Mets 4 Life

Mets 4 Life is back! Today's Recap..

2008-04-15T22:40:00.004-04:00

Hey guys, I'm sorry for the long layoff, but I'm back doing this blogging thing again..

Here we go..Today, the Mets played the Nationals @ Shea Stadium. The Mets beat the Nats by a score of 6-0. Here is a rundown of how the individual players fared in todays game..

Jose Reyes, in his return from a 3 game absence, went 4-5 and was a homer short of the cycle.

David Wright hit two doubles and a homer and ended the game batting 3-4 with 5 RBI's.

Carlos Beltran was 1-4 with an RBI single to score David Wright from second.

Angel Pagan continued to hit today with a single, he went 1-3.

All the other players on the Mets combined to go 0-12 for the game.. so it's safe to say that the middle of the order picked up the slack today, which I am very pleased about.

Overall, today was a very good day for the Mets (and my fantasy team). Pelfrey looked good and is now 2-0 (1.50 ERA) to start the season. But lets not forget that Duaner Sanchez came back and looked strong, pitching a scoreless 9th.

Tomorrow, the Mets continue their series against the Nationals, with John Maine facing Matt Chico, starting at 7:10 pm.

Also, I'm again looking for RELIABLE writers who can post atleast 4 times a week. Contact me if interested!

New Year, Same bullpen

2008-04-09T12:41:00.004-04:00

One week into the season and the frustration continues.

The New York Mets biggest weakness last season was the bullpen. This weakness was not addressed in the off-season. It appears it will be our biggest problem this year.

We eliminated Guillermo Mota, who had some terrible second innings. But I believe he would have been better if we limited him to one inning per outing. They were hoping to get Sanchez back, and we are still hoping. Joe Smith is a question mark, he has yet to prove he can continually get batters out. Then we have another side arm pitcher, Aaron Heilman, who is unreliable. One day he is good, the next he is giving up home runs. I think we do teams a favor by sending back to back side armers at them. I am scared anytime Schoenweiss enters the ballgame. I think if he was used to face one or two lefties only, he might have a chance. But he should NEVER pitch a full inning. Feliciano has been great and Wagner needs to be dominant. But this is the same bullpen that failed us last year, and things are not looking good.

2008 Milestones

2008-03-19T08:49:00.003-04:00

With the regular season starting just one week from today—when the Red Sox play the A’s in Tokyo—it’s time to take a look at what milestones players could achieve this year and how probable they are.

Most likely to happen...

Ken Griffey Jr.’s 600th home run. Junior has 593 jacks and is a lock for notching No. 600 this year. Plus, he needs 116 more bases to hit 5,000 total bases. He had more than 200 in each of the past three seasons, so unless he suffers a truly hideous injury, he should also surpass this mark easily.

Plus Next season or the year after he may be looking to join Hank Aaron and Willie Mays as the only players to have 600 home runs and 3000 hits, needs another 442 hits for 3000.

Manny Ramirez’s 500th home run. Manny has 490 regular season dingers heading into this year. It’s not a question of whether he’ll hit that 500th round tripper, but when.

Gary Sheffield’s 500th home run. He’s got 480 right now. He’ll knock in No. 500 sometime in August.

Chipper Jones’ 400th home run. He needs just 14 more to hit the mark, and he has never had a season in the bigs with fewer than 20.

Juan Pierre’s 400th stolen base. The man steals an average of 54 per season, and swiped 64 last year. Plus, he’s played 162 games for the last five seasons running.

Francisco Cordero’s 200th save. He needs 23 to get there.

John Smoltz’s 3,000th strikeout. He needs 25. For Smoltz, that’s, like, four mediocre starts.

Greg Maddux’s 5,000th inning. He needs 185 and two-thirds to get there. The man’s a horse. He’ll get ‘er done (and log his 20,000th batter faced in the process). He is also 3 wins shy of reaching 350 on his career.

Tim Wakefield’s 100th wild pitch. He’s just 8 away, he throws a knuckleball, and his personal catcher just got released. Enough said.

Tom Glavine’s 200th loss. He’s at 199 right now. This is as close to a lock as preseason predictions get.

Johan Satana's 100th win. Needs just 7 more. A nice milestone to reach in first year with the Mets. Met fan hope this is the first of many.

Jason Isringhausen's 300th save. Just 19 save will get him there, can he stay off the DL long enough?

Derek Jeter's 2500th hit. There is talk already of when he'll reach the hall of fame bench mark of 3000 hits, need 144 hits this season to be within 500.

Possibly Could Happen...

Randy Johnson’s 300th win. The Big Unit needs just 16 more victories to get there. Yeah, he only had 4 last year. But in the three previous seasons, when he was 40, 41, and 42, he had 16, 17, and 17, respectively.

Andruw Jones’ 400th home run. He needs 32 to get there, and has had five seasons with more than that number. On the other hand, he’s also logged five seasons with fewer. Toss-up.

Vladimir Guerrero’s 400th home run. Vlad needs 35 to get it done, which would be a very good year for him.

Omar Vizquel’s 400th stolen base. Yes, he’s lost a step with age. But the odds are even on him snagging the 20 he needs to reach the milestone.

Eric Gagne’s 200th save. Can he get 23? He hasn’t saved even 20 games since 2004

Tom Glavine’s 700th start. He needs 31, and the last time he had fewer was in 1995.

Randy Johnson’s 100th complete game. He only needs two more.

Not very likely to happen...

Barry Bonds’ 3000th hit. It seems unlikely, at this point, that Barry will find employment this season, forcing him to retire just 65 hits shy of this storied benchmark. He’ll also retire just 14 games short of 3,000 and 4 RBI short of 2,000.

Roger Clemens’ 5,000th inning. It seems that the Rocket has retired for good this time. He’s forever going to be 83 and a third from 5,000.

Johnny Damon’s 100th triple. There’s no “100 triples” club. But Damon, 33, is third on the active list of leaders in triples (after Steve Finley and Kenny Lofton) and needs just 13 three-baggers to break the century mark.

Jeff Kent’s 400th home run. Like Guerrero, he needs 35. However, Kent has only hit that many once his his career. If Kent wants to reach 400, the 40-year old will have to hang around another year.

Jason Giambi’s 400th home run. He needs 36 homers, which isn’t out of the realm of possibility. I just don’t think he’s healthy enough to get there this year.

Pelfrey Tipping His Pitches!

2008-03-16T19:24:00.003-04:00

Mike Pelfrey is tipping his pitches!

"When he is to throw his fastball, he will keep his tongue in his mouth under the mouth piece. When Pelfrey initiated his delivery of a fastball, his tongue became visible."

"Pelfrey would open his glove wide when he reached in to grasp the ball deep in his right hand for the offspeed pitch."

So any batter with reasonable observation skills knew all three of Pelfrey's pitches; the fastball, slider or changeup and which he intends to deliver to the plate.

So when Pelfrey fanned his glove it meant changeup; visible tongue meant fastball; neither was the unmistakable sign for slider.

I'll admit I've been a little hard on Pelfrey. I think he would benefit greatly from a full year in AAA. But this changes my opinion on Pelfrey. He has shown some improvement this spring but has yet to show the consistence, tipping his pitches would explain that.

Week In Review: Part Duce

2008-03-14T14:53:00.004-04:00

Sunday March 9th:

John Maine worked four innings of no-hit ball with three K’s, with the only blemish a walk to ex-Met David Newhan in the second.

Jose Reyes went deep with a laser shot hit beyond the right-field wall.

Jose Valentin was back, and played first base

Duaner Sanchez was pleased with how he felt one day after pitching a scoreless inning Saturday.

Angel Pagan had his 15th hit of the spring

David Wright hit a triple in the first

Billy Wagner pitched 1 inning giving up 1 hit while striking out 2

Mets 3 Astros 0

Monday March 10th:

Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado both played, finished a combined 0-for-5.

Santana allowed only two hits, and no runs. He struck out four and didn't walk a batter over 4 IP

Mets 1 Red Sox 1

Tuesday March 11th:

Angel Pagan belted a two-out triple in the third.

Nelson Figueroa gave up five hits and four runs over three innings. He walked two and struck out one.

Steven Register allowed two hits and no runs over two innings.

Mets 3 Red Sox 4

Wednesday March 12th:

Marlon Anderson hasn’t swung a bat since feeling discomfort in the rib-cage area underneath his right arm while facing the Orioles in Fort Lauderdale in what he estimated was too quick a return from a bruised sternum suffered in the collision with Church

Adhering to new MLB rules, Mets clubhouse officials were drug tested.

Oliver Perez allowed one run and three hits in four innings.

Angel Pagan added a pinch-hit, two-run homer

Carlos Delgado struck out three times, is batting .091

Carlos Beltran went 0-for-3 with a walk

Mets 6 Orioles 2

Thursday March 13th:

Carlos Beltran played center field for the first time, and singled in a run and walked

Lefthander Jason Vargas expects to miss three months with a labrum tear in his left hip that will require surgery

first baseman Michel Abreu and relievers Willie Collazo and Carlos Muniz, were cut, and headed to minor-league camp

Jose Reyes singled twice and scored both times

Endy Chavez had a single and a two-run double

Pelfrey lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits. He struck out one and walked two.

Pedro Feliciano allowed an unearned run in the seventh

Mets 5 Cardinals 6

Friday March 14th:

Carlos Beltran made his second straight start in center field and went 2-for-3 with a double

John Maine threw five scoreless innings extending his streak of scoreless innings to 10

Scott Schoeneweis pitched one inning giving up 1 hit while getting 2 Ks

Mets 8 Marlins 2

Saturday March 15th:

Carlos Delgado hit his first home run of the spring

Angel Pagan singled and scored

Santana allowed four runs -- three earned -- in five innings, striking out five and walking one

Mets 3 Cardinals 10

Pedro Martinez is scheduled to make his debut for the Mets on Sunday
Mets Spring Training Record 10-7-1

Week In Review

Is Angel Pagan heading North?

2008-03-14T14:27:00.003-04:00

It happens every spring. A scrappy young player walks into big league camp as a relative unknown to the general masses. While the veterans greet each other with big smiles, the newcomer has to introduce himself to pretty much everyone. Initially, the sportswriters ignore him and concentrate on the more established players made available by the team’s PR department. But when the preseason games begin, and when the new kid steps into the batter’s box, the attention is his. And he capitalizes.

The next day, he finds his name in the sports sections of numerous newspapers. Do this a few more times and the fan base begins to get excited. He continues to succeed throughout the month of March to the point where he improbably cracks the big league roster. By now, the fans know who he is. He’s the new guy who batted over .400 or had an ERA below 2 throughout the exhibition games. And the first time he comes out of that home dugout for his first appearance of the regular season, he gets an ovation from the crowd that’s usually reserved for the star players.

For the 2008 New York Mets, that guy is Angel Pagan, the 26-year old outfielder who the Mets drafted back in 1999 but had to reacquire in a trade with the Chicago Cubs during the offseason. While not completely anonymous on the big stage thanks to the 318 ABs he’s had as a Cub in ‘06 and ‘07, the average fan probably knew very little about him except that he has perhaps the most oxy moronic name in Major League history.

But in the last three weeks, Pagan has accumulated 45 ABs during which he’s gotten on-base at a .426 clip and slugged .578 with a .400 batting average and a couple stolen bags to boot. This has prompted the beat writers to collectively call for him on the big league roster. His stock became so high that some people actually bought the fake rumor that the Red Sox were going to trade Coco Crisp to the Mets in exchange for Pagan. Really? Isn't that taking things a bit too far?

Due to the not-so-shocking injury to Moises Alou, the starting left-field spot on Opening Day is yet to be determined. Just two or three weeks ago it would have been considered foolish to even suggest that Pagan deserved the gig. And I don't completely understand why we should be thinking any differently now.

It appears on the surface that most people get it. It’s spring training. Hitters are facing AA pitchers and vice versa. Established pitchers are trying out that new cut fastball that they can't quite command just yet and the veteran hitters are trying to get their timing back. There’s no evidences that spring training success bodes well for the regular season. None. Zilch. Nada. I think the majority of the baseball world is in agreement on this one.

Then why doesn't this logic hold true for Pagan? Why should we be impressed by a .426 OBP and a .578 SLG when it’s blatantly obvious that both stats are being held up by an impossibly high .400 AVG? Why should we ignore the fact that so far in his career the man’s line is an unimpressive .255/.306/.415? Because he’s young and has room to grow? Because he wasn't wearing a NY Mets uniform prior to this year? Not buying it.

Far more indicative of his skill set than the 45 ABs he’s gotten this spring is the 2483 ABs he’s accumulated in the minor leagues. Pagan didn't fare amazingly well during this time either, going .280/.338./.373 - numbers that would be fine… if he was a speedy shortstop who excelled defensively. Pagan does run well, but he appears to be cut from the same cloth as Endy Chavez, another backup outfielder for the Mets. They are useful as fifth outfielders who can be called upon as a defensive replacement or pinch runner, but why would you want two of them on your team?

Regardless of what I think, it appears that Pagan will be heading north with the team in a couple of weeks. Unless Minaya can make trade Pagan for Coco Crisp.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHAN!

2008-03-13T20:50:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday Johan! Hats off to you and welcome to Queens. This season we look forward to you adding to your personal trophy case.

Happy Birthday for winning two Cy Young Awards already, for being 49 games over .500 in just 8 seasons (93-44), for being a 20-game winner, for helping the Twins win four AL Central championships, for being a 3-time All-Star, for leading the AL in K’s 3 times, ERA twice, wins once, for having a Gold Glove and for giving Met fans a reason to look joyfully to the future and to forget the past.

Again Happy Birthday Johan Santana and best wishes on your 29th birthday!

Atlanta Braves: Off-season Report Card.

2008-03-13T09:01:00.000-04:00

Reposted for our Brave fans turn Met fans, lol

This is the first of an series on the NL east.

Did Atlanta improve over the off-season? Yes. And no.

Atlanta’s biggest need entering the off season was starting pitching. So GM Frank Wren went back to the future and signed Tom Glavine. Good move? No. Glavine is washed up. But at the very least, he should be an (overpaid) innings eater. Wren also traded all-star SS Edgar Renteria to Detroit for SP Jair Jurrjens. The Jurrjens acquisition could be a real long-term steal. But for 2008, Atlanta’s starting staff will depend on the continued strength of an aging John Smoltz and the hope that Mike Hampton will return to form after multiple arm surgeries. Some things never change.

But enough about pitching. Who needs pitching when you have offense? And the Braves do have offense. Atlanta scored more runs than every NL team but Philly and Colorado, two teams that play in hitter-friendly parks. That’s pretty impressive considering the Braves’ best hitter, Mark Teixeira, didn't get to town until August.The 2008 Braves should benefit from a full season of Teixeira. The team lost power when Andruw Jones signed with the Dodgers, but they gained OBP when they signed Mark Kotsay.

In other Braves news, the Renteria-Jurrjens trade freed up a starting spot for SS Yunel Escobar, who represents a possible defensive upgrade, but a probable offensive step back.

Atlanta’s bullpen will suffer from the loss of Ron Mahay, but should be bolstered by the mid-season return of Mike Gonzalez.

Additions: Brandon Jones, Mark Kotsay (and Jamie Kotsay), Tom Glavine, Jair Jurrjens.

Losses: Edgar Renteria, Andruw Jones, Ron Mahay.

Projected Rotation:

SP - John Smoltz
SP - Tim Hudson
SP - Tom Glavine
SP - Mike Hampton
SP - Chuck James
Alt - Jair Jurrjens

Setup - Peter Moylan
Closer - Rafael Soriano

Projected Lineup:
SS - Yunel Escobar
2B - Kelly Johnson
3B - Chipper Jones
1B - Mark Teixeira
C - Brian McCann
RF - Jeff Francoeur
LF - Matt Diaz/Brandon Jones
CF - Mark Kotsay

Grade: B
Atlanta has some exciting young players (Escobar, Jurrjens, Kelly Johnson) and some others who are entering their prime years (Brian McCann, Jeff Francoeur, Teixeira), but as usual the team’s success will hinge on the contributions of some oft-injured players (Chipper, Hampton) and old timers (Smoltz, Glavine).

Why The Rays Are Better Then The Braves!

2008-03-12T08:29:00.003-04:00

Argument #1: Mike Hampton.

Tommy John surgery
elbow discomfort that shelved Hampton for another
In March 2007, oblique strain suffered during batting practice
In November 2007, Hampton tweaked a hamstring
On Friday straining a right groin muscle

Hampton has made eight trips to the disabled list since he was traded to Atlanta from Florida on Nov. 20, 2002: Three for his left elbow, two for his back, two for his left forearm and one for his right calf.

Argument #2: Bobby Cox.

Rays manager Joe Maddon has a World Series ring from this millennium. Bobby Cox does not. Maddon has a nice personality. Bobby Cox does not. Maddon has cool glasses. Bobby Cox does not.

Argument #3: Chuck Jones.

Chuck Jones spent last off season working at Lowe’s installing windows and doors. WOW yup it's true!
Rays are clearly playing hardball this spring, did you see that that awesome collision in the Rays-Yankees pretend game on last Saturday

Argument #4: Will Ohman.

The Braves got Ohman in a trade from the Cubs, Ohman is “sexy like a well-kept low-mileage used Toyota.”
Rays meanwhile brought back one of the great left handed relievers in team history, Trever Miller. And he should be better than ever

Argument #5. The Rest Of Atlanta’s Bullpen.

Rafael Soriano is supposed to close for the Braves this year. Career numbers: 13 saves, 9 blown saves. It’s a shame the Blue Jays beat y'all to Armando.
Rays have a stacked bullpen with new closer Troy Percival, and three more reliable arms: Al Reyes, Dan Wheeler and Gary Glover. Plus a guy who killed a shark with his bare hands in Scott Dohmann.

Argument #6. The Big Bats.

Obviously, Chipper Jones should be commended for his leadership in calling an investigation of Alex Rodriguez’s steroid use.
But Chipper is no match for the offensive juggernaut of the Rays in Crawford, Upton, Pena, Longoria, Iwamura. Plus If you get in their way, they'll just run you over.

The Rays are better, tougher, and sexier. The Atlanta Braves ain’t garbage compared to the Tampa Bay Rays.

New York Mets: Off-Season Report Card

2008-03-11T16:14:00.002-04:00

If you google the words “Mets” and “collapse”, you end up with over 494,000 results. If you google “Mets’ historic collapse”, you get 108,000 more. Needless to say, I was tired of hearing it and reading it. But all winter-long the sportswriters here in New York would not let it die. The team was broken, the scribes wrote. They were demoralized, downtrodden, and despaired. Sometimes you didn’t even know they were writing about a baseball team.

But rationality has to take over at some point. Consider this:

The Mets lost 12 of their last 17 games (.294 winning percentage)
The Phillies won 13 of their last 17 (.765 winning percentage)
Both of the above happened. And the Phillies were still only one game ahead at the end of the season.
At the Major League level, even the best teams have a hard time winning 60% of their games over the course of a full season, and even the worst can’t mess up badly enough to lose that much more than 60%.
So what happened to the New York Mets in the last three weeks of the 2007 regular season was incredibly unlikely, if not improbable, and I never saw this as a team that needed a total overhaul. That’s not to say that they were perfect, of course. They may have been good enough as they were constructed to win a division title in 2008. But if they wanted to go head-to-head with the AL powerhouses, they needed to upgrade.

And upgrade they did. For the last two seasons, this was a team without an ace. Tom Glavine was no longer Tom Glavine and Pedro Martinez was healthy enough to only pitch 160 2/3 innings during that time. If it wasn’t for the emergence of John Maine and the reemergence of Oliver Perez, it would’ve been an ugly sight indeed. With Johan Santana replacing Tom Glavine and his 84-mph fastball in the Mets rotation, a weakness turned into a strength.

The other major addition(s) can’t really be called an upgrade. While I still believe that having Ryan Church instead of Lastings Milledge will pay more dividends in 2008, after this year, all bets are off. And Brian Schneider is Brian Schneider. I believe he’s already broken records in the NY media for how many articles have been written about his ability to “handle a pitching staff” because there’s nothing else he can do, the previous record was held by John Sterns. By the way, you know who must be really angry right now? Ramon Castro. The guy goes and slugs .556 in 144 ABs in 2007, only to have the team go out and fail to acquire Yorvit Torrealba, trade for Johnny Estrada, then trade for Brian Schneider. Brutal. But lucky for us, we’ll never know if he’s hanging his head despondently or if it just looks that way because his neck can no longer support his massive dome.

The bullpen remains mainly unchanged, and I’m OK with that. While many pointed to the relievers for the Mets failures, I tend not to get too worked up over it. With the departure of Guillermo Mota, the only Mets arm that frightens me to see him on the mound now is Jorge Sosa. It’s not that I believe in Scott Schoeneweis. It’s more that I believe he’s a better pitcher than he was in 2007. I do have some concerns about Billy Wagner since he’s turning 37 during the season.

The fastball just isn’t what it used to be, and Wagner himself seems to realize this as he’s apparently working a curveball into his repertoire. The Mets will benefit from having Duaner Sanchez back after an injury he sustained in a car accident back in July, 2006, followed by a fracture in his shoulder during Spring Training last year that ended his entire season. If Sanchez can perform as well as he was capable of a couple of years ago, he and Aaron Heilman should be a capable set-up duo.

But the 500lb gorilla in the room is that the injuries are already piling up. First, Carlos Delgado had an MRI on his bothersome hip. Then Marlon Anderson and Ryan Church collided while chasing a ball during a game last week. The next day, Ruben Gotay injured his ankle. Orlando Hernandez is changing his entire pitching mechanics because of pain in his foot (goodbye, leg kick), and now we find out that Jose Valentin actually has a dead guys ligamennt in his knee. As usual these days, Luis Castillo is still running like he’s been shot in his thigh. Moises Alou is out 4-6 weeks with a hernia. Not to mention that Carlos Beltran just played his first game this spring yesterday as he continues to recover from offseason surgery.

This has, fairly or not, been the main criticism of the Mets as they are currently constructed. No one was overly surprised to hear that El Duque, Delgado and Alou were already hurt, and yet, there isn’t anyone around that can replace their production - especially offensively. If Hernandez isn’t ready to go (although as the #5 starter, the team probably won’t need him for the first couple of weeks) for his first turn in the rotation, Mike Pelfrey would most likely step in and probably won’t perform much worse than Duque would have. It won’t be so cut and dried as to who should start in left in Alou’s absence, however. Technically, Endy Chavez is the team’s #4 OFer, but in actuality, he’s best suited to be a late-inning defensive replacement. The other options are Marlon Anderson and Angel Pagan. The latter is a “gritty” and “aggressive” player who probably doesn’t belong on a big league roster, and Anderson is a player who Mets fans probably think is better than he actually is, thanks to the .906 OPS he posted in 69 ABs for New York in 2007. The team has been rumored to be targeting Marcus Thames of the Tigers but he’s an out-making machine. It’s more likely that they stick with what they have and start the year with either Anderson or Chavez in Left.

PROJECTED BATTING ORDER:

1. Jose Reyes - SS
2. Luis Castillo - 2B
3. Carlos Beltran - CF
4. David Wright - 3B
5. Carlos Delgado - 1B
6. Moises Alou - LF
7. Ryan Church - RF
8. Brian Schneider - C

STARTING ROTATION:

1. Johan Santana
2. Pedro Martinez
3. John Maine
4. Oliver Perez
5. Orlando Hernandez

Alt: Mike Pelfrey

BULLPEN:

CL: Billy Wagner
SU: Aaron Heilman/Duaner Sanchez

OFF-SEASON GRADE: B-

Had I written this report one month earlier before all the injuries, I most likely would have given this team a higher grade. But I can’t simply ignore the likelihood that this team’s lineup and rotation will remain in flux for a good portion of the season due to the various ailments facing its players. I really don’t mind having Pelfrey in the rotation, but neither Alou’s nor Delgado’s production can be replaced effectively as it now stands - and that’s saying something because Delgado especially can no longer be relied upon to post above-average numbers for a first baseman.

Despite this, I still see the Mets as the favorites to win the division. I’m not one to think that some voodoo magic has been cast upon the entire roster due to the demoralizing defeats last September. They landed the best pitcher on the planet without giving up top-notch prospects. Brian Schneider may be a black hole offensively, but he’s replacing the nearly as anemic Paul Lo Duca. As long as Jose Reyes produces at the level he’s capable of, the Mets offense should be able to produce as much as they did in 2007. IF health were not a factor, I actually think that this Mets team would be at least several games better than any of their NL East rivals. While it’s unlikely that this injury bug will continue to permeate the clubhouse at this rate, there is a seed of doubt here. But that’s the only thing that could really keep this team out of the playoffs.

NOW LET’S PLAY BALL!

Atlanta Braves: Off-Season Report Card
Florida Marlins: Off-Season report Card
Philadelphia Phillies: Off-Season Report Card
Washington Nationals: Off-Season Report Card

NL East Predictions...

2008-03-10T23:47:00.003-04:00

So what will the divisions final standings look like heading into October of 2008?

The Mets will win the division, we have the best pitching and best defense. And our offense is deadly when they are running on all cylinders.

The Phillies offense is great but, you have to be able to score more runs than your pitchers allow.. I dont know how they’re going to do that. Their pitching staff is horrible behind Kendrick, and Hamels..

I think the Braves are our biggest competition. They have a fairly good Pitching staff and they will get back some key pieces to their bullpen by mid-season. Lets also not overlook Chipper, Texiera, McCann, and Francouer… they can mash.

Mets win division..

NYM (98-64)
ATL (92-70) 6.0 GB
PHL (88-74) 10.0 GB
WSH (78-84) 20.0 GB
FLA (69-93) 29.0 GB

Your Thoughts?

2008-03-10T19:21:00.003-04:00

Somewhat lost in the hullabaloo over that awesome collision in the Devil Rays-Yankees pretend game on Saturday, was the sparkling debut of The Thriller David Price.

Price, the #1 overall pick in last year’s draft, couldn’t keep a grin off his face for most of his one inning of work.

He made quite an impression with the first batter he faced — drilling him with a fastball above the elbow.

The lucky Yankee was….

Francisco Cervelli, the same poor bastard who got to get run over and get his wrist broke a short time later. (I’m surprised Yankees interim manager Joe Little Girl-ardi didn’t find time to whine about Price pitching him too close or too hard.)

Price quickly struck out the next three batters he faced: getting Shirley “Temple” Duncan looking and then Jason Lane and Wilson Betemit swinging. The four batters saw 17 pitches, all but two fastballs, 11 for strikes, and not one of them managed to even make contact.

After the game, Price was pretty psyched: “That’s easily, hands down, the greatest feeling ever.”
Welcome to Devil Rays, and major league spring training camp, young man.

Week in Review.

2008-03-08T18:32:00.003-05:00

Okay with the first week of March over, lets review.

