The Danny Dilemma
Pedro Martinez who? We've got much bigger things going on then Pedro Martinez. Like, Danny Graves, for one.
But all kidding aside, according to Peter Gammons on Baseball Tonight, Graves called up the other interested teams and let them know he has decided on the Mets. Gammons commended Omar Minaya for his determination and his sell job, and thinks that Graves is a good fit.
I, too, think Graves is a good fit. In fact, all day I had been talking about how Danny Graves to the Mets was a nice move. $300,000 is a drop in the bucket to the Mets, and it's either $5,000,000 next year or a $500,000 buyout. So, essientially, what it boils down to is that the Mets get a chance to see if taking a former All-Star closer out of the Great American Bandbox and moving him to a pitcher's park like Shea Stadium can work, all for the low, low price of $800,000. Meanwhile it also means bumping Mike DeJean or Manny Aybar out of the bullpen. Just good stuff all around.
But then Harold Reynolds came on the screen, and the problems arose, because, you see, Reynolds agreed that it was a great move. In fact, he said it was a "power shifting" move. The Mets are now in the driver's seat because Danny Graves chose them. Uh oh.
It's not that I dislike Harold Reynolds, in fact he seems like a really nice guy. It's just that he is usually inevitably wrong about everything. It's almost as though ESPN keeps him around so the viewing public knows what not to do if they ever got the chance to run a baseball team. So, when he called Graves a terrific signing, I grew a little nervous.
The thing is, I'm just not a "stats" guy. I'm sure if I understood math, I'd be far more hesitant about this move, as my fellow MetsGeeks OFF and Jeremy were all over me when I declared the Graves signing a nice move. I'm sure there are tons of numbers that somebody could pull out and show me that Graves is a horrendous reliever and he'll do no good for the Mets. But then I think about Mike DeJean 2004, who came into Shea with an ERA of 6.13 and 49 hits and 28 walks in 39 innings, and then put up a 1.69 ERA with 21 hits and 5 walks in 21.3 innings. Why can't Danny Graves, a two time All-Star, and a consistent bullpen arm, turn it around the same way?
So, I'll continue to think that Danny Graves is going to help us out. For pete's sake, the Braves wanted him, so he can't be all that bad. And if he is, then it cost the Mets nothing financially and a playoff spot nobody thinks they're going to get anyway.
And if he pitches well, who knows? Maybe we're here in October talking about the day Omar Minaya landed a tremendous middle reliever mid-season for absolutely nothing.
But all kidding aside, according to Peter Gammons on Baseball Tonight, Graves called up the other interested teams and let them know he has decided on the Mets. Gammons commended Omar Minaya for his determination and his sell job, and thinks that Graves is a good fit.
I, too, think Graves is a good fit. In fact, all day I had been talking about how Danny Graves to the Mets was a nice move. $300,000 is a drop in the bucket to the Mets, and it's either $5,000,000 next year or a $500,000 buyout. So, essientially, what it boils down to is that the Mets get a chance to see if taking a former All-Star closer out of the Great American Bandbox and moving him to a pitcher's park like Shea Stadium can work, all for the low, low price of $800,000. Meanwhile it also means bumping Mike DeJean or Manny Aybar out of the bullpen. Just good stuff all around.
But then Harold Reynolds came on the screen, and the problems arose, because, you see, Reynolds agreed that it was a great move. In fact, he said it was a "power shifting" move. The Mets are now in the driver's seat because Danny Graves chose them. Uh oh.
It's not that I dislike Harold Reynolds, in fact he seems like a really nice guy. It's just that he is usually inevitably wrong about everything. It's almost as though ESPN keeps him around so the viewing public knows what not to do if they ever got the chance to run a baseball team. So, when he called Graves a terrific signing, I grew a little nervous.
The thing is, I'm just not a "stats" guy. I'm sure if I understood math, I'd be far more hesitant about this move, as my fellow MetsGeeks OFF and Jeremy were all over me when I declared the Graves signing a nice move. I'm sure there are tons of numbers that somebody could pull out and show me that Graves is a horrendous reliever and he'll do no good for the Mets. But then I think about Mike DeJean 2004, who came into Shea with an ERA of 6.13 and 49 hits and 28 walks in 39 innings, and then put up a 1.69 ERA with 21 hits and 5 walks in 21.3 innings. Why can't Danny Graves, a two time All-Star, and a consistent bullpen arm, turn it around the same way?
So, I'll continue to think that Danny Graves is going to help us out. For pete's sake, the Braves wanted him, so he can't be all that bad. And if he is, then it cost the Mets nothing financially and a playoff spot nobody thinks they're going to get anyway.
And if he pitches well, who knows? Maybe we're here in October talking about the day Omar Minaya landed a tremendous middle reliever mid-season for absolutely nothing.
posted by a2d @ 12:01 AM
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