Twitter Poll: What will the Mets slogan be in 2010?

As we all await the signing of the next catcher, I asked my Twitter followers what they believe the 2010 Mets slogan will be.

As expected, no one thought I was serious and submitted joking and funny slogans.  I got a ton of responses, and they’re all pretty good, so check them out below…

nicolino11: It's not 2009!

Macho_Row: Sh*t happens?

mattclausen: You're 2010 Mets: Cuz Catchers are Everything

Dennis676: Right now… “The 2010 NY Mets...we're ‘catching’ up”

SusieTVaddict: ‘You give us your money, we'll give you the Shea Bridge’

790justin: New York Mets: Thank Goodness for the Natinals

RyanFingAwesome: Citi Field: at least we have a Shake Shack!

dances_w_vowels: “Guaranteed not to go 0-18!”

Majin_Bernard: "The Resurrection Begins"

justinleon: “Hey, at least we aren't the Nets”

Rad_Ryan: You stay with us, we'll give you aging players.

nymetropolitans: “Please buy tickets. We painted the stairwells orange and blue.”

dtmfr: Catch the Magic??

tyronem: “We will try harder not to make you claw your eyes out”

DanPirozzi: Disabled List Dropouts

realcinch: The New York Mets... We Can't Get Any Worse!

mtmcq: Minor League Baseball, at Major League prices

Do you have your own slogan you think the Mets will use in 2010?  Which one was your favorite?  Let us know in the comments!

Reports: Henry Blanco in NYC for physical; What I think it means for the Mets

Henry Blanco, who played in 67 games with the San Diego Padres last season, is traveling to New York for a physical, according to El Nacional, via Adam Rubin.

Blanco, who would be the second catcher the Mets signed this off-season, hit .235 / .320 / .382 in 204 at bats last year with six home runs and 16 RBI.

This means one of three things to me.

1. The Mets don’t think they will sign Bengie Molina (be it they don’t want to pay or they think they’ll be outbid, we’ll see), and are stockpiling catchers because they don’t fully trust any of them.

2. The Mets are doing this to signal to Molina, “Hey, we don’t really need you, but we’ll sign you for X amount anyway.”  Sort of a bargaining chip trying to give the Mets leverage.

3. They are really taking the progression of Josh Thole seriously.  Bringing in veteran catchers, no matter their stats, who can give the young Thole tips, tricks and insight to playing in the league for so long.  Catchers are considered the most knowledgeable position.  Could this be the Mets creating a “Catching High Council” to tutor the future?

Can someone please explain…

This comes from a letter submitted to Marty Noble’s mailbag…

If the Mets aren't going to make a deal for Roy Halladay or sign John Lackey, they are wasting Johan Santana's time with the club. We should get a No. 2 starter to complement him. This might sound outlandish, but would they entertain the idea of trading Santana? You could get five or six top prospects for him. It could be like the Herschel Walker trade for the Cowboys. Prospects Jenrry Mejia and Brad Holt have what it takes to become aces. Jose Reyes and David Wright are young enough to rebuild around.
-- Chris C., Middletown, N.J.

Someone, anyone, please explain this logic to me.

Pagan: Trade bait?

Is Angel Pagan trade bait this off-season?

According to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi, Pagan is drawing interest from teams as a potential starter for their club.

One of the teams Rosenthal and Morosi link to Pagan is the Kansas City Royals.  The Royals, as we know, are trying to dump Jose Guillen.  Thankfully though, their sources say the Mets are not interested.

But is it worth it to trade Pagan?

He’s under control for next season and probably won’t make over $1 million.  For a fourth outfielder, especially one that can play for an extended period of time, this isn’t that bad.

I like Pagan (sans his base running gaffes) and think the Mets should hold on to him unless they’re wowed by a deal.

Bengie Molina not offered arbitration

The San Francisco Giants did not offer catcher Bengie Molina arbitration, meaning he will not cost the team that signs him draft picks.

