A lot has happened since my last posting, so I will see if I can offer a full recap and some opinion. I will start with an opinion, on the off chance Omar Minaya sees this and takes it under consideration.

DO NOT ACQUIRE MANNY RAMIREZ!!!!! PLEASE!!

I can't believe pro athletes and what they say anymore (see johnnyjets.blogspot.com) but Ramirez tells ESPNdeportes that he no longer wants to be traded, and wants to stay in Boston where he has many friends, especially David Ortiz. (Ortiz has to feel very special to be singled out like that, by the way.) This guy is clearly a head case, who swings a very good bat, but can't be a good influence on the fine core the Mets have built themselves. Do not get Manny. Stop your obsession with him. Let the Sox keep him...or trade him to Baltimore. But don't get involved. Please.

Now, on to what the Mets have done. Miguel Cairo has signed with the Yankees (again), so the Mets have lost another valuable utility man (Marlon Anderson went to the Nationals earlier this offseason). In an attempt to make up for these losses, the Mets signed Bret Boone to a minor league contract. I say this move is worth the risk. Boone, a few years back, was a power-hitting second baseman the likes of which has never before been seen in baseball. Then the steroid scandal hit, and Boone's power numbers dropped like a stone. I'm not implying anything here, I'm just giving you a frame of reference, as far as timing. When the Mariners released him last year (come to think of it, the entire Mariners offense stopped producing when the steroids scandal began - no one notices what goes on in the Pacific Northwest, I guess), I thought it would be a good idea for the Mets to try to pick up Boone. The Twins did, and Boone was brutal with them. So I guess in retrospect it's good the Mets didn't get him then. Now, Boone has another chance to prove he's valuable to a Major League team, and I would love for him to be serviceable at second base.

The Mets made another deal, trading Jae Seo and Tim Hamulack to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Duaner Sanchez and Steve Schmoll. I like that Steve Schmoll's last name is Schmoll, but it's too bad the Mets had to get rid of Seo. He is a very good pitcher, but the Mets never really seemed to want him in their plans. I think it's because of his admitted stubbornness a couple of years ago, which the Mets (and in particular, I think, Rick Peterson) could never get over. In Sanchez, though, the Mets are getting a guy who, along with Aaron Heilman, could be a bridge to Billy Wagner. So that move goes a long way to shoring up the Mets bullpen. Schmoll and Hamulack are a wash, basically. Schmoll's numbers weren't too impressive last year, but I do remember him picking up a couple of saves back when Eric Gagne got hurt, in a couple of good outings, then seeing things turn sour. He may have appeared on my fantasy league roster after those saves (the good outings), just in time for all the succeeding miserable outings.

The Mets' rotation will not suffer from the loss of Seo - and it looks like Kris Benson will be sticking around (much to the relief of our good friends at naturalbl0g.blogspot.com). The rotation will be made up of:
Pedro Martinez*
Tom Glavine
Kris Benson
Steve Trachsel
Victor Zambrano

The plans for Heilman are to keep him in the bullpen, which I am happy with. I would not be happy if he is traded to Tampa Bay for either Danys Baez or Julio Lugo. I like Lugo's numbers, and he could be a long-term solution at second base, but I'm not crazy about the Mets giving up Heilman. If the Mets traded Heilman for Baez, it wouldn't be much of an upgrade. I'll leave it at that. I have my doubts about Baez's ability to pitch for a winning team in pressure spots (he would be setting up Wagner, which by the way, he doesn't want to do). We know what we have in Heilman.

One thing about Pedro Martinez*. He's been complaining about his toe, which acted up on him late last year. My thoughts are that Pedro* will be fine for the regular season. If his past with the Red Sox is any indication, I think Pedro* is talking up the toe problem as a reason he will not have to pitch in the World Baseball Classic, and then he'll come back for spring training, and be ready to pitch for the Mets. Pedro* doesn't like to do the extra-curricular stuff.

5 weeks until spring training!