Daily Archives: December 1, 2007
Casey Stern of MLB.com recently spoke with OF Ryan Church about joining the Mets.
Church on joining a contender…
“Just having the opportunity to play for a contender, that’s our biggest dream as ballplayers – winning the whole thing. I think that I’m in a situation now to have the opportunity to, day-in day-out, have our team be able to win…
I’ve never been in that situation and I can’t be any happier to say that I’m a Met and have the opportunity to play with them.”
On the playing in front New York fans…
“It’s giving me goosebumps just talking about that.
Not taking anything away from the fans in DC because they’re great, they’re loyal. But, like you said, New York – it’s the greatest stage in all of sports and I think being able to be a part of that is something that I’ll always be able to remember…
I’m in a great position to hopefully help out a team get to a championship.”
For the full interview, click here.
Tagged Chris Mazzone, Mets, Ryan Church |
In a post to his blog for the Star-Tribune, Twins columnist La Velle E. Neal III writes…
“There’s a chance that the Mets may re-think their reluctance to add shortstop Jose Reyes to a deal because they are desperate for starting pitching. If Reyes becomes available, look for the Mets to surge in this race. I’ve been told the Twins would prefer to send Santana to a National League team. Santana would like the N.L. so he can hit.”
Meanwhile, according to Ken Rosenthal at FOXSports.com, citing ‘sources,’ while the Red Sox refuse to part with Jacoby Ellsbury in the same package as Jon Lester, the Yankees are now willing to trade Phil Hughes and Melky Cabrera in a deal for Santana.
The Arizona Fall League released the roster to its 2007 Top Prospect Team, with Mets’ prospect Mike Carp earning one of the two first base spots.
Carp hit .243 in 29 games for the Scottsdale Scorpions. His nine doubles tied for third in the league, and his 16 RBI placed him eighth.
The Top Prospect Team, as described in the AFL’s press release, is “selected by Fall League managers, coaches and administrators” who were “asked to consider Fall League performance and major league projectability.”
…everyone’s knocking carp after an injury plagued regular season, and a low average in the AFL, but last year, he was a hot name after two strong years in two levels of single a ball… as i’ve said before, it’s only fair to let him get healthy, and then judge him, because it seems there are at least some people that still believe in him…
Tagged Mike Carp, Minors |
…my old AIM screename, ‘metsblog,’ has been hacked…i no longer have control of it, so any away message or comment that comes from it are posted by the thief and hacker who is pretending to be me…i am working with my legal reps to rectify this situation…
…also, my good friends at PressHarbor have upgraded this site to a shiny-new server…on friday, MetsBlog logged more than 100,000 page impressions, and it’s not yet even the winter meetings, which begin next week…the new set up should be able to handle the weight and traffic of MetsBlog at it’s peak, so the slow load and period blackouts are now a thing of the past, short of some unforeseen disaster of course…in other words, thank you for your patience and understanding…
…lastly, if you have any information about my AIM account being hacked, or have a personal contact at AOL who could be of some assistance, please let me know…
The Mets released their 2008 spring training schedule, which you can check out by clicking here.
The Mets exhibition schedule begins Tuesday, February 26 vs. the University of Michigan in Port St. Lucie at 12:00 p.m.
The Mets home opener is against the Cardinals on Friday, February 29 at 1:10 p.m. at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, FL.
This spring the Mets will play the Cardinals and Orioles five times, the Marlins four times, the Dodgers, Nationals, Indians and Braves three times and the Astros and Red Sox twice.
Tickets for spring training games will go on sale at Tradition Field on Saturday, January 19 at 10 a.m.
Tickets and information can be obtained by calling 772-871-2115 or online at Mets.com or TraditionField.com.
The Mets will open their 2008 Major League campaign against the Florida Marlins on Monday, March 31 at 4:05 p.m.
During an interview with WFAN yesterday, Mets GM Omar Minaya said he talked to the ‘Orioles and A’s,’ among other teams, before trading Lastings Milledge.
…so, this should confirm his interest in at least Erik Bedard and Dan Haren or Joe Blanton…also, i’m glad to know that trading milledge will not hamper omar’s ability to make a trade for a pitcher…if he’s hampered, it’s because the rest of the team’s prospects are not as good as other team’s prospects, with or without milledge…
…i believe the Mets will eventually regret trading Lastings Milledge, because, while he has his flaws, i feel he can be the type of exciting, better-than-average player a team in new york will wish it had…frankly, i suspect the Mets know they’ll regret it…that being said, i am 
okay with this trade, and understand why it was made…
…yet, most fans are reacting to this deal in a very extreme way, as though the Mets just traded Jose Reyes and David Wright for my grandmother…and again, i’m a fan of milledges, and have defended him a lot on this blog…but, i’m reading fan-generated headlines like, ‘Another black friday,’ and ‘I feel betrayed,’ and likening this deal to Scott Kazmir, which is surprising to me…
Minaya, during his conference call yesterday…
“I’m not worried. I’ve been through this before when we traded Kris Benson. Fans couldn’t quite understand that at the time. When you’re the general manager, you do take that into account, but you’ve got to understand when you’re in my job, there are certain things, decisions have to be made. The beauty of our sport, a lot of people follow our game, they follow our moves. When we traded Kris Benson, a lot of fans didn’t understand that at the time, but here we are with John Maine today.”
