Parnell has been throwing harder this season compared to last. And yes, he hit 102 the other day (in Houston, actually). I'd be very happy with a homegrown closer, and you're right, there haven't been many lights out closers of late.
F-Mart, well I'm glad you're considering his 2010 performance. P.S. - he just landed on the minor league DL with a bad knee.
You're right on Francoeur - despite my love affair (I seem to be the only one in New York who has one) with him, he ranks below the three others. Well, Bay and Beltran have been pretty terrible at the major league level this season...
I fully support a youth movement - I just think that stadium prices should change if the product on the field is (a) inexpensive and (b) not touted to be playoff worthy. Those are just my... 2 cents.
-StanO
I'm more than happy to have a slick fielding second baseman given the make-up of the rest of the infield.
I'm going based on articles as I can't watch games, but I've read that Parnell is hovering around 100 and has hit 102 (is that really possible, I ask myself) and Jerry Manuel himself said he envisions Parnell as closer of the near future. If K-Rod is not playing next year for one reason or another, I'd so much rather have Parnell as closer than try to sign some no goodnick. Name a single closer who did well for a team they got signed to as a free agent. Billy Wagner might be the one exception...otherwise it's pretty much always a young kid who comes up in the org. Look what happened to the mets closers in the past, or even JJ… never mind, it’s kind of the opposite of “Putz.”
I am fine leaving F-Mart outta the equation, but speaking of Franceour, you can't rank him above any of the 3: Bay, Beltran, and Pagan. I sill can't believe Bay has been out for so long, I thought he used to play hockey! He can't recover from a concussion that he put upon himself? Weird....
Also, I get the point with F-Mart... I wonder if the Mets could even get anyone for him at this point. Put him and Castillo together for some arm(s)!
Another rumor I've been reading/hearing about is that Minaya will be out very soon, perhaps as soon as the season ends. If this is the case, that would be grand, well depending on the replacement of course. But given the fact that he Mets really do have so many young up and comers not just on the horizon but actually in the field of play, and as I said they have $50M coming off the books in one more season, it'd be like a GM’s dream. I only pray they choose someone crafty and intelligent.
-Natron
I appreciate your reservation about Mejia.
Parnell as a closer? That's a ballsy move, but okay.
If Martinez were halfway decent, I'd support your decision. However, from what I have seen, he is a miserable player. Not to mention his 2010 AAA stats. Well, they're not miserable, but they certainly aren't good:
257 ab
39 r
16 2b
0 3b
12 hr
33 rbi
1 sb
17 bb
65 so
.253 avg
.455 slg
I would certainly love Ruben Tejada to be our second baseman because he can field, throw, and looks to be pretty quick. However, he can't hit fo' squat right now and I'm very wary of that. He is 1 for 32 in the month of August. However, he has been walking this month. Anyway, I'm concerned about his ability to hit. If he hit like Rey Ordonez with more stolen bases, I might be okay with that (http://espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?playerId=3399).
So basically, I agree with your picks with reservations about Parnell (at closer. But then again, who is reliable besides Mariano Rivera?), Martinez, and Tejada. I would love Tejada and Parnell to do what you say. However, I'm really low on F-Mart.
Nate, Frenchy has had much "better" at-bats recently (i.e., working the count - he has walked 3 times in his last 16 at-bats to 1 strikeout). I still like him for some reason...
I like the idea of a homegrown, young team on the field. But the Mets better lower ticket prices or ain't nobody showing up! I got the ticket price thought from a caller to Richard Neer - if this is going to be a "bad" team with many young players, then the Mets can't charge current ticket prices and it would probably be difficult for the Wilpons to lower the prices...
-StanO
Here r homegrown mets who, I think, should have starting roles next year. I just read the Mets have $50M coming off the books after 2011 and will not be spenders this year. If that's the case then they should let their you develop all season long! SP: niese, pelfrey, mejia (depending on how his arm strength builds) Closer: Parnell C: Thole 1b: Davis 2b: Tejada 3b: Wright SS: Reyes RF: Martinez CF: Pagan
The remaining position players are Bay, Beltran, Franceour. F-Mart might benefit from playing as a 4th OF to give Bay and Beltran rest in the corners. Franceour could become the best and most expensive defensive replacement ever. The other option is to continue to cultivate F-Mart in the minors but Christ he's been at the same level for two years and can't stay healthy. I say throw him into the fire and see if he sinks or swims, (to mix metaphors). Besides the OF, I think the line up should be entirely homegrown. And even the pitching should be solidified with youth, the other two spots going to Johan and Dickey!
