Mookie, Melvin Join Mets
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Mookie Wilson is rejoining the Mets as the minor league outfield and base running coordinator and Bob Melvin is joining as a pro scout. Both men have major league coaching experience. Additionally, both men have been managers (Wilson managed the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2005 and Melvin managed the Mariners and Diamondbacks). Both are good hires but I can’t help but get the feeling that part of the reason for bringing them on board is to have people inside the organization to move into major league roles in case the team gets off to a slow start and Jerry Manuel is made the scapegoat.
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Putz Never Took A Physical?!?!
News out of Chicago today has J.J. Putz saying he never took a physical with the Mets before being traded from the Mariners. In fact the first physical he took was the spring training physical that even a dead person could pass.
In an article Putz says “I had the bone spur (in the right elbow). It was discovered the previous year in Seattle, and it never got checked out by any other doctors until I got to spring training, and the spring training physical is kind of a formality. It was bugging me all through April, and in May I got an injection. It just got to the point where I couldn’t pitch. I couldn’t throw strikes, my velocity was way down.”
How do you make a trade for such a high priced player without giving him a physical? What were the Mets thinking?
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And So The Injury List Begins
Twitter has been abuzz tonight with a rumor about bad Mets news. For over an hour Mets fans debated what the news may be. By 9:30 Sports Illustrated posted a story saying Carlos Beltran has had “minor” surgery on his knee and will miss 8-12 weeks.
Shortly thereafter the Mets released a statement saying Beltran was feeling pain in the right knee he suffered a deep bone bruise in during the 2009 season and had arthroscopic surgery to fix the problem (osteoarthritis). He’s expected to resume baseball activity in 12 weeks. Count Beltran out for opening day since 12 weeks is the day after opening day. And when you include working out and a minor league rehab assignment it’s hard to say when he’ll actually be in the lineup.
But the story doesn’t end there. Beltran used his own doctor, Dr. Richard Steadman, to do the surgery instead of the Mets staff. There’s even a rumor Beltran had the surgery without the Mets permission, risking voiding his contract. This is a major indictment of the Mets medical staff. The players obviously have no faith in the team doctors. This story is far from over.
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McGwire’s Admission Changes Nothing
Mark McGwire’s admission to steroid use yesterday did nothing but confirm the feelings I’ve had toward him for several years now. I always liked McGwire as a player despite the widely held beliefs that he was juicing. I was rooting for him in 1998 when he broke Roger Maris’ single season home run record.
My thoughts on McGwire did not change until March 17, 2005. That’s the day he uttered the now infamous words “I’m not here to talk about the past” when testifying before Congress about steroids in baseball. Though I appreciate that he did not lie by denying his steroid use that day (like Rafael Palmeiro and other users did) I still lost a lot of respect for him that day. After all, the comment made no sense. The whole idea was to talk about the past so Congress could see if they needed to intervene in Major League Baseball’s policies on illegal substances being used by its players. You can’t move forward without a proper perspective of the past.
Now McGwire has finally admitted his use of steroids and my opinion of him has not changed. I have less respect for him than I did when he was a player and I have mixed feelings about his Hall of Fame worthiness. But I’ve had those feeling since 2005.
When McGwire was named hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals in the fall I knew the day would come soon that he’d need to admit his steroids use. In order to have credibility with the players he’d be coaching he’d need to come clean about his dirty little secret. And better to take care of that in January and not wait for spring training or later when the issue would be a huge distraction to his players.
Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa had the following to say after McGwire came clean yesterday: “I didn’t know anything except that I knew we ran a legit program and that Mark was a good example of working his butt off and getting his strength gains as a product of hard work. I did, and still speak to his character and integrity.” I don’t doubt McGwire worked hard. I don’t doubt his character either. I likewise don’t doubt the Cardinals were running a “legit program”. But this statement does not say what I needed to hear. That is that LaRussa did not know that McGwire was juicing. Absence of such a denial in confirmation that LaRussa knew and didn’t tell. I don’t hold LaRussa responsible and don’t blame him for not telling. In fact it wouldn’t surprise me if LaRussa, who hired McGwire for the coaching job, hired him in part because it would force him to go public in an effort to put the past behind him and start a new chapter in his career and his life. (That’s just a feeling and not a statement of fact.)
