The Rangers released Frank Catalanotto yesterday, according to MLB.com.
The 34–year-old Catalanotto, who was born in Long Island, hit .274 with a 26 extra base hits and a .342 OBP in 88 games with Texas last season.
He hit .260 in 2007, .300 in 2006 and .301 in 2005, while getting at least 330 at bats in each season.
He has regularly played first base, left field and right field during the last few seasons. He has not played second base since 2002.
…i realize Marlon Anderson is only making $1.15 million in his last year or a two-year contract, and i know he’s a nice guy and his teammates love and appreciate him, as does Jerry Manuel, but i would much, much rather have catalanotto on the bench than marlon…
…i’ve always been a big fans of his, and i recall reading a story about Carlos Delgado praising frank’s ability to read pitchers and educate the bench, giving him credit for what he brought to the Blue Jays in 2003 and 2004… additionally, the players on the Rangers were quite vocal in the press about missing catalanotto when he left texas in 2003, while celebrating his return in 2007… this, to me, is a great sign…
…from what i can gather, marlon is on a short-leash anyway… it would not surprise me to see him cut before June, and replaced by either Nick Evans or Jonathan Malo… but, that’s a long way away…
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I grew up in Smithtown and was friends with him as a little kid – his mom used to make us spagetti-O’s with chopped up hot dogs…
More importantly though, I think he does offer more veersatility than Marlon, but we already have versatile guys. He is more suited to step in and start in case of an injury though. It’s definitely worth a long look, but I wonder if they would eat $1MM to sign a relatively similar player….
the question is whether Catalanotto is worth 1 mil more than Anderson.
i say yes…
Catalanotto on a bad year is still better than Anderson on a good year.
He can play 1B, 2B LF and RF and would be able to start if needed something Anderson can longer do.
not to mention he’s a New Yorker…
How about neither? Nick Evans anyone?
i’d rather him play everyday in AAA than once a week in the MLB.
when Tatis goes down, he’ll be the first one up…
Exactly – why can’t anyone else discern between 34-year old veteran bench players like Catalanotto or Anderson and 22-year old prospects like Evans?
I don’t care what age the players are. I want the ones with the best bat coming out of my bench when I call their name to pinch hit.
but if Evans doesn’t play everyday, you stunt his growth as a prospect. So while you may get the benefit of his bat off the bench in the short term, in the long term, you may be missing out on developing a good everyday player.
Well the object is to build a team of complementary parts and roles, not make a list of the best 25 players in a vacuum and run it out there.
Evans should be playing every day. Maybe you have missed this in your time watching baseball, but coming off the bench is HARD. Many of the greatest players in the game struggle with it. Guys like Catalanotto and Anderson have mastered what is a unique skill – sitting idly for 6-7 innings and then being able to come in and be effective. Evans has not demonstrated that ability, and it’s more important he develop as an every day player. to say nithing of your lack of a LH bat oof the bench if you took Evans over Marlon.
Evans over e ither of them.
Look, Evans can play for Delgado, Church and Murphy once a week or so. It shouldn’t be tough to get him 15 AB a week. That’s at least more than half of what he’d get full time down in AAA, and here if anyone went down, I’d feel more comfortable if he was to step in from up here, rather than cold from AAA pitchers.
i see what your saying ceet and i do not think evans is going anywhere(omar really likes him). I think franks AB off the bench would be more productive than experimenting with evans out there(by experimenting it means adjusting to ML pitching). We get frank on the bench and evans in the minors developing. Evans can be called up when rosters expand. Thats my opinion.
well, Evans has hit this spring. hard. and he did pretty well during his second stint last year.
I was watching him a lot when I went to Spring Training, and from watching he looked really good. I was watching him plaster the Marlins clubhouse during BP, 450feet away in left field.
Probably plenty of bias too, I mean it’s much more exciting to watch Evans than Anderson. I believe a handful of at-bats in the majors is worth a lot more than at-bats in the minors. Trial by fire, and I don’t think Evans would be a liability at all. I’ll trust Omar and Manuel’s roster decisions, but marlon just feels like a deadend.
i agree with you 100% reg anderson and unfortunatly this decision is not about the best tema but $$. I hope everyone is right about him being on a short leash because he has not impressed me one bit. As far as evans i agree ML AB are more helpful but he has trouble with breaking pitches and he can work on that in the minors. When he comes up he can immediatly contribute. With frank he has been in the ML and can handle ML pitching. Theres no real mystery with frank as to what to expect. With evans its still a question mark imo. I like evans and im sure we will see more of him…i just want to have the best team on the field.
To repeat my post of about 3 weeks ago,
I knew the Italian team in the WBC was
in trouble when before their 1st gm.-
Sutcliffe said “as a pitcher,theres always-
-one hitter in a line-up you dont want to-
-beat you”For the Italians,its Catalanotto”
Eee ghats!!-Having said that though,
Sign him and cut Marlon!
Catalonotto is easily better than Anderson.
Agreed! Heck,Bobby Kielty is easily
better than Marlon at this point.
maybe so but how can you expect the owners of one of the richest franchises in all of sports, in New York City, with a brand new stadium selling prices at all time high levels to just eat 1 million dollars and cut marlon anderson……..(sarcasm)
Agree with Fong, Oleo, and Wanny here….this would be a wonderful move….alas, it probably won’t happen…..maybe if Marlon is hitting .100 after a few weeks and Catalanotto is still available it will happen then….
Malo? If he is on the Mets something went disasterously wrong. He is a AA version of Joe McEwing, lets hope he stays down there all year…
Now Catalanotto instead of Anderson, I could get behind that idea. He would be more like a lefty version of Fernando Tatis, which would give the bench two nice bats who can play all over. With Cora being held back as the glove who can play all over.
who is Jonathan Malo? Saw him in the games, but never heard of him before that.
I’d definitely take Catalanotto over Anderson. Unfortunate b/c Marlon is very likable and was one of the few who gave a darn when they were slumping last year.
That said, he’s shot. He can’t play any defensive position and his hitting is very poor. It’s not easy to pinch hit but he had a 40 OPS+ last year. Jorge Sosa had a 48 OPS+.
