Daily Archives: December 18, 2008
The following clip is of J.J. Putz, speaking to reporters today, during his press conference and tour of Citi Field:
To check out SNY’s Kevin Burkhardt talk one-on-one with Putz, courtesy of SNY, click here.
Last week, it was reported that Fred Wilpon’s Sterling Equities lost roughly $300 million to Bernard L. Madoff’s investment firm, as did others, in what federal authorities are describing as a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.
On Tuesday, the New York Times raised questions about whether the losses would impact the Mets, while wondering if the team will eventually need to be sold.
As such, Jeff Wilpon had the following to say, as quoted by USA Today:
“The individual partners lost some money at Madoff. It doesn’t affect the Mets. It doesn’t affect the Citi Field project. It doesn’t affect SNY or any of our other operating businesses.”
Wilpon also told the newspaper that the Mets are not for sale, adding, “Not a piece of it, not a part of it, none of it.”
J.J. Putz was introduced to reporters today at Citi Field.
Putz later was as a guest on WFAN, which you can listen to here.
When asked by WFAN whether it will be difficult serving as a set-up man to Francisco Rodriguez, Putz said, “I just want to win, man. It’s gonna be fine. I’ve done it before, and Frankie is not a bad guy to have to set up.”
Putz said, of course, he prefers to be a closer, ‘but at the same time, winning is Priority No. 1, and if that means I have to pitch in the sixth or seventh inning some time, so be it.”
Putz says he loves the pressure, he knows New York is bigger, he’s excited for the pressure and can’t wait to feed off the fan’s energy in Citi Field, which, he says, ‘by the way, I saw earlier and it’s incredible.’
For more on Putz’s day in Citi Field, read Newsday.
Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com believes the Mets and Indians are among several teams to contact free-agent, left-handed reliever Will Ohman.
According to Crasnick, “The Mets, already in the market for a lefty reliever to complement Pedro Feliciano, could be ready to step up their efforts for Ohman now that Philadelphia has added lefty hitter Raul Ibanez to its lineup.”
Ohman, 31, was 4-1 record with a 3.68 ERA in 83 appearances for the Braves last season, during which he struck out 53 batters in 59 innings, while lefties hit .200 against him.
Ohman is reportedly seeking a two– or three-year deal, similar to contracts recently signed by Jeremy Affeldt, Damaso Marte and Kyle Farnsworth, i.e., around $4.5 million per season.
Speaking of relief pitchers…
According to MLB.com, 19 teams, including the Mets and Braves, have contacted free-agent reliever Joe Nelson.
Yesterday, during the team’s press conference introducing Francisco Rodriguez, Mets GM Omar Minaya told reporters that he will only puruse Derek Lowe if the pitcher’s price drops from its current level – otherwise he will continue to focus on re-signing Oliver Perez, while keeping tabs on pitchers such as Randy Wolf, Tim Redding, Daniel Cabrera, and others.
…as i wrote yesterday, from what i understand, the Mets want lowe, and like their position, so long as things continue to drag out…the Mets believe they can compete with the Red Sox for him, because neither team is likely to dish out a four– or five-year deal – at that point, it comes down to money, comfort, etc.…
…so, as long as the Yankees stay on the sideline, the Mets are in good shape…in short, it will likely come down to lowe making a tough decision for lowe…
Meanwhile, yesterday, Jerry Manuel had plenty of compliments for Perez, according to the Daily News, who quote him as saying, among other things:
“From a manager’s point of view, I’d love to have Perez back. That’s not my department, (but) I’m hoping to see him back.”
That said, according to Ken Rosenthal, at FoxSports.com:
“The Red Sox and Mets remain possibilities for Lowe, and the Yankees conceivably could re-enter the picture if they fail to re-sign free-agent Andy Pettitte.”
By the way, Rosenthal provides great detail on the market for Mark Teixeira and Manny Ramirez, during which the Mets are never mentioned.
Speaking of starting pitchers…
Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that 35–year-old Japanese LHP Koji Mitsui will post for MLB teams to bid on.
Lastly, John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus believes the Pirates top the list of teams pursuing Cabrera, who has also drawn interest from the Brewers, Padres, Rangers and Nationals.
Tagged Oliver Perez |
The Mets introduced Francisco Rodriguez to reporters yesterday, prior to the team’s annual Holiday Party, during which Mike Pelfrey dressed up as Santa Clause and John Maine served as his elf.
During the event, Jerry Manuel told reporters that Rodriguez and J.J. Putz will share the closing duties next season – with Rodriguez getting the majority of opportunities.
…as he should…i think this will be a great situation, especially since K-Rod has shown himself to be only a one-inning pitcher…i’m sure some newspapers will try to spin this in to an unnecessary ‘quarterback controversy,’ but in reality this is nothing but a good thing…
Putz will be introduced to today in an informal Q&A with reporters, during a walk around Citi Field.
To read quotes from Manuel, as well as other details from the event, check out the New York Post, the New York Times, the Bergen Record, and Newsday, who quotes Pelfrey as saying:
“As a starter, your job is still to go as deep into the game as possible, but you only have to go seven now… You give the ball to those guys in the eighth and ninth and you know pretty much that they’re going to shut the door.”
…by the way, according to the Times report, rodriguez had, ‘K-Rod,’ stitched in to the sleeves of the dress shirt he was wearing with his three-piece, pinstriped suit…slick, buddy…
The Mets will debut Citi Field in 2009 with a two-game charity 
exhibition series against the Red Sox, on Friday, April 3 at 6:10 p.m. and Saturday, April 4, at 1:10 p.m.
According to a team press release, ‘The Mets Foundation will donate the net proceeds from ticket sales from these games to the Police Athletic League and other area charities.’
Also, ‘Full Season Ticket Holders will have both Red Sox exhibition games included in their 2009 Mets Season Ticket packages at substantially discounted prices as compared with regular season games. Single game tickets for April 3-4 will be similarly discounted and go on sale in the weeks ahead.’
To view the entire spring training schedule, and to learn about purchasing tickets, click here.
…i had a ton of fun last year during spring training…it was my first time down there, and it was a very unique experience…i highly recommend it…it’s like merging Little League and MLB in to one setting…i hope to be down there again this coming spring…
