New York Mets 2009-10 Winter report

[sonny10305]

Welcome to the NY Mets 2009-10 winter report. I hope to keep all Mets fans up to date with what is going on during the off season. I encourage all of you to share any news you have and post it here.

First order of business today was decisons regarding the coaching staff.
The Mets fired first-base coach Luis Alicea and removed Sandy Alomar Sr. as bench coach. Alomar Sr. will be offered another position in the organization.
Pitching coach Dan Warthen and third-base coach Razor Shines will both be back, although Shines will not be the third-base coach. He will be back in a different role, my guess is replacing Alomar Sr. as bench coach.
That would be a good fit, he has a tremendous relationship with Manual.
Catching instructor Sandy Alomar Jr. will also return in some capacity, but the Mets said his role has yet to be determined. Hitting coach Howard Johnson and bullpen coach Randy Niemann will both return in the same positions.

Pretty much what I expected, I had little doubt that Ho Jo would be back after the terrific job he did on Francouer and Murphy He was also instrumental in the Mets compiling the best batting average (.270) in the National League. I was not so sure about Warthen whom many blamed for regression of Mike Pelfrey and the inability to “fix” Ollie Perez.

The other news today is about Daniel Murphy.
Danny boy expected to go tor the Dominican Republic later this month. But now, it looks like he will get the winter off. Maybe he can join Wright and Francouer at Howard Johnson’s training camp in Florida, Murph lives in Florida.The Mets said the team is reconsidering its plan to send Murphy to winter ball, basically because of his workload in 2009. Murph played in 154 games, he was second on the team with 508 at-bats and also played in the Arizona Fall League after last season.
Of course I am anxious to see what the Mets do with Danny. He showed considerable improvement at the plate in the last two months of the season, thanks in no small part to Ho Jo, finishing with a .266 average. And defensively, he was much better at first base than in left field, where he began the year.
But the Mets might still look to upgrade by bringing in a hitter with more power at first base. Even though Murphy led the Mets with 12 home runs this season.
Winter ball would have provided Murphy more time to prove that his late season improvement was no fluke. But now, the Mets may decide they've seen enough. I consider that a good sign.

Bobby Parnell also decided against going to winter ball saying he was too tired. Way to impress the team and advance your self there Bobby boy, not smart.

 

[syam24]

Heard about the coaching shuffle, glad Shines won't be at 3rd base next year, between him and some of the baserunning blunders, there had to be some communication issues there. Not surprised Murphy is getting the winter off, he showed improvement the second half and unless he's going to switch positions again, don't see any need to go to Az, don't think he needs to show much more with the bat. He should continue to progress as he faces more major league pitching. As for Parnell, don't know what to think, perhaps he's a bit confused in addition to being tired. Hopefully we'll get some nice presents under the Christmas tree this off season......

 

[sonny10305]

. As for Parnell, don't know what to think, perhaps he's a bit confused in addition to being tired. Hopefully we'll get some nice presents under the Christmas tree this off season......

Jerry Manual; was quick to point out that Parnell's decision not to go to winter ball would not affect his chances to be back in 2010.
Really Jerry, you want a pitcher back who could not be bothered to improve his game over the winter?

Most of the press conference yesterday was a lot of bla, bla, bla with the same answer to most of the questions, basically saying we will be looking into this or we will be looking for way to improve that. nothing really substantial, I guess it’s to early for them to talk in depth about it cause they just have no real plan as of yet. Its ok I can be patient. But if things do not improve early in 2010 I expect both Omar and Jerry to be gone.

The only really good thing I heard was that they realize that the farm/minor situation is very bad and in desperate need of restructure. To their credit both guys recognize this and have begun fixing the system with the firing of Tony B. They also admitted that injuries are not an excuse, and that had the farm system been in better shape we could have replaced the injured players, but it isn’t and so we couldn’t. One of the first positions we may see filled soon is that of manager for the Double-A Binghamton Mets which may go to wally Backman, he would take over from Mako Oliveras.

 

[sonny10305]

The Mets will have the seventh overall pick in next season’s draft.

I think the best part of all that is because they finished in the worst 15, the Mets will not lose their top pick if they sign a Type A Free Agent, I'm thinking guys like Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, Orlando Hudson, or Randy Wolf.

