Bart Hubbuch of the NY Post was gracious enough to honor our request to answer a few reader submitted questions for us. He does an excellent job of covering the Mets all year long and is a valuable source of information both in the regular season and the hot stove season as well. I hope you enjoy what I believe is a great read on another slow Mets news day. Enjoy…
Last off season, Omar Minaya proclaimed Mike Pelfrey the team’s number two starter and we all saw him regress instead of stepping up. Are the Mets willing to stick with him, or could he be included in a trade to upgrade the rotation or shore up another weakness?
It’s safe to say Pelfrey’s sub-par season in 2009 set off alarm bells for the Mets. His lack of mental toughness has become a big concern. I’m not sure the Mets are still convinced he has the psychological makeup to be a No. 2 starter, much less an ace. That’s why you see them suddenly saying the top of the rotation is an area of need this winter. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Pelfrey included in trade proposals this year. His extremely cheap salary ($500,000) next season would make him an attractive trade candidate for teams looking to cut payroll, too.
There are so many conflicting reports out there regarding the Mets and free agent Matt Holliday. Who do you think he will ultimately sign with, and what if any are the Mets backup plans?
I just don’t see Holliday coming here. Maybe the Mets have been saving up to go after him, but I don’t think that’s the case. And all of their other actions (i.e., draft spending, lack of moves at the trade deadline) since the Madoff scheme came to light indicate this team just doesn’t have a lot of cash at its disposal at the moment. Not only that, but I’m also not sure Holliday truly wants to come to the Mets considering how Citi Field is basically Death Valley for right-handed power hitters. They might go hard after Jason Bay instead, but I think he wants to stay in the AL. I know Mets fans probably won’t like it, but somebody like Xavier Nady, Rick Ankiel or Marlon Byrd might be the fallback.
It looks like Dan Warthen will keep his job as pitching coach despite an across the board decline in performance by mostly every pitcher including Perez, Pelfrey, Putz, Santana and K-Rod. I know Warthen can’t pitch for these guys, but he presided over a team that issued the second most bases on balls and led the league in bases loaded walks and wild pitches. Was he ever in any danger of being fired and is he on the hot seat in 2010?
It’s not just Warthen. All of the coaching staff will be on the hot seat with Jerry Manuel in the final year of his contract. I don’t know if Warthen being brought back was the Mets blaming injuries instead of the pitching coach for all the 2009 woes as much as it was them not wanting to spend the money to go after Dave Duncan or someone of his caliber. It would not surprise me, though, if Warthen gets the ax before Manuel if the Mets get off to another poor start and the pitchers are walking people all over the place again.
Do you think the Mets are actively shopping Luis Castillo or are there no truth to some of the recent rumors that had him going to the Chicago Cubs as part of a 3 team deal?
Absolutely, they’re shopping Castillo. Omar Minaya would dearly love for somebody to take the $12 million left on Castillo’s contract off the Mets’ hands. People are leery, though, despite Castillo’s terrific year at the plate last season. As well as him being extremely overpaid, other clubs don’t trust Castillo to stay healthy and are wary of his age and defensive limitations.
With last season now behind them, are the Mets concerned with the drop in David Wright’s homerun total and do they have any plans to address the situation by altering his swing or the dimensions of Citi Field?
I don’t see any changes to the dimensions happening before next season. But if Wright (who, let’s not kid ourselves, is the face of the franchise) has another really poor season power-wise, I bet those fences come in by 2011.
Is there any chance that the Mets will attempt to acquire San Diego first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and do you think they have the pieces to get something done?
I could see them making an attempt, but I don’t know how serious they will be. First, the Mets are extremely high on Ike Davis and don’t want to block his arrival at first base in 2011. That’s why you see them talking about Carlos Delgado as a one-year stopgap. Second, it would probably require gutting their farm system to get the Padres’ interest. Lastly, Gonzalez is extremely underpaid for his production (about $3 million a year, from what I understand) and will be looking for an enormous raise — think: Mark Teixeira money — in the next year or two. I just don’t see the Mets gutting their system and paying out huge bucks for a first baseman when they think they have a potential All-Star waiting in the wings.
All of us at MMO would like to thank Bart for taking some time to answer some questions and give us some of his opinions on what might lie ahead for the Mets this Hot Stove season. I encourage all of you to add Bart Hubbuch to your Twitter accounts, and also follow his Mets Blog at the NY Post. He is a valuable source of Mets information and never misses a beat.
