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Omar STRIKES AGAIN! Turns Heilman Into Putz!!!
Don’t look now but Omar Minaya just hit back-to-back grand slams by landing K-Rod AND JJ Putz in the span of 2 days.
BMF practically fell off my chair when I read about this 3-team (NYM, SEA, CLE) 12-player deal that seemingly came out of nowhere.
We sure gave up a lot of bodies but this move is an absolute no-brainer…
Here’s the skinny from the Mets pov:
Mets Get:
JJ Putz (RH RP), Sean Green (RH RP), Jeremy Reed (LH OF)
Mets Lose:
Aaron Heilman, Endy Chavez, Joe Smith, Jason Vargas, Mike Carp, Maikel Cleto, Ezequiel Carrera
I had reservations about asking Putz to close but I LOVE him as a set-up man/insurance policy. Honestly speaking we may have the best 1-2 punch in baseball next year… and neither was a Met prior to the winter meetings!
“The Other” Sean Green (29) is no Hebrew Hammer but he’s a viable addition to the pen and Jeff Reed (27) is a decent option as a 4th/5th OF with some definite upside. 2 years ago Reed hit .300 in 564 AAA AB’s so he just might blossom into an everyday player. Although he struggles against lefties.
As for Heilman – GOOD RIDDANCE! Nuthin’ personal Aaron but we all needed to move on from the current state of affairs. I hope SEA let’s him start but mostly I’m just relieved to never again look at that constipated face he makes whenever he blows a lead.
But the toughest part of this deal is saying goodbye to Endy.
‘Round here we call him “The BLBB” or The Best Lil’ Bastard in Baseball - a term coined by BMF All-Star BlondiesJake cuz Endy Stupendy did it all on heart and guts. Hands down he made the sickest catch I’ve ever seen in the history of my life and I’ll never forget him for that. I still get chills thinking about it now…
I’m sorry to lose Joe Smith too but as much as we all like him he’s a cog in the machine and you can’t hold up a deal for Putz b/c of a cog like Smith. I’ll miss Mike Carp too. I think the guy can be a big league hitter and I’ll continue to root for him. As for Vargas, no biggie there and I’ve never even heard of the other 2 guys.
But the bottom line is BMF doffs my well-worn Mets cap to Minaya (and I suggest you do the same) because once again Omar has proved himself to be one of the best GM’s in the game.
Writing the biggest check is one thing but you can’t deny that finagling this deal for a guy who recently saved 40 games to serve as our set-up man is top notch GM’ing!
I can’t wait to see what he does with second base and LF…
Go O Go!!!
***
As for the yankee/Sabathia deal. I stand by yesterday’s assertion the yankees are NOT the team of choice in their own city anymore. I mean they need to throw an additional 21M on top of their initial 140M offer just to convince CC to play in the BX
7yrs/161M is an obscene amount of money. And while I like CC a lot with all that girth how can you not expect him to break down looong before his contract is up???
BMF Brands this as a: BAD DEAL
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Emma takes her Mets VERY seriously!
December 11th, 2008 at 5:36 am
I agree with you dude, especially on the last sentence. Regardless of CC’s money, it is the amount of years that really matter. Does anyone really think that he can stay healthy for that long? Heck with that opt out clause does anyone really think he is going to stay on board for the full 7?
I am glad the Yankees made this deal. I can’t wait to see what happens from this. They already got screwed on Santana and in attempts to recover they sign CC to a bigger deal and we all know that CC is not as good as Santana nor is he is the same shape. Good luck with that.
I agree, about the Putz deal I will also miss those same guys. I hope this Putz guy works out because I really dont know who he is other than what people talk about.
K-Rod and his personality is going to be the ’straw that stirs the drink.’ I look forward to seeing his energy and how other teams get taken back by it.
F those Marlins
F those Phillies
they are not going to now what hit them.
Velocity decrease? Who really gives a F—
Just Imagine Santana handing the ball to K-Rod. If I was another team I would be crapping myself just watching that moment.These teams before, were relieved when santana was going out of the game. Well not anyone.
Why do guys get all worked up about the 9th inning closing? Putz gets more respect in my book for recognizing that the 8th inning is just as important and full off pressure as the 9th. Essentially it is the say job just one inning earlier.
So what’s next? Starter? Middle reliever? I would say get a Juan Cruz type and maybe some other lefty specialist and say that the bullpen is locked and loaded.
As for this statement “I can’t wait to see what he does with second base and LF… ”
Wouldn’t this just be the best Holiday present ever. Dare to dream.. but no one saw JJ coming out of the woodworks did they? so I guess anything is possible
December 11th, 2008 at 7:41 am
CARP, SMITH.
