Mets offer more to O. Perez

The Mets have previously offered Oliver Perez a three-year, $30 million contract. That was too cheap for Scott Boras and his client. The Mets have now upped the offer, according to reports.

Andrew Marchand of ESPN 1050 reports that the Mets are willing to give Perez a contract for four years, likely worth $10 million per.

That is way too expensive. I wouldn't mind Perez back in orange and blue, but for that much, over that long of a contract just isn't worth it. He's honestly not that great of a pitcher to command that much money.

But thanks to an over-eager pitching market, other pitchers got more than they deserved, so Perez will as well. (Thanks, Atlanta!)

The Mets are better off signing Perez for two-years and giving him more per season. I don't think Perez is a reliable enough pitcher to sign for that length of time.

Update: I just wrote this in a reply to a comment...

I don't think there are any other teams! If there were, Boras would be parading them around like circus elephants trying to drive up Perez's price. But if that's not happening, I'm pretty sure no other team if willing to offer this much money to him -- and rightly so.

Mike Birbiglia at the MVP Awards

This is one of my favorite stand-up routines.

Enjoy.

Mets sign Rob Mackowiak

The Mets have added yet another left handed bat to the spring training roster. Rob Mackowiak has caught on with the Mets, according to Joel Sherman of the NY Post.

It's a minor league deal that could be worth up to $800,000 if he makes the Mets and surpasses a certain number of plate appearances.

Last season, Mackowiak hit -- brace yourself -- a cool .132 in 53 at-bat's for the Washington Nationals.

He's a career .259 hitter, with a .332 OBP and .405 slugging over 856 games. His best full season came in 2005 with the Pirates, where he his .272/.337/.389 in 142 games (463 at-bat's).

I guess the Bisons will be decent this year.

The State of the Mets -- 1/23/09

Here is the third edition of my weekly web show, The State of the Mets.

Topics covered: Freddy Garcia, Ben Sheets vs. Oliver Perez and The Mets and the Yankees.

Joining my for the Yankee segment was Andrew Fletcher of Scott Proctor's Arm, and during the goodbyes was Jeremy Schilling of JSchil.Wordpress.com.

Link: Metstradamus riffs on Morgan, Miller and Phillips

The great Metstradamus has a hilarious post up dealing with Jon Miller, Joe Morgan and Steve Phillips. Sadly, he's not very far off. Click here to read the article.

Phillies after Old Man Moises

Go get him, Philadelphia. He's guaranteed to let you down in 20 games or less!

As the Phillies search for bench players to fill in their team, they've turned to Nomar Garciaparra and Moises Alou as possible options, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

For some mysterious reason, Alou still thinks he can play baseball on an everyday basis and wants a lot of playing time. I highly doubt any NL team is stupid enough to promise him more than pinch-hitting and a handful of games in the field. American League is a different story, and I think if he's primarily the designated hitter, he may be able to stay healthy, for at least half a season.

Go ahead, Philly. Spend a couple million on him. You'll enjoy him while he lasts, I think.

Freddy G in NYC

The Mets have signed Freddy Garcia to a minor-league deal.

According to Adam Rubin, if Garcia makes the majors and surpasses the incentives in his contract, he can earn up to $9 million.

Woah. I'm glad the Mets landed Garcia, as I think he'll be beneficial in the long run. Still, that's a lot of dough.

If they're willing to pay Garcia $9 million for one season, I don't understand why they're unwilling to pay more for a better pitcher for a few years.

Update -- 9:17 p.m.: It's back. Breathe easier?

Update -- 9:15 p.m.: The page is gone, but it's still viewable on the Surfing the Mets homepage. I'm not sure if that means the deal is not there or if there are just server problems.

Link: Why the Mets have no money

My good friend Joe Janish has a long post about the Mets and their money. Click here to read the article on Mets Today.

How to listen to WFAN and watch the Mets on the TV, without a delay

Yesterday, it was reported that Steve Phillips will join the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball broadcast. As if Jon Miller and Joe Morgan weren't bad enough.

There was a bit of a hubbub about having to listen these three discussing any game, especially the Mets. Well, I have your solution.

It's called "Delay Play" and it's a device that will delay the radio broadcast so it will sync up with the images on your television. Most digital broadcasts (HD or otherwise) are usually much slower than the radio feed.

This product came out of the same frustration we now encounter. It syncs to your radio, and allows you to delay it long enough so that what you see and what you hear are together.

Unfortunately, the device is out of stock at the moment. If you e-mail them, you can get on their mailing list for when the device is again available.

Delay Play, the answer to all our prayers.

Down to New York

Oh, yippee.

Freddy Garcia is reportedly down to choosing between the Yankees and the Mets for his team in 2009.

Via Ken Rosenthal:

Garcia would prefer a major-league contract, which would guarantee him termination pay if he were released in March, but might need to accept a minor-league deal.

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The Mets are trying to sign a free-agent starter from a group consisting of left-hander Oliver Perez, right-hander Ben Sheet [sic] and lefty Randy Wolf.

Rosenthal also notes that the Mets and Yanks don't see Garcia as a definite addition to their rotations, making them less likely to offer him a major league contract.