I also want to thank all the many readers who submitted questions. I’m sorry we couldn’t use all of them, but I will try to answer some of the ones we didn’t use in our MMO Mailbag feature later this week. By the way, you can also follow Mets Merized Online on Twitter too.
*Mets Merized Online Needs Your Help*
This was cool to read and I thought you asked some good questions. I would like to add that if Wright doesnt find his power stroke in 2010, both Omar and Manuel wont be around to see the fences get shortened in 2011. I hope that doesn’t happen, but there’s a part of me that believes it will. The last three years have made me very pessimistic.
This was an outstanding read,
Best insight that I’ve seen into the Mets’ mindset as to why they wouldn’t make at trade for Adrian Gonzalez.
I don’t have to like it, but I can understand more now as to why they wouldn’t do something like this. Sigh.
BAYONNE, WE CAN’T GET VETERANS TO FILL HOLES AND STILL SATISFY THE NEED FOR BUILDING FROM WITHIN. FOR EXAMPLE, EVENTUALLY U STIFLE GROWTH IF U KEEP BOTTLENECKING YOUR PIPELINE, IF THEY TRULY BELIEVE IN DAVIS(AND ALL INDICATIONS AT ALL LEVELS SUPPORT THAT) THEN A SOLUTION TO BRIDGE THE ONE YEAR IS BEST, i.e. DELGADO OR FIELDER(TRADE) DELFAGO ON A 1Y LOW BASE HIGH INCENTIVE DEAL POSSIBLY WITH AN EARNED OPTION(IN CASE DAVIS IS DERAILED FOR SOME REASON) OR PRYING FIELDER FROM BREWS WHO IS ON THE LAST YEAR OF HIS DEAL(10M)) & NOT F/A ELIGIBLE AFTER 2010; BUT IS ARBITRATION ELIGIBLE COULD BE ACQUIRED FOR ‘10 & DEALT AWAY FOR ‘11 WHO KNOWS ESP SINCE THERE ARE SO FEW LEGITIMATE POWER 1B AVAILABLE AS A 1Y BRIDGE. ONE LAST NOTE, AS IT STANDS TODAY, EVEN IF THEY WERE TO ADD HOLLIDAY OR BAY WE’VE NO CLEANUP BOPPER CAPABLE OF GUARANTEED 30-40 BOMBS. WHICH IS A ‘MUST’ FOR THIS TEAM!
I also enjoyed this and a learned a little more about the Mets plans that I didnt really understand before. I think its sad to say, but it looks like all of our hopes that the Mets would make a big splash have been dashed. No Holliday, no Lackey, no Gonzalez, etc. Can it get any worse than that? I almost fell off my seat when I saw Nady’s name as a possible guy they would sign. Then I did fall off my seat when I saw Rick Ankiel. This is not what I was expecting, sorry it’s not. This is a disaster if we sign Ankiel or Nady.
I think that the Mets have more money than people think. I also think that due to the economy players will sign for less money than in years past. Also there are alot of very good pitchers coming of injuries that the Mets can sign cheaply like Bedard,sheets and Duchsherer.If they are healthy they could be pitchers than lackey.
Pelfrey should be included in a package for Roy Halladay without delay. I would also include Jon Niese, Dan Murphy and Jenrry Mejia.
Gimpy Reyes, Useless Castillo, Punchless Wright, Gimpy Beltran, Hope and a Prayer Nady, Put-up or Scram Murphy, Trigger-happy Frenchy, Part-timer Santos
Thats our big lineup next year. Our rotation, it gets better:
Shoulda Known Better Santana, I’m the only pitcher who doesn’t have a recent injury Marquis, Balkalicious Pelfrey, Headcase Ollie, and 4+ innings Maine. Maybe a dose of Nelson Figueroa on the side.
BP: Endless Feliciano, I have no desire to get better Parnell
Closer = I’m not all that good when I gave a crappy defense K-Rod.
You think the Mets will only have two new players this year?
Considering that every other report out there seems to be saying that the Mets are skittish about signing anyone who has even a HINT of a possibility of being injured and only have about 20-mil to spend, I’d say two (everyday) players + a Bullpen arm or two + some bend utility guys sounds about right. Do I sound a little bit pessimistic? Eh, following teams that end in “-ets” will do that to a man.
