Daily Archives: December 18, 2007
According to the Associated Press, Matt Wise is able to make $1.2 million during his one-year contract with the Mets.
He will earn just $750,000 if he’s cut during spring training.
The Mets have signed free-agent RHP Matt Wise to a one-year contract.
Wise, 32, was 3-2 with one save and a 4.19 ERA in a career-high 56 games last year for the Brewers.
Mets GM Omar Minaya, on Wise…
“Matt has had success in a variety of roles. He adds a versatile arm to the bullpen.”
Since 2005, Wise has posted a 3.27 ERA against the NL East.
…if i recall correctly, he was on course for a dominant season, but fell apart in late July after hitting a batter in the head…after that, it’s like his wheels came off and he could not find the strike zone to save his life…hopefully this has worked itself out…
He had a 2.19 ERA in June.
He then hit Pedro Lopez in the head, had a 4.22 ERA in July, had a 7.71 ERA in August and had a 10.38 ERA in September.
JP Schwartz of Topp Prospect Report has released his Top 10 Mets Prospect List, which includes seven 
pitchers.
Here is general, composite ranking of the team’s Top 10 Prospects, considering how they stack up according to Baseball America, John Sickels, Project Prospect and Topp Prospect Report…
- OF Fernando Martinez
- RHP Deolis Guerra
- OF Carlos Gomez
- RHP Kevin Mulvey
- RHP Eddie Kunz
- RHP Philip Humber
- LHP Jon Niese
- 1B Mike Carp
- 1B Nick Evans
- RHP Joe Smith
To research each player’s stats, check out MiLB.com.
Tagged Minors |EB from New York sent in the following e-mail…
“The Mets act as though they are a small-market team, while setting attendance records and starting their own network. I can’t understand why the Mets do not take fliers out on players like Jennings, Colon and
Garcia, sign them to two year contracts on the cheap and see if they pan out. If the team is unwilling to spend the resources in prospects, than spend financial resources.”
…as best i can tell, the Mets only have two available spots for their 25–man, Opening-Day Roster…
…however, due to his Rule V Status, if Steve Register proves worthy, he’ll be guaranteed a slot in the bullpen, as well – leaving just one open spot for either a new starting pitcher, another reliever or an extra player for the bench, which only has four players as of now…
…knowing that players like Octavio Dotel, Mark Prior, Kyle Lohse, Carlos Silva, and others, will seek out a guaranteed contract, with some also looking for long-term security as well, it’s just not possible for the Mets to sign them all…additionally, come mid-season when a player in the bullpen is struggling or a valuable pitcher hits the trade market, the team will want a bit of flexibility to make a move, which will be less possible with every guaranteed contract it dishes out…
…so, yes, when it comes to resources, i understand your point…however, it’s not just about resources, it’s also about seats in the dugout, which unfortunately are not infinite – not even for the Yankees, who are considered the richest team in sports…
According to Charley Walter of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the 
Royals have offered RHP Carlos Silva a three-year deal worth $30 million.
Silva was 13-14 with a 4.19 ERA in 33 starts with the Twins in 2007.
Last week, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the Cardinals also expressed interest in the 28-year-old Silva.
…ever since silva hit the open market this offseason, i’ve been in favor of the Mets signing him…silva ,more times than not, has provided a quality start – 20 of 33 last season – and although not a power pitcher, he does strikeout twice as many as he walks…
…the concern is, he does have a propensity to give up the long ball, roughly one per start, but with a move to the lighter-hitting national league, and a bigger ballpark such as shea, those numbers could greatly improve…
…Update…1:10 pm…
The Mariners are in ‘serious negotiations’ with Silva on a four-year, $44 million contract, according to ‘major league sources,’ writes Ken Rosenthal at FoxSports.com.
…thanks to chattman for the link…
Tagged Mike Nichols |According to the Baltimore Sun, the Orioles have had ‘some discussions’ with 
free-agent RHP Octavio Dotel.
…from what i can gather, dotel is seeking a two-year deal, and i believe the Mets continue to have serious interest in signing him…
…it would not surprise me to see the him end up in queens, since the Mets recently non-tendered Juan Padilla…my sense is that the team still feels it may need one more, major-league ready, established, hard-throwing reliever, and dotel, who has played well in new york before, fits that mold…
…as of now, Pedro Feliciano, Aaron Heilman, Steve Register, Duaner Sanchez, Scott Schoeneweis, Jorge Sosa and Billy Wagner are essentially guaranteed spots in the bullpen…of course, register or sosa could certainly be cut, i would think…the thing is, with Joe Smith, Willie Collazo, Carlos Muniz, and hopefully Ambiorix Burgos, among others, acting as possible options, as well, not to mention Orlando Hernandez who could get bumped from the rotation, there is not a whole lot of room out there for a two-year, guaranteed contract…
The Braves acquired Dotel at last year’s trade deadline in exchange for RHP Kyle Davies, only to put Dotel on the 15–day disabled list with a right shoulder strain just 10 days later.
