Test Blog

The Mets affectively cut Cliff Floyd loose with yesterday’s signing of Moises Alou. According to general manager Omar Minaya Alou will be the regular left fielder next season making Floyd, affectionately called ‘glass’ by fans, expendable.

It was a big day for the Mets yesterday. First they learned Tom Glavine will not need surgery. Then they pulled off a comeback win. Then they finally acquired Shawn Green.

The Mets picked up outfielder Ricky Ledee off waivers from the Dodgers yesterday. Ledee, who came up with the Yankees, will add some depth in the outfield and a lefty bat from the bench. This is an excellent move. With Xavier Nady gone to the Pirates and Cliff Floyd’s sore left Achilles the Mets have been playing Endy Chavez and Lastings Milledge regularly in left and right and could use another outfielder for emergency purposes. And with the left handed hitting Chavez and switch hitting Jose Valenti­n getting so many starts the bench was bare of left handed hitters. Good move.

Duaner Sanchez caught a cab on Sunday night which changed the course of the non-waiver trade deadline for the Mets and changed the way manager Willie Randolph will manage his bullpen and outfield for the rest of the season.

On Friday I mentioned a report by Ken Rosenthal at Foxsports.com about the possibility that the Mets would trade Kazuo Matsui to the Colorado Rockies for Eli Marrero. On Staurday morning I opened up the newspaper to see that Ken’s report was spot on.

The Mets traded starting pitcher Kris Benson to the Orioles for Jorge Julio and John Maine yesterday. Benson’s wife, Anna, had some things to say about it, as usual. Here’s a sampling:

The Mets needed bullpen help and that’s exactly what they got today when they acquired right handed relievers Duaner Sanchez & Steve Schmoll from the Dodgers in exhange for Jae Seo & Tim Hamulack. Sanchez will be the primary right handed setup man for new closer Billy Wagner.

The Mets also acquired a new second baseman today signing former All Star Bret Boone to a minor league contract. Boone, who also got an invitation to spring training, will offer competition to embattled encumbant Kazuo Matsui. There have been many trade rumors around Matsui during this offseason and Boone’s signing could be a signal that something is serious (or not). It could also just mean that the Mets decided to take a chance on Boone in the hopes that he could revive his career without taking much of a risk. Not a bad idea.

As I wrote earlier today the Mets held a press conference at 3 pm to announce the signing of Billy Wagner. $43 million over four-years. Welcome to hell, Billy.

The Mets closed out Thanksgiving weekend by giving their fans something to be thankful for. For the second year in a row the Mets have landed the most sought after free agent on the market. Last year it was Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran. This year it’s Billy Wagner. The team will hold a press conference at 3 pm today to announce the signing of the lefty closer.

This is a very good development indeed but Omar Minaya cannot afford to stop now. There are still openings at catcher, right field and second base to fill. Both Bengie Molina and Ramon Hernandez have offers on the table to fill the catching vacancy. (I heard that Minaya prefers Hernandez.) There are all kinds of reports that Red Sox outfielder Manny Rami­rez could be acquired for the outfield spot but I’ll believe it when I see it. As for second base there have been some rumors but nothing strong enough to comment on.

The winter meetings are next week so some of these issues could be dealt with then. Stay tuned and enjoy the press conference at 3.