Some quick Snapshots of Day 1 in Spring Training

Luis was late onto the field after going into the Clubhouse to hear about his brother's surgery

Is this how the 2nd base race will play out? Murph, Emaus and Luis a distant 3rd?

Chris Young TOWERS over Big Pelf

Little different in stride lengths Dickey vs Pelf.

CY straight over the top, but drop and drive.

My elbow hurts looking at this Izzy. No front side at all. Not good

Patiently waiting...

How'd I do coach?

Your landing foot is closing off your hips and your arm is late.

We like Ike

That's how you use your front side Izzy

Smile Izzy

Knuckle Curve!

Circle Change

OUCH MY ELBOW

Big Pelf

Spring Training Day 1 Recap

Although it was only 3 hours, it was a lot more action than last year; I never felt like I could have enough eyes to see everything I wanted to see. This was a lot different than last year for me, when it was only pitchers and catchers in the AM, and the position players who were in town came in the afternoon. Today, all four of the main fields had some top players and it was difficult to try to grasp everything.

This post will be the general observations, followed up by a pictures post and then finally a couple youtube clips.

1) Terry Collins is very very likable and friendly. He went out of his way to talk/listen to the fans, and probably signed 100+ autographs for people. He was running between all the fields and spent time to talk to every single player it seemed during warm ups and/or during drills. I can see why D Wright was quoted today as saying he's a guy who you would run through a wall for.

2) Fred Wilpon was also present today and was talking to a lot of fans and posing for pictures. I did not see Jeff, and Sandy Alderson was on the fields, but I didn't get to see or talk to him at all.

3) On the field warming up, the players were laughing and having a good time, and they opened up the gates just in time to see Johan and K-Rod hug L Castillo. It is now known that Castillo left part of the practice to hear that his brother survived his surgery, but it is unknown whether Luis will leave camp to be with him. Obviously our prayers go out to Luis and his family. Luis spent some time signing autographs for the fans in between stations. I didn't get to see him take BP, and as expected, the defensive station couldn't tell me much, except that the "starting infield" had Ike and D Wright alone at the corners, Reyes and Hu at SS, and Murphy, Emaus and Castillo at 2nd (no J Turner).

4) I did get very excited about seeing Jason Isrignhausen back in a Mets uniform, and saw him throw live BP alone with Chris Young, Oliver Perez and Mike Pelfrey. RA Dickey, Capuano, and Bonser also threw, but I didn't get to see them enough to make any judgments.  Here is the run-down for the pitchers I did see.

Izzy: Mechanically he didn't look in sync (will show pics later). He still has the nasty knuckle-curve though and also was throwing his change-up often.
Chris Young: Although he's tall, he is a drop and drive pitcher, and throws straight over the top. They didn't have radar guns at the field, but he didn't seem to have much velocity.
Oliver Perez: He is still a mess mechanically, and he started out very wild and not throwing hard. But he finished up strong and looked confident coming off the mound. He faced Bay, Beltran, Duda, so I'm interested to see if they have anything to say about Ollie today.
Big Pelf: Pelfrey looked free and easy and ready to rock and roll. He was consistently within the strike zone, which resulted in him having a lot of balls put in play against him, but don't read into that at all.

5) I watched Beltran take a round of BP, and right-handed he showed no signs of favoring his knee, which was a major plus. I was comparing how much he uses his lower body to Jason Bay's, and Beltran generates a lot more torque than Bay. He wasn't hitting home run after home run like last week, but it was against a BP pitcher and he was routinely hitting the ball off the wall.

I think that's all the major things right now. Feel free to post any comments/questions and I will do my best to answer them.

All in all a successful first day, and a great start to the week!

5 Things I'm Looking For This Week

I have been asked numerous times over the weekend, "what are you most excited to see this week, or is there one particular player you really want to see?" I hadn't had time to think about it due to the "real world" stresses, so my standard answer was, "I'm just really excited to see baseball, hear the crack of the bat, the smell of the grass." But now that it's 5 AM and I've barely slept all night because of the excitement of it, I figured I should expand on that thought.

1) The overall feel of the camp and the 'new regime.' Last year Jerry Manuel's camp was very relaxed and laid back. Early reports is that Terry Collins is very high energy, running between fields and stations. It also has been reported that he's a player's manager. I'm eager to see if his difference is palpable throughout the camp, or if it's just writers and players saying the right things/reporting it on a slow news day.

You won't see this any more

2) The 2nd Base Audition. Much of the off-season has been spent discussing who will play 2nd base. It's been much assumed that the job is between B Emaus, D-Murph, with J Turner and L Castillo being long-shots. Defensively I'm not expecting to be able to see much since most of the play will be a lot slower than game speed, working on fundamentals (at least thats what it was last year). But I am looking forward to seeing Emaus, Murphy and Turner swing the bat and see if I can declare an 'early leader in the clubhouse' in this race.