SHAMIK,MADDEN’S 20M ASSUMPTION IS STARTING TO BECOME A GROUNDLESS “FACT” MADDEN’S A TOTAL FOOL & LAZYASSED REPORTER I BELIVE HE’S MIFFED THAT NYM DON’T KISS HIS SENIORITY RINGS AND LEAK HIM INSIDER TRUTH SO HE JUST MAKES UP NEG CRAP WITHOUT EVEN A DECENT NAMED SOURCE RARELY EVEN THE NOTORIOUS “ANONYMOUS INSIDER” REFERENCE. HE MAKES UP A NUMBER & EVERYONE TAKES IT AS GOSPEL. THE METS, REGARDLESS OF WHO’S ACTUALLY IN CHARGE, ARE KICKING A LOT OF TIRES FOR A CHANGE, THEY WILL DEFINITLY STILL HAVE THE LUXURY CAP LINE AS A HARD CEILING AS IN THE PAST. THIS YR THAT NUMBER IS 178M. LAST YR’S WAS 170M SO WHEN THEY STOPPED @ 149M IT LEFT JUST ENOUGH TO ADD EITHER “DAY”(HALLADAY OR HOLLIDAY) IF CIRCUMSTANCES CALLED FOR IT. NEITHER WOULD’VE HELPED SO IT WAS UNNECESSARY TO EXPLORE. EVERYONE SHOULD DO THE MATH, FORGET THE PHILLIPS’S ERA DISAPPOINTMENTS, AS HE WAS OVERLY CURTAILED FINANCIALLY DUE TO DISTRUST BY FRED, WHO ADMITTED SETTING CONSERVATIVE SPENDING RESTRICTIONS FOR STEVE. WE HAVEN’T SEEN THAT SINCE ‘05. IS 4 YRS NOT A TREND?
The Mets can use more than just a dose of Figueroa on the side. How about a season long prescription? After taking Santana’s spot in the rotation in mid-August, in his 8 starts, his ERA was 3.38? Taking away one bad start, in 7 of the 8 games he had a 2.23 ERA. He was 2-6 but in his 6 losses, the Mets scored a total of 11 runs. Figueroa was the only Mets pitcher to throw a complete game shut out at Citi Field. I’m not comparing him to Petitte and Mariano, except in age: they’re each older than Figueroa, so age should not matter. Figgy can pitch, starting and in relief (short & long), and he proved that in 2009. Jeff Wilpon will not have to spend too much to sign him to a one year contract with, maybe, an option for 2011.
I find it hard to belive that the Mets only have 20 million to spend.
THEN DON’T BELIEVE IT, NO CREDIBLE SOURCE HAS CONFIRMED IT. MADDEN, IN ‘07 PICKED THE BRAVES TO WIN IT ALL! HE’S A CLOWN WITH A VENDETTA MUCH LIKE HIS FORBEARER YOUNG.
If the Mets were ot do nothing else but get rid of Castillo, sign Orlando Hudson and get one of either Wolf, Marquis or Pineiro, would that be a considerable upgrad and enough to win the division?
I say no way, but a guy I work with says that if we have all are guys comeback healthy thats all we would need.
Instead of getting Marquis, Wolf or Pinerio why not get Bedard or Sheets? I know they are coming of injuries but they are both better pitchers than the ones you mentioned.
HOW MANY INJURY RETURNS CAN WE COUNT ON? SHEETS IS A LOOONG SHOT AS 1 ELBOW SURGERY DIDN’T FIX ALL OF HIS PAST RECENT AILMENTS TO ELBOW,SHOULDER,BACK. UNLESS HE’S COMING OUT OF A FULL BODY CAST, SHEETS IS THE PITCJING EQUIVILENT TO NICK JOHNSON. HE’S AN “ACE” CALIBER PAVANO. WHY NOT SIGN ALL THESE D/L DENIZENS? AND WE CAN WIN THE HOSPITAL LEAGUE CHUMPIONSHIP
I say get Branyon to play 1st Base.
Get Pineiro and Sheets.
Need big bat for Left field. Holliday or Jason Bay.
Need some better help in the Bullpen.
Get rid of Castillo, Perez and move Maine to the Bullpen.
Get the 2nd baseman from Cinnci Phillips and Orroyo.
Change the attitude of the team. Lets go METS
i would not touch braynon with a 10 ft poll.
STEVE, PERHAPS U SHOULD DEPART ALSO WITH THAT STRATEGY. U LOST ME ON BRANYON AND DIDN’T IMPROVE.