Yeah, now all you have to do is get the "good Murphy" some press. There aren't enough at bats for me to comment on "good" Murphy versus "poor" Murphy. However, I was impressed by his defense at first base - especially when considering it was the second time he was learning a new position at the Major League level. Yes, there were only a "few" opportunities to analyze his first base defense but he exhibited great range. Essentially, he demonstrated great range and too many errors. I can only see his defense at first getting better from here...
Dang, the Mets have so many fringe pitchers. If Maine, Pelfrey, and Ollie were consistently healthy and... consistent, well, maybe the Mets could talk about trading some of these guys:
Nelson Figueroa Pat Misch Hisanori Takahashi Jon Niese Fernando Nieve Bobby Parnell Sean Green Kiko Calero (1.95 era last year in 60 ip; 3.24 career era) Elmer Dessens (3.31 era last year in 32.2 ip)
I started writing this post before pitchers and catchers, and all of a sudden spring training games have begun! While I had hoped to post this before people started hitting the field, I am full of bliss that they are. In any event, to have a little bit of fun, I'm gonna point out 5 glaring holes on the Mets starting roster, at least in the upcoming years, and maybe provide a few suggestions along the way.
1) Catcher - If the roster remains the same, I say the Mets should give the bulk of the job to Josh Thole; ease him into a full time role. I would love to see this guy get 120+ games and 400+ ABs. I realize this is a lot, but what do the Mets have to lose? Their alternate, Omir Santos, is older and does not offer any higher performance - neither offensively nor defensively. By providing a full time opportunity to Thole, the Mets might enable his growth. Then again, I wouldn't want to force him to grow too quickly (this is why I'm not in charge of the team). On the other hand, the Mets might be getting somewhere in their attempt to sign Rod Barajas http://www.metsblog.com/2010/02/17/buzz-mets-making-hard-push-for-rod-barajas/ It would be splendid to provide the pitching staff with a veteran, defensive-minded duo in Henry Blanco and Barajas. I am of the opinion that no catcher out there provides all that much offensively, and that the defensive aspect of the position is the more crucial. Which, of course, makes Joe Mauer absolutely priceless. If the Mets get Barajas, that could afford Thole another year learning his trade; no doubt, it would be great if the Mets sought Barajas in order to nourish Thole for the long run.
UPDATE: Rod Barajas is now the Mets starting catcher, which is excellent because Thole can learn his trade better. At the same time, why didn't the Mets sign Barajas to a 2 year contract, with equivalent terms for each year? Assuming Barajas would accept a part-time role, having him as your back-up catcher for 500k would be so fantastic. On the other hand, perhaps the Mets plan on keeping Henry Blanco as a mentor and back-up for 2011. Whatever the case may be, I'm happy that Thole has the full year at AAA to gain experience, especially with Chris Coste out there. I just hope the Mets have someone solid to be his back-up in 2011
2) 1st Base - I'm trying to be objective when I say this, but I am not so sure the Mets need to spell Murphy at 1B at all. Defensively, I think he has the raw skills to man the position admirably, although I don't expect him to be on par with the likes of John Olerud (don't worry, I'm not even mentioning Keith). In terms of his bat, he has a clear proclivity against righties (he does bat lefty, after all). If the Mets had wanted to address this point, which would probably be smart, they should have considered signing the right handed hitting Troy Glaus. He signed with (achem) the Bravos...to play 1B...for (achhhhhhhhem) $2MM. His 3 yr line vs. Lefties reads something like .267/.385/.538. couple that with Murphy's line against righties of , and you have a very solid platoon .282/.340/.436, and the total cost would be under 3MM. But if we're not going to see a legit right handed threat, why waste precious AB's, during which Murphy can grow as hitter, on Fernando Tatis? I'm not saying Tatis is bad, in fact his numbers look some what better than Murphy's when you put 'em back to back. But they are, at best, marginally better. And Tatis is more than 10 years older than Murphy. Considering we have a promising 1B coming up in the ranks (Ike Davis), it'd be reassuring to see the Mets groom Murphy as a homegrown corner IF, someone who can be a left handed bat off the bench and offer a few positions. At least it would look like the Mets were thinking ahead, instead of investing starting time in a 35 year old bench player.
