It’s why Texiera had a terrific second half with A-Rod hitting behind him. And by the same token, it’s why A-Rod knocked in 100 runs — Jeter and Tex hitting in front.

I know the major risk factor: Delgado is coming off a major injury. I don’t know how much he’ll be able to play or how productive he’ll be. But I know his offensive numbers over the years tell me he’s a great hitter. And being that I want to see the Mets win in 2010, I’d take my chances with Delgado over the rest of the pack.

The Mets need a #2 starter, and an excellent (not 3b) cornerman, or as close as they can come to those 2 things. I have no problem with the Mets signing Delgado, but only to a contract that is almost all incentives. If the Mets sign Jason Bay and John Lackey, they can afford to run Murphy out to 1b. If they also keep Delgado around for 1M+ just in case he can still put up an 825 in 100 games, that moves them another couple of games towards the playoffs, and so much the better. But you only keep Delgado around as a cheap chance at a decent bump–and not as plan A.

I like Delgado and I don’t want to see him leave, but I also like the Mets and I want to see them make smart decisions with their money. The smart thing to do is to offer Delgado a contract with a large portion of its value in the form of playing time incentives, and I don’t think Delgado will take that kind of deal, because there’ll be some GM out there who will give him a large amount of guaranteed money.

After the Yankees blocked Carter, simply out of spite, I rethought the trade and considered the blessings we might receive from the baseball gods.

In Carter, we have an experienced lefty power hitter who reminds me a little of Randy Miligan, a former Met farmhand who dominated AAA and eventually had a solid career with the Orioles.

In Wagner, we had an aging closer coming off TJ surgery with a continuing desire to close. Perhaps the most difficult aspect in parting with Wagner is that, if healthy, he could buzz-saw right through the middle of the Phillies order on demand – that’s freakin’ priceless.

Within the context of rehabilitating the organization, provided there is a continuing commitment to bring in younger, more durable players, then Chris Carter is one of many pieces that will prove useful over the long haul.

Thus, we must wait and see.

First of all, Reed hit .278 as a PH — which is pretty good as far as pinch-hitters go.

Secondly, big power bats who aren’t in the lineup are likely big-time strikeout artists with low OBPs / low AVGs. Homeruns are always nice but generally pinch-hitting situations require a simple base hit. Over the course of 80-100+ PH ABs, a team is more likely to get better performance from a .250-.280 AVG contact hitter than a .180-.220 AVG slugger (unless Cliff Johnson comes out of retirement).

Matt Stairs is an example of someone who defies that theory but how many others are there like him? (Ross Gload had more RBI than Stairs with less than half as many HRs, btw.) Guys hitting as well as Stairs are likely in the regular lineup.

Which brings me to my final point: if Carter turns out to be the power hitter everyone hopes, will the Mets have the luxury of keeping such a bat on the bench? Not likely.

Forget the pretenders. The Mets should make all reasonable efforts to re-sign Delgado.

Hold on, the above is misleading though – Gotay’s slash line *as a pinch-hitter* was .288/.327/.365, still pretty decent but not as good as the above would lead you to believe.

This got me thinking – Gotay is only 26 and OPSed .879 in AAA this year. (As a switch-hitting middle infielder, in case anyone forgot.) Worth a look for next season (for organizational depth, if not as a candidate for a bench slot)?

Thank you for responding and I apologize if my frustration with the Met season was reflected in the tone of my comment. You do such a great job and I really do appreciate all your great work.

I have not seen Carter play, all I am going by is what I have read in Baseball America over the years, Baseball Prospectus, other scouting sources on-line, and Red Sox blogs (but I have no idea how credible they are). There seemed to be some consensus his best defensive position is DH, but he is more of a first basemen than an outfielder.

I think I am higher on Sullivan than most people, he is just one of those players that does a lot of the little things. But it is true Carter would provide more pop off the bench. And by all accounts he is a smart player and well liked.

I agree with you, there is some degree of risk associated with offering arbitration, especially with all the guidelines/restrictions imbedded in the process. As a life long Met fan it just seems that the opportunity to get some high ceiling arms is something we can not afford to pass up given the state of our farm system. Look at the Boston prospect list, a high percentage of their top prospects were taken with free agent compensation picks.

I know I am over simplifying it, but it still seems like the Mets sold the potential of 2 first round picks (perhaps a 50% chance Wagner did well based on his appearances while with the Mets) for $3 million and a player they could have claimed on waivers.

I am not taking a shot at Omar (I remember Omar when he was catching for Newtown High School and playing in the Kiwanis league in Queens, he had one of the best arms I had seen on a high school catcher), I think his hands were somewhat tied. I have a hard time believing that the Madoff situation has not impacted the Mets decisions.