Daily Archives: November 14, 2007
According to the Associated Press, D’Backs Manager Bob Melvin has been named the National League’s Manager of the Year, while Indians manager Eric Wedge was named the American League’s Manager of the Year.
At his blog for ESPN.com, Buster Olney provides a listing of ’10 free agents with good value.’
Topping out Olney’s list is free agent 1B Tony Clark, who, as Olney notes, had the third best home-run per plate-appearance ratio (14.4) after Alex Rodriguez (13.1) and Ramon Castro (14.3) last season.
According to Olney, Clark would be a good fit as bench player for the Mets, due to his high slugging percentage as a pinch hitter last season.
…i’m a huge proponent of having quality bench, especially in the National League, where players are used a lot more often…that being said, i just don’t see clark as a fit for the Mets…
…clark didn’t fair well here in his first go-around in 2003…and, although in recent years he has been a successful slugging left-handed bat off the bench, i’d much rather have players like Marlon Anderson and Endy Chavez than an older, declining slugger like clark…to me, a more intriguing choice for the Mets bench from olney’s list would be 1B/3B Mike Lamb…
SS David Eckstein, RHP Matt Clement, LHP Jeremey Affeldt, LHP David Wells and RHP Kris Benson also make Olney’s list.
…added to by Matthew Cerrone…
…one thing i always forget is that there are not an infinite number of roster spots…i tend to rattle off names, thinking, ‘oooh, i like that player, let’s get that guy,’ and i forget that to do so, the team will most likely need to make a roster move…so, as much as i am intrigued by a guy like clark, i often forget that there may be no room for him…
Tagged Mike Nichols |
According to Mark Feinsand and Bill Madden of the Daily News, citing ‘a source with knowledge of the situation,’ the
Yankees have re-opened negotiations with free-agent Alex Rodriguez, but the team does not want his agent, Scott Boras, involved.
Rodriguez, who has been represented by Boras since he was 16 years old, reportedly approached the Yankees through a third-party intermediary.
According to the source, Rodriguez would be expected to take a 10-year deal worth an estimated $275 million.
The source, as quoted by the Daily News…
“Alex is going to be back with the Yankees. The Yankees don’t have a choice. How are they going to compete without him? They need him back.”
…tune in tomorrow for another episode of As the World Turns…i can’t help but be skeptical about this news, but at the same time, a deal between a-rod and the Yankees makes the most sense for both sides…hard to dispute that…stay tuned…
In the last few days, I have been sent several e-mails that read like the following…
“Why do certain posts get banned, and not others?”
…it’s weird, as i am seemingly forced to re-visit this topic once every six weeks or so…actually, i’m starting to set my clock to it…
…for what it’s worth, an average of 40,000 words are written within this site’s comments section every single day…forty…thousand…that being said, my job is to write to the main page of MetsBlog.com, and i work hard to keep unique and well-informed content flowing to the site’s main page, which requires a ton of writing and research - so, unfortunately, i am unable to read every comment that is made by my readers…instead, i typically read only the first few comments in every post, since this is when people will correct any factual or grammatical errors i had made…otherwise, while i may occasionally peruse the comment’s section during some rare down time, and believe me, i wish i could read more, for the most part, i am just not aware of what is being written…
…however, from past experience, and based on e-mail from other readers, i do know that the discourse can often get ugly, offensive, racially-charged and way off-topic…as i have said before, my goal for MetsBlog.com is to provide a safe place where fans of all age can collect to conduct intelligent conversation and gather relevant insight…hate speech, irrelevant chit-chat, violent remarks and racist language and ideas are not welcome…
…as i have stated before, this is not a free speech issue…you are more than welcome to start you own blog, visit a message board, or stand on a street corner and voice your opinions…it’s a free country…however, MetsBlog.com is my job, it’s my career, it’ll hopefully be my future and it’s the way i put food on my family’s table…therefore, given my inability to monitor every single comment, and for a variety of financial, advertising and personal reasons that impact by business, i recently installed technology that scans the comment’s section looking for specific red-flag language, which tend to appear in hateful, ugly, offensive, racially-charged and off-topic remarks…and so comments that are flagged are deleted…
…i am aware that just because a specific word may be used, it does not mean the comment is worthy of being deleted…i know, believe me, i understand it is not a perfect system, and so on occasion a perfectly good, clean, smart comment may disappear…however, as of right now, this is my only option…
To learn more about this site’s comment policy, go here.
