SNY.tvBLOG NETWORKSCHEDULESTATSSTANDINGS VIDEO Headlines:

Read: The Youth Movement
By Matthew Cerrone - Aug 21, 2008 9:46 am

Yesterday, 23–year-old Daniel Murphy had one hit, two RBI and scored a run, while striking out once in four at bats.

Meanwhile, 24–year-old Mike Pelfrey pitched a complete game and moved to 12 wins on the season, while 26–year-old Argenis Reyes, who was 1 for 4, is batting .290 in his last 30 at bats.

The day before, 22–year-old Nick Evans had two hits and scored a run in three at bats.

By the way, Jose Reyes is 25 years old, as is David Wright, both of whom will likely be considered in voting for the National League MVP this season.

In the New York Post, Joel Sherman writes…

“(Last night) was yet another reminder that – forecasts to the contrary – the Mets’ young players are outdoing their Yankee counterparts in 2008…Murphy appeared on no Top-100 – or even Top 300 – prospect lists before the season and Pelfrey – not Hughes or Kennedy – seemed the pitcher most likely to end up back at Triple-A.  But here they both are playing major roles on a first-place team…

“The Yankee system got the praise, yet the Mets had enough pieces not only to land Santana, but to sprinkle their roster with youngsters thriving in late August.”

Even the happy-go-lucky Wallace Matthews from Newsday gets in to the act, writing, “Joba who?  Phil Whatsisname? Ian Whooziwhatsis,” all while praising, yes, praising, Pelfrey.

speaking of Newsday, i dig the new web layout, guys

103 Responses to “Read: The Youth Movement”

  1. The Slider says:

    Too much praise. Don’t jinx us!!!!

    • zer09 says:

      The bottom line that needs to be recognized is that Omar and his team are really doing a good job. Regardless of how people ranked our system. We were able to make a big trade for Santana, traded away Miledge, lost Flores, and we still got kids who are coming up and contributing big time. To all the Omar bashers, this should be a wake up call…

      • kbh218 says:

        agreed

      • toomanyuniforms says:

        Hey, who’s the director of player development? Give that guy a raise! And let him in the clubhouse more often!

        Another point that needs to be made is that the “window” is NOT closing for this team. They should NOT be dumping a Nick Evans for the likes of David Weathers because (gasp) Perez is a FA, Delgado might not be back, Pedro is in his twilight, etc. There are always players on the way in, and players on the way out. The key is the “core”, and this “core” is relatively young — Santana, Pelfrey (wow), Maine, Wright, Reyes, and even Beltran. They may need to part with Evans or others during the off-season to get (young) bullpen help if the FA market is thin, but they shouldn’t be taking on rentals with an eye toward going “all in” for this coming postseason.

        • Gasface77 says:

          Yes…and I believe that guy was single handedly responsible for getting Murphy. So if in fact Murphy turns out to be something (which I think he will), we can thank you know who.

  2. mikey_FF says:

    It’s crazy that you can talk about Murphy being 23, Evans being 22 and just being called up … Pelfrey being 24 and just starting to perform well ….

    Then you realize Jose and David are 25 years old and seem like they’ve been here forever. Crazy how you can forget how young these two are sometimes.

    • ridethesnake says:

      They seem like they’ve been here forever because they actually have been here a long time. It is unbelievable that they are only 25. Even with his early injuries, Reyes has played in 720 games, which is only 100 less than 31 year old veteran Brian Schneider, and more than a lot of 29, 30 year olds that start their careers in their mid-20s like most people do.

      • mikey_FF says:

        100 less games than Schneider. Wow … That is NUTS!

        • JDuelz (Athens, GA) says:

          In Scheider’s defense (?), he’s at the catcher position where he’s being platooned (only played over 130 games once in a season in his career), but yeah… It’s pretty nice regardless of what our boys Reyes and Wright are doin’.

  3. I’m not sure how no one in the world could see that Ian Kennedy was a stiff. He might be serviceable one day, but I really don’t know what the upside of him is – his stuff is not great, he doesn’t throw very hard… what is it, exactly?

