Archie Bunker's Army

The Mets announced the signing of free agents SS Chris Woodward and P Manny Aybar to minor league contracts. Of Woodward, we can safely say that Hamstring Jose's job isn't in any great jeopardy. He's 28 yet still unsung, but he's not really too terrible. His best season was 2002 when he hit .276-13-45 in 90 games for the Jays. On the one hand you can say he's pretty versatile on the field, having played SS, 2B, 1B and 3B over his career. His fielding percentage isn't sparkling but who knows, with all fragility of Reyes in mind, this isn't a terrible pickup. ESPN says : "He's fit, wiry and athletic with strong hands, contributing to above-average bat speed, which can produce surprising pop. Nonetheless, he can be overpowered up in the strike zone and is vulnerable to breaking stuff low and away." Fit and wiry, I like that. It won't stop the world from spinning but it won't cause its destruction either. Aybar, on the o...

Archie Bunker's Army is not holding its collective breath on the availability or success of the Victor Zambrano, he of the infamously stooopid Zambrano for Mets superstah future flamethrowing pitching phenom Scott Kazmir . Zambrano, rumoured to be the bottom rung of next season's Met starting rotation, we THOUGHT was plagued by a dodgy right elbow but no, 'tisn't the elbow that had the Mets brass so concerned that they flew him to New York from Venezuela to have him looked at, it is the ankle . It appears Zambrano told friends his ankle still bothered him a great deal. But now, with the magical wave of a wand, Zambrano is back throwing bullpen sessions. Herculean, that is, dodgy elbow, dodgy ankle and hanging by a string. Not to beat a theme to death but I'm still wondering to myself why Omar didn't take a swing at grabbing free agent Wade Miller before the Red Sox did. Miller won 45 games in three years for the Astros before going down for the season t...

It's being reported that with the injury to centerfielder Mike Cameron, the Mets are now considering Eric Byrnes . Byrnes batted .283 with 20 homers and 73 RBIs in 143 games with the A's in 2004, stealing 17 bases in 18 attempts which is more than adequate to replace Cameron but the problem is, it might take top prospects Yusmeiro Petit or Lastings Milledge to get them. Hmmmm. I guess losing future ace Scott Kazmir in a sloth-minded trade for damaged goods to Tampa Bay wasn't enough of a giveaway of future pitching prospects to teach the Idiot Collective a lesson. On the upside, Byrnes is known for his all-out play, exactly the sort of hustle and character the Mets should be looking for, but would probably be better suited to a 4th outfielder role rather than a starter. In fact, he's perfect for the job of replacing Cameron but not at the costs mentioned. For that price, this is probably more wishful thinking than reality. Another one making the rounds is...

Whilst the Carlos clock kept ticking, the Mets resolved their what 43 year old will play first base whilst Rome burns and Omar fiddles . Andres Galaragga is not the blueprint to success but although Galaragga missed the bulk of the 2004 season, as he received treatment for a recurrence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, he's a great presence to add to the bench. He played seven games for the Angels in September, going 3-for-10 with a homer and two RBIs. I don't need to remind anyone, that spells .300-60-120 over a season. In some corners, they still must get Carlos . Even if we kick the Shea Hillenbrand tires . Really: Shea? Has there ever been a more appropriate player for the Mets? Not to mention, cheap solution at first...Hillenbrand, 29, batted .310 with 15 homers and 80 RBIs. The best news of the day is that there are 41 new free agents to pick from .

Some might call it mere coincidence that in the middle of the first rumours of a Met low-key hunt for centerfielder free agent supahstah Carlos Beltran, the Mets own starting centerfielder, Mike Cameron, goes down for at least the beginning of the season with a sudden wrist injury. Archie Bunker's Army calls is fate in the race to chase The Carlos. Yes, the story is true, after arthroscopic surgery on his left wrist, it was revealed that Mike Cameron will miss beginning of season and the Mets officially have no centerfielder to start the season just at the same time the hunt begins for the best centerfield free agent in baseball. Hmmmm. Further still to Cameron's surgery, since he will not swing a bat for three months, it's a pretty safe bet that even once he starts playing, offensively, he's going to be a bigger non-factor than even last season's .231 batting average would indicate. Immediately, even if it is only foreplay at the fore of the Met mind, ...

