Results tagged ‘ Eddie Kunz ’
Noooo!
Don’t do it! Don’t make any trades, Omar! I am telling you, SAVE THE FARMSYSTEM!!!! Do not trade Eddie Kunz or Jon Niese or Bobby Parnell for Jermaine Dye or Javier Vazquez; do not trade them AT ALL! These men are the future of our club, how can you even consider it? Don’t trade Daniel Murphy, either, as he is potentially the next David Wright, or with the position issue, the next Ryan Braun. Don’t trade Nick Evans, or Mike Pelfrey. We must rebuild our farmsystem and build a good team. Everything in the world should strike a balance, and in baseball, that balance is between big name free agents and building a good crop of home grown talent.
There is one rumor of a trade, however, that I’ve heard and I support, although the Mets once again disagree with me. I’m not sure if its true, but rumors suggest that in order for the Rockies to trade Huston Street to the Mets, they are asking for Aaron Heilman and Pedro Feliciano. The Mets are completely open to making a trade for Street revolving around Heilman, but they don’t want to trade Feliciano. I would make this trade in a heartbeat. I understand that Feliciano is a rare solid lefty specialist, but Scott Schoenweis can easily have a bounceback year, and I thought the Mets were going after Brian Fuentes and Joe Beimel anyway? If they push the right buttons, this team can easily have a good bullpen in 2009. Here is what they have to do:
- Trade Heilman and Feliciano for Huston Street. If the reports are true that the Rockies would accept this with no extra players, go for it. Street is your set up man.
- Sign Brian Fuentes. He is a left hander who can be our closer, and we won’t have to spend extra money on Francisco Rodriguez.
- Sign Joe Beimel. No matter what, we have to sign him. You can’t rely on Schoenweis anymore until he proves himself, and although there is no way Beimel will have as good an ’09 as did an ’08, he is easily one of the best lefty relievers in baseball.
If played correctly our bullpen will look like this:
Closer – Brian Fuentes
Set Up – Huston Street
Middle Relief – Joe Smith
Scott Schoenweis
Duaner Sanchez
Lefty Specialist – Joe Beimel
Long Reliever – Brian Stokes
In my opinion we really have a surplus of relievers. Claudio Vargas, Tony Armas, and Nelson Figueroa can all be long relievers, and Carlos Muniz could be back. Jason Vargas might make an appearance, and who knows, we still have Kunz, Niese, and Parnell!
Omar Minaya has to really choose his cards wisely. With a little work, the bullpen can get better. It really doesn’t have as much cleaning up to do as it seems, as long as Minaya takes a conservative approach.
Do Not Trade Beltran
There have been some rumors popping up over the Internet that the Mets are considering trading Carlos Beltran. One rumor is him to the Yankees for Robinson Cano and two pitching prospects, one of them probably Ian Kennedy.
But as far as I am concerned, Carlos Beltran is the best defensive outfielder in all of the Majors and he is in the top 10 offensive outfielders. As much as people want the Mets to make a trade and as much as you could get for Beltran trading him is not the answer. There are already enough outfield problems as there is and trading Beltran not only would open up another hole out there but it would lose an outfield mentor for Daniel Murphy. With Church injury prone and Murphy/Evans inexperienced and Moises Alou (if he can come back) is not going to be a good defender at all.
People are saying that there is not enough power at the bottom of the lineup. Well trading Beltran would remove power from the top of the lineup too. And Beltran is a quiet leader. In the dugout and the clubhouse he is a guy younger players look up too and he can get real fiery in a competitive spirit. Remember when Jimmy Rollins said last year the Phillies were the team to beat? At the beginnning of this year Beltran said at the end of an interview, “and to Jimmy Rollins this year the Mets are the team to beat”. This sparked a fire between the Phillies and Mets and there were rumors that the two teams would have a brawl on April 9 (the Mets home opener). There was no brawl (I was looking forward to it and Chase Utley breaking his neck and missing the season!) but teammates never looked at Carlos the same way.