As Mark Healey writes at Gotham Baseball Magazine, ‘The reality is that Minaya didn’t have room on his roster for a .280 hitter with limited power and a reputation for annoying his teammates and manager.’
…fans are crucifying omar for not valuing milledge properly, and for giving up on him too early, at 23 years old, yet he did not trade him for Barry Zito, Manny Ramirez, and who knows who else, over the last two seasons, because the Mets and minaya had faith that milledge would develop, i.e., they stuck with him, despite having several chances to trade him for quality, proven talent…the Mets believed that milledge would blossom…and he still may…they’re just not going to wait around any longer to see, which is a new philosophy among the league’s younger GMs, i.e., cut bait after early signs of failure, i guess…
…from what i can gather, the Mets determined that, considering there is tremendous pressure to win this coming season, it was not worth gambling on milledge, who has yet to develop at the rate the team had hoped he would develop…it appears that they still have a lot of concern about a) milledge’s inability to lay off the breaking ball, which he has a hard time hitting, b) his instincts, at the plate, on the base paths and especially in the field, c) the rap album, a strong on-field ego, a casual work ethic, etc, and d) his health, since he had suffered a serious injury during three of the last four seasons…
…frankly, i sense that milledge sealed his fate when he got ejected for three games in the middle of the pennant race last season for arguing with the umpire, and then helped instigate an on-field fight during the last two days of the season, by flipping his bat and jogging after a home run, when the team should have only been focused on winning…
…personally, i feel a lot of the above concerns can be chalked up to his age and inexperience…i assume he will grow beyond this in the years to come…frankly, i like the entertainment, so, while i hope he grows up, i also hope he stays true to who he is because it’s fun to watch…also, for what it’s worth, i think omar feels the same way, but he just can’t wait any longer, considering the pressure to win right now…
…so, in return for milledge, who the Mets apparently wanted to move, but who could not return any sort of pitcher in a trade, instead, the Mets acquired a 29–year-old, under-contract outfielder, who has a strong arm, good instincts, has had some consistent success in the majors, can hit a ton of doubles, bats lefty and hits righties; and they also acquired a stable, 31–year-old, every-day catcher with experience leading a young pitching staff and who is known for his defense and throwing out runners at second…
…it’s not the ideal trade, obviously…the thing is, i think i feel this way because, in my mind, milledge is still worthy of zito, or manny, or Dan Haren, since that is how he had been framed over the last few seasons…the fact is, though, he is no longer able to return that type of pitcher, or any type of pitcher, it would seem…
…so, since i do not have a time machine, the question i am left with is, should the Mets have traded milledge now or would they have been better served just keeping him and hoping he developed in to an all-star…personally, i’m not comfortable making that assessment, since i never claim to be a scout or Nostradamus…i know some bloggers, reporters and fans believe they are smarter than the professionals, but i have never been one to make that leap…i mean, if i was that smart i would be a scout, not a blogger, i suppose…and so, the Mets determined it was time to move milledge, which, like i said, i think they’ll come to regret…for now, though, given their current needs, i can understand why the move was made, even though i am totally happy about it…
According to an MLB.com report, the Angels will not offer salary arbitration to RHP Bartolo Colon, making him a free agent.
Colon, who has been battling shoulder and elbow problems since 2006, has a career record of 146-95 and a 4.10 ERA in 306 starts.
…there is an obvious history between colon and Omar Minaya so it will be interesting to see where this goes in the next few weeks…he could be a low risk high reward signing…
The Associated Press is reporting that while 3B Miguel Cabrera is being shopped heavily by the Florida Marlins, LHP Dontrelle Willis is not likely to be traded.
“The Marlins are less likely to trade left-hander Dontrelle Willis, who is in line to make $7 million or more next season. The former 22-game winner is coming off his worst year (10-15, 5.17 ERA), reducing his trade value, and his agent said he expects Willis to still be with the Marlins when spring training begins.
‘That’s my gut feeling,’ agent Matt Sosnick said. ‘I’m often surprised by the Marlins. They keep things close to the vest. But I would expect him to be back.’ “
…i’m sure everyone will love reading about a team deciding not to trade a player who’s value has seemingly plummeted. granted, the two teams are in completely different situations, i’m just sayin’…
Tagged Miguel Cabrera |The Boston Globe is reporting that Mike Timlin has reached a one year deal to remain with the Red Sox for around $3 million.
Timlin turns 42-years-old in March and pitched in 50 games last season, compiling a record of 2-1 with an ERA of 3.42 while recording 1 save and 8 holds.
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