Marlon has to go.
another utility bench guy? Always like Frank but cmon bring us sheff, at least to keep him off the phillies.
i respectfully disagree… i dont think we need him and i dotn think the phills want him.
Shef’s a horrible guy to bring in….all he does is whine and moan and divide clubhouses and get sent on his way….to team after team….there is a reason a guy with HOF talent has bounced around so much…..no chance Omar touches him, and praise be to Omar for that!
Oh no, you just got Brock Started
Haha! I just think we have a great group this year….and we have lost the old and injury prone has-beens (well, except for Marlon!), we have a lot of youth, and not really one malcontent….Sheffield would change ALL of that in one fell swoop!!
agree again. Shef’s a nightmare!
Bad guy, bad fielder. Now sans roids,
always hurt and is at the end of the road.
Couldnt ya just see with his ego,problems
b/c Murp and Church are playin’everyday
while he(Shef) sits. Bad, bad idea!
Fong, agreed 100%! The first day a tough lefty was pitching and Shef was sitting, he would be blabbing and whining to the press…of course, it would be hard for Shef to get away with calling Jerry a racist, but he would think of something stupid and selfish to say…..
True BUT remember,
theres always “the uncle tom card”.
Good point! Of course that would be Shef’s card to play!
Thats what I meant.
I almost want him to go to the Phillies.
ceetar i agree! i almost want the phillies to bring him in to disrupt the clubhouse! to talk about his lack of playing time and talk bad about werth or ibanez when they dont get the job done..it would break up their team!
Agreed. Them signing Sheffield would be like throwing a stick of dynamite in the clubhouse. They had problems with Brett Myers in the past. Imagine Sheff.
I think omar should pick this guy up. Marlon is a waste of space and evans can benfit from playing everyday in the minors. Get this guy, cut marlon.
Hey guys, whatever happened to split squad ST games? Havent been any this year that i can remember.
Looking that Baltimores lineup, there missing all of there regulars
That is an outstanding question…..maybe with the WBC and players being gone, they didn’t plan many this year??
i think….just spitballing here but maybe your right kingman about the WBC. All the “split squad” guys got their work in when the stars were playing in the WBC.
Get this guy! We need a native Italian Long Islander on the Mets!
I second THAT!
SIGN HIM NOW! HE IS VERY VERSTILE. AND A GOOD PLAYER.!
And Most Important, Italian!
I would sign him and cut Marlon.
But…
It does not look good for him that the Rangers kept ANDRUW JONES and cut this guy…if he is so good why wouldn’t they keep him? I know the Rangers have the best minor league system, but come on.
Like I said, I would definitely take him over Marlon, but at what price?
but the Rangers are one of the worst organizations in all of sports.
i think he was batting like over .300 this spring too…
I suggest you read Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus reviews of Texas’ current farm system before calling them one of the worst organizations in all of sports. If 1/8 of the players in their system reach their potential, your point will be smashed in devastating style.
the Senators/Rangers organization has 3 playoff appearence since 1961.
(all of which coming from 1996-1999)
i mean they havent had good pitching since Nolan Ryan and Charlie Hough
And the Mets were a laughingstock in the early 1960s.
Wake up, it’s 2009 and Texas is loaded with the league’s best farm system. Will it work out for them? Who knows? But there’s not a major league executive who wouldn’t want to be dealing with Smoak, Davis, Main, Feliz, Holland, Saltalamacchia, Teagarden, etc.
Their haul in the Texeira trade was fantastic. Their drafts have been excellent.
Texas, by the way, also had Kenny Rogers and Kevin Brown, for the sake of accuracy.
all 3 during the height of the teams
steroid abuse! They stink! Great park&
Solid scouting BUT except for that,
they stink! Dopey owner, clueless fans
and a crappy city.
This terribly run organization recently traded Texiera for Elvis Andrus Saltalamacchia, Matt Harrison and Neftali Feliz (considered by many among the top 5 pitching prospects in baseball). At least 3 of these players, if not all 4, will be on their major league roster this season. Texeira was then traded for Casey Kotchmann.
They also traded for Hamilton in one of the best two-way deals in recent history. Remember, Volquez had some shots in Texas that didn’t work out.
Hopefully, for them, their trade for McCarthy works out now that he’s healthy because John Danks is looking good in Chitown.
Their drafts have been fantastic.
It’s time to stop living in the 80s.
But, until they start winning they are still the Rangers.
Wanny, I dont have time for a nice back
and forth with you over this right now.
What I will say is ARod signing bad move,
and while you may like what they got in
the Texeira move, we’ll see. All these Braves
prospects are built up and most never
become much of anything. A couple yrs
ago the Rangers had Volquez,Danks and
Galarraga about to reach the Majors
and now all are good young Pitchers
for someone else. I know they got back
Hamilton and while hes a great story,
Good luck building you’re team around
a recovering stone cold junkie.
That always works out.
And again, this team which always seems
to produce good young players,never Wins.
Omar uses the fact that he is hispanic to his advantage during negotiations in order to attract latin players. i have no problem with that at all.
although it would be nice if Omar would actually address the team’s needs during the season as oppose to after the season but as the phrase goes, better late than never…
We’re not talking about always, we’re talking about now. And right now, the Rangers have more good baseball players in their organization than any other.
No, it doesn’t guarantee success. But it’s the only way to start.
And your shot at Hamilton is uncalled for. He’s been pretty darn good for two years now. And I doubt there is a GM in the league that woudn’t take him right now.
This is a really good question, as Catalanotto is more versatile and has not declined as much….perhaps he was a steroid guy during his good years and the Rangers know this??
Then again, the Rangers have not exactly distinguished themselves with good decisions the last decade or so…..
C’mon Brock,’roids?
More like a Veal Cutlet Parm guy!
The Rangers are clueless!
Thats why they stink!
As someone who lived for a while in
Dallas an followed first hand,they again
STINK. They dont know what they’re doin’.
I’m sure they kept Jones trying to catch lightning in a bottle with a guy with much greater upside. If Jones shows anything, he can always be traded in July for pitching.
the rangers dont do pitching
That’s just an asinine thing to say. They may have made bad decisions in the past with starting pitchers but it’s not because they don’t want good ones.