Anyway, McGwire has finally confirmed what we’ve all been talking about for years. Now when will we get Barry Bonds admission?
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My Thoughts On Bay Signing
Upon hearing the news that the Mets signed Jason Bay yesterday a friend of mine, who coincidentally is a Phillie fan, asked me via Facebook what my thoughts of Bay as a Met are. My response was as follows:
I think the fourth year wasn’t necessary. He’s a good player and definitely adds some pop to the lineup. The Mets have finally addressed a position (LF) that’s been an issue for years (since Moises Alou declined rapidly about 4 years ago). But I heard a rumor that Francoeur’s wrist is worse than they thought it was since the season ended so Bay’… See Mores help may be balanced by the loss of Frenchy.
The biggest problem is that they have no rotation behind Santana. They have a #1 and the rest are at best #4s or less. Bay can (and hopefully will) help score more runs but they need pitching to keep their opponents from scoring more. Right now I don’t see how they’re going to accomplish that.
This was, of course, an off the cuff analysis. let me explain.
I don’t think any player should get more than 3 years with the possible exception of the greatest players in the game. Johan Santana and Alex Rodriguez are two of the few players that fit into that category.
Though I’m not a great Bay fan and would have hoped for someone better the fact is that of the players available he’s in the top 2 (along with Matt Holliday) and left field is a spot that needs to have been filled three years ago. So in that sense this is a very good signing.
My comment about Jeff Francoeur’s thumb is not based on reliable information. It was just something I saw on Twitter. It probably doesn’t mean anything but with the could hanging over the Mets medical team it bears keeping in mind. But if Frenchy is healthy the team finally has a solid outfield.
The rest of my comment is self explanatory. The rotation is a big question mark behind Santana. There were pitchers available over the last couple of years that would have filled in the rotation nicely but Omar Minaya passed over them for some reason. Hopefully a couple of decent starters become available and find their way onto the roster because what they have now will not win any championships.
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Be Patient, A Big Move Will Come
It’s been a long offseason for Mets fans as the team has not yet made a major move. If my Twitter feed is any indication it looks like Mets fans are getting increasingly antsy as they wait for Omar Minaya to pull the trigger on a big deal. It’s times like these that I feel the need to remind people of recent history so they can put things in perspective.
Let’s look at the last several offseasons under Omar Minaya’s watch. In 2005 Minaya made a splash and automatically made the Mets a competing team with the signings of Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran. In 2006 he made them contenders by acquiring Carlos Delgado. 2007 season saw the acquisition of Moises Alou, a player not on the same level as the rest in this list but looked at as a big pick up at the time. The trend continued in 2008 with the Johan Santana trade and 2009 with the signing of Francisco Rodriguez.
Each year that Omar Minaya has been the Mets general manager he has made a big acquisition in the offseason and what do we have to show for it? That’s right. Nothing. The big acquisition is good for some splash. It gets your name in the headlines for a couple of days but it’s no guarantee to add wins to your record.
However, given this rack record you can be assured that Minaya will make at least one big move. Just be patient. It’s coming.
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Phils Get Halladay And I Concede the Division
I know that there’s a plan. I know that there are things going on behind the scenes that I’m not seeing. But I can’t help but think that despite trading Cliff Lee to the Seattle Mariners yesterday the Phillies got even better. That’s because the trade brought Roy Halladay over from the Toronto Blue Jays. Though the trade has not been announced officially I saw a report earlier today that said Halladay was already taking his physical with the Phillies. This has me thinking that the Mets are already out of the division race and must set their sights on the wild card. That’s a pretty scary thought considering we’re over two months away from spring training.