NO chips left. Now he has to win.
Keep going Omar. Starters. Hitters.
December 11th, 2008 at 7:45 am
No chips??? Murphy, Evans, Niese, and Fmart ring a bell?
December 11th, 2008 at 7:56 am
Also, I disagree with the sentiment that the rest of team is fatally flawed. Look at these numbers that Jay Stark pointed out:
If all games had ended after six innings this season, the Mets would have finished the year 11 games ahead of the Phillies (aka, the team that won the World Series).
If all games had ended after seven innings, the Mets would have finished six games ahead of the Phillies.
And if all games had even been just eight innings long instead of nine, the Mets would have finished five games ahead of the Phillies.
Basically, the Mets starters and position players were pretty damn good last year.
December 11th, 2008 at 8:23 am
“Basically, the Mets starters and position players were pretty damn good last year. ”
I don’t entirely agree about the starters. Stark’s numbers are interesting but IMO open to interpretation. My interpretation - knowing the Mets bullpen was awful the Mets starters needed to pitch deeper into games to limit the bullpen’s exposure. But managers love pitch counts now (God knows willie loved them, Omar a little less but not much) and quite frankly I think alot of starters like them too (”hey let someone else pitch through adversity while I go take a shower”).
Relievers are relievers for a reason - they are not good enough to be starters. Even Mariano fits into that category. Of course not every starter should pitch nine innings and throw 150 pitches no matter what but why managers love to yank a starter to bring in a middle reliever (translation: journeyman pitcher not good enough to start or close) is beyond me.
Re the deal - looks good if Manuel is willing to bring in Putz or K-rod when they are needed, which may not be the 8th and 9th innings of games they are ahead. As for Endy - he’s probably the 564th best Met player I’ve seen but when ranking my favorite all time Mets he’s top five.
December 11th, 2008 at 8:39 am
Mike,
I agree about the starters, though in the era of pitch counts and quick hooks, the 7 inning per start pitcher is going to be the exception, unfortunately. I lumped the two together b/c they were both significantly better than the pen. Overall, the offense was clearly the Mets bright spot.
No way KRod ever comes in before 8th, and I bet 90-95% of his appearances will be after the first 24 outs. This is just another stupid “truth” in baseball. The nice thing about having two “aces” in the pen is that the Mets should be able to use Putz as needed, though I still suspect at least 70-80% of his appearances will be starting the 8th.
December 11th, 2008 at 8:56 am
LC I think we’re basically on the same page. And I agree with you on where Putz and K-Rod will be used but it doesn’t make it right. I guarantee my angriest rants on here next year will involve scenarios where a starting pitcher (let’s call him Johan) pitches well but allows a few baserunners to get on via lucky bloops to open the seventh. After which Jerry:
1. Pulls his Cy Young starter
2. Brings in a middle reliever whose existence on this earth right now is unknown to me
Of course the middle reliever du jour gives up two runs. The Mets eventually lose after parading in a bunch of journeymen to the mound. Neither Johan nor Putz nor K-Rod is used in the effort to prevent the other team from scoring those runs. That’s right - your three best pitchers are not allowed to try to win the game for the Mets because of unwritten rules about pitch counts and setup and closer roles. Makes perfect sense to me.
Well there was my practice rant. I’ll work off that template for my real ones next year.
December 11th, 2008 at 8:56 am
BMF–I like the deal a lot as well. Lots of major league talent for mostly prospects and major leaguers that have peaked (except for Smith). A few thoughts though. With Carp gone, Delgado has no heir apparent unless you count Murphy. So first base becomes the biggest need in the next off-season. Also, Reed’s a bit redundant with Church, as they both struggle against lefties. Lastly, we shouldn’t be shocked if Heilman flourishes as a starter.
December 11th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Dster - Evans is a natural 1B. I think part of the reason Carp was traded was because Nick is viewed as the heir to Delgado’s throne.
Reed, IMO is just a younger version of Endy.
December 11th, 2008 at 9:34 am
Getting rid of Heilman is the best news since we got rid of Trachsel. THANK YOU GOD.
Sad to see Endy go, a brilliant defensive player, but on some level he reminds me of all the collapses, that catch so emblematic of 2006 etc. And maybe F-Mart will be ready this year to be 4th outfielder. It would be great to have a sub who can HIT.
Great, great, GREAT job by Omar this week. . .so far. Do we have enough $$/chips/luck to get another starter? What about 2nd base?
Also, I just want to mention that the average age of the NY Mets may actually be BELOW 30!! THIS IS GREAT NEWS!!