    And it seems like a lot of baseball people and fans, myself included, thought this was the year for Pelfrey to break out and win games. I said before the season that he would win 12, and since he’s at 11 now, 14 or 15 seems easily doable.

    As for the young position players like Murphy, A. Reyes, and Evans, well kudos, young men, kudos. They are making names for themselves, playing well, and actually propelling this team to (hopefully) a playoff run.

    I didn’t think this team had it, but I’m glad I’m being proven very wrong.

    • Chan Ho Parking Lot says:

      Pelfrey won his 12th last night, not 11. As for Kennedy, the reason he got all that hype was because of his MLB debut at the end of last season. He pitched 19 innings and had a 1.90 ERA and everyone was thinking he was going to be the next Maddux. The same thing happened with Bannister last year and the early part of this year. We’re lucky Pelfrey stunk it up so much because if he didn’t, he would have been in the Santana deal.

      • chicagometfan says:

        Pelf just needs to adjust so that he pitches better against the Marlins. Since Willie was fired Pelf is 9-0 in 10 starts with a 2.08 era against all teams faced except the Fish. Against the Marlins he is 0-2 in 2 starts with a 12.28 era 8 Innings pitched 11 runs.

        • koosman3669 says:

          Probably in the case of Pelfry, it would be better to reference his improvement since the firing of Rick Petersen. Pelfry needed to get free of “the system” to find his true self.

        • Peter says:

          Use the Force Pelf . . . let go . . .

      • Yeah, look at where Humber and Mulvey are… Humber has been brutal in the minors this year, and Mulvey, while better, is not looking Major league ready. Guerra has out performed both of them, but is only in A-ball. We really fleeced them in that deal.

        I knew Omar was not gonna trade Pelfrey… he’s made some bad moves with pitchers, but they weren’t ready to give up on Pelf. Last year only his 2nd year of pro ball.

        • Tidewater says:

          And don’t forget Gomez and his .286 OBP. I think that guy’s in trouble. I thought that last year too. Great skills. No clue.

      • chico says:

        Excellent insight, but part of the reason Pelf wasn’t included in the deal was because his contract is set so that he makes a million or so, even if he’s in the minors and the Twins didn’t like that.

        • The Twins are such a fascinating franchise… they refuse to overpay players, they let their free agents walk (Hunter), they trade away so much pitching talent (Santana, Garza), and somehow they still manage to field a good team day in and day out and are contending for their division with a very good record. Unbelievable.

        • gomets6091 says:

          sounds familiar….what’s the name of that team in Miami again?

        • Gina says:

          I’m not really sure what’s fascinating about it, there are other teams that do it, they just scout and develop talent very well.

    • LenF says:

      I think a lot of people (myself included) tend to forget that it’s rare for a pitcher to have immediate success in the majors. Even guys like Volquez struggled during his first 15 or so starts in the majors during his the first three years and Felix Hernandez had a very mediocre 2nd year. Guys like Lincecum and Chamberlin are the exception.

      Pelfrey’s success started right around the time he made his 30th start in the majors (which equates to a full season of starts). Guys like Hughes and Kennedy still have yet to get that many starts under their belt so I think any fan of a team with young arms should keep in mind Pelfrey’s timetable for developing into a good pitcher (like when Niese gets his chance).

      Not every prospect is going to turn into a dependable starter but they all need to be given a chance to continue their development in the majors (even though it’s painful to watch sometimes).

      • Chan Ho Parking Lot says:

        Also, some pitchers can’t deal with failure that well and never overcome it. Who knows how Hughes and Kennedy will respond? Pelfrey obviously had what it took.

        • ridethesnake says:

          Though I was on the train that thought Kennedy was way over-hyped for three starts, and I believed Big Pelf had a chance to be the top of rotation guy he was marked to be just a couple of years ago with no injuries, I also know that it is still early for both players. I wouldn’t fall into the exact same trap. To say I guess 10 months ago the Yanks were wrong aboutr Kennedy and not think that in 10 months it can reverse would be silly… many great starters, Hall of Famers even, have failures like Kennedy. Nothing about him impresses me but all I know is that I don’t know right now.

