HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY:

Anthony R.
July 1, 2004
Nice pick-up. A bad year for him is still better than good years from the Garcia/Spencer platoon, so he can only help us. Already 6 rbi in a week, AND we got rid of a liability in the bullpen. 2 smackers vs. the Yankees in a loss shows us he can still play.

Andy from Rego Park
July 19, 2004
Considering what we gave up for him (David Weathers and a Jeremy Griffiths... neither one of which seemed ticketed for stardom), this may turn out to be one of the best Mets trades in a very long time... Apparently, Hidalgo needed a change of scenery... and its clear the Mets needed Hidalgo. I don't think its a coincidence that since his arrival, Cliff Floyd has become a feared hitter again. With Ty hitting well, and when Cameron gets well, you've got to like the Mets 1-7... every one of them can hurt you. Plus, putting Spencer and K. Garcia back on the bench where they belong means we've got a much stronger bench.

So maybe Jim Duquette isn't just Steve Philips Lite.

astrosfan
July 19, 2004
Richard was in a brief, very bad slump this May, so the Astros stupidly decided to trade him. The Astros have a history of making bad trades(Joe Morgan, Nolan Ryan, Billy Wagner), and this will go down as one of the worst. Who did we get? Jeremy Griffiths and David Weathers. Give me a break! Good luck to Richard! I will miss him.

murphy
October 18, 2004
Well, we saw the schizophrenic nature of Richard Hidalgo, as was advertised. He showed up, and nobody could get him out. He just slaughtered Yankee pitching. It looked like the trade was the steal of the century.

Then, we saw the horrendous Hidalgo down the stretch of the season. He was an automatic out, seemingly swinging at every first pitch. The numbers were just brutal, hitting .114 for the month of September. Suddenly, the "steal of the century" was no longer certain of getting a contract from the Mets next year.

Keep him? Let him go? I'm leaning towards thinking that signing him is a pretty risky proposition.

Mr. Sparkle
January 14, 2005
Talk about coming in with a bang and out with a whimper. He was awesome when they first got him but I've never seen a streakier hitter. It would have been nice to resign him because an injury may have had something to do with his decline but as much as I loved him when he was hot, he was an automatic out when he was cold. Best of luck to Richard in Texas.

Shari
January 20, 2005
I find it very funny that Carlos Beltran ended up on the same teams - each time wearing the same number. Wilpon hoped he would regain his form of a few years ago when he hit 44 home runs. Typical mindset of the Wilpons prior to this off season, taking on floundering former stars hoping they find themselves with the Mets, which just about never happens.