Carlos Beltran is important to this team. You can’t trade him. You need to stick with what you have and don’t trade anybody. Release guys like Heilman and Luis Castillo and build from the ground up with your prospects like Eddie Kunz and Bobby Parnell.
I guess whoever sparked this rumor also has too much time on there hands (see previous post).
The Mets Don’t Need Wagner
The Mets don’t need Billy Wagner. With him, they would be the best team in the major league (they may be anyway, since Jerry Manuel took over), but they realy don’t need him. Since he went down, the Mets are 22-11. They were given a test, and they passed. Eddie Kunz was spectacular, but he got used about once every 5 days. He is a closer, not a starter, so the Mets did not give Kunz a good chance. They have been stapeling their bullpen together, and it has been getting better, even Aaron Heilman and Duaner Sanchez. Mets relievers have blown too many saves this year (Wagner had 6 of his own), but they have still gotten the job done. Just think, if the Mets had a dominant ‘pen, like the Phillies do, where would they be? How about in position to clinch the division in a about a week? The Angels’ magic number is 2. They have the best record in the Majors at 87 wins and 56 losses. The Mets are 80-63. The Mets have saved 39 of 64 chances. Thikn where they would be if they blew have the saves they have.
Huge Win Last Night; Wagner Shut Down
Well last night’s win in game 2 was extremely important. It is just one game but look at all the games the Mets could have won againstt he Phillies this year but blew. And instead of being tied for first they are 2 games up. It is just good for the clubhouse.
And some bad (or maybe a blessing in disguise) news. Billy Wagner is done for all of next year as you have probably already heard. So who will be the Mets closer? 2009 is Wagner’s last year on this contract, and the Mets may not pick up his option. So could they sign Francisco Rodriguez? Great idea, don’t see why the Mets can’t do it, but I just don’t see it. K-Rod will either stay in LA or perhaps sign with the Cardinals. I have no idea who the closer will be, but I doubt they will be that great (maybe a Troy Percival kind of guy). I see Eddie Kunz emerging with a big chance next season.
Mets Acquire Luis Ayala
After throwing a simulated inning, Billy Wagner announced that he still has some soreness in his arm, so he will not return to the team on Monday. Instead, he is day-to-day, and apparently the Mets got tired of waiting. They traded second baseman Anderson Hernandez to the Nationals for relief pitcher Luis Ayala. Ayala, who the Mets tried and failed to acquire at the Trade Deadline, requested a trade because he wanted a change of scenery (I’m guessing its because he finally realized he can’t win if he is with the sucky Nats). Anderson Hernandez, who has been playing in the minors, played second base for the Mets in 2006 when Kaz Matsui was hurt. Hernandez was an absolute horrible hitter, but a fantastic fielder. Eventually he fizzled out, and the Mets don’t need him anymore, now that they have Argenis Reyes. Ayala should be with the Mets tomorrow, and Eddie Kunz is expected to be sent down. My wonder though is who will be sent down when Wagner returns?
Kunz Sent Down?
After last night’s game where Aaron Heilman was used to close the game, I am beginning to think that when Billy Wagner comes back on Monday, Eddie Kunz will be the one sent down. I think this is really unfair to Kunz. I understand the move, he is really the only one in the bullpen with options, but he just hasn’t gotten a chance to prove himself. He made, what, 3 appearences since being called up? And he didn’t even get a save opportunity. If you are going to call somebody up, especially a prospect who is GOING TO BE YOUR FUTURE CLOSER, I really think you need to use him!
But on the bright side, this is actually the first time all season where I can actually say I give the Mets a 10 out of 10 on the Playoff-O-Meter. Especially the way the bullpen is going, and the easy schedule ahead. But I am kind of bored watching the Mets play bad teams. I mean, I like watching them, but I just kind of think about the other team, “You guys suck, why are you giving us a hard time? You know you are going nowhere, so just let us win, okay?” Kinda dumb, I know, but its just really annoying to constantly have the same teams losing all the time. Its like why do the Pirates, Nationals, Astros, etc even exist?