          Big Pelf is the real deal tho.

    • dave27 says:

      Kennedy is the Bill Pulsipher of the trio…the guy with mediocre stuff who is being overhyped so as to keep including him with the other two with more dominant stuff.

      • The Slider says:

        Pulsipher actually threw pretty hard when he first came up. It was after he hurt his arm that his velocity suffered.

  4. hotchipwillbreakyourlegs says:

    we need to get willie back here so those youngsters can be put back in their place on the bench while willie plays his guys (tatis and marlon in the corners and easley at 2nd 5 times a week).

    • chico says:

      That’s not called “Big Willie Style” is it?

    • toomanyuniforms says:

      And the clubhouse would have back that funereal pall that made Mets baseball oh, so much fun during the latter months of the Willie era!

  5. patrick says:

    lets not be so hasty to judge Hughes or Kennedy because frankly last year and early this year Pelfrey looked stiffish.

    Bottom line though, prognosticators of the minors often simply miss out, you hear about the can’t miss this, can’t miss that, I look at a guy like Murphy and think SURE he is not going to hit in the high .300s, but he certainly can be a valuable contributor and every player at the major league level. And given time I think Evans can as well.

    The Mets should just role with what they have and let the chips fall as they may in 2008. 2009 should be a very promising year.

    • hotchipwillbreakyourlegs says:

      agreed. i’d venture to guess a lot of mets fans WANTED to see pelf in the santana deal. turns out he just needed to get his feet wet.

      as far as hughes and kennedy go, we will see. Nobody has seen enough of them to make a judgment either way.

    • gameball says:

      Thing I love about Murphy isn’t the numbers he’s putting up, it’s that he’s driving tough pitches to the opposite field, which is a skill that the superprospects usually have to learn at the big-league level, if they learn it at all.

      Last night he said that he knows pitchers are going to start wising up to his game and pitching him inside, and that he’ll have to adjust to that, which shows a vateran’s approach to hitting.

      They might have lost that game 3-1 without his two-out hit in the first. Clutch hitting in a pennant race while playing out of position. Not bad.

  6. gameball says:

    Wallace Mathews?? Wow. I thought he was a Yankee mole at the News in the employ of Hank.

    • ravi3 says:

      I wonder if Wally Matthews is like that Indians fan in Major League 2….The team is doing so poorly that he bashses them without abandon, but once Rick Vaughn becomes the Wild Thing again he turns his previously inside out jersey right side out, and cheers with everyone else…….Damn front runner.

      • QnsNative718 says:

        haha. I remember that character all too well. (Randy Quaid) And in his defense, he wasnt a front runner. He was just frustrated. You didnt see him with a White Sox cap on did you? ; )

    • bhorn19 says:

      Wallace Matthews is the guy you love to hate. In much the same way that Jon Heyman was when he was a columnist for Newsday not too long ago. He loves to stir the pot but in this case he’s taking shots at da Jankees. Nice to see.

      And by the way, “the News” is short for the Daily News, not Newsday. Small mistake, i know, but that stuff bothers me. I wouldn’t want you running around sounding like an idiot.

      • dave27 says:

        Wally’s ‘positive’ Mets article today would not have been complete however, wtihout the inaccurate suggestion that Minnesota was given a choice between Pelfrey and Humber.

        Wally is like any Yankees fan – he’s cranky right now. God forbid he write something positive about Pelfrey without airing his grievances about the Yankees “Generation K, The Sequel.”

      • gameball says:

        Right . . . Newsday, of course.

        I read my baseball news on line now, and the tabloids begin to melt into one big blob in my thinking.

  7. HoJoWright says:

    I love watching the young guys. it is so much better than watching the older fellas trying to find their old form. GO METS.

    looking good.

