12-02-2005, 01:42 AM
<span style='font-size:13pt;line-height:100%'>Mets are bringing the news by outspending the Yanks</span>
<span style='font-size:11pt;line-height:100%'>Posted: Thursday December 1, 2005 1:24PM
Author: SI.com, John Donovan</span>
They buy up all the best free agents, they make trades that other teams barely even dream about, they grab the back-page headlines and then they're named as the early team to beat.
If those wildly spending Mets are trying to out-Yankee the Yankees this winter, they're doing a pretty good job of it.
This has been a whopper of a silly offseason so far for Omar Minaya's Mets, what with jettisoning unhappy outfielder Mike Cameron to clear salary, trading for first baseman Carlos Delgado and signing free-agent closer Billy Wagner. I'd say it's been almost un-Met-like, but that'd be forgetting last year's spend-a-thon, when new general manager Minaya spent $119 million on center fielder Carlos Beltran and gave Pedro Martinez a four-year deal worth $53 million.
The truth is, we now have to consider this the modus operandi of the Mets under Minaya. They're aggressive in their ideas. They're relentless in their execution. More than anything, they'll spend beyond the point of overspending, to get what they want.
Sound a tad like those Yankees? Well, it's certainly no accident. That strategy has made the Mets the team of the moment in the Big Apple, not to mention the early favorites in the National League East.
"With the ownership that has the resources, and the competitive edge that says we'll do whatever it takes to win, I think that's a huge plus," Wagner said. "That's what I'm here for."
Just look at what the Mets have done in the first month or so of this offseason. They've filled a huge void at first base by trading for the slugging Delgado (he's hit at least 30 home runs every year since '96), even managing to get the Marlins to pay $7 million of his salary to take him off their hands. They've plugged a gaping hole with the signing of the fastball-flinging lefty Wagner (he has 284 career saves), though it took the richest annual contract ever for a reliever ($10.75 million for the next four years).
And they're far from finished. Minaya still is working on a possible trade for Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez. The Mets are the front-runners for the free-agent catcher of their choice, either Ramon Hernandez or Bengie Molina. They may be pursuing free-agent setup man Tom Gordon. They're probably after a starting pitcher, too.
"We want to win," said the Mets' chief operating officer, Jeff Wilpon, during the press conference introducing Delgado. "We're tired of losing. It's no fun."
This is all great news for Mets fans, and great fodder for the new cable network the Mets are launching, which promises to fund at least a little of their spree. It's bad news for the rest of the NL East, where the Marlins are in retreat, the Phillies are scrambling for a replacement for Wagner, the Nationals are still without an owner and the Braves, for now, are simply stuck in neutral.
Yet, for all that shopping, the Mets still have issues. Without Cameron in right field and Delgado at first base, they're worse defensively than they were last year. They still need a catcher to replace Mike Piazza. Kazuo Matsui, now at second base, has not worked out and is being dangled as trade bait. Their bullpen in front of Wagner still needs flushing out, and their starting pitching, beyond Martinez, is still an iffy proposition.
They have fantastic rising stars in Beltran, third baseman David Wright and shortstop Jose Reyes. Young righty Jae Seo (8-2, 2.59 ERA in 14 starts) could add stability to the rotation. They have other up-and-comers, too, including righty Aaron Heilman, an emerging reliever, and minor league outfielder Lastings Milledge.
But they traded away a couple of prospects in pitcher Yusmeiro Petit and first baseman Mike Jacobs in the deal for the 33-year-old Delgado, and their pitching -- notably Martinez (34 years old), lefty Tom Glavine (40 in March) and new pickup Wagner (35 next July) -- could break down any minute now.
Still, this is no time for getting all gloomy. After what they're done in the last month, the Mets couldn't be any higher. They're absolutely elated. They are undeniably relevant now.
Last winter, on the very day that the Yankees introduced newly acquired pitcher Randy Johnson to the New York media, the Mets boldly matched them by parading out Beltran, the prize of the free-agent market. It was a remarkable day for New York baseball, and a telling one for the Mets.
So far this baseball winter, the battle for the Big Apple is not even close. The crosstown Yankees are conspicuous only in their silence. That may be the Mets' biggest coup yet.