3) I'm looking forward to seeing Jose Reyes' energy/enthusiasm/love for the game. Last year before full team practices, I saw Reyes joking around, having fun, and showing his immense talents. But then the thyroid condition derailed him, and he didn't seem to be himself for much of last year. The reports this season is that he is 100% healthy, and that has been confirmed to me privately. He worked out all off-season with one of the top strength and conditioning specialists in the business, and he has been quoted as saying Reyes is one of the best athletes he's ever worked with, including Olympians. Reyes has a lot on the line this season with his impending free agency, so I am expecting a nice rebound year from him.

4) I wrote a short Mets season preview for another web site the other day (it will be linked when it's posted on March 11th), and one of the 5 questions was "What are your expectations for Carlos Beltran this year?" So here is my response (a little glimpse into the 40-man roster preview which will begin in March).

I am not expecting the return of the All-Star Carlos Beltran this year, but he still will be an above-average player. He's turning 34 in April, and has combined to play only 145 games, and 602 plate appearance over the past two years. In the previous 3 years, he had averaged 34 home runs, but I'm only projecting 18 home runs. My overall line for Beltran would be: 140 games, 550 at bats, 73 runs, 18 home runs, 73 rbi's, 9 stolen bases, 3 caught stealing, .284/.365/.475. As a reference, the slash stats for the average NL CF for 2010 was: .260/.330/.407. So Beltran is still an above average player, but I don't expect him to perform like the All-Star/borderline Hall Of Famer he was in his prime.

But then after reading Metsblog this week and the praise they gave Beltran in the cage, I am even more eager to see Beltran; how he's moving around, and if he is driving the ball with authority from both sides of the plate. If I see that this week, I will nudge this home run totals up over 20 most likely.

5) I am eager to see if any of the young pitchers impress me, mainly Matt Harvey and J Mejia. I will also be looking forward to getting a feel for the veteran pitchers who were brought in this off-season, C Young, C Capuano, P Beato (rule 5 pick), D.J. Carrasco, my man-crush on Izzy, and if Johan is around the team much or if he's just rehabbing privately.

Obviously keep checking in this week to see pictures, videos etc live from camp, and an end of the day "observation" post to recap at night. I'm going to be experimenting with some new equipment this year, so there may be posts that are blank/not appearing correctly today. I apologize in advance.

Hope everyone is excited as I am today, spring is in the air!!! (It's going to be 84 here in Port St. Lucie today)

LET'S GO METS!

Position Players Report Today, I report tomorrow

I'm definitely getting excited for my 2nd annual trip to Port St. Lucie, and as a reminder, I will be at the formerly known as Tradition Field on Monday morning for the 1st full team practice. Be sure to check in throughout the day and week ahead, for plenty of pictures, videos and my observations.

LET'S GO METS!

Pitchers standing around last year during S.T.

Mets sign Izzy!

Oh I will never forget Generation K. And I will never forget this picture which I have autographed by the three (Izzy, Pulse and P Wilson) which I bought in Cooperstown 10 years ago.


http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/izzy-pulse-and-a-generation-k-revival-1.2688849?p=

I wonder if I see Izzy next week if he would sign that picture again and date it.

LET'S GO METS!

And the Day Has Finally Arrived!

Today, we finally get to talk baseball; the longest off-season in my recent memory is over, and we get to here reports about every pitcher's bullpen sessions, Ollie Perez getting locked out of the facility, etc.

I don't know about you guys, but I can't wait to see and hear the sound of a baseball glove snapping, and the sweet smell of Spring.

As a reminder, I will be in Port St. Lucie, live and in living color, for the team's 1st full workout on February 21st.

Let's Go Mets!

Link: Great read on Jason Bay

Jerry Crasnick has a great article on Jason Bay's off-season, along with some quotes from AL scouts with what exactly went wrong with Bay last year.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hotstove10/columns/story?columnist=crasnick_jerry&id=6076399

My Take: I am expecting a big turn-around year for Jason Bay. What exactly does that mean? Looking back at his scouting report for last year, which you can find here, I expected 32 home runs. I'll expect a slight regression for his body aging (he is 32 years old), and I'm going to predict .270 average and 28 home runs.

Pitchers and Catchers report in 16 days!

Thank goodness we don't need to see this uniform again this year

Let's Go Mets!

RA Dickey Signs 2 year extension

Fan favorite RA Dickey has been re-signed for 2 years approximately 8 million dollars.

My Take: If he can make 30 starts each of the next two years, then this contract will be well worth the money. It's a big unknown, but considering the lack of certainty associated with the Mets starting pitching, it's great to have him locked up at a reasonable rate for 2 years.

Anyone have a Couple Dollars?

As everyone obviously already knows, below was the press release that the Mets sent on Friday. This is in a response that the Wilpon's may be sued for as much as 1 BILLION dollars for their involvement with the Madoff scandal. Obviously if that does come to fruition, the Wilpon's may need to have more than a minority owner. But until that time comes, all we can do is wait and see what happens, versus speculating when we don't know the facts in the case.

I know a lot of people are unhappy with the Wilpon's as owners, but they actually have been more than supportive since owning the team solely since 2002. They are not to blame for the poor baseball choices that were made by Omar and company. Yes, they put Omar in charge, but they also gave more than enough resources for him to succeed (140+ million dollar payroll).