December 11th, 2008 at 9:35 am
Sorry to say “great” so much, I’m pre-coffee.
December 11th, 2008 at 9:44 am
Oh lippy, why is there always a raincloud?
We gave up nothing. It was an even salary swap. Talent-wise, we gave up a lot of c+ through c- players to get a late inning stud.
Let’s go through the players we lost…
Endy: We all know about endy. It will be sad to see him go. If he played every day, he might be the best defenseive outfielder in baseball. He also would bat around .215 with and OBP of .285. Defensive replacements should not hold up a deal.
Heilman: He was going to be traded. Kudos to Omar for waiting out the storm of mediocre offers in order to make a splash. I happen to like aaron, but there has clearly been something wrong with him. He will never start for the Mets, sadly, and he has demonstrated that he can not come into a game with a lead. Tied, maybe, but not with a lead. Maybe a change of scenery will do him good.
Carp: He’s a good player. He’s not the heir apparent to Delgado. He’s Burnitz at first base. Nick Evans, DMurph and Carp all split time at first in AA. While I am sorry that we are trading Carp, and wish he had gotten a chance in the bigs, I can’t fault Omar for getting rid of him to get Putz back. We actually don’t need him, and he’d probably be better as a DH anyway, in 5 years.
Smith: Who doesn’t love Smith? He gutted it out a lot last year. Who actually believes that he can pitch a full inning without a hiccup though? Smith is best used as a ground ball specialist, Who CAN NOT pitch to lefties. Both years, Smith’s ERA and BAA has jumped after the all-star break, and, although he shut down batters in September, lefties were hiting .320 off of him, with an OPS of .920. Good luck Joe! (but not a big loss)
Vargas: He never panned out. We traded lindstrom and Owens for Vargas and bostic, getting two lefty starters for two righty relivers. That ended up a bad deal. He is a long reliever, 6-7 starter at best.
Carrera: a 21 year old CF who just reached St. Lucie this year. He lead the team in stolen bases with 28. He will probably never have any big-league power, as he has already filled out his 5′11 frame, but his OBP and Slugging look promising– maybe 5 years from now, as a 4th or 5th outfielder.
Cleto: He’s the most interesting “prospect” of the bunch, but he may be upwards of 6-7 years away from the bigs…
——————–
Bottom line is this, there is no reason NOT to like this deal. Getting Putz for a hill of beans, even a large hill, with a lot of beans, is a coup! Go Omar!
December 11th, 2008 at 9:46 am
lip when are you gonna catch the scoundrel that pisses in your cheerios?
December 11th, 2008 at 10:12 am
Best. Name. Ever.
December 11th, 2008 at 10:22 am
How can anything bad be said about trading for a guy named JJ??? Omar has presented me with my most favorite Met since Duffy Dyer and for that I thank him.
December 11th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Omar strikes again! As a met fan you have to be excitied of having the prospect of having a legit set up man and closer, hopefully I’ll be able to enjoy games more calmly and peacefully from the 7th inning on this year! The happiest man about these deals has to be Johan, after the way the bullpen treated him and destroyed some of his games last year, it appears he will not have to throw complete games anymore to get a Win!
As for the players in the deal, you can’t really complain. You know Heilman was goin some place this winter, and you lose Endy who’s a crowd favorite, but your getting back a comparable bench player in Jeremy Reed. You hate to see Joe Smith go, but you have to give up some value to get the deal done. And i’m not too concerned about the minor leaguers involved, Mike Carp was the biggest name there, and while he probably does have a major league bat..im not so sure the mets really thought of him as the heir apparent 1B anyway. Only time will tell there, but all in all, I think Omar killed it again, setting out to do what he said he would, and giving mets fans something to smile about for the first time in a couple months!
The only thing that could have made this trade better would have been in O managed to throw in Scott Schoweinweis in the deal some how!
December 11th, 2008 at 11:06 am
The New York Mets. CitiField. 126th St. & Roosevelt Ave. Flushing, New York.
THE NEW YORK METS ANNOUNCE GAMES TO GO SEVEN INNINGS
Acquisitions of J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez will change the way baseball is traditionally played
Head of Baseball Operations and G.M. of the New York Mets, Omar Minaya announced early this morning from his suite in Las Vegas’ Bellagio that he is on a mission to ruin opposing teams in 2009. “With the acquisitions of Putz and K-Rod, we apologize to our fans but games will not go past 7 innings in 2009. Please feel free to leave after the bottom of the 7th. There’s just no need for you to be there anymore, frankly. I encourage those who do not want to leave to have a Steak in one of our new Skyboxes, sponsored by Delta Airlines.”
