JJ & K-Rod Better Than Marmol & Gregg?

They have a decent 8th and 9th guy now.

I’ll get concerned when their prized pitcher John Maine actually wins a game against The Cubs.

It just says we asked about Chone Figgins and the Angels said, we don’t know what we need yet since they haven’t done anything yet.

Don’t wet your pants there buddy.

In a perfect world, they miss out on Big Tex and take Derrek Lee for Chone Figgins, but remember this is the same Angels team that asked us for Aramis Ramirez for Chone Figgins so keep your pants dry

It was a good trade for the Mets, netting Putz. They didn’t give up much, Green/Putz is likely an upgrade from Heilman/Smith, and essentially swapped defensive OF’s. Cleto may be intriguing, I like Mike Carp but he feels like Lyle Overbay at best. Vargas could potentially be a useful end of the rotation arm, and the two kids are far away, although Cleto looks intriguing.

So where does this put them? Well … thing is, which JJ Putz do you buy? Is he the Putz of 2008 or the dominant Putz? I think Putz is an upgrade, but I’m hardpressed to buy him as the dominant Putz, although moving to the NL will help. That said, with Green/Putz/KRod, the pen is better. Not Phillies dominant level, but better. Their rotation is better than people give it credit for, but they do need another starter in the mix.

I’m more concerned (if I was concerned about the Mets that is) about their lineup. I think it’s a bit spotty, and to depend on Delgado dominating again is a big risk. What they need is another bat to give the lineup, for lack of a better word, depth. I don’t know what type of financial situation they are in, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they tried to make a run at Manny. That said, my guess is Omar will prioritize another starting pitcher before the offense.

I don’t think the Mets are the favorites in the NL, but they have bridged the gap. The Phillies get the benefit of the doubt coming off the title, but if the Mets can make another key acquisition somewhere, depending on who they add, they might be the better club … on paper, depending on what Philadelphia does.

As for comparing the bullpens … I’ll give their back two the edge over ours, but it’s not by that much.

Largely because Putz is MUCH better than Gregg, while Marmol and Rodriguez are a push. Not sure why that is important, though.

We have a better rotation (especially if we get Peavy), better middle relief, and as good an offense if not better.

And most importantly, we don’t really have to worry as much about the Mets. We just have to win our division and hope for better fortune in the playoffs. The back end of our bullpen wasn’t the reason we lost in the postseason the past two years.

to keep K-Rod. He lost a lot of velocity near the end of last year.