In the meantime, they have more top flight high ceiling pitching prospects than any other two teams combined among Holland, Feliz, Main, etc.
remember andrew jones was at one time one of the most feared hitteres in the NL(too many braves games to remember). From what i hear they have a very good hitting coach over there and they must feel they can get him back to where he was a few years ago.
I’m definitely in favor of Cat over Anderson. But let’s not delude ourselves into thinking Cat is an adequate fielder at any position — even if he is a better option than Anderson.
I would have taken Marlon over Evans, only because coming off the bench isn’t easy, and Marlon has had some success with it…combined with being in better shape, he had a better chance to succeed than Evans.
However, Frank has ALSO been successful off the bench, is a better hitter than Marlon, and is also a bit more versatile…I for one cringed whenever Anderson was in the OF.
As an aside, I just noticed that the Mets play the Rays at Citi this year…..Can you imagine the hoopla surrounding a game which Kazmir would start for TB? Even worse- the hoopla surrounding the game if he shuts the Mets down??
I would have taken Marlon over Evans too. If they chose Evans, and cut Marlon, then he would have been “gone forever”. You never know, Marlon is one of those “every other year” players. Might as well take a chance on the guy and send Evans down. But if it is the case of Marlon or Cat. I would choose Cat.
But like I said, at what price? I am sure they tried to trade him before releasing him. If we cut Marlon at 1.5 mil, what would it cost to sign Cat? Another 1.5? Is it really worth 3 mil? Especially for another bench player?
The Ranger’s are on the hook for his salary. They get back up to his salary based on what we pay him.
Thus if he makes 1.5 million and we sign him for league minimum then they pay about 1 million for him and we pay .5.
then I would do it, what is your take on this, real?
It really is a duh move. But I would imagine that there are other teams in the running.
I agree Nick Evans May Be the Answer
what about wily mo pena as a possible signing? hes still young, has some pop from the right side and might be willing to take a minor league contract at this point. id like to have another right hander off the bench.
cattalanoto has that leader on the bench type personality but hes alot left handed. i feel like hed be another alex cora
The Cat will not really cost but what league minimum and then cut Anderson. Thus we get him for 1.6 million?
and considering the Mets paid more for the awful Alex Cora, you would think 1.6 mil for a solid bench player is well within their budger
I am one who believes all the “Los Mets” stuff is overblown, and I want the best 25 guys regardless of their race or creed, but I think this is worth throwing out there: if the Mets cut Marlon Anderson, the number of African American Mets will be zero.
i was thinking the same thing but Jerry is black so they shouldn’t have to worry about that.
on a side note, do the Mets have a single black prospect???
Let’s move on….
no i asked a question and i’d like for someone to answer it
do the Mets have a single black prospect?
As a high school teacher at a school that is 58% minority with good basketball and football teams, we have NO black baseball players on JV or Varsity. This is not a Mets problem, it’s a baseball problem.
How many black prospects are you aware of league wide?
In the Top 10, there’s Price, Heyward and Maybin.
That’s 3 black prospects. And you can’t just choose from among the top.
There’s 30 teams. I’d like to see which team has more than a handful.
What percentage of minor league players are black?
i love how a single question turns into a race thing.
all is asked was do the Mets have a single black (african-american if politcal correctness is your thing) player in the system??
Its a yes or no question people
I don’t expect Oleo to substantiate his own point.
what’s your point then?
i have no point i’m just curious as i have not seen a single black prospect during spring training…
I haven’t seen any Jewish ones either.
@Wanny:
I wasn’t trying to say that 30% of players in the minors are black, just that in the Top 10, there are 3. In the Top 50, there are 11. I’d say that’s getting to be more accuate, but it’s probably lower still.
Andrew McCutchen
Dexter Fowler
Tim Beckham
Mike Stanton
Austin Jackson
Jeremy Jeffress
James McDonald
Kyle Blanks
either have I but then again there are like 10 jews in all the sports combined…
That’s the point, Oleo. There are not as many black baseball players as there used to be.
bananagrabber (it makes me queazy typing this name) has identified that about 20% of the top 50 prospects are black. That’s less than one per team.
And I guarantee the number goes down much further once you consider more than just the elite prospects.
Wanny: it’s just from Arrested Development, nothing more. You can abbreviate it to BG if it makes you that uncomfortable.
I think if you take the 11 in the Top 50 and extrapolate it out, it’d probably average out to maybe 10%, but I don’t have the time to figure it out.
When you google it, the statistic being reported is 8.2% in 2007.
BG — my guess, and all it is that, is that once you get past the top prospects you will see even fewer black athletes.
I think the guys on the top 50 list are exceptions. My guess is that only the truly elite black baseball players stick with baseball through high school and college while the others gravitate toward other sports.
8.2 is interesting number. More than I expected but certainly not enough to villify any one team for not having a stockpile of black prospects.
8.2% figures out to be 2 per 25 man roster.
If you figure what, 6 leagues or so, 25 guys per team, that’s about 12 African-Americans per organization.
I don’t see any black players currently on the (not yet complete) AAA or AA rosters.
Um, maybe you should familiarize yourself with racial definitions. First off “Latino” or “Hispanic” are not races – they are ethnicities. Is Carlos Delgado not black? Jose Reyes? I suppose you mean to ask about “African American” prospects and not “black” prospects and players.
Secondly, what is your point? Fortunately the Mets media guide does not include a race column, so not having seen 95% of their prospects no one one would know, and what does it matter anyway.
You could cut the ignorance with a knife. again, let’s move on. The amount of time spent discussing the ethnic and racial composition of the Mets on this blog is embarassing.
sure they do, Lastings Mill…oh, right.
Actually its a black problem.
Dude, you’re a yr or 2 late!
No kiddin’about Marlon!
And Omar has pretty much given up on
Los Mets but to deny thats what he was
attempting to build is naive at best.
At least Omar finally realized it
wasn’t working.
Yup as soon as he realized that Loduca and Maine were not hispanic he bailed.
Take the blinders off and dont be so
simple. You dont think Omar had a pretty
strong bias toward latino players?
