New York Mets 2009-10 Winter report

[sonny10305]

Great Minaya interview last night on Mets Hot Stove.
Kevin Burkhardt held nothing back asking all the right questions and getting some unusually candid and honest answer from Omar. Kevin asked the questions I for one wanted to hear, like are you in charge? What happened with the pitching and catching positions you promised you would get. Omar Minaya said he still has full autonomy, as he proclaimed when he was hired back in 2004.
I liked what Omar had to say, especially when he responded to the pitching. Basically saying everyone says there are questions about our pitching like Perez, Maine and Pelfrey. But what about the questions or ifs about guys like Sheets and Garland? They have ifs too and we decided to stay with our guys (paraphrasing) That made sense to me, I mean why should we take a chance on Garland or Sheets instead of Mike, John or even Ollie? I think that it’s fair to say that if you look at our guys how they pitched in 07 and 08, you couldn’t say there’s a big difference between those guys and what was out there. Omar went on to say “When you look at other teams pitching staffs, some of them have great pitchers, but every team has question marks. We’re going to have question marks coming in from last year. I think it’s fair to say that you would like to reduce the “ifs” if possible. I couldn’t tell you by looking at the free agent market today, a lot of those players had “ifs.” A lot of the free agents this year, some of those had either been released; some of those guys had been traded or were available last year. One thing about pitching, there are a lot of “ifs” when it comes to pitching. There are some teams out there no doubt that have guaranteed guys, and the idea you would love to have five proven guys coming off their best year, we don’t have that right now. But the bottom line is we have to find a way and I do believe that we have been so used to, like last year, on paper being this winning team. We have quality players, we have some quality pitchers, I believe in our pitchers. We stay healthy we are going to be a competitive team and a good team”
Omar also pointed out something we all knew but did not talk about much and that was you have to remember that this year was not the best free agent class.

My second favorite Mets after DWright is Daniel Murphy and I am very high on Ike Davis. So it was great to hear Omar say “I’m excited about Murphy, but all I can tell you is I’m really excited to talk about Ike Davis. I mean you talk about defense and we were talking about that today, he’s is a guy who I know in spring training we are going to be talking about. He’s going to push our buttons; Ike Davis just comes from doing very well in double-A, going to the USA team, going to Arizona Fall League and doing very well. Not only does he have power but he’s an outstanding first baseman, and he’s a young man, he’s excited. For us if we are going to make a big investment in a first baseman, we love Ike Davis.” WE LOVE IKE DAVIS!! I am waiting to hear what Ike has to say about Omar’s remarks, can’t wait to hear what he thought about them.

You may not all agree with me here but I have been saying over the last few days that I have resolved myself to the idea of playing with most of the ’09 team and not making a lot of changes. I wanted a catcher and still do but I am feeling more and more confident, especially after seeing the mini camp, about the current starting lineup. Listening to Omar, and I never thought I would say this, although there may be changes and aguasitions still to come, I have a better feeling about the 2010 Met today than I did a few months ago.

Thanks Kevin for an n outstanding interview. And thanks Omar for making me feel more confidence in our team.

Finally as I expected yesterday The Mets have re-signed Fernando Tatis to one-year deal, worth less the $1.7 million he earned last season. Bye Bye Carlos, hello Daniel and Ike

 

[syam24]

Well, I don't know about 2010, will wait and see, but it is good to know that Ike Davis and Josh Thole are in the wings and no doubt will be in the lineup in 2011, if not before. Hoping that we get the bounce back years from Reyes, D Wright (power #'s), Beltran, and contributions from Bay and Francoeur in the lineup and respectable pitching from everyone after Santana. If we get that we'll be alright.

 

[sonny10305]

Yesterday I went on about what a great job I thought Kevin Burkhardt did with the Omar Minaya interview. Low and behold but who do I see at the Rice basketball game at LIU last night, yup the man himself. Unfortunately he was working and I did not see him close enough to talk to him, I sure wanted to tell him what a great job I thought he did. Oh well maybe I will run into him again at a Cyclones game this summer. Speaking of Cyclones, the park they play in is getting a name change, the old name was Keyspan Park but Keyspan no longer exists so a name change will be coming. I dono why they don’t just call it Cyclones park, but we will see what they come up with.

