Mets have been successful with moves like this the past two years, more so in the bullpen but I think right now its more about depth this yr than anything else, I am a little worried about the reported 3 Mil price tag which would seem somewhat of a gurantee of the 5th spot, which I'd much rather see go to Pelfrey or Humber, also Jason Vargas still just 24 yrs old and has had success, a former 2nd rd pick in 04, I think they also have high ceiling talent in the OF w/ Milledge, Carlos Gomez and F. Martinez, Inf prospects are lacking but w/ Wright and reyes hopefully they won't need a prospect on that 1/2 of the infield for a decade or so....I loved teh Alou signing esp. the way the market exploded, if healthy (at least 450 ABs) he protects Wright in the lineup and can pound lefties, plus not a long term committment, Green will be gone next yr( if not sometime this yr) and RF handed over to one of the kids, Wright and Reyes are still extremely young and Beltran won't be 30 until afterthe season starts....

Yep, Jose Lima, was amazing on the Mets. Really.

David, you're wrong. A signing like Park at $3 million for one year is a low-risk, possibly high-reward filler while we wait for Humber to get a little further away from his Tommy John surgery, and for Mike Pelfrey to develop a slider. Our fifth starter last year, Steve Trachsel, was pretty crummy. If Park basically repeats what he did last year for the Padres, that'd be a huge improvement.

By the way, Perez and Maine are 26; Humber is 25 and Pelfrey is 23. I understand that Oliver Perez is kind of a reclamation project, Maine may or may not be that good, and there's no guarantee that either Pelfrey or Humber will work out; but conceivably 80% of the Mets rotation next year could be under 28.

I think Omar know's what he's doing.

The Mets have a stockpile of pitching, though none of them would be considered a true ace. You have Glavine and Orlando Hernandez at the top, who, when healthy, should be good. Then you have John Maine, who was successful last year despite throwing a fastball 70% of the time. Oliver Perez may or may not return to the form of 2004. Stuffwise, Philip Humber and Mike Pelfrey may not be ready to start the year with the big club, though they are each outstanding prospects. Alay Soler showed little consistency last year, and Brian Bannister is now in Kansas City.So, the fifth starter is left to Jason Vargas, Jorge Sosa and Chan Ho Park. Dave Williams will miss the first month, and Pedro Martinez is out unitil at least July.

Last year, the Mets had a starting rotation of Pedro Martinez, Tom Glavine, Steve Trachsel, Victor Zambrano and Brian Bannister to start the season. This year, the Mets will still need two other starters, considering that El Duque has not pitched a whole season as a starter in about 5 years and usually needs a "break" in August. Glavine went to highschool with Moses, and is a crap shoot to make all his starts. Maine missed time with a finger injury as well.

I guess the point is, that Humber and Pelfrey are not expected at this time to have a Justin Verlander season. I think the Mets want to give these pitchers time to develop and solidify their secondary pitches. Bringing in Park, Vargas and Sosa gives them depth. My belief is the starting pitching is enough to get through the NL East, and once in the playoffs, Glavine, El Duque, and rested and healthy Pedro make starts, with the fourth starter being a tossup between Maine, Perez, et al.

The Mets dealt Bannister then picked up Park. Not a wise move, IMO. But then again, this is the franchise that has dealt Nolan Ryan and Scott Kazmir and got zilch for them!

Park and Sosa are part of the scrap heap crew brought in to plug holes until Pelfrey and Humber are ready to join Maine and maybe Perez, and until Pedro returns. It's the same strategy that brought in El Duque, Lima, Dave Williams and to some extent Perez last season. It's a mixed bag, but there is a long-term strategy behind it.

ESPN is saying the deal is for $600,000 - maybe the Korean source is reporting it in won.

Seriously? Nolan Ryan? Omar Minaya was 13 in 1971. But obviously, decisions made over 35 years ago by a GM who died in 1985 still accurately reflect the direction of this franchise.

Also, the Red Sox took ace left-hander Ruth out of the rotation so he could play more games in the outfield, so I like their chances in 2007.

This may be a marketing ploy targeting the large Korean population of Queens. Do you have the attendance figures from games Jae Seo pitched? This guy was great 10 years ago just like Darren Oliver.