Just say no...

...to Boras and A-Rod.

So over the past week or two we had kicked around the idea (as had all of NY) that what if the Mets traded Reyes and went after A-rod. I've thought about it more and I am strongly against this idea for a few reasons.

1. Post-season performance. While A-rod is one of the best (see point 2) during the regular season, his inability to produce in post-season a la Bonds cannot go overlooked. I'm sorry, but getting your team to the playoffs is only half the battle - what you do in the playoffs is just as important, perhaps more. So I have a hard time getting fired up about someone who doesn't perform well in playoffs, despite whatever #s they put up in regular season.

2. Regular-season #s and $. Boras claims A-rod is perhaps the most valuable player of all time, and is seeking completely over-the-top, unjustifiable salary #s. I don't think he even comes close to being worth it. For one, how much better is he really than other players? A-rod's seasonal career averages: .306 / .389 / 44 HR / 128 RBI. Pretty good. But if A-rod is worth that much, then how about Manny Ramirez: .313 / .409 / 41 HR / 133 RBIs. Better #s. How about Mike Piazza: .308 / .377 / 36 HR / 113 RBI? How about Ortiz: .289 / .384 / 36 HR / 120 RBIs (and that includes his lean years in Min!) Or Vlad Guerrero: .325 / .391 / 37 HR / 119 RBIs. Or Barry Bonds: .298 / .444 / 41 / 108. And so on and so on. A-rod's #s are excellent, don't get me wrong. But I just don't think they are that much better than quite a few players around the league. Boras is asking too much money for someone who isn't clearly the Michael Jordan of the league, especially when you consider his disappearance in October every year.

3. Age. Despite Boras' claims that A-rod can play until he's 45, I doubt he'll play a good 3B or SS that long. At some point his fielding #s on left side of IF will fall off, so he will become a defensive liability. Perhaps he's still got at least 3-5 more years before that happens, but nonetheless he's already 32.

The Mets have a lot more needs than adding some RBIs during the regular season. They need to seriously beef up their pitching staff if they want to go anywhere in postseason. Look at the 4 teams in ALDS and NLDS. Boston and Cleveland had #1 and #3 ERAs in AL, respectively, while Arizona and Colorado were 4 and 8 in NL. So 3 of the 4 teams had top 5 ERAs, that's not a coincidence. Mets should save their money to go for pitching, and then work on batting approach in spring training.