Not much going on in Mets land today although we did add journeyman pitcher Josh Fogg, In case you never heard of him, Fogg, has been with four teams in his major league career, mostly as a starter, although he pitched in relief for Colorado in 2009, his ERA around 3.50 I think. I am not clear on if he will be on the team when the season starts.

 

[sonny10305]

Last week we got great news from Johan Santana and today more good news.
Kevin Burkhardt says that Jose Reyes sprinted 90 feet five times in a row during a workout on Long Island today. Reyes said "That's how I do it, I'm ready to play baseball."

What I have been hearing is that Jose hasn't experienced any setbacks since undergoing surgery to repair his right hamstring tendon in October and looks to be on track for spring training.
So how many stolen bases can we expect in 2010

 

[sonny10305]

It is being reported over the last day that the Mets have closed their wallets and are through making deals for this year. The Mets organization has been saying that they are confident in what they have and that the core players will be back bigger and better. Well I have been sorta saying the same thing, I have not wanted a whole lot in the way of changes other than a second starter and a catcher along with maybe a corner outfielder. Well we got the outfielder and that was pretty much it. I am disappointed in our not going after a quality starter but over the last week or so I have been encouraged by what I see and hear about guys like Maine, Pelfrey and even Perez who came to mini camp looking great. Of course the biggest news was Johan Santana who looks to be coming back strong. I keep hearing there is still a possibility that the Mets will bring in Wang, but his health is in question and for now there is ill no date for his return. It seems like clubs have been going slowly with offers, and that seems to be fine with Wang and his agents, who have been marketing him mostly as an early-to-midseason option, like Pedro Martinez. Wang is throwing pain free, but is still two to four weeks behind where he would normally be this close to spring training. He should be available to make a major league start sometime in the first two weeks of May. Then of course we have all heard about John Smoltz and Braden Looper, Nah, lets stay with what we have, Johan Santana, John Maine, Mike Pelfrey, Jonathon Niese, Fernando Nieve, and yes, even crazy loopy Oliver Perez. We also have Josh Fogg, Nelson Figueroa and Pat Misch.The docs have given clean bill of health to Kelvim Escobar, so he will be the guy handing the ball to K-Rod.
Then there is he catching situation, I wanted a catcher, Molina in particular, I think he would have been a great asset and a big help with the young guys, letting him get away was a mistake. I was thinking the Mets might go after Yorvit Torrealba maybe for a one year deal, he wants to pay for us, but now if it’s true the money has stopped flowing I guess we will stick with what we got. So let’s hope Thole has a great season with Buffalo and prepares to come back to Flushing sooner than later.

I was interested in seeing how Fernando Martinez looked in the first game of the Caribbean Series last night, he went 0-3 in Escogido’s 2-1 win against Puerto Rico. K-Mart said thought he might get the chance to start in center field for the Mets, when he first heard news that Carlos Beltran would miss the start of the season. But with the signing of Gary Matthews Jr.he is thinking now he does not know where he will be in 2010. But he said “I just can’t give up.and that he also thought the center field job was always going to be Angel Pagan’s to lose
Sorry Fernando but as soon as the Mets signed Matthews I knew they probably really never considered you an option. I would agree with that, I like this kid but he has issues, for one he just can’t stay healthy and secondly he was not all that impressive with his bat. He needs to stay in Triple-A for now with no pressure to produce like he does in the big leagues.

 

[Sausy]

Obviously,if the Mets need something if they do well after the All Star break,they'll be in a bertter position to make necessary moves for the pennant drive.But that's assuming nearly nothing goes wrong...we get back Carlos Beltran for May and everyone else comes back from the walking wounded passing with flying colors.Reyes looks ready and motivated with his recent great workouts,as does Johann Santana.Oh sonny,btw I'd say healthy Jose steals 60-80 bases this year

David Wright has to get right,Jeff Francouer has to build on his impressive play since coming from Atlanta,Jason Bay has to prove durable and productive as well as at least adequate defensively...Daniel Murphy and Fernando Tatis have to hold the fort for Ike Davis(btw a great piece with him on the Mets fan blog site"Hot Foot")

Mike Pelfrey has to recover from his regression of last season.as he has the stuiff and ability and is coming in with a positive frame of mind this season...John Maine has to prove he can return to being at least a solid,dependable arm in the rotation.Ollie Perez,,,who knows with him.If he gets a clue that will be a valuable first step...Fernando Nieve and Jonathan Niese....two great arms that if one or both can step up it would be such a positive development for the starting staff.

