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No Mo’ Mota… or Lo Duca
Those screams of joy you may have heard Tuesday evening were undoubtedly Met fans across the nation rejoicing at the end of the Guillermo Mota era at Shea.
It’s true folks Guillermo and his scarlet “S” have been traded to Milwaukee! In exchange we get the once highly touted catching prospect Johnny Estrada.
Omar’s latest move is definitely addition by subtraction as far as Mota goes but Estrada is an interesting fellow himself. After coming up in the Philly organization he was moved to Atlanta in the Kevin Millwood deal. He was a Brave for 3 years before playing single years in AZ and MIL before landing in Queens.
4 organizations in 4 years has to give you pause for concern… Why are teams continually willing to trade an above average switch-hitting starting catcher???
For what it’s worth BMF has already heard whispers of Estrada being a less than ideal clubhouse guy…
One bizarre thing about Estrada is the guy basically refuses to walk. In 2006 he collected a mere 13 walks with only being 6 unintentional! How’s that even possible? In ’07 he had 28 more AB’s but one less walk.
At the same time he only K’d 40 and 43 times in respective years so he’s not a crazy free swinger. Actually he’s a lifetime .280 hitter so he’s obviously swinging at some good pitches. Maybe he just loves to swing early in the count.
You may recall a nasty collision at the plate between Estrada and Darin Erstad back in ’05. Estrada got leveled when Erstad delivered a shoulder first blow directly to the facemask. The backstop suffered a concussion and a back injury that kept him sidelined most of the second half of that season.
Also in ’05 Estrada was suspended for three games for making contact with Umpire Doug Eddings.
***
BMF recognizes this as the official end for Lo Duca in Flushing.
Interestingly enough BMF gathered some inside information from a Met related contact who tells me Lo Duca was not brought back due to insubordination.
Apparently Paulie and Willie butted heads more than once with Lo Duca more often than not getting his way over the manager.
For example when Tom Glavine was going for win number 300 Lo Duca was sidelined with a leg injury. Despite the fact that Willie and staff did not feel he was ready to play Paulie forced his way into the lineup to catch the milestone win.
Now you might say, I want my players fighting for PT, but if you’re bossing the skipper around it’s crossed the line.
Apparently it went the other way as well. On at least one occasion when Lo Duca had been day–to-day for a spell Willie deemed his catcher ready to play but Lo Duca essentially refused. Hey it’s tough to know when someone’s in pain but this isn’t what you want to hear if you’re a PLD fan as most of us are.
Paulie, BMF luvs ya’ but if you’re calling shots over the skipper I can’t blame the organization for not bringing you back.
***
Congratulations to Jimmy Rollins on the MVP.
Personally I thought Prince Fielder would in it but I can’t be mad at J-Roll for taking home the hardware. The guy is a super stud and BMF tips my cap to him for talking shit in the spring and backing it up all year.
We all love D-Wright around here but if you think anyone on a team that loses 7.5 games in the standings with 17 to play is gonna win an MVP you’re outta your mind!
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Mojo Kitty rocks the batting helmet for luck!
November 21st, 2007 at 8:22 am
Anyone have the skinny of the contracts? I think Mota has 1 year left at a hefty tag.
I wonder if the Mets have to throw the Brewers some cash. It’s hard to imagine that Milwaukee was unaware of Mota’s shortcomings. I have a bad feeling that they wnated estrada gone as badly as we wanted Mota gone.
Time will tell. I can’t imagine AnyONE being worse on the field. Let’s not foregt that Paulie’s biggest attribute (aside from Brooklyn heritage) was his bat. Unless Estrada allows the ball to pass through his chest, he CAN’T be worse than Mota!
Minaya brought Mota to us and it’s only right that he dispose of him. I’m not sure that this will be a huge NET gain, however it can’t be worse.
I fear that the Mets don’t have anyone tough enough to keep a Super Type A in line. We need a big bad bruiser who likes to scrap to keep trouble makers (like Estrada is purported to be) in line.
There is a lot of work to be done in Metland.
November 21st, 2007 at 8:31 am
Love this site - authentic, fresh and professional.
I am going to link it to mine -that is - if you don’t mind
Rgds
JF aka Mr. Flushing
November 21st, 2007 at 9:24 am
SORRY ‘BOUT CAPSLOCK, NEEDED FOR DISABILITY. LIVING IN NC I HAVEN’T ANY ‘INSIDE POOP’ OTHER THAN ATL MOVED “PONCH” TO MAKE ROOM FOR McCANN, AZ FOLLOWED SUIT ONCE HE COMPLETED THE 1 YR BRIDGE TO THEIR OWN UPCOMING STUDS. PROB IM BREWTOWN MORE ABOUT YOST BEING ANAL CONTRIOL FREAK CALLING ALL PITCHES. ESTRADA’S CROOSING HIM UP IS WHAT LED TO ALTERCATION IN DUGOUT. YOST, FORMER PERENNIAL B/U CATCHER. NEPHEW TO FORMER MET 3B COACH ED YOST. BELIEVES HE’S #1 IN PITCH SEL FROM DUGOUT REGARDLESS OF C. ESTRADA & CASTRO aka “PONCH” & “FIDEL” SHOULD BE FORMIDABLE TANDEM IF EACH GETS EQUAL, YET LESSER WORK THAN TRAD #1.
