It Takes a Village, Part II

In the response it generated from me, Tuesday's signing of Francisco Rodriguez was a Mets megadeal unlike any other.

There was no delirious elation, no compulsion to pick up the phone and call friends in the hope of being the first to break the news. It was more like checking a box. This is done. Let's move on.

Cosmetically, the deal had all the trappings of the euphoria-inducing deliverance that I typically associate with megadeals. Major offseason priority? Check. Premier player available at position of glaring need? Check. Reasonable contract terms? Check.

But somehow this deal didn't come together and hit home for me the way the Johan Santana deal did, for instance.

There are a few reasons this might have been the case.

For one thing, whereas I never expected the Mets to pull off a trade for Johan, I fully expected the Mets to sign whoever they damn well pleased in the closer "sweepstakes". K-Rod was the best closer available, but no matter how impatient Mets fans proved themselves, somehow the end result never appeared to be in doubt.

Another factor may be that the storyline that's developed around K-Rod, great but on the decline. People point to his declining velocity, declining K-ratio, his 1-inning rule with the Angels. It can't help but wear on you a little.

But more than anything else, I think what's salting my mood is what I wrote about the other day, the unshakable feeling that this move is nowhere close to enough. The Mets are a better team today than they were when the week began, but better isn't good enough.

Now, no one ever said this was the only major move Mets brass was prepared to make this offseason. Already there's talk of the Mets pursuing Raul Ibanez for left field, and the Orlando Hudson watch began in about the second week of Luis Castillo's 4-year contract.

These would all be welcome moves. But who's the utlity infielder? Who's the pinch hit specialist? Who's the swing man in the outfield? Who's the 6th inning guy? Who's mister long relief?

These questions seem trivial and the answers comparably simple until you start giving a combined 250 at-bats to Marlon Anderson (.210 avg, .255 SLG, .275 OBP) and Argenis Reyes (.218, .259, .245), or your right fielder suffers his second concussion in thre months, or you give 21.2 innings to Jorge Sosa (7.06 ERA).

Shit happens in baseball; teams need to plug holes. Right now, the Mets' roster has a polished sheen and a scuffed underbelly.

K-Rod is great; signing him, especially at 3 years and $37mm, is a step in the right direction.

The box is checked. Time to move on.

- A.F.O.M.G.