Is Renting Cliff Lee worth it?

I've been thinking about it, and would renting Cliff Lee really make sense at this point? We know that Cliff lee and his agent have said he is only wanting to be rented because he wants to test the free agent market. So, is renting Cliff Lee going to make a difference for New York?

Let's say, hypothetically, this is our team when we get Cliff Lee:

(Assuming Beltran is back at this point)

Reyes

Wright

Beltran

Davis

Bay

Pagan

Barajas

Castillo

Santana

Pelfrey

Lee

Niese

Takahashi

Do we have a chance to utilize renting him or are we just going to waste good and talented prospects for him? We'd be wasting such big Mets minors' name such as Wilmer Flores, Brad Holt, etc. Can this team use Lee to their advantage?

On paper, yes. A team would die to have some of this talent, let alone our lineup. On paper, our lineup is very heavy. If you throw around names such as Reyes, Wright, Beltran, and Bay, that is deadly. But after watching this team every day you see the flaws with all of them. Reyes pops up too many balls and seems to swing at the first pitch, Wright struckout as I wrote this sentence, Beltran would be coming off of a major surgery, and Bay is either hot or cold, just like the rest of the team.

This team is so streaky that you'd never know what's going to happen. Hell, Johan Santana chucks shutouts and the Mets can't get a measly run home while other games end them losing 8-6. There is never a coupe of people slumping and the rest of the team puts up numbers. It seems like this team is never just playing regular. A player is either hot, or a player is either cold. Why can't a Met player just play? It's ridiculous.

So, if we rent Lee and we keep up this .500 play, he'll most definitely leave. If he likes it here, likes the spotlight here and helps us get far, maybe he'll accept a contract that will lock him up in New York to continue success with the team. How likely is that?

Players must look at Johan Santana and really take into consideration if they want to risk spending a good chunk of their career trying to right the ship of a rocky organization. Who knows though, I guess we'll see this play out and go from there.

Spring Training update #1

The Mets as a team are now 6-2 outscoring their opponents 44-20. They seem to have great chemistry and work well together. They seem to be confident about this team and I don't know why we shouldn't either. Anything compared to last year will be progress. Sure, I'd love to win the NL East and make it deep into the playoffs. If we win the Wild Card and make it to the first round of the playoffs then I'd be content.

No one sees this team winning a World Series flat out this year. We're not the Red Sox, we're not the Yankees, and we're not the Phillies. I'd say, if everything goes right, we'd be a playoff team through the Wild Card. If we make these small steps forward in 2010, then 2011 could possibly be a success. By the way Spring Training is going, we have a very bright future ahead of us in Jenrry Mejia, Ike Davis, Fernando Martinez, Josh Thole, and Jon Niese (even though Mejia has stolen all the spotlight). Mejia is baffling batters and is perfect through 5.1 IP, F-Mart is hitting for power, Davis and Thole are red hot, and Niese (in my opinion) definitely penciled himself in for the 5th starter role after his last outing.

By the looks of everything, 2011 looks something like:

C Josh Thole

1B Ike Davis

2B Luis Castillo

SS Jose Reyes

3B David Wright

LF Jason Bay

CF Carlos Beltran

RF Fernando Martinez

1. Johan Santana

2. Mike Pelfrey

3. Jon Niese

4. Oliver Perez

5. Jenrry Mejia

As much as I love Jeff Francoeur, I see Mets management favoring Fernando Martinez over him for the RF job in 2011. What happens to Francoeur I do not know, but I wish we'd still have a spot for him.

Mejia is scheduled to pitch four innings in his next outing, clearly still being groomed as a starting pitcher (thank god).

Mejia is a Stud

Jenrry Mejia bedazzled batters and wowed people who watched him pitch against the Marlins. He was absolutely electric. So, now that we see what he's capable of, what do we do with him next? Do we stick him in the pen? Do we make him our 8th inning guy? Do we send him back to the minors?

The answer is the last one. It would be so exciting to see Mejia in the bigs this year. It's such a tease to watch him pitch in these

Spring Training games and dominate the opposing batters, but he really needs to develop his secondary offerings and gain more experience. Even though he made fools of the batters that faced him, his command was off, which happens to be his flaw.

I'm all for the Mets giving Mejia MLB time, but do it slowly. I think he should be given a few spot starts during the year, then call him up in September. I think where he is now, with a good chunk of time in the minors this season, he'd be the favorite to win a rotation spot in 2011. His stuff is completely filthy and I'd love to see what he can do during a full major league game.

