Quintessential Met Decisionmaking

Per the link above, Rafael Furcal has offered to play second for the Mets. My initial reaction is that his agent is trying to drive up his client's price and with most of the big-money teams already set at short, this is a way to do so. That said, if the Mets took the bait and made Furcal a second baseman, that would be fitting for a franchise that spends money like a drunken sailor with little or no thought as to how they're spending it. This is the same franchise that spent millions on Carlos Beltran one winter after signing the best centerfielder on the market. Similarly, they signed Kaz Matsui to a huge deal and would now be throwing more money at their second base problem. And to top it off, they would be wasting their money on Furcal if they put him at second because much of his value is tied up in the fact that he has the best arm of any shortstop in baseball, an arm that would be rendered mostly superfluous at second. (Again, this is like paying Mike Cameron, a guy whose value is tied up in the fact that he plays very good defense in centerfield, in right.) He's a better shortstop than Reyes, but we wouldn't want to move our wonder child, would we?

The only way this works out for the Mets is if signing Furcal prompts the Mets to move Reyes and his sub-par OBP lower in the lineup, but knowing them, they'll have Furcal hitting second after Reyes because speed guys have to be at the top of the lineup.