Omar Minaya...I don't understand your move for Garry Mattthews,Jr when better contributing outfielders were available AT ALL.This is beyond a Hail Mary pass to use the football analogy....this is the "If there is a God in the universe" ploy!Your club depends on a litany of "if this happens" so if it doesn't happen in 2010....no ifs,ands or buts your butt WILL be out of a job.You'd better hold a lot of people's feet to the fire,Jeff Wilpon....starting with yourself and Omar.

 

[sonny10305]

Reyes looks ready and motivated with his recent great workouts,as does Johann Santana.Oh sonny,btw I'd say healthy Jose steals 60-80 bases this year

Well Sausy I can't guess about his base stealing just yet. But what you are predicting is close to the 78 bags he stole in '08 What we have seen so far is a small sampling, we have not yet seen him run with cleats in the dirt. But man oh man so far so good. If watchin this clip doesn't get your blood pumpin, check your pulse.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s46-SsyKj_M[/ame]

 

[Sausy]

Well Sausy I can't guess about his base stealing just yet. But what you are predicting is close to the 78 bags he stole in '08 What we have seen so far is a small sampling, we have not yet seen him run with cleats in the dirt. But man oh man so far so good. If watchin this clip doesn't get your blood pumpin, check your pulse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s46-SsyKj_M

I'm definitely excited for Jose this year....looks great and can only hope that pain free he can return to being one of the most dynamic players in the game.That would be huge for the Mets attempt to return from all the injuries and garbage back to serious contenders.

 

[sonny10305]

I'm definitely excited for Jose this year....looks great and can only hope that pain free he can return to being one of the most dynamic players in the game.That would be huge for the Mets attempt to return from all the injuries and garbage back to serious contenders.

Yup, Jose is our table setter, there was more of him on Mets Hot Stove last night with Kevin Burckhardt who later said Jose is just so happy and feeling really good about coming back, which is music to my ears.

Ike Davis has been invited to Spring Training. along with Jenrry Mejia.amoung others. I can hardly compose myself.
I wrote about Mejia a few times last year, I was blown away watching him pitch in Brooklyn and was excited to see him and Brad Holt get promoted AA Binghamton. Mejia has been slowly but surly improving his game, he was a bit inconsistent in Brooklyn and again in Arizona but he does have that 94-95 mph fastball, which he can cut or sink with the best of em. My Cyclone buddy tell me Jenrry has been working on improving his changeup, I recall speed being a problem for him. Then of course there is Ike Davis, my man, and the one prospect I have the most interest in. This kid is going to be a star. Look for him shortly after the break or September for sure.

I have written about the fife spot in the rotation and who will get it. The competition is fierce, just yesterday; Nelson Figueroa struck out eight hitters in a 7-1 win. Of course his biggest competition would be Fernando Nieve and Jon Niese for the fifth spot. But even if he does not make it right away he would be an outstanding addition to our bullpen. Nelson can be dominant, who can forget that outstanding four hits in a nine-inning shutout performance at the end of last season. But he is hot and cold, not as bad as Ollie (who is?) but he has great days and then some very bad ones. He finished last year 3-8 with a 4.09 ERA in about70 innings He also went 7-5 with a 2.25 ERA in 112 innings for Triple A Buffalo in 2009.

Yesterday I wrote about Fernando Martinez and his wanting that center field position while Beltran is out. Well yesterday he did a bad job of hiding an obvious frustration by pretty much hinted he would be open to joining another team. Althoiugh he did say he knows he needs to be patient and hopes the Mets will give him another shot soon. He really wanted that Beltran spot, but he needs to stay in AAA. He is not ready to come back, we tried him twice and he fell on his ass. He pays a fairly decent outfield but he is no Pagan or even a Matthews for that matter and I am no fan of Matthews, his bat sucks were as Pagans is productive. Note to F-Mart, chill out, be a team player and polish your skills, your time will come, be patient. You were 176 with one homer and eight RBIs in 29 games with the Mets last season. and I have not forgotten about that popup you failed to run on. YOU ARE NOT READY FOR THE BIGS!
I am trying not to pick on the kid but he needs a reality check.