Saturday March 1st:

Carlos Delgado has a barking right hip that has resulted in a trip to New York to see Mets doctors

Michel Abreu is projected to be the Triple-A first baseman, while prospect Mike Carp wasn’t even invited to big-league camp

Carlos Muniz, who has been slowed by a hamstring injury

Mets 1 Dodgers 0

Sunday March 2nd:

Ruben Gotay sprained the inside of his right ankle sliding into home plate
Angel Pagan had the game-deciding hit, his two-out, two-RBI single to center in the ninth capped a three-run inning and lifted the Zephyrs to a 6-5 win in the Mets’ final trip to Dodgertown.

Rule 5 pick Steven Register tossed a 1-2-3 inning

Joe Smith, who looks ticketed for New Orleans to start the season, allowed an RBI single to Nomar Garciaparra before getting an inning-ending double play

Brady Clark, who has played well early in camp, had an RBI groundout

Scott Schoeneweis surrendered an RBI single to Rafael Furcal

Delgado received an ejection of anti-inflammatories during his seven-and-a-half-hour stay in New York, and expects to take pills as well.

Jose Reyes had his left knee wrapped in ice after fouling a pitch off the outside of it the day before.

Mets 6 Dodgers 5

Monday March 3rd:

The Mets have placed Scott Schoeneweis and Jorge Sosa on the trading block. The projected bullpen looks to include: Billy Wagner, Aaron Heilman, Duaner Sanchez, Pedro Feliciano, Matt Wise, Schoeneweis and Sosa.

Mets 3 Braves 2

What would opening a bullpen spot or two do? It could make room for Mike Pelfrey as the long relief guy, gives Steven Register a chance to make the team, and Joe Smith as well. Brian Stokes is out of options, too.

Tuesday March 4th:

Luis Castillo ran the bases for the first time to test his surgically cleaned knees.

Endy Chavez has started running bases

Carlos Beltran was running bases and planned to test his surgically cleaned knees sliding

Michel Abreu went out with a strained right hip flexor, which occurred Monday

Mets 6 Marlins 2

Wednesday March 5th:

Orlando Hernandez was practicing his now-less-pronounced leg kick, a new delivery set up by pitching coach Rick Peterson

Brady Clark is volunteering to play first base, a position he hasn’t played in the majors

John Maine is adamant that the Mets have not discussed a multi-year deal with him.

Mets 3 Dodgers 2

Thursday March 6th:

Damion Easley and Marlon Anderson both returned injuries

Game rained out

Friday March 7th:

Juan Padilla and Ben Johnson were reassigned to the minor-league camp

Jason Vargas was back from Philly, where doctors told him he has a sore hip, but no hernia.

Pedro threw 53 pitches over 2 innings in a simulated game

Mets 8 Indians 6

Saturday March 8th:

Mike Pelfrey got hammered today, seven earned in 3.1 innings

RF Ryan Church went 2-for-2 in his first game back

Brian Schneider took Chris Volstad deep in his first at-bat

Damion Easley and Argenis Reyes also homered

Steven Register got knocked around for four runs on five hits in the ninth

Duaner Sanchez was great in a perfect seventh inning,two grounders and one strikeout and pronounced himself “97 percent of what you saw in ’06.”

Jorge Sosa tossed three scoreless relief innings against the Orioles.

In a simulated game El Duque threw the equivalent of three innings to no batters off a bullpen mound

Playing today were RF Ryan Church (back from concussion), C Brian Schneider (double hammies), CF Endy Chavez (ankle) and DH Damion Easley (ankle).

with Jorge Sosa, Marlon Anderson and Ramon Castro playing Baltimore in Ft. Lauderdale

Anderson Hernandez took BP, Carlos Delgado took more BP

Luis Castillo (knee) and Carlos Beltran (knee) took part in fielding drills and BP

Mets 4 Orioles 3 / Mets 4 Marlins 12

The Mets through today have a 7-4 record.

Mets beat Indians with Minor leaguers.

2008-03-08T00:54:00.004-05:00

The Mets' lineup Friday vs. the Indians was missing all of its big names as manager Willie Randolph's injury-bugged squad didn't have Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Moises Alou, Ryan Church, Jose Reyes, Luis Castillo, David Wright, or Brian Schneider who all stayed back in Port St. Lucie to either rehab or work out.

Wow just take a look at our lineup from Friday's game:

1. LF-Ezequiel Carrera
2. SS-Anderson Hernandez
3. CF-Angel Pagan
4. DH-Olmedo Saenz
5. C-Raul Casanova
6. RF-Fernando Martinez
7. 1B-Robinson Cancel
8. 3B-Daniel Murphy
9. 2B-Sanchez Reyes

The Mets won the game 8-6. I know the team is hurt, but man, I'm truly speechless. It's a good thing it's only March 8th. Oliver Perez pitched 2.2 innings giving up 6 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits, while striking out two and walking two. Oliver Perez was drilled by a comebacker by Victor Martinez in the first inning, close call, but Perez is ok.

Nelson Figueroa followed Perez with 3.1 shutout innings giving up three hits while striking out two and walking one. I was impressed with rookie Carlos Muniz as he pitched a 1-2-3 9th for the save and striking out one.

Robinson Cancel homered off Joe Borowski, and Olmedo Saenz went deep against Rafael Betancourt.

Some notes:

The first cuts have been made. Unofficially, Jon Niese, Bobby Parnell, Brant Rustich, Ivan Maldonado, Adam Bostick and Mike Nickeas are among the players headed to minor-league camp.
Juan Padilla and Ben Johnson have been cut and reassigned to the minor league.
Brady Clark is volunteering to play first base, a position he hasn’t played in the majors.
Pitching coach Rick Peterson has El Duque adjusting to a new delivery.
Carlos Delgado is taking BP again.
Brian Schneider and Endy Chavez and Damion Easley all expect to be available to play in split-squad games Saturday.
Ryan Church also took BP for the first time since suffering a concussion.

The Mets Realist, Part II the lineup

2008-03-07T00:05:00.001-05:00

Since the appearance of Part 1 of my two part series looking ahead to the Mets season as a realist, a bit of reality hit the Mets…nearly, literally. Well, two Mets hit each other and resulting in a grade 2 concussion (for Ryan Church) and a bruised sternum (for Marlon Anderson). A few more are in various stages of rehab, as AP described:

Church and Anderson are among several injured Mets. Carlos Delgado is sidelined by a sore hip and Schneider has been out with a tight hamstring. Carlos Beltran, Luis Castillo, Orlando Hernandez, Damion Easley and Endy Chavez are yet to play in a spring training game because they're still rehabbing.

As bad as this all sounds, the upside of reality is that there is no “out for the season” yet no “back after the All Star break,” but there is already one “unavailable for opening day” Moises Alou. Others seem to be healing–Knock on Louisville Slugger!

So, back to looking at what we can reasonably anticipate. This time fielding and hitting, starting with fielding to make the transition from pitching defense to the hitters in the line up.

Defense in General.

It is reasonable to say that the Mets defense has an experienced a minor upgrade. The Catching position seems to have a stronger fielder who is expected to call a better game. The outfield is a bit younger and more capable. Santana is a very good fielder but remember when Glavine wasn’t losing the season on the last day he was a good athlete. So they’re a bit better. Since the 2008 Mets aren’t playing the ’07 team what does our fielding amount to?

I believe the easiest way to quantify anything is in wins or loses, e.r.a. or average or errors. The every day skills of our fielders are at least good enough to support their pitchers (and the numbers I outlined in Part 1) in the mundane areas of range, baseball sense (where to play), reaction (getting a good jump on the ball), and usually not running into each other. The numbers we will consider is spectacular plays vs. errors …and (as every third baseman will pull the first baseman off the bag a couple dozen times and will handle a hot smash to his left a few dozen times) we’ll even limit that further to the extremes to plays that save a game vs. errors that cost a game.

Position by Position

Pitchers’ fielding. Assuming Pedro will only play healthy and El Duque will mostly play healthy, the young crop of pitchers led by Johan should not particularly cost the Mets more games than their pickoff moves and fast reaction to bunts gain. Conservatively, let’s given them a plus 0.5 wins,

Catcher is supposed to be a stronger and this is particularly expected to be true in calling the game, but that does not come into play here. Time will tell about intangibles like blocking the plate (Lo Duca was pretty good, Piazza better, Carter great and that saved runs/games while none was considered a very good fielder), but caught stealing s fairly measurable. Brian Schneider caught 31% of base stealers last year and 39% over his career, while the majors averaged only 26% last year and 30% in the past 5. Good enough for me to give us another plus 0.5 wins.

First Base is a major concern as will be discussed in hitting, but at best we have an adequate fielder who will scoop most of what he should scoop. With injuries, subs, and reality, this is not Keith or Olerud. We should take back half a win.

Second Base may even be a tougher call. Castillo is a three time gold glove 2003-2005, and was a step up for the Mets, but his health is a question and his age is approaching mid 30s. We might expect a few more spectacular plays, but his subs may throw a few games away. This could be zero or minus .5, let’s go to minus 0.5 games.

Third Base is the home of the great but probably-gold-glove-undeserving David Wright. He was an incredible step up last year and his work ethic should improve on that. Even last year with the GG, I’d say he cost the Mets a game, but I think that’s going to swing all the way to plus 0.5. Remember, with the exception of Brooks Robinson, you don’t see 3^rd basemen exceeding errors with outs that should be hits.

Shortstop is the flashy position with our flashiest player. This is likely to be a year of real commitment from Jose Reyes and fielding will be included. As with any team’s shortstop highlight will be a plenty with leaps and pegs and high throws and embarrassments. On gut instinct I lean toward a plus 0.5 games.

Outfield could certainly be broken down, particularly to give Carlos Beltran his due, but it seems overkill. History has shown nearly as many game winning plays come from the outfield based on mediocre-to-bad fielders whose arms are challenged and who throw out the runner as by those reaching over the fence or making diving catches. The pitching will benefit from the center fielder, but all-in-all the outfield is likely to be a zero-net-gain.

Final Defense Total, plus one game…we’ll take it. If we were at 95 wins after pitching we’re up to 96 now.

Hitting in General

The current trend is to bemoan the Mets hitting. The thinking was/is that Delgado had a “terrible” season last year and another one would leave the Mets without adequate offense; this is further explained by the recognition that Schneider is a worse hitting catcher than Lo Duca was and Church has had trouble against lefties. The sudden loss of Alou for 8 weeks and the variety of ailments has supposedly put the Mets in desperate straights. Before the week is out they are expected to sign Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, and trade for Xavier Nady and a few others…

All of this for the prohibitive favorites to win the league based on only one 4-6 week (in the season) injury of a player expected by all to play 100-120 games at best. The reality is barring a rash of severe injuries, this is essentially the same team that was considered a solid offensive threat and it should outscore the opponent much more often than not.

So let’s look again individually.

The Line up

Jose Reyes had a terrible September and still was a player any team would love to have. The Mets will take care and use a few reins to keep him fresh and a realistic expectation would be somewhere between 06 and 07, with the improved patience of last year. That would mean .290, 75 walks, 70 sbs, 55 extra base hits, 120 runs. Not shabby

Luis Castillo is likely the best career hitter the Mets have (until David Wright has a long enough career to begin too early HOF talk). He has batted over 290 9 of his 10 complete seasons, and only dipped below 300 three of those years. There do seem to be signs of age in terms of aches and pains, and even between Reyes and Wright he may drop off a bit (particularly is he is occasionally asked to give himself up to move Reyes or wait out his steal. That said, .292, 50 walks, 15sb, is a minimum, with under 70 Ks in 130 games.

David Wright is approaching fan worship status. Imagining that the hype gets to him, as perhaps it did to Reyes last year, what would be his version of a bad year? .290, 35 doubles, 22 homers, 22 sbs, 80 walks, 90 runs, 100 rbis? Barring his being shot by Glenn Close, that’s the worst 1-year down turn the Mets could fear and that still makes him responsible for 170 runs coming in.

Carlos Beltran fits the stereotype of the clean-up hitter you aren’t sure will be great. He clearly broke his big city funk in ’06 and ’07 after his .266, 16 homer ’05. He has been a .268 hitter against righties the last 3 years, and there is little reason to expect that to improve. But anything close to the 30 homer, 35 doubles, 20 sbs (83%), 70 walk, 100 run, 100 rbi average he has shown with the Mets is darn close to great. Knock each off 5% or even 10% and that’s still more than good enough.

Moises Alou and or substitutes are a big question mark. Assuming the worst, the hernia keeps him out 2 months, something else another month, and bumps and bruises add up to a fourth month absence. That leaves a bit under half a season with the Alou .300 considered a certainty. Endy Chavez, Damion Easley, perhaps Angel Pagan, Marlon Anderson, or a new righty will cover the other over half a season. We’re talking a slew of .280 hitter who may or may not appear elsewhere in the lineup

Carlos Delgado is the man everyone wonders about. The man with career averages of .280, 38 doubles/HRs, 120 rbis, 100 runs, or last year’s .258, 24 homer, 87 rbis, 71 run man? The fact is the latter is not a disaster in the number 6 spot, but with Alou’s injury(ies) it would be great to split the difference with .270, 30 hrs, 103 rbis, 85 runs, and if last year was a blip, this may be the reasonable assumption of his decline at 35. That’s over 150 runs from that one man (not including the 20-30 games he’ll have a fill-in).

Ryan Church’s weak numbers against lefties was far worse last year than in the past; he can reasonably be expected to hit along his career numbers of 20-25 points lower against lefties. He also has hit much better at Shea (surprising given it is a pitcher’s park) and will be surrounded by a better line up. Low 280s seem likely with a 10 point swing possible. A big concern is grounding into double plays. He did so 12 times last year compared to 13 the previous 3 years combined. We do not want #8 leading off too often.

Brian Schneider will be that #8, sharing time with the solid Ramon Castro. The anemic .235 Schneider put up last year would leave Mets fans wondering whether he should bat behind a few of the pitchers. However that was more than 20 points below any of his previous 3 seasons in RFK without much of a lineup around him. He also had a career year for walks (1 every 8 at bats). The Mets need his glove, but 55-65 rbis are a solid possibility,

What can we make of this all? Well this is a much stronger line-up than the average NL team or the average Mets team even with a general let-down across the boards. There has been no estimate of any player having a career year, nor and Angel Pagan or other rookie blasting on the scene. While Delgado is older, only Alou really is at the pure drop-off age and he seems to only be more fragile not a weaker hitter. Perhaps the issues above knock that win total into the more modest 90s and perhaps that makes it a battle with Philadelphia, but they have much less certainty of getting to that number.

While the Phillies may have a potent set of 3, those also are among 4-5 other question marks. Few other teams compete with this Mets supposed weak offense, ignoring having the best pitching staff in the NL on paper.

But on paper is where we are looking and the Mets are cutting more their share of paper cuts. They need to work with wood and hide and see if these realities come to fruition. Neither the high potential that appears likely, nor the sudden fears and desperation (who will be their 7^th starter!) will mean much 1450 innings from now.

Washington Nationals: Off-Season Report Card

2008-03-06T09:50:00.006-05:00

For years, this was a franchise who literally had no idea where they were headed. They learned after 35 years that French Canadians didn’t really like baseball all that much aside from Eric Gagne and Russell Martin. For over four years, they were owned by Major League Baseball, through which the owners of the 29 other franchises - those whose teams were in direct competition with the Expos on the baseball field - had control over the club’s future. They basically became guinea pigs as the new “owners” tested the financial possibilities of having a team in Puerto Rico before finally closing up shop in Montreal and landing in our nation’s capital.

I may be a Mets fan, but I’m first and foremost a fan of the game and this entire ordeal has made me want to root for this franchise. We the fans as well as the players who were on those final Expos teams deserved better than what we were getting. So I take some pleasure in being able to write that the Washington Nationals finally have a direction. They’ll have a brand-spanking-new stadium in 2008, for which I’m sure the hitters will be thankful. Their team will not compete for the division title in 2008, nor will they in 2009. In fact, they probably won’t have much of a shot for the next few years. But there is a glimmer of hope here, as well as stories to root for in 2008. And after years and years of seeing futility, I find that rather satisfying.

The first big move of the Nats’ offseason came at the expense of the New York Mets. The Nationals were willing to take on some risks and ended up with a young, promising center fielder. Rightly or wrongly, Lastings Milledge was branded as a guy who didn’t respect the game. His time in Flushing, New York could best be summarized by the story about Billy Wagner pinning a note on Lastings’ locker that read “Know your place, rook" back in 2006. Despite this, the talent is there. The soon-to-be 23-year old posted a 2007 OPS of .787 in 184 ABs, which is pretty impressive once you consider his age and the fact that he played most of his games at Shea. Although one cannot forget that Milledge is yet to play a full season at the Major League level (350 ABs in his entire career), the Nationals appear to have made a more than solid move in acquiring him for an aging catcher who can’t hit his weight (Brian Schneider) and a good, not great, corner outfielder who probably won’t get any better(Ryan Church).

Washington also decided to roll the dice on Elijah Dukes, another young outfielder with a poor reputation, but this one was far more deserved by most opinions. His upside as a hitter may actually surpass that of Milledge, but thanks to his inability to stay away from legal troubles, appears to have a much longer road to travel before he ever reaches that potential. He’s a guy with a big build who has already exhibited the ability to take a walk. Thus far in training camp, he's saying the right things, it seems, but as they say, talk is cheap!

With these two on board, the Nats appear to be able to field a promising, young, outfield with Milledge in Center, Austin Kearns in Right and Wily Mo Pena in Left. If Dukes can stay out of trouble, I’d imagine that he will bump either Kearns or Pena from the starting lineup sometime during the season.

The remaining acquisitions were basically players well past their primes. Paul Lo Duca, Aaron Boone, Rob Mackowiak, Odalis Perez, and Johnny Estrada all signed one-year deals to play in Washington. While none of them should be relied upon to do much of anything, I can’t really blame the execs for bringing these guys in (although Lo Duca’s $5 million salary is pretty high) on short-term commitments. Thanks to a farm system devoid of actual young talent, bringing in vets for one season isn’t a terrible way to go about doing things.

One has to wondered how the first base competition between Nick Johnson and Dmitri Young was going to play out. Well, based on Young's physical condition, believe it or not, Johnson may be the healthier one of the two. I still don’t quite understand the $10 million extension they gave Young back in July, and it certainly won’t pay more dividends now, unfortunately.

And of course, there’s Ryan Zimmerman, a player who deserves far more attention than he receives. Throughout Zimmerman’s career, the spotlight for young, talented third basemen in the NL East has belonged to David Wright and Miguel Cabrera. But why not Zimmerman? Sure, he failed to improve on his 2006 season, but this was in large part due to an unlucky .270 BABiP in the first half of the season. After the mid-way point, his BABiP returned to his regular range of .320+, and along with it came a .361 OBP (up from .302 in the first half) and a .486 SLG (up from .435). Add in a very good glove and a move away from RFK Stadium (one of the best pitcher’s parks in 2007) and you have yourself cornerstone.

One area in which they were just unable to improve was pitching. One of the major side effects of the franchise existing in MLB purgatory for all those years was that everything was being done for the short-term. You can’t start a rebuilding process successfully if you’re not sure you have a future to begin with. Under the ownership of MLB, the Expos/Nationals were completely handcuffed. Omar Minaya, who had been the GM of the Expos, was basically auditioning for his next gig the entire time he was there because he knew he had no long-term job security. So they went out and signed a bunch of veterans to field a decent team and ignored their “future” (i.e. prospects) in the process. The end result is the fact that despite pitching in RFK Stadium, 43 of their games in 2007 were started by pitchers who sported ERAs north of 6, plus 20 others by Mike Bacsik and his 5.11 ERA.

As it stands today, Shawn Hill and John Patterson are the only two who have a good shot at posting a league-average ERA in 2008. Is Patterson completely recovered? Well, not yet he isn’t. He pitched to live hitters for the first time since May 2007 just last week and still needs to build up arm strength. But just looking at his 2005 numbers, makes me not want to give up on him. We could be seeing young Ross Detwiler again on the MLB mound very soon as well, but from everything I hear and read, he’s more of a mid-rotation arm than staff ace.
I still believe that they should have dealt closer Chad Cordero and set-up man Jon Rauch months ago. Cordero is a “closer” by name only but his perceived value still outweighs his actual. With Rauch, you have to worry about a 6′11″ pitcher who is about to turn 30. I can’t imagine a guy with his frame and his workload over the last two seasons (173 games pitched - tops in MLB) not lasting very long. Get out while ya can, Nats.

ADDITIONS: Paul Lo Duca, Elijah Dukes, Lastings Milledge, Bret Boone, Aaron Boone, Rob Mackowiak, Tyler Clippard, Odalis Perez, Johnny Estrada, Willie Harris

LOSSES: Ryan Church, Brian Schneider, Nook Logan, Robert Fick, D’Angelo Jimenez, Tony Batista, Micah Bowie, Jerome Williams

PROJECTED LINEUP:

SS - Christian Guzman
2B - Ronnie Belliard
3B - Ryan Zimmerman
1B - Nick Johnson
RF - Austin Kearns
LF - Wily Mo Pena
CF - Lastings Milledge
C - Paul Lo Duca

PITCHING:

SP1 - Shawn Hill
SP2 - John Patterson
SP3 - Jason Bergmann
SP4 - Matt Chico
SP5 - Tim Redding

CL - Chad Cordero
SU - Jon Rauch

OFFSEASON GRADE: B-

I really like the Milledge and Dukes trades quite a bit for a team like the Nationals. Their drafts simply haven’t been good enough to stock the minor leagues with real talent, but by this method they still were able to bring in Major-League-ready prospects into the fold. By also not signing any long-term contracts aside from the two-year deal given to Jon Rauch, they have a tremendous amount of financial flexibility. The currently have only five players under contract for 2009. In fact, here is a list of the players who are guaranteed a contract two years from now.

That is all.

Of course, this isn’t entirely a good thing. It’s nice to know you’re going to have a team. But there is real talent here, and given the increased contract expectations of even younger players who only qualify for arbitration, financial flexibility should allow them to navigate these waters more assuredly. Again, it looks like it’ll be a few years before we can possibly consider the Nationals as contenders in the NL East. But there are things to look for in 2008, and I’ll be watching.

Philadelphia Phillies: Off-Season Report Card
Atlanta Braves: Off-Season Report Card
Florida Marlins: Off-Season report Card

Alou injured.. for the 10,000th time..

2008-03-05T20:45:00.006-05:00

According to an article for MLB.com, the Mets starting LF -- Moises Alou -- will miss the next 4-6 weeks with a sports hernia. This is a pretty big blow to the Mets' lineup considering the guy mashed lefties at a .360 pace and hit an overall of .341. Alou has also missed time for the past 5 seasons due to injury. Including last year in which he only played in 89 games due to a strained right quad.

The two biggest question marks for the Mets are now..Who will replace Alou while he is out with injury and who will be the fifth starter?

These questions remain to be answered, but we will find out within the next 27 days... My best quess would have to be Endy Chavez replacing Alou or Angel Pagan, who has been mashing the ball during the first week or two of the spring.

Race for the 5th starter...

Candidate #1: Orlando Hernandez

Candidate #2: Mike Pelfrey

Race for the starting LF job:

Endy Chavez
Angel Pagan
Fernando Martinez?
Marlon Anderson

Whats your best guess?

Trade Rumor Put To Rest?

2008-03-05T08:17:00.005-05:00

The much-rumored deal between the White Sox and Giants involving Joe Crede and Noah Lowry hit a bit of snag yesterday. And it didn’t have anything to do with the health of Crede.

Pitching in front of White Sox scouts for the first time this spring, Lowry decided to channel Rick Ankiel, Ricky Vaughn, Mark Wohlers and Chuck Knoblauch simultaneously in the first inning. Suddenly a pitcher that won 14 games for a last place team a year ago couldn’t hit the water from the Golden Gate Bridge.

Lowry threw 24 pitches before the Rangers even took thebat off their shoulder. In all, he would walk nine of the 12 hitters he faced.

Having this kind of meltdown in the midst of a pressure-packed game in October is one thing, but this is spring training! As Alan Iverson famously once said, “we’re talking about practice!”

Was Lowry’s parade of walks attributable to a severe hangover? Did he suffer a rare type of amnesia which caused him to forget how to properly throw a baseball? Or was he intentionally throwing balls in order to avoid a trade to the White Sox.

Maybe it was the tendinitis in his wrist. If he was in that much pain, wouldn’t you think he would have pulled himself out before embarrassing himself in a preseason game rather than after walking nine guys?

In any case, if avoiding a trade to the Sox was his intention, I’m pretty sure he accomplished his goal. I’m not sure the Sox would even offer Mike MacDougal in exchange for Lowry after yesterday’s debacle. At least MacDougal, who has been lit up for five runs in just two innings this spring, has been throwing strikes.

This doesn’t mean the two teams won’t still make a deal involving Crede. I’m thinking though that the Sox will be taking a longer look at the younger prospects in the Giants system and possibly see what other teams might be interested in Crede as well.

Weekly Injury Report

2008-03-03T20:44:00.002-05:00

As of right now, the Mets are hurting, literally. Lets take a look at who is injured..

Our starting 1B Carlos Delgado, is on the mend after taking a trip back to New York City to get his hip examined. He should be back playing within the next 7-10 days.

Carlos Beltran, Damion Easley, Luis Castillo, Endy Chavez, Jose Valentin and Ben Johnson have not played in a game yet.

Ruben Gotay sprained his ankle while on his way to scoring the winning run in yesterdays game. He is scheduled for a CT scan tomorrow.

Ryan Church was also injured in yesterdays exhibition game against the Dodgers. He and Marlon Anderson collided while chasing a pop fly in shallow RF. Both Anderson and Church are expected to be ready to play within the week.

... the Mets expect most of these players to be ready on opening day. Lets just hope that injury's dont define what is to come from the Mets in the summer of 08.

3/3/08 Final: Mets 3 Braves 2

2008-03-03T20:38:00.002-05:00

From Metsblog.com...

"The Mets beat the Braves, 3-2, on a walk-off hit in the bottom of the 10th inning in Grapefruit League action from Port St. Lucie this afternoon. Teenage shortstop Ruben Tejada plated the final run with a double to the gap that scored a hustling Michel Abreu on a close play at home plate.

Mike Pelfrey started the game for the Mets, throwing three scoreless innings and allowing two hits without walking or striking out any batters. Billy Wagner allowed one earned run in one inning relieving Pelfrey. Nelson Figueroa followed with two shutout frames. Jason Vargas threw a scoreless seventh, Carlos Muniz allowed an unearned run in the eighth, Ricardo Rincon struck out two in a scoreless ninth, then Ivan Maldonado earned the win with a scoreless inning of his own.

Ramon Castro led the Mets offense with two hits, including a rare stand-up triple, and an RBI."

The Mets record now stands at 3-3 on the spring and there is only 26 days until Opening Day.

Strawberry Is Back!

2008-03-03T11:54:00.002-05:00

Here are a few words I never thought I’d hear: Darryl Strawberry is a Met again.