The dust has settled down following the big Pedro Parade, Pedro continues to unload on his former team , and pepper the air with Pedroisms and perhaps now, as we adjust, it's time to address the other issues, time to finish filling in the holes, to make this a team to be reckoned with. The usual suspects are involved of course. All along, the possibility loomed but now that they've got Pedro acting as their spokesmodel, the Mets appear to be joining the race for Beltran , albeit in a softly, softly mode. The plan is apparently to fly low under the radar and involves waiting to see how much ridiculous King George Steinbrenner is willing to bid - if the price stays within range of the $81 million the Astros are rumoured to have offered, the Mets might well make a run at Carlos. Of course, not satisfied with his 6 starting pitchers, such a move would likely trigger an outrageous offer from King George, who will not be happy enough finally getting Randy Johnson. The mo...

Well, the stone dropped in the NL East water, still rippling from the signing of Pedro by the Mets, is quickly followed by another. As the Mets were ushering in the Pedro Period , their biggest rivals, the Atlanta Braves, were pulling off a coup of their own, trading for Oakland pitcher Tim Hudson . Hudson, 29, has been one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball over the last five seasons. His 81 wins from 2000 to 2004 tied for the most in the American League and tied for fifth among all big-league pitchers. Hudson owns a 92-39 career record with a 3.30 ERA. His .702 career winning percentage ranks third in Major League history among pitchers with at least 100 career decisions. It was Atlanta's second big trade in a week. Last Saturday, the Braves acquired All-Star closer Dan Kolb from Milwaukee -- which allowed them to move John Smoltz back into the rotation. Now they've got a rotation of Hudson, Smoltz, John Thomson, Mike Hampton and Horacio Ramirez, certainly ...

Yes, of course, before the world gets too giddy, Pedro's still gotta pass the Mets physical with what's rumoured to be a torn labrum. There's nice commentary and history on the pesky torn labrum at Mets Daily : "Remember Rob Nen? In 2002, Nen underwent surgery in an effort to clean up particles in his shoulder. Doctors discovered Nen had a torn labrum. The one-time closer with a 97-mph fastball is still in recovery. He hasn't throw a baseball since surgery. Nen's torn labrum has put his career in limbo. The torn labrum is still a mystery to doctors. Those medical specialists concentrated on sports-related injuries are unsure how to treat it, repair it, even the diagnosis is in question." As I always say, an event isn't really an event until you've performed a google search about it and searching "Pedro MRI" nets this : "Which brings us to that physical exam. Question is, will the team and the Great Pedro each be happy a...

"He ain't going to no Mets," former Red Sox teammmate David Ortiz assured The Boston Globe just days ago. Just when it seemed like it was safe to conclude the winter meetings for the Mets were going nowhere further than the Rule V selection of Henry Owens from Pittsburgh's Altoona affiliate, along comes Pedro . This is perhaps the biggest splash of the winter meetings. After days of laying the groundwork, as he called it, The Omar has finally spoken. Even at $52 million over four years, irrationally perhaps, I don't care what happens in the end, two years or two months down the road from now with Pedro. When you compare what the Mets got last season for their brightest young arm in Scott Kazmir, (answer to that punch like is a Zambrano full of holes), getting Pedro didn't cost a thing. Let the Wilpons spit money like blood, they've made us suffer long enough with their idiotic investment, year in and year out, of their opinions and their lack of...

After Saturday's brief flurry of activity, the winter meetings returned to it's more speculative form on Sunday. This could be because Omar Is Laying the Groundwork For Future Deals . Groundwork, as we all know, is usually very quiet and tiring work, especially on the voice and eyes. "A lot of groundwork's been done here," Minaya said Sunday. "My voice is tired, my eyes are tired. I would say that we've explored as many options as possible." Well, if making insinuations that Sexson and Alou are in the bag , or chasing the same old Pedro dog day in and day out even after it's clear to everyone in the baseball world but Omar by now that Pedro used Omar as a his dancing media monkey to get the Red Sox to increase their offer, can be considered "groundwork", well, he's been quite a busy lad. Realistically, all he's done in the last several weeks is lay the groundwork for our disappointment. However, Minaya is als...

Abbott : Well, let's see, we have on the bags, Who's on first, What's on second, I Don't Know is on third... Costello : That's what I want to find out. Abbott : I say Who's on first, What's on second, I Don't Know's on third. Costello : Are you the manager? Abbott : Yes. Costello : You gonna be the coach too? Abbott : Yes. Costello : And you don't know the fellows' names? Abbott : Well I should. Costello : Well then who's on first? Abbott : Yes. Costello : I mean the fellow's name. Abbott : Who. Costello : The guy on first. Abbott : Who. Costello : The first baseman. Abbott : Who. Costello : The guy playing... Abbott : Who is on first! Costello : I'm asking YOU who's on first. Abbott : That's the man's name. Costello : That's who's name? Abbott : Yes. Costello : Well go ahead and tell me. Abbott : That's it. Costello : That's who? Abbott : Yes. from Abbott and Costello's...