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21st Annual Going to Bat for B.A.T. Dinner
The Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.) will be holding the 21st Annual Going to Bat for B.A.T. Dinner on January 26, 2010 at the New York Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square and will celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the MVP Award. Some former Mets scheduled to attend are Benny Ayala, Rick Cerone, Ed Charles, John Franco, Keith Hernandez, Cleon Jones, Ed Kranepool, Terry Leach, Barry Lyons, Lee Mazzilli, Rusty Staub, Ron Swoboda, Jeff Torborg (Manager) & Pat Zachary.
B.A.T. is a 501 c 3 charitable organization that assists members of the “baseball family” in need. Members of the baseball family include more than just top tier talent that was paod top dollar while playing. It includes former major leaguers, minor leaguers, umpires, scouts, managers, coaches, athletic trainers, Negro league players, front office employees, players from the Women’s Professional Baseball League and their spouses.
For more information click here.
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Mets Sign Forever A Phillie Coste
Yesterday the Mets signed former Phillies and Astros catcher Chris Coste. The signing gives the Mets a veteran catcher to help out while Omir Santos and Josh Thole continue to develop.
As always I want the players the Mets sign to excel (with the possible exception of the second time they signed Bobby Bonilla). It doesn’t matter to me where the player came from or where he’s going. While in a Mets uniform I’ll be rooting for him. When I heard the Mets signed Coste I immediately applied the same philosophy to this signing.
But then Coste went ahead and said the following while taking with a Philadelphia reporter after he signed with the Mets:
I will always be a Phillie
I understand what he’s saying. He’s saying that he will always be thankful for the opportunity the Phillies gave him. How they gave him a change to succeed after bouncing around the minors for so long. How their faith in him will always keep the organization close to his heart.
I get it. But most New York fans won’t. The fans and media in New York are terribly tough. A statement like this will not help Coste ingratiate himself to them. If they remember this statement next season they will give him hell for it.
I honestly hope they don’t remember so that Coste can just get on with playing and not have to worry about outside pressures. I can forgive him for the statement. Can you?
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Nice To Have Cora Back But What’s With This Contract?
The Mets resigned free agent infielder Alex Cora yesterday. The deal calls for Cora to be paid $2 million for the 2010 season. I like this deal on the surface but when you break it down it looks pretty bad.
- $2 million for a backup. Cora is a backup middle infielder whose recent experience has proven cannot hold up as a starter. I know that $2 million won’t exactly break the Mets back as far as payroll goes but there are better options available for less money. For example, Omar Vizquel got $1,375,000 from the White Sox. OK, it’s relatively small money in a game where the average player makes about $3 million a year but it shows bad judgment.
- Incentives. Built into the contract are incentives for having started 80, 90, 100 and 110 games. I could understand these incentives for having played in these numbers of games. But starting? As a backup he’s really got no control over how many games he starts but with the injury problems the Mets had last year incentives for games started by a backup don’t sit well with me. Besides, what happened to incentives being earned and not rewarded based on teammates injuries?
- Vesting options. If Cora starts 80 games next season a $2 million option for 2011 will become guaranteed. In other words, if Jose Reyes needs to take some extra days off to rest his repaired leg and Luis Castillo shows that last years .302 average in 142 games was an aberration, two things Cora has absolutely no control over, Cora will automatically benefit.
I like Cora and I don’t mean to rip him. I like his attitude and hope that this years team benefits from it.
I’m also sure management has taken these things into account as well. I mean, these are incentives and options that, if all goes to plan, should never come to pass so what’s the harm in putting it in the contract?
But as a fan it just doesn’t sit well with me. Offering more money to a marginal player and the possibility of guaranteed money for an extra year if other players get hurt just doesn’t seem right. Let’s just hope Omar Minaya knows what he’s doing here. His job depends on it.
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