The organization announced on Monday that Strawberry will return to the team this season, after nearly 20 years away, serving in a variety of positions, including as an outfielder instructor this spring. And despite my general penchant for cynicism, I couldn't be happier for one of my former heroes.

Darryl, you’ve paid your debts and have earned a chance to return home.

Strawberry, soon to be 46, apparently looked in “near playing shape” early Monday when he met with the press. Despite a tenure shortened by drugs, legal infractions, and a magnetic attraction to all of life’s downfalls, he remains the Mets’ career leader in homers, RBIs and walks.

It still hurts to think of how good he could have been.

Besides working with outfielders this spring, Strawberry is expected to help at various minor league outposts during the year and also serve the New York Mets in community relations.

Cheers, Darryl. Now go teach Fernando Martinez how to play like you, circa 1985, and conduct himself like you, circa 2008.

Broken Dreams.

2008-03-01T15:40:00.007-05:00

This is a cautionary tale, to New York Yankees’ fans.

As many of you are excited about the futures of Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy and the other youngsters who could be appearing in the Bronx soon. The future looks bright. Remember, though, potential is just that until it is reached.

As former Mets GM Steve Phillips said on ESPN the other day “prospects get general managers fired.”

Anyway, on with my story.

The year was 1996 and there was a team in New York brimming with optimism. It had three young rookie pitchers for whom stardom had been predicted, and these three youngsters were expected to be in the starting rotation and carry the New York Mets to great things for the next decade.

Bill Pulsipher was 22, Paul Wilson 23 and Jason Isringhausen the old man at 24. The trio had dominated the International League in 1995.

They were Generation K, and, like the Yankees new Generation Trey, there were great expectations. They were being counted on to pitch the Mets to glory for a decade.

It didn't turn out that way, however.

Pulsipher never made it to the mound in a regular-season game, suffering an injury in Spring Training. Isringhausen went 6-14 and ended up having surgery on his elbow and shoulder. Wilson went 5-12 and, while he didn’t get hurt that year, spent the rest of his career battling injuries.

As we all know now, none of the three ever reached the stardom predicted for each of them.

Isringhausen, now with St. Louis, has been the most successful. Adapting to the closer role after missing most of 1997 and all of 1998 with injuries, he has compiled 281 career saves. Still, Isringhausen has never been the elite pitcher many thought he would be.

Wilson, the Mets’ No. 1 pick in 1994, finished an injury-plagued career in 1995 with a 40-58 career record. Following the 1996 season he did not pitch in the majors again until 2000 due to injuries. Only once in his career did he record double-digit victories, going 11-6 in 2004 for Cincinnati.

Pulsipher not only missed the 1996 season, he missed 1997 as well. He ended up winning just 13 career games and his career, for all intents, was over in 2001. He tried a comeback in 2005, but pitched just four innings for St. Louis that year.

The baseball landscape is littered with the broken dreams, and arms, of countless promising young pitchers who were supposed to be the next Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton or Tom Seaver.

In recent years we can look at Mark Prior and Kerry Wood in Chicago. I remind you that Minnesota phenom Francisco Liriano missed last season with an arm injury. There are plenty of other examples.

The example of Pulsipher, Wilson and Isringhausen, though, is the one that hits closest to home. It parallels the exact situation the Yankees are in today.

So, as excited as you Yankees fans are to watch the future unfold for the trio let’s remember not to expect too much. And, hope this turns out better for the Yankees than it did for the Mets.

Pedro Alvarez Out Indefinitely

2008-02-29T14:39:00.003-05:00

Most of you probably don't know who Pedro Alvarez is.. Well, I'm here to inform you and inform you I will.

Pedro Alvarez is noted as one of the best prospects coming into the 2008 MLB Draft. He attends Vanderbilt, is a junior and is a 3B. Alvarez is regarded as the best college hitter since Mark Texiera. His stats the past few years have been off the charts and he should be at the major league level in about 3-4 years.

Why did I post this about him? Well, he was ranked as the best prospect in the NCAA by Project prospect. He recently broke his hand, and as a result of losing time to injury, he could fall in the draft.

Just think, the Mets have two first round draft picks, 18th and 22nd. If he fell to #18, I would be STOKED! If we were to draft such a talent, he would obviously have to change positions because David Wright will man 3B for the next 15 years. Lets just hope this super-prospect is demanding a ton of money and will fall to #18 in the draft!

Realignment Anniversary.

2008-02-28T19:47:00.004-05:00

The 2008 season marks the 15th anniversary of baseball’s “realignment.” Hard to believe, but it was 1993 when major league baseball last had four divisions, rather than today’s six. Everything about realignment has pretty much worked out. The wild card gives many more fans many more months of hope. Inter-division rivalries have far more time to soak in and be rivals. Travel on the player has become easier.

But, to me, it still needs a little tweaking. Milwaukee? In the National League? Okay over time I've come to accept this, but there is no reason why we can't have six division of five teams each.

The fix:
To make this work inter-league play will have to be done throughout the full season. It looks more and more likely that the Marlins will get their new stadium. Both Oakland and Pittsburgh have hinted at relocating. Portland has been trying for years now to land a major league team. So lets give them a team!

If the Marlins new stadium deal falls through yet again, and I think it will, you can move them out to Portland and into the AL west and move Pittsburgh to the NL east. MLB should seriously consider this option. This would be the easiest fix. Another easy fix would be for the Pirates to move to Portland and into the AL west. Oakland could still move to their number one choice, Fremont.

Department of Justice to Investigate Clemens.

2008-02-28T12:30:00.003-05:00

I take no particular joy in the news that Congress has asked the Department of Justice to further investigate whether or not Roger Clemens lied under oath during the recent grand jury hearings.
I could feel sorry for him — if he wasn’t such a clueless, self-centered, belligerent, lying, holier-than-thou moron, that is.

Whatever happens to Clemens at this point, he has only himself to blame. His reputation is in toilet, his career accomplishments are in question, and he may have a better chance of landing in prison than he does of ever getting elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame.

Start with whatever Clemens allowed McNamee or anyone else to put into his backside, and at this point if you believe Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, didn’t use performance-enhancing drugs during the latter part of his career you might be a bigger idiot than The Rocket himself.

More important, though, has been Clemens’ unbelievable denials that he ever did anything wrong.

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman Henry Waxman and ranking Republican Tom Davis said Clemens’ testimony “warrants further investigation.”

They wrote:
“Our only conclusion is that significant questions have been raised about Mr. Clemens’s truthfulness.”

Clemens is, obviously, is deep trouble here. He has been for a while and, amazingly, he still doesn’t seem to get it. He spent the day working out at Houston camp and acting like nothing had ever happened. It didn’t have to be this way.

From FOX Sports' Ian O'Connor:

"None of this had to happen. Upon the release of the Mitchell Report, Clemens could’ve remained silent or made a brief declaration of his innocence before refusing further comment.
He didn’t have to launch a full-blown attack that would leave him so vulnerable, so weak, so unlike the fierce dominator who ruled from sixty feet and six inches away. Now Clemens is drowning in a pool of his own hubris, with the Justice Department closing in."

On the mound, Clemens knew no other way. Challenge him and you would get a 95-mph fastball aimed at your head — or a broken piece of a bat.

There are some situations, though, that you can’t bully your way out of. For Clemens, this is one. Unfortunately for him, it might be too late to turn back now.

Scott Spiezio Is On the Run!

2008-02-28T12:10:00.001-05:00

Apparently drinking, driving, barfing and fighting is the best way to get kicked off of the St. Louis Cardinals. Troubled utility man Scott Spiezio is neck deep in trouble of misdemeanors, felonies and arrest warrants.

The Cardinals’ super sub/”rehabed” substance abuser allegedly got plowed on vodka in an LA bar and decided to go for a drive. After weaving in and out of traffic he eventually crashed into a fence and stumbled to his nearby condo where he was found by a neighbor. Helping out his pal, the neighbor brought Spiezio inside and cleaned him up. Scott promplty vomited in the man’s apartment and kicked his butt. (This is why there are so few good Samaritans in Los Angeles.)

Apparently Spiezio took offense to the man commenting on his vomiting performance and pummeled him for it.

The kicker is, all of this happened back on December 30th. Spiezer has been dodging the authorities and his 6 arrest warrants for nearly 2 months now. He arrived early at the Cards’ camp in Jupiter and went about his baseball-related business as if no one was the wiser. It didn't take very long for someone to notice he'd been busted for: driving under the influence, hit and run, aggravated assault, assault and battery and fleeing the scene of a crime. What a mess.

This was either a huge relapse or the guy just never got clean in the first place.

Spiezio seemed to have it all worked out. After posting just about the worst batting average ever (.064) in 2005, the Cardinals gave him a second chance. He signed on with the Birds in 2006 and made an instant impact, catapulting them into the playoffs, which ultimately delivered the team its first World Series title in 24 years. Becoming an instant fan favorite he inked a generous 2-year $4.5 million contract last season. Life was good for Scott Spiezio… and then the wheels came off.

Drug problems landed Scott in rehab last August, causing him to miss about 5 weeks of the season, but he seemed hell bent on beating it. Eventually all signs pointed to complete rehabilitation and the Cardinals welcomed back a “clean and sober” Spiezio with open arms. Looks like the Spiezer had them all fooled and was just as accomplished at lying as he was delivering clutch hits.

The Cardinal brass must be familiar with the old adage: “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” Because they weren’t about to be fooled again. They instantly terminated Spiezio’s employment with the Cardinals and bought out his contract in full, including the 2009 option… to the tune of $2.5 million.

The organization made the right decision, and set a good and necessary example for the myriad of impressionable youngsters that will be filling out a sizeable chunk of the roster this season. The team doesn’t want to become the divorced dad that looks the other way, lets his kids get away with everything and ends up getting walked all over. That’s not the best first step to jump starting a rebuilding era. So...

So long Scott. I hope you get your life together!

The Mets Realist, Part 1

2008-02-27T10:56:00.004-05:00

To introduce myself to the Mets4Life world, I’ve been a Mets fan for the last 40 years (yeah, I’m getting old), I attend about 15 games a year and see most of the rest, and I am perhaps too much a student of the game. I know baseball will always finds its audience through offense, but I love pitching. Here in late February, the season is on the rubber and moving toward the wind-up.

This looking forward is the second best time of the year. My evil empire Yankee friends insist our Mets credo is always “Wait till next year.” It is true that, like many of you, I tend to be an optimist but I’m a realistic one…and I believe this requires a degree of pessimism. During the off-season I envision the best that can happen in the coming season while preparing my dreams for the most likely and still keep worst case scenario on the far periphery. In 2008, Mets’ dreams of a championship are probably the most reasonable they have been since the late 1980s. As for the very worst case, we just lived through it in September ‘07. So, what is that “Most Likely?”

For this and my next piece, here in the blog world—where Mets fans will be ripped by Phillies fans and Red Sox fans and those who “know” Jaba/Hughes are Koufax/Drysdale—we’ll look at what might be realistic to anticipate.

We’ll begin with the whole shebang—end of season predictions—to provide a sense of the numbers meant by being realistic. We’ll go from there to pitching. Then in Part II we can look at the lineup, fielding, and intangibles. Of course these are all pure opinions but real ones, we look forward to hearing your thoughts.

The big picture probably puts us in the World Series…but losing.
It is not that there is a specific American League team that will definitely be there and definitely beat us (although a Boston 1986 reversal is a strong possibility). But a realist has to accept that making the playoffs, winning the first round, second round, and the series is a lot to assume. In fact the math is amazing, if we were a 4:1 favorite for each step (which we won’t be), that makes it 2:3 against our winning it all…luckily the game isn’t played in a calculator.

Pitching looks good, particularly starting…less so in relief.
Starters
I was a big fan of the Pedro trade (of course I loved Roberto Alomar and knew we blew it with Edgardo Alfonzo). A proven, aging AL pitcher, in a hitter’s park, with innings issues moved to a pitcher’s park without DHs and good fielders, and you’re looking good. Downside = injuries. When healthy Pedro rarely has pitched badly for the Mets.

Johan (even September ’07 Santana) should be a true #1 as long as he is healthy…so put in 7 missed starts for pessimism and you’d still have 15-19 wins, say 17 wins.

Pedro starts healthy and should be at least as good as his short stints in ’06 and ’07. If pessimism puts him out half the season and still gives him 12 wins.

El Duque…okay, who knows? Forget pessimism his last 5 seasons he’s had 8,8,9,11,9 wins. Even older this year but with a deeper staff and lower expectations. Lets say 9 wins.

Maine and Perez were pretty darn impressive last year. No one would have said 30 wins from them and the Mets miss the playoffs! One year more experience and less pressure…and probably a few fewer starts pending the injuries above. One probably improves and the other fades a bit. That’s 17 and 13, add a pessimistic injury and you have a combined 27 wins.

Pelfrey (and Vargas or Sosa or…)--the sixth starter is sure to get innings if any pessimism above becomes reality whether off the bench or up from AAA. Yet with no permanent ‘08 position, pressure will be lighter than ‘06-07. A fairly modest prediction would be 8 wins.

So, Starters total 73 wins.
Before you say that’s crazy or horrible, that’s exactly what the Red Sox 6 starters had last year! 3-4 wins per middle and late reliever and we’re in the mid-high 90s (Vegas line 93)! If you want to be optimistic 100 wins, but be realistic.

Mets relievers
Everyone points here as a concern and my realism and memory (albeit aging) support this thinking, but not where others imagine. The assumptions seem to be that long relief has enough depth and our closer will be solid with an occasional lapse, and middle relief is the concern. I reverse these.

Long relief might be okay, but it is no certainty. Pelfrey and El Duque are not relievers, so just assuming one will do this well (like in a World Series) is foolish; and given the likelihood of injury openings in the rotation their availability will be rare. There is a lot of potential and choices for middle relief, but it is realistically a crapshoot.

Billy Wagner has been a very good closer for us. There are no lights-out closers, but he has surpassed realistic expectations with some major exceptions. The problem is that history is not kind to relievers and neither is Shea Stadium, very few excel for 2-4 years. And as simply as that, it is more possible that this one-person position has a letdown than any other.

Short relief by contrast has a number of possibilities. Aaron Heilman has been far from a guarantee but has his days, Duaner Sanchez is a (taxi-)fair possibility with great history, and Sosa leads a group of specialists and hard throwers who have shown strength. There is good reason to expect those 3-4 wins from each.

On the mound, it seems realistic to expect a high 90s number of wins, with the risk of our handing half dozen back to the other team in late in the 9th and beyond.

The interesting thing is that apparently the Mets do have to hit, field, and face others. We’ll look at those in Part 2.

Welcome To Citi Field

2008-02-26T20:37:00.005-05:00

When the corporate partnership with Citigroup was announced last year, and the name “Citi Field” was given to the new stadium, Mets fans were cautiously optimistic. After all, Citigroup is a NY-based company.

Many hoped that people would soon adopt “New York Citi Field” as the name, simply because it rolls off the tongue. Yet others are even tagging it “The Bank” which works on multiple levels, and more importantly, doesn't suck.

However, this logo does.

My first thought was that stupid looking logo looks like an edited version of the Domino's Pizza logo. It looks like a small company web site logo from 1995.

At no point in laying eyes upon this rectangular abortion do I see the words “New”, ‘York” or “Mets”. Nor do I see any design element that recalls Ebbets Field, the Polo Grounds, old-time baseball, or the great city of New York. The only red I want to see in this logo is a rusty, dented mechanical apple — not the stupid arch in the blatantly oversized Citi logo. Gotta love tradition, right?
I realize corporate sponsorship is a necessary evil in modern sports. In exchange for a crappy park name, we get to drink beers for less than $10 a pop. Fair enough.

But when a retro-styled stadium displays meaningless commercial logo treatments every five feet, it kills any sense of tradition and goodwill that the stadium designers had intended, and tradition is exactly what we want from this new ballpark.

Click Here for Citi Field Images.

Sanchez Back on the Mound!

2008-02-26T14:51:00.009-05:00

The New York Mets' intra squad scrimmage Monday meant a lot more then a mere early season workout for Duaner Sanchez.

Sanchez pitched in a game for the first time since July 2006, when he separated his right shoulder in a taxi accident in Florida. He gave up two hits and walked one, while striking out one in a scoreless inning.

Sanchez was the primary setup man for closer Billy Wagner at the time of the accident. He had a surgery, then showed tardy for several spring training meetings last spring and was disciplined.

The shoulder was again injured and Sanchez again underwent surgery. He missed the entire 2007 season.

Sanchez could go a long way towards helping the Mets bullpen here in 2008. The Mets bullpen fell to eighth in the NL in ERA last season.

Sanchez threw all of his pitches, a curve ball, a change-up, a cut fastball and his fastball. His one strikeout came against Fernando Martinez on a change-up. Sanchez has said that the rehabilitation has made him stronger.

Juan Padilla also recovering from multiple surgeries, pitched well, throwing a few innings with his fastball topping out at only 85 mph.

Minor leaguer Jon Niese pitched a great inning. He threw consistently in the low 90s with his fastball and a few curve balls as low as 72 mph.

Joe Smith got hammered giving up two hits , one being a two-run triple to Jose Reyes. Smith also hit a batter. He said his slider was not working for him yesterday. On the positive side Smith did strike out David Wright and his fast balls were up around 90 mph.

Another minor leaguer pitched yesterday as well, Bobby Parnell. He started off great, but then failed to close the door with 2 outs already recorded. After getting the two outs Parnell give up three straight hits to Reyes, Angel Pagan and David Wright before closing out the inning.

For the intersquad play-by-play.

The Mets played the University of Michigan, owner Fred Wilpon's alma mater, this afternoon. The game finished in a 4-4 tie. Jason Vargas and Aaron Heilman both allowed a run apiece, while Wagner and Eddie Kunz pitched a scoreless inning. Wright hit a 2-run homer, and minor leaguer Michel Abreu tied the game with a 2-run homer of his own. Adam Rubin gave the play-by-play on his Daily News blog.

Wayne Hagin Joins Radio Booth.

2008-02-26T14:41:00.003-05:00

Guess we were asleep at the wheel last week when New York's WFAN announced that Wayne Hagin was joining Howie Rose in the Mets' radio booth for the 2008 season.

A 24-year veteran of the Major Leagues, Hagin — the odd man out in St. Louis when John Rooney came over from the White Sox in 2005 — previously worked for the Cardinals, A's, Giants, White Sox and Rockies. He once got himself in trouble for implying Colorado first baseman Todd Helton used steroids.

Hagin replaces Tom McCarthy, who left the Mets in November to return to the Phillies.

New Writers revealed...

2008-02-26T14:36:00.003-05:00

Over the past week, DJ and I have recieved multiple e-mails and inqueries about the open writing slots on Mets 4 Life. We feel that we were able to fill these slots with quality writers and we hope that you will think so too.

Here is the Mets 4 Life lineup now:

1: Tyler
2: DJ
3: Brooklyn Matt
4: SD Surfer
5: Has not signed up to blogger.com yet...

They will be posting in the next couple of days.

Johnny, Timmy, Tommy and who?

2008-02-25T08:07:00.003-05:00

The Braves enter training camp this year with at least eight pitchers that are serious candidates for the starting rotation. Clearly, not everyone’s going to have a chair when the music stops. Time will tell who’s in and who’s out, but here’s a look at the emerging battle royale:

John Smoltz, Tim Hudson, and Tom Glavine: are all locks.

So then what? In a world of no sure things, the other Braves vying for pitching spots are bets just waiting to be hedged.

Lefty Mike Hampton is: the wildcard.

At this point, there are only two important things to know about Mike Hampton. One, he hasn’t thrown a major league pitch since his own Tommy John surgery in 2005 and several subsequent setbacks, elbow-related and otherwise. And two, he’s under contract for an awful lot of money ($15M) in 2008, so the Braves will give him every opportunity to prove he has something left after nearly three years out of the game. And maybe Hampton will show something akin to the guy who compiled a 32-20 record in 72 starts after being acquired by the Braves in 2003.

Though his elbow is reportedly a-okay — as is the hamstring he ganked in his first inning of winter ball — I give Hampton no better than a 50-50 chance of making it through April in the rotation. He could bump a door or slip in the shower tomorrow, and another season’s lost in the blink of an eye.

Come to think of it, he probably shouldn’t blink, either. He’s likely to sprain an eyelid.

Southpaw Chuck James is: the bubble guy.

James has experience going for him, having put up a respectable 4.00 ERA and 22-14 record in parts of three seasons with the Braves. But he has two problems — one of which is currently compounding the other.
First, James is suffering from a slight tear of the rotator cuff in his pitching shoulder. As-is, the team doctors say it’s treatable with rest, though there’s no way of predicting how another few thousand pitches this season will affect it. For the moment, James is limited to light work and long-tossing, with his first spring start currently slated for March 20.

That puts James behind in his preparation, and that’s especially bad news in his case. James’ biggest problem in the majors has been home runs allowed — 52 in 57 games to date, and a whopping 32 in 30 starts last season. His troubles are directly attributable to good power hitters waiting for his fastball, which they can often do because James only throws two pitches. Though his changeup is above-average, it isn’t enough to keep savvy hitters from sitting on the heater and parking it in the seats. A solid third pitch would keep hitters honest and likely tab James as a top-of-the-rotation candidate for Atlanta’s future — but he can’t practice new pitches while he’s sitting on the sidelines. And a late-March start won’t help his cause.

Righty Jeff Bennett is: the ‘arm of all trades’

Late last September, the Braves asked reliever Bennett to make two starts, in his first major league action since Tommy John surgery (are you sensing a pattern here?) in 2006. Bennett performed so well in those starts (plus one relief appearance) that the Braves appear to be strongly considering him for a rotation spot this spring.
Why, I’m not so sure.

Maybe in his surgery the docs replaced his elbow with some sort of supercharged bionic model, but otherwise I don’t see any strong evidence of Bennett being an effective starting pitcher. In the two seasons prior to his surgery, he made over 100 appearances (with the Brewers and their AAA affiliate) — but not a single start. In 2003, he made seven starts in AA/AAA in the Pirates organization — but he managed just a 5-7 record overall.

So Bennett had some nice appearances last year, and I do believe he’d be a great long reliever/swing man in the bullpen. But, for reasons that aren’t fully evident on the surface, he could also end up in the rotation. Go figure.

Jo-Jo Reyes and Jair Jurrjens are: the prospects.

Ideally, some combination of the hurlers above will man the rotation coming out of camp, allowing the Braves to get Reyes and Jurrjens a bit more seasoning. Reyes, a 23-year-old lefty, shot through the minor leagues last year, compiling a 12-1 record and 2.72 ERA in his only AA and AAA action to date. The big leaguers were not so kind, however, and Reyes managed only a 2-2 record and 6.22 ERA in 11 games with Atlanta. Another few months of minor league action may be in order to help Reyes hone his pitching skills — and regain some confidence in his own talent.

Jurrjens likewise rose quickly through the ranks, seeing action in 7 games with Detroit last year and bypassing the AAA level altogether. Atlanta would no doubt prefer to unleash Jurrjens on International League hitters for a while, rather than throw him into the fire of the National League East. The big question is whether they’ll have that luxury — and whether the young righthander will show enough during the spring to be considered.

With so many questions, factors, and health issues to consider, it’s hard to say what the Atlanta rotation might look like in August, or even April. All we know now is that it’s likely to contain at least two lefties, and it’ll probably be on the old side

Mets-Phillies Rivalry.

2008-02-23T01:00:00.007-05:00

As Mike Vaccaro of the NY Post writes - "Well, hell, it's about time."

This is becoming an intense rivalry, sometimes called the "Turnpike Series" due to the New Jersey Turnpike connection between the two cities.

The Mets-Phillies rivalry has been said to be the second best rivalry in baseball after the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry. I'm would not go that far as of yet, but it sure has the potential to be.

Back in Jan. 2007 Rollins made a quote that may have set the rivalry in a dead heat. Rollins stated that: "I think we are the team to beat in the NL East -- finally." Many Mets fans and players laughed at the prediction, but the Phillies dominated the Mets in wins that season. On the final day of the season, the Phillies won the division, backing up Rollins' quote.

This month Beltran stated that, "Without Santana, we felt, as a team, that we had a chance to win in our division. With him now, I have no doubt that we're going to win in our division. I have no doubt in that. We've got what it takes. To Jimmy Rollins : We are the team to beat."

Mets fans often show up at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park in large numbers, while smaller pockets of Phillies fans attend games at New York's Shea Stadium.

The Phillies are fighting the Curse of William Penn - sometimes used to explain the failure of professional sports teams based in Pennsylvania to win championships since the March 1987 construction of the One Liberty Place skyscraper, which exceeded the height of William Penn's statue atop Philadelphia City Hall. Since then, no Philadelphia major sports team (baseball, football, basketball, or hockey) has won a league championship.

The last professional team to win a championship in Philadelphia of the four major sports was the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1983.

There is even a movie on the curse by the same name, The Curse of William Penn, was produced in 2006.

The Fanbase:

Mets' fanbase comes from the New York metro area, as well as southern Connecticut and northern New Jersey
Phillies' fanbase generally draws from the Philadelphia metro area, as well as eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and parts of Delaware.

History:

Both team won a World Series during the 1980s. The Phillies in 1980 and the Mets in 1986.
1st meeting April 27, 1962
number of meeting 783
all-time series - PHI leads, 419-364
current streak - PHI 8 straight wins
Longest Mets winning streak - 10
Longest Phillies winning streak - 10
Both teams have a historic collapse. The Phillies gave up a 6 1/2 game lead with 12 to play in 1964 - the Mets gave up a 7 game lead with 17 to play in 2007

The Phillies: Established in 1883

1 World Series Championship
5 League Championships
7 Division Championships
0 Wild Cards

The Mets: Established in 1962

2 World Series Championship
4 League Championships
5 Division Championships
2 Wild Cards

In the 46 year history between the two teams they have only finished 1-2 four times.

1986 Mets 1st place Phillies 2nd place
1995 Tied for 2nd place
2006 Mets 1st place Phillies 2nd place
2007 Phillies 1st place Mets 2nd place

Do you welcome the Rivalry?

Lenny Dykstra Sued.

2008-02-22T18:28:00.003-05:00

Lenny Dykstra said he's looking forward to fighting a lawsuit brought by an accounting firm Thursday that claims he owes at least $111,000 because he wants people to stop trying to rip off ballplayers.

"Did they actually think I would pay that much for a tax return? That's insane," Dykstra said in a telephone interview from Thousand Oaks, California, where he now lives.

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan's U.S. District Court, claims Dykstra failed to pay DDK & Co. LLP, of Manhanttan, for accounting and tax work done last year.

The company says a bill for $111,097 was sent last June to Dykstra and his wife.

"I looked at that and I laughed," said Dykstra, who played for the Mets and the Phillies during a 12-year career.

He said he was amazed a company would charge so much for one year's tax return.

The company said in the lawsuit that the tab has since grow to about $138,872. Company lawyer Benjamin J. Golub declined to comment further.