No not really. I think he has more connections with them. Thus a lot of the fringe FA feel more comfortable coming here. Example: Garcia.
However, I think he has usually taken the best player available regardless of race. I don’t want to get this started but for every latino player you point out I can point out a non latino that he has brought in.
We aren’t wearing blinders, you are just racist. Wake up – in this day and age, a majority of baseball’s top players are Latino. The only move that fools like you can even question is Bannister for Burgos…Don’t mention Linstrom/Owen for Vargas+the other guy…Anytime you can move older relievers, who have not done anything at the big league level, for younger lefties of at least equal talent, you do it.
Ravi,Pretty foolish to call someone who you
don’t anything about, a racist.
But then thats says alot about you
my fellow Met fan. Plus, its easy.
Right?,takes little thought or even
consideration of someone elses.
Anyway, believe what you will.
Have a nice day!
i dont know what your implying fongu but i thiink real got it right. Being of latino decent, omar uses it to get the talent that we need. Not that black GM’s only go for their own but realistically, black people make up a small peice in the pie that rep nationalities in baseball. Is that the mets fault….is that mlb’s fault. Not too long ago the mets were headlined by guys like strawberry and gooden and mookie….lastings may have been the last black prospect but he certianly did not help his case to stay. Should the mets trade or draft accordign to race or to build the right team.
Wasn’t ‘implying” anything Dirty.
Was making a statement of fact.
Omar came in trying to build
Los Mets for a bunch of reasons.
He realized after a few seasons it
didn’t work to perfection and went
back to attempting to build a team
of ballplayers w/o having his own
bias’ placed first in those attempts.
I wasn’t responding to you in the
first place but Ravi.
Its actually pretty funny to call ME a
racist. Like I said though, its easy
and doesn’t require much knowledge
or thought.
I really don’t want to even chime in here…but DirtySanchez, when the Mets were “headlined” by Gooden and Straw and Mookie, they were often the only African Americans on the team. As a matter of fact once 1987 rolled around and Mitchell and Foster were gone, they were the only ones.
Just a point of clarification.
I think its a baseball problem, in my college team, we dont have a single black player. they all play football or basketball. its a shame.
Again, it s a black problem.
Being that i’m black i just figured id let you know..if Al Sharpton seen you saying its a “black problem” This board would get more negative attention then it really needs or deserves. Does it bother me, nope..but i know plenty of people who would read that and call u a bigot.
Its not a BLACK problem, its a problem with baseball and their influence in the inner cities. When i was growing up there were baseball fields nearly everywhere..now there just isn’t. Every where u go, you’ll find a basketball court. You might even find crates up against a pole in most places. Do most blacks or african americans think its degrading to play baseball YES. Where ever the stars are thats when they’ll bring in a bigger influence of that culture. For blacks it just happens to be Basketball, Football and being Rappers among majority of the youth. Right now baseball doesn’t have a Black athlete that can catapult baseball within our culture. Bonds couldve been that guy, but its all about him.
To me, what is very unfortunate is that when considering the diversity of baseball, only african-americans are considered. There was an ESPN report a while back about how baseball was becoming less and less diverse because of the lack of african-americans, and how Jackie’s legacy is becoming tarnished.
I greatly disagree…Baseball is the most diverse sport in the country, featuring players of numerous countries, races, and origins. It is sad that the legacy built by Jackie, Hank, Gibson, and Frank Robinson is not being realized by the younger generation, but on the other hand, baseball has become a vehicle for many people for foreign places to acheive the American dream. It was not 15 years ago when Reyes was playing on a dusty field with rocks for a ball, and a milk carton for a glove. Now he earns over $5million a year. Through Pedro Martinez and Fernando Tatis, baseball provdes new schools, hospitals, and churches to towns that were in great need of them.
Of course for a team whose new stadium boasts the “Jackie Robinson Rotunda”, and basks in his ideals, it would be ironic to not have an african american player on the team, though they do have one in Jerry Manuel.
my thing is…WHO CARES. Why does every race and creed need to be represented in an organization? So the mets dont have a single black prospect…are you implying the mets are racest against black people…when not too long ago two black players headlined the mets in gooden and strawberry…not to mention mook. This is a stupid implication and a worthless post. Not yours ravi but the ones implying that somehow since the mets dont have a black prospect they are racist.
AGreed, get me the best players you can get. Period.
Thats basically my point, though I prefaced it in a round about way.
all i wanted to know was do the Mets have a single black player in their system.
i guess the answer is no then…
lol sorry oleo…this got a bit out of hand but this back and forth about omar and the latin thing really strikes a nerve…im pretty sure the mets do not have a black prospect at the moment.
Yeah Grave, but Jose and Delgado are black, just not African-American…..
Omar uses the fact that he is hispanic to his advantage during negotiations in order to attract latin players. i have no problem with that at all.
although it would be nice if Omar would actually address the team’s needs during the season as oppose to after the season but as the phrase goes, better late than never…
Agree, I have no problem with him using that to his advantage. Should an African American not aply for the NCF?
WHAT IS THIS OBESSION WITH THESE 30+ PLAYERS? IS OMAR TRYING TO FORM A GERIATIC WARD? WHY ARE YOU GUYS CLAMORING FOR THIS? DUMP THE OLDIES, BRING UP PLAYERS LIKE EVANS MALO AND THOLE!
I hope you are critiquing us and not Omar. Omar has made great strides to get younger this year.
where does the post mention omar?
I’m not talking about the post, I’m talking about, Castillos 4 year deal, Valentin resignings, etc.
Yeah, Valentin’s minor league deal. How dare him.
I am a member of the Jose Valentin fan club, but why sign a guy to be a player coach and then tell him if he can find a Major League gig somewhere else that he can go?
That was their plan for him. ST invite and minor league deal. He did not have to accept it and chose to be released. Don’t understand the criticisim. He signed the deal thinking he had a good chance of making the team and did not.