  8. Chan Ho Parking Lot says:

    I guess El Duque being unable to pitch was a blessing in disguise because Pelfrey would have been in AAA then.

  9. reyesnwright says:

    Man, this is so nice to see after hearing all off season from analysts and fans of other teams that the Mets were too old to do anything this season and that the Phillies, Marlins and Braves (HA!) would all have better years. I guess in some ways they were an old team to start the year and Alou, El Duque, Wagner and Castillo (who isn’t even that old but just seems to be) clearly broke down. However, Alou and El Duque everyone expected to miss significant time and with Castillo we just hoped. Delgado’s obviously done more than anyone expected, but is so nice to see so many guys come up and do such a good job when our farm system was ranked among the worst in the league.

  10. SlowRoller86 says:

    nice to see some of the contributions from Reyes, Evans, and Murphy, but remember, they have done well in platoon roles, so it is yet to be seen what kind of everyday player they would be.

    nonetheless it is exactly kind of good fortune Omar needed out of an exhausted farm system. take those three out and the Mets have maybe three (Fmart, Niese, and Kunz) player MLB ready in the next two years.

    their best talent still lies in lower A ball and these three have at least helped bridge the gap.

    Flores is the next Fmart to watch and will probably get to the ML at a faster pace (not actually before) him

    some of the arms drafted in the last two years are showing some early promse as well

    • FelixMillan says:

      I agree, although I sorely wish the Mets hadn’t left that other Flores unprotected. Who can’t use a solid catcher for the future?

    • patrick says:

      Flores and Marte are performing very nicely, but so did Martinez in low A. Next year will determine just how good this duo really is.

  11. FelixMillan says:

    This reminds me of the draft that the Giants GM Jerry Reese had in his first year. Many of the players flew under the radar, yet look at how much they contributed to the Jints Superbowl run. It’s great to see these largely unheralded Mets helping in a big way. Moises who?

  12. 7train says:

    Daniel Son !

    Miagi !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  13. Prince Ollie says:

    i dunno if i’m ready to consider these guys major league caliber talent yet. especially a. reyes, who isn’t fast enough to count his speed as a tool and has luis castillo power. for everybody screaming about how great the rookies are, remember how down on pelfrey everyone was after he had service time comparable to murphy, evans & a. reyes. you can’t judge a player in a month. at this point i’d consider them valuable chips rather than the future of the mets.

    • metsftw says:

      argenis can’t hit and will be exposed if he continues to start. however, based on murphy’s constant string of good AB’s, there’s good reason to believe he can at least stay in the majors. how productive he’ll be is obviously impossible to tell. but the plate discipline he’s shown can’t be taught. as keith said yesterday, some guys have good strike zone recognition and some guys just don’t.

    • patrick says:

      at some point you have to look at a corner outfield spot and 1b and 2b and say keep your own.

      Again, Evans and Murphy might not be superstars in the making as Reyes and Wright were considered, but somewhere you need to get 25-40 HRs and 180 RBIs from solid guys.

    • The Slider says:

      How many home runs did Wally Backman hit?

      Argenis is the Latino Wally Backman. I love this kid. I wish he was the everyday starting second baseball. High baseball IQ. Excellent fielder. Give me more Argenis please.

  14. 911nafstem says:

    On a related note, Mets fans should give Mike Hampton a standing ovation tonight because if he didn’t leave NY we wouldn’t have gotten David Wright.

  15. mrmustseetv says:

    I must say that I am pleasantly surprised by how the Mets youngsters have developed and must tip my hat to them because I undervalued some of them at some points.

    Daniel Murphy, Argenis Reyes, Mike Pelfrey, Nick Evans and Joe Smith – of the bunch, I really only expected good things from Pelfrey and that’s because I felt his problem was more mental and confidence, and Peterson messing too much with his approach.

    You still have Jon Niese, Bobby Parnell, Eddie Kunz and Fernando Martinez in the minors, so the Mets will have some interesting choices to make soon as to who plays where. Also, I still have hope for Ike Davis and Reese Havens, and Brad Holt seems to be developing quicker than I expected.

