Dave Bush is among the starting pitchers on the Mets' radar, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). As Crasnick notes, current Mets exec J.P. Ricciardi was the Blue Jays' GM when Toronto selected Bush in the second round of the 2002 draft.
The Rockies reportedly had interest in Bush earlier in the offseason, but the market for the right-hander has been remarkably quiet this winter.
Bush, 31, is a back-of-the-rotation starter who won't be mistaken for former teammates like C.C. Sabathia and Roy Halladay any time soon. But he notched 18 quality starts in 2010 and has averaged 28 starts and 168 innings per season since cracking the Blue Jays' rotation in 2005. He posted a 4.54 ERA with 5.5 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 174 1/3 innings last year.
The Mets have added Bush's longtime teammate, Chris Capuano, and have also expressed interest in Jeff Francis and Chris Young as GM Sandy Alderson looks to add depth to his rotation.
This would be nice for us. Just dont WASTE time
Would still like them to sign Young
I like Francis Qualls. Better than Young if affordable. Young has good # wen healthy but idk i have a bad feeling about him
Chad Qualls meets Jeff Francis?
Haha no i mean as another reliever
:D
Whoops!
The JP era is in full flight!
Nothing says excitement for fans like bringing in the aging, discarded back end of an NL Central rotation.
Before some humorless goon takes me too seriously, I actually find both the Capuano deal and the Bush to be reasonable, probably useful moves, if minor.
But still. I’m just sayin’… Chasing the pennant with two guys who just got let go from a below .500 team? Probably not quite what the Mets hopeful would have liked to see this offseason.
Ah, but the Mets aren’t gearing up to chase a pennant. They don’t have enough top tier starting pitching, and there just isn’t much available. Signing guys like Bush is perfectly fine as a stop gap measure until they figure out plan B and plan C. If he’s half way decent, and he does have enough skill to be that, they can also flip him at the deadline for something more useful that can stick around.
If I were a Mets fan, I’d probably be mad though.
Mets need guys like Bush – pitchers who can give them innings and, if the offense comes alive that night, a chance to steal a W. I don’t think the Mets are going to be as bad as the national media are saying. They strike me as a team that can hang around .500 all year and come mid-August, either make a little run or go in the tank, depending on their overall health.
If I were a Mets fan, I’d be mad too, johnmilton! However I’d be mad at their previous GM and his decision to give inflated awful contracts to Oliver Perez, Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Jason Bay, K-Rod, Luis Castillo, etc
Jose Reyes????
Jose Reyes????
Context: Kind of bitter after watching Matt Garza go to the Cubbies (although no diss to Chicago meant).
Anyway, I can’t get psyched about Dave Bush. He is pretty much a ho-hum pitcher – passable but you can’t expect much from him. Filler material. Still, it’s not like Mets fans have a whole lot to look forward to this season so….whatever.
Hey Mets, Jeff Suppan, and Doug Davis are still free agents.
Well, I’d take Dave Bush over those two.
Lol?
Bush is actually a pretty good fit for the Mets. His achilles heel has always been the long ball especially in Miller Park. He’d enjoy the much bigger power alleys in Citi Field. I think he’d post around a 4.25 playing half his games there.
He did have 18 quality starts last year.
Yeah well his ERA usually hovers in the mid 4.00 range anyway, so 4.25 is hardly an improvement on that – big park or not.
I’m not psyched. :-(
Infield Fly,
You could do a lot worse for a 5th starter. If the Brewers didn’t have a cheaper option in Chris Narveson, they’d probably have considered bringing Bush back.
The Brewers weren’t under .500 because their 4th and 5th starters failed once Davis and Suppan were out of there. They were under .500 because their 1 through 3 weren’t up to snuff. Hence they upgraded there.
“You could do a lot worse for a 5th starter.”
Don’t you worry. The way things are going looks like we probably will.
He’s no Fluke Lee, but whatever. Young would be nice, but Bush does give up home runs, which Citifield does not do too often. He’s probably cheaper for the club too.
Here’s another point: Who cares that the team isn’t going to do anything in 2011 and possibly 2012. The only chance they have at a pennant run, is if the Phillies and Braves have the 2009 Mets and 2010 Red Sox illness (injuries). Not happening. Just like all other clubs out there, fans don’t watch unless their team wins. The only exciting thing we’ll see from the club is the development of young talent, the small portion of it the Mets have.
As a Cub fan, I beg to differ with your second-to-last point there. We’ve been watching and waiting for our team to win since Teddy Roosevelt was in office and no World Wars had occurred yet. We may get a lot of flack and jaded comments about the Cubs, but we watch!
Oh woah woah, known that Cubs fans are the best in the World, period!
Passionate enough for ya? ;-)
I don’t know what happened with Bush the past two years. Has his velocity dropped off? He always seemed like a guy that would blossom into a number two type starter at best and third at worst. I imagine he’s been struggling with injuries?
What’s the scoop?
He got hit by a line drive on the elbow in 2009, missed significant time, and has never really pitched too well after that, though in 2010 it looked like he was doing better. He’s not a terrible #5 option, at least he has a track record of pitching lots of innings. As a side note, I wonder if the Mets have considered signing Milwood? Would seem to be a fit there…
Young is better, Bush ERA and Whip have been going the wrong direction, but he need innings. So Bush makes sense
I must say, and please don’t take offense Mets Fans, this is one hell of a turnaround from every season I’ve endured in my 24 yrs of existance.
I remember being the king foragers for the trash heap, (bush isn’t trash, neither is cappy, but you get my drift) and watching teams like the Mets go out and scoop up all of these guys I wanted on my team. Now, out of nowhere, the Brewers actually got teams to come to OUR team! I’m sorry if this comes off as boasting of snobbish, it definitely wasn’t intended to be. I wish ya’ll the best of luck, and if I had it my way, you’d finish second in your division. (behind the Nats) not happening, but I’ll be pulling for you.
Lol nice comment and well said. One day we’ll get better hahaha
calm down mets fans, you know we don’t have much to work with this year and Alderson is filling in holes with the best people that he can with the money he has to work with. PERIOD. This will be a maintenance year – we’lle start talkin 2012 and beyond. We have now one of the most respected and experienced front offices in baseball – that was our big FA signing.
I don’t see the Mets signing Dave Bush. Dillon Gee can probably put up similar numbers, is under team control for years to come, and will be cheap for years to come.
I don’t see the Mets signing Dave Bush. Dillon Gee can probably put up similar numbers, is under team control for years to come, and will be cheap for years to come.