3) 2nd Base - I mentioned in my previous post that the Mets should have a plan in place to bridge the gap until Wilmer Flores can take his place beside Jose Reyes. I don't know for sure that Flores will be ready in 3-4 years, but let's go with that argument. We have Castillo for this season and next. That would leave 1-2 seasons post-Castillo and pre-Flores. It would be great if the Mets could get someone on the cheap, but I am just not that knowledgeable. Maybe Felipe Lopez would accept a back-loaded contract for 3 years/6MM or 4/8MM. Or else Orlando Hudson could finally come to town?
UPDATE: Lopez signed with the Cardinals for 1 year at something like 2MM, possibly not even as a starter. This actually leads me to something that I will possibly be booted out of the sports blogosphere for, but here I go: Luis Castillo's contract was not that bad. At $6MM a year, he has offers solid avg and obp as well as some steals. His defense has apparently declined over the years, but he is still more than capable of playing at 2b everyday. Furthermore, he has never had any problems off the field and, despite having aching knees, played 142 games last year. I realize his 2008 season was dreadful, but let's look at 2 veteran infielders who recently signed contracts for $6MM annual salaries: Miguel Tejada, who has anything but a flawless record, just signed with the Orioles for $6MM/1yr. A former MVP, he still has more pop than Castillo, but has a much lower OBP, does not steal bases, and has officially switched to 3B (which begs me to ask about his defensive ability). He's also 3 years older than when Castillo signed his contract. Another guy we can look at is Placido Palanco, another veteran who has changed to 3B to play for a new team (so defense is again a question for him). He has a very similar OPS to Castillo, with somewhat more pop (nothing impressive) but much less patience at the plate (only 36 walks in over 600 ab's). He does not have much speed on the base paths, and his numbers have declined steadily over the last 3 years. Also, he's 2 years older than Castillo was when he signed. Which all leads to my point: stop bashing Castillo. In fact, don't bash any Met player. We can be disappointed in them, and we should question the front office's approach - but we really shouldn't attack the players for making more money than you or I will ever see. He may not give you any homers, but at Citi Field who would? Answer: Mark Reynolds
4) OF: Center and Right field have some pretty tough questions in the year or two ahead of us. What happens after Beltran, whose contract expires after the 2011 season? Can we rely on F-Mart coming up as a premiere CF? I'd like to think so, so perhaps we have F-Mart and JayBay inCenter and Left. What about Right? Do we invest in Frenchy? His obp isn't so hot, but if he can become a 20 hr 100 rbi guy with a canon in right, I'm all for continuing to extend his term with the team via arbitration, and maybe eventually through free agency. Plus his clubhouse presence seem to be a real positive. I just wish I knew what (or if) the front office is thinking about these sort of long term issues.
5) SP: After Santana, who do we have? Pelfrey seems to still be a work in progress. I really have no idea what is going on with Jonathan Neise. And all of a sudden this Meija kid is starting to gain some hype. And so for 2010 we are left with Santana et al. I think john Maine is great for the team, and I have no choice but to root for Ollie for the next 2 years. But seriously, the Mets need to figure out what type of pitching staff they want (heavy on the lefties? righties to complement Johan? Power? Finesse? Work horse?) and then figure out how to attain it. Of all the "flaws," this is the most serious because a) it affects the team the most and b) it seems to be in the worst shape.
