bctowns (Chicago, IL): Jay, thanks for chatting. Why wouldn't Smoltz fit in with the Cubs bullpen? They need the help, and I'm guessing Smoltz can probably be effective in the late innings. What do you think?
Jay Jaffe: Probably not as well as he'd fit in St. Louis, because I don't see Piniella's ability to manage a bullpen comparing to that of TLR, and Smoltz's current limitations will take some work to handle. Chicago would be asking him to be their bullpen savior, whereas he'd be just a specialist in St. Louis.
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Jon (St. Louis): Don't like the cardinals defense?! Don't they have average or better defenders at every spot except second base, with Pujols, Molina and Rasmus as high as "all-world" in some metrics?
Jay Jaffe: They're +13 FRAA, but -13 UZR (even Pujols comes in at -0.6 this year, while Rasmus and Ryan do score well). While they've made some decent in-season upgrades, particularly improving at short and third, I don't see them as an above-average unit by any stretch given how bad Schumaker is at second base.
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Matt (Whippleville, NY): What one player from outside the organization would make the biggest difference to the 2010 Mets?
Jay Jaffe: Albert Pujols.
In all honesty, that's a tough question, because the answer has much to do with how well Reyes and Beltran rebound from their injuries. If they don't, you'd have to think offense is a priority, but we know that the rotation needs serious help as well. I don't know that they have the talent to acquire a Roy Halladay in trade, and the free agent class just isn't terribly appealing either. The bottom line is that it could be a grim winter for Mets fans.
Baseball Prospectus
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