The Off-Season

You may think there's less to say about baseball when they're not playing the game, but you would be sorely mistaken. The off-season is time for politicking, deal-making, and free-agency. And while following the minutae of contract negotiations might not be as outwardly interesting as the instant gratification of a 450-foot home run, watching the moneymen of baseball go head-to-head has its moments. Agents and players vs. general managers and owners. Assholes across the board. Let the games begin!

The Mets appear to be the big losers this off-season, failing to sign any of the marquee pitchers on the market. Most recently, Barry Zito opted to sign with the San Francisco Giants, even though the Mets were considered front-runners.

There's a stupid headline from the AP today: "Zito Picks the Giants by Instinct." Maybe I'm not an expert on the nuances of free-agency, but I have a feeling that Zito picked the Giants because they offered $50 million more than the Mets, and $27 million more than the next highest offer (which came from the unfortunate Rangers).

My predictions on pitchers have always been terrible. A few years ago, when the Mets traded Rick Reed (who?), I have a vague memory of telling someone, "Boy, that's a huge mistake. I have a feeling he's got a Cy Young Award in his future yet." And last year, I went crazy when the Mets dumped Jae Seo for some mediocre relief pitching. Seo then spent most of his year struggling, while the Mets' bullpen carried them through the season. And while I was correct in being angry about the Scott-Kazmir-for-Victor-Zambrano trade, even retarded monkeys knew that was a bad idea. Somehow the Mets front office were the only ones to screw that up.

So let's just admit right now that, really, no baseball team should leave its pitching decisions to me. I'm a terrible forecaster of pitching prospects.

That said, here are my thoughts on this off-season and some predictions and advice for the next:

- Zito's overrated, and the Mets were right to offer him less than his ridiculous market value.

- Jeff Suppan was a good pass, too. I don't want any right-wing, anti-stem-cell-research motherfuckers pitching in New York.

- Trading Brian Bannister to Kansas City was a mistake. He's going to have a 3.50 ERA for the Royals. But because they're the Royals, he'll also lose 20 games.

- The Mets still have Tommy-Gun Glavine, John Maine (another of my mis-predicted successful trades), and Mike Pelfrey in their rotation. John and Mike will have banner years, each winning 20 games.

- Pedro might be done. He'll return, have a couple of promising starts, and hurt himself again. Then he'll be relegated to being That Great Clubhouse Guy everyone loves.

- Omar Minaya should trade Lastings Milledge and a shitload of cash for Scott Kazmir. Lastings is a hack with a bad attitude. And the only way to shut up the fans and the press about letting Kazmir go is to get him back.

- Aaron Heilman? How about a legitimate shot for a spot in the rotation, for crying out loud?

- Raising ticket prices at Shea was a dicky thing to do, especially since the Mets didn't win the World Series.

We've got about six weeks before pitchers and catchers report to spring training. I'm ready. The Mets Money I got for Christmas is burning a hole in my pocket.