Monthly Archives: October 2009
Henry Schulman, in a report in today’s San Francisco Chronicle, says the Giants are expected to make a run at Jason Bay.
Giants General Manager Brian Sabean told Schulman that he sees a later developing market for free agents this year, and feels that this plays in his favor.
Yesterday, Jon Heyman said that he believes the Red Sox will offer Bay four years at around $60 million.
For more on this and other player news surrounding the Giants, check out Schulman’s article.
Each day at 1:35 pm on Twitter, I post a ‘Mets Photo of the Day,’ featuring moments from the 2009 season as well as other photos I have taken of the Mets over the years.
To follow me on Twitter, click here.
Earlier this week, I launched a website for this feature, and have added an excerpt about each day’s photo. To see that website, click here.
Please send your comments and suggestions to michaelgbaron@gmail.com.
Tagged Photographs |
Michael Emdeyar, in a post to his blog for Rise of the Rays, says that the Mets are closely monitoring the contract situation of Carl Crawford with the Rays.
…i think Crawford is a perfect fit for the Mets…he has as much range as Carlos Beltran and certainly rivals Jose Reyes and his speed…he just fits the mold of a player that i feel the Mets should be interested in, given the stadium they play in…
…if the Mets were to end up with him over Matt Holliday or Jason Bay, i wouldn’t be upset, although they would have to find the power they lack in the outfield from somewhere else…
Crawford has expressed interest in remaining with the Rays, and the team holds a $10 million option for 2010 with a $1.25 million buyout, and Emdeyar doesn’t think the option is too high of a price to pay.
…Crawford really had gone unnoticed in baseball until the Rays were in the World Series last year, but he has quietly been one of the best players in baseball throughout his career…he has stolen 50 or more bases four times in his career, has had more than 180 hits six times, and can be depended upon to be out there on an every day basis…
…as i said, the biggest concern with obtaining Crawford would be that they need to find a power source from somewhere, but if they could sign him and pay the price for Adrian Gonzalez in prospects, and then sign a starting pitcher, they probably won’t be in bad shape…
Chris Ello, in a post to his blog for 619Sports.net, is reporting that the Padres have left Adrian Gonzalez off of their 2010 season ticket brochure.
Ello wonders if this means that the Padres do not plan to have Gonzalez on their team next season.
…i think it’s a fair point although its difficult to guage a team’s intent based on the pictures of a ticket brochure…
…obtaining Gonzalez would obviously be a dream come true for the Mets…it would certainly end the debate over Daniel Murphy at first base but i have to wonder how realistic such a scenario is, given the stature of the Mets farm system, although there appears to be some promise as of late…
…the Padres are in a similar situation that the Blue Jays are in with Roy Halladay in that he is entering his walk year, and neither team can afford to sign their stars to a big deal after next season……that said, the Padres and the Blue Jays have time…if they can’t form a deal this winter, they could conceivably wait to see where they are at the end of July, and deal him if the team is not contending….
This past season, Gonzalez hit .277 with 40 home runs and 99 RBI for a Padres team that hit a total of 141 home runs and scored 638 runs.
For more on this, check out Ello’s post.
Ed over at MetsMerized Online, in the spirit of Halloween, revisits some of the more scary moments in Mets history.
John from Metstradamus feels that the Mets bench coach situation is one scandal away from the Presidency.
Finally, Greg from Faith and Fear in Flushing would like to see a reunion between the Mets and Melvin Mora.
Jon Heyman of SI.com believes that the Red Sox are willing to offer four years and $60 million to Jason Bay.
Heyman feels that figure is a bit short, given Bay’s stature as an established middle of the order hitter.
However, Heyman says that Bay’s agent, Joe Urbon, wouldn’t rule out the two sides making a deal in the Red Sox exclusive 15 day window following the World Series, and that “regionality” doesn’t factor in to where Bay lands.
For more on this and other rumors, check out Heyman’s column on SI.
Yesterday a friend of mine loaned me a book he found at a tag sale called “The Amazing Mets”.
This book was written in 1964 by Jerry Mitchell, and it speaks of the Mets early history, through their first two seasons of existence.
