Dates to look forward to

Baseball is getting closer and closer, and here are some key dates for Mets fans to look forward to...

• Feb. 13 -- Pitchers and catchers report.
• Feb. 17 -- Position players report.
• Feb. 19 -- First full workout.
• Feb. 25 -- First exhibition game @ Baltimore.
• March 5 -- Exhibition against Team Italy.
• March 8 -- Exhibition against U. of Michigan.
• April 3-4 -- Exhibition vs. Boston Red Sox @ Citi Field.
• April 6 -- First game of the season @ Cincinnati.
• April 13 -- Citi Field Home Opener against San Diego.

Some dates via Bart Hubbuch.

Mets will not go higher on Lowe

The Mets have pitched a three-year, $36 million offer to Derek Lowe. He seems to have brushed it aside in hopes of finding a bigger and better deal. No other team has come forward with an offer, and the Mets are adamant they will not raise their offer to the free agent pitcher.

Via Ken Davidoff:

Lowe ranks as the Mets' first choice to replace Oliver Perez in their starting rotation, but they also are negotiating with Perez himself and lefthander Randy Wolf. Agent Scott Boras represents both Lowe and Perez.

The Mets should wait this out and see if he folds and takes the deal. I can see them offering a few million more, but not much. I can't see them giving him four guaranteed years, though.

Lowe wants $16 million per year, and with this deal he's only getting $12 million. With Scott Boras as his agent, you would think he would get what he wants (and more), but with the economy the way it is and many teams already locking up their needs, Lowe may have to "settle" for the Mets offer.

So long, Pat the Bat

Oh, praise this day Mets fans and thank the Tampa Bay Rays.

According to reports, Pat Burrell will leave the NL East and Philadelphia, and head for warmer pastures in Tampa Bay. Burrell was a free agent, and the Phillies didn't seem inclined to bring him back, but this just confirms that the Met-killer is going elsewhere.

Burrell and the Rays agreed on a two-year, $16 million deal.

Unfortunately, this does not mean the Mets are completely rid of Pat the Bat. June 19-21, the reigning AL champs make a visit to Citi Field.

Three games is much better than everytime the Mets play the Phillies. Thank you, Rays.

Sorting through Jon Heyman's top 20 remaining free agents

Jon Heyman published an article a few days ago, and I'm only now getting around to it. This break from school is really letting the laziness take over. Anyway, here we go...

Heyman ranks the top 20 remaining FA's, according to him. Somehow, his No. 1 choice is Bobby Abreu and No. 3 is Pat Burrell.

Adam Dunn ranks in at No. 6, just ahead of Jon Garland and, inexplicably, four spots ahead of Derek Lowe. Oliver Perez ranks in at No. 11 and Manny Ramirez doesn't make an appearance until 13th.

Behind Manny? Ben Sheets at No. 14, followed by Jason Varitek, Randy Wolf and Garret Anderson. No. 18 is Freddy Garcia, who last I checked is still recovering from surgery, pitched in three games last season and may have just hurt himself in winter ball.

Cliff Floyd and Tim Redding round out the list.

Is it me, or did Heyman just throw darts at a list while drunk, blindfolded and hanging upside down?

I'm going to take the same 20 players and rank them, my way, and we all can compare.

Heyman's list	Vazzano's list
1. Bobby Abreu	1. Manny Ramirez
2. Milton Bradley	2. Derek Lowe
3. Pat Burrell	3. Oliver Perez
4. Orlando Cabrera	4. Adam Dunn
5. Joe Crede	5. Orlando Cabrera
6. Adam Dunn	6. Bobby Abreu
7. Jon Garland	7. Ben Sheets
8. Jason Giambi*	8. Jason Giambi*
9. Orlando Hudson*	9. Orlando Hudson*
10. Derek Lowe	10. Joe Crede
11.Oliver Perez	11. Milton Bradley
12. Andy Pettitte*	12. Andy Pettitte*
13. Manny Ramirez	13. Jon Garland
14. Ben Sheets	14. Garrett Anderson
15. Jason Varitek	15. Pat Burrell
16. Randy Wolf	16. Randy Wolf
17. Garrett Anderson	17. Jason Varitek
18. Freddy Garcia	18. Tim Redding
19. Cliff Floyd	19. Cliff Floyd
20. Tim Redding	20. Freddy Garcia

* denotes matches.

Of this list, the Mets have been rumored to be interested in: Ramirez, Lowe, Perez, Hudson, Wolf, Varitek and Redding.
Of that list, I think the only serious pursuits will be: Lowe, Perez, Hudson, Wolf and Redding.
And of that list, I can see only: Lowe, Perez, Wolf and Redding wearing blue and orange next year.

Wherever you rank the top 20 remaining free agents, just know that within the next 40 or so days, a lot of rumors are going to be swirling. Why 40 days (give or take)? Spring training kicks off right about then. Finally, we'll all get back to baseball.

Update: Fletcher points out that Heyman's list may not be a list at all. From 1-17, the list is in alphabetical order. If he's not ranking them, why use numbers? Couldn't he just as easily used bullet points? What's with the ABC order then? This gives me more questions than answers. My list still stands.

This is just stupid

I can't tell if the people behind this are Mets fans making fun of the lack of memories at Shea Stadium, if they're fans of another team grinding salt in the wound or if they're just bad at what they do.

