Feedback on Jim Bowden Article

Former Nationals GM Jim Bowden penned an article which is pretty terrible (shocking). He wants the Mets to sign Stephen Drew. I do not want that to happen.

Article can be found here.

My issues with this article start in the first sentence. What great strides have the Mets made? They have some solid upper level pitching prospects, yes. When you draft in the top-15 every year, you are bound to have top prospects. (I know they dealt for Wheeler and Syndy and D’Arnaud too.) But, they haven’t made the playoffs in 7 years. They haven’t won more than 79 games since 2008. Because they have some prospects now, they have made great strides? Not buying it until I see some actual results on the field.

My issues continue when you say Stephen Drew is the answer to any question. He is the prototypical Mets free agent signing flop. Glaring holes in his offensive game with limited upside. Mix in some injury history and this has all the makings of a horror show.

At a reasonable price, sure he’s attractive but at $11m+, I would much rather save the money and go after a difference maker either at the deadline if the Mets are still in contention (unlikely) or next offseason.

[Of course this brings up another joke: Mets ownership. Thinking that a team playing in the largest media market in the world needs to “save” money is a travesty. Sell the team, Wilpons. We beg you. I digress…]

Another basis for spending $22m on Stephen Drew is because of the extra “pitcher confidence” gained by winning three extra games over a 162-game season? Really? Going from 88 to 91 wins puts the Mets in the playoffs. I can see a 3-win improvement there making sense but not for confidence’s sake. Going from 81 to 84 though doesn’t do anything for you. To think otherwise is idiotic.

NBA Made-Up-Trade-of-the-Day: Knicks/Bobcats

It's readily apparent to anyone watching the Knicks these days: the team stinks. It's time to blow it up and start from scratch. The only way to do that as far as I can see is by dealing Melo.

I'm an avid Melo defender and fan. I love him as a player, but the rest of this crew is abysmal.

Tell me why this doesn't work:

Melo, JR Smith, and Ray Felton to the Bobcats for Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Ramon Sessions, Ben Gordon's contract, Jeff Adrien, and Anthony Tolliver

The two biggest factors that make this a great deal:

1- It makes Charlotte a legitimate contender this year. Melo, Al Jefferson, and Kemba Walker would make one of the best top-3's in the East. The Bobcats can realistically make a run at the #4 seed (4.5 games out as of today). Who could have ever imagined home court advantage for these guys, even if just for one series.

2- It will make the Knicks terrible next year. They might be a contender for having the worst roster in the NBA, and the Knicks finally own their own pick in 2015. Stars are aligned to get a franchise-type player.

Some other reasons this deal works:

-The Knicks can't afford to lose Melo for nothing in June. Getting out from under the Smith and Felton contracts is a big something.

-Charlotte has to overpay free agents to come there (see Al Jeff). Maybe if a guy like Melo was forced to spend time there, he would see that he loves North Carolina.

-Or maybe Melo will love working with MJ for the next three months and sign long-term. Unlikely, I know.

-More likely would be Melo losing some type of wager to MJ forcing him to re-sign in Charlotte.

-JR Smith and Ray Felton will only make about $10.5m per season for the next two years. They aren't going to cripple the cap situation in Charlotte. MKG would be making about half that anyway.

-Maybe Felton would be rejuvenated playing in North Carolina again. He'll only be asked to play 15 semi-productive minutes a game.

-Sessions, Gordon, Adrien, and Tolliver are just in this deal to make the numbers work. They are all free agents after the season.

-Kidd-Gilchrist has been a flop to date, but he's from New Jersey. Maybe a return to the tri-state area works wonders.

-Amare, Tyson Chandler, and Andrea Bargnani all come off the books after the 2014-5 season. With only MKG, Iman Shumpert, Pablo Prigioni, and Tim Hardaway, Jr.under contract for 2015, they will have the resources to sign Kevin Love and a likely top-5 pick to make NY an even more attractive destination.