Thank You and Happy New Year

At this time last year the blog was just a little pup, not sure which direction it would develop. Well 800+ posts this year and I'm very pleased with where this I blog has been, and where it will be going in the future. So I once again wanted to thank you, the readers, for encouraging me and developing the dialogue. I know I don't have all the answers, but what makes it great is the comments and e-mails I get from the loyal readers. We may not always have the same points, but if we did, there is no point for the blog.

So Long Live Shea Stadium wants to thank the readers for a successful 1st year in 2010, and wishes you a Happy New Year, filled with happiness, healthiness and maybe even an exciting Mets club.

52 days until I'll be in sunny Port St. Lucie and out of this mess! Some where in that disaster was my car!

Let's Go Mets!

Mets Acquire Another Middle Infielder

The Mets today traded with the Dodgers and acquired Chin-Lung Hu in exchange for Michael Antonini.

I don't know much about Hu, but my immediate reaction was "good glove, but he can't hit a lick right?" Albeit in a small sample size, his numbers in the majors agree with me .191 batting average.

I guess a part of the vision of the Mets is to acquire as many 2B/middle infielders as possible, and hope one of them steps up?

In other exciting news, it is confirmed that I will be down in Port St. Lucie for Spring Training again this year; the dates are February 21-25. Hopefully it's a little warmer than last year, but at this point after we got 30 inches dumped on us yesterday/today, I'll be happy for 50 degrees!

57 days until I'll be in Port St. Lucie!

Phils Load Up

Roy Halladay
Cliff Lee
Cole Hamels
Roy Oswalt
Joe Blanton (for now)

Not a bad starting rotation. The Phillies realize their time is now to win another title (or two) with their current core group of position players aging/declining (Rollins, Howard, Utley), and they signed Cliff Lee to a 5 year 120 million dollar contract, with an option for the 6th year which should be "easily attainable."

The Phillies aren't resting on their laurels, and even though they've had 130+ sell-outs in a row at CBP, they are going for gold. Good for them. Bad for us and the rest of the national league. "On Paper", the Phillies are easily the best team in the National League, even after losing J Werth as a free agent. They need to be able to stay healthy, which is never a guarantee.

2011 just got even tougher Mets fans, get ready for a long year. But I'm still happy about the long-term direction for this team with Sandy and Co. at the helm.

LET'S GO METS!

Mets Select Two in Rule 5 Draft

The Mets didn't get the opportunity to take Pat Egan as he was taken by the Brewers the pick before the Mets, but the Mets picked up Brad Emaus, 2B/3B from the Blue Jays, someone that J.P. Riccardi drafted when he was in Toronto. Jason Gray of ESPN.com had this to say about Emaus,

Primarily a second baseman but also capable of playing third, the 24-year-old Emaus drew some comparisons to Ty Wigginton earlier in his pro career, though he might have better on-base skills than Wigginton, at the expense of some pop. When he's on, he features a stroke that scouts call "short to and long through." In other words, a short path to the ball, and his bat stays in the hitting zone a long time. He'll likely be given an opportunity to earn at least part of the second base job during spring training.

The Mets also selected Pedro Beato from the Orioles, whom they had drafted back in 2005. Beato is a local product from Xaverian high school.  Beato is 6'6, 240 pounds, features a mid-90s fastball, low-90s sinker and a 12-6 curve. He transitioned to the bullpen last year and had success (2.11 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 43 appearance in AA). He was born in the great month of October 1986; what's not to like?

My Take: For a team that has rarely participated in the Rule 5 draft in recent years/kept the players on the team, this is a significant step in the right direction. The Mets aren't built to win 90 games in 2011, so why not take a chance on two young players who could continue to develop and help the team in 2012 and beyond?

Let's Go Mets!

Baseball Bloggers Alliance

Some of you may have wondered what the Baseball Bloggers Alliance Logo is on the side bar of the web page. Read below and you will find out more information about the group. 

December 10, 2010 has been designated as the first ever Baseball Bloggers Alliance day.  Granted, it's not been so designated by anyone on high, just the BBA itself, but it gives members a chance to talk about the organization and what it is doing.

The BBA started up around September of last year.  The idea was to get some bloggers from across baseball together, have some interaction, give each other some contacts to help enhance their blogging.  Once people started joining, though, the thing continued to grow.  Now, there are roughly 240 blogs claiming membership in the organization.

One of the great things about the BBA is getting the perspective of other fans, knowledgeable ones that follow their team with the same enthusiasm and intensity that we follow the Mets with.  Following most of these guys and girls on Twitter gives you the complete view of most everything.  You'll see both sides of a trade or a signing.  You'll hear rumors and see them lauded or shot down.  Plus, you get a ton of witty comments and conversations.

