Baseball Free Agents PSA
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The following appeal on behalf of remaining baseball free agents comes via Scott at 12 Angry Mascots:
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Delcos on Francoeur
I’ve always been a Jeff Francoeur fan and thought the Mets made a good deal when they acquired him for Ryan Church last year. Still, I realize that Francoeur’s career could hinge on his production this season.
So does John Delcos on his New York Mets Report blog. You can read Delcos’ post here.
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And So It Begins
After David Waldstein reported in the Bats blog for the New York Times yesterday that Kelvim Escobar “felt some discomfort in his right shoulder” Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports’ HardballTalk is reporting that “Escobar isn’t even able to grip a baseball right now” and may be seriously injured.
Are you kidding me?
Here’s a guy who was out all of 2008 and pitched only 5 innings in 2009. The warning signs were there and the Mets still blew it. Didn’t they put this guy through a heavy physical exam before signing him?
I hope the contract isn’t guaranteed.
1:17 p.m. | Updated : Adam RubinNew York Daily News is reporting that Johan Santana’s been playing catch with Escobar all week and didn’t notice any ball gripping issues. Throwing is different than pitching off a mound so we’ll have to wait and see.
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Let’s Get Started
Today is the day to stop being negative about the past and start being positive about what is to come.
Today is the day to stop talking about last year’s injuries and start focusing on this year’s comebacks.
Today is the day to stop complaining about acquisitions that were not made and start working with what you’ve got.
For today is a day we’ve been waiting all winter for. The day when pitchers and catchers report!
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Bringing Down The Fence
Adam Rubin is reporting that the Mets are dropping the fence height in center field. Rubin reports in today’s New York Daily News that the second level of padding will be removed bringing the height down to 8 feet. In 2009 the fence was as high as 16 feet at it’s maximum height in front of the home run apple. Despite the change in fence height the outfield dimensions will remain the same.
Reducing the fence height is felt to be a step toward increasing the team’s home run numbers. The Mets were last in the league with only 95 home runs last season. Considering the Mets home run number were equally bad on the road (46) as they were at home (49) I don’t think changing the height of the fence is the answer unless more changes are made to the roster as well. Maybe starting the season with a (mostly) healthy club will be a good omen but I still feel like a power bat at first base (Russell Branyan?) would be most helpful.
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Mookie, Melvin Join Mets
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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