So I view this as a smart move for the Wilpon's, and trying to cover their bases if in fact the lawsuit does take shape to the tune of 1 billion dollars. So do the readers of Long Live Shea Stadium want to start up a fund and offer proposal to be minority owners of the Mets?

In other news, 3 weeks from tomorrow is the first full team workout, and I will be there live blogging from Port St. Lucie. I'm wearing my Mets sweatshirt and hat again, and can't wait for baseball to finally be here once again!

January 28, 2011

Dear Mets Fans:

As Sterling Equities announced in December, we are engaged in discussions to settle a lawsuit brought against us and other Sterling partners and members of our families by the Trustee in the Madoff bankruptcy. We are not permitted to comment on these confidential negotiations while they are ongoing.

However, to address the air of uncertainty created by this lawsuit, and to provide additional assurance that the New York Mets will continue to have the necessary resources to fully compete and win, we are looking at a number of potential options including the addition of one or more strategic partners. To explore this, we have retained Steve Greenberg, a Managing Director at Allen & Company, as our advisor.

Regardless of the outcome of this exploration, Sterling will remain the principal ownership group of the Mets and continue to control and manage the team's operations. The Mets have been a major part of our families for more than 30 years and that is not going to change.

As we have said before, we are totally committed to having the Mets again become a World Series winner. You deserve nothing less.

We wanted to share this information with you concurrent with sharing it with all Mets employees and the media. Thank you for your ongoing support.

Fred Wilpon Chairman & CEO Jeff Wilpon COO

Mets on Verge of signing Chris Young

"If healthy" will be said at least twice in every article written about the tall (6'10") right-hander formerly with the Padres.

In the past 3 years, he's thrown less than 200 innings combined. He turns 32 in May.

The good: He throws 1st pitch strikes 60% of the time, and is still able to get above average swing and misses (8%). He has an above average slider. He's an extreme fly-ball pitcher (28% GB % for his career)

The Bad: After numerous injuries, he now throws between 84-86 mph. He's never thrown 180 innings in a season, and only threw 160+ 3 times (last in 2007). His career ERA at home (Petco) = 3.43. Road = 4.16.

Overall: Another low-risk signing. If you make enough of these, one them are bound to work out and you will think they were genius!

On a brighter note, Pitchers and Catchers Report in less than a month. And of course, snow is falling in the tri-state area once again today...

Mets sign a Lefty!

Welcome to Spring Training, Taylor Tankersley.

Too bad his career WHIP is 1.53 because his walk rate per 9 innings is over 5 for his career.

The Mets signed the 27 year old lefty reliever to a minor league deal after he was designated for assignment by the Marlins. He missed all of the 2009 season rehabbing from an elbow injury, and appeared in 27 games for the Marlins (12 innings) in 2010, had an ERA of 7.50, and a walk rate still over 5 (5.25 to be exact). He did pitch better in AAA earlier in the year (27 games, 26 1/3 innings, 2.7 W/9, and 3.42 ERA).

He is a two-pitch pitcher, with an 87 mph fastball, and a plus slider. However, the best part about Tankersley is his mustache. Sad, but true. Check it out here: http://thumbnails.truveo.com/0020/44/7D/447D7FAFB66E50B363D482_Large.jpg

Another low risk, but this one is probably low reward.

Is it Spring Training yet? I will be at the Mets 1st full spring training practice February 21st.

Let's Go Mets

News and Notes January 5th

Couple noteworthy items to report over the past few days; sorry for the delay.

• Chris "The Animal" Carter signed a minor league deal with the TB Rays today
• My Take: I was a big fan of Chris Carter and hoped he would re-sign with the organization, but no such luck. I know he wasn't going to be a big integral part of the Mets, but he could've been a valuable piece off the bench.
• Byleven and R Alomar were elected to the Hall of Fame
• My Take: Congrats for both of these guys, as they narrowly missed last year. I don't understand why Larkin didn't make the Hall since he is very similar to Alomar. Check out this post if you don't believe me. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/if-alomar-why-not-larkin/
• Mets signed two pitchers coming off injuries. RHP Taylor Buchholz and LHP C Capuano.
• My Take on Buchholz: He has had some success in the bullpen, and he throws a fastball, curveball and change-up. His fastball velocity was 92 mph before surgery, and only 89 mph last year. For $600,000 it's not a huge risk, but coupling that with the release of Igarashi, who was slated to make 1.5 million, this bullpen slot is costing the Mets 2 million dollars. Way too much in my opinion for a team that is a .500 team.
• My Take on Capuano: He has an 87 mph fastball, a below-average slider, and a decent change-up. He has a 4.35 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. His contract is a base of 1.5 million, and incentive-laden that could increase the salary to 4.5 million. Some whispers were quoting his numbers vs Utley and Howard and their poor BAA. That was on a sample size less than 20 at bats = MEANINGLESS. 
• Overall, not terrible signings, but nothing that is going to change anything major in the overall scheme of things. They are both one-year contracts so it's low risk, but I am disappointed to designate Igarashi. He was highly touted last year, and although he was disappointing, there is no reason to eat his contract.

I don't think I missed anything, but if I did, send it in and I will post my opinion.

Let's Go Mets, and hope for no snow this weekend!