And now a quick look at my projected line-up for the 2010 Mets. Player names in parentheses are expected to get at least 25% of the starts in a split role:
C Thole (Santos) UPDATE: Barajas 1B Murphy (Tatis) 2B Castillo 3B Wright SS Reyes LF Bay CF Beltran (Pagan) RF Franceour
It makes me feel a bit better now that it's written down. Some of those parentheses could be switched, and I'm a little uneasy about the fact that there will be 3/8 positions that are not manned by full time players...but we'll see if the team can bring it together and make a fine season out of it. If there's anything I can say from my list of flaws and the current starting lineup, its that the Mets have brighter days ahead of them, which I hope makes for a bright future. UPDATE: there's been a lot of talk about Reyes batting 3rd, and I intend on devoting a whole post just on that subject. If he ends up batting that low, it will really be interesting to watch him develop as a hitter. Given the fact that the Mets really just don't have the pitching to go deep into the playoffs (or perhaps even make the post season in the first place), maybe now really is a good time to see what Reyes can do. It might get him to grow up as a ball player; it seems spending all of last season injured may have matured him as a man. God I can't wait for the season to start.
So much to do and so much to say. Natron, where do I begin? I've been giving a whole lot o' thought to the whole "directional" concept. There's a quick aspect and a dirty aspect; or ways of expressing them. Didn't Omar Minaya talk about building the Mets around speed, pitching, and defense? It would seem like a pretty straighforward from there, right? Invest in speedy guys who happen to play defense and find some solid pitchers.
Now onto the dirty part. And maybe a little bitter too. What have the Mets done to address any of those three areas? Nada. Boy does it hurt to answer that way. The Mets acquired JayRayBay, which appeased some fans temporarily. But I gotta hand it to the fans of The Orange and Blue: it's not enough to sign one very good hitter and leave the rest of the team intact from the previous campaign (a 70-win one at that). Yes, there were injuries in abundance but the Mets weren't so hot even before the Bubinjury Plague struck. Natron, you mentioned a "rebuilding" phase of sorts with a unified plan in place. I am wholly in support of that, and I think Mets fans would rally behind that if the front office pushed for that direction. So, as you mentioned during parts of your post, there needs to be some retooling in the farm system and the major league club. Get some glove men, peeps who are fleet of foot, and guys who can throw that pill effectively.
How about a little pitching? I have verbalized an interest in signing Chien-Ming Wang but that opportunity has passed. What's the harm in $2 million guaranteed for someone who has proven that he can handle the pressure of pitching in NYC and who won 19 games two seasons in a row? FYI, Tim Redding earned $2.25 million last season. Wang is coming off two injury-riddled seasons (wait, there were injured pitchers playing for teams other than the Mets last year?), but $2 million in Mets Money isn't too much, is it? What if he comes back and wins 8-10 games with a 4.50 era in the second half of the season? Or two-thirds of the season? Why weren't the Mets in the hunt for this guy? I really don't understand it.
Let's get into the more recent developments or at least the more self-serving ones... I understand that there has to be a balance between the minors and the majors, but this isn't a 50-50 split in terms of funding and personnel. I don't know what the costs come to, but I'm virtually certain that major league players cost significantly more than scouts, coaches, and minor leaguers. Yes, the minor leagues take time and effor to develop, but it shouldn't really come at a direct cost to investing in free agents. I think a team can develop both (see Red Sox and the Yankees at times). Somehow, the Florida Fish can compete or finish around .500 every year with practically no dollars. And now their Tampa Bay Fish Friends are doint something similar.
So how is it that the Mets can't grow a farm and pay to play at the same time? Not that I have legitimate solutions, but it would stand to reason that a team can pay for solid major league talent and develop the minor leagues at the same time. Making informed picks in the draft and then spending the money that it takes to sign that talent seem like viable options for our New York Metsies. Then develop those young players. Voila: your minor league system is strong and you've wisely invested your funds in major league talent. I'm not going to pretend it's that simple, but doesn't it have to work like that conceptually? The Mets are fortunate in being able to raise revenue, I would hope that that's the hard part.
This is what happens when one procrastinates - trains of thought get lost. Regardless... I'm all for a long-term plan being implemented. While I’m not in support of the 2010 team finishing at, or around, .5oo with the current budget, I would support that if it means they will put a strong, playoff-contending team on the field for the foreseeable future. I agree with you and Monsieur Rob Neyer – the Mets are overpaying for past performance.A viable option is to acquire and groom young talent. Given the Mets’ resources, I believe that is a reasonable expectation.