Also, both Fernando Tatis and Carlos Delgado project to be Type B Free Agents, what that means is, if the Mets offer both of em arbitration, they could receive an additional draft pick for between the first and second round.
But there is not much chance the Mets would offer Tatis or Delgado arbitration, because they would prolly accept it. Although I cant imagine who would offer a deal to get delgado, no one has seen him play since he went on the DL.

 

[syam24]

I certainly don't see the Mets offering arbitration to either Tatis or Delgado, but Tatis would certainly be worth an invite to spring training should he not get any great offers anywhere else. His plus side is that he can play a few positions, and still has some pop in the bat. Unfortunately, he has lots of DPs in there also. Hopefully, the Mets will make a wise choice with the early draft pick next year. Holliday or Bay would certainly look good in a Mets uni next year, but I'm not all that hopeful at this point, lets see what the hot stove can bring us.....

 

[Sausy]

I'd love the Mets to bring back Wally Backman to manage their AA club.He should get back in the game and it's a shame things he has regretted and more than paid back for kept him out of jobs in baseball for so long.He has a reputation as someone who really knows how to get the best from his players and has great passion and insight.

Hopefully that's right about the Mets not oweing first round compensation if they sign a type A free agent because of their record.Really the guy I want is Matt Holiday,who's proven in St. Louis he is not just a Coors hitter and just is such a weapon offensively,and a good fielder too.I just don't things Abs and St. Louis are ready to let him go.I hope however they address their needs the Mets organization stick to what Jeff Wilpon promised in being aggressive and looking through all avenues,be it free agents,trades and farm system development to get the Mets back to where they should be.Serious year in,year out contenders.

It's going to be a really interesting winter for the Mets and their fans....glad we have this forum sonny to give our perspectives on all the happenings!It's gonna be a lot of fun!

 

[syam24]

I see the Mets got the two players to be named from the Red Sox from the Wagner trade, Chris Carter, who the Yanks blocked during Sept, and a 20 yr old 1st baseman named Eddie Lora. Carter, 26, outfielder had some pretty good numbers at AAA, so he's certainly a possibility for a fourth OF/bench role. Lora, at 20, is a work in progress, I would presume, but helps put some bodies in the minor league system, anyway.

 

[sonny10305]

I see the Mets got the two players to be named from the Red Sox from the Wagner trade, Chris Carter, who the Yanks blocked during Sept, and a 20 yr old 1st baseman named Eddie Lora. Carter, 26, outfielder had some pretty good numbers at AAA, so he's certainly a possibility for a fourth OF/bench role. Lora, at 20, is a work in progress, I would presume, but helps put some bodies in the minor league system, anyway.

I'd love the Mets to bring back Wally Backman to manage their AA club.He should get back in the game and it's a shame things he has regretted and more than paid back for kept him out of jobs in baseball for so long.He has a reputation as someone who really knows how to get the best from his players and has great passion and insight.

Yes guys fixing the minor league system is very important

we need to recognize the importance of the farm system and how it contributed to our problems this year. We simply did not have the resources we needed to replace all the injured players. Firing Tony B was a big first step and hiring Wally Backman, who is superb with young players, could put a spark into what goes on in Binghamton. He deserves a shot to work himself back through the organization. Hiring Wally would be a definite step in the right direction

I kept track on what happened under Tony Bernazard, and it was worse than I thought. Triple-A Buffalo finished 56-87, Double-A Binghamton 54-87, Class A Advanced St. Lucie 66-68 and Class A Savannah 65-72. The short-season clubs, my Cyclones were 45-30 and the Gulf Coast Mets, were 22-34.

There is hope in the minors, like my boy Ike Davis who batted .309, with 20 homers and 71 RBIs. Of course as I mentioned in another thread Davis comes from baseball, his dad, Ron, was a big-leaguer for 11 years, including I think it was 4 years with the Yankees.

I keep up with the minor league team a lot, always have, other players who had decent seasons at St. Lucie were, Brahiam Madonado, Carlos Guzman, and Zach Lutz, Theses are some of the guys I expect to develpe well make it if Wally Backman takes over, they will form part of the core of the 2010 Double-A Binghamton club.

Pitching wise we have Jerry Mejia, who was 0-5, and Jeurys Familia who was 10-6We have someone to watch as a saver as well, Rhiner Cruz had 22 saves.

