Brian Erni
Brian is a life-long Mets fan with undergraduate degrees in Communications and American Studies, as well as a master’s degree in Communication Arts from New York Institute of Technology. When he’s not blogging about the Mets, he is a Senior Account Executive at J. Roderick, Inc. (a public relations and strategic communications firm). He also plays for and manages a championship wood bat baseball team on Long Island.
Six months ago, I got married. My wife gave me this as my wedding present:
She scored the Shea seat off eBay, then my father-in-law and her help custom built the frame box, stained it, found the Mets fabric to act as the backdrop and commissioned the design of engraving plate. It reads: “Shea Stadium. April 17, 1964 – September 28, 2008″ along with the Mets skyline logo emblazoned in blue and orange on the left hand side.
All this talk about retired numbers got me thinking about where I stood on the matter, so I took to Twitter to express my opinion on forever enshrining a player in franchise lore by taking his number out of circulation and putting it on the left field wall.
Yes, I’m one who thinks Mike Piazza’s 31 is the only number not currently adoring the outfield wall that should one day be there. And since most of the debate has largely surrounded the cogs of the ’86 team, when Jon Presser, a friend of the blog and author of TheSheaFaithful.com, sent me this Tweet, it really ended up making me think:
@brianerni my heart says carlos beltran deserves it, but 7 years isn’t long enough to make that transcendent impact. i agree. just 31
— Jon Presser (@metsjetsnets88) January 20, 2012
In 839 games, Carlos Beltran hit 149 homers (6th in franchise history), collected 559 RBI (6th) and scored 551 runs (8th). He stole 100 bases in 116 attempts, hit .280 with a .369 OBP (5th) and a .500 slugging percentage (6th), all while playing in 200 less games than guys named Strawberry and Piazza. He is third on the team’s all-time WAR list (31.7), and made five All Star teams, won three Gold Gloves and two Silver Sluggers during his time in Flushing. He finished in the top 20 of the MVP voting three times (4th in ’06, 20th in ’07 and ’11), all while being a model citizen and a silent leader on some very good teams. So why does this seem so out of the realm of possibility?
Unfortunately, Beltran’s “Met legacy” is stained by his strike out to end the 2006 NLCS, justifiably so or not (I say not). And no, he never was part of a championship and pennant-winning team, although one could argue that the ’06 Mets did have one of the best seasons in franchise history. So when it’s all said and done for Carlos, should be recognized as what I think he was for seven seasons, which is the best overall position player in franchise history?
That’s why I say just Seaver and Piazza. The Mets have set the bar high for retired numbers and, in my opinion, it should stay that way. Those two players practically transcended the franchise, and there’s absolutely no debate: my measuring stick for who gets the ultimate honor. With all due respect to Doc, Darryl, Keith, Kid, Koos and the gamut of lovable, talented players that played on championship teams, I can only give the nod to those two. But if we open up the conversation to the aforementioned collection of players, remember a case can be made for number 15.
On the blog, we’ve talked a bit about some of the non-tender candidates that could possibly fit into the Mets’ 2012 plans. So with tonight’s deadline quickly approaching, here are three names that popped up on MLBTR’s list of potential players who could be cut loose tonight that should pique Sandy Alderson’s interest:
Hong-Chih Kuo: As far as I’m concerned, if Kuo is indeed let go by the Dodgers tonight, he is the grail of the 2011 non-tender class. Last year, Kuo was a disaster. He pitched to a 9.00 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP during 40 games and 27 innings with Los Angeles. However, even during what was his worst season thus far in the Majors, Kuo showed plenty of strike out potential, whiffing 36 to account for 12 strikeouts every nine innings. He also held right-handed batters to a measly .204 average. Taking into consideration that just a season before, Kuo threw 60 innings with an eye-popping 1.20 ERA, a 0.78 WHIP and 73 strikeouts, while baffling both lefties (.095) and righties (.159), the 30 year old, Taiwan-born lefty should be worthy of consideration.
J.P. Howell: A lynch-pin in the 2008 American League Championship run in Tampa, Howell struggled in his first season back after missing all of 2010 due to shoulder surgery. The 28-year old accrued a 6.16 ERA, although he did hold lefties to a .222 mark in 2011. He also put together consecutive sub-3.00 ERAs in 2008 and 2009 for the Rays. If the Mets do have doubts about Daniel Herrera as the second lefty in the bullpen behind Tim Byrdak, maybe Kuo or Howell could fill the role.