…thank you for your time, loyalty and understanding…i greatly appreciate it, and Lets Go Mets…
…i have been trying to get an idea of what’s up with all the Yorvit Torrealba talk, but the best i could come away with is, ‘you’re over-thinking things, as usual,’ which i found funny, until i realized it was probably an insult…anyway…
…from what i can gather, the Mets feel torrealba, going forward, over the next few years, will be as good as Paul Lo Duca, if not better, plus come at a less expensive price…the team would rather have traded for a catcher, such as Ramon Hernandez, Gerald Laird or Kelly Shoppach, but the cost on all three was and will continue to be too high…ultimately, giving torrealba a three-year deal is the quickest, best, least-expensive option, and allows them to re-focus on filling its pitching staff, who, by the way, like to know who they’ll be throwing to when coming to a new team…
…as such, we should expect torrealba and Ramon Castro, who will likely ink a deal in the next week or so, to split time equally throughout the season…
…as for lo duca, who i will bet ends up with Rockies or Marlins, and who i will miss a lot, like i have written before, in talking with people connected to the team, i sense ownership and some coaches and players have soured on him, as they feel he was too negative during September, plus he is getting older and his offensive and defensive production has dipped…as i have said, i keep hearing that the team wants a catcher who works better with the pitching staff, and i guess the club feels a two-headed, castro-torrealba option is a better fit…
…this all hasn’t happened yet, so i hate to react and criticize something that isn’t official, but, if it does happen, i’m going to be very skeptical…on one hand, i respect this sort of outside-the-box thinking, especially at such a weak position…however, i like lo duca…and, yes, maybe i am only viewing him as a character, because, truthfully, he was very weak at and behind the plate this past season…but, he’s good enough, and i have a feeling the Mets will miss him in the locker room since he deflected a lot of anxiety and attention away from other people on the team who may not be ready to address reporters, deal with WFAN, get dirty and essentially be a lightening rod…
Tagged Paul Lo Duca, Ramon Castro, Yorvit Torrealba |According to the Daily News, citing the ‘player’s agent,’ the Mets have had ‘no communication’ with free-agent RHP Scott Linebrink.
…if you recall, yesterday’s poll results proposed the Mets signing linebrink to a three-year contract…it appears, however, that the Mets may have learned their lesson of dishing out long-term deals to relief pitchers…we’ll see…
…added to by Matthew Cerrone…
…good…as i said yesterday, i have had enough of this team signing relief pitchers to long-term deals, even linebrink, who struggled after leaving san diego last summer…the Mets already have schoeneweis and Guillermo Mota, and that’s enough for me…most all quality bullpens are seemingly built overnight, with mirrors, chewing gum and magic…so, i’d just as soon avoid the big contract, and roll the magical dice on Juan Padilla, Ambiorix Burgos, Eddie Kunz, Willie Collazo, Carlos Muniz, Joe Smith and whomever else finds their way on the edge of the pen…
At SNY, Michael Salfino speaks with a few scouts and team advisors about Mets players who are taking part in the Arizona Fall League.
Deric McKamey, advisor to the Cardinals and author of Minor League Baseball Analyst told Salfino the following about Mets RHP Eddie Kunz:
“I’m not as big a fan as some scouts. He throws 89-to-94 with a slider in the low-80s and a developing change. His command is an issue, a big problem for a short reliever. He struggled with his control for Oregon State even.
“I see him as a notch below an Aaron Heilman, more of a seventh-inning guy.”
