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In the Daily News, Adam Rubin explains why Omar Minaya is not panicking over the team’s recent run of injuries.
In the Journal News, John Delcos takes a closer look at Angel Pagan and Brady Clark, who are suddenly quite relevant.
…both players are very easy to pull for, and delcos captures that…they’re intriguing…they’re certainly not long-term answers, but that’s not necessarily what the Mets need…
In the Bergen Record, Bob Klapisch talks with Jose Reyes, who vows to be ‘all business,’ this season.
According to Bart Hubbach in the New York Post, a conversation between Pedro Martinez and Duaner Sanchez at lunch the other day has Sanchez eager to back on the mound.
At MLB.com, Anthony DiComo profiles Mets prospect Robert Parnell, who is the Mets sixth-best pitching prospect according to Baseball America’s Top 10 Prospect List.
For other notes from yesterday’s day in camp, read Adam Rubin’s report in the Daily News.
Pedro almost made me lose my breakfast with his quote in the Klapisch article. I appreciate his dedication, but “naked jumping jacks” are really unnecessary.
lol I came to say something similar.. I’m so glad to have pedro all season again!
Lennon on Pedro’s sim game…
“Pedro Martinez survived today’s simulated game without incident. Martinez threw 53 pitches, but the only two major-league hitters he faced were Damion Easley and Endy Chavez. Scoring a simulated game is an inexact science, so it appears that Martinez allowed five hits, including a leadoff double to Easley. He also had two strikeouts and a walk. ”
Lots of contact allowed, but the good news is the 53 pitches which puts him on roughly the same level as Maine and Santana who have gone to 60 or so. So he should be ready to go 6 the next time we see him in a ST game.
BELTRAN’s health is always an overrated issue to me ….in his first few seasons here (excluding his first) i always try to project his numbers at some point in the season and say to myself …. ugh hes only going to hit X and X …. but at the end of the season, we now seem to know what to expect… a streaky hitter whose going to miss 15-20 games … but still hit .275-.280, 30 and 100 ….case closed
Parnell could be relivent to the Mets later in the year, he’ll likely split this year between Binghamton and New Orleans, and if the Mets develop a need for a 10th or 11th starter he might be that guy. Considering the depth right now anyway.
so if reyes sucks this year when he’s “all business,” what bs reason will people come up with to explain it?
You know, he’s out partying with Luis Castillo till the wee hours of the night.
yeah i think “all business” sort of implies that that WON’T be happening
Read the Rubin article, and the average age is a bit misleading (although if you notice, the oldest teams include Boston and Detroit, supposedly the 2 juggernauts in the AL).
Anyway, taking an average is skewed by a couple of real old guys. They have plenty of guys now that are young or in their prime.
Assuming Duque is out, and Pelf is in, only Pedro is older than 29 in the rotation.
On the field, Delgado is older (36), but without Alou, you got a couple of 32 YOs, a 30, and the rest in their 20s.
Wonder what happens to the average age if you plug Pagan (never mind F Mart) in for Alou, and Pelfrey in for Duque?
Lets see, that is a reduction of ~35 years, over 25 guys, so bingo, the average age drops from 29.75 to ~ 28.25, probably on the young side.
And the average is also inflated by having 2 older bench guys (Easley and Anderson).
Finally, look at the bright side. Assuming all the FAs leave, for 2009, there will be 1 old guy (Wagner) left on the team, or 2 if Pedro comes back. No one else above 33.
Alou, Delgado, Duque, Easley – all gone in 2009 (hopefully).
ugh, on Buster’s blog today he dedicates the whole thing to “why the Mets should get Bonds.” It’s just not going to happen and Buster should not be wasting his time. He’s calling these injuries devastating, where does that come from? Delgado will be fine, the reason he was in some discomfort is because he doesn’t take anti-inflammatory shots in the offseason, once he does, he’ll be fine. Alou will be back, and it’s not like we expected 150+ games from him anyway, so what’s the difference when he misses them? The rest of the guys will be fine, getting Bonds would be a entire overreaction, not to mention everything else that comes with it.
and, it makes them even older!
Not advocating it, but I would take Sosa before Bonds.
At least Sosa wouldn’t be missing time for court appearances…
But can he still play a position?
I would assume he can play a little LF but wasn’t he a RF?
Yeah, mostly right, some center back in the day… but last year he only played 16 games in the field.
it’s devastating to have three of the best hitters in the league in your lineup on opening day I guess (wright, reyes, beltran). Once again, Olney proves he is a sensationalist tool.
Reyes is one of the best hitters in the league?
well, he was one of the best offensive players in the leauge for the 1st half last year, so he certainly has that kind of potential, yes.
best hitters does not always equal HRs and RBIs!! Reyes was in MVP talks for the last two years, his September notwithstanding…So yes, Reyes is one of the better hitters in the league…or would you rather I said “biggest threats” ? Either way, my point remains the same.