Jesus Flores: Originally signed by the Mets as an amateur free
agent in 2002, it might make sense for the club and Flores to reunite. All indications seem to point to the Mets non-tendering RonnyPaulino, and Flores would be a viable alternative to Josh Thole on a two-to-three times a week basis. In 2009, Flores threw out a dazzling 42% of would-be base stealers, all while gaining a reputation with Washington pitchers for calling a strong game. Just 27 years old and only two seasons removed from a year where he hit .301 and got on base at a .371 clip, Flores could bounce back nicely now that his surgically-repaired shoulder is no longer an issue.
Last night, the Mets made a series of moves that began with the signing of Jon Rauch, continued with the trade of Angel Pagan and culminated with the inking of Frank Francisco. So after this flurry of activity, how do the Mets stack up against how they looked 24 hours ago?
Let’s start with the trade. Angel Pagan is now a San Francisco Giant with the Mets receiving outfielder Andres Torres and pitcher Ramon Ramirez in return. I’ve always valued Pagan as both a centerfielder and a hitter, but I think the Mets did well in cashing in his value.
Torres, 33, and Ramon Ramirez, 30, both offer the Mets two vital upgrades. In center, Torres’ defense will provide a major boost. I think Pagan played above average in covering some very expansive ground, but Torres is one of the most underrated ball hawks in the game. His defense should make the Mets feel much more comfortable about Lucas Duda‘s presence in right and should give some inner peace to the pitchers who throw to contact (such as R.A. Dickey and Mike Pelfrey). In addition to the defensive upgrade, Torres comes with comfort and experience (1093 plate appearances) batting lead off, something that Pagan never did except, according to multiple reports. Admittedly, his on-base percentage leaves something to be desired, but it isn’t a big fall off from where Pagan would have been either. Torres offers some speed offensively, with 26 and 19 steals in the last two seasons respectively, and has some pop in a bat that slugged 16 home runs in 2010. While 2011 was an injury-plagued campaign, I think it’s reasonable to expect a solid bounce back year.
In Ramirez, the Mets land the unsung hero of the Giants’ 2010 playoff run that resulted in a World Series title. In 66 games with the Giants last year, Ramirez pitched to a 2.62 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP and a 2.5 K/BB ratio. In other words, the Mets got a solid swing and miss arm that won’t put a lot of runners on base in the latter innings.
Speaking of swing and miss arms, Francisco looks like he’ll step into the closer’s role, coming in on a two year deal. I like having a closer locked up for two years, mostly because it gives the Mets time to groom someone within the organization to take over the job in late 2013-’14. By doing so, they could make the closer’s spot a low-cost position, and in the meantime, they have an affordable stop gap. Pitching in the offense-heavy AL East last year with Toronto, Francisco locked down 17 games and saved 25 two years before that in the West with the Rangers. Francisco’s K/BB ratio has been dropping the last three years, going from 3.8 in 2009 to 2.9 last year, but he still manages to miss plenty of bats. If Francisco can cut down on his walks, he very well could return to the dominant form he flashed in Arlington.
Rauch, or the man Keith Hernandez once called “a wookie,” is the 
6’10 righty Mets fans will probably be familiar with from his days with the Expos/Nationals organization. Rauch stepped in to close 21 games in Minnesota when Joe Nathan went down two years back, and locked down 11 in ’11 with the Blue Jays. Rauch, who used to have a bigger swing and miss arm, has given up more hits as his career has progressed, but he can still be very tough to hit by giving hitters the appearance that the ball gets in on them very quickly thanks to his tall frame.
Overall, I think the Mets defense is the big winner. Francisco and Ramirez should help provide a late strike out when need be, and Torres should be a central piece in what will ultimately be a stronger up-the-middle defense.
The impact on the defense is certainly an element of the new dimensions that has flown under the radar. Sure, the fact that more fly balls the Mets hit will leave the yard should help their mental approach to hitting a home. But how will the shortened and moved in fences affect the fielders who roam the outfield 81 games a year in Flushing?
First, as a quick point of reference, let’s take a look at the chart the Mets released earlier in the offseason. I tweaked this slightly to only show the new dimensions, thus making it more clear to imagine the space the outfielders will have to explore in 2012 and beyond:
Looking at the chart, I think the outfield defense will improve. The outfield wall angles are less severe, with the lone exception the jut between the 375 and 395 marks in the right centerfield power alley. As a result, I would expect the caroms to stay more true.