Natron, your feeling that you’re “not really concerned about how the Mets perform this year” is something I can’t currently identify with. The Mets are spending over $100 million in 2010; that type of spending should guarantee playoff contention. Of course, if the Mets make the playoffs, you’ll be considerably more thrilled than I will be.
As always, let’s go Mets, for this season and the seasons to come!
In accord with your post, StanO, I have to agree that the Mets tend to make moves in the short run rather than the long run. I'm not sure what being a GM would be like, but one of the most complicated aspects of the job must be finding a balance between having a successful major league team and supplying the minor league system with an abundance of talent. This conflict, as with most in this materialistic world of ours, stems from an issue of money. If the Mets want to commit, say, 70 million dollars to players this year - and 65 goes to Jason Bay - where does that leave the supporting cast? Rob Neyer's recent article (see link in the previous post "Money, Power...and Prospects") tried to address the fact that the Mets have a very backward approach to building a winning team. Rather than follow logic and build from the ground up, the Mets seem to do the opposite. They go after players who have already reached their peak, and pay them money that surpasses what they've already made. To make a business analogy, the Mets seem to invoke the always insensiblebuy-high, sell-low method. Let's forget about Pedro and Beltran for the moment, because those two were superstars who, I like to think, were sought after for their presence as much as their talent. Without Pedro, we don't get Beltran, without whom we don't Delgado, and so on down the line. Even if it seems like a distant memory, the 2006 Mets - who went to game 7 of the NLCS and, with that last game, could have given Detroit a serious challenge in the Series - were only 3 seasons ago. So, instead of looking at the superstars that the Mets lavished money on, lets look at a favorite punching bag of the Mets blogosphere: Luis Castillo. Now, I'll be the first person to admit that most critics of Castillo are unfair. In fact, let's go on a tangential support of Senor Castillo. Diminished defnese or not, the guy plays at a not-so productive position. He posts extraordinarily high OBP's (.387 last year ranked behind only Utley among NL 2B), scores runs at a decent clip, and even steals bases (20 last year, about what one can expect from him every year hereafter). He also strikes out a minimum rate (more BB than K is always a good thing, and last year he was at 69:58). Where he lacks includes: defensive range, power, health. Before he arrived with the Mets, his stats were about the same as what I just mentioned (albeit more stolen bases). I don't think the Mets necessarily overpaid for him, I honestly don't think $6MM a yearis too much for an all-star ('02, '03, '05) 2B. What was preposterous was the number of years they guaranteed him i.e. 4. Even in a stable economy, committing FOUR years to a 30+ middle infielder is...dumb. A big reason I call this dumb is because, well, who were the Mets gonna have to replace him in 4 years? Castillo is now in his final contract year, and the Mets don't seem to have any 2B prospect even near ready. I'm not all that knowledgeable about the farm system, but the only name I could find was the teenager Wilmer Flores, and I could mention that I've heard his name a number of times. But he's still a teenager! Clearly, the Mets do not have a guy in place to slide in and take over - which, by the way, they've done a somewhat decent job with at 1B and CF (Ike Davis is about a year away, same for Fernando Martinez). Unfortunately, C and 2B are two premiere positions that the Mets have no internal solution for, and rather than use stop-gaps, like Daniel Murphy, until their internal solution (Ike Davis) is ready, they try to set up a new plan altogether - like their muddle at Catcher, or their lack of plan altogether for 2B. For C, at least, this has happened every year since Paul Lo Duca left. The Mets' last highly touted C prospect was another Flores fellow; you may have seen him starting for THE WASHINGTON NATIONALS. They got him for free after the Mets wisely left him unprotected in the Rule 5 Draft: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/floreje02.shtml#trans In parts of 3 seasons, during which he's tallied 574 ABs and 627 PAs (essentially a full season), the 22-24 year old has accumulated a line of 16/99/.260. Not bad.