Marlon Anderson on a good year, or good few months, like he was in late 2007, is one of the best pinch hitters in baseball. I’d be suprised if the Mets let him go, without seeing him underperform first. I am in full support of signing Catalanatto to a minor league deal, as long as he’s willing to play in Buffalo in April. Give him a May 1 opt out, kind of like Ohman got with the Dodgers, except his was Apr 14. We don’t really need Catalanatto, but the fact he’s more defensively versatile, means he could be more valuable. The Mets really don’t trust Marlon to play 2B anymore, and I don’t blame them.
THIS GUY FRANCESSA IS TALKIN ABOUT LOOPER GAMES AND BENITEZ MELTDOWNS, AND WAGS GAMES. AND HOW HE LIKES WATCHING THSOE GAMES. WHAT A F TARD. I HOPE HE ENJOYS WATCHING K ROD SHUT SHIZ DOWN, A LA MARIANO
All I can say about that is, I’ve become a much happier, less stressed person since I stopped listening to sports talk radio.
Although the Mets wouldn’t have any African-American baseball players, without Marlon Anderson, on their roster, technically, only 8 percent of major league rosters have African-American’s, so it means the statistical norm is 2 of every 25 players. The Yankees have 1 1/2 (Sabathia & Jeter). So, this is just probability.
I think it’s kind of mocking to those of African descent, especially those non-American, that people say that the ”black” percentage of the game is lowering, yet our team alone, has numerous people of Afro-Latino descent. That list, for what’s ”obvious” at least includes: Carlos Delgado, Jose Reyes, Luis Castillo, Livan Hernandez., and yes, Omar Minaya.
The fact is, if Jackie Robinson didn’t break the color barriers, Omar Minaya probably wouldn’t be our general manager right now.
Yet, Manny Acta, a white Dominican, probably would our manager. People cram all ”Latinos” all under the same umbrella, as if they’re all apart of the same ancestries. There are worst class distinctions, just within race, in their own countries. The only difference is American’s can be babies that are brainwashed by their media, so they can’t ever put this puzzle together.
Davecfromnj – Didn’t they do the same thing with Mike DeFelice that they did with Jose Valentin? He was with us, on minor league contracts, in spring training, for three consecutive seasons, and one year after, he becomes a minor league coach. Valentin’s followed the same pattern. He’s not here because of his background. He’s here because he’s a good guy, who helped us in ‘06, and was able to keep our SS in better order than any manager has to this point.
Shhhh, no logic please.
Yeah I’m not noting his background, I just don’t get what these deals are about? Anyone remember Jeff Conine in 2007? Was that supposed to help us clinch that playoff spot?!
and yes, it is nice to see these players play a season in the minors and then move on to coaching, but it’s not nice to see them pinch hitting for the big club.
Giving Luis Castillo that long contract was not Omar Minaya’s ”preference.” If you’re going to narrow it down to that, than you should not look at it so broadly. He gave Guillermo Mota a 2 year/5 million deal, after testing positive to steroids, as well as Pedro a 4 year deal. Castillo and Mota are both Dominican citizens. I believe Omar is a dual. You could make the argument he showed preference towards his citizenship or nationality, but to broadenize that to all Latin American’s makes no sense.
I still believe there’s not enough evidence to support that though. Regardless of how much people love their own citizens, jepordizing your job over such a stupid move, makes no sense. Basing on what Castillo had done up to that point, I think it’s fair to say we didn’t see that sharp of a decline coming, but since he was aware of his double knee surgery that was necessary, he shouldn’t have given more than 2 years at that 6.25 million annual wage.
We all know now he should not have and many said it then. However, they offered no replacement ideas and never acknowledge how the Astro’s offered him 3/20.
Maybe b/c there never was any 3/20 offer!
You and I went over this b/f and I told u,
Go to the Houston Chronicle and do some
research. I was reading that paper everyday
at the time and Houston made 2 offers,
First a one yr then a two deal.
Omar came in and blew them out of
the Water w/a four year deal and it was
done. Why? b/c Omar wanted Luis Castillo.
For whatever reason,he wanted him and
wasn’t gonna let anyone else get him.
omar wanted castillo yet his first offer was to ecstien…..
the fact is omar NEEDED a 2bmen and castillo was the best available out there.
Blinders on!
nice counter argument fong…very mature.
b/c it takes too much of my time to point
out facts(not speculation).Especially to
those who have set their opinion and
would rather argue off that basis then
to keep an open mind and examine history.
ditto my friend
OK here’s something that has nothing to do with dominicans. Will someone please explain the non resigning of chad bradford, in favor of signing scott schoeneweis?
L/R and the presence of Joe Smith.
they proabably needed antoher Lefty and the felt Royce Ring was not goign to pan out. Also they had heilman and sanchez to take 7th and 8th and wagz to close. They probably felt smith would do what chad did. Omar probably felt there was no room for chad and rolled the dice to go w/o him. Obviously that was a mistake but nothing that omar could have done with the info that was available then.
right and alot of people dont take into account the type of player castillo is prior to 08. Look at his career numbers and you will see this guy is not as bad as people make him out to be. Beltran had a similar season in 05 and people did the same thing to him. Now look how many people are at beltrans feet. Lets give castillo a fair shake as well huh. Give him a shot to prove us right or wrong..
Jose Valentin won’t be pinch hitting for the club this season. He won’t even be playing in Buffalo. The most you’ll see is him as an instructor. The Knicks have done the same thing with Allan Houston. For 2 straight seasons in a row, they gave him a chance to make a comeback. If he couldn’t make the Knicks, he didn’t want to play anymore. Similarly, I doubt Valentin wants to move around and play elsewhere. Now Houston works in the Knicks front office, just like Valentin will eventually join DeFelice.
DeFelice was more an emergency back up catcher, than he was a pinch hitting option. They had that option in Sandy Alomar Jr. too, in ‘07, who’s also an instructor. They probably wanted to bring him here, because his dad’s a coach with us. I doubt they’ll be bringing Roberto aboard though.
Its easy to say that Catalanotto is better than Anderson. He is. But he would need to play more than Anderson will in order to be as productive. If he sits as much as Marlon will, he just won’t be very good.