This is What Makes Jerry Manuel Successful
We were all holding our breaths last night, just waiting to see Joe Smith or Pedro Feliciano blow the save. When Eddie Kunz didn’t come in during the ninth inning I thought Jerry Manuel was off his rocker. But it worked. Just like all of the wierd moves he makes for no apparent reason, it worked. And that is what makes Manuel a success as a manager. He makes all the right moves, and he has a great presence in the clubhouse. All of the players respect him, and they all have a great relationship with him, but he isn’t afraid to get down and dirty when need be. Jerry Manuel takes a situation where you have one everyday outfielder, no second baseman, a backstop that is constantly taking turns getting hurt, and a pitching staff that is never has a full 5-man rotation, and he scraps together a playoff-calibur team with a bunch of no-names. Incredible.
2 trades were made in the past days. Adam Dunn was shipped to the D-Backs for 2 players to be named later. There are rumors that Micah Owings might be one of them. And Paul Byrd was traded to the Red Sox for a player to be named later or cash. I say neither trade will have an impact, because I predict the Dodgers winning the NL West, the Rays winning the AL East, and the Twins winning the AL Wild Card.
Gary Sheffield was placed on waivers after complaining he doesn’t like his DH platoon role in Detroit. Should the Mets place a claim? I don’t think so. Sheffield has an option for 2009 in his contract, and with Fernando Martinez around the corner, and the emergence of Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans, the Mets just need a rental. Sheffield also has a history of ruining the team chemistry, which throughout the bullpen woes and hitting slumps, remains the Mets high point. I say stick to what you have now. Let the prospects show what they can do in a pennant race, it will have to happen sooner or later. Ryan Church should be back soon so there really is nothing to do. When Wagner comes back the bullpen should be solid again, so I say no worries.
One last note, John Maine was taken off the DL and the Mets optioned down to AAA Carlos Muniz. Maine will start tonight and there is a possibility that he will then move to the bullpen, although I say the Mets rotation will stay intact.
Mets Need to Make a Really Big Move
Over the past few days the Mets have made quite a few moves, placing Marlon Anderson and John Maine on the DL and calling up Dan Murphy and Eddie Kunz. Looking at possible waiver acquisitions like Rich Aurilia, and also scouting out Free Agent Freddy Garcia. The Mets did a lot of things over the weeked in order to improve the club and make a stretch for October. But they did forget one little detail. Getting swept by the Houston Astros is against the rules.
The Mets are not hesitating to call up prospects from the minors, and they are certainly being very bold in that they have no idea how these guys will perform. But you know what? It doesn’t matter how well Nick Evans or Dan Murphy hits, it doesn’t matter how well Eddie Kunz or Jon Niese pitches. It doesn’t matter who you call up from the minors at all. What the Mets need is veteran production. Guys like Brian Schenider need to start hitting. Sure, they were doing great in that 10 game winning streak, but then the All-Star break came and went and they cooled down. The Mets have now lost 5 of their last 6 games. Carlos Beltran seriously needs to pick up the slack. He needs to carry the team on his shoulders. Beltran is a leader on this ballclub, and needs to play like one. Remember back in ’05, Beltran’s first year as a Met? He hit 16 homers. Then he hit something like 25 and then last year the team record, 42. Now he is having a slump year. What will happen next year? Another 25 homer season? Carlos Beltran is way too inconsistant, and he is overrated. Don’t get me wrong, I really like Beltran, but he is just too expensive for this kind of production. I say he needs to be traded. Just think of the players the Mets could rake in, they could get a pitcher or a proven vet, maybe a even a mini-star in his prime, like Jason Bay, and it wouldn’t even cost them any prospects.
This teams needs a change. A really big change. And if they have any hope of making the postseason, that change needs to come now. Minaya made a gigantic mistake not trading at the deadline, now he will need to take advantage of the waiver wire. And let me say this. If the Mets make another collapse like last year, and they don’t make the postseason, Omar Minaya won’t have another chance to win it all. Lets just say he couldn’t take the heat of the kitchen but stuck around for one more cookie anyway.
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