…i did a quick scan of this book early this morning and shared some quotes with Matt, and i think both of us agreed that some of the lines and use of language about the team is similar to what we hear today describing the Mets…
In the book, Mitchell writes:
“People who watched workmen putting the finishing touches on the Stadium agreed that new concepts of design make [Shea Stadium] the most convenient, comfortable and attractive stadium on the eastern seaboard.”
…imagine that…someone actually wrote at one point that they liked Shea Stadium…from what i know of those days, people considered Shea to be a state-of-the-art facility as it was one of the first facilities that could convert into a fully functional football stadium with rotating seats…
For a more in depth look at this book, check out my post here.
Tagged Michael Baron |
WFAN mid-day host Evan Roberts dressed up as an injured Met for Halloween.
To see the picture, click here.
…well played, evan… by the way, i love the mid-80s road jersey… nice choice…
To follow Roberts on Twitter, click here.
Tagged News |
In a report for Newsday, David Lennon talks with Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. about the Mets and Omar Minaya, and building a potential back-to-back World Champion.
In the mid–to-late 90s, the Phillies lost 90 games in back-to-back seasons, after which Ed Wade took over as GM, hired Dallas Green as a top adviser, among others, and drafted Chase Utley in 2000, Ryan Howard in 2001, Cole Hamels in 2002, and acquired Shane Victorino as a Rule 5 selection in 2004.
“I don’t know how many people he fired and hired, but he really revamped the entire system,” Amaro told Lennon. “The fact of the matter is, without bringing that type of talent into our system, we wouldn’t be here. That was Ed’s goal. The goal was to get here and stay here and we had to do it from kind of the ground up.”
Additionally, as Lennon points out, “The Phillies deep farm system allowed them to make the key midseason trade for Cliff Lee.”
…i have talked to a few player agents over the last week, and to a man they all say it is a given that the Mets are notorious for not spending heavily on the draft… and, since this is understood going in, top players do not slip to them…
…for instance, if a future player believes the Mets will pay ‘over slot,’ his agent will begin telling the market that his client will demand a lucrative ‘signing package,’ and, as such, low-spending teams will avoid drafting him because they know he will not sign for what they’re only willing or able to pay, and so the player slips in the draft, on purpose, where the 
big-spending team will scoop him up and meet his demands… this is what the Red Sox have been doing for years… it’s not a fair system… but, it is the system… and, since it can be manipulated, the Red Sox, Phillies, and others, manipulate it, helping to stock their farm system… for instance, by doing this, and doing it well, the Red Sox essentially end up drafting three or four ‘first-round quality prospects,’ every year they draft…
…from what i understand, this is not exclusive to big-market teams any more… for instance, the last two seasons, smaller-market teams have started forgoing less-impactful, major-league free agents, say, a bench player or two for $5 million, a journeyman relief pitcher for $5 million, and, instead, are re-allocating that $10 million to the draft, where they believe they can get a better return on investment…
To read more, including quotes from Amaro about his close friend, Minaya, read Lennon’s report, here.
Tagged News, Twitter |
Joe Janish of Mets Today takes a closer look at infielder Alex Cora, who signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Mets last off season.
Cora had season-ending surgery in August on the torn ligaments in both of his thumbs.
Last month, Adam Rubin of the Daily News said the Mets will likely re-sign Cora to be their back-up middle infielder.
He hit .251 with a .320 OBP in 82 games for the Mets this season.
… he didn’t have a sensational season… but, i believe he is the type of player who fans are unable to accurately judge, because his true value may be in the clubhouse, and on the bench, not on the field… so, i can handle him being re-signed… so long as a) he’s the only player like this on the roster, because i believe every team needs at least one ‘Uncle Cliff,’ like Cliff Floyd, who is like a player-coach, and b) the team doesn’t pull a Marlon Anderson, or a Julio Franco, and give him an unnecessary, two-year deal…
Cora hit .417 in 16 plate appearances as a pinch hitter this season, while batting .243 in the 67 games that he started.
Tagged News | ← Older posts
