With star center fielder Carlos Beltran recently having surgery -- meaning he'll miss at least a month of the regular season -- the Mets were left with a pretty significant hole in their defense. Friday, they made a move to temporarily fill it. The Mets dealt relief pitcher Brian Stokes to the Los Angeles Angels for Gary Matthews Jr. and cash considerations.Reportedly, those cash considerations are quite significant. Mets beat writer Steve Popper tweeted that the team will only be on the hook for $2 million of the $23.5 million left on Matthews' contract.
With the move, the Mets can use Matthews in center while Beltran works himself back into game shape. Newly signed Jason Bay will man left, while Jeff Francoeur is entrenched in right. Once Beltran returns, though, Matthews gives the Mets great flexibility in terms of resting players or for use as a possible pinch-runner, pinch-hitter or late-inning defensive replacement.
Joel Pineiro is fresh off arguably the best season of his career, and 
Los Angeles 
I voted for 
Monday was one of those Hot Stove season days that make you forget all of the other ones when we are sitting around and pondering the significance of 
After seven seasons in New York, World Series MVP 
Once 
INDIANAPOLIS -- There is little doubt that the 
INDIANAPOLIS -- Wednesday afternoon at the annual Winter Meetings, the eight managers who had not yet given an interview session took the podium to field questions for a half-hour from in-house media. Eighteen others had already been there on the previous two days -- we posted about these sessions for both Monday and Tuesday -- and Joe Girardi, Joe Torre, Ron Gardenhire and Charlie Manuel were not present.