The Cyclones will rename Keyspan park to a new sponser, MCU.(Muninipal Credit Union) MCU park, well ok, but for me it will always be Cyclones park.

 

[Sausy]

We can certainly return to Mets news soon enough,but I'd like to interupt our usual Mets discussion(need a break from bashing Omar and Jeff anyway)to celebrate our very own sonny 10305's 30th birthday today!

Luv ya Joey and hope it's not just the best year yet,but the best decade yet!

 

[sonny10305]

We can certainly return to Mets news soon enough,but I'd like to interupt our usual Mets discussion(need a break from bashing Omar and Jeff anyway)to celebrate our very own sonny 10305's 30th birthday today!

Luv ya Joey and hope it's not just the best year yet,but the best decade yet!

What a sweetheart you are
I just came home from a game of racketball to find a ton of happy birthdays, which sure felt good.
Had a party Saturday and another tonight with three Cyclones in attendance so of course there will be lots of Mets talk, I will report tomorrow. Isn't 30 the new 20

 

[Sausy]

What a sweetheart you are
I just came home from a game of racketball to find a ton of happy birthdays, which sure felt good.
Had a party Saturday and another tonight with three Cyclones in attendance so of course there will be lots of Mets talk, I will report tomorrow. Isn't 30 the new 20

Sonny,you'll be turning heads when you're way past 50!Sounds like a great time...be safe and have a ton of fun with your Cyclone buds and everyone tonight.Look forward to your good stuff on that tomorrow!

 

[sonny10305]

Thanks for the kind words there Saucy, in fact most people do not take me for more than about 25, I have one of those young faces and of course as an athlete I try to keep in the beat shape I can.

So last night a bunch of us Mets lovers got together and had a serious discussion about the team. Two of the Brooklyn Cyclones were there as well as a surprise guest who called in to one of the Cyclones and offered his birthday wishes.
"Hey Joey, somone wants to say hey" Who was it? Well a certain AAA future Mets first baseman.

One of the topics was Fernando Martinez who is known by one of my friends, I had written about F-Mart a few days ago and suggested that he was not ready for the bigs. One of my friends pointed out that Martinez seems to do very well in the minors but chokes up in the big leagues. That is certainly true witnessed by the fact that he won MVP of the Caribbean Series for the Dominican Republic, who by the way went 5-1to take the title. He seems to be making lot of progress but the discussion in the room suggested that he continue boning up his skills in AAA and that the Mets might use him for trade bait. I argued that if he is doing that well we should consider for 2011 first give him another shot in NY.
Another topic of discussion was Daniel Murphy, no one in the room knew him but his reputation is that he is a force of nature. Very very hard working and determined to be a major player for us. One of Murphy’s biggest fans is former Mets first baseman and SNY analysis Keith Hernandez. Keith has said some very encouraging things about Daniel and has offered his services to help him learn the position. Daniel made 10 errors at first in 2009 and Keith wants to work with him on that. In fact, Keith who lives in Florida has gone to Port St Lucie to meet up with Daniel and start working with him. I am told that one of the things Keith wants to work with Daniel is his footwork and to get him to play more towards second base, more in the hole, he will have to learn to be quicker towards the bag. Keith is one of the greatest defensive first baseman to ever play the game and Daniel has to be thrilled to have him work with him. I know I would.
Next up was the catching situation; everyone agrees that we need more than Coste, Santos, Blanco, and Thole, it is important to have someone like Barajas, there as well. Everyone hopes this closed wallet story will not aply to a catcher. WE NEED THAT..
The most interesting thing that came out of last nights talk was the acceptance by everyone that we can manage without another starter. So much has been said about this but all the guys believe that Pelf, Maine and even Perez will come out strong this year. We already have the news of how well Santana is doing. So ok, I will go along with that. There is still the question of the #5 guy and everyone but one said Nelson Figueroa. Someone said Nelson struck out eight hitters in a 7-1 complete game victory against Mexico. Figueroa of course is competing with Fernando Nieve and Jon Niese, if healthy, for the fifth spot. So do I have to go with my boys? Nope I am the one who did not agree I still want either Nieve or Niese and then Figgie.
One of the guys said he heard that Belton is actually still pretty upset with the Mets and is thinking maybe he should not have played at all last season. I thought he was over that, or at least that’s what we all read but apparently not.

