(Stolen off of ESPN Insider)<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Jose Lima is always entertaining, always fun to watch, with his multi-colored hair and the multiple personalities he seems to display on the mound. As Rick Peterson tried to speak with him in the Mets' dugout on Sunday, Lima was preoccupied with placing the trinket from his necklace in his mouth.But it may turn out that Lima's short and ugly outing against the Braves is pretty much what he can offer as a pitcher. Inevitably, the Mets will tinker with patch jobs before they have this internal discussion, following up on cursory trade talks they've had with Oakland in recent months: "Should we trade Lastings Milledge for Barry Zito as part of our all-out effort?"The Mets will occupy a strange place in the trade market. They don't have many quality Grade B to B-plus prospects that interest other teams, so when and if the Kyle Lohses and Gil Meches and Scott Elartons hit the market, the Mets will be at a competitive disadvantage in making deals. There is no way you would trade Milledge for any of those second-line pitchers, of course, but the Mets would probably lose out to other teams in the talent auction for those guys.But if Zito is made available, the Mets would be the front-runners because they have Milledge. And three talent evaluators said over the weekend that Oakland GM Billy Beane loves the outfielder above all other prospects. "He'd make the deal [something built around Zito for Milledge] right now," says one scout.Milledge hits for power, he has plate discipline, he runs; he's the whole package. Beane could plug him into the outfield and could have a star by Milledge's third year of service, maybe sooner, considering the player's terrific plate discipline. And Beane has a pitcher who can take over as Oakland ace in Rich Harden.From the Mets' perspective, there are compelling reasons to consider a trade for Zito. They field an older team -- with Tom Glavine, Pedro Martinez, Billy Wagner and others on the back end of their respective careers. The 2006 season is extraordinarily important to the Mets, in the inaugural year of their television network. And it's evident that they are good enough to win the National League and the World Series.On the night the Mets made the insanely horrendous trades for Victor Zambrano and Kris Benson, they were not serious contenders. They were six games out of first and the team was badly flawed. That is not the case now. They appear to be the best NL team on paper, with a strong bullpen (switching Aaron Heilman into the rotation is an option that should not be considered), a tremendous offense and lots of speed. Glavine and Martinez look great. The only potential problem is the depth of their rotation, and if they were to make Milledge available, they could have a rotation of Glavine, Martinez and Zito in front of Steve Trachsel and Brian Bannister.The complication is that Zito is eligible for free agency, and it's unlikely that Beane would give the Mets a window to negotiate with Zito as a precursor to a trade. The Mets would have to learn as much about Zito's contract desire through back-channel communication before taking a leap of faith, believing that they could actually sign Zito. They would have to assume that signing the left-hander would cost them somewhere in the area of five years and $70 million to $80 million, which is what Zito could get, in light of A.J. Burnett's five-year, $55 million deal last fall.Zito turns 28 Saturday, he's left-handed, he's got 88 career victories, he's won a Cy Young Award. Assuming the Mets would sign Zito if they traded for him, he could be the ace who becomes their bridge into the future as Martinez and Glavine move on.Personally, I wouldn't trade Milledge for the left-hander, because Milledge is an extraordinary talent. But you'd have a very hard time finding fault with the Mets if they were to be aggressive and make a deal for the best pitcher available who would give them a chance to succeed in late October.The Mets' rotation is thin now, writes Ben Shpigel. Ken Davidoff thinks Dontrelle Willis is the answer.</div>
If we can get a quality pitcher without giving up Milledge, then do it. But we can't deal away Lastings Milledge. Floyd's contract is up next year, we're gonna have to replace him...enter Lastings Milledge.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Big Blue @ May 13 2006, 01:45 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>If we can get a quality pitcher without giving up Milledge, then do it. But we can't deal away Lastings Milledge. Floyd's contract is up next year, we're gonna have to replace him...enter Lastings Milledge.</div>Pay half of Floyds salary this year, and trade Floyd and a lower prospect or 2 (Such as Alay Solar) for Barry Zito. Then we can bring up Milledge (Whos been tearing up AAA) now.
This could be huge for New York. I doubt it would happen, Milledge is too good and Zito is too much money. I would stick with the young gun because i'm not sure how well Zito would do.It could happen though.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Arrowhead? @ May 13 2006, 11:56 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>This could be huge for New York. I doubt it would happen, Milledge is too good and Zito is too much money. I would stick with the young gun because i'm not sure how well Zito would do.It could happen though.</div>Minaya has already said Milledge and Pelfrey are all but untouchable. It doesnt sound like they would trade him straight up for Pujols right now. lol But I could see the Mets and A's agree to some package of Major League Talent / Prospects. Maybe basing an offer around something like Cliff Floyd or Victor Diaz and Alay Solar.
Yes. Take Kyle Lohse please. He's an every other starter. Not even joking, he does horrible, then pitches strong, horrible, strong, horrible, strong, etc, etc. We need room for the greatest out there, Liriano.