Dykstra said he was working to create a monthly magazine and a club that players could join to protect themselves in dealing with issues like this.

Turning Back the Salary Clock.

2008-02-22T15:22:00.003-05:00

In baseball, 21 years is a veritable eternity. Though I clearly remember being a baseball fan 21 years ago, I don’t at all remember thinking about salaries, luxury taxes or minimum payrolls. I just sat back and daydreamed about how great it would be to play on some of those great 1980s teams.

Sure, playing pro ball would have been amazing regardless of pay (and make no mistake, MLB players have done very well financially for most of baseball’s existence), but you have to wonder how many of those late 80s/early 90s stars are bitter that their parents didn’t get busy a few years later.

Murray Chase published an article for the New York Times back on April 12, 1987. Which discusses the (then) exorbitant salaries of some of our childhood heroes. Below I'll touch on the highlights.

Fifty-seven players began the baseball season (1987) assured of earning $1 million or more this year. Sixty-six players of the 663 who were on opening-day major league rosters or the disabled list will earn $62,500, the minimum salary.

The Dodgers have soared to the top of the average-salary list with a season-opening average of $579,785.
The Angels have plummeted to 17th at the start of the 1987 season with an average salary of $408,632, just below the major league average of $412,606.

The Highest Paid Players:

Jim Rice of Boston, $2,412,500

Dan Quisenberry of Kansas City, $2,293,509

George Brett of Kansas City, $2,205,000

Eddie Murray of Baltimore, $2,153,000

Mike Schmidt of Philadelphia, $2,127,333

The Mets don’t have anyone in the top five, but they have five million-dollar players, which was more than any other team had. The Mets also have four players making the minimum. The Yankees have three players on the million-dollar plateau but none at the bottom rung of the salary scale.

Five clubs - Seattle, Texas, Montreal, Pittsburgh and San Francisco -have no million-dollar players. Atlanta is the only team besides the Yankees without a player at the minimum salary. Montreal has seven players earning $62,500 and Baltimore six.

No surprises here. Seattle, Montreal, Pittsburgh were never huge spenders. Ever. Texas and ‘Frisco must have been saving up for the then 11-year old A-Rod and 9-year old Zito, respectively. Now this, my friends, is good scouting.

These are the season-opening average salaries of all of the teams:

Los Angeles $579,785

Chicago Cubs $576,273

Yankees $562,758

Kansas City $531,552

Atlanta $527,756

Baltimore $523,658

Boston $520,758

Mets $519,429

Philadelphia $488,613

Detroit $486,272

Minnesota $431,926

St. Louis $429,019

Oakland $426,582

Houston $421,796

San Diego $412,000

Toronto $411,687

California $408,632

Chicago White Sox $372,386

Cleveland $361,917

Cincinnati $332,285

San Francisco $309,846

Milwaukee $281,781

Texas $226,755

Pittsburgh $221,380

Montreal $204,740

Seattle $181,580.

The Expos are one of four clubs - Seattle, Texas and Pittsburgh are the others - whose total opening-day payrolls are less than the combined 1987 income ($6,431,805) of the Royals’ three highest-paid players: Quisenberry, Brett and Willie Wilson

Welcome Back Ollie!

2008-02-22T15:18:00.003-05:00

SP Oliver Perez won a $6.5 million salary for the 2008 season in his arbitration hearing. The Mets had offered him $4.725 million.

Last year, Perez went 15-10 with a 3.56 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. He struck out 174 batters in 177 innings.

He is the first player to win in an arbitration hearing against the Mets since David Cone in 1992.

Cone was awarded $4.25 million that year. "The Mets have won 11 of the 20 cases in their history."

I think we all knew Perez was going to win. $6.5 is still a good price... It's still less than half of what he is going to earn per year after he goes 20-8 this season or 8-20. This decision shows how much the Mets need to win it all this year. Given the enormous contracts being handed to consistent SP, Ollie is ours this year only. If Ollie pitches well, he's gone to the highest bidder. If he pitches DOWN to his contract, we are no closer to a WS title.

Bold Prediction!

2008-02-22T00:48:00.005-05:00

The general public is well aware that Bobby Thompson hit the “shot heard ‘round the world”, and that Bon Jovi was shot through the heart...both dramatic shots in their own right. But some new drama has erupted in the National League this off season, perpetrated by the shot calling of a twosome of amateur soothsayers. Carlos Beltran and Ryan Dempster have made two very bold claims (one of which is outlandish) this winter regarding their respective teams. This approach worked out well for Babe Ruth, Kirby Puckett and Jimmy Rollins in the past, but I wouldn’t exactly take their words as gospel.

After the Johan Santana signing Beltran, usually soft spoken and averse to media attention, guaranteed that the Mets would win the NL East this year, as did Jimmy Rollins in 2007. A terrifying lineup and much, much improved starting rotation (see: Santana signing) adds a substantial amount of weight to Beltran’s claim. So what’s standing in the Mets’ way? A little thing called the Philadelphia Phillies. The upstart Phils took advantage of New York in the waning hours of the 2007 regular season and will be gunning for the Mets once again… regardless of that new left arm they’ve added.

Cole Hammels, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Rollins and the rest aren’t about to roll over and hand the Mets the division crown. And don’t count out the Atlanta Braves either. A solid mix of youth and experience with master of the ejection, Bobby Cox, at the helm could prove to be a burr in New York’s saddle. Beltran’s Mets are the clear favorites, but the NL East won’t be a cakewalk by any stretch of the imagination.

Former Chicago Cubs’ closer, Ryan Dempster, also predicted his team would excel in 2008, but with a much loftier claim than Beltran’s. To quote the hard throwing ginger kid, “I think we’re going to win the World Series this year. I really do.” Now Ryan, that is very different from saying you “want” to win the World Series this year. Carlos Zambrano made the same declaration last season and we all know how that turned out. (Zambrano also predicted that he would win the Cy Young in 2007. Soooo, Big Z is 0 for 2). Can a century of baseball lacking in WS titles really be reversed that easily?

Let’s think about this. Yes, the Cubs haven’t won in 100 years, and they’re bound to win sometime. And yes, they have a fairly impressive team and are favored to win the NL Central (not a monumental feat). But they too will have another team gunning for them. The Brewers last year ended up leading the NL Central for all but 29 games, only to falter in August and cede first place to the powerhouse 85-win Cubs. And I see the Reds as being the burr in the Cubs' saddle.

This is quite the audacious statement, especially from someone like Dempster. If Lou Pinella or Derrick Lee, or even Aramis Ramirez predicted a World Series title, it wouldn’t seem so off the wall. Still highly irrational, but not quite as ridiculous. Dempster is a failed starter/amateur magician/unsuccessful closer/soon to be middle reliever. Unless he’s relying on an elaborate magical ruse to bring the Cubs back to glory, he doesn’t seem to be the right fit for making such eccentric predictions.

The angry and superstitious Cubs fans have already littered the message boards with chiding remarks towards Dempster, saying that he’s jinxed the team by flapping his gums about a world championship in February. The fact of the matter is that the Cubs are the Cubs, and even if they have a championship caliber regular season they’ll find a way to screw the pooch in October. It’s what they do.

Regardless, talk is cheap. That’s why they play the games people.

Baseball Prospectus thinks Mets are the best..

2008-02-22T00:11:00.002-05:00

This year, the Mets have been predicted to finish the 2008 season with a record of 96-66, by the web site www.baseballprospectus.com. And even better; the Braves are predicted to finish 2nd…10 games behind us (with the Phillies a distant 3rd at 12 back!)

So according to BP, the division standings will look like this after 162 games..

1st place: New York Mets 96-66
2nd place: Atlanta Braves 86-76
3rd place: Philledelphia Phillies 84-78

Hopefully BP is right, I'd love to see another blowout of the division, just like in 2006... but this time, we're gonna go deep into the playoffs, just ask Fred Wilpon..

2008 Lineup Predictions...

2008-02-21T23:33:00.012-05:00

A few weeks ago, I started to predict the statistics for each individual player on the Mets. I waited to post them because I wanted to see what others thought. Here are my predictions compared to others predictions...

SS #7 Jose Reyes

My predictions: .301 AVG, 20 HR, 74 RBI, 67 SB
Mlb.com's predictions: .294 AVG, 15 HR, 72 RBI, 73 SB
The Man's predictions: .295 AVG, 14 HR, 70 RBI, 68 SB
Eli's predictions: .289 AVG, 14 HR, 62 RBI

2B #1 Luis Castillo

My predictions: .295 AVG, 1 HR, 48 RBI, 15 SB
Mlb.com's predictions: .298 AVG, 2 HR, 44 RBI, 25 SB
The Man's predictions: .302 AVG, 2 HR, 55 RBI, 25 SB
Eli's predictions: .295 AVG, 3 HR, 46 RBI

3B #5 David Wright

My predictions: .327 AVG, 30 HR, 124 RBI, 28 SB
Mlb.com's predictions: .322 AVG, 32 HR, 111 RBI, 27 SB
The Man's predictions: .330 AVG, 34 HR, 128 RBI, 31 SB
Eli's predictions: .312 AVG, 34 HR, 123 RBI

CF #15 Carlos Beltran

My predictions: .281 AVG, 37 HR, 117 RBI, 23 SB
Mlb.com's predictions: .274 AVG, 34 HR, 115 RBI, 18 SB
The Man's predictions: .280 AVG, 31 HR, 116 RBI, 25 SB
Eli's predictions: .273 AVG, 28 HR, 105 RBI

LF #18 Moises Alou

My predictions: .307 AVG, 18 HR, 73 RBI
Mlb.com's predictions: .315 AVG, 20 HR, 75 RBI
The Man's predictions: .305 AVG, 16 HR, 65 RBI
Eli's predictions: .272 AVG, 16 HR, 73 RBI

1B #21 Carlos Delgado

My predictions: .270 AVG, 27 HR, 96 RBI
Mlb.com's predictions: .272 AVG, 28 HR, 94 RBI
The Man's predictions: .270 AVG, 28 HR, 94 RBI
Eli's predictions: .262 AVG, 23 HR, 86 RBI

RF #19 Ryan Church

My predictions: .278 AVG, 14 HR, 80 RBI
Mlb.com's predictions: .275 AVG, 18 HR, 74 RBI
The Man's predictions: .278 AVG, 16 HR, 81 RBI
Eli's predictions: .269 AVG, 16 HR, 71 RBI

C #23 Brian Schneider

My predictions: .249 AVG, 8 HR, 56 RBI
Mlb.com's predictions: .254 AVG, 7 HR, 60 RBI
The Man's predictions: .255 AVG, 10 HR, 60 RBI
Eli's predictions: .246 AVG, 6 HR, 48 RBI

When Mets 4 Life expands, our new staff of writers will predict the statistics of each individual. When they are completed, they will be posted..

NL Central: At A Glance.

2008-02-21T00:15:00.000-05:00

Chicago Cubs:
Manager: Lou Piniella - 2nd season
Last Season: 85-77, 1st place
Training Site: Mesa, AZ.
Park: Fitch Park, HoHoKam Park
He's Here: OF Kosuke Fukudome, RHP Jon Lieber, RHP Jose Ascanio
He's Outta Here: OF Jacque Jones, OF Cliff Floyd, LHP Will Ohman, C Jason Kendall, OF Craig Monroe, OF Angel Pagan, RHP Mark Prior

Outlook: Fukudome gives the Chicago team a left-handed, high on-base hitter who should complement such slugging run producers as Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez. The Cubs have hopes that a healthy Alfonso Soriano to be even better than in his first season with the team. The biggest question mark is centerfield, where speedy Felix Pie must hit.

Milwaukee Brewers:
Manager: Ned Yost - 6th season
Last Season: 83-79, 2nd place
Training Site: Phoenix, AZ.
Park: Maryvale Baseball Park
He's Here: RHP Eric Gagne, CF Mike Cameron, C Jason Kendall, RHP David Riske, RHP Salomon Torres, RHP Guillermo Mota, LHP Randy Choate, C Eric Munson, OF Gabe Kapier, INF Abraham Nunez
He's Outta Here: RHP Francisco Cordero, LF Geoff Jenkins, C Johnny Estrada, 3B Corey Koskie, LHP Ray King, RHP Scott Linebrink, RHP Matt Wise, INF Tony Graffanino, OF Kevin Mench, C Damian Miller

Outlook: The Brewers, who were in first place for 133 days last season, look to finally snap a postseason drought that dates to 1982. The biggest change will be NL Rookie of the Year Ryan Braun's switch from 3B to LF.

St. Louis Cardinals:
Manager: Tony La Russa - 13th season
Last Season: 79-84, 3rd place
Training Site: Jupiter, FL.
Park: Roger Dean Stadium
He's Here: 3B Troy Glaus, RHP Matt Clement, SS Cesar Izturis, C Jason LaRue, OF Brian Barton
He's Outta Here: 3B Scott Rolen, CF Jim Edmonds, SS David Eckstein, RHP Kip Wells, OF So Taguchi, C Gary Bennett, LHP Mike Maroth, RHP Troy Percival

Outlook: The 2006 World Series champions appear to be in rebuilding mode after jettisoning three core players; Rolen. Edmonds and Eckstein. The Cardinals did get the power hitting Glaus for Rolen.

Houston Astros:
Manager: Cecil Copper - 1st full season
Last Season: 73-89, 4th place
Training Site: Kissimmee, FL.
Park: Osceola County Stadium
He's Here: SS Miguel Tejada, 2B Kaz Matsui, CF Michael Bourn, INF Geoff Blum, OF Darin Erstad, RHP Doug Brocail, RHP Geoff Geary, RHP Jose Valverde, RHP Oscar Villareal
He's Outta Here: SS Adam Evertt, RHP Brad Lidge, OF Luke Scott, INF Eric Bruntlett, RHP Matt Albers, LHP Troy Patton, INF Chris Burke, RHP Chad Qualis, RHP Juan Gutierrez

Outlook: Tejada was the cornerstone of an active off-season. The Astros seem undaunted that the FBI is investigating whether Tejada lied to House committee investigators about steroids. Bourn, a Houston native, will likely lead off and give the Astros a base stealing threat they lacked last season. The switch hitting Matsui replaces stalwart 2B Craig Biggio and could be an offensive upgrade - he hit .288 in 2007 and Biggio hit .251. Slugger Lance Berkman shook off a slow start to hit .278 with 34 home runs in 2007 and LF Carlos Lee batted .303 with 32 homers.

Cincinnati Reds:
Manager: Dusty Baker - 1st season
Last Season: 72-90, 5th place
Training Site: Sarasota, FL.
Park: Ed Smith Stadium
He's Here: RHP Francisco Cordero, RHP Edinson Volquez, LHP Jeremy Affeldt
He's Outta Here: Interim manager Pete Mackanin, OF Josh Hamilton, LHP Eddie Guardado, LHP Eric Milton

Outlook: Baker was hired to pull the franchise out of its doldrums; seven straight losing seasons. Owner Bob Castellini also hired Walt Jocketty, a friend and former Cardinals GM, as adviser, putting GM Wayne Krivsky in an awkward spot. Pitching, the team's downfall for years, is the key.

Pittsburgh Pirates:
Manager: John Russell - 1st season
Last Season: 68-94, 6th place
Training Site: Bradenton, FL.
Park: McKechnie Field
He's Here: INF Chris Gomez, RHP Jimmy Barhmaier, LHP Phil Dumarait, RHP Evan Meek, RHP Ty Taubenheim, OF Kevin Thompson, RHP Jaret Wright
He's Outta Here: INF Jose Castillo, INF Cesar Izturis, INF Matt Kata, 1B Josh Phelps, RHP Shawn Chacon, RHP Tony Armas, RHP Salomon Torres, LHP Shane Youman

Outlook: A Pirates team coming off three straight seasons of 94 losses or more is almost unchanged. Russell, fired as a coach in 2005 but brought back by a new front office as the manager, is the only significant new face. Hope is the word.

Spring Training: At A Glance.
AL East: At A Glance
AL Central: At a Glance
AL West: At A Glance.
NL East: At A Glance.
NL West: At A Glance.

Rollins makes some more predictions..

2008-02-20T22:10:00.003-05:00

At SI.com, they write about the recent comments of Carlos Beltran. When asked about Carlos Beltrans comments, Jimmy Rollins had this to say...

"Has anyone ever heard of plagiarism?" Said Rollins, "Sequels are never good,".. Thats a lie, I usually like the sequel better than the original, and the same can be said for this situation.

In the article Rollins also said that he thinks that the Phillies are the best team in the National League East and in the National League. He's wrong. They might have the best offense, but pitching is the key, and our rotation and bullpen are worlds better than theirs. The Braves even have better starting pitching than the Phillies too.

This just goes to show you that Rollins has not been notified that the Mets traded for the best pitcher in the game - Johan Santana.

Fantasy draft results..

2008-02-20T21:42:00.004-05:00

So I have officially completed my first fantasy draft on Mlb.com.. It was a fun expiereince, but I didn't get the chance to select any of my favorite Mets... Heres my team..

Round	Player
1	Ryan Howard (1B, PHI)
2	Ryan Braun (3B, MIL)
3	Russell Martin (C, LAD)
4	Robinson Cano (2B, NYY)
5	Chris Young (OF, ARI)
6	Edgar Renteria (SS, DET)
7	Jeff Francoeur (OF, ATL)
8	Cleveland Indians (P, CLE)
9	Ken Griffey Jr. (OF, CIN)
10	Kosuke Fukudome (OF, CHC)
11	Milwaukee Brewers (P, MIL)
12	Evan Longoria (3B, TB)
13	Joey Votto (1B, CIN)
14	Ray Durham (2B, SF)
15	Ryan Theriot (2B, SS, CHC)

I didn't draft Young, Theriot or Durham, the computer was messing up but I'll settle. I recently decided to drop Durham for Alou.. I think I have a pretty good chance in this league though..

If anyone else is interested in my private league please contact me at tyflomets4life@yahoo.com.

Reyes "No more Handshakes"

2008-02-20T21:36:00.002-05:00

In an article for Newsday, David Lennon writes that Jose Reyes will be much more serious this season. Reyes, as quoted by Lennon…

“No more handshakes. People kept saying we got teams fired up when we did those handshakes, so now I want to focus more on baseball. Nobody said anything to me, but it’s because of what happened last year. That’s why I’m taking this year more seriously. In 2006, everybody loved [the handshakes], but now it’s different. I’m going to enjoy the game, but I’m not going to do the handshakes with the guys. I don’t want people to talk about that. I just want to play baseball. I want to take care of business on the field.”

Thats crazy.. That is his whole image. Why do other teams get pissy about someone celebrating? I'm going to miss his fun-loving handshakes and dances, but as long as he is helping this team win it doesn't really matter.. right?

Searching for quality writers..

2008-02-20T20:48:00.003-05:00

As of right now, DJ and I are the only two writers here at Mets 4 Life. We would like to add to our staff. What we are looking for is Mets fan with quality writing skills. By the time the Mets start playing regular season games, I would like to have 4-5 quality writers to contribute here.

So far Mets 4 Life's lineup looks like this...

1. Tyler
2. DJ
3. Blank
4. Blank
5. Blank

Hopefully we can fill those spots with Mets fans who write with passion and precision.

To inquire about this, please contact me @ Tyflomets4life@yahoo.com.

Mets Spring Training Broadcast Schedule.

2008-02-20T15:11:00.003-05:00

Now it's easier for you to follow the Mets this spring.

February
Tuesday, February 26 vs Univ. of Michigan 12:00 PM
Wednesday, February 27 @ Tigers 1:05 PM
Thursday, February 28 @ Cardinals 1:05 PM
Friday, February 29 vs Cardinals 1:10 PM SNY

March
Saturday, March 1 vs Dodgers 1:10 PM CW11 WFAN 660
Sunday, March 2 @ Dodgers 1:05 PM WFAN 660
Monday, March 3 vs Braves 1:10 PM SNY
Tuesday, March 4 @ Marlins 1:05 PM
Wednesday, March 5 vs Dodgers 1:10 PM SNY
Thursday, March 6 @ Nationals 7:05 PM WFAN 660
Friday, March 7 @ Indians 1:05 PM ESPN
Saturday, March 8 @ Orioles 1:05 PM
vs Marlins 1:10 PM CW11 WFAN 660
Sunday, March 9 vs Astros 1:10 PM CW11WFAN 660
Monday, March 10 vs Red Sox 1:10 PM SNY
Tuesday, March 11 @ Red Sox 1:05 PM MLB.TV
Wednesday, March 12 vs Orioles 1:10 PM SNY
Thursday, March 13 @ Cardinals 1:05 PM
Friday, March 14 @ Marlins 1:05 PM
Saturday, March 15 vs Cardinals 1:10 PM SNY WADO 1280 (Sp.)
Sunday, March 16 @ Astros 1:05 PM
vs Tigers 1:10 PM SNY WFAN 660, WADO 1280 (Sp.)
Monday, March 17 @ Nationals 1:05 PM
Wednesday, March 19 vs Indians 7:10 PM SNY
Thursday, March 20 vs Orioles 7:10 PM SNY WFAN 660
Friday, March 21 vs Nationals 1:10 PM SNY
Saturday, March 22 @ Indians 1:05 PM CW11 WFAN 660
Sunday, March 23 vs Cardinals 1:10 PM WFAN 660, WADO 1280 (Sp.)
Monday, March 24 @ Orioles 1:05 PM
Tuesday, March 25 vs Braves 1:10 PM SNY
Wednesday, March 26 vs Marlins 1:10 PM SNY
Thursday, March 27 @ Braves 1:05 PM ESPN
Friday, March 28 @ Orioles 1:05 PM
Saturday, March 29 vs White Sox 5:00 PM ESPN

Planning a Road Trip?

2008-02-20T14:51:00.004-05:00

It’s been along winter, but pitchers and catchers are starting to loosen their arms and head to warmer climes. Those of us in northern climates are yearning for 40-degree weather while dreaming of afternoons spent at the ballpark. In the coming weeks, thousands of baseball fans will gather in dank basements that reek of stale beer and break out their tattered road atlas with dreams of their summer adventures.

With the goal of seeing a game in each Major League City (even Miami), a few more dominoes need to fall this season to get a bit closer to that goal. So, after careful consideration, I've targeted the upper Midwest triangle of Cleveland, Detroit, and Pittsburgh. There should be some good baseball to be seen in the rust-belt cities, assuming Pittsburgh has a decent opponent on the day you see them.

But a road trip is only half-determined by its destinations, the other half is how you make it happen. Here are a few rules to live by for summer roadies:

No expensive beer — This one is usually a fight, because there’s always the one guy that wants to show he’s a connoisseur of fine lagers. But you'll be dropping hundreds of dollars on tickets, so there’s no reason to drink yourself into the poorhouse for a few tasty brews. I shudder at memories of giving a friend $40 to buy beer for a party and watching him walk in with three six packs of beer with fruit in it. Several cases of PBR or High Life will do just fine.
The guy with the worst car drives — This may seem counterintuitive, but does anyone really want their drunken, smelly buddies in their new ride? Besides, road-tripping is a link to simpler times when we all drove hoopties with rust holes. If their car happens to break down, it only adds to the adventure and opens the possibility of the trip’s real treasure — a rental car.
Pick a side — In a baseball road trip, you're pretty likely to see a lot of games you don't give a dare about. During my west coast swing in ‘04, I saw the Angels (who I briefly forgot existed) on 6 different occasions. Regardless, it’s important to pick a side based on some whimsical or imaginary criteria that the group agrees on. If you can't think of any ridiculous criteria to choose a side for, root for the home team because there are less away fans to throw peanuts at you.
No hookers — Try for groupies instead.
Tailgate whenever possible — All stadiums are different, of course, but if there’s a parking lot you should have a grill and a cooler in it. If there’s not, hit up a local bar around the stadium. Always, always avoid chain restaurants — there’s nothing worse than a bunch of dudes hanging out at an Applebee’s.
No over-planning — take the tourist guide away from “that guy”. The trip is supposed to be fun, not a military operation in checking into hotels at exactly the right time to “get situated.” Wing it a little.

As you plan your road trips this summer, remember the rules — if you got more suggestions, drop a comment. If you've got any epic road trip stories, feel free to drop one of those, too. And if you're planning a road trip of your own, consider this thing the most useful moment in ESPN’s history.

"Door Open."

2008-02-20T01:26:00.002-05:00

Astros outfielder Hunter Pence is used to crashing into the outfield wall. But scarcely had Spring Training begun before he crashed through a sliding glass door. “I just didn’t see the door and jumped through it,” he said “I have small cuts everywhere.” Pence had headed out to the hot tub when, as so many of us do, he decided to make a quick pit stop first. Unaware that while he was in the bathroom, an unnamed friend had closed the door, Pence attempted to leap through the portal to get to the other side. Instead of thin air, he found solid glass. Bleeding profusely, he was taken to the emergency room. But the 24-year old was lucky—-he cut no tendons or arteries, though he has lacerations all over his body and was wearing a knee brace today. Even so, he’ll only miss about a week of training as a result of the “freak accident,” as he described it. His teammates, however, are sure to keep the incident fresh in his mind.

Hey, at least he wasn’t also carrying a full cup of coffee at the time.

AL West: At a Glance

2008-02-20T00:10:00.001-05:00

Los Angeles Angels:
Manager: Mike Scioscia - 9th season
Last Season: 94-68, 1st place
Training Site: Tempe, AZ.
Park: Tempe Diablo Stadium
He's Here: RHP Jon Garland, CF Torii Hunter
He's Outta Here: RHP Bartolo Colon, RHP Greg Jones, RHP Chris Resop, INF Dallas McPherson, SS Orlando Cabrera, OF Tommy Murphy, Of Nick Gorneault

Outlook: The Angels are solid favorites to win their fourth AL west title in five years, but that in itself won't be very satisfying. Last year's high hopes were dashed after being swept by the Red Sox in the first round of the playoff. The only off-season additions, Hunter and Garland, are impact palyers. The team will have one of baseball's best defensive outfields with Hunter, Gary Matthews Jr. and Vladimir Guerrero or Garret Anderson. Hunter adds some much needed power. Anderson and Guerrero figure to share the DH duties. Even before the addition of Garland, an 18-games winner in 2005 and 2006, the Angels had one of the strongest rotations, whichis led by John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar and Jeb Weaver. Erick Aybar and Maicer Izturis will compete for the starting SS job with outstanding prospect Brandon Wood in the wings. Escobar's sore shoulder will limit him at the beginning of spring training.

Seattle Mariners:
Manager: John McLaren- 1st full season
Last Season: 88-74, 2nd place
Training Site: Peoia, AZ.
Park: Peoria Sports Complex
He's Here: LHP Eric Bedard, RHP Carlos Silva, OF Brad Wilkerson, INF Miguel Cairo
He's Outta Here: Manager Mike Hargrove, OF Jose Guillen, RHP Jeff Weaver, 1B Ben Broussard, CF Adam Jones, LHP George Sherrill, LHP Tony Butler, RHP Chris Tillman, RHP Kam Michkolio

Outlook: GM Bill Bavasi upgraded the rotation significantly by getting lefty Erik Bedard from Baltimore for talented CF Jones and pitchers Sherrill, Butler, Tillman and Michkolio. The team has a talented rotation in Bedard, Felix Hernandez and Silva. Seattle hopes Wilkerson can come close to the numbers Guillen provided last year in right, but the Mariners did little to upgrade the offense. RHP J.J. Putz is a top closer. McLaren gets his first full season as a big league manager after taking over for Hargrove midway through 2007.