Here’s a collection of reaction from around the Mets blogosphere…

MetsBlog - News: Giants do NOT offer Arbitration to Molina

…from what i can gather, the Giants are likely to offer molina a one-year deal, worth around $4 million, with incentives… but, i bet the Mets offer him a similar deal, with an option for 2011, and a bit more money… and i have no idea why, which you can read more about here…

Amazin’ Avenue - Obligatory Bengie Molina Objection Post

It also seemingly clears the way for the unholy union between Molina and the Mets, not that something like draft pick compensation would've stood in the way between Omar Minaya and a lousy baseball decision (we weren't going to sign that draft pick anyway!).

Mets Fever - Giants don't offer arby to Molina

Well the Mets don't have to worry about making that decision, since the Giants decided to not offer him arbitration, it's not all good news since now he becomes appealing to any team looking for a catcher.

I’m far from enamored with Molina.  I think he’s overpriced and not worth anywhere near the contract he’ll likely sign for (probably with the Mets).

What’s your take on the Molina situation?

Look: Uniforms in the wild, and strange Yankees logo [Image]

Here’s an image, albeit snapped with a cellphone camera, of the Mets new jersey hanging next to a Yankees jersey in the wild.

They really do look dirty, compared to the white Yankees uniforms.  It’s like they wanted to go for the “cream” look, but stopped short of going all the way.

With the orange outline, it just looks dirty, not retro.
---
And here’s another image of…I don’t know what.  A upside down Yankees logo on a car from Pennsylvania.  Any ideas?Both images snapped by Geoffrey Sorensen.  Thanks!

Rosenthal: Billy Wagner to Braves

Won’t this be fun, Mets fans?  How many times will Billy Wagner pitch against the Mets next season?

Wagner has signed a one-year, $7 million deal with the Braves, pending physical, according to Ken Rosenthal.  There is a vesting option for a second season, worth $6.5 million if Wagner finishes 50 games in 2010.

Wagner was listed as a Type-A free agent, meaning the Red Sox will receive a first-round draft pick from the Braves because they offered him arbitration earlier today.

But the Braves offered arbitration to two of their Type-A free agents, Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano, so if either of them sign elsewhere, they will receive a first round pick.

(Or, as Eric Simon points out at Amazin’ Avenue, they’ll have three relief pitchers and $25 million dedicated to them.)

But don’t worry, the Mets got Chris Carter and Eddie Lora.

Brian Schneider tearing up the charts [Image]

The Yahoo! Popular Searches chart, that is. Phillies fans are intrigued, I guess.  (Here’s a hint, Philly: Don’t be.)

Found by Doug Bonjour.

Mets offer arbitration to none

The Mets, as very much expected, did not offer arbitration to any players.

Of the Mets up for arby, only Carlos Delgado and Fernando Tatis would have landed a draft pick if they refused arbitration and signed elsewhere.

Shocker, I know.

Why Kelly Shoppach to Tampa matters to the Mets

As we’ve seen, the Mets are trying to scoop up a whole bunch of catchers.  They have Omir Santos and Josh Thole, and they signed Chris Coste yesterday and added him to the 40-man.  They’re also in talks with Henry Blanco.

But Kelly Shoppach, coming off a decent 2009, where he hit .214 / .335 / .399 with 12 home runs and 40 RBI, was just traded to the Tampa Bay Rays for a player to be named later.

Why were the Mets not interested?  He’s cheaper than Bengie Molina, who the Mets have their sights set on.  Sure, Shoppach’s not amazing behind the plate, but either is anyone else out there, especially Molina.

What really might interest Omar Minaya, but not me, is what the Rays do with Dioner Navarro.

If the Rays non-tender him, the Mets could look to add him to add to the depth at the catching position.  He’s not someone I would clamor for, or even suggest in passing, but as the Mets look to add players at this position, I’m sure Minaya will be interested.