Looks like the height of Citi Field’s center-field wall will be sliced in half, making the ballpark more homer-friendly. Bringing the wall from 16 feet to eight feet. This news should make D Wright smile. They basically need to bring the post down to the normal level, instead of having that big barrier in the front of the Apple, meaning it will be normal height So what it means is the Mets plan to lower the center field However, there will be no changes to the parks dimensions.
Of course the first thing I said was yeah but how many balls were actually hit out there, forget about the eight feet of padding. But go ahead do it, like my dad would say it couldn’t hurt

Mets pitchers and catchers need to be in port St. Lucie on February 13th with physicals on the 14th and on-field workouts on the 15th with games starting February 25th. Position players need to be in on February 17th with their physicals the next day. The first day of full squad workouts is on February 19th.

I can hardly breathe, sooooo excited

 

[syam24]

Glad that baseball is just a few days away. Of course the Olympics will keep my mind busy until the actual exhibition games start. Hoping for some pleasant surprises during the spring, especially on the pitching side of things. F Martinez is still very young, so has time to mature and improve his skills to be major league ready. If he and Ike Davis have good AAA seasons, they will be used to be the foundation for the next generation Mets from 2011 onward. Sonny, Happy belated Birthday!!

 

[sonny10305]

Thanks for the bday wishes Syam

So the Mets made an interesting and unexpected move yesterday. Mike Jacobs was signed to a minor league contract which means fist base is getting really crowed. We now have Danny Murphy, Nick Evans, Fernando Tatis and Chris Carter. Not to mention the biggest elephant in the room Ike Davis.
I am sure Murphy will come into Spring Training the first baseman. Of course he will have to produce and will have to be the Murphy we saw in September and not the one we saw earlier on. I wrote about and I am sure you all have seen Keith Hernandez working with Murphy, Evens and Carter on Tuesday and again yesterday. Watching Keith with those guys was awesome. But I think for now it’s Murphy’s job, Chris Carter really has the least chance of winning a spot here and Evans will be back at in AAA now that Fernando Tatis has re-signed.
Btw, Evans got married over the winter.
So where does that leave Jacobs? I just assumed if Murphy fell on his ass Ike Davis would be brought in. But now Jacobs is in the mix just in case. He could he make the team as a backup with the bench spots along with Cora, Tatis, Blanco and Matthews Jr. That leaves two spots until Beltran returns. Maybe Jacobs has a great shot to make the team as a lefty power bat off the bench. It could come down to a competition between him and Chris Carter for that spot.
So what do we know about this kid Jacobs? Well he doesn’t walk, strikes out a AND from what I remember is lousy defensively. On the positive side he will provide power adding to our depth. But are Tatis/Jacobs better than Tatis/Murphy? Fuck no. By the way in case you forgot Jacobs can also catch. Shhhh the Mets may not want you to remember that.
Lets get back to the elephant in the room, Ike Davis, he is gonna have an outstanding spring. No, seriously, take that to the bank and cash it. All the rest of those guys are just holding that third base bag temporarily and keeping it warm for Davis. I like Daniel Murphy a lot but I love Ike Davis, you guys will remember me salivating over that kid going back about two ears ago. Murphy had better learn a new position cause he will need it soon. The Mets have gotta groom him to play multiple positions. He had his good days and bad in left field, can play third base, first base, and maybe second with some work, although I am looking for Reese Havens to be our future there. I followed Reese, liked him a lot but he needs to get his batting average up and more importantly, stay healthy, too many injuries. Thing is I just don’t want to see Murphy end up wasting away on the bench.

Carlos Delgado told a Puerto Rican newspaper he would consider retiring if he does not get a suitable offer from a major-league team. The Marlins have shown interest in him as a pinch hitter but he wants to play every day.