Hall of Faming Voting

As you guys know, I am a member of the BBA (Baseball Bloggers Alliance), and we vote for all the major awards. The latest vote was for the Hall of Fame. Below is the press release from the BBA, and for full disclosure, I voted for R Alomar and B Larkin. I was tempted to vote for Bagwell because of the connection to Skip (Dan Gooley), but I will vote for him next year most likely. Who would you vote or?

BBA RECOMMENDS ALOMAR, BLYLEVEN FOR HALL OF FAME

Second baseman Roberto Alomar and starting pitcher Bert Blyleven were named today as the recommended 2011 Hall of Fame class by the Baseball Bloggers Alliance.

Alomar, who is on the ballot for his second year, and Blyleven, looking at his fourteenth time, both finished just shy of the BBA's recommendation in 2010 at just a fraction under the 75% threshold.  As was the case last year, both Alomar and Blyleven received the same amount of votes from the BBA membership in 2010, but this time it was enough to push them into the recommended status.

Both players received 117 votes out of the 154 ballots cast, resulting in a 75.97% approval rate.  Again echoing the vote taken at the end of 2009, shortstop Barry Larkin was the third man in the balloting, missing selection by being named on just 70.78% of the ballots.

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance's vote has no impact on the official vote taken by the Baseball Writers of America and the members of the Hall of Fame.  However, the BBA has been often a predictor of awards granted by the writers, matching their selection in fourteen of the sixteen major awards in the last two postseasons combined.

The final voting results are as follows:

Roberto Alomar, 75.97%

Bert Blyleven, 75.97%

Barry Larkin, 70.78%

Jeff Bagwell, 62.34%

Edgar Martinez, 59.09%

Tim Raines, 54.55%

Mark McGwire, 44.16%

Lee Smith, 38.96%

Alan Trammell, 35.71%

Don Mattingly, 33.12%

Larry Walker, 31.17%

Fred McGriff, 27.27%

Jack Morris, 25.97%

Rafael Palmerio, 20.78%

Dale Murphy, 16.23%

Dave Parker, 12.34%

Harold Baines, 10.39%

Kevin Brown, 9.09%

John Franco, 7.14%

Tino Martinez, 5.19%

John Olerud, 5.19%

Al Leiter, 4.55%

Bret Boone, 3.90%

Juan Gonzalez, 3.90%

Marquis Grissom, 2.60%

Benito Santiago, 1.30%

Bobby Higginson, 0.65%

Charles Johnson, 0.65%

Kirk Rueter, 0.65%

Carlos Baerga, 0.00%

Raul Mondesi, 0.00%

BJ Surhoff, 0.00%

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance was established in the fall of 2009 for the purpose of fostering collaboration and communication among bloggers from across baseball.  The BBA has quickly grown to its current membership of 256 blogs, including some of the most prominent blogs on the internet, spanning all major league teams and various other general aspects of the game.

More information about the BBA can be found at their website, www.baseballbloggersalliance.com, or by contacting the founder and administrator of the organization, Daniel Shoptaw, at founder@baseballbloggersalliance.com.

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!

State of the Mets 11/30

As we approach December, here are a couple news and notes.

1. Pedro Feliciano has declined arbitration, and if (more like when) he signs elsewhere, the Mets well get a sandwich pick.
1. My Take: Awesome. We don't have to spend 4 million dollars on a situational lefty and we get a draft pick.
2. Chris Young (formerly of the Padres and is famous for being tall), is 'close' to signing with the Mets.
1. My Take: This is a low risk/potential high reward signing if it does happen. Paul D. is very familiar with CY, and if he may fill a spot in the rotation until Johan is fully healthy/could be a great sign if he stays healthy all year.
2. Again low risk, so I'm actually ok if we do sign him, depending on the price and assuming it's a one year deal. 

Let's Go Mets!

And the Mets have a new manager

Below is the e-mail announcing the Mets manager.

Dear Mets Fans:

We are pleased to announce we have hired Terry Collins as our new Manager.

Terry's a lifelong baseball man who comes with the entire package - leadership, preparation, emotional commitment, and the drive to win. We believe Terry's knowledge of our players, energy, intelligence, intensity, and direct approach will make an immediate, positive impact both in the clubhouse and on the field.

Terry spent six years as a major-league manager, leading the Anaheim Angels and Houston Astros to winning records and second-place finishes in his five full seasons. He managed the Angels from 1997-1999 and the Astros from 1994-1996, compiling an overall record of 444-434 (.506).

We will introduce Terry to the media this morning during a press conference at 11:00 a.m. at Citi Field. SNY and Mets.com will carry it live.

Terry will work closely with the Baseball Operations department with the goal of delivering a team of which you can be proud in the short and long term.

Thanks for your ongoing support and interest.

Sincerely,

Sandy Alderson

My Take: YAWN. As I've stated a number of times throughout this off-season, I don't buy tickets due to the manager, so choosing between Terry Collins, Bob Melvin, Chip Hale, or Wally Backman would not have made me buy season tickets. My vote was for Wally Backman, but in the end, it doesn't make a big difference, and I have put my faith in Sandy and Co. Their job is a lot more important than Terry Collins job. Let's hope he learned his lesson and won't have his team admittedly quit on him once again.

