Daily Archives: October 8, 2009
Jon Heyman of SI.com says the Mets will look to sign a free-agent first baseman.
“The Mets are shying away from injury-prone players,” writes Heyman, which is likely to eliminate Nick Johnson from their search.
…i have no reason to believe this, but, i can’t help and think the Mets will look long and hard at Adam LaRoche… oddly enough, i was initially under the impression the team did not like laroche, but then it became quite clear they did have interest around the trade deadline…
LaRoche, 29, hit .277 with a .355 OBP, 25 home runs, 83 RBI and 38 doubles for the Pirates and Braves this season.
In each of the last four seasons, LaRoche has hit below .250 in the first-half of the season, and above .300 in the second half.
…which, come to think of it, considering the way the Mets have played the last few Septembers, may not be the worst thing in the world…
In addition to LaRoche and Johnson, Hank Blalock, Russell Branyan and Chad Tracy are also expected to be free-agent first basemen this off season.
Tagged News |Last month, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com said the Marlins are likely to trade two of Dan Uggla, Cody Ross and Jorge Cantu.
Today, Mark Polishuk of MLB Trade Rumors looks at teams who could be interested in Uggla.
…from what i can gather, uggla should start packing his bags, since there is no way the Marlins will pony up and pay the $7 million he is likely to get in arbitration… not to mention he is eligible again in 2011, only after which can he become a free agent…
Uggla has not finished a season hitting better than .260 since he was a rookie in 2006 – however, he has hit at least 31 home runs with at least 88 RBI, while playing in pitcher-friendly Miami, each of the last three seasons.
… to start, he is rarely injured, having played in at least 146 games in his first four seasons in the league… however, he cannot hit a left-handed pitcher to save his life… regardless of who is pitching, though, he strikes out a lot and swings at everything… he also should not be playing second base… i imagine the team who acquires him will put him at first base or third, which is why we will likely hear rumors connecting him to the Mets, who could use his power and are capable of finiding him a position…
…the thing is, the Mets already have a big-strike-out, free-swinger in Jeff Francoeur, and, since uggla no longer should be batting second, i am not sure if the Mets would benefit in having him hit fifth or sixth…
…plus, i think any prospects who would be needed to get a guy like uggla could be better used to get someone who fits in better with the team’s overall needs, assuming they must trade prospects to fill holes at all…
Tagged News |
Jon Heyman of SI.com quotes a Mets person loyal to Omar Minaya as saying, “Omar would be gone if not for that extension,” which will pay him $1.1 million each of the next three seasons.
Heyman also confirms the Mets are considering jobs for Kevin Towers and J.P. Ricciardi, “particularly with longtime scout Sandy Johnson telling Mets people that he’s likely to retire.”
Towers had been GM of the Padres, and Ricciardi had been GM of the Blue Jays, both of whom were fired last week.
…i am torn on this idea…
…on one hand, how many decision-makers can one team have… by my count, if towers or jp is hired, they’ll essentially have four not-GMs, but kind of GMs, in the front office, including minaya, Ownership and to a lesser extent John Ricco… frankly, i am not sure the team’s problem is having too few chefs in the kitchen…
…on the other hand, i am all for the Mets bringing in smart, baseball people to get the team back on track… the more the better, in fact…
Tagged News |…i think this is important, and i have not seen anyone talk about it…
Fred Wilpon’s Sterling Equities didn’t lose money 
to Bernie Madoff, according to a report in Newsday, instead, “it was able to withdraw about $50 million over what it invested.”
In short, the report describes Sterling as being ‘net winners,’ as it pertains to the Madoff situation, “because it withdrew or transferred out more money than it had deposited, according to court records filed in the bankruptcy case.”
…two weeks ago, on MetsBlog.com, here, i wrote:
…i heard from two people this week, neither of whom know one another, one with the team, one in the business community, and both said Bernie Madoff may have paid the Wilpons back roughly half the money they initially invested… which may explain the difference in reports suggesting they lost $700 million, while some say they lost $300 million…
…i wonder if the Newsday report is what these two people were referring to… i will not pretend to understand the Newsday report in full… i have a hard enough time balancing my own checkbook… but, it seems to me, he is saying that wilpon may not have taken as bad of a hit as some people have portrayed, which is what the team has been saying all along…
Tagged News |
Jada Yuan of New York Magazine caught up with Mike Piazza at a local charity event earlier this week.
Piazza, on whether the Mets are the unluckiest team in baseball, told Yuan:
“No. I don’t believe in luck. No. Look, we had a lot of frustrations when I was there. That’s just the unfortunate thing of playing for the Mets. The highs are extremely high, and the lows are really low. It’s really like a roller coaster. There’s really not a lot of middle ground with them…. The Mets have won two World Series. There’s no question. Things will get better.”
…i miss mike… The Piazza Era feels like so, so long ago, doesn’t it… i guess that’s because it was… i always figured he would make for a perfect, once-in-a-while, on-air personality for SNY, sort of like Darryl Strawberry and John Franco do for them… i recall him being very good on television when he would slot in to help broadcast post-season games for ESPN…
…i suppose he is happy with his wife and kid in California, and why work when you don’t have to, but it seemed, for him, like it would also be a good way to keep his memory alive and a way to connect with his biggest fans…
…or, the Mets could just get it over with already and retire his number, which seems inevitable since they are always putting him in the same spotlight as Tom Seaver… i wonder if the team is waiting to see which team MLB makes him enter the Hall of Fame with, the Mets or Dodgers… if it’s the Mets, i hope they retire his number the following season…
To hear more from Piazza, on whether or not he keeps in touch with people in the Mets front office, his thoughts on their season, Citi Field, and whether he is available to catch next season, read Yuan’s post, here.
Tagged News |In a post to his blog for WFAN, Mets reporter Ed Coleman gives his final thoughts on Angel Pagan, Jeff Francoeur, injuries, and Omar Minaya, among other things, as he ‘puts a wrap on 2009.’
Andrew Beaton of Hot Foot explains why the Mets should not move home plate in Citi Field.
In a post to Mets Minor League Blog, Toby Hyde looks at Mets prospects Ike Davis, Jenrry Mejia and Kirk Nieuwenhuis, all of whom were ranked on Baseball America’s Top 20 Players in the Florida State League in 2009.
Speaking of prospects, Jed Weisberger of NY Baseball Digest looks at five Mets prospects who could make their mark in 2010.
Lastly, in a post to his new blog, TedQuarters, SNY’s Ted Berg explains why Chris Carter, who was acquired in the Billy Wagner deal, could be just what the Mets need: an inexpensive role player.
Tagged News |
…i have no idea what the Mets intend to do, but signing holliday would not surprise me… holliday is going to ask for a seven-year deal, probably worth around $18 million per season, i.e., the same deal signed by Mark Teixeira last winter… in the end, though, because of the market place, i bet he has to settle for five years, and more like $16 million per season, which i could see the Mets dishing out, considering Carlos Beltran is a free agent in two seasons… again, i don’t know if the Mets will do this, and i am not even sold on whether they should, but he’s bound to be linked in rumor to the Mets all off season… i mean, if ever there was an off-season to do this, i.e., needing power, with an open spot in left field, and the expectation and claim that the team will spend money, this is it…
Holliday hit .286 with 34 extra base hits in 93 games for Oakland this season, then hit .353 with 31 extra base hits, 13 HR and 55 RBI in just 63 games after being traded to the Cardinals.
In his report, Heyman also ranks the eight playoff teams, while reporting on the coaching situation in Miami and Atlanta, among other topics from MLB, all of which you can read here.
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