RIP Killa Cam?

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On a cold rainy day in Bevery Hills, the worst of the worst happened. In an attempt to make ammends with her mafia father, Antonia Marchette drove over to her father's house to deliver a sign of good will. She left Dylan's house an angel, that greatest woman ever to work the set of "90210". She would never return.

Antonia was murdered by her father's hitman, who thought he was killing Dylan.

Dylan was heartbroken. The words of Lyle Lovett's early 90's classic "Nobody Knows Me Like My Baby" echoed in the background, vocal evidence of the emotional turmoil Dylan was experiencing, to which he ultimatley succombed, dropping to his knees in his grief.

Dylan was at his weakest, things would not turn around for him and already he was starting to show signs of wear from his days as Dylan "Too Cool for School" McKay.

So he left the show, traded to the HBO hit smash "Oz" for that dude from "Sex and The City" who took it to Val and a young Noah Hunter.

See, like Dylan, Mike Cameron (Killer Cam) is lovable. He may be the coolest Met. He is the cooler, more likable friend to the Mets' overly genuine young star, D Wright, aka Brandon Walsh.

But like Dylan he has recently faced a tragedy that he may not be able to overcome.

Moving Mike Cameron now is the move. The guy wasn't much of a hitter before the injury (some of us were spoiled by his .274 avg last year) and there is no saying how the injury will affect his vision.

There are a couple of points that I want to bring up in defense of Cameron's deal.

1. We Mets fans are blind to the finances of baseball. In a city where the Yankees pay 700 billion dollars for their team and we pay only about $100 mill, we feel like we are thrifty.

Fact is, as we all know, compared to the rest of MLB, we are the spoiled ones.

So as the Mets slowly approach the luxury tax, this move is a very sound one financially. In Xavier Nady we are getting a very talented young right handed bat who will be in his arbitration years for the next three seasons (he won't be able to test free agency and so he will be paid less: His salary will be based on the numbers he puts up compared roughly to other players of the same service time).

The Mets will save roughly $5 million dollars in 2006 on this deal, which, if that affords us Billy Wagner, is a very solid swap.

2. Teams crave Cameron more than we need him

In the same way we think Cameron is better than he is, so does baseball. Truth is, he is a dominant defensive center fielder, something the Mets don't need, but other teams crave.

In trading him now, as opposed to letting him test free agency, where he would definitely leave to play CF elsewhere, we are getting some solid value as opposed to nothing.

3. Cameron may never be the same

Who knows what this injury will do to him. In the best possible scenario, he is the same.

Worst case, he is damaged goods, and we are stuck paying him another $6.125 mil without getting anything for him.

4. It is always good to get younger + Nady is good

Xavier Nady is 27 right now, and entering his baseball prime.

All I can remember hearing during Mets broadcasts last year is how badly the Padres wanted to move Phil Nevin so that they could get Nady more ab's.

While he cooled off in the final two months of the season, Nady was putting up very solid numbers through July.

The guy can play RF and play 1b against left handers to spell Jacobs.

5. Why this trade will bother me...

On mlb.com it is suggested that this deal is a precursor to trading for Carlos Delgado. Again, here comes Omar seeking the backpage.

Sure Delgado would be nice, but as I have stated in the past, give Jacobs a shot. Good young talent in baseball is very hard to find and this kid could be something special.

Two years ago he was the AA player of the year before an injury that took out most of his 2004.

Still not convinced? Let's compare some numbers.

Jacobs is 25
Delgado, almost 34

Jacobs' numbers in September/October: 7 hr, 14 RBI, .309 avg.
Delgado's numbers in september/Octoboer: 7, 19 , .351

Is Delgado more of a sure thing in 2006 than Jacobs? Barring the injury risk inherent in any older player, that's probably fair to say. But there's more to this equation than 2006. There's dollars and cents (a lot of dollars and cents, actually, but more on that in a moment), and the fact that Jacobs has tremendous upside while Delgado's best years almost certainly are behind him.

That's not to say that Delgado has shown signs of decline, or that he wouldn't be good for a 30-35 hr/110+ RBI/.300 avg.-type season in 2006. Those aren't the only numbers involved in this deal, however. Here are some others numbers to consider.

The deal Delgado signed last year (when, incidentally, he scorned the Mets very publicly) requires the beneficiary of his services to pay him 48 million over the next three seasons. See, Delgado's 4-year, 52-mil contract was heavily backended (he was only paid $4 mil in '05). Is this guy realy worth the slew of young talent we would give for him, and $48 mil over three years at age 34?

In Jacobs, you're looking at a guy who had a fantastic month and change in his cup of coffee with the big club in 2005. His swing is like silk. He didn't just earn the starting first baseman's job for 2006 (Editor's note: RIP Doug Mientkiewicz), he proved to everyone that he could be special. We've gotta give him a shot.

You guys know Sip and he loves the kids. Back on "90210", letting Dylan go allowed a young, up-and-coming David Silver to blossom into a star.

For the same reason, I think the Cameron deal is solid.

However, if the Mets then go out and trade for a season 7 version of Billy Campbell (Andrew Shue on Melrose Place) then all of a sudden we are back to the old Mets and I will not be happy.

Address the bullpen needs now and we are a 87-90 win team, with upside...Could we possibly ask for anything more?

Woah,

Sippy Momo