Besides, if Marlon isn’t here, who is going to play Token?
you dont need a black player (to appease Al Sharpton) when the manager is black.
now if the Yankees had no black players, then he’d be all over it…
imagine you are an american playing over in Japan.
would you rather play for a japenese manager (who barely speaks english) or Bobby Valentine who’s American?
the answer is obvious.
the same thing works for latin players. now i know Omar isnt the manager but i bet you guys like Pedro, Livan, Jose, K-Rod have an easier time here b/c Omar is latino than they would if a white guy were GM
You rarely do hear about the Astros making that offer, but they could have just done that to gauge the Mets to pay more. I’m suprised the Astros would have gotten Matsui, for less, but you’re right that the Mets should have considered other alternatives.
When the Twins acquired him, prior to ‘06, he had 2 year/12 million left on his deal. Even back than, when he was good, the Twins probably wouldn’t have traded for him if he had 4 years left on his deal, so I still don’t get how Omar could make that bonehead move.
We shouldn’t be suprised though, because we’ve seen him make other mistakes, like Heath Bell, Matt Lindstrom and Jeff Keppinger. He’s also done good in getting us John Maine, for little, which he helped also turn into El Duque, who was good for two years, as well as Perez, Delgado and Church, although those trades look more even. More than all, he got us Santana, which is a difference making move for likely a decade for this franchise. Plus, K-Rod and Putz now too.
guys….what were our alternatives. We had no 2b prospect waiting in the wings. Eckstien(yea…remember omars FIRST choice to play 2b) backed out. After castillo there really was not anybody else that could give us what we needed. Easly is too old to man 2b every day. So we were in a bad position because 2b became a need rather than a want. Houston very well may have been bluffing but omar had to secure 2b because we had nobody else and he bit. Again give castillo one more year…good lord imagine if we would have let beltran go after his 05 season…..patience people.
Oleo – That rationale doesn’t make sense, because from what I’ve read, Omar moved to this country at 8 years old (look on Wikipedia), during the mid-1960’s, which was earlier than when most Dominican’s moved to the U.S. One thing about speaking a language is, that the younger you are, the better you’re able to learn it. Being that he’s well educated, and likely comes from an educated family too, he probably speaks as good, if not better English, than he does Spanish. If his lingual preferences were so high, why did he insult Carlos Delgado with his ‘’slang” Spanish, in the 04-05 off-season? It cost us Mike Jacobs, didn’t it?
Trust me, most of the Latin ball players on the Mets, see him more an American, than a Dominican. Remember, he’s the general manager, not the manager, so they really aren’t in every day contact with him either, like Jerry.
all i’m saying is that Omar speaking spanish helps bring in latino players. you can’t argue that.
Delgado didn’t like that he played the latino card but you know what
that is the exception to the rule
and he is still here anyway. Im sure its not because our gm speaks spanish but rather our GM built a very good team and delgado is not going to waste his opportunity to win a ring over something as foolish as a “race card”.
ROFL SOME GUY JUST CALLED INTO WFAN AND SAID THEY SHOULD CALL CITIFIELD “EBBETS GROUNDS” lollll
There you go Delgado for Jacobs. Young for Old. Imagine Jacobs during that slump Delgado had..
Yeah, Jacobs is so much better. Give me a break.
fail
Oleo – The comparison you draw simply can’t be equal, because of what I mentioned above. But the comparison you’re using if flawed, because your alternative is a ”white guy.” What you should have said is an ”American”, for two reasons. One, Ken Williams, an African-American, who’s the GM of the White Sox, is not more likely to speak Spanish because he’s ”not white”, than say, Pat Gillick.
Secondly, your assumption is that you can only be ”white”, if you’re an American. There are plenty of ”white” Latin American ball players, and their descendants, and if you don’t believe me, pay more attention when we play the Braves and Matt Diaz. Like American’s, there’s a large diversity of ethnicities within Latin American ball players, arguably more than American’s.
You know what never mind I retract all my Omar comments, at least he didnt trade Kazmir for Zambrano!!
Best trade the Mets ever made in Omar’s
opinion because if that doesn’t happen
he’s not the GM!
b/t/w, everyone seems to have forgotten
Yorvit Torrealba,remember that one?
Four years. Or how ’bout offering deals
to Molina and Hernandez b/f getting LoDuca?
Or how ’bout talkin’up Posado last yr?
Could you imagine that?
Please! There are simply too many examples
to cite.
What are those examples of?
I don’t know smart guy?
You tell me. Omar’s great judgement?
Or his extremely good luck?
If Omar was so ”Latino” though, than why didn’t he convince Delgado to since here, for the same exact contract, in 2005? My point was that it wouldn’t have cost us Mike Jacobs, in that trade. Originally, Jacobs came up a catcher, but likely would have never worked in that role.. If he didn’t sign Delgado, Jacobs probably would have never been discovered.
he played the race card and Delgado didnt like it.
but like i said before the race card usually works…
Exactly oleo! Delgado didn’t like it
and called Tony B. the highest paid
interperter in baseball.
And signed w/Fla the next day.
and what team does delgado play for today….right the race card mets…NEXT
Dude, Again you must have me confused
with someone else. I never said Omar
played the race card. I just pointed out
HIS obvious bias. And nothing wrong w/
that. Heck I hope we sign Catalanotto b/c
hes Italian. It was Delgado himself who
said Omar and his crew played the race
card. And he plays for us b/c the Marlins
could no longer afford him, he wanted
a chance to win, hes bein’ paid alot
of monet and New York is well New York.
It’s the likes of you and Ravi who jump
the gun and b/c you disagree with
someone, turn to name calling to
attenpt to back up your belief of being
absolutely so correct you cant even hear
a differing opinion. But, you have a nice
day too!
first off i never called you racest fong, that was ravi. Second i am just disagreeing with your notion that omar has a “bias” toward latin players. I think omar is just trying to put the best team together. If its easier to convince latin players to play with their cultures icons(i.e. Pedro, Santana), im sure he uses that to his advantage to attract the best latin players on the market. David wright is white, Seth green was jewish, Cliff floyd was black, Chan ho park was asian. So i dont buy this notion that omar is biased toward latinos, i just think he tries to build the best team period and given our recent history(record wise) he has some success
Thats fine guy. You believe what you want.