Oakland Athletics:
Manager: Bob Green- 2nd season
Last Season: 75-86, 3rd place
Training Site: Phoenix, AZ.
Park: Municipal Stadium
He's Here: OF Emil Brown, RHP Joey Devine, Of Carlos Gonzalez, LHP Gio Gonzalez, LHP Dana Eveland, OF Ryan Sweeney, LHP Brett Anderson
He's Outta Here: RHP Dan Haren, OF Nick Swisher, OF Mark Kotsay, DH Mike Piazza, OF Shannon Stewart, INF Marco Scutaro, RHP Colby Lewis

Outlook:GM Bill Beane dealt Haren, Swisher and Kotsay when he decided to rebuild because he didn't think he had the pieces to match the Angels. Oakland restocked it's farm system with the Haren and Swisher deals but it will take a few years to determine whether those moves will lift the team. The big question revolve around the health of RHP Rich Harden, 3B Eric Chavez and SS Bobby Crosby, whose injuries last season helped contribute to Oakland's first losing season since 1998.

Texas Rangers:
Manager: Ron Washington - 2nd season
Last Season: 75-87, 4th place
Training Site: Surprise, AZ.
Park: Surprise Stadium
He's Here: OF Milton Bradley, 1B Ben Broussard, RHP Kazuo Fukumori, CF Josh Hamilton, RHP Jason Jennings, LHP Eddie Guardado, INF Edgardo Alfonzo
He's Outta Here: DH Sammy Sosa, OF Brad Wilkerson, RHP Akinori Otsuka, RHP Edinson Volquez, INF Jerry Hairston

Outlook: A healthy Hank Blalock could be one of the most significant additions for Taxas. Blalock didn't play3B after May last season, but the 2-time All-Star says he is "back to normal" following surgery to have a rib removed from near his right shoulder and extra rehabilitation in the off-season. The team filled three holes; CF(Hamilton, RF(Bradley) and 1B(Broussard). But questions persist. Bradley is coming off knee surgery. Broussard was mostly a platoon player the past 2-years. Hamilton, the first overall pick in 1999 whose career was nearly derailed by alcohol and drug abuse, has a lot to prove even after a breakout rookie season in Cincinnati. Dallas native Jennings was addedto the rotation after being hampered last season by elbow problems, as were Guardado and Kukumori. Guardado provided a much needed veteran presence in a bullpen missing RHP Eric Gagne and Otsuka. The closer candidates are CJ Wilson and Joaquin Benoit. The Rangers were 29-28 after the trade deadline and the exits of 1B Mark Teixeira, CF Kenny Lofton, LHP Ron Mahay and Gagne. Without improvement, the AL west basement looms.

Spring Training: At A Glance.
AL East: At A Glance
AL Central: At a Glance
NL East: At A Glance.
NL West: At A Glance.

Andy Pettitte Apologizes

2008-02-19T09:52:00.003-05:00

Andy Pettitte probably didn’t prove anything or change anyone’s mind Monday afternoon.

I also think this public nightmare is a long way from being over for Pettitte. If Roger Clemens continues to push his charade and winds up in court, Pettitte will be forced to tell the entire sordid story again.

I believe Pettitte was sincere Monday. He used words like “stupidity” and “desperation” to describe why he used HGH. He talked about the “embarrassment” and apologized to both the Yankees and Houston Astros. Really, he is the only person that he should be apologizing to. Andy Pettitte let down Andy Pettitte. The Yankees don’t care that he used HGH. The Astros certainly don’t care. His fans might.

“I never want a young person to do what I did,” Pettitte said. “I’m sorry for the mistakes I have made.”

Once again, it’s all about the kids. The sad thing is that the best way to make sure that kids don’t make the mistake of spending large sums of money acquiring and then injecting themselves with HGH is to educate people that HGH is NOT actually beneficial to healthy people.

He admitted to considering retirement, but said he is committed to the Yankees and that hiding instead of facing the scrutiny was not the right thing to do.

He said things I didn’t like, such as that HGH was not banned by baseball at the time he used it, and annoyed me by referencing his faith on several occasions.

Pettitte definitely didn’t solve anything Monday, though he said now he can sleep better. What he likely did, though, was solidify the good will he has built among Yankees’ fans and baseball beat writers.

Say what you want about Pettitte’s HGH use and how long it took the facts to come out. Since being presented with the evidence, he has not hidden. He has stood up, told the truth and has faced whatever will come from that head on.

That’s one helluva lot more than you can say for Clemens, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmiero, Barry Bonds and just about everyone else.

You have to give him credit for that.

REDS Fans Do You Make The Trade For Blanton?

2008-02-18T19:03:00.001-05:00

Could you pull the trigger? Could you make the deal to bring Joe Blanton to Cincinnati? I don’t think I could. It would be great, a third solid starter. A young guy, with a controllable salary for the next 3-4 years. He eats up innings, he throws ground balls, he strikes people out but doesn’t walk them. He’s a Kentucky boy for Pete’s sake! He’s perfect.

Unfortunately, the deal it would take to get it done is not perfect. Billy Beane usually gets what he wants. With Blanton being the “top pitcher available” on the trade front, Beane is holding the cards. He doesn’t have to trade Blanton, but he’s let everyone know that he is available. Oh, and Bedard and Santana are not available. He’s salivating at the mouth as we speak.

It would take a package of youthful prospects to attract Beane’s attention. For Cincinnati, that means including a Bruce (never gonna happen), a Votto, a Bailey, or a Cueto along with say a Maloney or a Volquez and throwing in a Stubbs for good measure. Would you have the guts to ship that kind of deal out.

I like Blanton. I really like Blanton. He’s the A’s number one starter at this point. He would fit in Cincinnati like a glove. I just don’t think I could deal a young stud. However, If it happened I would live with it and move on. I just couldn’t do it myself.

Who would you deal? Could you ship out a possible commodity for a proven arm? If forced I would probably try a Cueto and 2-3 minor league prospects deal. If that were passed on, I’d let it go. Bruce is untouchable, Votto is a nice fit, Bailey has too much local build up to not give a proper chance. Cueto seems to be the guy to fit the bill, although he could be the best of the Reds young bunch. What do you do?

AL Central: At A Glance.

2008-02-18T13:28:00.000-05:00

Cleveland Indians:
Manager: Eric Wedge - 5th season
Last Season: 96-66, 1st place
Training Site: Winter Haven, FL.
Park: Chain of Lakes Park
He's Here: RHP Masahide Kobayashi, INF Jamey Carroll, RHP Jorge Julio
He's Outta Here: OF Kenny Lofton, OF Trot Nixon, RHP Jason Davis

Outlook: Here's a plus, The Indians are bringing back virually their entire roster from last season when they ran away with the rugged AL Central, knocked the Yankees out of the playoffs and had Boston down 3-1 in the ALCS before losing 3 straight games. Wedge's greatest challenge will be getting his young club to the next level. Ace C.C. Sabathia, the reigning Cy Young Award winner, is back and may soon have a new contract. Jeremy Sowers, Aaron Laffey and Cliff Lee are in the competition for the #5 starter's spot.

Detroit Tigers:
Manager: Jim Leyland - 3rd season
Last Season: 88-74, 2nd place
Training Site: Lakeland, FL.
Park: Joker Marchant Stadium
He's Here: 3B Miguel Cabrera, SS Edgar Renteria, OF Jacque Jones, LHP Dontrelle Willis
He's Outta Here: 1B Sean Casay, INF Omar Infante, LHP Andrew Miller, OF Cameron Maybin

Outlook: The Tigers are title contenders again. Detroit followed a 2006 World Series appearance by fighting for a playoff apot deep into last season. They want more this year. In the first major deal of the off-season, the Tigers acquired All-Stars Cabrera and Willis from Florida, trading top prospects Maybin and Miller. GM Dave Dombrowski also got Renteria and Jones, and resigned C Ivan Rodriguez, LHP Kenny Rogers and closer Todd Jones.

Minnesota Twins:
Manager: Ron Gardenhire - 7th season
Last Season: 79-83, 3rd place
Training Site: Fort Myers, FL.
Park: Hammond Stadium
He's Here: OF Delmon Young, 3B Mike Lamb, SS Adam Everett, SS/2B Brendan Harris, CF Carlos Gomez, OF Jason Pridie, RHP Phil Humber, OF Craig Monroe
He's Outta Here: LHP Johan Santana, CF Torii Hunter, RHP Carlos Silva, SS Jason Barlett, RHP Matt Garza, OF Lew Ford, OF Randell White, OF Jason Tyner, INF Luis Rodriuez

Outlook: The Twins pulled off the long awaited trade of 2-time Cy Young Award winner Santana to the Mets. He leaves a huge hole in the rotation. 2006 All-Star Francisco Liriano may be back, provided he's strong enough after his Tommy John procedure nearly 17 months ago. The rotation is a question as a handful of unproven young hurlers fight for the five spots. Closer Joe Nathan anchors a good bullpen. Hunter is gone to the Angels but the team got Young from the Rays. The Rookie of the Year runner-up could have an impact on what was a tired lineup last year. Gomez, who came over in the Santana trade, is the front-runner to lead off and play center.

Chicago White Sox:
Manager: Ozzie Guillen - 5th season
Last Season: 72-90, 4th place
Training Site: Tucson, AZ.
Park: Tucson Electric Park
He's Here: SS Orlando Cabrera, Of Nick Swisher, RHP Scott Linebrink, RHP Octavio Dotel, OF Carlos Quentin, OF Alexel Ramirez
He's Outta Here: RHP Jon Garland, OF Scott Podsednik

Outlook: The White Sox missed making major trades in the off-season. Still, they added Linebrink and Dotel to a bullpen that was 19-25 with a 5.49 ERA and 23 blown saves for a bridge betwee the starters and closer Bobby Jenks. There's a logjam at thirdbase, where Josh Fields showed promise as a rookie while Joe Crede missed most of last season with a back injury.

Kansas City Royals:
Manager: Trey Hillman - 1st season
Last Season: 69-93, 5th place
Training Site: Surprise, AZ.
Park: Surprise Stadium
He's Here: OF Jose Guillen, RHP Brett Tomko, RHP Yasuhiko Yabuta, LHP Ron Mahay, C Miguel Olivo, INF Alberto Callaspo, RHP Hideo Nomo, RHP Brain Lawernce, LHP Chin-hui Taso
He's Outta Here: Manager Buddy Bell, DH Mike Sweeney, OF Emil Brown, Of Reggie Sanders, C Jason LaRue, LHP Odalis Perez, RHP David Riske, RHP Scoot Elarton, RHP Billy Buckner

Outlook: Hillman is the big change. He's the only big-league manager this year who didn't coach or play in the majors. He spent years managing in the Yankees' minor league system and for the past five season was the highly successful manager of Japan's Nippon Ham Fighters. He inherts a young team that will be trying to escape four straight last place finishes in the tough AL Central. Last season the Royals had four impact rookies; RHP Joakim Soria led the club with 17 saves, RHP Brian Bannister led the team with 12 wins, 3B Alex Gordon led AL rookies with 55 extra base hits and DH/1B Billy Butler hit .292 at age 21.

Spring Training: At A Glance.
AL East: At A Glance
NL East: At A Glance.
NL West: At A Glance.

Fantasy Baseball...

2008-02-17T12:20:00.002-05:00

In a recent post, I wrote that I have a private fantasy baseball league going. I still need six more teams in order to draft. If you are interested, please feel free to contact me in the comment box of this post, the c-box on the right side of this blog, or my e-mail address (tyflomets4life@yahoo.com).

Hurry up.. the draft is on February 24th @ 12:00 noon.

If you would like to join the league, but the draft time is not a good time for you, just ask and i may be able to change it.

Beltran fires back..

2008-02-17T11:12:00.005-05:00

Last spring in training camp, the Phillies shortstop - Jimmy Rollins - said something that pissed off most Mets fans. He said the Phillies were the team to beat in 2007. The worst part about it is, he was right. The Philadelphia Phillies won the division and went on to the post season, only to be swept. This year, its the Mets who are the team to beat. Who says? Carlos Beltran says.

When Carlos Beltran was asked about the division, he had this to say:

“With (Santana), I have no doubt we’re going to win our division. I have no doubt about that…So, this year, tell Jimmy Rollins we are the team to beat.”

Now tell me, who expected Carlos Beltran to say something like this? Not me. Usually, Carlos Beltran never talks with the media... that was Paul Lo Duca's job last year. It looks like Beltran is finally showing some leadership, and voicing his opinion. Now if only he could back it up like Jimmy Rollins did.

Lets take a look at the stats for Rollins and Beltran for the '06 and '07 seasons.
Rollins:
AVG-Runs-HR-3B-Hits-RBI-SB-OBP-SLG
2006: .277 127 25 9 191 83 36 .334 .478
2007: .296 139 30 20 212 94 41 .344 .531

Beltran:
AVG-Runs-HR-3B-Hits-RBI-SB-OBP-SLG
2006: .275 127 41 1 140 116 18 .388 .594
2007: .276 93 33 3 153 112 23 .353 .525

Now if Carlos Beltran had the same increase in numbers as Jimmy Rollins had his season stats for 2008 would look like this...

2008: .295 105 38 14 174 123 28 .363 .578

Now if Beltran had the same exact increase in numbers as Rollins, that is what his stats would look like at the end of this season. That would be an amazing season for Beltran, 38 homers and 123 RBI? This probably won't happen but maybe and hopefully, Beltran can back up his words and deliver another division championship and another World Series Championship back to Shea for the last time.

NL East: At a Glance.

2008-02-17T08:11:00.008-05:00

Philadelphia Phillies:
Manager: Charlie Manuel - 1st season
Last Season: 89-73 1st place
Training Site: Clearwater, FL.
Park: Bright House Networks Field
He's Here: RHP Brad Lidge, 3B Pedro Feliz, OF Geoff Jenkins, OF So Iguchi, INF Eric Bruntlett, RHP Chad Durbin
He's Outta Here: OF Aaron Rowand, OF Michael Bourn, 2B Tadahito Iguchi, RHP Geoff Geary, INF Abraham Nunez, RHP Jon Lieber, RHP Freddy Garcia

Outlook: The Phillies finally got a taste of the postseason, ending a 14-year drought by winning the NL East on the final day of the of the regular season. But Philadephia was swept in the division series by the Rockies. All-Star CF Rowand's loss might be bigger in the clubhouse than on the field.

New York Mets:
Manager: Willie Randolph - 4th season
Last Season: 88-74 2nd place
Training Site: Port St. Lucie, FL.
Park: Tradition Field
He's Here: LHP Johan Santana, C Brian Schneider, RF Ryan Church, OF Angel Pagan, RHP Matt Wise, RHP Ruddy Lugo, RHP Brian Stokes, RHP Steven Register, LHP Ricardo Rincon
He's Outta Here: LHP Tom Glavine, C Paul Lo Duca, RF Shawn Green, RHP Guillermo Mota, OF Lastings Milledge, RHP Aaron Sele, OF Carlos Gomez, RHP Phil Humber, OF David Newhan, C Sandy Alomar, 1B Jeff Conine, C Mike DiFelice, LHP Dave Williams

Outlook: It took nearly all the off-season for the Mets to make a big splash, but they landed the biggest pitching prize on the market. New York got Santana from the Twins for four prospects and signed the 2-time Cy Young Award winner to a $137.5 million, 6-year deal, a record for a pitcher. Now, the Mets have the durable ace they sorely lacked while chasing a pennant the past two years. The addition of Santana makes them an NL favorite and helps them move beyond last September's embarrassing collapse, when New York squandered a seven-game NL East lead with 17 to play and missed the playoffs.

Atlanta Braves:
Manager: Bobby Cox - 19th season
Last Season: 84-78 3rd place
Training Site: Kissimmee, FL.
Park: The Ballpark at Disney's Wide World of Sports
He's Here: LHP Tom Glavine, CF Mark Kotsay, RHP Jair Jurrjens, LHP Will Ohman, OF Josh Anderson, C Javy Lopez, INF Omar Infante
He's Outta Here: CF Andruw Jones, SS Egar Renteria, INF Willy Aybar, OF Willie Harris, RHP Jose Ascanio, RHP Oscar Villarreal, RHP Chad Paronto

Outlook: The Braves, 3rd in their division for the second straight year, tried to fix the rotation. Glavine is back and the team hopes for 200 IP and double digit wins from him behind John Smoltz and Tim Hudson. The team might not have to rely on Mike Hampton's comeback if Jarrjens, acquired from the Tigers for Renteria, makes the rotation, possibly pushing Chuck James to the fifth spot.

Washington Nationals:
Manager: Manny Acta - 2nd season
Last Season: 73-89 4th place
Training Site: Viera, FL.
Park: Space Coast Stadium
He's Here: C Paul Lo Duca, C Johnny Estrada, INF Aaron Boone, OF Lastings Milledge, Of Elijah Dukes, OF Rob Markowiak, Of Willie Harris, RHP Tyler Clippard
He's Outta Here: C Brian Schneider, OF Ryan Church, 1B/c Robert Fick, OF Nook Logan, INF Tony Batista, INF D'Angelo Jimenez, RHP Jason Simontacchi, RHP Jonathan Albaladejo

Outlook: Milledge could bring excitement to the the lineup, but otherwise the Nationals didn't add much this off-season. Their most expensive acquisition, Lo Duca, had nearly identical offensive stats as Schneider in 2007, and is sidelined for at least the start of spring training after a left knee operation.

Florida Marlins:
Manager: Fredi Gonzalez - 2nd season
Last Season: 71-91 5th place
Training Site: Jupiter, FL.
Park: Roger Dean Stadium
He's Here: LHP Andrew Miller, CF Cameron Maybin, OF Luis Gonzalez, C Mike Rabelo, LHP Mark Hendrickson, INF Dallas McPherson, INF Jose Castillo, INF Jorge Cantu
He's Outta Here: 3B Miguel Cabrera, LHP Dontrelle Willis, 1B Aaron Boone, RHP Armando Benitez, OF Joe Borchard, Of Reggie Abercrombie

Outlook:The Marlins must rebuild after yet another payroll purge, this one sending the teams's two most popular players - Cabrera, and Willis - packing to Detroit. Florida received six players in return, including top prospects Miller and Maybin. The Marlins hope the 22-year-old Miller is ready to jon a rotation that ranked last in the majors in ERA in 2007 after being ravaged by injuries.

Spring Training:At A Glance
AL East: At A Glance.
NL West: At A Glance

NL West: At a Glance.

2008-02-16T14:45:00.007-05:00

Arizona Diamondbacks:
Manager: Bob Melvin - 4th season
Last Season: 90-72 1st place
Training Site: Tucson, AZ.
Park: Tucson Electric Park
He's Here: RHP Dan Haren, RHP Chad Qualls, INF Chris Burke
He's Outta Here: 1B Tony Clark, RHP Livan Hernandez, RHP Jose Valverde, OF Jeff DaVanon, INF Alberto Callaspo

Outlook: The Diamondbacks return just about everyone from their surprise 2007 team that had the NL's best record and beat the Cubs in the division series before being sweep by Colorado in the NLCS. They bolstered their rotation greatly by acquiring Haren from Oakland. Brandon Lloyd takes over as closer from Valverde, traded to Houston after leading the majors with 47 saves last season. One of the biggest questions this spring is the recovery of 3B Chad Tracy from microfracture knee surgery. The team does have MArk Reynolds at 3B. Another question is how LHP Randy Johnson, now 44, comes back from another back surgery.

Colorado Rockies:
Manager: Clint Hurdle - 7th season
Last Season: 90-73 2nd place, Wild Card, NL Champions
Training Site: Tucson, AZ.
Park: Hi Corbett Park
He's Here: OF Scott Podsednik, 2B Marcus Giles, 2B Jayson Nix, RHP Kip Wells, RHP Luis Vizcaino
He's Outta: 2B Kaz Matsui, RHP LaTroy Hawkins, INF Jamey Carroll, RHP Jorge Julio, LHP Jeremy Affeldt

Outlook: The NL champion Rockies have just one position up for grabs at spring training, secondbase. They lost Matsui to Houston in free agency. Candidates include former 1st-round draft pick Nix, ex-SS Clint Barmes, corner prospect Ian Stewart, and free agent signee Giles

San Diego Padres:
Manager: Bud Black - 2nd season
Last Season: 89-74 3rd place
Training Site: Peoria, AZ.
Park: Peoria Stadium
He's Here: OF Jim Edmonds, 2B Tadahito Iguchi, LHP Randy Wolf, RHP Mark Prior, INF Robert Fick
He's Outta: OF Milton Bradley, OF Mike Cameron, 2B Marcus Giles, INF Geoff Blum, 3B Morgan Ensberg

Outlook: The Padres have top pitchers, but the big question will be whether their popgun offensive can keep the squad contending after San Diego fell one win short of the playoffs. Unanimous NL CyYoung winner Jake Peavy got a $52 million, 3-year contract extension, the biggest deal in club history. On the flip side, OF Brian Giles is coming off microfracture surgery on his right knee, and Edmonds is coming off a subpar season after shoulder and toe surgeries, although he is returning to his native Southern California. Wolf had shoulder surgery, but he's ready to go as opposed to Prior, who won't be ready until mid-to-late May after shoulder surgery.

Los Angels Dodgers:
Manager: Joe Torre - 1st season
Last Season: 82-80 4th place
Training Site: Vero Beach, FL.
Park: Holman Stadium
He's Here: OF Andruw Jones, C Gary Bennett, RHP Hiroki Kuroda, RHP Chan Ho Park, RHP Tanyon Sturtze
He's Outta: Manager Grady Little, OF Luis Gonzalez, C Mike Lieberthal, RHP DJ Houlton, RHP Roberto Hernandez, RHP Chin-hui Tsao, LHP David Wells, INF Olmedo Saenz, INF Shea Hillenbrand, INF Mark Sweeney

Outlook: After managing the Yankees to 4 World Series championships during his 12-year tenure, Torre should command everyone's respect. The addition of Jones, a 10-time Gold Glove winner, figures to add much needed power and better defense. The rotation should be improved after getting Japanese star Kuroda and the hoped-for return of RHP Jason Schmidt, who underwent season-ending surgery last June. C Russell Martin became an All-Star last year in his first full big-league season, 1B James Loney displayed star potential after being recalled from the minors June 10th, and young OF Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier could follow suit. Kemp, Ethier, and Juan Pierre will compete for the corner outfield spots, and verteran Nomar Garciaparra will battle rookie Andy LaRoche for the 3B job. Otherwise, the Dodgers seem pretty set.

San Francisco Giants:
Manager: Bruce Bochy - 2nd season
Last Season: 71-91 5th place
Training Site: Scottsdale, AZ.
Park: Scottsdale Stadium
He's Here: OF Aaron Rowand, RHP Keiichi Yabu
He's Outta: OF Barry Bonds, 3B Pedro Feliz, 1B Ryan Klesko, RHP Scott Munter, RHP Russ Ortiz

Outlook: The post-Bonds era begins in San Francisco after the team decided not to bring back the home run king for a 16th season. That leaves a big void in the middle of the lineup, but also removes a cloud of controversy that has followed the team in recent years. With Bonds gone, the focus in San Francisco is on pitching and defense.

Spring Traing: At a Glance
AL East: At a Glance.

Philadelphia Phillies: Off-season Report Card.

2008-02-16T08:19:00.003-05:00

Last season Jimmy Rollins proclaimed the Phillies the “team to beat.” And then they promptly went out and got swept by the Braves to open the season. But then they righted the ship. And then the Mets collapsed down the stretch. And then the Phillies won the NL East!

This season, the Phils were understood to be the favorites to win the division. They have guts. They have stick-to-it-iveness. They have moxie.But now the Mets have Johan Santana. And all of a sudden moxie seems like a not such a big deal.

Are the Phillies still the team to beat in 2008? No. Don’t be crazy. Johan Santana has shifted the balance of power in the NL East. But Phillies GM Pat Gillick made a few moves of his own this offseason.

First, Gillick traded a fourth outfielder and a couple of midlevel prospects for Astros closer Brad Lidge. This was a high risk, potentially high reward move. Lidge was once great. But he’s got a fragile psyche. How will he hold up in front of arguably the toughest fans in the game? That’s the million-dollar question. If he returns to elite status, the Phils will be in great shape. If he doesn’t, there’s no clear Plan B.

Acquiring Lidge enables the Phillies to move Brett Myers back into the rotation. Myers and Cole Hamels will be a formidable 1-2 punch. After them comes Kyle Kendrick, Jamie Moyer and … well, then it gets tricky.

Gillick signed SP Chad Durbin in the offseason. Durbin, who made 19 starts and 17 relief appearances last season for the Detroit Tigers, will compete with Adam Eaton for the fifth starter’s job but could find himself in the bullpen. Durbin has three times pitched in more than 20 games in a season (2001, 2004 and 2007) and he has not once kept his ERA under 4.00. Only twice did he keep it under 5.00, and that was just barely.

Next, Gillick signed Giants 3B Pedro Feliz (two years, $8.5 million), who is a prolific defensive player with some power and a propensity to swing and miss. He’ll help keep the ball in the infield. He should be most welcomed by second-year starter Kyle Kendrick, who is a ground ball pitcher and doesn’t record many strikeouts.

Third, the Phillies signed RF Geoff Jenkins (two-years, $13 million) who will platoon with Jayson Werth. Jenkins had a career-high 34 home runs and 94 RBIs in 2000 for Milwaukee, and he thinks he can replicate those numbers at homer-friendly Citizens Bank Park, surrounded by Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Burrell. But, realistically, he’s not going to get enough at bats to hit that many homers. For what it’s worth, Jenkins OBP has gone steadily down the last few years. But he’s a career .288 hitter against right-handed pitchers, so he should be an ideal platoon player.

The Jenkins acquisition and the loss of CF Aaron Rowand to free agency will move Shane Victorino to center.

Other moves you may have missed: The Phils traded for OF Chris Snelling. Though he missed most of last season with a knee injury, the 25-year-old has a .311 career average in the minors with 46 homers in 493 games. The team also acquired utility infielder Eric Bruntlett, who hit .246 with 14 RBIs last season, seeing time at shortstop, third base and the outfield.

The Phillies needed to upgrade their starting pitching and they did, by moving Myers to the rotation. They replaced Myers with Lidge. They replaced Rowand with Jenkins. And they upgraded at third base by signing Feliz. And yet all of this seems rather ho-hum when you consider the Phils still have Adam Eaton and the Mets have Johan Santana.