Let's Go Mets!

Quick Hit...Terry Collins also has previous run-in with Drinking and Driving?

Hat tip for Mets Today for being the first (and only) one to report this thus far. Everyone loves to write and talk about Wally Backman's DWI charge, but no one has mentioned that "the current favorite" Terry Collins also has one on his record.

As Joe Janish points out in the article, if you are going to dig up people's pasts, make sure you dig up all the candidates pasts, not just cherry pick some people's past wrongdoings...

My Take: I still have Wally Backman as my top choice to be the next Mets manager, but in reality, it's not a big deal whoever it is. I'm happy the Mets seem to have a capable front office right now and I put my faith in them. If Sandy makes Bob Melvin or Terry Collins the manager, will I buy more tickets? No...but I don't buy tickets to see a manager. I buy tickets to enjoy the game and the players on the field. And that doesn't change if Wally, or Bobby V. or who is writing out the line-up card.

Weekly Mets Update

Three newsworthy items from the past week.

1. Mets have hired J.P. Ricciardi as a special assistant to Sandy Alderson. Ricciardi had a standing offer to join the staff of Theo Epstein and the Red Sox, but he chose to be reunited with Alderson instead.
1. My Take: I was thrilled with this hiring, but then it's been brought to my attention all the bad contracts he gave out while the GM of Toronto. I still think it's a positive move, and he may be groomed by Alderson as his successor.
2. The Mets managerial search has begun, with at least 6 names being addressed
1. My Take: I still want Wally Backman to be the next manager, but it seems like he is a long-shot, although he is on the short list. Many beat writers think Terry Collins will be the next manager, and that elicits a yawn from me. I'd rather keep him in his current role of minor league development.
3. Charlie Manuels, long-time Mets Clubhouse Manager, has been suspended without pay, and has been connected to a gambling ring, which is under investigation. He has supposedly admitted to betting mainly on football, but also on baseball.
1. My Take: Hopefully this is the whole story, and not just the tip of the iceberg. Jeff Francoeur gave Manuels on $50,000 tip on his way out of town to Texas; hopefully it was just a giant thank you. 

That's all for now, the blog will continue to be operating in off-season/maintenance mode with weekly/bi-weekly updates, or more as necessary.


LET'S GO METS!

Today is a Good Day

Today, for the 1st time in a long time, I proudly wore Mets attire. I wore Mets attire proudly because for the first time in over three months, I am happy that the New York Mets have direction, have leadership, and have something to have faith in.

I got at least 3 high fives or "Let's Go Mets" greetings at the boardwalk and the outlets today; rejoice Met fans, today may very well be the turning point in our franchise's history.

Sandy Alderson, welcome aboard, and thank you for giving us hope and excitement on October 29th, 2010.

LET'S GO METS!

And the Mets have a GM

It was one of the worst kept secrets in baseball, but the Mets have decided that Sandy Alderson will be their next GM, with the official announcement coming as early as Friday (the first off-day of the World Series).

My take: Sandy was the consensus front-runner from the time he said he is interested in the job and the only downside seems to be his age (he's been around the block a time or two), but he instantly commands respect and will bring a fresh perspective to the Mets, and hopefully finally a long-term direction for the team. Once this is official, I'm sure it will lead into a month-long manager search, which as of now is being reported that Wally Backman will not be one of the choices. Alderson will likely bring on "his network" and we may not have ever considered/thought of the manager before; which again, may be a good thing.

It's a happy day in Met-land.

Molina Brothers

Adam Rubin at ESPN New York has a recap of how the Molina brother's will always remember October 19th for series-changing Home Runs.

Another Molina Tops NY

The memories make me nauseous.


The State of the Mets, 2010 Recap will continue, with the bench players to be covered this week, and the pitchers next week.

State of the Mets Outfield, 2010 Recap Part 4 of 7

Yesterday I looked at the infielders, and Wednesday I covered the catchers, today I will tackle the outfield positions.

The hyper links are the spring training scouting reports/more in-depth previews. I had looked at the players as of June 1st, so I will include that data as well as the final stats.

Outfield: 
Overall, the Mets outfield offensive production was 15th (2nd to last) in the NL. 


Left Field:
Overall, the Mets production from Left Field in 2010 was 10th in the National League

J Bay

• June 1st: 52 games, 55-192, 3 HR, 23 RBIs, 7 SB, .286/.374/.438
• Final: 95 games, 348 AB, 48 R, 6 HR, 47 RBI, 10 SB, .259/.347/.402
• My Projections: 650 at bats, 98 runs, 32 HRs, 100 RBIs, 10 SB, .270/.370/.525. 
• June 1st Commentary: The power simply hasn't been there as expected (he never slugged < .522 outside of his injury plagued season), but he has shown surprising speed and above average defense. Is a positive influence in the clubhouse supposedly. 
• 1/3 of the season grade: C+ 
• Final Grade: D/Incomplete. Missing 66 games isn't what we were expecting, but a concussion ended his season prematurely. Hopefully he recovers fully and actually gets extra base hits next year. League average NL LF slugged .434 this year...