The New York Mets organization realizes that shortening games to 7 innings is unorthodox in today’s world. Mets Manager, Jerry Manuel said “We played like this when we was kids… After 7 innings the score’d be like 32-7 and we’d start drinkin’ Blackberry Brandy anyway. We was a bunch of gangstas.” Jeff Wilpon was reluctant to adopt the idea at first but then said, “The concessions at our new World-Class park will cease to sell alcoholic beverages after the 7th inning anyway. We have determined that the sales of alcohol will have paid 82% of Rodriguez’ $37m contract by April 13th. So by all means, feel free to drive home after the 7th inning. The game will be over anyway.”
December 11th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Hey Lip, how does the Yankee jersey fit?
December 11th, 2008 at 11:12 am
The Phils are going to sign Chan Ho Park, second cousin to Citizen’s Bank Park.
December 11th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Sad to see Smith go…word is that Sean Green is the same guy…
Very sad to see BLBBB go away…but it was getting more and more apparent that Endy was getting lost in the OF depth chart…
K-Rod/Putz combo will turn every game into a 7 inning game, not to mention, if one gets hurt, we still have a closer to pitch (unlike last year)
Now we set up like this…starter pitches 6+ innings, Jerry can do a Lefty/righty match up for the 7th and Putz and K-Rod to finish it…
Now, I don’t mind keeping ScSc, Pete F, and Sanchez. Throw in Green, maybe Kunz or Stokes…They can all be successful when used properly…in fact, we need at least two south paws in the pen minimum…
Now that I think about it…with Kunz and Putz, we’ll have start hanging “Z” for every K the pen chalks up…
I liked Varges, but he never materialized…
Carp is another all bat and no glove guy, everything I’ve heard about him says he was destined to be a DH…
FYI, Church hit lefties pretty well last year…his only problem was coming back after the concussion…his BA dropped about 30+ points in the last two months…and because the guy got two freak concussions, doesn’t make him injury pron…
I just don’t understand how every year O can completely cripple the system for years by trading away the farm…
.
.
.
oh, if you couldn’t tell, I was being sarcastic…
December 11th, 2008 at 11:35 am
December 11th, 2008 at 11:47 am
JJ: “how can anything bad be said about trading for a guy named JJ”? I don’t disagree, but if I were you I’d look at a Yiddish dictionary before you go out to buy a jersey with the word “Putz” on the back—I don’t care how he chooses to pronounce it, as in “he puts the ball over the plate” the name is still PUTZ, as in “he putts the ball into the hole”. It’s sort of like “Magic Johnson” only not as complementary– more like “Peter Schmuck” or something.
December 11th, 2008 at 11:53 am
BMF’s title is great, but it would have been better if it read, “Omar turns Heilman into a Putz…”
December 11th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Heilman IS a putz, and not the pitching kind.
December 11th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Back to Lord Charles. I suppose they’re thinking about Evans (or Murph) for 1st base. But to me, that position has always been about having a thumper. I was weaned on George Scott, Cecil Cooper, John Mayberry, etc. So the skinny-utility-guy-at-first doesn’t float my boat. Heck, bring back Mo Vaughn. His knees are shot but he can play in a wheelchair.
December 11th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
We traded a Putz for The Putz, brilliant.
I will miss heckling Heilman, that piece of spam.
So the 2009 Mets have
The Putz
The Murph
The Pelf
The Kunz?
Nice
December 11th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Omar is the Greatest!!!
December 11th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
I read somewhere that Cleto may end up being the biggest chip in the trade. I guess he has a big time fastball, 95-97. And hes very young so plenty of upside.
That said as long as putz is healthy this looks like a win. Bullpen should be vastly improved. Hopefully Omar keeps tweaking things.
December 11th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Dude - Thanks for the tip. I’ll continue to wear my “Magic Is Back” tee shirt to all Mets games.
December 11th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Dster, I hear what you’re saying about a thumper at 1st…but (from my life time) the two best Mets first basemen have been Mex and Olerud…both had some power, but they were more of the doubles/gaps hitter than the all or nothing hitter.
But to add to thier .300ish 30+ dbls and 90+ RBI production, both player gold glove defense…
Murph and Evans (who ever the future 1st basemen may be) have both shown to have HR power, but are much better gaps/dbls hitters…Murph has shown (so far) that his is a .300 hitter…
I’ve seen neither play 1st, but I don’t believe anyone would confuse them with Mex, but the thinking is, if you are a good hitter, you have all the necessary skills to be a good fielder…
I’d rather have the Mex/Olerud type over the guy who can’t field a grounder in the hole , K’s 200 times a year while hitting a streaky .240 but hits 40HRs…nothing personal LosD or Howard…
December 11th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Pretty damn cool to pick up two quality relievers in the span of 2 days!
