Alou to the Mets

I'm a big Alou fan, and 5 years ago I'd be quite enthusiastic about the Mets acquiring Moises, which they did today. But the guy is going to be 41-years-old when the season starts next year. That's a little ridiculous. Still, I actually believe he's an upgrade to Cliff Floyd, even at this age. He could still hit this year, so why can't he be a rich man's Julio Franco for another couple years?

The numbers from last year pretty much tell the story:

Alou: 98 games, 345AB, .301, 22HR, 74RBI, 31K
Floyd: 97 games, 332AB, .244, 11HR, 44RBI, 58K

They're both injury prone. They've both had a career year for power recently (Floyd 34HR, 98RBI in 2005) (Alou 39HR, 106RBI in 2004).

Alou has had a better career, and is actually less injury-prone than Floyd. His HR-to-strikeout ratio is consistently towards the top of the majors, something I love to see.

I've always felt that Alou was a little underappreciated. His great year was, unfortunately, the strike-shortened 1994 season. He had 22 HRs and was hitting .339 through 107 games for a Montreal team that looked headed to the World Series. That would have been his career-defining moment.

Here's hoping he hits his age in HRs over 162 games.