Center Field:
Overall, the Mets production from Center Field in 2010 was 6th in the National League

A Pagan

• June 1st: 50 games, 54-179, 4 HRs, 18 BB, 27 Ks, 9 SB, 3 CS, .302/.364/.441
• Final: 151 games, 579 AB, 80 R, 11 HR, 69 RBI, 37 SB, 9 CS, .290/.340/.425
• My Projection: I didn't give predictions as I didn't think he'd play more than 50 games this year
• June 1st Commentary: Needless to say, he has been a very bright spot for the Mets and has made Mets fans jokingly say "Carlos who?" more than a few times this year. He's cut down on his bad base-running decisions and has been one of the top 5 outfielders in the National League so far this year. 
• 1/3 of the season grade: A 
• Final Grade: A. More based on the fact he was expected to be a 4/5th outfielder and he outperformed J Bay and C Beltran. He's an above-average CF and should stay there with Beltran moving to RF. As a reference, the average CF in the NL's stats were: .260/.330/.407.

C Beltran

• My Projected stats: 500 At bats, 100 runs, 20 HR, 90 RBIs, 16 SB, .290/.380/.500
• Final: 64 games, 220 AB, 21 R, 7 HR, 27 RBI, 3 SB, .259/.347/.427
• Grade: D/Incomplete. He played below average CF defensively, and looked old, before starting to get into a groove in September, hitting .321 and 5 home runs in 78 at bats, before shutting it down with knee pain once again. He is in the last year of this contract.

Right Field:
Overall, the Mets production from Right Field in 2010 was 16th (last) in the National League

J Francoeur

• June 1st: 52 games, 43-176, 14 walks, 31 Ks, 5 HRs, 27 RBIs, .244/.305/.392
• Final: 124 games, 401 AB, 29 walks, 76 Ks, 11 HR, 54 RBI, .237/.293/.369
• My Projection: 680 plate appearances,  20 walks, 70 runs, 16 HRs, 80 RBIs, .270/.315/.425.
• June 1st Commentary: He started out hot then regressed to the player he has been over his career (.271/.311/.432). As a reference, major league average for right fielders last year was .272/.346/.447, so he's below average in all three. He is hitting .211/.276/.383 versus righties this year. He has played well defensively, but not enough to be an every day regular. 
• 1/3 of the season grade: D+ 
• Final Grade: D-. Glad we got rid of him, as he simply isn't a major league average offensive right fielder.

C Carter, J Feliciano, N Evans, L Duda will all be covered in the Bench Recap.

Starting 2011 Outfield:
LF: J Bay
CF: A Pagan
RF: C Beltran

Anyone out there want the Mets to try to make a big splash and try to get Werth or Crawford? Knowing they would need to find a trading partner to take Beltran's contract.

State of the Mets, Infield 2010 Recap. Part 3 of 7

Yesterday I looked at the catchers, today I will tackle all of the infield positions.

The hyper links are the spring training scouting reports/more in-depth previews. I had looked at the players as of June 1st, so I will include that data as well as the final stats.

Infield:

Overall, the Mets production from 1st base in 2010 was 11th in the National League.

I Davis

• June 1st: 39 games, 34-132, 9 2B, 5 HR, 15 RBI, 22 BB, 39 Ks, .258/.365/.439 
• Final: 147 games, 523 AB,19 HRs, 71 RBI, 72 BB, 138 Ks, .264/.351/.440
• Was not on the 25-man roster to start the year and I didn't expect him to get this much playing time this quickly, but here were the previews: Ike Davis Era, BP, and K-Law when he got called up.
• June 1st Commentary: He has struggled lately at the plate (.235 in May), but he has been better than advertised defensively (despite 3 errors). As a reference, here is the major league average for 1B last year: .276/.362/.483.
• 1/3 of the season grade: B 
• Final Grade: B. I know a lot of people will want Ike Davis to be graded higher because he's a rookie, but I'm basing it on the fact that he is merely a league average offensive first baseman. This year NL 1st baseman's stats were: .269/.354/.459. So league average approximately in batting average and OBP, and below average slugging. He was better than advertised on defense. 

2nd Base:
Overall, the Mets production from 2nd base in 2010 was worst in the National League.
L Castillo

• June 1st: 43 games, 33-138, 0 HR, 22 BB, 8 Ks, 7 SB, .239/.340/.275
• Final: 86 games, 247 AB, 0 HR, 17 RBIs, 8 SB, .235/.337/.267
• My Projections: 550 AB, 2 HRs, 35 RBIs, 15 SB, .280/.365/.340
• June 1st Commentary: He's struggling to stay healthy and is battling heel pain on both feet. He turns a great double play, but has minimal range on defense. As a reference, MLB 2nd baseman hit: .271/.336/.417
• 1/3 of the season grade: C+ 
• Final Grade: D-. He couldn't stay healthy and didn't want to be apart of the team when he lost playing time. He still has 6 million dollars owed to him next year.

