a. catcher: BIG (freakin) hole: we had Alomar, Castro, the gambler, I’m suprised Hietpas did not get a call-
Solution: Omar knee jerked on Castro and almost on Yorvit; in the end Schneider was available AND Omar did not lose a draft pick. I think Yorvit would have been fine but I am happy with Schneider. Casanova was true brilliance in having a good arm as a 3rd catcher as insurance for Castro.

b. Top Starter- with Pedro down and El-duque shop worn we need a top flight starter. Omar got THE BEST ARM anywhere. BTW: one thing you pointed out as that Santana has been dinger prone- but hardly hittable. Most of these dingers are solos.

c. Yes he needed a 5th starter: Lohse was the most attractive as was Livian. But he stuck with Pelfrey who was held out of the Santana trade. Pel needs the oppurtunity as he is an important piece of the future. THEN he adds Figgy as insurance plus Vargas.

c. OF We needed a right fielder: He got Church as a throw in in the Schneider trade. THEN he gets Pagan as Endy-2.

d. bullpen: Mota out: Wise, Figgy in. Sho is now a LOOGY. He resisted the bait of Mariano, Gagne, Riske and others.

e. The ONLY things he could have done better possibly are not signed Ramon, but then he needed leverage/insurance of SOMEONE who could catch if things did not pan out. He could have kept Gotay, but that would mean no Marlon or no Easley (Willie guys). Frankly that last game highlights why I’d want a Gotay..so if I wanted to bench Reyes/rest Reyes I’d have someone. PS: Isuzu- I dont think Mench is/was a bad idea.

ID, I wouldn’t have minded having Kyle Lohse in Shea, but I wasn’t terribly vocal about it . . . Let’s face it, we all knew that El Deadguy wasn’t going to give us a full season–he may not give us a full start, at this pace. I wasn’t counting on Pedro going down like a rock in his first start, though.

I still see us pulling this thing out. And, no–I’m not on any psychotropic drugs.

There are a few names you left out of the conversation that at least of few here on this blog were mulling over whether the Mets should pursue them this past winter. Let me indulge…

1. Jason Jennings. Though I was 100% deadset against brining him aboard, I do recall someone referring to Jennings as either a #2 or #3 caliber starting pitcher who the Mets should have deposited into their #5 spot. A $4-million contract with the Rangers, an 0-5 record, an 8.56 ERA, and now a stint on the DL later, obviously we see he would have been a bad choice.

2. Bartolo Colon. I guess it’s fair to say the jury is still out on Colon, but the latest news is not promising. He’s pitched once in AAA before suffering a strained oblique and hasn’t pitched competitively since. The Red Sox may not need his services, but the Mets would have, and his injury would have been just another blow to the Mets’ rotation.

3. Kevin Mench. This was a guy I was personally way hot for with the aspirations of playing him in LF while Alou recovered, and then platooning him with Church in RF once Alou returned. Well, the Mets found a hot hitting Angel Pagan and learned Church was no liability vs. LHP, so Mench’s acquisition (or that of Reed Johnson, Marcus Thames, Juan Rivera, Mike Murton, or Jay Payton) would have been unnecessary. As an FYI, Mench is hitting .262 with 2 HR in 84 ABs for Texas’ AAA team. So put a strike on the board for the I-dude as he dropped the ball on this call.

4. David Riske. Another guy I was pretty hard up for before he signed a 3 year, $13-million dollar deal with Milwaukee. I’m sorry, but a mediocre setup man is not worth that kinda money. Luckily, Matt Wise became available, and Duaner Sanchez has refound his old magic, so the blow has been softened. Riske’s 6.39 ERA thru April makes me even happier Omar decided to pass.

5. Shawn Chacon. Another guy a few here wanted thrown in to the #5 mix. After Omar passed, the Astros swooped him up, and despite a solid 3.32 ERA over 6 starts, Chacon has no wins to show for his troubles. At least initially it looks like it would have been wise to pursue Chacon, but I think Omar did just fine settling on Figueroa.

Other names include Octavio Dotel (0-0, 5.19 ERA w/White Sox), Jon Lieber (2-1, 2.30 ERA w/Cubs), Craig Wilson (.233, 2 HR w/AAA Pittsburgh), and Kyle Lohse (3-0, 2.36 ERA w/Cardinals). Dotel was too injury prone, Lieber was promised a starting job by the Cubs and not the Mets (but didn’t get it anyway), Wilson was washed up and hurt, and Lohse wanted too much money. But although those 4 come with their own set of reasons why the Mets didn’t go after them, certainly a few of them would have made for very nice additions in retrospect.

One move that I think will be made, that affects the NL East, is this: The Braves will make a trade to land Joe Blanton at the deadline. So, when the Brewers make the trip to Turner Field on August 1st, Joe Blanton will be the #2 or #3 behind Tim Hudson (definitely) and Tom Glavine (probably). (They will have to let at least two of their good, young A-ball pitchers go to Oakland, but it will be enough.)

You heard it here first.