<span style='font-size:11pt;line-height:100%'>Posted: Thursday December 1, 2005 1:24PM
Author: SI.com, John Donovan</span>
They buy up all the best free agents, they make trades that other teams barely even dream about, they grab the back-page headlines and then they're named as the early team to beat.
If those wildly spending Mets are trying to out-Yankee the Yankees this winter, they're doing a pretty good job of it.
This has been a whopper of a silly offseason so far for Omar Minaya's Mets, what with jettisoning unhappy outfielder Mike Cameron to clear salary, trading for first baseman Carlos Delgado and signing free-agent closer Billy Wagner. I'd say it's been almost un-Met-like, but that'd be forgetting last year's spend-a-thon, when new general manager Minaya spent $119 million on center fielder Carlos Beltran and gave Pedro Martinez a four-year deal worth $53 million.
The truth is, we now have to consider this the modus operandi of the Mets under Minaya. They're aggressive in their ideas. They're relentless in their execution. More than anything, they'll spend beyond the point of overspending, to get what they want.
Sound a tad like those Yankees? Well, it's certainly no accident. That strategy has made the Mets the team of the moment in the Big Apple, not to mention the early favorites in the National League East.
"With the ownership that has the resources, and the competitive edge that says we'll do whatever it takes to win, I think that's a huge plus," Wagner said. "That's what I'm here for."
Just look at what the Mets have done in the first month or so of this offseason. They've filled a huge void at first base by trading for the slugging Delgado (he's hit at least 30 home runs every year since '96), even managing to get the Marlins to pay $7 million of his salary to take him off their hands. They've plugged a gaping hole with the signing of the fastball-flinging lefty Wagner (he has 284 career saves), though it took the richest annual contract ever for a reliever ($10.75 million for the next four years).
And they're far from finished. Minaya still is working on a possible trade for Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez. The Mets are the front-runners for the free-agent catcher of their choice, either Ramon Hernandez or Bengie Molina. They may be pursuing free-agent setup man Tom Gordon. They're probably after a starting pitcher, too.
"We want to win," said the Mets' chief operating officer, Jeff Wilpon, during the press conference introducing Delgado. "We're tired of losing. It's no fun."
This is all great news for Mets fans, and great fodder for the new cable network the Mets are launching, which promises to fund at least a little of their spree. It's bad news for the rest of the NL East, where the Marlins are in retreat, the Phillies are scrambling for a replacement for Wagner, the Nationals are still without an owner and the Braves, for now, are simply stuck in neutral.
Yet, for all that shopping, the Mets still have issues. Without Cameron in right field and Delgado at first base, they're worse defensively than they were last year. They still need a catcher to replace Mike Piazza. Kazuo Matsui, now at second base, has not worked out and is being dangled as trade bait. Their bullpen in front of Wagner still needs flushing out, and their starting pitching, beyond Martinez, is still an iffy proposition.
They have fantastic rising stars in Beltran, third baseman David Wright and shortstop Jose Reyes. Young righty Jae Seo (8-2, 2.59 ERA in 14 starts) could add stability to the rotation. They have other up-and-comers, too, including righty Aaron Heilman, an emerging reliever, and minor league outfielder Lastings Milledge.
But they traded away a couple of prospects in pitcher Yusmeiro Petit and first baseman Mike Jacobs in the deal for the 33-year-old Delgado, and their pitching -- notably Martinez (34 years old), lefty Tom Glavine (40 in March) and new pickup Wagner (35 next July) -- could break down any minute now.
Still, this is no time for getting all gloomy. After what they're done in the last month, the Mets couldn't be any higher. They're absolutely elated. They are undeniably relevant now.
Last winter, on the very day that the Yankees introduced newly acquired pitcher Randy Johnson to the New York media, the Mets boldly matched them by parading out Beltran, the prize of the free-agent market. It was a remarkable day for New York baseball, and a telling one for the Mets.
So far this baseball winter, the battle for the Big Apple is not even close. The crosstown Yankees are conspicuous only in their silence. That may be the Mets' biggest coup yet.
![[Image: 723475742_8cb2b0be6c.jpg]](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1019/723475742_8cb2b0be6c.jpg)