Unlike many,many others who post here,
I’M not trying to change anyones mind
NOR do I believe in anything but the facts
already gathered. That is what I do for a
living afterall. Personally i dont care who
or what Omar brings in as long as they produce and we win.22 yrs and once in my
35 as a fan has been too long already!
and on that note my friend we agree. At least you were able to see the 86 championship lol..i was only 1.
Oleo – That is not what Carlos Delgado. He never said anything about a ”Latino card.” In Latin America, you’re making the assumption that all Latin American players unify themselves with 19 other countries, just because they speak Spanish. That is not what people in Puerto Rico or other Latin American countries do. That is what narrow minded unintellectual American simpletons do. I’ll just Carlos’s comments, based on what he said, which was that he didn’t believe he addressed him professionally or respectfully.
Plus, if Omar was ”pro-Latino”, why would he cut Duaner Sanchez, saving the Mets 1.4 million, replacing him with Darren O’Day?
one thing has nothing to do with each other
he cut Sanchez because his shoulder is shot and it was the right business decision.
i’m not saying he only targets latino players but when he does target them he uses his “race” “ethnic group” “origin” “nationality” whatever you want to call it to his advantage and that he should
Oleo – ”Latino” or ”Hispanic” are not a race.
since we are talking about this…
I am a white hispanic and some people dont believe I am hispanic.. hispanic can be of any race, black,white,asain,native americans.. some people dont get this..
nobody really believes that Omar only targets latino players.
but to say that Omar doesnt use the fact that’s he’s latino to his advantage is negotiations is ridiculous.
If you actually do believe it’s a race, than you are the narrow minded American simpleton I said is common in this country. Puerto Rico is a racially diverse country, just like all Latin American countries. In Latin America, white’s hold disproportional amounts of wealth, to blacks, and there are obvious class distinctions. To say they are not, simply because American’s base an ethnicity or a race on a language, is simply unintelligent. The basis for this post-1970 American creation of ”Hispanic” is a common language.
Are Hatians the same ethnicity as French Canadians, because they’re both Francophone?
Bill Madden at Daily News is a joke. He predicts Rays 101 wins and Yanks win 90. Phils win 101, Braves 92 and Mets 88.
I didn’t know Alex was a writer…
I feel bad for the Daily News editors if Alex is writing for the paper.
good one kistics
Phils win 101, Braves 92 and Mets 88.
if the said mets 101, braves 92 and Phils 88 would he be brilliant?
No he’d still be an idiot. There are no team in NL East to win over 100 games. Maybe 95 wins at best. I think Phillies and Mets will be very close around 90-92 wins
No seriously, this guy is a joke. He’s saying that there are bunch of questions marks with the Mets rotation whereas Phillies have improved greatly from last year’s already great team. He’s saying that Ibanez is vastly better than Burrell.
What is this guy smoking???
He’s saying that there are bunch of questions marks with the Mets rotation.
This is 100% accurate.
Are you Alex?
Yeah there are question marks with the rotation. But there are some BIG question marks with the Philly rotation too.
Will Hamels stay healthy with all the IPs last year and what he has shown thus far in ST.
What will they get from Myers?
Will Blanton pitch more than 5 innings in a game?
What happens if Viagra runs out for Moyer?
Chan Ho Park as a 5th starter?? He may have improved, but he ain’t better than Livan.
I only care about the mets question marks. They have plenty to start worrying about other teams’.
Oleo – Contrary to your belief, and awkwardly, to many non-black New Yorker’s knowledge, Al Shaprton has low popularity among African-American’s. He’s been refused by so many cities and mayors, in other cities, like Mayor Nagin, in New Orleans, and Nutter, in Philadelphia, because he’s seen as a hate mongering imbecile. If it wasn’t for the media, he wouldn’t exist. I’ve never seen a more one topic politician in my life, but the fact he is, is the reason why when he did run for mayor, he got barely any votes, including a low vote turn out from African-American’s.
I think you are looking for a problem here. If you initiate a personal bias, it’s easy to make anything sound a certain way. It’s easy to be overwhelmed by New York papers with this sort of thing, because our rags write up what ever sells, not what’s correct.
thats my point. other than Al Sharpton, noone really cares about the number of black players on the team.
i could care less what color, religion, ethnicity, etc. a player i was just curious as I didnt recall seeing any black players other than marlon anderson
I am one who doesn’t believe that Omar and his fellow executives are attempting to @ssemble or dis@ssemble the roster based on ethnic background. I was simply noting something that I hadn’t even noticed, but my brother had pointed out to me and when he pointed it out I realized that it hadn’t been mentioned at all in the discussions about whether to keep Marlon or not. It’s a credit to all of you that it had NOT come up before and I apologize for mentioning it today.
Please stop with this Omar conspiracy theory. Anyone ever think about how hard some of these Latino/Carribean players play/train? I’m sorry but look at guys like gary sheffield….they’re jerks. These “latino” or “hispanic” players hustle. Most of them. I think that’s what it all comes down to
Manny Ramirez hustled his way right out of Boston and likely millions of extra dollars.
And before you tell me that I can’t cite Ramirez as just one of many Latino baseball players, then you can’t disparage Joe Carter or Kirby Puckett by relying on Sheffield as an examp-le of non-latino players who don’t hustle.
I just think a lot of the american “aka white or black” players are just mad lazy or lack the pride of lot of these carribean/latino players
And I think the only thing “mad” is you.
Dominicanboy – Good point. I know you’ve mentioned you lived in the Dominican Republic before on here, and I’m sure you could recall, that you heard the term ”Hispanic” much less there, than here, if at all.
People in the Dominican Republic see their ethnicity, as what their ancestry is, which is how people see it everywhere. All the term ”Hispanic” is an American political terminology, that is more a political device, than it is a tool for demographical recording. For what it’s worth though, since the 2000 Census, ”Hispanic” isn’t a ”race.” It’s considering an ”ethnicity”, which has many flaws in it’s own, but it’s not regarded as a race.
you are right! back in D.R we dont use the term “hispanic” as a label for race.
I think this is really stupid because if a white Gm had a majority white team no one would even pick up on it. Please stop being prick white people and just be happy we have talented players and we’re not fielding a roster akin to the pirates!
