Daily Archives: February 12, 2008
…i took a tour of Citi Field today…i will provide notes and pictures tomorrow…however, for the sake of time, i wanted to relay the following two items…
1) People who are currently have full
season ticket plans for this year at Shea Stadium will get first priority to buy season tickets for Citi Field. The team has yet to make a decision on what will happen to people who have partial season-ticket plans at Shea, with regards to Citi, though they are hoping to make an announcement soon.
2) A Home-Run Apple will be featured below the scoreboard at Citi Field, and will rise out of a gigantic cement canister that has already been built. However, as the team’s spokesman said, “It may or may not be the same apple that is at Shea Stadium today.”
…the thing that they do not understand is that, like others, it’s not that i want an apple, it’s that we want the apple…
…there is a very big difference…
The Mets signed IF Olmedo Saenz to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.
In 110 at-bats with the Dodgers last season, Saenz batted .191 with four homers and 18 RBI.
…hey, it certainly can’t hurt…Saenz, who bats from the right side of the plate, has 72 career pinch-hits…
John Maine discussed spring training, Johan Santana, and his role with the Mets from Port St. Lucie with Chris Carlin and Kim Jones on WFAN today.
Go to WFAN.com to listen to the interview.
There is also an article in today’s New York Sun by Tim Marchman, where he attempts to predict how effective Maine, and Oliver Perez will be in 2008 based on last year’s performance.
Tagged Oliver Perez, Regis Courtemanche |
At his blog for the New York Times, Ben Shpigel reports the dimensions of one on the back fields at the Mets spring training complex in Port St. Lucie has been altered to mimic those at Citi Field.
Shpigel writes…
Tagged Mike Nichols |“Wow. There are nooks and crannies everywhere, particularly in center and right-center field, which I think are pretty cool. Then again, I don’t play outfield, and for this I am thankful.”
Last week at Baseball Prospectus, prospect guru Kevin Goldstein announced his Top 11 Prospect List for the Mets.
…i had the chance to talk quite extensively with Kevin about the Mets organization, his rankings and the draft…it’s a long interview, so i broke it up in to three parts…the first of which will run today, which deals with the team’s overall system and the coming draft…tomorrow i will talk with him about the team’s position prospects, and on Thursday i will talk with him about the pitchers…
To subscribe to Baseball Prospectus, click here.
Jordan Zakarin: How would you rank the Mets’ system pre-Johan deal, and now post-deal?
Kevin Goldstein: Before, pretty bad, but not awful. Now, really, really bad, and one of the worst in the game. But then again, the team just picked up the best pitcher in the game.
Jordan Zakarin: In your article, you said they were bad, but a very different bad than the Astros, because they had young players. Who are those young kids that you think could make a big jump?
Kevin Goldstein: Well, again, the emphasis is on COULD. The Astros don’t have young high-ceiling talent to rank with SS Wilmer Flores and the ’07 draftees like LHP Nathan Vineyard and RHP Scott Moviel. And there is still hope for some of the young, raw talent that dissapointed in ’07, like C Francisco Pena and SS Juan Legares.
Jordan Zakarin: It sounds to me like the Mets are willing finally spend on the draft…is this draft deep enough, or are there a lot of guys demanding big bonuses, that will drop down to the Mets at 18 and 22? I guess that’s hard to predict now, but can they potentially get a big pull from their early picks?
Kevin Goldstein: It’s a fairly deep draft talent wise, but it’s hard to figure out who’s going to be the bonus problems until we see how they play this season. I think we are going to see fewer big bonus drops than we have in the past, because I think we are going to see fewer teams toeing the line.
Jordan Zakarin: Any idea where the Mets will focus on, position wise, and college-or-high school wise?
Kevin Goldstein: In general, they don’t play that pigeonholing game, and fewer and fewer teams overall do. They’ll take the best player available, regardless of position and/or source, and that’s the right way to do things.
…once again, big thanks to kevin, who took out a big chunk of time to do another interview with me…
…it seems that the Mets still have some decent prospects, it’s just more an issue of a lack of real close-to-the-majors, high-ceiling guys…the thing is, kevin is more optimistic than i had anticipated about the big picture, maybe because the big league team has a real chance to win…but, there are some younger, further away, high-ceiling guys there, which is better than having just a bunch of future utilitymen…
…as i keep saying, this draft, in which the Mets will have three picks inside the first 33, will be very, very important…
On February 14, Mets pitchers and catchers will be reporting to Port St. Lucie for the start of spring training.
Currently, the Mets have invited 22 non-roster invitees to camp this spring.
Among the invitees of note are: IF Michel Abreu, RHP Tony Armas, RHP Eddie Kunz, OF Fernando Martinez, C Mike Nickeas, RHP Juan Padilla, RHP Brant Rustich, IF Fernando Tatis, and IF Jose Valentin.
For a full listing of the non-roster invitees, check out Mets.com.
Tagged Mike Nichols |Last night on SNY’s Mets Hot Stove Report, I gave a quick report on why attending the Johan Santana press conference at Shea Stadium last week was rather awkward.
To watch the clip, click the play button below…
For more clips from last night’s Hot Stove, including Keith Hernandez’s take on the Santana trade, go to 
At the blog Random Drivel and Assorted Musings, they make the case for Joe McEwing being elected to the Hall Of Fame in 2012.
Highlights of his career include:
- Executes perfect sacrifice bunt in 9-2 Mets win over the Expos (July of 2000)
- Catches foul pop-up vs Pirates (August of 1998)
- Almost runs out ground ball to the second baseman vs Braves (May of 2001)
- Traded to Mets for (1983 & 84) All-Star Jesse Orosco in March of 2000
They also have a funny video which dubs McEwing “the greatest utility player to ever play the game…ever!”
…hilarious, i love super joe and all, but it isn’t the hall of lame…i kid, i kid…
…hat tip to shuey4 for the link…
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |RHP Livan Hernandez has signed with the Twins.
Ken Rosenthal at Fox Sports writes that, according to major league sources, Hernandez will receive a one-year contract in the range of $5 million-$6 million and will include performance-based incentives.
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |In the New York Times, Ben Shpigel talks with Mike Pelfrey about his expectations for the upcoming season, and where the pitcher thinks he fits in.
Shpigel writes:
“If you have a lost year, it really doesn’t do you any good unless you learn from it.” So that is what Pelfrey started thinking about in early November, when he resumed working out at a Wichita Y.M.C.A., and he has not veered from that mantra since. Every day, as part of his mental preparation, Pelfrey said he tells himself: “This is my year. This is my year.”
Pelfrey, as quoted by Shpigel:
“I backed off and concentrated on my location and still walked four dudes a game. I need to rear back and get back to being myself and live off the fastball. If I walk four dudes now, I can live with it because I know that I’ll be pitching like myself, the way I know how to pitch.”
…i personally feel that pelfrey won’t receive the same amount of opportunities he had last year to show he belongs in the rotation unless he impresses the coaching staff very early on…now with santana leading the way, the competition between pelfrey and el duque for that fifth spot should be pretty fierce…
Tagged Mike Pelfrey, Regis Courtemanche | ← Older posts