If I were in charge of the world - the Met world, that is - I would try to find a young 2B, who can play everyday, and who does not require a lot of money for about a 3 year deal (at which point Wilmer Flores would be 22 and, hopefully, major league ready). One guy who fits the bill could be Felipe Lopez. He made $3.5MM last year, but has never gotten a long term contract, and I would imagine we could lock him up for, say, 3 years 10MM. I also like the 3 year commitment because he's already 29. I'm not gonna reel off defensive stats, but he's held his own at SS and then 2B for 9 years now. He showed promising power (23 homers in '05) but regressed to a more normal pop, while his average has seen a steady increase. Overall, his numbers are pretty similar to Castillo's, even his sb's have been impressive (44 in '06, 24 '07), and on a team that encourages the running game like the Mets he could probably approach 20 again. You know what, I might not know enough to say who exactly would be a good fit for the Mets, but in terms of strategy the team needs to become more, well...strategic. They need to have a plan in place, one in which goals are set - for the franchise, at each level of pro ball, and at each position. They then have to put plans in place to reach those goals - recruiting in the Caribbean and South America, signing draft picks, and signing smart free agent contracts that work with the overall plan. Lastly, they need to give themselves breathing room so that, if a comedy of injuries unfolds as it did in '09, the whole season isn't lost. Sure, the Mets had no chance of competing with their starting SS, 1B, CF, Ace SP, and 2 more SPs finding themselves on the DL for significant portions of the season. But, if they had players closer to reaching the big leagues, they could have used last season as an opportunity to give some young players time to get some seasoning. Rushing a 20 year old like F-Mart is not what I mean. What they did with Josh Thole at season's end was, I think, a wiser move. But it was the only position they had an early 20-something, proven minor leaguer. C is one of the most challenging, even if you only want to include the work they must put in with the pitching staff. If Thole is a serious contender for being the Mets C in a year or two, it'd be nice for him to have a working relationship with the likes of Pelfrey, KRod, and Santana (even though the latter was recovering from surgery by the time Thole came up). Unfortunately, the Mets had no one else they could call upon to get some seasoning. In a season lost to injuries, the Mets could find no positive spin. Instead, we watched an infielder learn the outfield on the spot (not even in Spring Training, but in Major League games), and then switch over to 1B. I love Daniel Murphy, just ask StanO. But watching him squirm in LF made me soooo uncomfortable, I can't even imagine how embarrassed or awkward I would feel in front of 30,000 people (the other 12,000 were hidden behind the Outfield scoreboard waiting for Shake Shack)trying not to lose a "lazy fly ball." I can't talk so much from personal experience, but I assure anyone out there that a fly ball off a major league hitter's bat is coming a lot faster at you than it looks to be on TV. Factor in the spin of the ball, the awkward dimensions of the outfield, and tens of thousands of eyes focused on you...well, as I said, I can't imagine how nauseatingly self-conscious I would be. I heart you Murph :)
Anyway, in order to prevent another season like '09 from happening, I appeal to the Mets to get a LONG TERM (like, 6-10 year) plan in place. The feeling that a lot of people have of the Mets (including the two authors of this site, and Matt Cerrone at MetsBlog) is that they do not have an identity. And I think the root of this feeling is that, for the past 10 years or so, the Mets have a new face every year. One year it's the home grown David Wright and Jose Reyes; then it's the wild and crazy Pedro; oh wait, now it's the cool, calm Carlos Beltran; oh, then it's the somewhat controversial Delgado (controversial because of his "stand" against standing for the National anthem, and because he initially chose to sign with FLA over the NYM in the first place); then Santana; then KRod...and now Jay Ray Bay (yes, his middle name is actually Raymond). Each of these guys brings a different look to the Mets, and none of them really mesh well to create a uniform clubhouse. I don't mean on a personal level - they might all have poker night for all I know - but in terms of their style of play and their interaction with the media, they do not really complement each other. Young, old, brash, subdued, emotional, restrained...the Mets are all over the place. While it's absolutely good to have a mix, the mix has to be uniform. It can't consist of colors not mixing evenly together, they need to combine all together to form a whole.
