Mike Lowell on the Way? Tatis in Trouble?

As you know, I've been documenting the difficulty that Fernando Tatis has been having at the plate this spring.

Tatis is still banged up, and he just doesn't look like the player he was two years ago.

Now, according to the Chicago Tribune, word is that the Mets are back to scouting Mike Lowell.

Mike Lowell makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons, but the biggest one is his bat.He just also happens to absolutely crush lefty's.

… The teams scouting Mike Lowell include the Mets, Marlins, Brewers and Twins. His surgically repaired thumb appears fine, and a trade appears likely as the Red Sox don't want him stuck behind Adrian Beltre, Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz. "He can still really hit, he can play first and can probably go to third once in a while. If the Sox pay most of the $12 million, this guy is a valuable asset to any team,'' a scout told the Boston Globe. …

At this point I would much rather have Mike Lowell than Tatis.  Lowell is an excellent hitter, and if he can truly play both first base and provide backup for David Wright, it could be a real win for the Mets.

The key would be the amount of dollars the Red Sox would pickup on his hefty salary, and Lowell's willingness to come to the Mets and take a role on the team that would net him 300 at-bats or so on the year.

Regardless, this one bears close watching.

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• Mike Lowell makes his spring debut with the Boston Red Sox at first base (sports.espn.go.com)

The Mets Are Not Really an Old Team

I've been having an interesting chat with a guy who has been convinced all year long that the Mets problems stem from the fact that they are an "old team".

I decided to take a look at all the teams, and here are the results. Yes, the Mets are the oldest team in baseball at 30.8 years of age on average, but considering that the Phillies are 30.6, the Red Sox 30.4, and the Cubs 30.3, I don't think the extra tenth or two of average makes a hill of beans difference.

The Mets are playing poorly, but not because they're old.

Major League Rosters
RNK	Team	RHB	LHB	SH	RHP	LHP	HT	WT	Age	Young	Old
1	Arizona	7	5	2	9	3	6-2	205	27.6	20	44
2	Florida	8	5	2	15	4	6-2	207	27.6	21	40
3	Minnesota	8	4	3	11	3	6-1	210	27.7	22	37
4	Texas	6	5	3	14	4	6-2	217	27.8	23	37
5	Oakland	10	7	1	11	3	6-1	209	27.8	22	40
6	Tampa Bay	7	6	2	11	3	6-1	207	27.9	22	38
7	Colorado	9	6	1	11	4	6-2	207	27.9	22	38
8	Washington	10	4	4	12	3	6-1	221	28.1	23	36
9	Baltimore	6	4	2	14	6	6-2	208	28.3	22	37
10	LA Angels	9	2	5	10	2	6-1	205	28.3	23	37
11	Pittsburgh	9	4	1	5	7	6-0	205	28.4	24	36
12	Kansas City	7	5	1	12	3	6-1	200	28.5	24	37
13	Cleveland	8	4	2	9	5	6-1	207	28.6	22	37
14	San Francisco	9	3	4	9	6	6-1	204	28.6	22	41
15	Atlanta	6	5	4	12	6	6-1	207	28.7	22	42
16	Cincinnati	10	6	1	11	4	6-1	212	29.2	21	40
17	LA Dodgers	10	5	3	10	3	6-1	212	29.2	20	40
18	St. Louis	9	3	2	17	4	6-2	210	29.3	22	39
19	Detroit	11	3	3	9	6	6-1	201	29.4	23	43
20	NY Yankees	5	5	3	19	1	6-3	222	29.5	21	39
21	San Diego	8	4	3	14	4	6-1	206	29.5	25	42
22	Milwaukee	10	3	0	13	4	6-1	211	29.8	22	39
23	Seattle	10	3	1	8	4	6-1	213	29.8	22	38
24	Chicago Sox	10	2	1	8	4	6-2	225	29.9	23	37
25	Toronto	11	4	1	10	4	6-1	210	30.0	23	40
26	Chicago Cubs	9	4	0	12	3	6-1	208	30.3	22	38
27	Boston	6	6	2	11	3	6-2	208	30.4	23	42
28	Philadelphia	7	4	2	11	4	6-1	205	30.6	23	45
29	NY Mets	5	5	6	10	6	6-1	209	30.8	24	42
30	Houston	8	2	3	10	3	6-0	204	30.8	23	41