I don’t buy the nonsense that the Mets don’t have money to spend. Let’s wait and see what happens rather than getting all pessimatic and dramatic about it and believe everything you read.
Money or not, there are only three top free agents on the market and there are problems with two. Holliday isn’t good fit for Citi Field and I think he’s overrated, and Lackey has arm trouble. It would be blessing in disguise if neither opts to sign here. Bay would be good fit given his power to left.
The way I see it, the issue is less about Mets budget than it is the wisdom of going after players long term for the sake of doing so given fan pressure, rather than making good decisions. Fans will scream to high heaven if they don’t sign in top tier, and will of course rationalize it to be money issues rather than good short and long term thinking.
BRAVO, LIFER!
The Mets have more than 20mm..Madden did his own math and deducted 1omm from the standard 30mm that the Mets are estimated to have to spend on FA’s this off season because HE said the Mets are on record, saying they will reduce the payroll?
Well, i don’t believe that’s the case, #1. In fact, didn’t Jeff Wilpon at least imply the opposite in his famous ‘view’ with Omar on Francesa’s radio show 2 months ago? #2, thats BS and we shouldn’t stand for it, because the Mets have 30mm net, coming off the rolls, get 5mm/yr from Citi for naming rights, have a TV network, and charge probably the 2nd highest ticket/concession prices in baseball.
Plus, if you think about it, the Mets had better borrow from the Feds under the ‘too big too fail’ umbrella…because IF they field a team as woeful as the 2009 Product, they’ll have a brand spanking, glittering, new and EMPTY baseball stadium in 2010 and beyond.
So, next case, i don’t believe it. Madden is on one of his regular dismissive and pillorying rants on anything ‘New York’…in this case, the New York Mets.
No, we keep pushing and we can get 3 pitchers of the likes of Marquis, Sheets, Wolf, Washburn, Bedard, Harden; trade Castillo for Pierre or somebody, or trade for Crawford or Granderson, sign Figgins, sign Nady or DeRosa or Jacobs to play 1B with Murphy or without him…and have a darn good contending baseball team in 2010.
BOB, BTW NAMING MONEY IS $20M NOT 5; BUT IT’S EARMARKED FOR STADIUM MORTGAGE PER FRED. I WAS TOTALLY WITH YOU UP UNTIL YOUR LAST PARAGRAPH WHERE U MADE ME TOO DIZZY. I MUST ASK IF U PRICED OUT ANY OF YOUR MOVES & WHAT DO U ANTICIPATE DOING WITH PELFREY,MAINE,PEREZ? GOOD LUVK IN YOUR FANTASY LEAGUE.
Hi, Mets62. i thought about 5mm/yr from the naming rights was ‘available. Maybe not.
i agree there’s much to do..lotta things we need, our alphabet begins with the letter ‘P’ for pitching and power, but because of our ballpark, we also need speed and defense.
The beauty of ‘Plan B’ is that it grabs a lot of pretty good talent at cheap prices (relatively speaking!). Marquis would cost the most…7- 8mm/yr; Wolf 6 – 8mm/yr?; Sheets 3 – 5mm/yr (mostly incentive based); Bedard or Harden, same levels as Sheets(?); Washburn..maybe 8 – 10mm/yr??
i bet we could get the pitching help for a total of 15mm/yr maybe? Sign Figgins/Nady/DeRosa for another 15mm/yr? Pierre or Crawford wouldn’t cost much, don’t think. And some of these costs would be ‘washed’ from trading Castillo.
i think ‘Plan B’ is both financially doable, tactically achievable, and would result in a very good and contending team.
Oh Pelfrey, Maine, Perez? Well: Santana, Marquis, Sheets, Wolf (Washburn) would be our top 4. Pelfrey and Maine would vie for the 5th spot; maybe Pelfrey would be an asset in the bullpen…nasty stuff, if he can control it. Perez? i’d try to trade him for 2 clubhouse guys in the FSL!
Mets62, i totally agree with you on Madden. The guy disses anything ‘New York’. And i think he’s wrong on this ‘20mm’ number. Last Summer, he was waxing poetic on how good the Phillies and Cards farm systems were, lauded their big trades. i checked the prospects he touted…not that great. We have guys like that! i think you hit it on the head. He’s ticked at both the Mets and Yankee front offices. Guy bugs me.
Onward with rebuilding our team!