A Cora

• June 1st: 30 games, 17-78, 4 extra base hits, 0 HRs, 1 SB, .218/.303/.282
• Final Stats: 62 games, 169 AB, 0 HR, 20 RBI, 4 SB, .207/.265/.278
• My Projection: 150 at bats (hopefully thats all), 1 HR, 12 RBIs, 3 SB, .245/.320/.330
• June 1st Commentary: He is well on his way to get his 2011 option vested for 2 million dollars. As you can see he provides negative value offensively, and has minimal range defensively. But don't forget he's a consummate professional and good for the clubhouse...
• 1/3 of the season grade: C- 
• Final Grade: D-. At Least he didn't get his option vested and was released.

Ruben Tejada and Luis Hernandez will be covered on the bench players for those concerned.
Shortstop:
Overall, the Mets production from SS in 2010 was 5th in the National League (we are finally above league average at one position!)
.
J Reyes

• June 1st: 48 games, 53-205, 4 3B, 1 HR, 21 RBIs, 12 SB, .259/.301/.361
• Final: 133 games, 563 AB, 83 Runs, 11 HR, 54 RBIs, 30 SB, .282/.321/.428
• My Projection: 700 at bats, 115 runs, 16 HR, 60 RBIs, 45 SB, .288/.360/.450
• June 1st Commentary: He really struggled to find his swing and it didn't help he changed his approach when he was hitting 3rd in the line-up. He is finally showing signs of life as of late (9 game hitting streak to end May, 7 of which was multi-hit games).
• 1/3 of the season grade: B-
• Final Grade: C+. .321 OBP for a "premier lead-off hitter" is terrible. As a reference, league average this year for NL SS was .266/.325/.388.

3rd Base:
Overall, the Mets production from 3B in 2010 was 4th in the National League (behind the Nationals, Reds and Braves)

D Wright 

• June 1st: 51 games, 47-182, 22 extra-base hits, 8 HRs, 34 RBIs, 9 SB, .258/.364/.473
• Final: 157 games, 587 AB, 87 R, 29 HR, 103 RBI, 19 SB (but 11 CS), 161 Ks .283/.354/.503
• My projections: 700 plate appearance, 105 R, 28 HR, 110 RBIs, 25 SB, .315/.400/.520
• June 1st Commentary: He started out the year well, but since May 7th, he's only hit .204 versus fastball. He has 65 strike outs to 32 walks. He is still on pace for around 25 HR and 100 RBIs.
• 1/3 of the season grade: B
• Final Grade: B. Yes his strike out rate is concerning, but his power returned. I'm disappointed in his SB/CS %. Coming into this year it was 79%, but that dropped to 63% this year, and at that rate it isn't worth the risk/reward.

2011 Starting Infield (I can dream):
1B: Prince Fielder (Ike and Niese for Prince, and we sign him to a contract extension)
2B: Orlando Hudson (Free Agent coming off a 1-year 5 million contract with Minn)
SS: Jose Reyes
3B: David Wright

Reality 2011 Starting Infield:
1B: I Davis
2B: R Tejada
SS: J Reyes
3B: D Wright

State of the Mets- Catcher 2010 Recap. Part 2 of 7

Overall, the Mets production from catchers in 2010 was 12th in the National League, with only Josh Thole being above average offensively.

The hyper links are the spring training scouting reports/more in-depth previews. I had looked at the players as of June 1st, so I will include that data as well as the final stats.

Catchers:
H Blanco

• June 1st: 16 games, 14-46, 4 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBIs, .304/.370/.457
• Final: 50 games, 130 AB, 2 HRs, 8 RBI, .215/.271/.300
• My Projection: 40 games, 150 AB, 5 HRs, 20 RBI, .230/.295/.340  
• June 1st Commentary: He already has 6 walks and is playing well in a small sample size. Keep in mind his career OBP is < .300. Defensively he is controlling the running game as expected.
• 1/3 of the season grade: B+
• FINAL GRADE: C-. I can't judge/weigh how good he was mentoring Josh Thole, but based purely on baseball contributions, he doesn't deserve to be on a major league roster.

R Barajas

• June 1st: 41 games, 41-135, 11 HRs, 30 RBIs, 4 BB, 20Ks, .269/.292/.552
• Final: 74 games (+25 with LAD), 249 at bats, 12 HRs, 34 RBIs, 8 BB, 39 Ks, .225/.263/.414
• My projection: 110 games, 360 at bats, 12 HRs, 50 RBIs, 20 BB, 50 Ks, .235/.276/.400 Slug %
• June 1st Commentary: He has pleasantly surprised everyone with his power and his "clutch" hits, but he still is the same player we thought he was: a sub .300 OBP, and a guy who strikes out and doesn't walk. He is a fly ball machine.
• 1/3 of the season grade: B+ 
• Final Grade: C+. He was the exact player I thought he was when the Mets signed him. And his OBP was even lower than expected, .263. That's awful and I'm glad we saved a couple dollars shipping him to the Dodgers. 