Now that it looks like Pedro played Omar and the heady days of Pedro and Whine are already over on the first day of the Winter Meetings, it's time to begin the Odalis Chant because frankly, after the slew of starting pitcher signings, there isn't much left to sort through in the bargain bin. First of all, when I think about the Mets rotation, which is now, in the absence of Leiter AND Pedro, imponderably pitiable, it appears not only that Omar has stumbled right out of the blocks, but that they need someone to fill in the rotation either as a number one or a number two starter. When considering the inevitable shift to Odalis, it should be remembered that Odalis is NOT a number one or number two starter. Part of the attraction of Odalis was that he might be a decent pitcher and he might be a bargain. Well, he probably won't be a bargain any longer. With the market already established through the signings of Jaret Wright and Jon Lieber, both for three-year...

With no "real" news to report on the free agent front, all the New York tabloids resort instead to speculation. In honour of that system of keeping the fans interested even when nothing is really happening, the latest rumours are: They prefer Sexson . After leaking official denials of a $10 million per year offer, it is allegedly confirmed that they've made an offer to him at the expense of one to Carlos Delgado. It's a tough call to make, even if they have a chance. Sexson, on the one hand, fills a defensive void and is one of the more underrated defensive first basemen in baseball. He has hit for power, with 30, 45, 29 and 45 homers each season leading up to last season's disasterous outing with the cursed Diamondbacks. However, with that power, over that same period of time, comes a walk to strikeout ratio of 267-624, keeping in mind that he played for a Brewers team who had essentially no one else to be feared in their lineup - he's a free swi...

And the losers are..... No arbitration for Richard Hildalgo. Yet, Hildalgo doesn't want to go . What is it, that special Shea water? Is the Pedro Theory over already? Sox offer arbitration , if nothing else. Because he was so indominable last season, Mike DeJean is back in the pen. Somehow, somewhere, there's still Sosa talk still going on. What's next, reelection for Bush? Magically, simultaneously, the Ordonez Days are over in Chicago. Hmmm. Expensive prima donna star on the decline or Ordonez in right field. Tough one. As though adding insult to injury, Carlos Delgado is on the Mets wish list . Can't we just take his name off? What do we need Delgado for when we've got Craig Brazell and his minimalist OBP waiting in the wings? Fittingly, the Mets will open their season against their primary opponents in the Battle For the Basement against the Washington Nats. That's it kids, now get back to work.

After the uproar caused by the inaugural review of a potential Met team on the field, it's time to look at what the Mets pitching might have or have to offer in 2005. First of all, let's all applaud the departure of Al Leiter. As pointed out by Flushing Local: "Despite Leiter's low ERA and BAA, the numbers for Al have been unmistakably deteriorating these last few years. No longer a power pitcher with good control, 2005 could be the year that Leiter gives up more walks the strikeouts. Typically, he was unable to pitch past the fifth inning this season. As he enters his 40th year on the planet, it's unlikely his stamina will do anything other than fade. And as he pitches himself into jam after jam, it's almost certainly going to be harder for him to escape unscathed." To which I would add, the Mets already have an aged lefty who can't pitch more than five or six innings an outing and his name is Tom Glavine . Seeing as how the Mets bullpe...

The Flushing Local asks the disturbing question; "am I the only one who is starting to think Omar Minaya is a little too fixated with bringing more of his fellow Dominicans to the Mets?" Not at all. But it's not exactly puzzling that Omar would go for a big splash with a fellow Dominican. Sosa is available after all and although now tainted by the steroids scandal, had a reasonable settlement been achieved with him and the Cubs, Sosa would have been a big draw. I remember how the Dominicans in the Bronx would soap up their windows with the number "61" when Sosa was chasing McGwire and Maris. Pedro is a free agent and although an incredibly annoying prima donna, still one of the better pitchers in baseball, certainly better than anyone currently on the Mets staff. Head Case Jose (Guillen) of course, is another matter altogether, as is this trade for Felix Heredia. But there are still plenty of Dominicans to go around, plenty of brothers for Omar ...