To go along with the stated purpose of the BBA, to encourage discussion, we've also tapped into the power of groups by doing our annual post-season awards.  When we started that last year, I expected that we'd see a vast difference between our selections (done by a newer, more statistically-oriented generation) and the baseball writers' picks.  Surprisingly, both years the two groups have agreed on most things, including all of the major awards.  It seems like the writers are moving into the 21st century as well.

Are you a blogger interested in joining the BBA?  Drop an e-mail with your pertinent information to founder@baseballbloggersalliance.com.  There are some new membership requirements going into effect in January, so be sure to check out the constitution and make sure you are able to handle those.  Otherwise, the door's always open!

Mets Ink Minor League Pitcher

The big signing of the day today was BOOF BONSER. The former Twins pitcher got inked to a minor league deal. He has a career ERA over 5, but had a lot of swing and misses last year (9.4%) in limited time in his 25 innings pitched for the Red Sox and the Athletics.

My Take: Another no-risk signing. He may be a long man out of the pen, a 5th starter for a month, or he could never leave Port St. Lucie. But we didn't lose anything on signing him.

Mets Will Come Home with Players

Reports are that the Mets will sign two players in the near future: C Ronnie Paulino, and RHP D.J. Carrasco.

Paulino is reportedly signing a 1 year, 1.3 million dollar deal, with the thought that he will be the back-up/right-handed platoon catcher with Thole. Paulino has hit over .330 for his career against lefties. It's not going to transform the Mets from an 82 win team to the playoffs, but he will make the team better. My one big concern though is that we are once again limiting and stunting the growth of a young player, not allowing Thole to see left-handed pitchers. He can not improve vs LHP unless he faces them regularly.

D.J. Carrasco is a RHP who will contribute to the Mets bullpen for the next 2 years. His contract is reportedly 2 years, 2.3 million dollars. He will turn 34 in April, and last year he posted his best K/9 rate (7.5), while also increasing his BB/9 to 3.9; not what you are looking for in a reliever. He features a 90 mph fastball and 87 mph cutter (his best pitch), and increased the use of his curveball to 21% last year (76 mph). He also will throw a slider (80) and the occasional change-up (84 mph). I don't necessarily see the need to make this signing; I'd rather just bring in a bunch of non-roster invites to spring training and have an open audition to fill the bullpen, but again this isn't going to make or break the 2011 or 2012 Mets season.

Lastly, there has been increased chatter about the Mets and Red Sox talking a deal centered around Carlos Beltran. It has been rumored that the Mets would be interested in Dice K and/or Scuturo, but there hasn't been any public confirmation/news from the Red Sox camp that they would have any interest in that sort of deal. Dice K has 2 years, 20 million dollars left on his contract. I would trade Beltran for Dice K right now if that offer is on the table;  both players may benefit from a change in scenery.

Let's Go Mets!

Winter meetings update (Tuesday AM)

The Mets haven't made any moves thus far, as expected.

The major surprise was the mammoth contract Jayson Werth got from the Nationals. As I told someone yesterday, "I would go anywhere they were will to give that many millions of dollars, even if it was South Africa or Japan." I'm glad the Mets were on the sidelines and not the one giving out this startling contract.

S Marcum was traded from the Blue Jays to the Brewers for a top prospect B Lawrie. The Brewers were in desperate need for pitching and Lawrie had his path to the majors blocked. Makes you think if the Mets could've been involved in that deal; probably would've had to give up Pelfrey and a small piece?

Adrian Gonzalez was traded to the Red Sox for 3 top prospects and a player to be named later. The Mets were never a player and didn't have the players of the Red Sox caliber. I wonder if this raises Prince Fielder's trade price tag. Not that I think it will happen, but you have to see if it's fair value or not.

This sweet swing is going to do major damage at Fenway Park

Only about 70 days until spring training!

Mets non-tender Maine, Green, and Carter

Maine wasn't a big surprise, it was written every where for the past 5 months. S Green wasn't good last year, so it's no big loss. I hope the Mets do re-sign C Carter as I think he can be a valuable bench piece/pinch hitter if allowed the opportunity. This was more of a money decision and trying to save $100,000 (his contract would've been $200,000 even if he spent the year in AAA this year). For a team that has given away so many bad contracts, it's interesting they make that move for "pennies", but I will continue to trust the new regime.  I wonder if the new regime is going to try to sign K Escobar to a guaranteed contract for 2 million again...

Other free agent pitchers that are on the Mets radar are two previous "winners"; soft-tossing lefty Jeff Francis who is recovering from shoulder injuries and tall Chris Young who also is struggling recovering from injuries. Neither of whom can throw the ball hard enough to break a pane of glass, but I wouldn't mind bringing in as a low-risk signing with no guaranteed money if possible (but I doubt that's possible).

Also for those Mets fans clamoring for Lastings Milledge to come back to NY, he was non-tendered by the Pirates last night. Don't spend too much time thinking about that reunion though...

Let's Go Mets!