Assuming Angel Pagan is indeed tendered a contract in the next week, he’ll be back in centerfield. I’ve always thought Angel took very strong routes to balls in the right centerfield gap, but struggled going towards left center. Yes, he has made some very impressive catches in left center the past two seasons, but I feel like that the level of difficulty on those catches came as a result of shading towards right center. With such expansive ground to cover in right center in the past, Pagan would cheat that way and still have a long way to go should a ball touch down for extra bases. As a result, the two or three steps Angel gave to right center created a soft spot in left center between Jason Bay and the place Pagan could realistically get to from his defensive positioning. With the fences coming in roughly 20 feet in that power alley, Pagan should be able to move a few steps back toward the left field wall.
That should also allow Jason Bay to move a few steps closer to the line. Now that the fences are in and lowered in left center, it takes away the possibility of a ball touching down and rolling into that jutting nook that existed in the past. If Pagan moves closer to left, Bay should be able to play a more true left field, knowing if a ball is well struck into left center, it will probably be only a double or clear the wall. Looking at right, the elimination of the Mo’s Zone should move Lucas Duda in and over towards right center. Lucas showed some problems coming in on the ball in his first foray into the outfield last year, so this should help give him an extra step or two. Sliding him over should account to help make up part of the room Pagan is now giving up towards right. While it may feel like the line is unprotected, we’ve seen the ball jump out of the park down that line before and that should only be aided more by the new dimensions.
All of this is in an effort to begin playing a more standard defense that the Mets haven’t been able to do consistently since they moved into Citi Field. There’s no question that Pagan will have to make up for limitations both Bay and Duda have at the corners (although Bay has played better defense than his reputation suggested prior to his signing). But the new dimensions should enable the corner outfielders to hide their weakness a bit better, while giving Pagan a bit of a reprieve.
Today’s announcement of the Mets’ plans to honor the 50th anniversary of the franchise marked a very exciting day for me. It may not have been the signing of a player, but what it did ensure is that, for the first time since 1998, the players who take the field in Flushing will actually look like the Mets.
The ’90s were a strange time for uniforms, and the Mets got swept up in it all, first introducing the “hybrid” black crown/blue brim caps, the black tops and incorporating a black dropshadow onto the road grey and snow white jerseys in ’98. By ’99, the dropshadow found its way onto the sacred pinstripe uniform, the all-black cap had been born and the skyline logo had been redesigned in black. And for 14 years, the team propped up the black elements, from wearing black hats in every one of their five World Series games in 2000 to keeping the dropshadow on the new “throwback” alternate introduced prior to the 2010 season.
But all that changed this morning at Citi Field. The Mets will wear this gorgeous logo as a sleeve patch (and a slightly altered one on the back of the blue caps) in 2012. They’ll don dropshadow-less jerseys, wear blue caps, sleeves and accessories on the road and begin to phase out the all-black alternate in favor of blue one similar to the “Los Mets” style worn twice last August. They’ll even get a batting practice look free of black (pictured below) that did not appear at the unveiling today.
Yes, the pride is back. Now, when I hear that line in Meet the Mets that reads, “Oh, the fans are true to the orange and blue,” I can smile again. It makes sense for the brand, it makes sense for business and, most of all, it finally gives me one less thing to gripe about. I can now count the Mets as one of the best-dressed teams in the Majors again. Now, onto the player moves!
All images courtesy of Sportslogos.net and ColorWerx. Hat tip to MetsPolice for fighting the good fight for so long.
With news breaking today that Matt Kemp is close to signing an eight year, $160 million dollar deal with the Dodgers, one has to wonder what impact that will have, if any, on the Jose Reyes market?
It’s possible that the two may not end up correlating, but it’s rare that long-term, big dollar contracts get looked at in a vacuum by Major League front offices. Executives are prone to look at a long-term deal and say, “Well, if Player X got that, then Player Y deserves this.” So what happens when Kemp is stacked up to Reyes? Does Jose’s perceived value sky rocket or end up taking a hit?
$20 million a year seems to be the going rate long associated with Reyes. And that’s exactly what Kemp will sign for, should this deal go through. At 27 years old, Kemp is a year and three months younger than the 28 year old Reyes. Both dynamic players close in age, Kemp stands to evolve as a very different kind of athlete. Kemp led the league in homers (39) and RBIs (124) last year, while still swiping 40 bases in 51 attempts and posting a .324 average and a .399 on-base percentage: a season that could very well earn him National League MVP honors. Kemp has played in at least 155 games in four straight seasons and has played in 162 and 161 in the last two years respectively.
