Daily Archives: November 2, 2009
Mets 1B prospect Ike Davis has been named to the Arizona Fall League’s 2009 Rising Stars 
Game, which matches up the best prospects from each MLB organization in an East Division against West Division format.
The game, which will take place on Nov. 7 at 8 p.m., will air on the MLB Network.
Davis is batting .340 with a .370 OBP, six doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI in 12 games with the Surprise Rafters in the AFL.
He hit .298 with 20 home runs and 71 RBI between Single-A St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton in 2009.
According to Baseball America, he was the best first-base prospect in the Double-A Eastern League, and the 13th-best prospect overall.
To see video of Davis, during at at bat in the IBAF World Cup, click here.
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This morning, Jeff Francoeur had surgery to repair the torn collateral ligament in his left thumb, the team announced in a press release.
The surgery was performed by Dr. Gary Lourie in Atlanta.
Francoeur originally injured his thumb on a diving catch at Citi Field against the Phillies on August 23, but played through the end of the the season.
Francoeur is expected to be ready for Spring Training.
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Buster Olney of ESPN.com explains why, “The arbitration process is now outdated,” as a high-ranking MLB executive told him.
…he makes an excellent point… from what i understand, last july, before the trade deadline, Mark Teahen was discussed a lot, because he fits the mold of what olney is saying, which is, he is a good player, not great, but still with upside, but also due too much money through arbitration the next two seasons for the Royals to justify keeping him around, but enough money for a team like the Mets or Yankees to take a chance on… Jeff Francoeur fit in to this bucket as well, when with the Braves… as does Marlins OF Jeremy Hermida this off season…
…in the end, what could end up happening, say with teahen, is, the Royals might decide they are unable to afford him and so they’ll first try to trade him to a team like, say, the Mets, for a low-level minor leaguer… if no team bites, the Royals can non-tender him, making him a free agent… the Royals get nothing in return, but they also know they are free from the likely $4 million bill that could have come along with him… meanwhile, teahen can sign as a free agent with a new team, who now must take on the responsibility of his final two years or arbitration…
In his report, Olney lists Brewers SS J.J. Hardy among two players in a similar situation, and whose contract might get him non-tendered.
For a list of other players who could find themselves non-tendered, and free agents, such as Garrett Atkins, Mike Fontenot, Ryan Garko, Conor Jackson and Delmon Young, check out this October post from MLB Trade Rumors.
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Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors looks at 14 left fielders who could be traded this off season, from Rays OF Carl Crawford and Astros OF Carlos Lee to O’s OF Luke Scott and Rockies OF Matt Murton.
Lee, who will earn $57 million during the next three seasons, has hit at least .300 with at least 26 home runs and 102 RBI in each of his last three seasons with the Astros.
…but, he’s slowing down, it seems… he’s a tree stump in left field, and his power seems to be in decline… he has DH written all over him, and the Mets need to value at least some defense in left field…
…i still think the Mets will first make a push for Matt Holliday… but, given the market, it would not shock me to see them change course, sign a starting pitcher and, instead, trade for a left fielder… at which point, the above list becomes a lot more important…
Tagged News |In a post to Paul’s Random Stuff, Paul looks in to the 14 players from the Mets who were added to the Topps 2009 team set.
UniWatch is asking fans to vote for the Worst Uniforms of All Time, and, of course, the Mercury Mets are up for Worst Short Lived Uniform Ever.
To vote in UniWatch’s poll, click here.
Gerard Baratta of Bring Back 86 looks at three players, with bad contracts, who are intriguing, including Rangers 2B Michael Young and D’Backs OF Eric Byrnes.
In regards to Mets fans rooting for the Yankees, Adam the Brooklyn Met Fan warns, ‘Be careful what you wish for.’
Steve from Eddie Kranepool Society explains why the Mets should consider signing LHP Noah Lowry, who has not pitched since 2007.
Similarly, Ed Ryan of Mets Fever thinks the Mets should trade for Rockies 1B-3B Garret Atkins, before he is non-tendered.