I heard an interesting thing yesterday; the Mets are considering bringing back Endy Chavez. Supposedly he is doing very well in his rehab from knee surgery last year, and could be back on the field in April or May. What I hear is that Chavez must decide to either sign with a club soon and rehabilitate with the team’s medical staff throughout spring training. I love Endy, absolutely love him, he can run the bases well, he puts the ball in play with very little pop, and he plays and outstanding outfield defense I also think he could handle spacious outfield in Citi Field. There are about 5 teams interested in Endy.

Also yesterday The Mets claimed Jason Pridie off waivers from the Twins, so the outfield is growing as fast as first base. Last year he was with AAA Rochester, he hit somewhere around .260 with about 8-9 home runs and stole a ton of bases He can play all three outfield positions, giving completion to Chris Carter, Nick Evans and Fernando Martinez for that fifth outfielder's job out. But no matter who gets that job it is just until Carlos Beltran gets back. Angel Pagan is still my favorite to win the starting job in center, the fourth outfielder will be. Gary Matthews Jr.

Bff pitchers Mike Pelfrey and John Maine will be guests on Mets Hot Stove tonight. I am looking forward to hearing them talk about how they feel and 2010. I have seen PeIf and he does look great having lost 25 pounds and feels his demons are gone. Maine has said he feels better than he ever has, hopefully has toned down his spring training regiment and won’t overdue it as he did last year. Perhaps he learned as Dwright did that sometimes less is better and too much training and preparation can hurt rather than help.

This will warm your heart watch Keith working with Murphy

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoeNYg3HtAg[/ame]

 

[syam24]

I see the Mets have signed another Takahashi, I guess we'll keep signing one 'til we the right one. Looks like he may be a "junk" ball lefty, might work out, as long as he throws strikes.

 

[sonny10305]

I see the Mets have signed another Takahashi, I guess we'll keep signing one 'til we the right one. Looks like he may be a "junk" ball lefty, might work out, as long as he throws strikes.

Yeah that’s another one for Manual to mispronounce like he did with Ken.
Hisanori will add to the fifth-starter competition but what I want since he is a lefty, and can both start and relieve, is for him to become a second left-handed option out of the bullpen along with Pedro Feliciano. I dono much about him but what I hear is that he’s a soft-tossing lefty whose main out pitch is change-up that fades away from right handed hitters. I doubt he can match the king of the changeup Johan Santana who can just make the ball die with great movement down or away. But I am not expecting him to match Santana’s change but will be interested in seeing how well he throws it. He had a 2.94 ERA in 25 games last year, struck out over 100 batters.

All well and good but WE NEED A CATCHER!
I am a pitcher and to me a catcher is my quarterback I rely on my catcher a great deal during a game.
Tomorrow I am going to write about how important I think a catcher is to the game and why I am so concerned that the Mets are weak in that position.

 

[syam24]

Oh, but they did sign another backup catcher, Riggan, yesterday. That gives them about 38 backup catchers now. Can't say they won't be covered in case of injuries! I say bring back Gary Carter! or Todd Hundley, or Jerry Grote!!

 

[sonny10305]

Oh, but they did sign another backup catcher, Riggan, yesterday. That gives them about 38 backup catchers now. Can't say they won't be covered in case of injuries! I say bring back Gary Carter! or Todd Hundley, or Jerry Grote!!

Syam, the thing is we may have a couple of catchers but none that I get all that excited about. A catcher is a key component to the whole pitching equation, especially with the guys all competing for in the 5 spot
We need a guy who can get the most out those pitchers even have to be able to position them and help figure out how they (him and the pitcher) can get this guy or that guy out.
Guys like Pelfrey and Perez also need help in making sure they don’t tip of the batter as to which pitch is coming they need reminding of that sometimes. Santos for example does not do that. You see the trips to the mound by catchers? They are helping the pitcher who may be in trouble. A good catcher has to be able to put down the right fingers and call the game based on what he knows about his pitcher and the batter. So while I agree we have catchers we don’t have the quality catcher, not even if you were to combine three of em that we need.

Six days till pitchers and catchers

 

[syam24]

I agree wholeheartedly with you Sonny. Was just being facetious. The old baseball axiom of being strong up the middle still works, catcher, shortstop, second base and center field. Catching was not properly addressed over the winter.