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Buster Olney of ESPN.com wrote in his fantastic blog today about the Mets injury problems, and a few solutions on how they could counteract the walking ambulance that the Mets clubhouse has been. The Mets obviously don’t have the minor league depth to trade for a Xavier Nady or Jason Bay, so the options are slightly limited.

The first option was the most obvious and quick fix for the Mets, and has been highly discussed in various sports outlets and newspapers, which is Marcus Thames of the Detroit Tigers. Thames is a decent outfielder and hitter, batting .242 with 18 HR’s and 52 RBI’s last season. He could slide in easily to the seventh spot in the lineup, and keep it warm until May when Moises Alou returns. The Mets and the Tigers also match up pretty well in terms of need, in that the Tigers have a plethora of outfielders at their disposal, and the Mets have bullpen depth, which the Tigers are also in desperate need of.

Olney’s second choice, which has briefly (very briefly) crossed my mind was Barry Bonds. Before all of you go off on a much needed and understood Barry Bonds rant, Olney analyzes the statistics behind the move, and it actually makes a lot more sense then you would think. Firstly, Bonds is still an impact hitter if you like to admit it or not. He hit 28 HR’s last season, which would have put him third on the 2007 Mets behind Carlos Beltran and David Wright. He also had an OBP of .480, and only two Mets players came within 100 points of that number, Wright at .416 and Moises Alou, at .392. His slugging percentage was .565 also, which no Met came anywhere near, and his OPS was 1.045, also 100 points then any other player. Point is, the guy can rake, and would provide some stability to the number four spot in the lineup, especially since Carlos Delgado cannot really be counted on anymore. Bonds’ defense as Olney points out, is horrible, but was Alou’s really that much better. And on top of that, Bonds and Alou could platoon when he came back, since Bonds can probably only play 100 games, and you know Alou can only do about that as well.

Olney also states the obvious, which is that the Mets are image-conscious. All they really need to do is put their foot down with Bonds, and keep his antics to a minimum. And hey, another great point that Olney makes is, if he doesn’t agree to these terms, then cut him. It isn’t like he is going to be getting picked up anywhere else, so he is in a position of humility. Most importantly, it isn’t like the Mets have exactly strayed away from the bad apples of the MLB throughout their history (Vince Coleman, Bobby Bonilla, Rickey Henderson). And sometimes clubhouse connections are overrated. So everyone on the Mets hates one player, big deal. It’s really not like it would have been any different if the Mets still had Lastings Milledge on their team. The only difference is, Billy Wagner wouldn’t have to hang a sign on Bonds’ locker that says “Know your place Rook”, because Bonds is the greatest hitter of all time, regardless of the steroid stuff.