He was was 2–1 with a 3.91 ERA in 24 games for the Royals before being traded and getting injured with the Braves.
Since 2002, pitching exclusively from the bullpen, against roughly 1,400 batters, opponents are batting .200 against Dotel, who has struck out roughly 30 percent of the hitters he has faced.
Tagged Octavio Dotel |…please answer the following question, while considering the team’s ownership, current management, talent, minor-league system, and new stadium and network, etc…
[poll=34]
Tagged Poll |During the 5th annual Daily News Breakfast Club, Daily News Senior Executive Editor Robert Sapio was asked why the Yankees get more 
coverage from his newspaper than the Mets.
According to Sapio, right now, ‘the Yankees are magic,’ since they have Alex Rodriguez, the Steinbrenners and Derek Jeter.
However, he noted, had the Yankees continued to lose last summer, and had the Mets continued to win, instead of how it eventually played out, ‘it would have been the Mets dominating the sports pages in September.’
…well, of course…and that’s exactly why this question was asked…i mean, look, part of my job is to keep very close tabs on what newspapers are doing…from what i can tell, using the very scientific method known as ‘my eyeballs,’ over the last two years, regardless of who is winning more, or who’s losing more, the Yankees get more coverage, plain and simple - be it in print or on television…according to me, this is why there are far more regularly-updated Mets blogs than Yankees blogs…
…the thing is, outside of actual Yankees fans, most people hate the Yankees…you’re either a fan of theirs, or they’re the enemy…for the majority of baseball fans, there appears to be no middle ground…and this goes for pretty much every fan in baseball, as far as i can tell…and so, when a team is that hated, it makes sense that they’ll be so obsessed about locally and nationally…people obsess over their success, because it’s ‘bad for baseball,’ and they obsess over their failure because it’s downright hilarious and so much fun when it happens…
…i stopped caring about the War of the Back Pages when i stopped being concerned with the Yankees altogether - and, instead, started focusing my energy on worrying about the Phillies, Braves, Marlins, Nationals, and the rest of the National League…seriously, i am a far happier baseball fan, in general, ever since i started mocking the American League as a whole, started viewing them as some side-show circus, while seeing the National League as the place where real baseball is played, and where the true competition sits, with regards to the Mets getting to a World Series…
Tagged Yankees |According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, like with Dan Haren, A’s GM Billy Beane will specifically look to trade RHP Joe Blanton to the National League.
According to Buster Olney at his blog for ESPN.com, the Mariners will most 
likely have to part with at least OF Adam Jones in a deal for Blanton.
…as i wrote yesterday, as best i can tell, blanton will likely cost a step below what the Twins are asking for Johan Santana, such as at least two, maybe three, of the Mets top prospects, including one of Carlos Gomez…also, for what it’s worth, during the Winter Meetings, i recall hearing that Oakland is not very interested in Mike Pelfrey…
This past season for the A’s, Blanton was 14–10 with a 3.95 ERA through 34 starts, during which he allowed an average of just one walk per start.
He has made at least 32 starts in each of his last three seasons.
He is eligible for salary arbitration this off-season, and eligible for free agency after 2010.
According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Mariners may be the front-runners to acquire O’s LHP Erik Bedard.
Though the Dodgers were once viewed as a possible option for Bedard, explains the Post-Intelligencer, ‘now the Mariners’ prime competition appears to be the Reds and, perhaps, the Mets.’
…perhaps, but i doubt it…two things…first, the O’s will want far more than the Mets can part with, just ask the A’s, who recently traded Dan Haren, who the Mets were very, very interested in, but who they had no chance of getting…lastly, i once heard that the O’s are reluctant to deal with the Mets, for reasons associated with Kris Benson’s health, and, from what i can gather, there is actually some truth to this…and i’m sure John Maine’s success isn’t helping any either…and, look, if the Mets could put together a top package for bedard, regardless of what did or didn’t happen with benson, i’m fairly certain the O’s would listen…fact is, in addition to the benson issue, the Mets lack the talent to get bedard and so it only makes things that much more complicated…
