The Other Side

With the trade fresh in our minds, I exchanged questions with DJ Short of the always informative MetsBlog. I was especially curious about these so-called "attitude problems", which from the outside seemed more a function of middle-aged white men being shocked that a black kid would have a rap album with (gasp!) bawdy lyrics. Is he a bad teammate?

I'm an admitted Milledge apologist, but it doesn't change the fact that these events happened. I mean, the guy barely played here (115 games in parts of two seasons) and I can think of several incidents off the top of my head. Whether it's missing the bus and arriving late for a game in Philadelphia, the infamous 'Know Your Place, Rook' incident with his teammates, the rap song, getting suspended for three games in the final weeks of the 07' season, or, oh yeah, ticking off the Marlins in the final weekend of the 07' season, which may have been the impetus needed for the butt-kicking the Mets took in the final game of the season. I do think the media had it out for him from the get-go, but you can't ignore the decisions he had complete control over. He has all the talent in the world, but as Milledge once said, 'he needs to get his grown man on.'

It's definitely a bit more than I had thought. Many of these, though, seem to fall more in the youthful exuberance category. And besides, if Billy Wagner and Paul LoDuca hate you, you're probably a pretty good person. (That's also known as the Kent Corollary)

I asked about his defense. He played center in the minors, but was blocked in the majors by Carlos Beltran.

He rarely played center in his time with the Mets -- only 14 games -- because of Beltran, so it's hard to gauge him fairly. I remember him making a few highlight reel-type catches in center this past season, but under further examination, it was due to poor jumps on balls. He has a good arm, but he often forgets and/or ignores the cut-off man, or he misses his target entirely. The tools are certainly there, but he is still pretty raw.

Milledge claims that he had a hard time in learning the corners in the majors because of the different angles to the ball. We'll find out. The new park has a much smaller CF to cover, so that should help.

What about his focus? Does he have the drive to maximize those tools?

Without question, I think he does. He just needs a fair shake. Given an everyday job, I'm sure he could flourish. Washington is an ideal situation for a player like him, as much as I hate to say it. He has one of the quickest bats I have seen in a while. The ball just jumps off his bat.

What about the reaction in NY? It seems universally loathed. Is this going to change the perception of Omar Minaya?

Time will tell. Today, he is not very popular. If he gets Bedard or Haren next week, things will change.

Milledge probably had greater value in the heads of Mets fans than he did on the trade market for a pitcher, but there is good reason for that. After the Kazmir trade, we did not want to be burned again. And we waited a long time for Milledge to get a shot. I mean, we heard rumors about Milledge for just about everyone under the sun including Manny Ramirez and we were still hesitant to see the kid go.

He endeared himself to many Mets fans by hitting his first major league home run in the bottom of the ninth off the hated Armando Benitez. Moments later, when he returned to the outfield for extra-innings, he high-fived the fans down the right-field line. The fans -- mostly young ones-- loved it, while by-and-large the media, talk show hosts and veteran players criticized him for it. It was all downhill from there.

This deal is not on the level of Kazmir, it's impossible, because position players are more replaceable, but it will hurt to see Milledge punish the Mets over the next few years. I'm sure there are a number of Mets fans who would rather have Milledge and Flores rather than Schneider and Church.

Good stuff, as always!

I took a few cracks at some of his questions, trying to assuage some of the fears of Mets fans. If you want some of that spin, check it out.