    A few things:

    1) Murphy: I’d like to see Murphy play some winter ball at second base and see if that is a viable option for him. I’m not convinced and it may be that left field is his best position, since he doesn’t have the power for 1st, the arm for right and won’t be displacing Wright any time soon.

    I’m thinking that Murphy simply stick in left field.

    2) Evans: You could continue the left field platoon in left and have him play some first next year as well with Delgado.

    That said, I still think it would be a good move to get Mark Texiera, and collect the draft picks for Delgado. But Evans gives the Mets some options (i.e., Evans and Delgado split time).

    3) Argenis Reyes: He doesn’t have the greatest tools, but he’s a scrapper and goes all out, which this team lacked last year. He plays great defense and just is in the middle of everything. He’s the anti-Castillo.

    I’d like to see him play some short and third in winter ball, so that at the very least he’s a useful utility players. In a good lineup, I think you could live with him and his defense at second.

    The Mets have got to find a way to TRADE CASTILLO IN THE OFFSEASON. Even, if you eat half of his contract, you have to dump him. He is everything that was wrong with this team.

    4) Pelfrey: Pelfrey is arguable the Mets #2 starter behind Johan right now. The Mets have to resign Perez, and hoping Maine is healthy, a rotation of Johan, Pelfrey, Perez and Maine could be around for another 3 seasons (when Maine is a free agent).

    5) Kunz: Scouts differ on this kid. I like the fact that he gets ground balls. The walks scare me. Hopefully he learns to curb the walks. At the very least, he’s a middle reliever for the Mets next year.

    6) Niese: I have to admit it, I’ve never been a Niese guy and those that read my posts over at MSG know I’ve at times said he was Glendon Rusch-lite, but he keeps proving me wrong, so maybe I should continue to belittle his value. :)

    I can see him, Parnell and a spring training invitee battling it out for the 5th spot next year, with Niese coming out on top.

    7) Parnell: I like Parnell. I’ve been touting him as a sleeper for over 2 years now. He gets a ton of groundballs. My only concern is his lack of good change and the fact that he seems to lose velocity after the 4th/5h inning. To me that cries out reliever.

    I can see him being converted to a reliever at some point next year.

    8) Martinez: The Teenage Hitting Machine will lose that nickname when he turns 20. He needs to stay healthy and I think he could use a half a season in AAA next year.

    It will be interesting what happens between Evans, Murphy and Church with regards to playing time at the corner outfield spots when Martinez is ready.

    9) Havens: I like his toughness and grit. I’m concerned about the elbow. If he’s going to be converted to a catcher, it will be probably 3 years until we see him in the majors. If he goes to second base, then he could progress quickly.

    10) Davis: I like him. His swing is off from what I say on TV to when I saw him live. He seems to have developed a hitch in his swing where he lowers his hands. It looks a tad like what Havens does, but it works for him. Still, once he gets it goes, his swing is pretty sweet. I think he can also play left field if needed.

    The Mets do have some nice prospects on the horizon.

    • The Slider says:

      Don’t you work?

    • gowrightgo says:

      Really long recap but thoughtful and well said.

      The big questions for next year are pretty easy to see. We have decision to make about the LF spot, 2b spot, 1b spot, at least one starter and probably 2 or more relievers

      Can we trust Evans and Murphy to some combination of spots that allow us not to get Texiera or some new LF?

      A Reyes is the teams utility guys of the future. Not the pop that Easly has but definitely a steady fielder with a decent bat

    • kbh218 says:

      Cerone needs to hire this guy to work for MetsBlog. Great analysis.

    • ExileInLA says:

      I like a lot of your analysis, but I think you’re off on some of the younger kids.

      Parnell isn’t in the discussion for 2009, and it’s too early to worry about where exactly Havens & Davis will play — let them work thru to the FSL first. For 09, the potential additions to the team are Kunz, Niese and FMart.