-Off Topic-
Did anyone see John Franco on Pros vs Joes last night? The show is pretty bad bad I just watched bc I saw he was on. The host kept calling him “Mets Legend” John Franco, it was pretty funny. The Joes had a lot of trouble hitting him and Franco was talking trash to them.
I saw it, and watched it for the same reason. It was funny to hear the Joes talk abiout him as “serious” and “all business” and they couln’t even get bunts off him! LOL
I’m worried about Alou and Delgado staying healthy all season. I also worry about Church against lefty’s.
Assuming a bench of Gotay, Easley, Anderson, Chavez and Castro; Easley and Anderson are primarily pinch hitters (IMO) Gotay and chaavez become your primary position player reserves, and both bat lefty.
The Tigers have a man without a position in Brandon Inge. Righty bat with pop, soft hands & a large contract. (3 yrs and 18 mil remaining, I think)
Tigers have injuries in the pen. We seemingly have an arm or two to spare. We can wash some of the contracts by having them take Shoeny.
Inge will easily get into 120 games, and put up 20-25 homers.
He could start the season in LF, and when Alou is back, could platoon with Church. Delgado will need time off, and I would think that a guy with above average fielding skills can make the move to 1B. We wouldn’t be losing much if Willie wants to give the kid a day off at 3rd.
If we can’t sign Tex in the winter, we’d have an inhouse candidate to take over for Delgado
I am not worried about Chruch and lefties. His splits for his career are fine (certainly in line with most other players that hti better against a pitcher thrwoing from the other side).
No one seems to worry about having a RH batter, when most pitchers are RH too!
Is it possible that Church could occasionally face a tough lefty out of the pen late in a game? Yeah, but that is when Willie has to decide if he wants to put up Easley (or Pagan, or whoever is a RH bat on the bench). Probably not happening much though.
And Inge as a jack of all trades utility guy doesn
t sound like it will work to well.
Inge played in over 150 games the past three seasons. He’s averaged 20 homers. He was displaced by Cabrera.
Super sub? maybe. He’s got McEwing’s D and Wigginton’s O. Not a bad combination to have on your team. He’s also a great clubhouse guy. Leyland loves him. that’s pretty high praise.
inge had an outlier year in ‘06 where he hit 27 HRs, I never see that happening again. He’s much more of a 15 HR guy, and in addition he doesn’t hit for avg and doesn’t get on base. He also is complaining in Detroit about wanting an opportunity to start everyday. How does Inge exactly solve our problems again? Personally I see the Church can’t hit lefties thing as way overrated. Check his career splits, they’re not bad, most lefty hitters hit a bit worse against lefties either way.
Sosa for Inge makes a lot of sense.
I dont know that the Mets can spare a potential starter right now, but offering just Show would be dumb… and Show and Joe Smith is too much, imo… not sure what the middle ground might be. Maybe Gotay once he gets healthy?
Inge is due 19 mil over the next three years which is a lot for a guy to be a backup, but with the Mets he can play plenty of games at 1B, LF, and RF over the next two years at least. (semi-platoon with FM in 2009 makes sense, and with Beltran’s track record there will be games in CF that maybe Church plays…)
They could just give Church a 1B mit and turn him into a younger version of Shawn Green… without the flopping around in RF. Let Endy and Pagan may the corners.
Show for Inge would not be a massively unbalanced trade – two guys with big contracts who are not going to perform above league average.
Sosa’s worth more to the Mets than Inge would be. He’s shown he can fulfill a role very well, if used correctly, and is cheap.
And you’re right, Show + Smith is definitely too much for an overpaid backup.
im not positive, but i think texiera is even under contract for one more year, i think he signed a one year extension this offseason… so first base is even more of a question mark next year
he didn’t sign a contract extention – he’s a free agent at the end of the season and Scott Boras is his agent. The Yankes and Mets need a first baseman next season. There is NO WAY he signs a one year contract extenstion. The dude is going to get $20+ million in a 7-10 year contract. He’s a valuable asset to a team. Switch hitter, hits for average, hits for power, drives in tons of RBI’s and is a gold glove first baseman.
I hope Omar is all over him. He’d be a huge addition to a core of Wright, Reyes, F-Martinez, Maine, Santana and Pelfrey to take into the next devade.
Tex will be a Yankee, Angel or Brave. He will not be on the Mets because with the SP that we will have to pay for, we will not be able to afford him and that’s ok.
Inge has repeatedly and publicly made it known that he is not willing to move anywhere except for a starting role.
Sounds like a bad person to have in the dugout, whingeing about how they want to be on the field all the time.
He’s due 19.1 mil., and his offense for four of his six ML seasons, including the last two, has been below league average (career OPS+ of 85)
A .312 OBP and .376 slg last year at a more hitter friendly park does not make me feel like this guy will solve all problems at Shea.
thank you, this guy simply isn’t very good, good defense, but i’m not sure that’s what we’re looking for. 80 OPS+ last year people, people remember ‘06, but that was simply an aberation for him.
