Saturday, July 30, 2005

Manny Ball?

Because writing whatever comes to my mind is therapy to me...here are some pros and cons of Manny coming to the Mets:

PRO: Manny produces runs. His 28 HR's, 92 RBI's, .571 slg, .941 ops and 51 walks would all lead the Mets.

CON: If Cameron is in the Manny trade, and assuming that the lineup starts with Reyes, Beltran, Floyd, and Manny, Ramirez would be going from batting behind three players with OPS's of .873 (Damon), .738 (Renteria) and .931 (Ortiz), to batting behind three players with OPS's of .691 (Reyes), .753 (Beltran), and .879 (Floyd). So expect the pace that got him to 92 RBI's to go down.

PRO: Manny would give players like Floyd, Beltran, and even David Wright better pitches to hit, and more runners on base, perhaps driving their numbers up.

CON: Shea Stadium is bound to knock Ramirez's numbers down...Manny's power numbers on the road (14 HR, 49 RBI's) are actually similar to those at home (14 HR's, 43 RBI's). But he has had 59 more AB's on the road. A more telling stat is his OPS splits, which show 1.017 at Fenway, but only .896 away from Boston.

PRO: That .896 OPS on the road would still lead the Mets, where David Wright leads the regulars with a .885 OPS.

CON: He's brutal against lefthanders, hitting only .212 this season, with 6 HR's and 19 RBI's.

PRO: Ramirez would be in a somewhat familiar clubhouse, with former teammates Pedro Martinez and Doug Mientkiewicz in the room.

CON: Manny was in a familiar clubhouse in 2003, and still had issues carousing while injured, and also refusing to play a game for Grady Little (sound familiar). And here is something to think about...We all thought Pedro was the diva coming in, and he's been the perfect citizen. I say this with nothing to go on, but could Manny have been the bad influence on Pedro all along? Would Pedro revert to diva-ish ways with the presence of Ramirez in the lockerroom?

Besides, there's no urinal in the left field wall at Shea. He would either have to go all the way to the clubhouse from left field to do his business during a pitching change (and with Shea being a bigger ballpark, that might not be a feasible option), or run to whatever urinal is in the visitors bullpen (same principle).

PRO: If Beltran becomes your number two hitter, it could in turn make him a better hitter, and spark him to make better contact.

CON: If Reyes doesn't get on base more often, it could render Beltran completely useless in the two hole. Is that any way to spend $119 million?

CON: Manny weakens your outfield in two spots...who goes to right field? Floyd or Manny? If you move Manny to right, well does he have the arm for right field? And if you move Floyd to right, you weaken left field, and you take a chance that Floyd doesn't have the arm for right field.

Or is it Cliff Floyd who is the "key player" that the Mets refuse to give up in the deal? In this case, Cameron stays in right field, but you defeat the purpose of giving yourself a potent offense? Because Manny's arrival would be to enhance Floyd, not replace him.

All things to think about as you make YOUR decision on whether you want Manny Ball at Shea.

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