Baseball is a business. The same reason why Latin American countries produce great numbers of baseball players, is because of their climate. It’d like asking why do so many of our baseball players come from California, Texas and Florida? You can play there all year round. They’re much more in the game, than American’s are. Plus, in many of the Caribbean at least, the two dominating sports are soccer and baseball, while we have multiple sports.
actually the countries that produce baseball players usually have very poor soccer teams and the countries with great soccer teams have very little if any baseball players
Venezuela, PR, DR, Netherland Antilles, Cuba, Panama all have representation in the MLB but have bad soccer teams.
Columbia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Costa Rica all are good soccer teams but dont play baseball.
Bring Catalanotto, I think he’d be a great addition to the squad. Let Evans get everyday ABs at AAA until someone gets hurt and he’s needed…..
Dave – You keep drawing a comparison to ”white GM’s” or ”white people” though. Look at the Phillies. They have a ”Latino” GM, in Ruben Amaro Jr., yet, actually a lower Latino percentage of player’s, in comparison to other teams. They’ll be a margin of error to every thing. The Mets actually will open up on Opening Day with a ”less Latino” roster, than in previous years, which people haven’t recognized. With Nick Evans on the Opening Day roster, it’s 11. During points of last season, it was 14.
Well, I think it’s fair to say Manny Ramirez is more an American, than a Dominican. Just like you could say the same of Alex Rodriguez, who actually was born in the U.S.
There’s obvious cultural differences between American’s, regardless of their background, and people who were born and raised in other countries.
I understand that. As a white person, I am very enthusiastic about Nick Evans, Daniel Murphy, Ryan Church, Mike Pelfrey, David Wright. Not so much Brian Schnieder.
You are ridiculous, guy, and that is your most ridiculous statement yet.
I’m the type of person that just prefers people don’t see race and everyone is just another a-hole!
I will agree that many American players are lazy, but you can’t narrow this down to race, ethnicity or national heritage. Manny Ramirez is one of the most talented hitters, yet laziest in demeanor. That’s not how most Latin ball player’s are. It’s not really how most American players are either, but there is a higher motivation amongst the Latin American players, one, that Manny doesn’t seem to have. The only reason why he’s still around is his talent.
Definitely. Because Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado are very hard working players……
Laziest in demeanor, but by all accounts, one of the hardest working players in the league.
"Some look at Manny’s antics and flippantly remark, “Manny thinks he’s bigger that the game.” Know this sports fans, Manny is the hardest working man in show business. He’s the first one in the weight room. He’s the first one at the ballpark. He’s endlessly watching film. He works tirelessly at his craft. Manny talking about the off-season: “I know this might sound funny, but I play baseball. Me and Varitek play in the training field. Can’t get our minds off of it.” "
You can find hundreds more quotes like that by submitting "Manny Ramirez" "hardest working" to your favorite search engine.
People will always try to make something out of everything. They’ll go with what their told and run with it. Rumors are rumors and that’s all they’ll be. We have three guy’s born in Jacksonville on our team (Schneider, Murphy, O’Day). Does that mean Omar’s got a hidden love for North Florida?
I found it amusing that Manny had an injury basically all of the spring traiing since he was signed, and then once the season starts he’ll play in games lol.
That’s when the games count. I’m sure the Dodgers aren’t complaining.
Oleo – A team is only technically expected to have in the neighborhood of 2 of 25 of their players be African-American player’s, because that’s eight percent, which is the same percentage of black players. The Mets actually had higher percentages, when they had Darren Oliver, Lastings Milledge and Damion Easley. ”African-American” is an ethnicity, while ”black” is a racial classification. If you believe the Mets don’t have any ”black” players, besides Marlon Anderson, than you have to look a little harder.
Remember, Delgado, Livan and maybe even Alex Cora, among other’s wouldn’t be playing professional baseball, if it wasn’t for Jackie Robinson. It wouldn’t have stopped Rey Ordonez, Karim Garcia or others from being Mets though.
Manny probably doesn’t to deflate his value for next off-season anymore lol
Kistic – I can’t see the Phillies winning 101. I think that reporter just like the number. It’s easy to predict the two teams that were in the WS to win over 100 games, but it rarely ever happens. 4 of the previous 7 NL World Champs in the last 20 years, actually finished under .500 in their following season, and only 2 of the other 3 were in the postseason, one being the ‘96 Braves, who were in a class of their own back than. Most likely, the Mets and Phillies will both end up with a win total in the 85-95 range. The question is, who ends up on top? And does the second place team win the wild card.
Oleo – Regarding Duaner Sanchez, the fact that you noted it was a business decision, was completely accurate. That was my whole point of telling you this. My point was, if he was ”pro-Latino”, why wasn’t it Carlos Muniz, or Elmer Dessens, on the team, instead of Darren O’Day? This is a business. Not Omar Minaya’s play house. He does not use ”ethnicity” to his advantage. So many of the player’s he’s acquired, like Santana, came via trade, so their opinions, on the matter, wouldn’t have mattered.
I actually could see the Yankees winning 90 games, and not making the postseason though. They’re in the toughest division in baseball. I believe the Red Sox will be the strongest team in the AL East. If any team is going to win the 97-101 range, in that division, it’ll probably be them.
Oleo – Around a little above 30% of baseball is of Latin American background or citizenships, so that’s around 8 of 25 players. On our opening day roster, we’ll have 11. With Livan, it’d be 12. I understand it’s more, but people aren’t even taken into consideration that there’s just a high number of Latin American player’s, throughout the game.
Take a look at who’s on the Yankees Opening Day roster, as a comparison:
Albaladejo, Marte, Edwar Ramirez, Rivera, Veras, Bengie Molina, Posada, Cano, A-Rod, Melky Cabrerra
That’s 10 ”Latinos”, out of 25 player’s on the Yankees Opening Day roster, 40%. The Mets have 11. Or twelve, if you count Livan. Are you going to label Omar a different way than Cashman because of one or two player’s? Why haven’t been cited this on Cashman? Because he’s not of Latin American background, therefore, it can’t be sold.
SMITHTOWN IN THE HOUSE!
bring frankie on board!
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