In real news, there have been a couple more cuts.
Juan Padilla and Ben Johnson have been moved over to the minor league side to do thier rehabs. Padilla made two appearances this spring, up from the one appearance he made last spring before falling completely off the radar for the year.
A few pitchers had previously been demoted including lefty starters Bostick and Niese.
No real surprises. Ben Johnson should learn to speak Japanese. Omar can’t win them all
I was a little surprised to see them invoke Bosticks final option year given the shortage of starting pitchers. No real need to do it so early, and for a guy who teams may want in a trade. He had a good fall league so he should be ML ready for a lesser team. It does seem odd.
Otherwise nothing of note in the full list.
Robert Parnell, Eddie Kunz, Juan Padilla, Andy Cavazos, Brant Rustich, Ivan Maldonado, Jonathan Niese and Ryan Cullen, catchers Salomon Manriquez and Mike Nickeas, infielder Anderson Machado and outfielder Ben Johnson.
Would we have to have Bostick clear waivers to bring him up, or would we have to expose him if we bring him up and decide to send him down?
no, Bostick is on the 40 man roster and can be optioned up and down all year. Assuming he isnt needed in the Mets rotation for the whole season optioning him now has little effect other than lowering his trade value to a team that may want him in thier big league rotation.
Shelly Duncan for Scott S. and J Sossa.SMOOTH. (never happening).
As much as I am worried about the injuries, I do think Minaya is on point with his – at least external – thinking. It’s early in Spring Training; if this gets the injuries out of the way for the regular season, then who cares? Maybe we won’t have any more since we’re getting them all now (he says completely tongue-in-cheek).
But thats completely illogical. The more nagging injuries they have now the more likely they are to flare up in the season.
Hopefully the internal approach is much different, with trade feelers out there are the time.
Didn’t Matt quote someone BP yesterday saying that actually, there is a certain amount of truth to the idea of “getting your injuries out of the way”, and that – counterintuitively – players who get injured early in spring are actually more likely to stay healthy during the summer.
I hope there are always feelers out there for trades as well – if it helps us improve then absolutely.
However, to trade because of injuries at the beginning of Spring Training seems like the wrong approach. I mean, the first game was just last week.
I understand we have some needs that we might need to trade for, but for Omar not to wait these injuries out a bit to see how the guys respond would be uncharacteristic on his part. And, I think, ill advised.
agreed..the beat writers have made this rash of injuries appear much more dire than they really are. They need to sell papers and get blog hits. Bunt drills and shag and PFP’s don’t sell papers – doom and gloom does.
Are these injuries an issue to be concerned about? No doubt. But Opening Day is 24 days away. The postition players are only going to need 7-10 games, about 40-50 at-bats, to get themselves going. There is plenty of time. Omar is doing the right thing – sit back, be patient, and see how things sort themselves out.
This is all Im saying. Everyone is still in ‘worst case scenerio’ mode, which I guess is understandable. The silver lining in all of this is tha t A. none of these injuries outside of Delgado(who I HATE anyway) and Alou(who we all knew was wanna miss 1/2 the season anyway) should not affect the overall outcome of the season. I cant get worried about a team thats 0-0. B. I’d rather get these out of the way now/know what the potential issues are now verses July when we’s have to scramble to make a trade or pick someone off the scrap heap. Lets see how things play out before we all start jumping off the ledge like lemmings.
We’re Mets fans. “Worst case scenario” is our way of life.
I cant wait for Angel Pagan to play, he has been so great this spring. He will be such a great addition to this already amazing team
I’d like to find a guy who can play 1B or LF on a regular basis, and won’t cost us a lot in prospects. I don’t see Alou & Delgado playing 200 games between them, leaving a hole for a guy who is used to regular at bats. We all know that a good sub can be exposed when asked to play everyday.
Nady could be that guy, but at what cost?
Inge makes more sense because we can afford to eat most of his contract in exchange for less contract.
I love Wiggy, but I wouldn’t put him in LF everyday. 1B maybe.
With the way Pagan is hitting, they be nuts not to put him on the opening day roster, especially with the injured Alou.
And PLEASE…PLEASE don’t put Barry Bonds and the Mets in the same sentence, it’s just so disgusting.
is castro competing for starting catcher position?
The club’s feeling is that Castro is not physically able to start the 100+ games he’d need to be considered the “starting” catcher.
He is definitely in line to make more starts this year than he did last though, I’d guess around 60.
i’m guessing you’ll see him in day games after night games, against tough lefties, and his play will determine how much more he gets. So yeah, I’d say around 50-60.
UPDATE: Pedro threw 53 pitches over 2 innings in a simulated game against a few teammates. He said he felt okay but he’s itching to get into an actual game. He didn’t rule out a trip to Fort Myers on Tuesday to face the Red Sox, which would keep him on target to start Game 2 of the regular season.