Really? Kyle Lohse?

The Mets need pitching help. Any baseball fan knows that. We have faith in Omar Minaya to bring us what we need in the off-season. He has not done very much so far, and with every day that passes, our window for obtaining pitching diminishes. We have demanded for Minaya to get aggressive and deal some prospects (see my post from Dec. 25), or to at least sign the likes of mid-level pitcher such as Carlos Silva. But with the news that the Phillies have dropped out of the Kyle Lohse bidding war, it seems that the Mets have become front runners. For some, this may be a relief, as the Mets will get a relatively young ( he's 29) middle of the rotation starter. But of course, there is a catch, that being Lohse's agent, the infamous Scott Boras. This is the same Scott Boras who negotiated Barry Zito's deal with the Giants for 7 years and $126 million dollars just a year ago. He is reportedly asking for $1o million a year for 4 years for Lohse. Is he serious? 10 million dollars for a guy who went 9-12 with a 4.62 ERA last year. For 10 million dollars, can I at least have an ERA below 4.50, or a .500 record? The Mets do have a good relationship with Boras, but lowering the price on one of his clients is quite a difficult task. 

 Come on Omar. Not only would signing Lohse be a waste of money, but he is not the answer. We need a horse, an ace who will give us quality starts. Lohse is a vet, having been in Minnesota, Cincinnati, and Philadelphia, but at best he is a 3, more likely 4th starter. Having Lohse would basically end all interest the Mets had in other starters available, as presumably the budget would be gone in Lohse's ridiculous contract. That would be the Mets would fall out of any talks with the Twins, and would squash a potentially huge deal with Orioles for Erik Bedard. The Mets need to make a move, but that move needs to be one that will help us move forward, not one that will push us back.