Key Additions:Brad Lidge, Geoff Jenkins, Pedro Feliz, Chad Durbin, So Taguchi, Eric Bruntlett, Chris Snelling

Key Losses:Aaron Rowand, Jon Lieber, Tadahito Iguchi, Kyle Lohse, Rod Barajas, Antonio Alfonseca, Jose Mesa, Michael Bourn, Geoff Geary, Abraham Nunez

Projected Lineup:

1. CF Shane Victorino
2. SS Jimmy Rollins
3. 2B Chase Utley
4. 1B Ryan Howard
5. LF Pat Burrell
6. RF Jayson Werth/Geoff Jenkins
7. 3B Pedro Feliz
8. C Carlos Ruiz
9. Pitcher

Projected Rotation:

SP Cole Hamels
SP Brett Myers
SP Kyle Kendrick
SP Jamie Moyer
SP Adam Eaton/Chad Durbin

Setup - JC Romero
Closer - Brad Lidge

GRADE = B+

Atlanta Braves: Off-season Reports Card
Florida Marlins: Off-season Reports Card

AL East: At a Glance.

2008-02-15T00:33:00.008-05:00

Boston Red Sox:
Manager: Terry Francona - 5th season
Last Season: 96-66, 1st place, World Series Champions
Training Site: Fort Myers, FL.
Park: City of Palms Park
He's Here: 1B Sean Casey, RHP Dan Kolb, RHP David Aardsma
He's Outta Here: 1B Eric Hinske, INF Royce Clayton

Outlook: The World Series winners two of the past four seasons stood pat and have several key young players who gained experience. Two of them, LHP Jon Lester and CF Jacoby Ellsbury, helped in the title run. 3B Mike Lowell, World Series MVP, returns with a new 3-year contract. Cy Young Award runner-up Josh Beckett and closer Jon Papelbon lead a strong pitching staff, but RHP Curt Schilling's shoulder injury is a major concern. Sluggers David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez are back as is rookie of the year Dustin Pedroia.

New York Yankees:
Manager: Joe Girardi - 1st season
Last Season: 94-68, 2nd place
Training Site: Tampa, FL.
Park: Legends Field
He's Here: RHP LaTroy Hawkins, 3B Morgan Ensberg, RHP Jonathan Albaladejo, OF Jason Lane
He's Outta: Manager Joe Torre, RHP Roger Clemens, RHP Luis Vizcaino, 1B Doug Mientkiewicz, INF Andy Phillips, LHP Ron Villone, RHP Tyler Clippard

Outlook: The Yankees earned their 13th playoff spot in row and then had a busy off-season. Torre left for the Dodgers after 12 years when the team offered him a one year deal with a pay cut. Former bench coach Girardi, the 2006 NL Manager of the Year with Florida, takes over. Star 3B Alex Rodriguez, after his 3rd AL MVP, is back with a new $275 million. 10-year contract that beat his pervious record deal. New York brought back C Jorge Posada, LHP Andy Pettitte, closer Mariano Rivera, and RF Bobby Abreu. Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, and Ian Kennedy, who were not traded for Johan Santana, could all be in the rotation. The bullpen bridge to Rivera still looks shaky. Health is a big concern for Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui, coming off knee surgery. If Jason Giambi doesn't play some 1B, the team may have a logjam at DH with the three aging lefty hitters.

Toronto Blue Jays:
Manager: John Gibbons - 5th season
Last Season: 83-79, 3rd place
Training Site: Dunedin, FL.
Park: Knology Stadium
He's Here: 3B Scott Rolen, SS David Eckstein, INF Marco Scutaro, OF Buck Coats, RHP Randy Wells, RHP Shawn Camp, RHP Lance Carter, LHP John Parrish
He's Outta: 3B Troy Glaus, RHP Josh Towers, RHP Ty Taubenheim, INF Ray Olmedo

Outlook: Injuries to key players hurt the Blue Jays in 2007, with AJ Burnett(shoulder), BJ Ryan(elbow), OF Reed Johnson(back), 1B Lyle Overbay(hand), C Gregg Zaun(hand), and LHP Gustavo Chacin(shoulder) all missing time. Vernen Wells played hurt though most of the season as well. Staying healthy is key for this team. Rolen and Eckstein give Toronto a new left side of the infield. Rolen may not help this team stay healthy.

Baltimore Orioles:
Manager: Dave Trembley - 1st full season
Last Season: 69-93, 4th place
Training Site: Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Park: Fort Lauderdale Stadium
He's Here: OF Adam Jones, LHP George Sherrill, OF Luke Scott, RHP Matt Albers, LHP Troy Patton, RHP Dennis Sarfate, 3B Michael Cosmier, RHP Greg Aquino, RHP Lance Cormier, RHP Esteban Yan, C Guillermo Quiroz, LHP Ryan Rodriguez, 1B Tim Brown, RHP JP Martinez, RHP Randor Bierd
He's Outta: LHP Erik Bedard, SS Miguel Tejada, CF Cory Patterson, OF Jay Payton, RHP Todd Williams, RHP Rob Bell, C JR House, RHP Victor Santos

Outlook: Club president Andy MacPhail has gotten youth for stars Tejada and Bedard. In the process, he has essentially sacrificed this and perhaps next season. The Orioles' first act is to fill out a thin starting rotation. They have no closer and no adequate replacement for Tejada, whose departure leaves a gaping hole at SS and the lineup. The O's are staring at extending their franchise record run of 10 straight losing seasons.

Tampa Bay Rays:
Manager: Joe Maddon - 3rd season
Last Season: 66-96, 5th place
Training Site: St. Petersburg FL.
Park: Progress Energy Park
He's Here: RHP Matt Garza, RHP Troy Percival, SS Jason Bartlett, 3B Willy Aybar, OF Cliff Floyd, LHP Trevor Miller, 1B Eric Hinske, LHP Brain Anderson
He's Outta: OF Delmon Young, OF Elijah Dukes, INF Brendan Harris, RHP Jay Witasick, LHP Jeff Ridgeway, RHP Shawn Camp

Outlook: The Rays lauched a busy off-season by dropping the word "Devil" from their nickname, unveiling new uniforms, and announcing plans to build a new waterfront stadium. The club also pulled off a big trade sending Young to Minnesota for Garza and Bartlett. Tampa Bay also got Aybar to hold down third.

Spring Traing: At a Glance.

Spring Training: At a Glance.

2008-02-14T01:16:00.004-05:00

Has anyone seen Santana without a smile on his face recently? You'd be smiling, too, if you left a second-tier team and signed a six-year, $137.5 million contract with a legitimate contender! Others in new uniforms include Torii Hunter(Angels), Jon Garland(Angels), Aaron Rowand(Giants), Brad Lidge(Phillies), Tom Glavine(Braves), Mark Kotsay(Braves), Dan Haren(Diamondbacks), Jose Valverde(Astros), Miguel Tejada(Astros), Miguel Cabrera(Tigers), Dontrelle Willis(Tigers), Nick Swisher(White Sox), Mark Prior(Padres), Jim Edmonds(Padres), Andruw Jones(Dodgers), Scott Rolen(Blue Jays), and Erik Bedard(Mariners).

Who's missing? As camps get set to open, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and Mike Piazza are all without jobs. If all four are indeed done, they will all make their debut on the 2013 Hall of Fame ballot.

Trade bait? Some teams are still looking for a starting pitcher, the Reds jump to mind. The A's might continue their organization restocking by dealing RHSP Joe Blanton this spring. The Cubs would love to move Jason Marquis, and the Brewers have a surplus of arms. The White Sox could deal Joe Crede, and the Phillies Wes Helms. The Orioles have been looking for a place to ship Brian Roberts, the Red Sox Coco Crisp and Pittsburgh could move Jason Bay.

Joe Torre leaves the Yankees after 12 straight trips to the postseason and four World Series titles for the Dodgers. Joe Girardi has some huges shoes to fill in the Bronx. The Reds test the waters with Dusty Baker, the Astros go with new skipper Cecil Cooper. The Royals gave Trey Hillman his first big league shot, while the Pirates clean house from top to bottom, their new manger is John Russell.

A few more imports join the majors in Japanese outfielder Kosuke Fokudome(Cubs), and Hiroki Kuroda will pitch for the Dodgers. The White Sox got Cuban infielder Alexei Ramirez.

Are three key pitchers ready or still rehabbing? Arizona's Randy Johnson had a second back surgery. The 5-time Cy Young winner needs only 16 wins for 300 on his career. If healthy, he'll join Brandon Webb, and newcomer Dan Haren in a strong 1-2-3 punch. Atlanta is counting on Mike Hampton finally being healthy after missing much of the last two seasons with a series of injuries. In Minnesota. Francisco Liriano is back after missing 2007 recovering from Tommy John surgery.

The 100 year wait continues...The Cubs haven't won a World Series in a century. Their last one came in 1908. Could this be the year?

Playing ball off in Asia. The Red Sox and A's will open the regular season with a two-game series in Tokyo on March 25-26. The Dodgers and Padres will play two exhibition games in China on March 15-16.

THE BOYS OF SUMMER ARE BACK! SO LETS PLAY BALL...

2008 Headlines to Watch For.

2008-02-12T23:03:00.007-05:00

HGH Testing:
The Mitchell report rocked the sports world back in December, 2007. More then 80 players were accused of steroid use. Baseball started cracking down on the use of performance-enhancing drugs after implementing testing and penalties this decade.

Human growth hormones are a banned substance, but baseball does not test for it, and cheaters continue to seek it out.

The MLB and the NFL ahve come together and contributed $500,000 each to a former UCLA scientist, Don Catlin, to aid his efforts to develop a urine test for HGH. While a blood test for HGH is available, both the players and the commissioner's office believe it's not reliable. But the union has said it would accept urine testing, meaning that Catlin's work is essential to the integrity of not just baseball but to all sports.

Bonds & Clemens:
I'm just as sick of hearing about thess two as the next guy, but it a story that must be watched. Barry Bonds has won more MVP awards than anyone in history. Roger Clemens has the most Cy Young awards. Yet this off-season no team has called on him.

Bonds could face up to 30 years in prison on 4 charges of perjury and one obstruction of justice charge. Clemens could soon be faceing charges of his own.

Neither player has announced his retirement, but both have more pressing issues!

Fairly or not, they are the face of steroids in the majors now.

New ballparks in New York:
The 2008 All-Star game visits Yankee Stadium for a final goodbye. This is the last season at for the Yankees at their venerable stadium, just as it is for the Mets at not-so-venerable Shea stadium in Queens. The teams will leave behind a combined 131 years of history at their old homes.

The house that Ruth built has the richest history in the majors. Yankees stadium is holy ground, the site of some of the most memorable moments in sports history. Shea had its moments too. Three World Series have ended there and the Beatles nearly brought the place down in 1965.

Shea stadium will become a parking lot for the new Citi Feild, Yankee stadium, the shell will fall, but the field will remain ensuring that baseball will still be played.

Youth Movement Taking Over:
Baseball has found new power sources over the last two seasons. In 2006 Ryan Howard exploded for 58 home runs after hitting 22 the year before. Last season Prince Fielder improved from 28 homers to 50. Both were in their third season.

So what young stars will break through this season? Two candidates are Delmon Young and Alex Gordon, the tools are there. And now the opportunity is as well. Young batted in 93 runs. Gordon hit .285 with 12 homers and 52 RBIs over his last 98 games.

The best young arms in the AL in 2007 were all under 30. Cy Young winner CC Sabathia (27), while strong arguments were made for the second place and third place finishers, Josh Beckett(27) and John Lackey(29). Fausto Carmona(24), Erik Bedard(28), and Justin Verlander(24) also got Cy Young votes in 2007. Verlander is 35-15 through the first two years of his career, and already has a no-hitter on his resume.

Over the last three years the NL MVP has been under 30. 2005 Pujols was 25, 2006 Howard was 26 and last season Rollins was 28. Those victories made it three in a row for a 20-something MVP winner. Only two other times in the past 25 years have we seen three straight NL MVPs in their 20's. In 1983-85 with Dale Murphy, Ryan Sandberg and Willie McGee and again in 1992-94 with Bonds winner back-to-back and Jeff Bagwell. If you look at the top 10 finishers in the MVP voting, the average age was 26 the last two years. David Wright, Prince Fielder, Jose Reyes, and Hanley Ramirez all recieved MVP votes in either 2006 and/or 2007 and all are under 25 year of age.

The NL has many other young and raising stars, like Troy Tulowitzki, Ryan Zimmerman, Brain McCann, Ryan Braun, and Hunter Pence. As does the AL in Scott Kazmir, Felix Hernandez, Jon Papelbon, Houston Street ,and Nick Markakis

Spring Is on The Way? Oh Yes It Is...

2008-02-11T12:21:00.000-05:00

There is snow on the ground,and -0 wind chills here in the Northeast, but there is magic in the air. Pitchers and catchers for the New York Mets officially report on Friday, and you know what that means.

Baseball is back! Oh yeah and the Mets traded for Johan Santana. Can life get any better?

So, what do we make of this year’s version of the Mets? A starting rotation filled with Santana, a few old guys (Pedro & Hernandez), and a few young kids coming off a career year and posting a 15 win season apiece(Maine & Perez). A bullpen filled with, well, filled with … umm … who knows what it’s filled with. There are about 812 guys vying for the a bullpen spot. A manager who will be on the hot seat and on a short leash. It's a superstar-laden lineup, yet a few aging players that may or may not be counted on to match the production of the past couple of seasons. And Jeff Wilpon calling more of the shots as each year passes.

Yes, definitely lots and lots of questions about this team. As the NY Post points out.

How effective will Pedro Martinez be? My take, Pedro will be effective, but don't over project his numbers. I would think Pedro gets about 25 starts for 150 IPs and a 12-5 record. His ERA should still be below 4.00, closing to a 3.50 ERA. Think less and be happy if you get more!

What will Santana's first spring training be like? My take, I could care less what he does in spring training as long as he comes to Queens healthy!

Will Santana be overwhelmed in New York City? Here is the key. Does Santana handle the New York media well, or does he fall to the pressure like Carlos Beltran did in his first year. I think Santana will hold his own, he seemed to handle the media well this winter in regards to all the trade talks.

Is Duaner Sanchez ready to go? My take don't count on him, if he gives us anything at all decent, it will be a positive. Don't even think you're getting the 2006 Sanchez

Who is the 5th starter? Hernandez will start the season as the #5 starter. I would like to see Pelfrey in AAA for a full year, but I think he does a lot of traveling between New Orleans, and Queens.

How will other newcomers besides Santana fare? Schneider had nearly identical offensive stats as Lo Duca in 2007. Lo Duca was better but not by as much as fans think. Schneder is a much better back stop as well. Church will put up solid numbers, but he lacks that fire that Milledge brought to the fans.

Who might emerge as a surprise? My take, it's going to be Scott Schoeneweis. He avoided a 15 game suspension by MLB for his link to HGH. He has never been a very good relief pitcher, but he should be healthy this year. He'll improve on his 2007 numbers, can't get much worst can he...Matt Wise is another to keep an eye on as the pen comes together this spring.

And the DAILY NEWS adds questions like:
Will Willie Randolph tighten the reins? I don't think we'll see a huge difference in the way Willie handles the players. Entering his 4th season as the Mets manager he should start to make better game time decisions. He has 2 years left on his contract, anything short of playing in October and his gets his pink slip!

Can Delgado bounce back? Look for Delgado to return to his 2006 self. Another year like 2007 and he too will be looking for another job.

Are Brian Schneider and Ryan Church really better than LoDuca and Milledge? Offensively no, defensively yes, in the club house much better.

All of these questions will start to be answered when pitchers and catchers report on Friday Febuary 15th. First workout is Saturday Febuary 16th. Position player report on Wednesday Febuary 20th and the first full team workout out is Thursday Febuary 21st.

The Mets train at Tradition Field in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Capacity: 7,800
Year Opened: 1988
Dimensions: LF=338 feet, CF=410 feet, RF=338 feet
Surface: Grass
Tradition Field is the former Thomas J. White Stadium; naming rights were sold when the Mets and the county embarked on a renovation for Spring Training 2004.

What's odd: One thing survived the renovation. Bats, the St. Lucie Bat House. In the past bats were a huge problem in Thomas J. White Stadium, so the county hired a bat expert to bat-proof the stadium. To give the bats an alternate place to live -- since, after all, it would have been cruel to bat-proof the stadium and leave hundreds, if not thousands, of bats homeless -- St. Lucie County constructed a bat house 14 feet off the ground with 160 chambers for hanging bats. The county says that between 10,000 and 15,000 bats can live comfortably in the St. Lucie Bat House. To find it, head to the east entrance to the stadium and follow the signs.

The New York Mets have had only two spring-training venues in team history: St. Petersburg's Al Lang Field (1962-1987) and Port St. Lucie (1988-present).

Florida Marlins: Off-season Report Card.

2008-02-11T09:48:00.000-05:00

The Marlins only really made one move this offseason, but it was a huge one, shipping Dontrelle Willis AND Miguel Cabrera in the same deal to the Detroit Tigers for prospects Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, Burke Badenhop, Eulogio De La Cruz, and Dallas Trahern, and Mike Rabel.

The deal has been talked about for months as one of the best trades made in years, but of course everyone means from the Tigers’ perspective. From the Marlins’ perspective, this is an abominable trade, so bad you almost feel like Marlins fans should be able to sue the team for some sort of breach of fiduciary duties

First of all, there is the overwhelming feeling you get that the Marlins would almost certainly have gotten far more in return if they had traded Willis and Cabrera in separate deals, most likely to two separate teams. Both were marquee names, both could have been expected to have a large market, and Miguel Cabrera is probably one of the 5 best players in the entire game right now. The only two words that could adequately describe the feeling around the baseball world when word came down that both players had been traded to a single team in the same deal was, “absolute shock.

Second of all, is the players the Marlins actually got in return. Centerfielder Cameron Maybin and lefty starting pitcher Andrew Miller were supposed to be the centerpieces of this deal, but both players are still extremely raw, and if the Marlins have any sense they will start them both at Double-A this year (note: it is unclear whether the Marlins have any sense). I mean, if these were dominant Triple-A players on the verge of major-league stardom, then that would be one thing, but there is a lot that players have left to learn if they are going to make the show from Double-A, so while Maybin and Miller have upside and projectability, they are as of yet nobody’s idea of “can't miss.” Meanwhile, the other three pitchers are all C-grade prospects, and catcher Mike Rabelo is nobody’s idea of a prospect at all.

But thirdly, and this is where my own opinion comes in, above and beyond the general consensus that this was a bad deal by the Marlins, I can't help thinking that what makes this deal so shameful and regrettable is that the Marlins actually had a pretty good shot to contend this year, with just a few moves.

What’s that, I hear you saying. Did he just say that the Marlins could have contended this season?

Well, yeah, actually. I'm sure the Marlins front office probably looked at their 71 wins last year and decided this team had no hope, and that they might as well shave an extra few million bucks off their payroll by dumping Willis and Cabrera. But I submit to you that if they had kept Willis and Cabrera, who are still relatively cheap, the Marlins would really only have been a few players away from being a serious menace in the NL East.

For one thing, the Marlins have a lineup stacked with young players making the major league minimum who are all still on the upswing side of their young careers. Second, the Marlins could have easily improved their defense dramatically, with a few moves. Last year, Hanley Ramirez, Dan Uggla, and Miguel Cabrera were woeful defensively at their respective positions. But if you simply moved Cabrera to first, Uggla to third, Ramirez to second, and found even an average defensive shortstop, you would suddenly have a vastly improved infield defense.

Thirdly, the only real hole in the Marlins’ lineup last season was in centerfield, which was exactly the position with the most free agents to choose from this offseason. The Marlins may not have been too inclined to jump into the Torii Hunter or Aaron Rowand sweepstakes, but with only a $30 million payroll last year, they easily could have afforded to go after Mike Cameron. And an even better idea would have been to make a trade for Boston’s Coco Crisp.

With a powerful young lineup headlined by Cabrera, Hanley Ramirez, Dan Uggla, Josh Willingham, and Jeremy Hermida, the Marlins would have put up a ton of runs, and a promising young rotation led by Willis (who was bound to improve on a down year) would have benefited greatly from an improved defense. Meanwhile, the Marlins bullpen is actually a secret source of strength: now that last years disasters Armando Benitez and Jorge Julio have been shown the way to the exit, the pen can be fully turned over to respectable closer Kevin Gregg (3.54, 32 SV), and extremely promising young arms Lee Gardiner (1.94 ERA last year), Henry Owens (1.96), Matt Lindstrom (3.04), Justin Miller (3.65), Renyel Pinto (3.68), and closer-in-training Taylor Tankersley (3.99).

So by my count, all the Marlins would have needed to do this offseason to field a very competitive team this offseason would have been to acquire a centerfielder, a cheap defensive-oriented shortstop (such as Cesar Izturis or Adam Everett), and a reliable 5th starter who could eat innings while Rick Vanden Hurk develops a bit more polish and Anibel Sanchez heals from surgery (Livan Hernandez?). Also, they should have resigned starting catcher Miguel Olivo, who doesn't walk enough, but is strong defensively and has some good power, and would have only cost a few million at most (he wound up signing a one-year deal with the Royals). That is literally all they would have needed, as the lineup, rotation and bullpen would have been totally set everywhere else, and set with young players who are actually good, and pretty much all have upside left.

Of course, enacting this plan would have required that the Marlins actually care about winning anymore, rather than just whining about having no stadium deal. But clearly, winning is not a priority.

Offseason Grade: F

Additions: Luis Gonzalez, Mark Hendrickson, Dallas McPherson, Mike Rabelo, Andrew Miller, Cameron Maybin

Losses: Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis, Miguel Olivo, Armando Benitez, Aaron Boone, Byung-Hyun Kim, Joe Borchard, Wes Obermueller

Projected Lineup:
SS Hanley Ramirez
2B Dan Uggla
RF Jeremy Hermida
LF Josh Willingham
1B Mike Jacobs
3B Dallas McPherson
CF Alfredo Amezaga
C Mike Rabelo

Projected Rotation & Closer:
LHP Scott Olson
RHP Sergio Mitre
RHP Ricky Nolasco
LHP Andrew Miller
LHP Mark Hendrickson

CL Kevin Gregg

Atlanta Braves: Off-season Report Card.

Karl Ehrhardt AKA "The Sign Man" Passes On.

2008-02-10T10:00:00.000-05:00

Karl "The Sign Man" Ehrhardt (Feb. 7,1924 - Feb. 7, 2008) died Thursday. Ehrhardt was one of the New York Mets most visible fans, and an icon at Shea Stadium during the team's rocky start through the 1960's. Several times during games, Ehrhardt held up large signs with sayings that reflected the Mets' performance on the field, and echoed the fans sentiment off of it. Ehrhardt wasn't afraid to criticize the team's front office of the times, once holding up a sign labelling Shea Stadium as "Grant's Tomb", referring to the team's miserable play, and M. Donald Grant, the team Vice President.

Karl Ehrhardt was a fixture at Mets games from 1964 through 1981, famous for holding up tailored signs after key plays that displayed his pleasure or frustration with the team from his box seat behind third base at Shea Stadium.

Ehrhardt was born in Unterweissbach, Germany. He moved to the United States when he was six years old and later served as a translator for U.S. forces during World War II.

He graduated from the Pratt Institute with a design art degree after the war and worked for American Home Foods.

A commercial artist from Queens who grew up in Brooklyn rooting for the Dodgers, Ehrhardt said he "adopted the Mets" in 1962, the year the franchise was born, five years after the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles.

When Shea Stadium opened in 1964, the Sign Man set up shop, running his business of baseball barbs from a box seat behind the third-base dugout. Long before television coverage and giant scoreboards became littered with never-ending distractions, the Sign Man was the only sideshow in town.

He took roughly 60 signs to each game; he once owned as many as 1,200, but only 12 remain. The letters were white paper spray-glued onto black cardboard measuring 20 inches high and 26 inches wide.

He is survived by a daughter, a son and two grandchildren.

Fantasy Baseball anyone?

2008-02-09T12:19:00.000-05:00

If anyone would like to join my private baseball league on MLB.com, please feel free to contact me in the comment box of this post, the c-box on the right side of this blog, or my e-mail address (tyflomets4life@yahoo.com).

Binghamton Mets to have a Party.

2008-02-09T11:57:00.000-05:00

Over on NYFuturestars.com they had the following report. I thought I would repeat that information here on Mets4life.
The Binghamton Mets will officially end their winter hibernation with a free party for area baseball fans on Tuesday night, February 12th at Broome County’s Forum Theater in downtown Binghamton on Washington Street.

The doors will swing open at 5:30 pm with free hot dogs, popcorn and soft drinks. Fans will have a chance to try out two new additions to the B-Mets Kids’ Zone while re-connecting with front office staffers and fellow baseball aficionados. Pocket schedules will be available for the first time.

At 7 o’clock, all in attendance will settle into the main theater as we look back at the memorable 2007 season. Then, team officials will unveil the 2008 promotional schedule and update B-Mets faithful on upcoming events and preparations for the season opener on April 3rd.

As the excitement builds among Mets fans in Binghamton and New York with the opening of spring training camp, the evening will feature a special screening of the New York Mets 1986 World Championship DVD.

This event is open to all media. For additional information, please call the B-Mets offices at (607) 723-6387.

Baseball Back in the LA Coliseum!

2008-02-09T10:33:00.000-05:00

In honor of the 50th anniversary of their move to Los Angeles, the Dodgers are going to play the Red Sox in an exhibition game on March 29 in the historic Los Angeles Coliseum, which was originally built for the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics and was the home of the Dodgers for four seasons from when they moved to LA in 1958 until Dodger Stadium opened in 1962.

Baseball games at the Coliseum are of course famous for having a ridiculous short left-field line. It was 258 feet back in the 1950s, and is going to be even shorter than that this time around. Back in the day, they had a 42 foot mesh screen out in left field to compensate, but even so, it was still pretty easy to hit homers, and lefthanded Dodgers outfielder Wally Moon famously adjusted his swing to poke inside-out homers down the short left-field line, which became affectionately known as “Moon Shots.”

One hundred percent of proceeds from the game go to “ThinkCure,” a new charity founded by the Dodgers to fund cancer research, and modeled after the Red Sox’ Jimmy Fund, continuing the McCourt’s quest to turn the Dodgers into Red Sox West. Still it is a good cause, and the McCourts are going to match donations up to $1 million dollars, so I can’t really say anything bad about this event.

We get to see baseball in the Coliseum again after all these years, it’s Dodgers-Red Sox, and all the money goes to charity. Now that is just cool all around.

The Fleece Factor: Mets Preview

2008-02-08T15:01:00.000-05:00

Mr Fleece worked hard on his most recent post at his site. His last post happens to be about the Mets. Its a 2008 preview to be exact.. heres a sneak peak...

