Archie Bunker's Army

Isn't it wonderful when all your dreams come true? On the same day the Mets introduced the new-and-improved, no-longer-a-Met-hating-Marlin but a lover of all things New York Carlos Delgado power-slugger we so sorely needed, the flame-throwing closer we so sorely lacked last season announced he has chosen us to be his suitors. For a cool $43 million over 4 years, Billy Wagner has joined the Mets and Delgado bringing us two for two on the "Oh please can we have a power-hitting first baseman and fireballing closer to end our woe and misery and nearly a decade and a half of Braves domination?" Wagner of course, we figured we had in the bag - after all, the choice between Philly and New York hardly seems a fair comparison. But to hear the soothing tones of a shaved-headed Mr Delgado saying all the right things, that he will stand for "God Bless America" and any bad feelings between him and Mets management lingering from last year's negotiations are over, that he ...

I’ll be curious to see how Mr Delgado reacts to being traded from his first choice to his-not-choice after only one season. I reckon eventually, he will toe the line, will he shave his goatee? This man chose not to come to the Mets after they’d signed Pedro and Carlos because he thought the Marlins had a better chance than the Mets and because he didn’t like that Omar played the racist, hey let’s all be Island Hispanics card. Will he like the Mets any better now that he can become a free agent after next World Series? Only if the Mets win the World Series. Otherwise, they gave up their best pitching prospect and a first baseman who may or may not be good. On the other hand, when the Mets were pursuing this Jackal Delgado, they wanted that final corner piece of power that they didn’t have because they didn’t get him. If you look at the 2005 Mets, you see on the one hand, nil contribution from Petit and on the other hand, a decent contribution from Jacobs that no one expected. They exp...

There are many different prisms through which to view the Mets offseason potential. Mine happens to be very far away yet I can feel the blemishes of the Mets as if they were my own. Priority One would be to keep Pedro from pitching either in the Dominican Winter League or in the World Baseball Classic. His arm is hanging by a thread as it is with a very nearing ceiling on the number of pitches he has left in it before it’s left lying in one of the backrooms of the Hall of Fame and really, the Mets should insist that for their investment he save Dominican ball and any other pitching cameos for after his contract with the Mets run out. He’s too valuable to the Mets chances to allow his whim to do otherwise. Do Our Business, not Yours. That said there are more than enough holes in the Mets every day roster to spend months speculating on how they might be plugged. Power Bat V. Bullpen Stopper : The two sorest points of the Mets season last year were arguably the lack of a big bat in ...