We’re getting to that time soon when we’ll hear some trade rumors. Heard something this afternoon driving in that made me want to scream at the radio. Don’t these guys who have shows think?
The topic was Adam Dunn. Not that Cincy is shopping him. Who knows, they probably will. But the host said the Mets wouldn’t have any need for done. He’s left-handed and him and Delgado would make the Mets TOO lefthanded. What an idiot.
Let’s just say the Mets had a chance to get Dunn. And all the pieces fit. You wouldn’t want somebody who will bring you 40 homers a year? Who cares that he’s lefty. Most pitchers are right-handed to begin with.
I suppose this guy would have said Ruth and Gehrig made the Yankees TOO lefthanded. All that right-lefty stuff is crap anyway. If you can hit, you can hit.
21 Comments
gee. lets see. Keith. was the only lefty we needed. and at the moment Delgado aint doing it. so yeah Dunn might get it done. what we need is a glove at 1st.
I think I heard the show in question against my better judgement. I’d take Adam Dunn. For all I care he could bat righty on even numbered pitches and lefty on odd numbered pitches. The point is the guy can hit and is younger.
Well said, JD.
Offensively Dunn is an upgrade over anyone on our team right now: .270 19 & 46. Oh yeah, and he’s 27.
Talk radio is for mouth breathers.
I think it’s more that him and delgado strike out too much. Each strikes out a ton on their own… but together?!
If delgado doesnt wake up. and dunn is as good as his stats. hmm
last i looked .270 was better than 2.29
lets seee
TEAM POS G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG
. A Dunn
CIN OF 69 248 45 67 12 2 19 46 140 33 92 7 2 .359 .565 .270
C Delgado
NYM 1B 65 262 34 60 15 0 11 41 108 22 61 2 0 .296 .412 .229
NYM 1B 65 262 34 60 15 0 11 41 108 22 61 2 0 .296 .412 .229
Gomez is so so at the moment and no one , but me wants endy as an everyday player. so yeah ok it works. But i still think we need a replacement 1st baseman. yell all you want.
unless delgado really wakes up both glove and bat.
How about getting some pitching would be nice as well….i dont want to give up Carlos Gomez just yet…. if we do, we better be getting something in return like a Zambrano, or maybe even a Santana.
I’ll quibble with you a bit, John—I wouldn’t say the lefty-right stuff is crap. Statistically, if a guy performs significantly better against one side than the other, that means something. And if as a team you have guys who are generally better against one side than the other, that means they’ll be vulnerable to pitchers who pitch from their weak side. Over the regular season it probably doesn’t mean much, especially if your weak side is against lefties – since, as you mentioned, there are more righty pitchers than lefties. But in a short playoff series, if you get unlucky and match up against a team that has multiple good starting pitchers on your weak side (certainly, if they throw poor pitchers who just happen to be righties or lefties, it shouldn’t work against good hitters), then having a team that’s too unbalanced can be dangerous.
But when you look at the Mets, the argument that Dunn would make them too lefthanded is silly. Let’s assume for now that Dunn would replace Alou in the lineup. If you look at the career splits of the other 7 Mets’ hitters, you’ll find the following (I looked primarily at OPS, since raw numbers of runs/HRs/RBI are meaningless unless you average them out, because most hitters have 3-4 times the number of at bats against righties than against lefties):
Reyes: better against LHP
Lo Duca: better against LHP
Beltran: nearly identical splits
Delgado: better against RHP
Wright: better against LHP
Green: better against RHP
Valentin: better against RHP
Right now, with Alou in the lineup (theoretically), the Mets would have 4 players who perform better against lefties, 3 who perform better against righties, and one even. With Dunn, the numbers flip. It’s hardly unbalanced either way.
I agree completely. The too left-handed thing is just silly. Put if you had Dunn and Delgado it would be impossible to find a spot for both of them in the lineup at the same time.
Oh wait a minute, Dunn is an OFer. I take that back.
John,
I STRONGLY disagree with you. I wouldn’t want Dunn anywhere near my team. He is a strikeout machine (at record paces year on year), and is a liability in the field at just about any position. He is exactly what the DH is for.
Personally, I would much rather do the trade rumor I heard. Burhle and Dye for Humber and Milledge.