I don't think Rob Neyer is too critical when he says the Mets have exhibited a disturbing pattern, but I don't think he's offering any good advice. I'm not sure who the Mets should turn to (certainly not me), but wherever the franchise turns they need to all turn at the same time in the same direction. From top to bottom, they need to agree on a path this team is headed down and stick to it, even if it means admitting to mediocrity for the next 2-4 seasons. We've already missed the playoffs 3 seasons in a row; from my own experience, I think going into a season expecting to build up towards something down the line is much nicer than to expect to win it all, and then fall short by a single f@$%ing game in the last f@$%ing game of the season. That's why I'm not really concerned about how the Mets perform this year. I'm much more concerned with how they develop their young talent (P and position players), and how they treat their farm system. If Jay Ray Bay can be productive and lead some younger guys in "how to play the game" (I'm thinking of Pagan especially, maybe Murphy too), then maybe he'll get to star next to F-Mart in a year or two, for 2-3 seasons. If anyone out there wants to bring up the fact that the Mets made a pretty substantial overhaul of their coaching staff (and other positions) this off season, please feel free to make valid points. I, for one, am unfamiliar with just how these moves could effect a "long term plan." Here's what I'm talking about: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4898105 Hiring Bob Melvin as a talent evaluator http://www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/2009/11/ny_mets_finalize_coaching_staf.html A run down of the Mets new coaches http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/mets/2009/12/mets-make-krivsky-hiring-offic.html Wayne Krivsky as head of scouting.
Natron, check out this link: http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/1895/signing-bay-continues-disturbing-pattern . It pretty much states that the Mets tend to spend lots o' money on free agents. And, as we know, the Mets also spent the least amount of money of any MLB team in the 2009 draft. The way I read that: the Mets are making ineffective investments in the now (i.e., present) and little investment in the future. Am I forgetting something, or did the Mets finish with 70 wins last season? What improvements have they made in the offseason so far? They signed Bay, which is nice, and they are hoping for increased production and health from everyone else. That sounds a little risky for hopes of improvement.
How appropriate (sad?) is it that my first post is a negative one? I’m not talking about public relations up there, I’m talking about (no, not practice either) Putz and ranting. Putz’s short season was a miserable one. Fine, he got injured like every other member of the team. Oh, and they thought he’d return at some point. Also like every other member of the team…
Anyway, back on February 1st, 2010, stories were published that Putz “never really had a physical with the Mets” (e.g., http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/sports/baseball/02mets.html?scp=1&sq=j.j.%20putz&st=cse). I’ve since discovered that, even though we often hear that a deal or trade will be finalized “pending a physical,” not every trade involves physicals. The Mets already knew that Putz had bone spurs at the time of the trade, why wouldn’t they at least check its progress at that point? The Mets, not Minaya, stated that Putz was examined during spring training and before the World Baseball Classic. If that’s true, what would Putz’s motivation be to claim that he “never really had a physical with the Mets?” Regardless, they were the New York Mess during the 2009 season and one of the players from that team is currently causing a controversy for the Mets while playing for another team.
Look, my posts won’t all be so bitter (hopefully), it’s just that this story got released as we were creating this blog. Hey, new decade, new season, new happiness.
First of all, apologies to my brother for going somewhat behind his back and making this first post without his discretion. But, a lot of posts that find their way onto this site are gonna be done at random hours, and they will all be totally random thoughts. So what better way to start than with some totally random thoughts (inspired by links found through Amazin Avenue)
1. The more I learn about the team back then, the more I wish I watched the Mets' in the '80's
I read out there on the intertubes that the Jason Bay signing could be comparable to the Kevin McReynolds signing. While I've heard of McReynolds and knew his general make-up as a power hitter, I decided to check out his stats
Man, he had some pop. Two things struck me immediately. First, that he actually continued his offensive trends from San Diego over to the Mets. Second, he hit #3 in MVP voting in 1988?! That got me thinking, I wonder what Strawberry was up to that year
Guess he was #2. Who was #1? Kirk Gibson. Now, as I already implied, I was not around to watch baseball in the 80's. Well, I was in existence, but having been born in the Year of the Ox (i.e. 1985) I wasn't doing all that much baseball related activity. In any event, I am envious of those who were able to see a Mets team that featured 2 of the top 3 best hitters in the NL at the time. Let's not forget, the Mets won 100 games and faced Gibson's 94-win Dodgers in the NLCS that year.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/history/season/_/year/1988
The Mets lost in 7. The Dodgers then beat the A's in the Series (in 5).
Still, I think the McReynolds deal was no failure. I'm not here to discuss his fire or drive. I didn't watch him so I can only go based off the numbers. Considering he was #3 in NL MVP voting that year, I'd say he must've been doing sometihng impressive.