"1B: Carlos Delgado (L) - In my opinion, Delgado could be the key for the 2008 New York Mets. He struggled for a large majority of last season. He hit .258 with hit lowest OBP since he became a full-time player in the majors (it was .333). He failed to make adjustments, and looked slow at the plate. He did not reach the 30-homer mark for the first time since 1996. Is he simply aging? Or were there some injuries he could have been battling? Either way, a bounce-back 2008 at age 36 will be key in how far the Mets are able to go in 2008. He has a club-option for 2009 with the Mets, so he could play this upcoming season like a contract year. At least the Mets’ fans hope so."

Head over to Fleece Factor for a preview of the rest of the entire Mets team..

Is Johan Santana Overpaid?

2008-02-07T21:57:00.000-05:00

YES! Johan Santana is overpaid. Now I'm not saying that I don't want him on this team but, take a look at this article from SI.com. In the Article, Tom Veriducci wrote this...

"Friday, five minutes before the initial deadline to their contract negotiations. With the two sides just $5 million apart, Santana personally informed Mets owner Fred Wilpon that he was walking away from $135 million, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations."

So the deal breaker is $5 million dollars?! Are you kidding me? I guess $135 million wasn't enough to support his family... The Mets and Johan finally agreed on $137.5 million but Johan was very greedy to ask for $5 million more. Also, I usually root for the more humble type players like David Wright, but Johan seems very cocky to me..

For Example, Johan said this...

"I told you I wasn't backing off my number ($140 Million)," Santana told Fred Wilpon. "I appreciate your offer, but I'm passing on it."

Wilpon replied, "I've been in business a long time. That's a lot of money to walk away from."

"No disrespect to you," Santana said. "But I deserve it. I'll just go back and pitch and I'll get it later. Alex Rodriguez is the highest paid player in the game. I'm the best pitcher. I'm not even asking for that [Rodriguez] kind of money."

I deserve it? Nobody deserves $140 million to play baseball. Period. Baseball salaries are severely inflated.. and the players are losing their loyalty and I'm starting to lose respect for them...

Is Curt Schilling Done?

2008-02-07T15:24:00.000-05:00

Curt Schilling has a shoulder injury. And according to reports, it’s more serious than the injury that caused him to miss 7 weeks last season.

Curt Schilling has visited Dr. Craig Morgan, who performed surgery on his shoulder in 1995. Sources have told reporters in Boston that Morgan feels Schilling needs surgery, while the Red Sox would like him to rehab his shoulder without surgery.

The sources also say that the Red Sox have inquired about voiding his contract, which calls for a base pay of $8 million with several more million in incentives. Obviously, Schilling does not want his contract voided.

At this point, the injury is believed to be a rotator cuff or labrum tear. Surgery would end Schilling’s year, almost certainly. And he’s said this is definitely his last year.

Neither Schilling nor the Red Sox have publicly commented on the injury or the dispute as of yet, which is an ominous sign. If Schill had just visited Dr. Morgan to say “Aah,” he would have no doubt quickly released a statement to quash these rumors.

Schilling had a physical before he and the Sox inked this deal. Did they miss something? Or did he hurt his shoulder doing something non-baseball related?

...Update...

According to MLBTR,

Schilling has opted for rehab rather than surgery, as decided by a third party doctor. Boston's doctor advised rehab, while one of Schilling's advised surgery. It's a partial rotator cuff tear, and it'll keep Schilling out until at least the All-Star break.

This is not really a HUGE break for the Red Sox simply because they have depth at the SP position. Heres their rotation without Schilling..

Josh Beckett
Daisuke Matsuzaka
Tim Wakefield
Jon Lester
Clay Buchholz

Still pretty solid, and better than the Yankees rotation at this point...

Baseball Prospectus: Top 11 Mets Prospects

2008-02-07T15:15:00.000-05:00

In Kevin Goldstein's most recent article, he did a write up about the Mets top 11 prospects. As of right now, a lot of scouts and prospect guru's think that the Mets and Astros have the worst two minor league systems around.

Five-Star Prospects
None
Four-Star Prospects
1. Fernando Martinez, OF
Three-Star Prospects
2. Jon Niese, LHP
3. Eddie Kunz, RHP
4. Wilmer Flores, SS
5. Brant Rustich, RHP
Two-Star Prospects
6. Nathan Vineyard, LHP
7. Scott Moviel, RHP
8. Bobby Parnell, RHP
9. Dan Murphy, 3B
10. Ruben Tejada, SS/2B
11. Stephen Clyne, RHP

Just Missing: Nick Carr, RHP; Nick Evans, 1B; Francisco Pena, C

I wouldn't be surprised if one of the two or three star prospects busted out onto the scene and became a 5 star prospect next year. It happened with Deolis Guerra who was ranked as an "average prospect" in last years edition of the Mets top 11 prospects. Now, Deolis Guerra is the top prospect in the Twins system.

Our system could be one of the top systems in a few years.. this is all depending on the Latin scouting and signing department and the upcoming draft in June. If Omar and Co. can use our 3 first round picks wisely, maybe we can steal another David Wright or Albert Pujols...

If anyone has a subscription to Baseball Prospectus, please feel free to share what else Kevin Goldstein said in his post. You can contact me at my e-mail address (tyflomets4life@yahoo.com) if you would like to share.

Nationals Set to Open New Ballpark.

2008-02-07T02:55:00.000-05:00

The Washington Nationals will open the 2008 season in a new 41,222 seat state-of-the-art ballpark in southeast Washington D.C. along the Anacostia River, called (for now) Nationals Park. They leave behind the pitcher-friendly confines of RFK Stadium, which was their home for the past three seasons.

The new $611 million park will feature outfield walls that are closer to home plate. The distances are more favorable to hitter. The configuration are as followed:

Nationals Park:
Left Field = 336 ft.
Left Center = 377 ft.
Center Field = 403 ft.
Right Center = 370 ft.
Right Field = 335 ft.

RFK Stadium:
Left Field = 335 ft.
Left Center = 380 ft.
Center Field = 410 ft.
Right Center = 380 ft.
Right Field = 335 ft.

So you see the biggest difference is in right center and center field, but that's not the only difference. The walls at Nationals Park are 8 1/2 feet high except in right center field where they will be 14 feet high. The walls at RFK were 12 feet high except for left field where they were 8 feet high.

In Addition, the foul territory is just about gone at Nationals Park. Seating is up to 17 feet closer to the infield. This makes a difference to hitters in that foul balls that would have been caught for outs at RFK will now fall into the stands.

To play devil advocate for a minute. Petco Park in San Diego was designed to be more hitter friendly then Qualcomm Stadium. Petco Park became more pitch-friendly, and is now without question the most pitcher friendly park in all of baseball.

Other Quick facts on Nationals Park:
-Grass surface
-First Game is March 30, 2008 against the Atlanta Braves.

League Roundup

2008-02-06T21:03:00.000-05:00

Lets see what has happened around the MLB within the past few days...

The Marlins have signed OF Luis Gonzalez to a 2-year deal. They also signed 3B Dallas Mcpherson to a 1-year pact.

Former Met, C Johnny Estrada signed a 1-year deal with the Nationals.

The Red Sox signed 1B Sean Casey to a 1-year deal.

The Rays have signed relief pitcher Trevor Miller and Eric Hinske to 1-year deals.

The Detroit Tigers signed CF Curtis Granderson to a 5-year contract extension, worth a reported $30.25 million, and includes a club option for a 6th season; the contract buys out 1st year of free agency.

There is your roundup. If you're bored, vote on the new poll.. or look at the following video, good stuff.

They've got my vote for American Idol.

Mark Kotsay: Worst starting CF in the game?

2008-02-06T20:55:00.000-05:00

According to Dayn Perry, that very statement is true. Along with Mark Kotsay, Perry listed the worst starting players at every position.. heres a sneak peak..

C- Jason Kendall (Brewers)
1B- Kevin Millar (Orioles)
2B- Ray Durham (Giants)
3B- Rich Aurilia (Giants)
SS- Omar Vizquel (Giants)
LF- Juan Pierre (Dodgers)
CF- Mark Kotsay (Braves)
RF- Mark Teahan (Royals)

There are 3 Giants on that list.. Man, I'd hate to be a San Fransisco Giants fan. Also according to Perry, Paul Lo Duca is a close second to Kendall... check out this article, its a fun read.

Santana Introduced To Met Fans.

2008-02-06T15:26:00.000-05:00

Today, Johan Santana emerge from the bowels of Shea Stadium, awkwardly sporting a new jersey over a shirt and tie. He will then pose with the requisite corporate participants, smiling as if he loves press conferences, finally capping what was an overly dramatic ordeal for fans and the team alike.

And then it was over, and the Mets, despite sealing an amazing deal, still enter the spring with some questions. So, let’s do another hypothetical Q&A.

Who is going to be the Mets’ #5 starter?
It’s unreal that the Mets can still have rotation questions after trading for Johan Santana. Right now, the top four are cemented, with Santana, Martinez, Maine and Perez. The five hole will be a spring training decision with Pelfrey, El Duque or even an unnamed free agent to fill the gap.

Many fans are calling for the Mets to continue spending, and sign someone like Livan Hernandez (decent possibility) or Kyle Lohse (not quite as decent). Both of these men would fill the spot admirably, but will also require considerable financial and contractual commitments.
My guess? Duque starts the season, takes his usual mid-summer nap, gets replaced by a rejuvenated Pelfrey and remains in the ‘pen for the duration of his contract.

Are the Mets really the favorites to win the NL East again, now that they have Johan Santana?
In a word, no. In five words, not until they beat Philly. The addition of Johan Santana immediately strengthens the rotation by shifting everyone down a slot, but he can only help them once every five games. And even though he’s making $2478 per hour for the next seven years, common sense says we can't use him any more than originally planned.

The Mets have a much better chance of regaining their position atop the division than they did two weeks ago, but it’s not like Philly and Atlanta haven't improved, either. Nothing is guaranteed.

What is the one move you think the Mets should have made, but didn't?
There are a lot of moves the Mets could - and should - have made, but as we know, trades are more like dominoes than playing cards. If there’s any area that needed to be addressed, it was the right field spot. And Omar did address it by picking up Ryan Church, but one can't help but wonder if some of our trade chips should have gone to obtaining Jason Bay or Xavier Nady.

Former Commissioner On Cheaters.

2008-02-05T16:27:00.000-05:00

In a rare TV interview, U.S. Olympic Committee chairman and former Major League Baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth said that if baseball superstars Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are proven to have used performance-enhancing drugs they should be stricken from the record books.
Appearing Thursday with Neil Cavuto on Fox Business Network, Ueberroth said he is opposed to asterisks or any other disclaimers when chronicling baseball's records.

“If Barry Bonds has proven to use steroids he should, in my view, be stricken from the record book. No asterisk," said Ueberroth, MLB commissioner from 1984-89. "You don't need an asterisk for someone who cheats. So, if he is a cheater, you should wipe him out. … If someone cheated, they don't deserve their records. They don't deserve to be in any kind of Hall of Fame. … If they cheated [Bonds and Roger Clemens] — history."

Peter Ueberroth served as the 6th commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1989. During the course of his stint as commissioner, Ueberroth reinstated Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle, who had been banned from working for Major League Baseball by Kuhn because of their associations with gambling casinos. He also suspended numerous players because of cocaine use, and initiated the investigation against Pete Rose's betting habits.

Mets new Top 10 Prospects

2008-02-04T15:39:00.000-05:00

Over at Amazin Avenue, they did a post about the newly formed edition of the Mets Top 1o Prospects. They went in-depth and did a very good job with this. Here you go.

1. Fernando Martinez, OF, DOB: 10/10/1988 (Age: 19)

Somehow the Mets managed to hang onto their best prospect while still acquiring the best pitcher in baseball. The inclusion of Martinez in the deal would have made it tough to swallow, I think. Not that I wouldn't still be excited about Santana, but there's a lot to love about Martinez and I would really like to see him develop into a star with the Mets.

Martinez hit .271/.336/.377 in 236 at-bats with Double-A Binghamton last season as an 18-year-old. Those numbers may not seem terribly spectacular, but you have to remember that Martinez put them up in a league where the average age was better than 25. He figures to be a low Top-15 prospect in all of baseball once the 2008 rankings come out.

2. Jon Niese, LHP, DOB: 10/27/1986 (Age: 21)

Jon Niese is a lefty who pitched in A-ball last season. With their top two minor league starters en route to Minnesota, Niese becomes the Mets' top pitching prospect. He had very strong peripherals in 2007 (110 strikeouts, 31 walks, 9 homeruns in 134.1 innings) but a nothing-special 4.29 ERA. His BABIP was an absurd .346 last season, so that should come down a bit. Look for him to start the year in Double-A.

3. Eddie Kunz, RHP, DOB: 4/8/1986 (Age: 21)

Kunz was the closer for Oregon State before the Mets selected him with the 42nd overall pick last year (compensation for losing Roberto Hernandez). He appeared in twelve games with the Brooklyn Cyclones last year, stinking up the joint to the tune of a 6.75 ERA over 12.0 innings. He allowed only eight hits and no homeruns, but he walked eight while striking out nine. One of the walks was intentional, the rest presumably unintentional. Not much of a sample to go on here, but expect him to begin 2008 in A-ball Savannah.

4. Brant Rustich, RHP, DOB: 1/23/1985 (Age: 23)

Rustich was a second rounder last June out of UCLA. He allowed just six hits and a walk while striking out ten in 10.1 innings with Kingsport (Rookie). He continued pitching well after earning a promotion to Brooklyn, posting a 2.13 ERA and allowing just five baserunners (four hits) in 12.2 innings. Two of the four hits were homeruns. He should be teammates with Kunz next year in Savannah.

5. Joe Smith, RHP, DOB: 3/22/1984 (Age: 23)

Joe Smith got off to a great start with the Mets last year after making the big club out of spring training. He struck out 45 batters in 44.1 innings but allowed 69 baserunners over that span (48 hits, 21 walks, 7 HBP). The result was a crummy 1.56 WHIP and a better-than-it-should-have-been ERA of 3.45. With Duaner Sanchez possibly ready by Opening Day and Matt Wise signing a big league deal with the club a couple of months ago, Smith may be ticketed for Triple-A when camp breaks in April.

6. Nick Evans, 1B, DOB: 1/30/1986 (Age: 22)

Evans was slated to play winter ball in Hawaii this offseason but was kept out after the Mets found that he had a stress fracture in his right hand. They are hopeful that he will be ready to roll for spring training.

Evans hit an impressive .286/.374/.476 with St. Lucie last season. He annihilated lefties to the tune of .343/.431/.576, but he'll have to do better than .263/.355/.435 against righties if he has any chance to make it all the way to the bigs. He's already as far to the left of the defensive spectrum as he can be without becoming a full-time DH, so clearly his bat is going to be his ticket. His plate discipline has been impressive, and if he can add some bulk to his 6'2" frame (he's listed at 180 pounds) then he may develop the power necessary to be a big leaguer some day.

7. Stephen Clyne, RHP, DOB: 9/22/1984 (Age: 23)

Clyne was drafted out of Clemson in the third round last year, 123rd overall. Baseball America's Aaron Fitt says that he "has a funky arm action but decent stuff out of the pen, with a 90-92 mph fastball with tailing life and a slightly above-average slider in the 82-85 range". He notched a 2.05 ERA in 26.1 innings with Brooklyn last year, striking out 30 but allowing 19 walks. He's another decent relief prospect in the Mets' system and should wind up -- let me know if this sounds familiar -- with Savannah in 2008.

8. Scott Moviel, RHP, DOB: 5/7/1988 (Age: 19)

Moviel was taken 77th overall last year out of Saint Edward High School (OH) and tossed 40 innings with the GCL Mets (Rookie). He struck out 37 and walked just 11, posting a 3.38 ERA. Per Jim Callis, Moviel is a "6-foot-10, 245-pounder whose stuff keeps getting better. He could be a monster in a couple of years."

9. Brahiam Maldonado, OF, DOB: 9/18/1985 (Age: 22)

Maldonado hit .310/.349/.500 with Savannah (A) last year, showing good power if unspectacular strike zone judgment (79 strikeouts to just 19 walks in 306 at-bats). He will start the season in St. Lucie (High-A), and if his power carries over and he can improve his plate discipline he could move up this list posthaste.

10. Nathan Vineyard, LHP, DOB: 10/3/1988 (Age: 19)

Yet another 2007 draftee, Vineyard was taken 47th overall out of Woodland High School (GA), just five picks after Eddie Kunz. Mostly a starter with the GCL Mets last year, Vineyard struck out 33 batters to just nine walks in 27.1 innings. He also gave up four homeruns in that span, largely accounting for his bloated 5.27 ERA. He isn't an extreme flyball pitcher, so we'll see if the homeruns were just a small sample size fluke.

The players that I am mostly excited about on that list are Scott Moviel, and Eddie Kunz. They both have potential and are pretty sure bets to at least reach the majors. Heres Jim Callis's revised top 10...

Mets Top 10
1. Fernando Martinez, of
So far ahead of the rest of the system, but still a long way from his ceiling.
2. Eddie Kunz, rhp
It's not a good sign when a reliever from the most recent draft is your No. 2 prospect.
3. Brant Rustich, rhp
It's worse when a reliever from the most recent draft is your No. 3 prospect as well.
4. Jon Niese, lhp
Young lefty with solid stuff will pitch in Double-A at age 21.
5. Nathan Vineyard, lhp
Sandwich pick last June has the potential for three average or better pitches.
6. Robert Parnell, rhp
Gets whiffs with his fastball and slider, but must refine his changeup to stay a starter.
7. Joe Smith, rhp
Sidearm reliever made his big league debut 10 months after getting drafted.
8. Scott Moviel, rhp
He's 6-foot-11 and already touches 94 mph, though his breaking ball needs work.
9. Danny Murphy, 3b
His third-base defense is an issue, but he has the second-best bat in the system.
10. Wilmer Flores, 3b/ss
Signed out of Venezuela for $750,000, he draws some Miguel Cabrera comps.

Its surely a good thing that we have 3 1st round draft picks plus a good Latin American scouting department. Our minor league system should be re-stocked in a year or so.

Minor Leaguer Jon Niese Gets the Call.

2008-02-04T15:07:00.000-05:00

When pitchers and catchers report to spring training for the New York Mets on Thursday, Feb. 14, newly appointed #4 prospect Jon Niese will be among them.

Niese, a seventh-round draft pick of the Mets in 2005, was invited to major league spring training after putting together a solid campaign for the St. Lucie Mets a year ago.

Niese on getting the call:

"I got a call from Tony Bernazard and he said he was calling to check up on me and see how I was doing. He then said, 'by the way, we're sending you to the big league camp to see how you do.' I thought, that's pretty cool. There was talk I could be invited, but until it was set in stone I didn't know, but it is a pretty good feeling."

"I know I can't go to big league camp and start changing what I do, I've told myself that I have to have the same mentality as if I were going to minor league camp," said Niese. "I know I can't go there and do something I'm not capable of doing, I'm going to go there to work and do what got me there. It's really a great honor to be asked to be a part of it."

The 21-year-old Niese is hopeful that he can begin the season at the Double A level. In 2007 Niese finished 11-7 for the St. Lucie Mets. In 1341/3 innings pitched, Niese allowed 151 hits and 78 runs (64 earned), while striking out 110 and walking just 31. Niese finished the year with a 4.29 ERA, while help St. Lucie make their second straight appearance in the Florida State League playoffs.

Orioles Finally Appear Ready to Deal Erik Bedard

2008-02-04T14:48:00.000-05:00

After making the Mariners sweat for a week or so, the Orioles finally appear ready to deal Erik Bedard. Let’s see how it stacks up.

Seattle will get two years of a lefthanded starter who’s primed to dominate.

And Baltimore gets a ton of young talent. Adam Jones, the guy who nearly queered the deal by leaking it to a Dominican newspaper reporter, is a top-shelf center field prospect. He’s 22 and elicits oohs and ahs from baseball nerds. With Jones and Nick Markakis in their outfield, the O’s have the beginnings of something great. Of course, there are seven other positions they need to fill, so … y’know.

The Birds also get Chris Tillman, a high-hopes 20-year-old righthander who sounds like he’ll begin the season at double-A Bowie. They get George Sherrill, a lefty who’s been a late-inning specialty guy with the M’s but who’ll probably be Baltimore’s closer, seeing as how Chris Ray is out for 2008.

Single-A pitcher Tony Butler and triple-A find Kam Mickolio round out the deal for the O’s.

Most baseball people seem to agree that the deal gives both teams what they’re looking for, but that Seattle’s investment has been huge. Seattle Times columnist Larry Stone quotes Baseball America’s John Manuel as saying the M’s are sacrificing more talent for Bedard than the Mets did for Johan Santana. I don’t know about that. But it sounds good.

Orioles GM Andy MacPhail has, this off-season made the kind of deals the organization should have made years ago. What’s more, he’s shown he’s a master of supply-and-demand, when-to-hold-’em/fold ‘em trade negotiations. He dealt Miguel Tejada for five talented Houston Astros - four of whom are already on the O’s roster - on the day before Tejada turned up juicy in the Mitchell Report. And, last summer, he dealt cadaver Steve Trachsel to the Cubs for some live human beings.

Look out. Andy MacPhail don’t play.

Omar Calls Out The Players, & Sosa Signs.

2008-02-03T08:25:00.000-05:00

Mets GM Omar Minaya, on what’s next…

“We’ve been good on paper, but we haven’t won. This shows our fan base and our players that we care about winning. Our goal is to win a championship. We put in our part to get this done. This is a commitment to our players. Now, what we need now is a commitment on their part to get it done.”

It's time for the Mets to respond. Willie's job may just depends on it. He's going to be under the microscope this year more than any other year.

Marty Noble of MLB.com reports Jorge Sosa signed a one-year, $2 million contract. Sosa has a 9-8 record and 4.47 ERA in 42 appearances -- 14 as a starter -- and 112 2/3 innings in 2007.

I like Sosa if used correctly. He is also someone who may be able to jump in and start if a pitcher or two go down at the same time.

As for relief, Willie needs to use him at 1-2 innings an appearance but not on consecutive days. He was much better when he wasn't being used so much.

Two Pending Arbitration Cases:
The Mets have not gone to an arbitration hearing since 1992. In 1992, the Mets won their case against reliever Jeff Innis.

Oliver Perez submitted a 2008 salary of $6.5m - Mets countered with a proposal of $4.725m
Ryan Church submitted a 2008 salary of $2.45m - Mets countered with a proposal of $1.75m

Also in Baseball America Prospect Handbook, the Mets farm system as a whole was ranked at #17 before the trade for Johan Santana. John Manuel had this to say "GM Omar Minaya's international emphasis has paid dividends, but the Mets seem to realize they can't relay on Latin America alone for young talent and hint that they will draft more aggressively in 2008." The Mets were ranked 13th in 2007 and 26th in 2006.

This years top 5 are:
1- Tampa Bay
2- Boston
3- Cincinnati
4- Texas
5- New York (AL)

ESPN: Keith Law on the Santana trade

2008-02-02T23:10:00.000-05:00

Anyone else going to get their Santana jersey on Monday? I am. =D

When Super Bowl News Is No Longer News!

2008-02-02T22:49:00.000-05:00

Super Bowl news leading up to Super Sunday is not news after 48 hours.

Let’s imagine it’s Sunday evening, around, say 9:00. You’re at someone else’s house. You don’t know the guy all that well, but there you are, grinding potato chip crumbs into his living room rug. There are several dozen beer bottles and dented cans strewn around thisguy’s living room. His place is littered with chicken bones and bowls with crumbs at the bottom. You know a couple of the guys here, but most are the host’s co-workers, talking shop and eying each other’s wives and girlfriends. Joe Buck’s yelling at you from a TV so large that you’re a little worried about radiation poisoning. The outcome of the “game” was decided roughly 90 minutes before Tom Petty dragged his skinny a$$ onto a portable stage and “sang” “shee wuzz an Am-mer-ee-kin gurl…” That seems like hours ago, but there are still 13 minutes left in the third quarter.

You’ve had 11 beers and you gotta work tomorrow. You look at the game clock in the corner of the drive-in-sized screen and realize that Roger Goodell won’t be handing the obscenely phallic Lombardi prize to the Gillette guy for another two hours.

Is there a more depressing spectacle in sports than the Super Bowl?

Nope. We’re about 48 hours from kickoff and I’m already deathly sick of it.

Ron Jaworski’s suits … and those glasses! Sal Paleontologist’s leer and Philly inflection. #@&*ing Mike and Mike. God help us. And we haven’t even gotten to Terry, Howie, Jimmy and the brother who used to be James Brown. By the time the Super Bowl kicks off at 6:37:06.239 PM Sunday, our national IQ will have fallen 16 points.

Thank goodness for the Mariners/Baltimore trade drama this week. If the O’s and M’s hadn’t spent the week hassling over an Erik Bedard-Adam Jones deal, we might have been forced to pay attention to Mike Tirico’s breathless analysis of Tom Brady’s lower extremities. Or we’d have had to hear Chris Berman boom “the Noo Yawk Foootballl Giants” for the billionth time.

And hey, have you heard? There’s a lot of media in Phoenix to cover the game. Yeah, it’s true. One day this week, they had a media day on the field. And it was news! Sure, it was exactly the same as last year and the year before that and every year since Hank Stram wore that red Chiefs blazer on the sidelines. But what the hell? News is news.

So, this Sunday night, when the confetti finally falls and you see the commercial urging you to buy some World Champs Patriots crap and you hope you’re sober enough to drive home in the snow, walk outside, close your eyes, take a deep breath and remember:

Spring training begins in two weeks.
Enjoy the Super Bowl...

....Added by Ty Flo....

First off, Great article by DJ... Secondly, for what its worth, Carlos Delgado, Howard Johnson, David Wright, Ruben Gotay and Moises Alou all predicted that the Giants would beat the Patriots. .

Just a Physical Away

2008-02-02T09:00:00.000-05:00

It's all pending on passing player physicals, set for today. Including the 2008 season, Santana will receive a 7-year, $150.75M contract extension from the Mets as part of the deal. He will receive 6 years, $137.5M in new money (2008-13). He will receive a signing bonus of about $7M payable this year. Plus a 2014 club option may vest based on performance and a $5.5m buyout.

Earlier in the year, he rejected a 2-year, $36M contract extension with an option year from the Twins. In November, he rejected a 5-year, $93M extension through 2012 (4 years, $80M in new money).

This deal gives Johan Santana the largest contract ever for a pitcher.
The Largest Contracts for a Pitcher:
1-Santana
2-Zito 7yrs-$126m in 2007
3-Hampton 8yrs-$121m in 2001
4-K. Brown 7yrs-$105m in 1999
5-C. Zambrano 5yrs-$91.5m in 2007

This deal also goes down as one of the BIGGEST deals in Mets history. Other moves that all resulted in either winning a World Series or an appearance.
On 6-15-83 Mets traded for Kieth Hernandez from the Cardinals for 3 players
On 12-12-84 Mets traded for Gary Carter from the Expos for 4 players
On 5-22-98 Mets traded for Mike Piazza from the Marlins for 3 players

Here are Johan Santana's career numbers VS. the National League:
Games/Starts = 35/24
Wins/loses = 16-4
ERA = 2.27
IP = 182.2
K/BB = 191/46
Opp. BA. = .187

Here are Johan Santana's career numbers VS. the National League East:
Wins/losses = 6-2
ERA = 1.81
IP = 64.2
H = 46
K/BB = 68/16

ESPN: Santana reaction

2008-02-02T00:09:00.000-05:00

Enjoy!