Watch this video (a bit of language at the end, so I'd classify this as NSFW) and see if you can figure out what is going on.

Either way, it made me angry -- that's all I know.

Would you take Andruw Jones -- for Luis Castillo?

I know there was a tiny ember of a rumor a few days ago that was quickly shot down, but I'd like to think about the possibility of bringing Andruw Jones on board -- if and only if Luis Castillo is shipped elsewhere (LA).

Jones, coming off another miserable season, hasn't come close to hitting above .250 since 2006. In his last season with Atlanta ('07), Jones only hit .222, but still managed to drive in 94 runs, hit 27 doubles and 26 home runs. With his two triples, that means he only hit 72 singles in a full season. How that is possible, I'm not too sure.

His first season with the Dodgers was nothing short of disastrous. In only 75 games, Jones hit a measly .158, driving in 14 runs and only picking up 33 hits in 238 plate appearances.

Now we all know the maladies of Castillo and his contract. This may be a bit tougher to pull off, especially since Jones reworked his contact (likely signaling the Dodgers big push to bring back Manny Ramirez) for a much lower amount. According to Buster Olney, "Under the terms of the restructured deal, Jones will be paid the $15 million in salary over the next six seasons with no interest, sources say."

Now with the $18 million due to Castillo over the next three years, it's unlikely the Dodgers would want to swap the new Jones contract for Castillo's. The Mets would have to sweeten the deal with someone else, but I honestly don't think it's worth it.

Though I want Luis "The Newest Scapegoat" Castillo off the Mets, I don't think taking on Jones would be the right fit for the team.

Newsday is on top of things

It took me a while to think of something to write here, while linking to possibly the greatest Newsday article ever.

I still came up with nothing.

Just...go here.

Thank you, Newsday. You are so in tune with my needs. Truly groundbreaking.

Poll Results: Daniel Murphy will be breakout star in '09

Going back to a poll that got lost in the shuffle of The 2008 Met of the Year Award, I asked which player would be the breakout start of 2009 -- here are the results:

Daniel Murphy -- 55% (94 votes)
Jon Niese -- 15% (27)
Bobby Parnell -- 11% (20)
Eddie Kunz -- 5% (10)
Mike Carp -- 4% (7)
Nick Evans -- 4% (7)
Other -- 2% (4)

If Carp is going to have a breakout year, he'll be doing it with the Seattle Mariners.

No surprise that Murphy led this list. He provided a spark and a glimmer of hope at the end of 2008. He also advanced to the Elite 8 in the 2008 MotY bracket, the lowest seed to do so.

Hopefully all of these players have a big (positive) impact on the 2009 Mets season.

Next poll: Which free agent pitcher would you prefer? (Poll in the right sidebar)

Beltran for Dice-K and Ellsbury?

From Joel Sherman's Hardball Blog:

Let me ask Met fans, Red Sox fans and anybody else interested if you would be willing to do this trade: [Carlos] Beltran to Boston for Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jacoby Ellsbury?

In a word: No.

Beltran's 2008: .284/.376/.500, 40 2B, 27 HR, 112 RBI, 25 SB. Played in 161 games.
Ellsbury's 2008: .280/.296/.394, 22 2B, 9 HR, 47 RBI, 50 SB. Played in 145 games.

Yes, Ellsbury is a great fielder and sometimes Beltran makes a silly mistake in the field, but there is no comparing the two. Three straight Gold Gloves for Beltran is enough information here.

Ellsbury is six years younger and much cheaper, which is enticing, but there is just no replacing Beltran in the field. Easily one of the most embattled players on the team, with some fans loving every second of him and others thinking he is overpaid. You likely know where I lie.

Dice-K would be nice, no doubt. He'd fit in right behind Johan Santana and be an excellent #2 pitcher. But with the staff they have right now, I don't think the Mets need to give up a guy as valuable as Beltran to land a #2 pitcher. Rather, they need to focus on getting a solid 3/4 guy in the rotation. Mike Pelfrey will have a decent year, but won't match 2008. Hopefully, John Maine can come back and pitch effectively.

The team knows they need to spend here, and they've already made the intial offer to Derek Lowe. It came out to be a little low, but the market seems thin for him, so the Mets might catch a break here and get him for near what they want to pay. That's their best option right now, with Oliver Perez filing in behind him.

I still don't know where the Jon Garland talk is. He's a solid back-end of the rotation guy, and has proven himself and his nearly automatic 4.75 ERA (fixed) for years. Sign him for the 4th or 5th guy and move from there. It would put pressure on the rest of the pitching market to look to the Mets if they seriously consider them suitors.

But back to the trade, I'll pass.

The 2008 Met of the Year Award winner is...

By a landslide victory, Johan Santana was voted
The 2008 Met of the Year.For a larger image, click here.

Garnering almost 82 percent of the vote (295 total votes), Santana crushed challenger Carlos Delgado, who earned only 65 votes total.

Going 16-7 with a 2.53 ERA (and having at least 5 guaranteed wins taken away by the bullpen), Santana was more than deserving of the award.

Here is his personal plaque to hang on his mantle, likely next to his Cy Young's:
And here is the Met of the Year plaque, which will have each players named inscribed on it when they win:Thanks for voting. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.