Nine in a Row, ZomG!

LGM.

The proprietor of Tacoby Bellsbury is a hanger-on. I once commended Surly Blondbeard for his funny blog that is also named by changing the beginnings of the first and last names of a young baseball player, and now he's obsessed with me.

Plus, his blog is seriously ugly. I know people hate the black background here but at least it's not puke-green.

The Mets are the graveyard team: Tatis, Easley, Julio Franco, Tom Glavine, I could go on. They just stack it up with has beens and never will bes, I can't wait until Kenny Lofton signs on with them for the playoffs. Oh yeah. You don't think Minaya will shell the $3 mil or whatever he wants to be the speed man off the bench? I like Endy Chavez. I like Ryan Go to Church. I hate Carlos Delgado. That's about all I can say about the Mets right now. They will sign Kenny Lofton, Wilfredo Cordero and maybe even Dante Bichette before October. Sorry, September.

Dante Bichette never played for the Expos.

Reports that the Mets are interested in trading for Raúl Ibañez scare the shit out of me. I won't do anyone who dares suggest that the dignity of a link. Except U.S.S. Mariner (Trades I'm Rooting For):

Raul Ibanez to the Mets for LHP Jon Niese and 1B Mike Carp

The Mets are surging, but their outfield is a mess. Moises Alou is out for the year, and Ryan Church’s status is up in the air thanks to lingering concussion issues. Omar Minaya is going to make a move, so the M’s should put themselves in the forefront of his thoughts and convince him that Ibanez is the guy he wants. He has no problem emptying his farm system in attempts to win now, and Ibanez has the reputation to command more than he’s worth.

Niese is a 21-year-old southpaw with an average fastball and good curve who mixes his pitches well and is already succeeding in Double-A. He’s not a high upside guy, but as a potential #3/#4 starter, he’d help give the M’s a legitimate young pitching prospect who could potentially help the team as early as next year.

Carp is a 22-year-old left handed hitting first baseman with a good eye at the plate and gap power. Right now, he projects as a Lyle Overbay type, but there is room in his swing for some extra pop, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he grows into a 25 to 30 home run guy down the line.

Why The M’s Should Do This: Ibanez is obviously in decline, and 2008 might be the last year he’s a starting quality player. As such, he shouldn’t spend the rest of the year in Seattle. Niese and Carp give the M’s some moderate reward youngsters that could be useful players down the line.

Why The Mets Should Do This: They sold the farm to get Johan and they’re running down the Phillies in the east, but a Fernando Tatis/Endy Chavez combination isn’t going to work in RF/LF. While they would prefer to keep Niese and Carp, Ibanez will almost certainly be a Type A free agent, so if they offer him arbitration and let him leave in the winter, they’ll get two draft picks to replace the prospects they gave up. The addition of Ibanez for the stretch run and the draft picks makes it worth doing for New York.

Go to hell, Dave. I can't believe this is a real possibility and apparently no one is interested in Adam Dunn because he strikes out too much. Guess what Raul Ibanez can do? If you guessed "play outfield," you would be wrong. He is quite possibly the worst defensive outfielder in the game today. If Barry Bonds came back, he would be better. Hell, Marlon Anderson and Fernando Tatis are better outfielders. Manny Ramirez is better when jogging at half-speed. Mariners blog Lookout Landing lists him as "LF" when they post the lineups in game threads. (They also list Jose Vidro as "DH".) They have a sidebar called "Raul Ibanez is Really Good at Defense." It contains this. And this. And this. And this. AND THIS.

The Mets have a fly ball pitching staff. So, no thanks. Give me Dunn.