Reyes’ skill set is obviously more focused on speed than power. Jose has scored over 100 runs four times in his career and stolen 370 bases and tallied 99 triples since breaking into the league in 2003. And while he has been seen as an injury risk, missing time with leg problems in ’03 and ’04, as well as each of the last three seasons, Reyes high-caliber defense stands out over Kemp’s spotty play in center. Furthermore, Reyes’ performance could also be seen as a more valuable at a scarce shortstop position, where the drop off to available replacements could make Jose more attractive than at a deeper position such as centerfielder could be had.
Overall, the deals these players sign will carry different implications. The Dodgers bought out Kemp’s last year of arbitration while rewarding him with long-term security, while Kemp gave the Dodgers back assurances that he would be manning their outfield for the next eight seasons. On the other hand, Reyes will be looking to cash in on his impressive nine year resume while potentially enticing a bidding war to drive up his price. But no matter how this shakes out, I have to imagine the timing of this deal raised eyebrows both in Jose’s camp and around the league one way or another.
Roy from Florida sent in an email asking: If Jose Reyes does leave, I think Daniel Murphy gets pushed into the spotlight. Obviously Murphy proved he is a Major League hitter last season, but will the Mets ever find a spot for this guy to play full time? Assuming Tejeda shifts to short, is Murphy the team’s every-day second baseman? And more importantly, can he handle it defensively?
However, the one thing that worries me is how vulnerable Murphy has left himself on the double play turn. Second base is a challengingposition because of the increased difficulty in turning over a double play. It requires fast and slick footwork in order for the player to work his way around the bag, shielding himself from a runner that is bearing down on him with his back turned. Often times, that can leave the second baseman’s lower body – particularly his knees – wide open to an injury. Last year marked the second consecutive season that Murphy went down with a season-ending injury on a break up play at second (granted the slide that took him out in 2010 while he was rehabbing was dirty); but hard and dirty slides are not something that’s going to go away.
One hidden factor here could be the return of Ike Davis. With a strong defensive first baseman to help Murphy cover the hole between first and second, Murphy can cheat up the middle in order to make up for the shortcomings in his range. That should also enable him to get to the bag faster and put himself in a position to handle the throw from the left side of the diamond while doing a better job protecting himself. Murphy has an above average Major League bat. It’s one that, I believe, this lineup sorely needs. But in order to keep him on the field, he needs to master a position and stay healthy. I think he can do that, and should be afforded that opportunity this year, but I do think he’ll be feeling heat from a number of challengers including Justin Turner, Jordany Valdespin and Reese Havens.
With the recent chatter about the soon-to-be Miami Marlins contacting Jose Reyes the moment free agency began, it got me thinking about the very real possibility that the Fish will open a new stadium with our home grown star donning what may be one of the most insane uniforms in MLB history. The conclusion I came to: I’m not okay with it.
But it’s not for the obvious reasons. Yes, of course the idea of Reyes in Marlins’ rainbow colors hitting home runs and inciting animation
from that freakish new art deco sculpture in centerfield makes me queasy. And of course it would be the ultimate indignity to have to watch Reyes play against the Mets 19 times this and every year for whatever the length of the contract. But the scarier thought is not even getting a first round draft pick for the departure of one of Flushing’s brightest stars.
I said last week on Twitter that one undervalued component of Reyes potentially leaving is the two draft picks the Mets would net from the signing team. Sure, MLB draft picks are volitale, but for team looking to restock their system and turn it into a legitimate feeder, a first rounder and pick in the supplemental round (between rounds one and two) from the signing team, in addition to their own assuming they do not sign a Type A free agent, would be a nice way to enter the 2012 draft. That is unless the Marlins land Reyes.
Of the serious suitors pegged for the star shortstop, only the Marlins boast a protected first rounder (for finishing in the bottom half of the league). That means the Mets would get the Marlins second round pick and a pick in the supplemental round. But wait, there’s more. That pick could go down assuming the Marlins sign another free agent that’s ranked higher by Elias from another team. You may be thinking like I did that the type of guys who could outrank Jose would be players like Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder, who Miami couldn’t afford in addition to Reyes. But as Chris Walendin pointed out, those aren’t the only free agent that could keep the Mets down.
Scary, but true. Here is the MLB Trade Rumors post of the official Elias rankings. Of course, another team could sign one of these guys and knock the Mets potential first rounder down to a second thanks to a completely messed up system, but with the Marlins, you’re already starting a round behind. Therefore, in order to give the new stars of this team (the front office) a shot at doing what they’re here to do, if Jose leaves, let’s hope it’s not for Miami.