I think the last time the Mets had a duo of this quality in the pen was back in the days of McDowell and Orosco. So, do Putz and K-Rod represent a return to the glory days? Time will tell.
December 11th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
My father (who passed away in January) was a big fan of Endy. Endy was his favorite player on the team. He always referred to him as “my boy Endy”. I’ll never forget “the catch”.
Good luck in Seattle, Endy. I’m gonna miss you and that big smile of yours. Maybe in the future you’ll be wearing blue and orange again. That would be nice.
December 11th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Glad to see Heilman go and I have to thank Omar for sending him to a non division team. I think he may be learning from The Jets mistake this year. I’ll be the guy walking around in Brooklyn talking to himself while beating up mailboxes after game 16.
December 11th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
USMF, you’re probably right in that we don’t need that kind of power if we get 3.00 w/ lots of doubles. But assuming we lose Delgado after this year, and since we get little power from C, 2B, SS (Reyes probably good for 15 each year) or LF, that leaves Beltran and Wright (and maybe Church) as capable of 20+ power. Let alone 30+ power.
December 11th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
From an M’s fan (and photographer on the soul patch night pic in the post), ENJOY J.J.!
He’s a frigging awesome dude. He was the guy in the clubhouse that was shaving cream pie to the facing every rookie when they got their first hit or win or save or whatever. He also had a show on sunday afternoons before the game called “bullpen banter” where he’d interview someone. The last episode of the show he interviewed himself and it was one of the funniest things i’ve ever heard on a baseball pregame show.
His pitching suffered a little this year with injuries, but the atmosphere at safeco field in the 9th inning when “Thunderstruck” started playing was incomparable. The Pacific NW is going to miss JJ for sure!
December 11th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
I was upset about losing Heilman (I never thought he was suited for a middle relief role and hope he shuts us all up when he becomes a great starter) and Smith - but we got essentially the same type of guy in the Rule V draft today, so that’s cool. About starters, though, I can pretty much kiss Oh Pea goodbye but hope Minaya can throw money at Burnett or Garland, who I think would convert to a good NL pitcher (also an innings eater, which would be good mid-to-back rotation). Johan, Pelf (yes a #2 starter this year, he certainly earned it), Maine (pray to be healthy), Garland/Burnett, and Niese? I think he’s too young but we can afford to take a gander with Niese this year, providing we get either Garland or Burnett
December 11th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
thanks gardnerjr for the kind words..
and man..i’d love to see jj stroll out to “thunderstruck” over at citi field..that would be f-cking awesome..
i hope he can pitch the whole year without injury..that would be even better..lol
December 11th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Dster, We’ll see this year how Church produces along with seeing what types of players Murph, Evans and F-Mart will be…then in 2009, O can address what power issues we may have…
after next year, we aren’t losing any key players…LosD will probably be gone along with Schneider…the Rotation should be set, the Pen should be set (as far as big ticket guys go at least)…O should have money to upgrade power production from the “power positions”.
Besides, after seeing how relativity cheep O has been able to upgrade the Pen and the lack of a market for Man Ram, I can see him as a posiblity coming to the Mets on 2+ year contract for 25-30Mil per…
As for the Rotation this year…I’d like to see Neise as the “6th” starter…Garland is OK as a mid rotation guy…good innings, seems to win games, but give up a ton of runs and HRs…would probably benefit with the NL move…I like the Wolf idea because he’s a south paw (to replace Oh’Pea) A.J. Burnett is way overpriced for an oft-injured starter…I’d pass on that one…a short time deal to Sheets would be OK with me..
December 11th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
USMF, I am generally OK with our ‘08 line-up, but still we think we’ll need a true power hitter somewhere in there for ‘09. Regarding Manny, the bat is huge, but the ego even bigger and he could really mess up the chemistry. Signing him would feel a bit like George Foster in 1981 (?). Maybe we wait to see what the mid-season trade picture looks like.
December 11th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
everyone save your comments until 9/30/09 and see how they fit.
we need STARTERS and guys who can hit.
O.K. fine - big moves, but do you all honestly think this team has what it takes?
December 11th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
So we have to save our comments until next year but you can spew your madness freely?! No deal.
December 13th, 2008 at 8:31 pm
Hey. She’s pretty hot! I’d do her - sans the chin growth of course.