      I agree with you about Murphy, except to note that he’s 6′3″ tall — that makes him a BIG target when he’s turning the double play. That may be part of the reason he’s getting extended LF time; there’s ALWAYS a place for a bat like he’s been swinging in his first month.

      Texeira can’t be the #1 priority for next year. First, BAL & NYY will be desparate for him, and offer crazy $$. Also, especially with Wags’ condition, signing F-Rod to close has to be the #1 spending prioirity. High picks out of college (like Ike Davis) should be ready 2-3 years after being drafted; why lock in to Texeira at the expense of the pen?

      • mrmustseetv says:

        Here’s my concern on F-Rod.

        1) He’s being overworked by the Angels, because they know they are not resigning him and pretty much are okay with running him out every day.

        2) Be wary of the innings he’s accumulating this season. Bobby Thigpen was never the same after his 57 save season. His stuff was down every year after that.

        3) $12-13M on a closer with his workload would make me nervous. I’m not saying I wouldn’t do it if there was not other option, but it concerns me.

        • moustache17 says:

          i dont understand why everyone thinks k-rod is being overworked by the angels. He’s thrown 52.3 innings this year or 2 more then Duaner. Let’s get this guy, it’s obviously going to be our biggest hole & hes the best option by far

    • Chan Ho Parking Lot says:

      You think getting Teixeira would be a good move, but do you think it would be a good move to sign him to an 8 year, 185 million dollar deal? Because that is what it’s going to take with Boras.

      • mrmustseetv says:

        I’m not worried about 8 years to be honest. And as for the price, the Mets don’t have an excuse anymore.

        1) The own a cable network.

        2) They are getting $20M a year from Citibank for the naming right to the stadium, which would pay for Tex’s contract.

        3) The added revenue from the stadium would be about an extra $8M.

        4) And they have about $30M coming off the books.

        No excuse not to sign Tex, resign Ollie and still have something left for a reliever.

    • murdertron3000 says:

      Nice breakdown.

      One thing though: there wouldn’t be any draft picks if Delgado left. If a team declines an option year they get no compensatory picks.

  16. Phillies in NYC says:

    you guys signed another reyes….Al……being reported online

  17. chico says:

    One problem, if Delgado leaves, and I hope he does, we don’t get any draft picks.

  18. Zoe says:

    Oh I just posted too about the young ‘uns–but in relation to the other unlikely success, the Rays and Marlins. Of their current 25-man rosters, Rays have 14 players born 1980 or later, Marlins 15. Right now we’ve got 9, and the only one who’s struggling is Maine, because of his shoulder.

  19. JohnMilner says:

    And so, what do you all think the Mets will do about pitching for next year. If Pedro and Ollie are gone, will the Mets load up and go for Sabathia or Lackey?

    • Peter says:

      Jon Garland and either a Pedro redux or a smaller name to compete for 5th spot.

    • toomanyuniforms says:

      Sabathia will be a Yankee. Come on, people.

      • Ceetar says:

        Ink’s already drying right?

        Maybe Sabathia will enjoy the pennant race in Milwaukee and realize he doesn’t want to go to a ho-hum Yankee team and that his ring options are better elsewhere.

        • FelixMillan says:

          Unless the Yankees get younger awfully fast, I don’t see them being as attractive as they’ve been in the past. They also need a decent centerfielder.

        • hjhjhjhjhj says:

          come on….im as big a met fan as you probably are….the yankees and still the YANKEES….

        • 911nafstem says:

          Mets CANNOT let Ollie go. He’s younger than Sabathia, and frankly, I think he has better stuff

        • Gina says:

          I don’t know that he has better stuff but I agree. It just doesn’t make any sense to let Perez walk.

    • Gina says:

      Rather than breaking the bank for CC I’d rather resign Perez and go after Jon Garland.

      IMO, resigning Perez should be the #1 priority in the off-season. Then filling the other rotation spot/retooling the bullpen, then position players.