Here are the guys to watch for 2010
Ike Davis: Buffalo.
Jennry Mejia: Binghamton.
Josh Thole, probably be sent back to Buffalo. Could be back with the Mets mid season
Zach Lutz: Binghamton.
Jeurys Familia: St.Lucie.

Oh, and Fernando Martinez, if he can stay healthy, poor kid is always hurt. He did not exactly wow us in the majors but I still wanna see him develop.
what ever happened to him anyways.

 

[Sausy]

Ike Davis intrigues me....he may be another year or two away.With him and Dan Murphy,not to forget even Nick Evans I think though the Mets need to add a quality offensive player,the need isn't at first base.


Jerry Mejia hasn't put it all together yet,but is rapidly improving and has tremendous tools.Hopefully also a good work ethic,a real desire to get better.Adding Wally Backman as AA manager would be wonderful in that regard...like we said if anyone could get the best out of a player,Wally definitely is highly qualified.

Not as familiar with Zack Lutz or the other names you mentioned for Binghamton next season....don't forget Brad Holt.Definitely showed he was potentially a very promising arm.

I love Josh Thole...he's already a quality contact,high average hitter and is showing considerable improvement at the plate.He'll be up again during 2010,though I definitely agree he should get regular playing time at AAA.I saw your pics of him in the regular season thread sonny,of courseand it certainly doesn't hurt he's a hottie!

Fernando Martinez was part of the wave of injuries and was lost for the season,believe it was a leg injury.Showed more in the field than at bat.I'd keep him in AAA at least until August...by rebounding from his disappointing offense in 2010,he may be very useful in trade scenarios that would help deepen the Mets at either the major or minor league level.


At least the Mets realize that regrowing their farm system is essential in helping the Mets depth in the future.A thin farm system contributes to limit their flexibility going forward on filling essential and reserve needs....the quicker that is remedied,the better for the organization.

 

[sonny10305]

Yeah Saucy I hear you about Holt, I got a text from my Cyclone buddy who wrote “what about Holt?”
I had sent him the post I did yesterday and he thought I had left Brad out,they are great friends, and it’s how I met Holt. Truth is I did include him but when I edited the post cause I thought it was too long I mistakenly cut Holt. Like Davis, Holt is at least a year away.
As for Mejia, he has a 94-95 mph fastball, and he can cut or sink it depending on the situation. What I don’t like is that he is inconsistent and sometimes struggles to locate it at times. His changeup is not all that great, too much speed. Which by the way is not unusual for the younger guys.

I love Thole too, I was very impressed by the two shutouts he caught, but he needs polish. I think the Mets will for sure be looking for a catcher cause Schneider is done. I have often heard Molina’s name, who Omar believes would provide the Mets some much needed offense in the middle of their lineup, and he could come cheep. Santos will remain #2

I have only a couple of things I want to see happen for 2010. I am not on that everything has to change band wagon. I still believe in the core players and want only a few things to happen.
We need a #2 starter, I mean we NEED pitching or maybe even two. I like the way Maine has come back, and I have optimism for Pelf, he has the stuff but his head is not screwed on straight. I dono what to think about Ollie, maybe that knee issue was his problem and he will be good to go, but I have doubts about that big time.
Second would be a catcher I wrote about that above.
After that perhaps a power left fielder, but we have to keep Pagan as well.
First base, Murphy is no shoo in for 2010, I can’t comment on Delgado, we have no idea how or if he has recovered. My gut thought is thanks for all the great baseball Carlos but maybe it’s time to go.


That’s it! And of course #1 in importance a return in good health for Reyes, Beltran and Santana

One last thing, I want Omar and Manual on a short leash and if we don’t see big improvements next year I want both of them gone.

 

[sonny10305]

I had heard about the possibility that Dodgers docs misdiagnosed Reyes when he came up hurt.
Now there is rift between the Mets and Dodgers over Jose Reyes and his torn hamstring tendon.

During his bla bla bla press conference, Jeff Wilpon said that the Dodgers team doctors incorrectly diagnosed his leg injury, calling it a calf injury when, in fact, the Dodgers say their team doctor, correctly diagnosed Reyes as having a partially torn hamstring accessory tendon. Both the Dodgers doc and the Mets were in agreement that Reyes could attempt to play with the injury in hopes that the tear did not worsen.

