Vinny Cartiglia
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Sure, the 2011 season was not overtly successful. The Mets lost more games than they won. But, it also gave me every reason to believe that Alderson knows exactly what he is doing and has a vision to bring this team to a point of long term sustainable success. And, just because he is not making headlines by being the most aggressive pursuer of Reyes, there is difference between being the aggressor and the winner.”
sweepstakes does not mean he will not be the winner of this sweepstakes when all is said and done.
While I was starting to believe the Mets were the underdog in this race, with reports of the Brewers not likely to sign Jose and the Marlins looking to offer a three year high annual salary deal, I am starting to gain more confidence that things are playing right into Alderson’s hands.
If nothing else, Alderson showed us this past season that he has a great understanding of how to play the market, and you need to look no further than the Francisco Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran trades. As Andrew states in his post, “What has Sandy Alderson done wrong to warrant the Hatorade cooler being dumped on his head? He has done nothing but sit down and let the market develop, without blindly calling before he sees the flop.”
Yesterday on Twitter, MrMetKevC asked, “Would you retain Reyes as a building block and go after more next winter?”
To read Vinny Cartiglia’s response to this question, click here.
During the month of November, Shannon Shark over at MetPolice.com is growing a mustache in an effort to raise funds for men’s health initiatives (such as prostate cancer research). During ‘Movember,’ Shannon and his contributors have been posting pictures of Mets players who sported pretty slick staches during their tenure with the Mets; and I thought this pic of former Mets starter — and one of my favorite Mets — Frank Viola was simple awesome.
If you would like, you can donate at Mets Bloggers For A Cure.
Over the last week or so, I have spoken with many fans – via email – and it seems to me that the vote is pretty evenly split between fans who believe the Mets should tender Mike Pelfrey a contract and those who believe the Mets should not. This is pretty consistent with what I am seeing from fans on Twitter and Facebook as well.
So, if you happen to be one of the fans that I have spoken to then you already know where I stand on the issue. For those I have not spoken to directly, let me begin by saying – while I totally agree that Pelfrey has been one of the biggest disappointments, as well as one of the most frustrating players to watch – I do believe the Mets should bring him back for 2012. (more…)
Yesterday afternoon on Twitter, I asked fans they thought the Mets should do with Angel Pagan.
Here is what some had to say:
I realize Pagan didn’t have a great year, in fact, I spent most of the season hearing from fans about his defensive miscues, lack of offense, and bone headed base running mistakes. With that said, in looking over the free-agent outfielders, I don’t see a clear cut improvement.
Grady Sizemore is intriguing, and in speaking to fans, it seems Sizemore would be the player that most would accept as a replacement (David DeJesus‘ name was mentioned a lot as well). However, I believe in talking to fans, most would rather take a shot at Pagan returning to his 2010 form (.290/.340/.765) then taking a chance on any of the free-agent center fielders available; and I agree.
You can email a question or comment to: VCartiglia@gmail.com.
“They can believe whatever they want to believe. Every ball that hits the ground has something on it. … I’ve thrown balls that were scuffed, but I haven’t scuffed every ball that I’ve thrown.”
~ Mike Scott on accusations of
scuffing the ball during the 1986 NLCS
Vinny Cartiglia: And the truth shall set you free, Mr. Scott… I was only seven year old during this series — with my 8th birthday less than a month away — so I’d be lying if I told you I remembered the debates on whether or not Scott was actually scuffing the ball. However, I do remember my older brother saying the Mets will “never beat the cheat in game seven.” Years later, I figured out what he meant by that statement. In the end, it didn’t matter that Scott was scuffing the ball to make that split finger unhittable during the series, or most of the 1986 season for that matter, because the Mets got it done in six and the rest, as they say, is history.
MLB Network will be airing “1986:A Postseason to Remember” on Wednesday November 9th at 9 PM EST, hosted by one of my favorites, Bob Costas along with Tom Verducci.
The two-hour program will feature 15 revealing new interviews with key players, managers and coaches, which you can read more about here.
If you asked me during the season if I felt Reyes was coming back, I would have confidently stated, yes! However, now, I’m not so sure. I mean, Reyes is an extremely gifted player — injuries aside — and if a guy like Jayson Werth can get a 7-year deal and Carl Crawford can net $140 million then why wouldn’t Jose?
I can go on forever about how talented a player he is, what he means to the fan base, how he can spark the team, or how exciting it is to watch him leg out a triple, but honestly it’s depressing to even think about those things right now. The fact is that a New York Mets team without Jose Reyes is starting to seem like a real possibility and as that reality sets in, it gets tougher to deal with.
All I can say is that I hope Jose doesn’t force me into a glass case of emotion as I try to get used to watching my favorite team… minus my favorite player. Maybe, I am getting to ahead of myself.
I guess, what I really hope is that #7 loves it here as much as fans — especially this fan — loves having him here and I pray he wants to come back, because in order for this to happen he may have to take a serious home town discount…
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