MMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmm!

Pitching.

Ever since Victor Zambrano scampered off the mound and into a waiting cab, the Mets and their fans have had to deal with a rotation of ?'s.

I started the off-season highly resistent to the notion of throwing big money at NON-DONTRELLE starters. Case#1: Toothless Tom Glavine, who, though he had his moments, should not be allowed to take more Mets $$ as easily (a rumored $25 mil for TWO more years!) as he did the first time. Case#2: Why spend $10-$17 Million on a marque starter when the Mets did pretty well relying on smoke, mirrors, and young trade throw-ins? Isn't there a lesson in there somewhere?

The Mets clearly need a dominant starter or two. But lets face it, they have some really promising young starters, and there are only 5 slots open. As long as I never see Steve Tr*chell in a pin-striped orange and blue trim again, I won't complain too loudly. So, I concluded, the only pitchers worth hamstringing the Mets' finances for would be one's they have little chance of getting. No aging, over-remunerated mediocrity, please.

I've had something of a change of heart. I read an article talking about the changing free agent market and particularly the paucity of pitching, and now I am bullish on the Mets throwing around some $$$ and taking a chance to build a dominant playoff ready rotation, which they really need to take the next step. I like Omar's approach so far, in terms of pouncing on the best-available free-agents, stockpiling numbers, waiting for so-called stud arms to studify (Pelf, Humby, etc.) while taking a flyer on a fun project named Ollie.

But now, according to one way of thinking, revenue-sharing-enabled-semi-parity is allowing teams to lock up the goodies and avoid the free agent thang. As a result, the superstar pitching market may be a little thin for a while. Basically, this dims hopes of the Mets improving their rotation in one move in the near future; what's out there now might be all there is. And that makes me feel desparation again, the key emotion of hotstove season.

The Mets could go the safer route, and sign lefty Barry Zito or righty Jason Schmidt, or both. And I encourage this. They could try to pry D-train away from the Fish, but this possibility is entirely speculative and gives me heartburn. But, hey, it's what I want for Christmas.

Consider, if you will, the letter M and how it has affected the Mets rotational future.

Midgetless Martinez Mulls Met Misery:
What may well be a little aside on Petey's part has made the rounds in the major NY dailies. He is thinking of retiring if God makes it clear he won't be recovering from rotator cuff surgery. Add "Can he recover from rotator cuff surgery?" to the previous question "can he even train to get in shape for a season?" I have often (blasphemy alert) wondered if training/conditioning wasn't Pedro's Achilles' Heel. Toes, shoulders, OK, but how the hell do you have calf injuries to both calves in one season? This doesn't change everything, because we already knew the Mets would only have his services for the second half of the season at best, but it does change somethings. Tom Glavine is not a #1.

Matsuzaka May Mine Mets' Millions?
Daisuke Matsuzaka: 26 yr old Japanese right hander, You-Tube star, Bora$$ client, $20-30 million surcharge on this conversation. Which of these descriptions jumps out at you as a Mets fan? "Japanese," probably. The Mets have had little to no luck with Japanese players. Could this be the guy that makes our Kaz-stained memories go away? Or would this guy melt in the MLB? You just don't know.

I just don't have the guts to make this decision. For some great discussion, check out decidedly PRO-Matsuzaka blog, the Metropolitans.


Mussina Makes Metfans Mist?
Shocking, just shocking. Mike (boring ex-Oriole) Mussina has made it clear that he wouldn't mind if the Mets got into the bidding for his services in the event the Spankees lose interest in him and his $17 mil option (damn modern pitchers really have clubs over a barrel). Moose is a Yankme, and I've never liked or been that impressed with him. But would he solidify the rotation? Yes, he would. And no, I have no idea what Moose has to do with cowboys.


Mulder: Madness or Merit?
Scully! Mulder!
..."the 29-year-old left-hander now has question marks following an injury-plagued season in which he went 6-7 with a 7.14 ERA. Mulder started just 17 games before undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a partially torn rotator cuff. He did not pitch in September or during the postseason. "
A signing like this would be an X-Factor if not an X-File. And Mulder and Pedro could play rotator cuff recovery games together!! There is risk to reuniting this guy with Mullet Man, but incentive laced deals make sense, if the climate in the near future is one of pitching scarcity. Color me intrigued.

The bottom of the rotation should be fine with the youth infusion. Most of the prime pitching prospects have had their obligatory Tommy John surgeries and are on track for the Majors (i kid). If John can become a Maine-stay, the Mets could be looking at a whole lot of M's next year!
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!


(this post brought to you by the letter M)
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PS.
Has anything gone from awesome to suck in less time?
Trying to relive some amazin' defensive plays, but You Tube has replaced all of them with:
"This video has been removed at the request of copyright owner MLB Advanced Mediabecause its content was used without permission"