It's going to be interesting to see what's going to happen to Mejia after Spring Training. I really don't think he should break camp this spring, I can totally see him collapse when we try and have him convert from the reliever we made him this season to a starter we'd make him in 2011. It screams Joba Chamberlain all over it.

Even if this happens, he will gain a lot of positive media and notoriety as (by the looks of it) a shut-down set-up man. Is this a good thing?

2011 Looks Bright

Spring Training is upon us and some new faces have reassured us that our future at certain position voids might be filled as of 2011.

1B prospect Ike Davis continues to impress at Spring Training. He continues to turn heads and gain notoriety as the days go on. He'll likely start the year as the starting 1B in AAA with a September call up. Starting 2011, he'll more than likely become the starting first baseman. He's got raw power and being only 22 years old can only improve.

C prospect Josh Thole has also impressed people with his brief MLB debut last season. In 53 trips to the plate, he batted .321 with 9 RBIs. Though his only flaw is his below average defense behind the plate, he's only 23 years old and with a solid season as the starting catcher in AAA, he could be the starting catcher in 2011.

RHP Jenrry Mejia has been referred to as the next Felix Hernandez by some, and Mariano Rivera by others. He is a true stud and has been labeled as either being a dominant starter or a shut-down closer. To be honest, I'm all about grooming this kid to be a starting pitcher. Starting pitchers have always been difficult to come by for the New York Mets, and with this 20 year old kid destined to be our #1 ace of the future, its hard to turn that in for his talent to be wasted as a closer. His pitches have ridiculous movement and if he commands his pitches better and really works on the consistency of his delivery, he could very well be fighting for the #5 spot this time next year. In the meantime, I'm sure he'll get a call-up in September or maybe even a spot start earlier than that.

Possible 2011 lineup: (for humor purposes I left Castillo at second. Who knows who will be playing 2B at that point)

Reyes

Castillo

Wright

Beltran

Bay

Thole

Davis

Francoeur

That is a great lineup right there. If Thole and Davis continue to hit, which they will, we will have such depth as the Yankees or the Phillies with dangerous hitters in mostly all the slots.

Possible 2011 rotation:

Santana

Pelfrey

Niese

Perez

Mejia

Johan will be around 32 in 2011 and obviously won't be as sharp as he used to, though still the staff ace. Everyone below him needs to know that when he's eventually gone, someone needs to fill that void.

I think this season Pelfrey will find his groove and settle in as a good #2, though I don't know if he can fill the ace role when Santana is gone. With better defense behind him and more experience at the MLB level, I think this year will be a breakout year for Mike.

I think Niese will win the 5th rotation spot this spring and flourish. I think he'll establish himself with a positive rookie season and etching himself to fill the #3 spot in 2011. Will he fill Johan's void, probably not but he'll be a great #3.

I think Perez' history makes him unable to fill the ace role. Everyone says he looks fantastic this year in Spring Training, though who knows how long that can last.

And then there's Mejia. I think he's easily the favorite to win a rotation spot in 2011 being an organizational favorite. If he fine tunes his delivery and command with a full year in the minors, I think he'll be our #5 in 2011 then maybe our #2 in 2012 and possibly our #1 in 2013. Jenrry Mejia has the most upside out of anyone on this list and I expect him to deliver.

So, now that 2011 looks bright, I hope 2010 isn't a drag.

The future of the infield

CATCHER

After hearing of the Henry Blanco signing, it got me thinking about the catcher situation. Say we sign Bengie Molina to a one year deal, our catchers for the 2010 season would be Molina and Blanco. This would give Josh Thole a chance to further develop in Triple A. Pending defensive improvement, he'll be rewarded with a September call up to get his feet wet again in preparation for a spot on the 2011 team.

FIRST BASE

I would do the same thing at first base. I'd keep Murphy at first for the time being and give Ike Davis a September call-up, all in preparation for the starting first base spot for 2011.

SECOND BASE

Hopefully, the Mets can rid themselves of Luis Castillo and receive a solid second baseman. They have their eyes on Orlando Hudson which is awesome. He would be a major upgrade from Castillo and fit real nicely in the line-up.

SHORT STOP

A healthy Jose Reyes is needed. A fantastic contributor to the line-up, if Reyes learns to mature a little more and really focus, it can impact the team greatly.

THIRD BASE

David Wright had a down of a season in 2009, but I'm not worried. A four-time consecutive All-Star, Wright is the face of the organization and needs to continue to lead and inspire his teammates.

Since we have strong prospects at catcher and first base, it should make this off season and next off season very specific in what Omar should focus on to get us back to a contending team, specifically left field and the starting rotation. Hopefully all goes well and the Mets will become a threat to the competition in the near future.

Let's hope!