The Mets upper management will gather soon to discuss how they intend to proceed this winter. Mark Hale in The New York Post lists a number of items that should be discussed. Among them:

• * Will they persue Alex Rodriguez?
• * How will they handle their own free agents, Paul Lo Duca, Luis Castillo, Shawn Green, Marlon Anderson, Ramon Castro, Damion Easley Tom Glavine and Shawn Green?
• * Should El Duque be moved to the bullpen?

Omar Minaya commented on A-Rod and the Mets intentions heading into the Hot Stove season.

“He is still property of the Yankees, so technically I can’t comment,”

“First and foremost we want to address pitching. Championships are won with pitching; we saw that with the Red Sox.”

I agree with Omar. The Mets top needs this offseason are to upgrade the bullpen and to add a reliable arm or two to the rotation. In my mind, offense is the third thing on my list of upgrades this offseason, and should be viewed as a luxury item.

Bill Price, in an article in the Daily News that resembles the kind of hyperbole only found on message boards and blog comment sections, pens an article about how the Mets must get Alex Rodriguez at all costs.

Citi Field would be sold out forever. Met jerseys and T-shirts would be selling better than “Joba Rules” merchandise. SNY ratings and ad revenue would go through the roof. The city’s back pages would be all Mets, all the time. New York, as it was in the mid-80’s, would be a Mets town again.

CitiField is going to be sold out anyway considering the dearth of seating, and the combination of Wright, Reyes, and Beltran for the foreseeable future. I’m not against having A-Rod on the Mets, but I would rather spend that money on a pitcher like Johan Santana. The Mets need a stud pitcher and some bullpen arms way more than they need another bat right now.

If the Mets can afford it, with the contracts of  Carlos Delgado ($16 million), Pedro Martinez ($11), El Duque ($6.5M) and Guillermo Mota ($3.2M) coming off the board after this year, along with the $20 million a year from Citibank for naming rights, by all means go get him, but make sure you leave some money for Johan.

No, not about how the season ended, but rather guessing who might play second for the Mets next season.

In today’s Newsday, Ken Davidoff considers the Mets second base possibilities. Luis Castillo is still very much is in running for returning. David Eckstein and Padre Geoff Blum are mentioned as well. Matthew Cerrone at Mets Blog recently mentioned the Mets might want to consider inviting free agent Marcus Giles to camp if he doesn’t receive offers.

I still think Castillo is the best option, with Eckstein just behind him. I wouldn’t want Giles starting but I would certainly consider putting him on the bench along with Gotay as a back up option.