Multiple reasons why Mets should chase Manny
Posted: Wednesday, November 05, 2008 1:00 PM
As the Manny Ramirez derby begins, perhaps the most fascinating team to watch will be the Mets. Do they really plan next April on opening Citi Field -- their new shrine to Ebbets Field -- with a Daniel Murphy-Fernando Tatis platoon in left field?
Do the Mets – a team which has previously pursued a trade for Ramirez -- take a run at finally landing him through free agency? Does ownership want to expand the payroll and accept the risk inherent with a mercurial talent?
To me there are a few reasons to say yes, the team will seek to sign Ramirez.
The Mets like stars, players to help them in their never-ending Big Apple newspaper headline battle with the Yankees.
Also, Carlos Beltran thrives when the spotlight is on others so it’s no surprise close observers of the team this season felt he was the Mets’ best player while Carlos Delgado’s hot streak garnered headlines and kept a low profile for Beltran. With Ramirez aboard, Beltran slides even further from being the focus of attention.
Finally, 2009 -- the year the Mets move into their new ballpark -- would be a bad time for the franchise to plead poverty as a reason to avoid going after Ramirez.
Some point out the $10 million owed to injured closer Billy Wagner in 2009 as a reason for the Mets to limit their spending this offseason. However, they have $14 million coming off the books as they severe ties with non-contributors Moises Alou and Orlando Hernandez.
A more legitimate reason to be given for shying away from Ramirez is that the Mets must build depth -- both on the bench and in the bullpen. That was the lesson learned from the collapse of 2008. The Phillies had superior players coming off the bench and superb depth in the bullpen, the latter becoming the greatest difference between the two teams in the final three weeks of the season.
The Dodgers need Ramirez more than any team. What is unknown is whether their ownership truly has the money to sign the slugger. Reports that the Dodgers are trying to offload salary to find the dollars needed for a mega offer to Ramirez are unsettling. For the first time since the McCourts purchased the Dodgers, SoCal is energized by the team. Ramirez was the spark and the Dodgers risk losing so much momentum -- not to mention offensive production -- if he walks.
The Mets have the way to land Ramirez but the next few weeks will show us if they have the will.
FIVE MORE SWINGS:
1. MILWAUKEE CONTINUES TO SURPRISE…by keeping Mike Cameron at $10 million for next season. Cameron admitted to his shock about the team’s decision to bring him back. Notable in the comments from Brewers general manager Doug Melvin was the importance of Cameron’s defense, another clear sign that the BALCO era is over.
2. GREAT PIECE BY TRACY RINGOLSBY…outlining the role played by Houston owner Drayton McLane in the scheduling fiasco of September’s delayed Astros-Cubs series. McLane resisted early pleas by MLB commissioner Bud Selig to move the series from Houston due to Hurricane Ike.
MLB offered to cover travel expenses for players’ families but McLane was concerned about losing three sellouts. After the fact, Houston complained about MLB’s decision to play the games at Milwaukee's Miller Park -- only 90 miles from Chicago – and the distraction of starting the series just one day after Ike devastated Houston. But Selig never complained about taking hits for his handling of the issue. Which is why the owners continue to support Selig as he often takes the public flak for individual owners. This case is particularly disturbing because Selig has allowed Houston to play Texas in six interleague games each year, a special request by McLane that further destroys schedule credibility.
3. ANOTHER SURPRISING TABLE…in Baseball America showed the team that spent the most in Latin America signing bonuses for 2008 was…Cincinnati. That’s a jolt to anyone who follows player development closely but it is an indication of a significant change in the way the Reds go about things under the ownership of Bob Castellini. Second in spending was Oakland and San Diego was third (these numbers were based on six-figure bonuses) which I read as a reflection on the spiraling costs of free agency and signing draft picks.
4. OF THE 108 INTERNATIONAL PLAYERS…who received six-figure signing bonuses in 2008, 89 were from the Dominican Republic or Venezuela. Yet in Baseball America’s postseason prospect rankings, 12 of the top 20 Triple-A prospects are high school products, five are from the college ranks, one from junior college and only two are international players.
Only five of the top 30 Double-A prospects are foreign (four from Venezuela and one from the Dominican Republic) while 11 are high-school draftees and 14 are college or junior college players. One has to dip into short-season and rookie league prospect lists to find a strong representation of foreign players.
5. WONDERING ABOUT THE FINANCIAL FATE…of mid-level and low-end free agents this winter after Oakland let Alan Embree walk and the Cubs did the same with Henry Blanco. Speculation has been that the big stars on the open market will still get the money but the economic squeeze may be reflected in offers to those at the back end of the free-agent pool.
Another startling move: Arizona showing no interest in keeping Adam Dunn, who is reportedly making an effort to better his fitness. Perhaps Toronto Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi, although indelicate, had a point when he commented in the summer that Dunn didn’t like baseball much and doesn’t have much of a passion to play the game.