November 21st, 2007 at 9:27 am
Hey Lip what do you have to say now about Omar ? ? The Mets will not have to pay a dime for Mota’s final year which is 3.2 Mil, instead the have now estrada, and i heard that if they dont offer a contract before december he will be a free agent, or go to arbitration i think, so this is good for the Mets , since they got rid of Mota, and for now thay have a catcher, but omar is still looking for a better one.
Just imagine, they’re still looking at Ramon Hernandez, who i think is a little bit expensive, BUT! , if they can pull a trade in which they include Ramon Hernadez , and Erick Bedard in exchange for Estrada, Milledge, Pelfrey( or Humber), and maybe some one else( Gomez or Martinez), for me that’ll be great, and we will have 2 good players back, our starting pitching need fixed as well as our catching situation, so maybe that’s a little bit early for that, but i think they now what to do, and let’s hope they do the right thing.
Happy Thanksgiving to all !!!!
November 21st, 2007 at 9:33 am
FORGOT TO MENTION BREWS WERE AS DESPERATE AS METS ABOUT TO LOSE CORDERO & LINEBRINK FROM PEN. TO SOME “BAD BREATH” IS PREFERABLE TO “NO BREATH”. ESP IN PEN. NOW IF SANCHEZ & PADILLA BOTH RETN TO FORM, DUQUE WORKS THE PEN, WE’LL BE IN GOOD RELIEF POSITION WITH 2 SPs TO GET, A #1 & #3. I’VE SAID SINCE 9/30 WE SHOULD USE THE UNDEVELOPED TALENT ON HAND TO GET WILLIS FOR #3 & EITHER SANTANA OR HAREN FOR #1 WITH PEDRO #2 FOLLOWED BY PEREZ & MAINE AND DARE ANY STAFF IN NL TO MATCH US. BY THE WAY NONE OF THAT SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASES SALARY IN ‘08 OVER ‘07 HAVING ALREADY LOST 23-25M IN GREEN, GLAVINE & MOTA.
November 21st, 2007 at 9:54 am
Contract breakdown on Ponch….
He made 3.4mil in 2007 and right now he does not have a contract for 2008…he’s not eligible for FA yet, but he is eligible for Arbitration….I think he’ll be able to be a free agent next year…O is going to have to make a deal with him…Estrada has avoided Arbitration twice already so I don’t there being any issue there. My big concern with him is his health, he’s show good defensive skills in the past and has looked good throwing guys out… but last year his D slipped and he only threw out 11 guys!!! hopefully he just wasn’t healthy enough to make strong throws and after having a bone spur removed from his right elbow…
Mota has one year left and owed 3.2mil of a 5mil deal…
November 21st, 2007 at 10:22 am
Thanks ‘62 I love those stories, wonder if Estrada ever told the batter what pitch was coming? lol
It’s been an idea for a while and I wouldn’t mind El Duque as a long reliever/setup at ALL—I go hot and cold on Heilman.
But I think you’ll have to ask Santa for Willis AND Santana….
November 21st, 2007 at 10:54 am
Even though I live in Atlanta I don’t follow the Braves dirt all that closely. However, I never heard anything about Estrada being a poison pill in the clubhouse. As much as I hate to see it, the Braves still do a good job of keeping the farm system stocked and McCann in the wings.
Looking back at history the Braves received two RH relievers (Lance Cormier and Oscar Villarreal) in the Estrada deal and Estrada had been injured the year before in a home plate collision.
November 21st, 2007 at 11:37 am
Couple things:
a) Ponch for Mota is pratcially a wash in terms of money, since their owed roughly the same amount for 2008.
b) This guy couldn’t throw out your grandmother stealing 2nd in a walker. Or at least he couldn’t last year - 0.13% CS - lowest in the NL. But he just had a bone spur removed from his right elbow so maybe that will help…
November 21st, 2007 at 11:53 am
More than his elbow I’m worried about that meniscus repair…It was repaired, not removed they say. How can they know so soon about his pop up timing?
November 21st, 2007 at 12:00 pm
I would have traded Mota for an egg salad sandwich just to get him off my team. GREAT NEWS.
