Article:Alou to have surgery on groin Thursday, out 4-6 weeks

Mets outfielder Moises Alou will have surgery Thursday on his sore right groin and will miss 4-6 weeks. He was injured in the spring training game last Monday vs the Braves. Alou is the second outfield starter to be injured for the Mets this spring. Right fielder Ryan Church was hurt Saturday after colliding with teammate Marlon Anderson on Saturday.

In hindsight, were the Mets unrealistic to count on an oft-injured 41 year old as their starting left fielder? Yes of course they were, but now that this has happened, what are the Mets options? Our guess is they will plug Endy Chavez in to hold down the fort until Alou comes back as it looks like Church will be back in a week or so and should be ready to start the season. We do not like this move from the fact that Endy loses his value when he has to play everyday. His numbers over the last few years have dropped off drastically when he is forced into an everyday role.

If we were Omar, we would look for a more long term solution in left field in the event that Alou is injured on and off all season, which is more then plausible. We suggest he go out and look for a team that is carrying four major league caliber starting outfielders and offer them a trade. Like the Tigers for example. How about Jorge Sosa and/or Scott Schoenweis to the Tigers for Marcus Thames. The Mets get the outfielder they need and the Tigers get the bullpen help they should be seeking. Well that was easy wasn't it? Hopefully Dave Dombrowski and Minaya read TSP and take our advice.

Mets' Alou to miss Opening Day after hernia surgery (ESPN)