This, that, and the other

Sporting Goods

So a couple of interesting Mets-related tid-bits. First, and oldest, Bengie Molina, signed with the Blue Jays last week. You might remember that Molina was offered a 3-year, $18 million deal from the Mets at the start of the free agent period. At the time, Molina and his agent failed to respond, so the Mets went out and traded for Paul LoDuca. Well, now that Molina has signed, he has an interesting take on his decision:

"I took a lot less money to come over here for a reason, and that's to win," Molina said.

Of course, the article notes:

The New York Mets spoke with Bengie Molina in November and offered an $18 million, three-year contract. New York then had the chance to acquire Paul Lo Duca from the Florida Marlins and withdrew the offer to Molina.

Quite the revisionist historian. This guy should get a job at the White House. Meanwhile, if Molina thinks he has a better chance to win on the Blue Jays, looking up at the Yanks and Sox, than the Mets, who admittedly have the Braves to deal with, then he really is this delusional.

Of course, so is Omar Minaya who just signed Jose "Lima Time" Lima to a minor league deal. If part of the plan of trading Benson for a reliever and a prospect involves putting Lima in the rotation, I'll stab myself in the eye. For god sakes, the Mets already signed Darren Oliver earlier this offseason. How many recycled crappy pitchers do we need? Rather than use spring training to try to see if some washed up has beens can resurrect their careers, can't we give opportunities to young pitchers to see what they can do? Wouldn't that be a more prudent course of action?

Finally, David Wright reported early to camp. Given the number of hagiographic articles written about Wright this offseason, it is clear that the NY press is pushing him to be the next Jeter. Which is fine with me, by all accounts he seems to be a stand-up guy with a great work ethic. He's also, arguably, the best hitter on the Mets, young and good looking, so there are a number of factors that contribute to these stories. But one can't help but wonder if the NY media's obsession with "Los Mets" is also contributing to these stories making Wright the golden boy and public face of the Mets. As an avid Met fan currently living in NY, I seriously doubt it (he's just the best player), but I can't say it didn't cross my mind. If Reyes ever lives up to the hype, he'll be pushed relentlessly too. That would be great.