November 21st, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Just being anal, be Estrada does not have a contract for next year, so he isn’t owed any money, but once the deal is made, he’ll probably land in the 3-4mil range (a wash with the Scared Rabbits contract).
the question is, does O give a one year deal, see how he plays, or sign him a 3-4 year deal and risk that his arm and knee(?) don’t fully recover…
there are no decent FA catchers next year either (the best of them is AJ Pierzynski) and our best (and only) catcher in the Farm is only 18. Unless O finds someone long term, we are still gonna be screwed in the catching department for the next 2-4 years (at least)
I would like to see a one year deal, hope he returns to his pre-2007 self.. He was once good fielding the ball and right about average throwing guys out.
November 21st, 2007 at 12:28 pm
Where the brew crew proficient at holding runners?
Some pitching staffs are just real bad at it, and that could have had something to do with his poor throwing numbers last year.
November 21st, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Mota is gone. Estrada is here. So, at least we have two serviceable catchers. We can try to improve there by the spring, but we haven’t blown any of our budget, we’ve gotten rid of Mota (a necessity after last year) and we still have all of our meager chips in place for Omar’s push to acquire some front line pitching through the trade market. All in all, not a bad day’s work. I don’t see that Estrada is any worse than Torrealba, and he didn’t cost us anywhere near as much, in fact, he might not cost us anything.
So, what’s not to like?
November 21st, 2007 at 12:32 pm
Fire Isaiah!!!
November 21st, 2007 at 12:37 pm
What the deal with all this Kazmir talk? I can’t believe they would trade him but it is intriguing. . .
Do people feel confident about Dontrelle Willis after his performance last year? I heard Ron Darling talk about how as his body has matured he no longer has the movement of his early years. More a physiological thing than anything else. I wouldn’t trade much for him.
November 21st, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Damian Miller was the Brews primary back up, and caught 12 of 36, so he nabbed one more attempt in half the games and about 1/3 the attempts… Looking at that, I can’t say the Pitching staff was the issue…
Overall, I like this move. Mota is gone, we didn’t lose anything in trading for a catcher or lose a draft pick by signing one…Also, Ponch is lounger than Lo..as good as, if not better than Lo and as long as he improves his throwing a little, he’s just as good behind the plate…
Also, if BMFs rumors are true, no way can you keep lo Duca…
I do see this as a move that could blow up in O’s face…if O doesn’t sign him long term and Ponch recovers and leaves next year for more money and leaves the Mets with the same lack of catcher problems for the next 2-4 years, O will look bad. if O signs him and Ponch injuries get the best of him, O will look bad.
November 21st, 2007 at 1:07 pm
USMF: I dont think that is as big a problem for a large market team.
If a player plays above his contract, he generally leaves the team because someone else either a) offers him more money or b) is a team with more potential to win. There are few teams out there that have more money then the mets and also have as good a young nucleus.
If he regains his form, the only reason he would leave is to go somewhere he has always wanted to play… like johnny o did… but i dont see that happening.
Thinking about it… who have we had on our team, then wanted to resign but couldn’t? Olerud & Bradford ARE the only two I could think of (and I still content that Bradford just wanted to play for his childhood team).
November 21st, 2007 at 5:18 pm
Karl Hungus!
Best handle EVER - Lippy gets it!!!
November 21st, 2007 at 6:17 pm
Three words for Omar for dumping Mota: Way to go!
Three words for Omar for dissing Lo Duca: You f**king handjob!
November 21st, 2007 at 7:43 pm
thank god mota is gone.. i’m no egg salad fan but i would have taken a chicken cutlet for him.. he is a bum
November 21st, 2007 at 8:06 pm
I’m going to predict that the Skanks get Santana.
I know that the NL doesn’t hit as well; but if I were a pitcher, i would not want to change leagues if I was the best pitcher in the game and didn’t have any problems with the batters I faced. Plus, the Yankees can offer more talent and more cash.
DAMN!
November 21st, 2007 at 9:37 pm
if you were a pitcher Lip I’d hit you in the head
what a jerk .. i read the crap you write and I don’t understand why anyone reads any bulls**t you write ..
you’re a complete jerk with no Dick.. Hey NO Dick!! - which is amounts to what you know about baseball
November 21st, 2007 at 11:53 pm
That’s right, Junior - right here, pal.
You ARE Junior. Junior. Here, Boy. Come Junior. JUNIOR.
Who’s the jerk, Junior?
That’s what I thought, Junior.
Do me a favor, Junior: F–K you, Junior.
November 23rd, 2007 at 3:55 pm
I guarantee Estrada never plays a game as a Met. We’ll use him in a trade for a better catcher and pitcher someway somehow somewhere. I’m liking the Orioles deal.
November 26th, 2007 at 8:53 am
trade for kazmir, right the wrong
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