcher. Lets take a look at Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux's first and second full seasons..
Maddux 1st full season: 6-14 with a 5.61 ERA
Maddux 2nd full season: 18-8 with a 3.18 ERA
Glavine 1st full season: 7-17 with a 4.56 ERA
Glavine 2nd full season: 14-8 with a 3.68 ERA
Convincing? Lets say last year counts as a 1/2 of a season for Pelfrey... Give him the chance to pitch every five days for us against major league hitters. Even if he has a mediocre season, we have four reliable starters in Pedro, Maine, Perez, and Hernandez.. the key to the 2008 Rotation is that they all need to stay healthy. Give Pelfrey a shot for atleast two more years, if he fails, put him in the pen.. He can get hitters out and will be a productive major league player. Hopefully in the Mets rotation. Look for him to breakout during the 2009 season.. but only if he gets the chance to start for a FULL season. I say that there are two options for Mike Pelfrey in 2008...
#1) Give him the #5 slot in the rotation.
#2) Keep him in New Orleans for ALL of next season.
Either way he needs to develop his secondary pitches and he need to do so on a consistent schedule.
Here's the latest entry from Tyler at Mets 4 Life to give you a taste of what his writing style is like. Hope You enjoy.
From Tyler Florence at Mets 4 Life (network Member):
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