Salfino also talks with scouts and Baseball America’s Jim Callis about LHP Adam Bostick and Eddie Comacho; RHP Carlos Muniz; 1B Mike Carp; OF Caleb Stewart; and some of the major NL East prospects playing in Arizona.
Tagged Mike Carp, Mike Pelfrey, Minors, Philip Humber, SNY |Mark Hale of The Post reports the Mets are interested in Japanese RHP Hiroki Kuroda.
Hale obtained a scouting report from an American League official. He writes…
“[Kuroda's] fastball is “average to slightly above average” and that he has a “good forkball.” The official also said Kuroda “throws strikes and is a tough competitor.”
Recently, Jason A. Churchill of Prospect Insider also provided a very detailed and complete scouting, which stated Kuroda’s fastball had “some late life” and predicted the 33-year old could command a three-year contract worth $3 million annually.
Last week, David Lennon of Newsday reported the Mets had been scouting Kuroda, who was playing in Asia Series in Japan.
Kuroda was 12-8 with a 3.56 ERA in 26 games for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of the Japanese League last season.
…buzz around the league suggests the Red Sox, Phillies, Dodgers, Royals and Mariners interested in obtaining kuroda…
Tagged Mike Nichols |…i finally had a chance to catch up with a few people, ranging from reporters to team employees, and so on, regarding last week’s GM Meetings in Orlando…
…the sense i get is that a lot of pitchers will be talked about as potentially ‘on the market,’ however they’ll never actually be moved, such as Ben Sheets, AJ Burnett, Jake Peavy and Roy Oswalt, as well as Johan Santana and Dontrelle Willis…can they be had…sure, i guess…but, from what i can gather, teams will float their names, and get an idea of their worth, considering the weak free-agent market…however, in the end, they’ll keep what they have because it’s just so darn difficult to find top-quality pitching, and since so very few teams are struggling for money these days, it makes no sense to actually ship that caliber pitcher out of town…in short, the days of dumping payroll are over, which is something a lot of mock-gms in the blogosphere and on talk radio, including myself at times, are refusing to accept…
…as a Mets fan, this worries me, because i fear we, as fans, are going to have a lot of unrealistic options dangled in front of us during the Hot Stove season, and when no such mega-deal is made, we’ll end up being disappointed - even though the desired deals were never actually a possibility in the first place…
…nevertheless, i do believe that a pitcher like Jon Garland will be moved, as could Joe Blanton, Chris Capuano, Cliff Lee, Noah Lowry and maybe even Erik Bedard - assuming a team is willing to overpay…
…lastly, i am blown away by what the perceived values are for many of these people…for instance, from what i can gather, if the Mets want a first baseman like Conor Jackson from the D’Backs, it’d likely cost them Aaron Heilman and a Kevin Mulvey type; if the Mets want Nationals RHP Chad Cordero, who is a free agent after next season, it’ll likely cost them mulvey and Carlos Gomez, who could possibly net a Joaquin Arias, as well; and, lastly, if they want Miguel Cabrera, the should just hold their breath for when he hits free agency, because they have absolutely no shot at getting him…
…in the end, i believe the Mets are seeking a durable, work-horse type starting pitcher, which, considering the cost of the league’s top options, leads me to believe they must be eying a trade for blanton and/or signing free-agent Livan Hernandez or Carlos Silva, because they both sort of meet that description, but that is just logical speculation…
At the Happy Recap message board, Gotham Baseball Magazine’s Mark Healey recently sat in for a ‘Hot Stove Chat,’ and discussed with the board’s participants what he feels the Mets will do this off season.
…for what it’s worth, i’ll be their featured guest on November 20…
Lastly, got to Sabernomics, where ESPN.com’s Keith Law talks with J.C. Bradley in a lengthy Q&A about the life of a GM, the role of sabermetrics in a front office, and his day-to-day role at ESPN.
← Older postsNewer posts →