So why till now did the Mets continue to claim it was nothing more than a calf strain ? Is this what wilpon meant when he said he would fix as part of the team’s ‘better communication’ of team injuries in 2010?

Then there was Adam Rubin who said “Almost all players have said that they were pushed to play though injuries that would have landed them on the DL had they been with other organizations.”

So here is the question, why would the Mets attempt to mask the problem and have Reyes run on it, not allowing it time to heal, let alone not operate at that point to get him back sooner and not further jeopardize his season and potentially his career. We have heard surgery is gonna happen but that was over a week ago and it aint happened yet.

 

[sonny10305]

The Mets prospects on the Surprise Rafters begin their Arizona Fall League season yesterday.
Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya went to Arizona specifically to watch Jenrry Mejia make his AFL debut for the Surprise Rafters. Pretty much the entire Mets front office was watching as the AFL got under way yesterday. I told you guys about Mejia and it looks like the Mets are going to give him a good look at. He is the Mets best pitching prospect, I will be interested in seeing something I wrote about before and that is can he throw that great curveball for strikes.
Other pitchers in Arizona are Scott Moviel, Eric Niesen and Josh Stinson
First baseman Ike Davis is there, Davis is in my opinion the best hitting prospect in the upper minors.
He hit 20 HR this year.
Also on hand are Second baseman Reese Havens, Short Stop Ruben Tejada
and Left Fielder Lucas Duda

Man I wish I could be there.

 

[syam24]

Saw the article in today's NY Daily News on Mejia, hopefully he pans out. 20 yrs old might be a bit young to get to the majors, but if his control is good, and with his fastball, he might be of some help. Let's just not rush him for publicity's sake. If he's good, fine, Doc Gooden was great at 20, so there is precedent. Let him grow at his own pace. Let's hope all these prospects gain some important experience and development in AZ.

 

[sonny10305]

I hear ya syam but I am not all concerned about Mejia’s age, he has great stuff but but you are so right, they should not rush him along either. You need only look at how his first game went yesterday which did not go well for him, he allowed three runs on one hit, while walking three and striking out one in just one inning. He lad no command and in fact he was having trouble throwing strikes at all. Not up to his best game for sure,
I have seen him pitch his fastball at 95-98MPH and his changeups all between 86 and 89 mph, Very good velocity differential. I gotta imagine having all that Mets brass in the stands watching had to be nerve racking for the kid. Omar Minaya, assistant GM John Ricco, top deputies Sandy Johnson and Bryan Lambe, Adam Fisher were all there..

Ike Davis waa a whole different story, he homered, including a grand slam, doubled twice and drove in six runs to lead Surprise to a 17-4 win as the Arizona Fall League.Lucas Duda also had a good day with a double,
a walk and two RBI, and Ruben Tejada was 2-5 with a double, a stolen base, and a pair of strikeouts.
NICE!

Looks like Jose Reyes will finally have his surgery today, the doctors will eliminate scar tissue behind his right knee. It is believed that the tear to the hamstring muscle will heal with rest, and Reyes is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for Spring Training.

 

[syam24]

Will just have to let Mejia do his work and see how he developes, that's what the Az League is all about. Great news on Ike Davis, appears he's definitely getting closer to MLB ready. Hopefully his AZ season goes really well. The Mets could certainly use his bat as soon as he is ready, be it April, June, Sept 2010 or 2011.

 

[sonny10305]

In spite of Jenrry Mejia’s less than spectacular outing yesterday, Jerry Manual wants him in the 2010 Mets bullpen. I was thrilled to hear that cause I know he can pitch far better than he did yesterday which was in no way a barometer of whet that kid is capable of.

The Mets are close to naming Tim Teufel as manager of their Double-A team, with Wally. Backman replacing Teufel as Single-A St. Lucie’s manager.
There is also a possibility of Mookie Wilson and John Stearns returning to the minor-league system as well.

Jose Reyes underwent successful surgery yesterday to clean up scar tissue remaining from his torn accessory hamstring tendon behind the right knee. He is expected to resume baseball activities soon after the New Year, and is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for Spring Training.”