      • SlowRoller86 says:

        I agree with signing Perez being the top priority, but watch Pedro carefully down the stretch. he stunk at the outset, but the guy has been out of the majors for a year and a half.

        he is still not Pedro of old, but he has been much more effective over his last 6 starts and might be a bargain for a two year 5th starter. I know that it has el duque written all over it, but if he regains his command, he could have a very strong finish.

        cant imagine he wants to go more than two years and you would think the Mets should get a bit of a discount for their overpaying the last time.

        he could easily pitch to a mid 3 ERA the rest of the way and signing Perez would lock up a rotation that is rolling right now.

        IF he stays healthy down the stretch and post mid 3, I would give him 8-10 a year for two years ala Glavine

        • Gina says:

          My issue with bringing Pedro back is the injury worry, we don’t have very much starting pitching depth and I don’t want to have to be leaning on retreads mid season like we are now, plus bringing back the exact same rotation will give us the exact same bullpen issues, because of them not throwing enough innings, we have now. I’d rather spend the money and go out and a get a guy like Garland.

          Plus as much as I love Perez he is a head case, and I really have no idea what to make of Maine right now. I’d like to have someone other than Johan in the rotation we can count on from day to day.

  20. kistics says:

    Do you think that the Mets are going to pickup Delgado’s option? Couple weeks ago, we all said that the option should be picked up. But since then, he seems to have come down to earth. They can have Murphy/Evans playing 1B and go for a big OF with Delgado’s money.

  21. The Dotel Motel says:

    I agree with the statement about the Mets top priority in the offseason should be resigning Ollie and signing a starter like Jon Garland (whom btw I don’t think would be cheap either).

    However when it comes to looking for a closer (which is to say if Wags is indeed out for say Tommy John surgery) I am NOT in the school of thought that we should just sign K-Rod because he will just cost us money. I do believe you probably could trade for a closer. Most intriguing name I think for the Mets would be Joe Nathan. Again, while he signed a contract extension before this season began, many insiders said it was so the Twins could then possibly deal him and the contract (which is affordable) for a nice size package (I believe some suggested initially the Cubs as interested).

    If the Mets and Twins could once again come together on a package (easier said then done I know, especially after the Santana trade), I think Nathan would be terrific. Again, easier said then done.

    As far as getting middle relief, I have said this for years, essentially with the exception of signing or trading for a closer signing middle relief men to 2-3 contracts are so unpredictable. Look at Scott Schoenwies last year and then this year. This same, God awful bullpen could literally be unhittable NEXT year. Middle relief is the ultimate crapshoot.

  22. T-Pac says:

    Can someone please give me some, any, concrete evidence that Argenis Reyes has done anything positive to help the Mets this season?

    All I’ve heard has been weak anecdotal evidence and terribly overused cliches. He’s a solid fielder, but he just does not have the bat to be a major leaguer, let alone a starter.

    • toomanyuniforms says:

      “Weak anecdotal evidence” including key performance in key spots?

      For the love of Bill James, you can’t tell absolutely EVERYTHING about a player by reading a spreadsheet several weeks later.

      • T-Pac says:

        Again, what key performance, and in what key spots? That is even weaker than simple anecdotal evidence — it is no evidence at all! Not surprising, because there is no evidence to draw upon — he simply hasn’t produced!

        Argenis Reyes has proven to be good at one thing — making outs.

  23. coach says:

    I think the Mets should let Delgado go, I don’t think you can go into next season thinking he is going to duplicate this year or be better.

    I don’t know how many of you read the Joel Sherman post but I loved it and I would really love to have Jim Callis from Baseball America tell us how bad our prospects are now and how good the Yankees are.

    I’m sure when the next BA rankings come out we will once again be in the lower ranked farm systems while the all mighty yankees and their hype machine farm system will be top 10. And by the way when asked about our draft this year Callis discribed it a “very vanilla”

    • theperfectgame says:

      Vanilla is a versatile, successful, and relatively valuable spice. Hey, maybe it was meant to be a compliment. Thanks, Jimbo!!