The Deed is done, Johan Signs with Mets

2008-02-01T23:40:00.000-05:00

According to Mets.com, Johan Santana agreed to a deal with the Mets. The contract is worth approx $137 million over 6 years. Annual Salary= $22,916,667. This contract makes Santana by far the highest paid pitcher in baseball history.

The salary of Johan Santana didn't even matter to me, all I wanted was him to be wearing a uniform with orange and blue on opening day... I got what I wanted. Johan Santana now anchors the best pitching rotation in the National League. Santana has an .800 winning percentage in 24 starts against National League teams. Lets take a look at the Mets 2008 Rotation:

Johan Santana
Pedro Martinez
Oliver Perez
John Maine
Orlando Hernandez or Mike Pelfrey

Our rotation is only rivaled by that of the Atlanta Braves... and I think ours is still better than theirs. By the way, Harold Reynolds predicted in the video on Mets.com that Johan Santana will pitch the first no-hitter in Mets history. Man I'm excited for the season to get rolling.

Well at Least Feliciano Got Signed Today.

2008-02-01T17:23:00.000-05:00

Johan Santana Update:

Kelly Thesier of MLB.com has reported that the Mets have been granted an addition 2-hours to work out an extension with Johan Santana. The deal is being held up on the length of the contract. Santana is seeking a 6-year deal, while the Mets are hold firm on a 5-year deal. Thesier is reporting that Santana will likely sign a six-year extension for an annual average salary of about $23 million a year, on top of the $13.25 million owed to him this season. A signing bonus is also expected to be able around $150 million.

The Mets are close...

On a positive note Perdo Feliciano signed a 1-year for $1,025,000 deal to avoid an arbitration hearing. Feliciano has been the Mets lefty speciality out of the bullpen for the Mets the last two year. Posting solid numbers going 2-2 with a 3.09 ERA in 78appearances in 2007. He's was one of the bright spots in the bullpen last season.

Closed Cases:
Aaron Heilman signed a one-year, $1.2-million contract
Duaner Sanchez signed a one-year, 850,000 contract
Endy Chavez signed a two-year, $3.85 million contract
Pedro Feliciano signed a one-year, $1,025,000 contract
---------------------------------------------------------------
Pending Cases:
Oliver Perez submitted a 2008 salary of $6.5m - Mets countered with a proposal of $4.725m
Ryan Church submitted a 2008 salary of $2.45m - Mets countered with a proposal of $1.75m
Jorge Sosa submitted a 2008 salary of $2.75m - Mets countered with a proposal of $1.7m

Tick...Tick...Tick...

2008-02-01T14:16:00.000-05:00

Tick…tick…tick…

The supposed contract extension deadline for Johan Santana and the Mets is 5:00 pm. The time is now 2:15pm, and rapidly ticking toward zero hour.

According to Mike & The Mad Dog, ESPN’s Buster Olney, and everyone else that wholly trashes the Mets without cause, justification or purpose, the two sides are “nowhere close in negotiations.”

According to FOX Sports, Sports Illustrated, and anyone who is remotely objective in their journalism, the two sides are “nearing a deal,” and will be ready “by 5:00.”

According to Mets fans, the best cure for Johan-induced nausea is lukewarm ginger ale, saltines and daydreams of #57 on the mound at Shea. I prefer cold beer and prayer, but to each his own.
Try to think happy thoughts, Mets fans.

Pedro wants to pitch beyond 2008

2008-02-01T13:22:00.000-05:00

According to the New York Post.... Pedro Martinez's agent, Fernando Cuza, said Martinez wants to play beyond 2008. Martinez is due to make $11.5 million this year, the final season of his four-year Mets pact. "As long as he's able to pitch without the discomfort and the pain, he's going to want to play for a long time," Cuza said. "He enjoys the game."

... and hopefully in 2008, he can be a mentor for John Maine and Mike Pelfrey, while Johan Santana can teach Oliver Perez some of his tricks. If Pedro Martinez wants to pitch for a while, we should sign him to an extension. I'm pretty sure that he can be a good influence on our younger pitchers. Keep in mind that younger Latin free-agents, ala Fernando Martinez, signed with the Mets because of Pedro's presence on this team. We can't afford to lose that attraction.

If Pedro were to leave via Free-agency at the end of 2008, our rotation would like this...

Johan Santana
John Maine
Mike Pelfrey
?
?

That is assuming that Oliver Perez leaves via Free-agency too. I'm sure that one of Perez and Pedro, if not both, will want to return to the Mets after this season is over.

A few polls for yah...

2008-02-01T11:07:00.000-05:00

I'm currently thinking of new ways to improve the quality of this blog, and I need some feedback so I can see what you guys think. Please help me improve Mets 4 Life and vote on these polls... I posted this yesterday, but I don't think that everyone got to see it. So if you can vote I would really appreciate it!

Thanks for Voting!!

Tampa Bay Sun Rays - Off Season Report Card

2008-02-01T10:31:00.000-05:00

I'm doing this as a warm up for the NL east reports that I'm currently working, and for our lone Rays fan reader. Of course being that their were named after the rays from the sun, I get a kick out of calling them the Sun Rays.

This should be the first year the Sun Rays officially become a “trendy pick” to reach the playoffs. Of course, they won't make the playoffs. But it will be trendy to pick them, nonetheless.

Moreover, the Rays are a feel good pick. They're so…unthreatening. They're all young, and they like to run and some of them have fun names like Rocco, and they leave cute voice mail messages, like “you dead, dawg.”

So I think we're all pulling for the Sun Rays this year, even if they still have a ways to go before they can seriously challenge the Sox and the Yankees.

The Rays entered the off season with one glaring need: pitching. And they addressed it. Tampa’s team ERA last season was 5.53, so GM Andrew Friedman traded last year’s Rookie of the Year runner-up Delmon Young to the Twins for SP Matt Garza, who should serve as an able number three starter, behind ace Scott Kazmir and up-and-comer James Shields, who the Rays just signed to a four year extension. Everyone knows Kazmir is a strikeout machine, but Shields is the real deal, too, posting a sub-4 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 2007. The remaining two SP spots will be filled out by two from the group of Andy Sonnanstine, Edwin Jackson, Jeff Niemann, Jason Hammel or J.P. Howell.

The Rays also addressed their bullpen, signing Troy Percival to a two year deal. He'll be the team’s closer, while Al Reyes, who came out of nowhere last year to post solid numbers, will be the set-up man. Dan Wheeler will also provide a proven bullpen arm.

On the offensive side, the Rays added Cliff Floyd, who will play a little right field, and a little DH, and generally mentor the kidos. By trading Delmon Young, the Sun Rays lost a promising young player. But they also lost a guy who’s rock-bottom OBP was a drain on the team last season. He'll be replaced by a rotation of Cliff Floyd/Rocco Baldelli/Jonny Gomes. If Baldelli is healthy, he’s going to emerge as the permanent RF. But as we've learned over the years, a healthy Rocco is not a given.

Jason Bartlett will man short this season, but probably not next season. He’s just a place-holder until Reid Brignac is ready, probably in 2009. Here’s what ESPN’s Sean McAdam has to say about the other Rays’ infieders.

Evan Longoria, the team’s top pick in 2006, is expected to be the starting third baseman, though he may not open the season there. When he arrives, Akinori Iwamura will shift to second base. Expect more young pitchers to arrive, including Jeff Niemann and, eventually, David Price, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft.

Obviously, the best is yet to come for the Rays, and it’s coming from the team’s farm system and it’s coming soon. The worst? That’s already gone. The Rays sent troubled OF Elijah Dukes to the Nationals for a 20 year-old southpaw starter named Glenn Gibson, who probably won't contribute this season. But the karma benefits of a Dukes-less team should help the Rays in 2008.

This isn’t the year the Rays win the East. But next year could be. And in general the future is very bright. Tampa Bay has the best farm system in baseball. And, this summer, they again have the number one pick in the amateur draft.

Key Additions: Willy Aybar, Jason Barlett, Matt Garza, Troy Percival, Cliff Floyd

Key Losses: Elijah Dukes, Delmon Young, Brendab HGarris

Projected Lineup:

Akinori Iwanmura - 2B

Carl Crawford - LF

Carlos Pena - 1B

B.J. Upton - CF

Rocco Baldelli - RF

Jonny Gomes - DH

Evan Longoria - 3B

Dioner Navarro - C

Jason Barlett - SS

Projected Rotation:

Scott Kazmir - LHSP

James Shield - RHSP

Matt Garza - RHSP

Andy Sonnanstine - RHSP

Edwin Jackson - RHSP

Alt - Jeff Niemann

Setup: Al Reyes
Closer: Troy Percival

Overall Grade: B

Keith Law: Top 100 Prospects

2008-01-31T20:07:00.001-05:00

Today Keith Law came out with his Top 100 Prospects in the entire MLB. Here's what he had to say about some Mets prospects and former Met prospects..

#10 Mets OF Fernando Martinez... It's been fashionable this offseason for some writers to bash the Mets' top prospects, mostly vis-à-vis the Johan Santana trade talks, but this criticism has been way overblown. Martinez's 2007 performance doesn't impress on a quick look, but consider these facts: He played the entire season at age 18 in AA; and he was hitting .309/.372/.409 as late as May 25 before the effects of a contusion on his left hand ruined what remained of his season. He was shut down on June 23 and missed the rest of the year. Martinez shows huge raw power in BP that will make its way into his game performances, and he has a solid approach with good pitch recognition for someone so young. He has good range in center and a plus arm if he outgrows center field and has to move to right. To put his development in more perspective, if he'd played a full year at AA and hit .290/.360/.410 or so, he would have been on pace to debut in the big leagues at 19 or 20 and be a big league regular before he turned 21. He's going to be a star, but everyone has to bear in mind how young he is to keep his performance in perspective.

#35 Twins OF Carlos Gomez... Gomez can fly and will be one of the fastest players in the majors once he is there for good. The rest of his game needs work, as his substantial tools don't translate into immediate major league success. He has a very quick bat but relies on his wrists and hands, hitting off his front foot too often and never getting his weight back to drive balls, so he makes contact but right now doesn't project to hit for power. In the field, he is more advanced, running down balls in all directions in center field and showing a 60-65 arm on the 20-80 scale. He missed most of the second half of the 2007 season due to a broken hamate bone in his hand, an injury that can linger into the following season, so his short-term projection isn't bright, but he has star potential if he is given time and instruction.

#80 Twins RHSP Deolis Guerra... Guerra is almost all projection, but there's a lot on which a scout can dream. His velocity is fringe-average, but he'll flash low 90s out of nowhere, and his curveball is inconsistent at best. He has a plus changeup with good fading action. But the appeal here is that he turns 19 in April and is very projectable, with the broad-shouldered frame we look for when forecasting velocity increases and durability. His probability is low, but there's a chance he'll be up in the top 20-30 in a year or two.

I already miss Guerra and Mulvey.. but then again WE HAVE SANTANA!

Santana Update

2008-01-31T19:11:00.000-05:00

Since the last post about Santana, a few things have cleared up.

#1) We now know that the Twins were asking for Ching Ming Wang and Ian Kennedy for Johan Santana. The Yankees shot that down as soon as they heard it. Its mind-boggling to see that the Twins couldn't get more for Santana. All I can say is that Omar made an awesome trade.

#2) The Mets are offering a six-year, $129MM extension starting with the '09 season. Including his '07 salary that would amount to seven years and $142.25MM. Santana's people want to get the total up around $170MM. (SI.com via MLBTR). Anything over $126 million, would be the largest deal for a pitcher in history. Heyman also mentions that “high-ranking baseball people believe the deal is all but certain to get done”.

#3) According to Jason Stark, when one baseball man who had spoken with Mets GM Omar Minaya was asked if the club could end up with both Santana and Lohse, the reply was: "Absolutely." Stark also notes that contract talks will spill over onto Friday, and possibly to the 5 p.m. deadline. Chances of failing to reach an agreement are "remote." For now it appears that the Mets want the sixth year as a vesting option and Santana's people want it guaranteed.

Matt Cerrone and I have the same opinion on the Santana contract situation...

"there is no way that the Mets went through all of the energy to make this trade, only to blow it…"

Perfectly said Matt.

What will the Mets record be?

2008-01-31T18:43:00.000-05:00

Another poll for yah.

Thanks for Voting.

A few polls for yah...

2008-01-31T18:28:00.001-05:00

Thank You Minnesota!!!

2008-01-30T14:05:00.000-05:00

I would like to take the time to say Thank You to former Twins GM Terry Ryan, current GM Bill Smith, and the fans of the Minnesota Twins.

On July 30, 2007 Castillo was traded by the Twins to the New York Mets for two minor league players, catcher Drew Butera, and outfielder Dustin Martin.

On August 1, 2007 Santana had this to say about the trade:

"We've been close," Santana said "And in all those times, we seem to be a couple players away from winning it all. So I respect all the decisions they make, but I won't say that they're right all the time.

"They protect their young players. They protect their organization, their roots, everything. But I guess I won't be a part of it. A lot of guys don't feel like they can be part of it, and they have to move on."

"I'm not surprised," Santana said, the newspaper reported. "That's exactly how they are. That's why we're never going to go beyond where we've gone."

"You always talk about future, future. ... But if you only worry about the future, then I guess a lot of us won't be part of it," Santana said

"Why waste time when you're talking about something that's always going to be like that? It's never going to be beyond this point. It doesn't make any sense for me to be here, you know?"

Santana said, "I don't think (the decision makers) care. I've been here for eight years, and I've seen a lot of those kind of things, I've seen a lot of those guys come in and leave. They (The decision makers) don't care. They always talk about caring about it; I don't think they care. "

"Because if you're always talking about having young players -- that's the philosophy the team has, and I respect all that -- but it's been proven that it's not enough to go all the way to the World Series."

So by Terry Ryan trading away Luis Castillo, he also lost any chance of the Twins resigning Johan Santana. So Thank you Mr. Ryan!

Thank You Mr. Bill Smith for trading the best pitcher in major league baseball to the Mets. I understand your hand were somewhat handcuffed, but you took a gamble on the Yankees and Red Sox trading punches. It never happened. Then Santana and his agent tell you that you have 10 days to make a trade or we veto any trade and go to free agency. Bill, you then asked the three teams for their best offer. The Yankees and Red Sox told you "We're out" and the Mets offered just the four prospects.

You had only two choices: 1) make the trade with the Mets or 2) let Santana walk after the 2008 season. The rest as they say is history!

And lets not forget the Twin fans. I know most of you are pissed off, but thank you. At least he's out of the AL, and don't sleep on the Mets prospect.

Getting to Know Johan Santana.

2008-01-30T08:15:00.000-05:00

The Contract:

The Mets have until 5:00 pm to works out a deal with Santana and his agent. The Mets want to sign Santana to a 5 year deal, while Santana is looking for a 6 or 7 years deal at $20 million per. Barry Zito signed a seven-year deal worth $126 million plus an option for an eighth season at $18 million with the Giants on December 29, 2006. Look for the Santana deal to top Zito's deal in the $126 to $135 million dollar range. Santana is due $13 million for 2008 plus a 5 year deal from the Mets at say a $130 million would give Santana a total of a 6 year deal worth $143 million, which is $23.8 million per year.

The Statistics:

3 time All-star (2005-07)
2 Cy Young (2004 and 2006) both unanimous selections
1 Gold Glove (2007)
Won the Triple Crown for Pitchers as the leader in wins (19), strikeouts (245), and ERA (2.77) in 2006

Santana's career numbers VS. the NL East:

W-L = 6-2
ERA = 1.81
IP = 64.2
H = 46
K/BB = 68/16

Lowest ERA at Shea with at least 15 IP among active pitchers:

Webb = 0.31
Reitsma = 0.44
Prior = 0.47
Santana = 0.60
Ryan Madson = 0.70

Since 2003 Santana ranks:

1st in wins with 82
1st in ERA with a 2.92
1st in Strikeouts with 1152
1st in Opp. BA. with .212

Santana has three strikeout pitches:
An 94 mph fastball
An 87-MPH slider
An 76-MPH changeup

The changeup is the most devastating, because it comes out of his hand looking just like his fastball. When it arrives 18 MPH slower than the heater, hitters swing and miss by embarrassing margins. Batters call his changeup a "yo-yo pitch" while Santana calls it his "butterfly pitch". Santana has also learned to throw his slider with different breaks at different speeds.

Injury History:

In Santana's 8 year career he has made only one trip to the DL for 10 weeks during the 2001 season with a slight tare in his elbow. In 2003 he had off season surgery to remove a bone chip in his shoulder.

Personal Data: No. 57
Name: Johan Alexander Santana-Araque
DOB: March 13, 1979 in Tovar, Merida State, Venezuela (29 by Opening Day)
B/T: L/L
Attended Jordan High School
Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Astros in 1995
In 1999 was selected by the Marlins in the rule 5 draft and then trade to the Twins for Jared Camp
Major League Debut: April 3, 2000 with the Twins vs the Devil Rays
Favorite Players growing up: Rickey Henderson and Ken Griffey Jr. and fellow countrymen Dave Concepcion and Andres Galarraga.

Is the second of five children.
Wife Yasmile, who he has known since he was 9 years old, and they have two daughters, Jasmily & Jasmine.
In 2006 he started a foundation to provide assistance to hospitals and bought new gloves and bats for children in surrounding areas.
Also in 2006 purchased a firetruck for Tovar's fire department.
Over the last two year Santana has hosted a party called El Cy Youngazo (the Great Cy Young) which includes a toy drive, musical groups, and beer from Santana's sponsor, Regional.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias has provided guards for the Santana family to help provent people from kidnipping his family and holding them for ransom.

Stupid Braves fans...

2008-01-29T19:50:00.000-05:00

I was reading the Johan Santana to the Mets article on USA Today, and this is what one of the comments said at the bottom of the page...

"This move will give the Mets one pitcher...yeah....one.....if the Mets are thinking that the Pedro of old is coming back....good luck with that....and how old is El Duque? 50? and he throws a wicked 85 mile an hour fastball....and I also like the post that he has got to play in New York....and lots of players have been unable to play in New York...plus the Mets have got to sign him...Santana is great pitcher that had a down year...he was 15-13 and was hittable after the break....so my opinion is big deal. The Mets have finally, finally got a decent pitcher.... I still say the Phillies and Braves will compete for the division and the mets will have to contend with trying out of the cellar behind Florida and Washington.....Go Braves!"

Shows how smart he is. But take a look at this new rotation for the 2008 season...

Johan Santana
Pedro Martinez
John Maine
Oliver Perez
Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez

John Maine as our #3 SP?! and Oliver Perez #4? I hope someone comes out and says it...

THE METS ARE THE TEAM TO BEAT IN 2008!

Santana? What did we give up for him?

2008-01-29T19:16:00.000-05:00

Finally, it has happened. The Mets have acquired 2-time Cy Young Winner Johan Santana for Carlos Gomez, Kevin Mulvey, Phil Humber, and Deolis Guerra. The deal will not be finalized until the Mets and Santana's agent agree to a contract extension and all the players must pass physicals. The Mets have a 72 hour window to sign the best pitcher in baseball. I am so excited for spring training now. Before this trade, Billy Wagner thought that we were a 3rd place team. Now, we're already the favorite to go to the World Series.. and we still have Mike Pelfrey AND Fernando Martinez. Omar had to do this trade and by doing this, we have no need to sign Livan Hernandez or Kyle Lohse.

Back to the prospects... The Mets gave up 4 of their top ten prospects.. #'s 2,3,4, and #7 according to Baseball Americas post in November. Heres a little information on the prospects that were traded...

Kevin Mulvey: has the potential to be a #3-#4 starter on a good staff. Average stuff, great command. Was the first choice in the 06 draft for the Mets. Very close to being a MLB player.

Philip Humber: #3 pick in the 2004 draft, under went Tommy John Surgery in his first pro season. Came back last year and looked ok in AAA. Will need another year in the minors but should be ready in 2009. Humber once had the potential to be a #1 starter in the Majors, but he is projected to be a #3 starter at best, maybe even less.

Carlos Gomez: is what scouts like to call a five-tool player, a combination of offensive ability that includes power and speed as well as an above-average defensive game and a strong arm. He has worked to cut down a strikeout rate that was high during the early part of a minor league career that began in 2004 after the Mets signed him out of the Dominican Republic. He made his major league debut last May and hit .232. (USA Today)

Deolis Guerra: a young super-prospect with #1 starter potential. Has a dominant change-up, and a fastball that keeps gaining velocity as he grows. Had an adequate season last year, but showed dominance at times. He was also one of the youngest players in his league last year. Could be a future #1 and Cy Young Candidate.

You may be thinking... "Why would you trade so much young talent?!" Well, we have three very good draft picks during the first and supplemental-first rounds of next June's draft.

The18th overall pick from the Braves as compensation from the signing of Tom Glavine.
The 22nd overall pick due to the performance of last years team.
The 33rd overall pick in compensation from the signing of Tom Glavine.

Thats not all, The Mets signed 15 players internationally in the summer of 2007, more than any other organization, and has tried to use that market to find impact talent. Our lower levels of the minor leagues are stocked with talent, and our very good draft picks will help us get some better talent flowing through.

In the past few years, the Mets have had to surrender their 1st round picks because of free-agent signings and haven't tried to compensate by exceeding MLB's bonus guidelines with other picks. Minaya said that could change in the near future.

"We've adhered to the commissioner's slot recommendations," Minaya said. "We've been good citizens. But not all the teams have done that, and the competitive balance is not fair. We have to take that position under review as an organization." (Baseball America)

Don't worry, we now have an easy ride to the playoffs and hopefully more in 2008!

Santana takes the 7 train to Queens!

2008-01-29T18:33:00.000-05:00

The biggest and best named pitcher may have just landed in Queens. The Mets are within 72 hours from resigning and completing a trade for Johan Santana!

The Cost: Carlos Gomez, Phil Humber, Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey.

The Discount: No Fernando Martinez. No Mike Pelfrey. No Ryan Church. No Aaron Heilman.

The Profit: One of the best damn pitchers in the game today.

Did Omar just redeemed his comatose offseason?

Finally after months of speculation, the Twins have agreed to trade Johan Santana to the Mets for a package of young players. The Mets now must sign Santana to a long-term deal in the next 72 hours. Since Santana has already rejected a 4 year, $80 million extension offered by Minnesota, he’s rumored to be looking for a six- or seven-year deal from New York, in the range of $20 million per. I say give it to him, if any starting pitcher has earned it, it's Santana.

The Mets managed to hang on to their most prized prospect, outfielder Fernando Martinez. Rotoworld take... Gomez and Guerra are big-time talents, but Gomez lacks plate discipline and might not fit in the top half of the lineup and an awful lot could go wrong before Guerra even sniffs the majors. Mulvey and Humber are third starters at best and probably more like fourths. It’s a whole lot better than losing Santana for draft picks next winter.

Some fans reaction:

Mets fan: AAHHHH!!

Red Sox fan: Phew, at least he's not a Yankee!

Yankee fans: Poop

Twins fans: mother*&%^

Rest of NL East: that sucks...

USA Today's Bob Nightengale broke the story...USA Today

Blog Renovation

2008-01-28T22:25:00.000-05:00

I have recently noticed that some people don't feel that the quality of this blog is not as good as it could be. Therefore, us here at Mets 4 Life will be taking suggestions on how to improve this blog. If you have any suggestions on how to make this blog better for you and all the other readers, please contact me at my email. Tyflomets4life@yahoo.com, in the Cbox on the right side of this blog, or in the comments section. Thanks a lot!

Links for the Day

2008-01-28T22:00:00.001-05:00

Sorry guys, I am very busy with work and I just got home a 1/2 hour ago. I dont want to make excuses so here are some links and notes from a pretty busy day...

Metsblog did some nice stuff today...

Wagner: the Phillies and Braves should be ranked higher than the Mets…

Mets sign Australian High-Schooler

Jordan Zarkain: Young Mets minor league pitchers

More prospect info from Matt Cerrone #1 and #2

Other news..

The Phillies have improved. With the signing of 3B Pedro Feliz, they have reliable players at every position. His power numbers should also go up due to the hitting friendly Citizens Bank Park. Last year he hit .253 with 20 HR's and 72 RBI.

Carlos Gomez is not allowed to play in the Carribean World Series. Why is this? It could be a trade is in the final stages or the Mets are being cautious.. Keep an eye on this situation.

Sorry again for the lack of posting. DJ and I will try to do our best to keep this blog updated.

Also, any suggestions for the renovation of this blog will be accepted at my email...Tyflomets4life@yahoo.com.

What's the big holdup in the Seattle/Baltimore trade?

2008-01-28T19:28:00.000-05:00

ESPN’s Jayson Stark is reporting that the big holdup in the Seattle/Baltimore trade is none other than O’s owner Peter G. Angelos.

SURPRISE, SURPRISE

If this is true, Orioles fans should report immediately to the Warehouse with sticks and torches.

Andy MacPhail accepted the Orioles’ top baseball job last summer with the assurance that Angelos - famous for his habit of vetoing trades - would butt out. Angelos’s name wasn’t mentioned when MacPhail dealt Miguel Tejada last month. But then, it’s possible Angelos was ready to dump Miggy, his attitude and his steroid cloud. But it is rumored that Angelos veto a trade to the Cubs.

The Bedard deal is ready to go - the M’s are even saying it’s already happened. But Stark writes that his sources tell him Angelos still needs to bless every deal and that the owner won’t be able to give it a good look until tomorrow.

The only - and I mean the only - hope that Orioles fans have allowed themselves in recent years was the hope that Angelos had finally seen the error of his ways. We hoped that Angelos could look at the long list of ex-Baltimore baseball people — Larry Luccino, Frank Wren, Pat Gillick … hell, even Theo Epstein was an intern here — and ask himself if, y’know, maybe he might be the problem.

Back in 1996, when the Birds had a good-but-not-great team, GM Gillick attempted to trade David Wells and Bobby Bonilla for prospects. Angelos vetoed the deals and the Orioles won the wild card. Since then, Angelos has appeared convinced that he’s the Smartest Baseball Man in America.

Well, he ain’t. For 10 straight seasons, the O’s have stunk.

But fans were given to believe that, after all these years, Angelos now finally understands that he needs to leave the baseball stuff to the right guys. If it turns out that Angelos vetoes the Bedard deal, those same fans will have every reason to think the situation is hopeless. And hopeless fans aren’t good.

Hey, maybe Stark’s wrong. Maybe this has nothing to do with Angelos. Maybe MacPhail’s just being poker-faced.