A clandestine undertaking on behalf of Israel, the Jets and the Jews.

 
Same Old Omar

After the season, Baseball America listed each team's top ten prospects. For the Mets, the top four prospects were Lastings Milledge, Yusmeiro Petit, Gaby Hernandez and Mike Jacobs.

Petit and Jacobs were traded to the Marlins for 33 year old Carlos Delgado, while Hernandez (and another prospect to be named) was traded to the Marlins for Paul Lo Duca, also 33.

Trading three of your top four prospects for Delgado and Lo Duca, both high-salaried players in their 30's, is crazy. Lo Duca is not bad, but appears to be starting the inevitable downslide that happens to all catchers in their 30's. Already, Lo Duca cannot throw runners out, with 78 percent of runners stealing bases off of him.

The Mets will also give up their first round pick to the Phillies as compensation for signing Billy Wagner.

Bottom line: The Mets will be a very old and expensive team in 2008 and beyond. While on paper they look good for '06 and '07, with Willie Randolph managing, even with the National League's highest payroll a World Series is quite unlikely.
posted on 12/06/2005