Mets Have Agreement with OF Jason Bay

[Ramp]

4 years, $66mil, with an option for a 5th years

[Branch]

Aw crap. Anywhere but the Mets, dawg. Don't do it Jason!

[Party]

Shiti Field gon pwn him.
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LOL!

[DColts]

I like this.

[Swifty]

That's a ton of cash for a good - not great - player.

If they bring back Delgado (and he's not a corpse) that lineup is legitimately scary, especially by NL standards.

[m26555]

Still doesn't make the Mets any better than a fourth place team, in my opinion.

[Swifty]

The Phillies are light years ahead of everyone else, but the Mets, I think, are now on par with us and Atlanta.

Look at it this way; the Mets need to make an effort to be as bad as they were last year. Basically 1,000 AB's from Fernando Tatis, Alex Cora and Angel Pagan.

Even if they did nothing, they add Reyes (presumably) and Delgado (likely) out of whom they got a combined 230 AB's from in 2009. They're not going to be giving starting roles to Murphy and Santos and Tatis.

Sure there's a culture of losing there, no one will dispute that, but the Mets are not the 4th most talented team in the division, and 2009 isn't a fair indicator of their talent for 2010.

[m26555]

Their starting rotation after Santana:

Pelfrey
Maine
Perez
Niese

I just don't see how they can contend with us and Atlanta with that pitching staff.

[Swifty]

I mean, I'd call Atlanta the #2 in the division only by the slimmest of margins (trading Javy hurts them big time), but with us, beyond JJ/Nolasco, you have no clue what you're getting. Even with JJ and Nolasco, you have no idea what you're getting out of them. The Mets have the second best pitcher in the division in Santana, another player they didn't get a full season out of in 2009, and even if Citi saps him of his 30-something homers, in Bay they've added a guy who has failed to OPS at least .900 only once in his career. To me, putting a consistent .900 OPS player in a division that featured 3 qualified OPS's of .900 or greater in 2009 (Hanley, Howard, Utley with Beltran having it but not enough AB's to qualify) substantially tilts the scales in your favor.

The Phillies are the juggernaut, but beyond that (and excluding Washington) both the Marlins and Braves have enough wrong with them that you can no longer call them convincingly better than the Mets with Bay and what should be a healthy Beltran and Reyes.

The Braves have no offense, and have substantially weakened their pitching, the Marlins have nothing but question marks behind Hanley and how much you want to buy into JJ, Coghlan and Nolasco (since inevitably one of those three will disappoint in 2010) and the Mets have nothing behind Santana but arguably the best offense in the division, Philly included, if Bay brings his .900 career OPS to Citi and Beltran and Reyes don't look old and injured.

[Ramp]

Ya, definitely agree on the Braves. Losing Javy kills that rotation. Still has some studs, but man what a blow. And Melky is a suckfest.

[FishFF]

no doubt losing Javy hurt, but with Jair turning the corner and Hanson on board for a full season I think the Atlanta pitching staff is going to pretty damn good next year. Lowe's ERA I presume will be back in the 3's like it has been during his tenure in the NL.

[Todd]

I thought Ramp always wanted Melky on the Marlins.

[Chewford]

The Canadian is walking into a trap that will rival the burning of York.

[Ramp]

I thought Ramp always wanted Melky on the Marlins.

you're kidding, right?

[Todd]

No, actually, probably just thinking of the wrong person. There was a poster on that other board who wanted to have Melky's babies.