 

[sonny10305]

So do we want JJ Putz back? He has said he is open to returning to the Mets, "I liked being there.”
The Mets will have 10 days following the World Series to decide whether to bring Putz back in 2010 with the $8.6 million option in his contract, or buy out the contract for $1 million.
His manager is saying that JJ is stronger than ever and come spring training he’ll be in great shape for next season
Problem with that is how do we know, no one has seen him pitch since July.
Another thing that bothers me, and that is Putz has said over and over he wants to be a closer, has that changed, will he be satisfied passing the ball to to K-Rod?

 

[Sausy]

I'd give Ike Davis another full year to develop but he looks like from his progress this year and your updates sonny he could be a classic high average,excellent power first baseman....I'd leave Daniel Murphy there in 2010 and I know he's working all winter on becoming more consistent at first defensively and at the plate.Having multiple options in the near future can only help the Mets,even if they give Daniel up in a trade...the better the value the better the return.

Jennry Mejia seems like a young pitcher who will work hard at his craft and won't be content to be a thrower.Nerves of course would affect anyone so his rough performance with the brass around certainly isn't something to be worried about.He has so much ability that if he shows that effort to bring everything together and work on several pitches like that hard slider and add some off speed stuff to heighten his heavy sinking fastball...the sky is the limit for him.Very encouraging for the Mets future.Amazing he could be so good to be on target to making an impact at the major league level this upcoming season.

And with Brad Holt not far away either,and with a really judicious pick with the sixth spot in the June MLB draft,while the Mets do have to build much more depth in their organization,enough help may be on the way the Mets can still be heavily competitive in the NL East.


Do you think Josh Thole will be solid enough defensively to be a starting catcher on a good major league team?He obviously can hit,and hopefully will develop some power...that would really be a bonus to have in an NL lineup especially,a solid hitting catcher.


Nice to hear old time Met favorites Tim Teufel(at AA)and Wally Backman(A)will be managing in the Mets system next season.Great to keep a link to the best of the past while looking ahead to building a great future.

 

[sonny10305]

Great post saucy, the more I think about it the more I want to see Murphy come back in 2010 as our regular first baseman, if we are going to acquire a power bat let it be in left field. Plus I do not want to block Ike Davis by signing a first baseman to a multi-year deal. Pair him eventually with Daniel Murphy in 2010.
You and I both called it early in 2009 that Daniel would be a power hitter in time. Well he has already begun to prove us right. What I noticed is that he has conquered the ability to hit the inside pitch, earlier he was always trying to hit everything the other way, even the inside fastball. But now he pulls the ball into the upper decks. Ya know, D Wright needs to do that as well. Wright learn from Murph? yup...could be.
My only concern is that now Murphy's stock has gone up giving him more trade value. Trading him would be a big big mistake, I dono if Omar would be that stupid.
Omar needs to hold off on signing a free agent first baseman. For me it is all about building from within, and the Mets have not one, but two promising young players in Dan Murphy and Ike Davis who have the potential to man the position for years to come.The Mets need to let Murphy start the season at first, give Ike some time in Triple-A, then re-evaluate things. I have watched Davis progress since first seeing him in Brooklyn I believe I said back then that Ike was the Mets best offensive prospect since David Wright.

Saucy, you and I are on the same page about Mejia, I will be watching him closely and reporting about his progress in coming weeks. That last outing was not the Mejia I know and he will overcome that outing in spades. I firmly believe that the Mets brass minds were not changed by what happened last week.
As for Thole, I have given it a lot of thought and spoken about him with someone who actually knows Josh. The kid started out on fire and then cooled off but then got fired up at the end of the season. He can hit with power it’s only a matter of time, like with Murphy, he does just that. I was extremely impressed with the way he calls games. Remember, he called both of the Mets Shut out games at the end of the season. The things I wrote about him that bothered improved in September he is for sure working very hard on his craft. He is an awesome talent, I just don’t know if maybe a few months in Buffalo would be necessary or not. With Schneider out I can’t see either Thole as our #1 catcher yet and Santos can’t handle that job either. It will be interesting to see what Omar does.

 

[sonny10305]

I am sorry to tell you guys that Jenrry Mejia’s second AFL start was another bad one. Three runs on five hits and three walks in two innings. The five hits included a double and triple. I feel so bad for this kid dono wtf is up with him all of a sudden.
Eric Niesen did not do much better with three runs on three hits and a walk in 1.2 IP.

Ike Davis continued to get the job done with a pair of doubles. Davis is hitting .348/.364/.682 in 22 AB with four doubles and his grand slam.