J Thole

• Didn't get pre-season projections as I didn't expect him to be called up until September. Well September came early due to injuries and the other catchers ineffectiveness, and he played 73 games. 
• Final Stats: 73 games, 202 at bats, 3 HR, 17 RBI, 24 BB, 25 K, .277/.357/.366
• One thing to note, he only got 30 at bats versus LHP, so the Mets feel he is strictly a platoon catcher at 23 years old?
• He also threw out 11 of 25 prospective base-runners
• Final Grade: B+. Catchers in the national league averaged .253/.326/.388, so he can provide above average OBP from the catcher position, something Rod Barajas knows nothing about.

2011 Starter: Josh Thole, with TBA for the 2nd catcher unless they are convinced he can catch 140 games and hit lefties (then why didn't they give him a chance to develop in 2010)? He isn't going to be an above average catcher, but he can be league average, and for the league minimum, it's better than paying Barajas 3 million or Molina 5 million for simliar/less production.

Who would you like to see as the starting catcher/back-up for 2011? There isn't any one else in the organization, so it would most likely come in the form of a trade.

State of the Mets, October 12th. Part 1 of 7

One word: Disarray.

The Mets are interviewing 5 candidates this week to fill the vacant GM position: Sandy Alderson (most people's 1st choice), Allard Baird (former Royals GM and most recently in the Red Sox organization), Rick Kahn (White Sox assistant, and a University of Michigan alum, so that makes Fred Wilpon happy), John Byrnes (former Arizona GM), and now Logan White (Dodgers assistant GM).

Some people are wondering who my choice is for GM, but it's hard to say. Sandy Alderson has been around the block and is well respected within the baseball circle, and I don't know enough about the four young candidates to glowingly endorse them. So I will leave the discussion of who should be the GM to others, and elaborate more once the decision is made.

Once the GM is hired, then he will have strong input into hiring the manager, but with each passing day I believe it will be Wally Backman. I don't think ownership wants to pay Bobby Valentine the 3 million dollars he would want; Backman provides the fans a true "Met" and also won't cost a lot of money. But again, this is all for naught until a GM is named.

I am going to be breaking down the Mets performance by position, comparing my pre-season predictions, my update at the 1/3 mark (June 1), and who I would like to see starting in 2011.

LET'S GO METS!

Fred Wilpon showing his moves

End Of Season

Real life is getting in the way right now of devoting more time to the blog, but good thing it's the off-season early for the Mets are the 4th year in a row.

Omar and Jerry are obviously gone, which was the worst kept secret in baseball/world. Now all the rumors of who the next GM will be and then after that, who will be the manager.


For those who weren't able to listen to Jeff Wilpon on WFAN on Tuesday morning, it was laugh out loud funny, and well worth a listen. He didn't/couldn't say much, but he did throw Oliver Perez under the bus, which is more than I expected.

And for those who are looking forward to next June's draft, the Mets will have the #11 pick. The significance of that is even if they sign a type A free-agent, their 1st round pick is once again protected. Not that I expect them to sign a Crawford/J Werth or C Lee, but if they did, at least it won't cost as much in terms of losing players; it's more just increasing the payroll past the 150 million mark, which is highly unlikely.

I will begin doing some year in reviews hopefully this weekend/next week, for those who care (that may be no one, but I'll do it anyway).

Hope you are enjoying the MLB playoffs.

Season Is Over. 79-83

It is fitting that Oliver Perez walks in the winning run in the top of the 14th inning, and that's how the season ends, losing 2-1. It really was a microcosm of the Mets season.

I want to thank the readers for a successful 1st season; your witty comments were/are always appreciated.

The plan for the off-season will be to review each player's season similar to what I did back in Spring Training, and look to see how my predictions for each player's stats were.

I won't be able to provide "breaking news" re: the meetings occurring today, but will provide my thoughts on it tonight/tomorrow AM.

Again, thank you for continuing to read, and now that the 2010 Mets season is over, LET'S GO METS IN 2011!

Nobody's Job is Safe; Apply for any/all jobs

And Thole Wins it on a Walk-Off HR!

3 home runs accounted for all the runs in the game, but the Mets hit two of them (Ike and Thole), and they win the 1st game of the series.

Nice crisp game. Wish October baseball meant something for the Mets.

3 Games Remain, Mets Ensured a Losing Record

Not that there is a difference between 80-82 wins in my opinion since it's the same result: No Playoff Baseball. And that's the goal every season, and it hasn't been achieved in the last 4 years.

The Mets had more errors than runs yesterday, and the only reason to even look at the box scores the next three days is to see if D Wright can get to 30 HRs (has 28 and has 100+ RBIs), and if A Pagan can steal 40 bases.

And I'd be amiss if I didn't congratulate Pedro Feliciano for trying to give his left arm to the team, and Jerry gladly accepting, as he appeared in > 90 games, which was a goal I had asked him about in Spring Training. Congrats Pedro. And for those wondering at home, that also included a franchise record 22 game appearances in the month of September. 22. It's just another example of bullpen abuse, which is inexcusable and a fire-able offense in my opinion, especially with expanded rosters in September. "That's all I got to say about that...". 22.

All signs point to a countdown to Monday when there will a much-anticipated (albeit just rumored, nothing official) press conference discussing the future of Mets baseball, including the Manager and General Manager.

If I get low, maybe they won't see me, and I'll be able to manage this team again next year