Lastly, in a post for Mets Merized Online, Phil Hoops breaks down the Mets bullpen, while considering how to handle J.J. Putz.
Tagged News |In what is a must-read post for Amazin Avenue, Sam Page explains how Omar Minaya has failed as a GM, and what it means for the team’s future.
… speaking of the SI Mix Master cover story about minaya, the Mets are essentially a .500 team in the 400 
or so games since it was published in the middle of 2007… not that this has anything to do with anything… it’s just, wow, it’s been a long two and a half years… and i am sure omar would agree…
…omar is a good GM… not great… but, good… he makes a lot of questionable moves… but, it cannot be denied that, despite a lack of post season success, prior to 2009, minaya’s Mets had the most wins of any NL team during his four-year tenor… to say this success was in spite of him is not fair… the thing is, how long can he keep it up… like page, i think omar made some nice bets in 2006, and they paid off… in 2007, 2008 and, certainly, 2009, not so much… and so, in the end, is omar capable of adjusting to the way baseball is changing as a business… is he capable of building a sustainable team using smart, calculated choices and less luck…
…i agree with page, in that it seems the most successful front office dynamic is the one that has the young, business-school, stat-oriented GM coupled with the savvy, old-school baseball mind, such as Mets assistant GM John Ricco and VP of Scouting Sandy Johnson, each of whom sit to omar’s side…
…or, on deck as some have speculated…
To read Page’s post for Amazin Avenue, click here.
Tagged News |In a notes column for the Boston Globe, Nick Cafardo writes:
“The Mets need a righthanded-hitting outfielder with power, but who would take that job in that ballpark, a death valley for righthanded hitters?”
…this is not good… it isn’t… the Mets CANNOT allow reporters, fans and agents to spread the idea that right-handed hitters can’t hit for power in Citi Field… it hurts the team’s ability to sign a free-agent like Matt Holliday or Jason Bay… because, the thing is, in reality, there is just no evidence that Citi Field killed home runs in 2009…
For what it’s worth, according to MLB Park Factors on ESPN.com, 18 other ballparks were more difficult to hit a home run in than Citi Field, including Fenway Park.
…the Mets lack of home run hitters killed home runs in Citi Field, not the ballpark…
The Mets were last in the National League in home runs.
…but, let’s say Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran would have hit at least 25 home runs each this season… they probably would have hit more… but, just add those missing 50, and the Mets jump up to the middle of the pack in total team home runs… boom, two players, middle of the pack… by the way, remove Ryan Howard and Jason Werth, philly’s two biggest home run hitters, and they drop from most home runs in the NL to middle of the pack as well…
Speaking of the Phillies, they hit 14 home runs in nine games against Mets pitching in Citi Field… They hit 10 against Mets pitching in hitter-friendly Citizen’s Bank Park.
Meanwhile, the Mets hit seven home runs in nine games played at Citizen’s Bank Park, but hit NINE home runs in nine games against the Phillies in Citi Field.
…in other words, if you go by just Mets-Phillies, and the 18 games played against one another, they hit MORE home runs in Citi Field than in Citizen’s Bank Park…
Similarly, the Mets hit more home runs in Citi Field than they hit in the same number of games on the road all season.
…i could not find a Hit Location stat for balls pulled by right-handed hitters in Citi 
Field… however, for the season, home and away, if a righthanded batter for the Mets pulled the ball, there was an 18 percent chance it was a home run… for the Phillies, it was 22 percent…
…in short, if the Mets had delgado, beltran and, say, Matt Holliday in left, i am pretty sure there would be ZERO talk of a problem hitting home runs in Citi Field, because, beltran, delgado and holliday will hit a lot of home runs, and Daniel Murphy, Angel Pagan and Fernando Tatis will not…
…of course, nobody, specifically holliday, would know this, if they only listen to the likes of cafardo, and the popular, misleading talking points about Citi Field going around baseball…
By the way, Cafardo also writes about the post-season schedule, a potential change to draft pick compensation, an international draft, and small-market spending, all of which you can read here.
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