2. Let's not throw the towel in yet. Thanks to Fonzie Forever, I see the Mets' starting rotation might have a few viable candidates for the 5th spot.
I had no idea Fernando Nieve was such a highly touted prospect just 3 seasons ago (which is to say, 2006). I seem to recall liking his stuff last season, but given the shape of his surroundings, that means very little, relatively speaking. It will be nice to know that there is also Nelson Figueroa and Jon Niese as supporting characters, should Nieve not work out - or should one or two of the starters experience injuries to a similar degree as last year. I'm reluctant to say this, but, what's the big difference between having your 3-4-5 (in whatever order) as Perez-Maine-Nieve versus, say, Niese-Figueroa-Nieve. I like Maine a lot, always have and always will, all I'm suggesting is after Santana and Pelfrey, it's all rather interchangeable. Having said that, let's all hope for a break-out season from the 28 going on 29 year old Maine :)
3. Some fun with hypotheticals Hypothetically, what if we could run hypothetical experiments? That is the question an admirable blog asks:
I like some of the ideas more than others, but it's certainly a fun exercise. Rather than think of other experiments, I'm gonna propose what results I think we might find, if we could run such a test. Since it's tedious and I don't think all of them are equally interesting, I'm gonna make speculations for the ones I find most fascinating. Brother, and all others, please feel free to respond to my conjectures, or make your own, or speculate about the other experiments listed at AA. I'm going to number my extrapolations according to AA's list of situations:
Experiment #1: If it were just the #4 hitter being roided and un-roided (I may have just coined that phrase. As in "now that Jason Giambi is un-roided, he can barely find a job as a PH for a middle market NL team"), I think we would find his stats would follow his steroid use. This is not to say that steroids alone make you a better hitter, but at the very least the psychological factor would have to work in his favor. (Breaking my own rule of not proposing other situations, I must add that I would like to see how the entire league would fair under such circumstances. In other words, what would the results be if all players were put on and off steroids in conjunction with each other. Relative production should stay the same, but then again who knows??)
Experiment #4: I would think that players we might not expect to have high averages would blow away the competition, while players we think of as elite hitters might not change all that much. For example, Ichiro's batting average would probably not change all that much, relative to certain other types of players. It seems to me that Ichiro can handle any pitch equally - slap it to the left side of the infield, bolt to first, pretend like nothing happened. On the other hand, a guy like Matt Stairs might indeed end up hitting some ridiculously high batting average. Or at least crush 50 homers. What I'm saying is, I don't think all averages would go through the roof. I think some guys have played their whole lives having to recognize different types of pitches. On one end of the spectrum, there's Ichiro, who can adjust his swing to any pitch no matter the movement. The other end of the spectrum is Stairs, who in every game - probably - waits on the fastball. If he got fastballs every time, I wouldn't be surprised if he hit .500 while Ichiro hit .450 (or something).
Experiment #6: I would say yes. For anyone who has played a team sport, or worked with a team on any sort of project really, camaraderie and group chemistry/group dynamic can seriously affect the production of said team. Perhaps the resident psychologist would like to say something on this, but in my opinion - yes, I am writing on a blog - the manager does have an affect on the team. How else could one explain how a team (like last year's Rockies) turn around a dreadful season after a managerial switch. I'm not saying Tracy himself did anything, but the very atmosphere of the clubhouse probably changed, even if only to the extent of players thinking to themselves "Damn, we gotta shape up or someone else is gonna get canned because of our lack of production." As wrapped up as I can get in the statistics, I am reasonably aware of the human factor involved in this beautiful game.
As it turns out, I only found 3 worthy of thinking through. The others are fun, or funny, but didn't really tickle my baseball bone. (NB: This is a reference to the part of my mind that thinks baseball, not the part of me that may or may not resemble a baseball bat.)
I think we should probably have some sort of welcome post, one that sets the goals of our blog or something like what our intentions are. Like a mission statement. But, seeing as how I envision this blog as being a little unconventional, maybe it's fitting that we postpone that until after a regular (read: not-so-regular) post. Or two. Speaking of which...Brother, your turn.
