WFAN has learned that the New York Mets have traded Lastings Milledge to the Washington Nationals for LF Ryan Church and C Brian Schneider.
I guess Metsblog, SNY are also going with this. My reaction:
This trade rivals the Kazmir trade in terms of stupidity and retardation of the one pulling the trigger on our side. I do not care if that's PC or whatever. Lastings Milledge is going to be a STAR in this league, very quickly. He's going to hit .280/.350/.500 next year, very good production for a corner OF. Unbelieveable. I am just beyond angry, I am in a RAGE about this. This goes down as one of the top 10 stupidest trades in Met history.
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Milledge is not a star. There are just too many holes in his game. I think he can be an above average ballplayer, but he showed me nothing to indicate he is going to be something more. There is talent there, but the attitude got in the way. I have no problems moving him. The question is the value we got in return. I really like both Schneider and Church. I wish we could have squeezed a reliever out of the deal. It's just amazing how fast his value plummetted. I guess a lot of GMs agreed with my assessment of him. Given everything maybe it would have been worthwhile to take the gamble and keep him for the year in hopes of him regaining some of the value he's lost. But, make no mistake that course would be a gamble, because this guy is not destined to be a star.
ReplyDeleteTejesh but how does this make you feel?
ReplyDeleteyou should give Schneider and Church some credit. I live in Virginia and get to see a lot of Nationals game, and let me tell you...they are not garbage. Schneider is a very good defensive catcher and Church is a defenite upgrade over Green. Milledge was starting to become a pain in the ass as well. He didn't have the same appeal he had two years ago, or heck...last year. We probally couldn't of gotten Haren or Santana with Milledge, so might as well trade the guy...and didn't i tell you to chill...
ReplyDeleteMilledge's attitude problems are overblown and non-existant.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that I don't like trading a budding 22 year old star for a 29 year old 4th OFer and nothing hitting catcher.
This trade reeks.
I really don't think the behavior issue was overblown. The rap cd and high fives didn't bother me that much. However, he did seem to have some ignificant focus issues and a poor work ethic. At the very least, baseball is not as big a priority for Lastings as it needs to be. More importantly, he was not well liked in the clubhouse. He came in with a certain bravado (ala Gregg Jefferies) that did not sit well with others. Clearly, there was something terribly off about the clubhouse of the Mets last year. I think this one way the Mets are trying to address.
ReplyDeleteI already addressed that I am not as blown away by Milledge's talent as you are.
You seem to be undervaluing the pickup of Schneider and Church. Looking at Church's numbers, they are pretty impressive for RFK. He is not a fourth outfielder. The guy hit 40 doubles and slugged .462. Those are solid numbers. You put him in a platoon and he looks very good.
Schneider, I've liked for years. He did wonders for a Nationals rotation that was essentially a who's who of AAA journeyman. If he can help Maine, Perez, and Pelfrey take the next step to becoming dominant starters this trade will be more than worth Milledge.
Like I said, I like the players we got. But I think we should of gotten something more. If Saul Rivera or someone like Colome were added to the deal, I would be estatic. As it stands, I'm lukewarm.
Well, if you question his heart, like it sounds like you're doing, then you must feel he will not reach his ceiling. Even in that case, you're selling low.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I feel his heart is in the right place, and he will reach his ceiling. He came to spring training this year and oblierated Shawn Green for the RF job, didn't get it, went to AAA, and oblierated that level. Got hurt, came back, and performed very well for a 22 year old in his 2nd partial season in the majors.
I see significant room for improvement next season for Milledge. In fact, park adjusted, I predict (and expect) him to out perform Ryan Church (using OPS as a measuring stick).
But yes, I am extremely high on Lastings Milledge, he's going to be a star. His ceiling, IMO, is Wright's 2007 season, minus some SBs.
It's really just stupid to think Milledge will ever come near Wright's '07. Milledge has not shown anything to make us think that he will ever hit .320 or hit 30 HR.
ReplyDeleteA lot of my concern with Milledge has to do with the intangibles. There are players that do the little things that help you win and players that don't. Milledge consistently hurt the team in this area. He made constant base running mistakes, swung for the fences when he needed to move runners over, got poor breaks on fly balls, over threw the cut off man on regular basis, etc. To me he did not show significant signs of improvement in these areas over the course of the year. Although Milledge was a better hitter than Green or Gomez, when looking at the complete picture, the Mets were simply not a better team when Milledge was on the field.
ReplyDeleteI realize that Milledge's field awareness will improve some with experience and maturity, but the instincts don't seem to be there. And yes, I feel his attitude and work ethic will continually hold him back in this regard.
I can certainly understand the feeling that the Mets did not get equal value for Milledge, especially given what they could have gotten for him two years ago. In that way, it is frustrating to come to terms with the extent that his stock has fallen. But at this point in time, Milledge is not an elite prospect. One can argue that it would be smarter to keep Milledge this year in the hopes that he rebuilds some of that value. I do not necessarily disagree with that argument. But the Mets have made the determination that they want to compete for a championship in 2008. In my estimation, the Milledge of 2007 was a liability to the Mets. Consequently, gambling on him improving in 2008 might not be worth the risk for a team with the aspirations of the Mets. To me, it seems reasonable to expect the combination of Schneider and Church (when factoring in the positive impact they make on the intangibles of the game) will translate into more wins in 2008 than Milledge would.
I've been mulling over the trade for a few hours now and I keep coming back to how ballsy a move it was by Omar. This very clearly is not a sexy trade. With how highly regarded Milledge is to the Mets' fan base, Omar must of known the expectations of the return on a Milledge trade would be much higher. He surely anticipated the harsh reaction the trade would receive. Likewise, this is one of those moves that has very little prospect of earning Omar admiration in the future. There is the chance that Milledge will become a star and, undoubtedly, Church and Schneider don't have that potential. If Milledge does reach his ceiling, Omar will be judged very harshly for this move. On the flip side, even if Milledge bombs out completely, it seems unlikely that the trade will earn future kuddos for Omar. Church and Schneider are not going to put up goddy numbers (their impact of will never translate to statistics). If it ends out in the Mets favor, it will likely be seen as a minor move or just simply forgotten. It is really a no win situation for Omar.
However, that does not mean it is a bad move for the Mets. In fact I could really see Schneider and Church being integral should the Mets have success next year. Like the trade or not, one has to admit Omar really put himself on the line for this one. It was very selfless on his part.
Church had 43 doubles 15 homeruns in 470 AB. Project that over 600 at bats he's like 50 doubles 20 homeruns..
ReplyDeleteThough the guy can't hit lefties for his life..
Platoon him with Shannon Stewart, and your RF gets you .300 25 100 50 doubles
Omar filled 0 holes with this trade. Estrada is better than Schneider and Milledge will match Church's numbers. It was pointless and doesn't solve any of our problems.
ReplyDelete