Dunn also has a career OBP of .378. He walks about 110 times a year. So what if a lot of his outs are Ks. He only makes outs in 62.2% of his PAs. Its how many outs you make that counts. Not so much how you make them.
The Mets lineup is balanced enough that they can afford to take on either a lefty or a righty hitter. With Dunn – whom I like, and who I think hasn’t yet reached his career-best production – I’m really wary of taking on defensive liabilities. He really is best suited to be a DH, and I’d be shocked if the Reds can’t get a better offer from an AL team for exactly that reason.
Trading for an OFer at this point is a bit tricky, given that you don’t want to put obstacles in the way of your best prospects (Gomez, Milledge, Martinez, but also Caleb Stewart, Corey Coles, and Dustin Martin.)
I’m sure that the organization would rather have Gomez getting his at-bats in New Orleans right now, but the truth is that he’s looking better and better, and more and more confident every week. He’s had some shaky moments in the OF, but he’s also made some plays that not many guys will ever make, and he’s got a cannon for an arm. He’s the youngest guy in the NL right now, I’m pretty sure, and you really have to be impressed by how he’s handling things. Plus, on top of his speed, he’s 6’4 and will very likely hit for some power as he matures. If I’m running the team, he’s my starting Right Fielder in ‘08 and beyond.
Bottom line, if we end up dealing Milledge for pitching, I can see bringing in an OFer with the idea of him being here for two years, until F-Mart is ready. If we’re keeping Milledge, I don’t think you want to give too much up for an OFer.
Adam Dunn would be a terrible fit.
First, where do you put him? Left field?
He’s a defensive liability (he has a career .974 fielding percentage, including 12 errors last year.)
While his current BA of .270 is 23 points higher than his career .247 average, he has twice struck out nearly 200 times and I’m sorry, the kind of outs you make are crucial. If you fail to put the ball in play with runners in scoring position, you’re a potential rally killer every time up in those spots. As for walks, Jose Reyes has seven more, as Dunn has walked 33 times (and how many of those are intentional?)
And would you be willing to pay him close to the $13M a year his option – which would be nullified in the event of a trade – he’d want, if you tried to sign him in the offseason?
Just say no.
To Jesse (RE: R vs. L)
I made a separate post on this Jesse, and I don’t disagree with you on the numbers. The point I’m trying to get at is that too often young AVERAGE players aren’t given the chance to get better against the other side. A star like David Wright will get a chance to bat against right-handed pitching late in the game, while a younger guy won’t. When I say crap, I look at those numbers and more often than not see a limited number of at-bats.
What really kills rallies is outs. Yes sometimes you can score a run on an out and if you strike out you can’t. You will lose a fairly small number of runs that way. Strikeouts are worse than other outs in some situations. In most situations any out is bad. In some situations groundouts are worse because they result in a double play. In any case not making outs is more important than having a low strikeout total. As for his D, yeah its not so great but again his bat would more than compensate.
What really kills rallies is outs. Yes sometimes you can score a run on an out and if you strike out you can’t. You will lose a fairly small number of runs that way. Strikeouts are worse than other outs in some situations. In most situations any out is bad. In some situations groundouts are worse because they result in a double play. In any case not making outs is more important than having a low strikeout total. As for his D, yeah its not so great but again his bat would more than compensate.
I did not post that twice.
Adam Dunn isn’t a good fit. He can’t play the field (Steve C if you don’t like Shawn Green in the outfield you wouldn’t be able to watch Dunn at all!) he strikes out too much AND if he’s traded this year his option for next year is voided and he’d become a free agent. There is no way I’d want to give up any prospects of value to rent him. The word is that the Reds want three players (starter, 2B and prospect) for him. Even if two would get it done I wouldn’t give up Heilman/Milledge for him. That’s the wrong use of those valuable trade chips.
John since you brought up this trade rumor topic, any word on prying away Brad Lidge from Houston?
I think Heilmann’s trade value has vanished. He seems to have been reduced to a mop up man. And I don’t know if Milledge is tradeable as long as he’s is on DL.
Since the Orioles are in self destruct mode again, maybe we could get Bradford back.
To Mel (RE: Trading)
Milledge can’t be traded while he’s on the DL. And, I agree with you about Heilman. His value to other teams has decreased. But, the Mets still value him, and part of the reason is their bullpen isn’t as good as they thought it would be.