A typical Mets fans’ first knee jerk reaction of OF/ 1B Xavier Nady is probably going to go something like:

“I’ve heard of him, but isn’t he just an average player?  Cameron’s glove work and speed makes him a better player.  Couldn’t we get back a better player for him? Xavier Nady? Come on, that’s it? All we did was save money?”

So what was Omar Minaya thinking? Here is my take.

Ya gotta believe GM Omar Minaya has something up his sleeve.  I think he is up to something very sneaky, under the radar, and not just the usual suspects of power hitters like Lyle Overbay, Carlos Delgado, Alfonso Soriano, and of course Manny Ramirez.  How about none other than speedster extraordinaire Ichiro Suzuki?

Sure those sluggers would’ve been nice, but you don’t want their prima donna ways to affect the work ethic of the new stars, Jose Reyes and David Wright.  Plus the thought of Cliff Floyd breaking down and Manny in the outfield outright scares me.  Shea stadium is a spacious park, not a haven for HR sluggers, but great for those slap hitters.  What wins in Shea? pitching,  defense ,and speed.  Why not turn this squad into the 80’s St. Louis Cardinals, with Willie McGee, Ozzie, Vince Coleman, Andy Van Slyke, guys straight from Mercury.

Mariner brass have been talking about putting Ichiro in the 3 hole, but it just hasn’t happen due to the Mariners struggles the last two years.  Mariners have a lot of re-tooling to do, to compete in the tough AL West.  It should be noted that Ichiro mentioned some unhappiness to the Mariners management  in recent Japanese newspapers last week.

Ichiro has two more years on his contract, definitely not a burden in case he suddenly starts to break down.  Now this would be a player I think the Mets can feel comfortable giving up their top prospects for, and throw in either RF Victor Diaz or the newly acquired Nady.  Maybe Beltran would feel more comfortable in the second in the batting order?  Who knows maybe Ichiro can light a fire under 2B Kaz Matsui?  Hey, everyone can have a dream right?