12
2010
Morning Grind: Reyes Aftermath Shows Depth Is Still A Problem
An article by 
It seems like the more things change, the more they stay the same. After coming off a miserable season that was marred by injury in 2009, what made that season worse than it should have been was the apparent lack of depth.
Carlos Delgado goes down and is replaced by untested leftfielder Daniel Murphy…
Jose Reyes goes down and is replaced by Alex Cora…
In both instances the downgrades were too much to overcome. Of course you can’t replace a Delgado and a Reyes with the snap of a finger, most teams can’t, but it still showed how woefully lacking the Mets were at two vital positions to the team.
Injuries happen and sometimes there’s nothing any team can do to avoid them, but good teams have capable backup plans especially for positions where they might be vulnerable.
Going into the offseason, the Mets knew that no matter how well Jose Reyes was doing post surgery, he was still an injury risk until he could prove that he can withstand the rigors of playing the field everyday and running the bases at full tilt. How can you go into the 2010 season with a worse backup plan than you had last year at shortstop when you:
A) Knew there could be a strong possibility that Jose Reyes may not be ready for Opening Day?
B) Saw first hand how inadequate Alex Cora was as his replacement, and yet you resigned him after two more surgeries and chronic back problem?
C) Did nothing to address your depth at shortstop at the minor league levels?
How do you ignore all of those things after what happened last season?
How can you not have targeted an Adam Kennedy or Felipe Lopez for example, both of whom recently signed for $1.25 MM, almost half of what the Mets will pay Alex Cora?
Lopez scored 88 runs last season while posting a .383 OBP and .313 batting average, and Kennedy hit 11 homeruns while driving in 63 runs and batting .289. You already know what Alex Cora did…
Sure it’s easy for me to say that now, but shouldn’t that have been the general manager’s job and goal after seeing that we STILL had no capable backup plan for Jose Reyes if he got injured again? Isn’t that what he gets paid for?
Instead of dealing for Chris Carter when they dealt Billy Wagner to the Red Sox, why didn’t they instead insist on a AAAA shortstop instead of a AAAA rightfielder?
These are the things that really bug me because it shows the lack of a plan or vision.
The Mets also failed to sign ONE LEGITIMATE STARTING PITCHER in the offseason, knowing full well that 4/5ths of the rotation was coming off major injuries, surgeries, etc. and were all risks for not pitching the 200 innings the Mets need from each of them.
Our backup plan in the rotation are the same cast of guys we sank with last season; Nieve, Figueroa and Niese.
The Mets had over a dozen players coming back from some sort of injury this spring…
Did Omar Minaya really believe that all of them would come back in pristine condition with no setbacks or relapses?
This reads more like the script from Titanic than it does a plan for success.
You could sit back and feel sorry for the Mets all you wanted last season because the amount of injuries was staggering, but they get no sympathy from me when the same players go down and there is no adequate replacement this season.
They had time… all the time they needed… to address these MAJOR AREAS OF CONCERN.
Nobody plans to fail, but that’s exactly what happens when you fail to plan.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
Went to my first Mets game, a Mayors Trophy game at Shea, in '73. We beat the Yankees 8-4 and I was hooked. I marched in two Banner Day parades, and before the Grand Slam single, there was the "Hendu Can Do" grand slam - I was there. I've collected Mets memorabilia all my life and started Mets Merized Online to feed my addiction.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationals | 26 | 18 | .591 | - |
| Braves | 26 | 20 | .565 | 1.0 |
| Mets | 24 | 21 | .533 | 2.5 |
| Marlins | 24 | 21 | .533 | 2.5 |
| Phillies | 23 | 23 | .500 | 4.0 |
Last updated: 05/25/2012
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So on the mark Joe. I hate to say it but Omar was lazy. The pitching of lack of is striking. The fact he went out of his way to sign Cora and Escobar makes one really wonder what his priorities are. It’s making me become more and more pessimistic.
This is an outstanding post that really shows how inept Omar Minaya and his cohorts are. You could blame lack of cash for not signing a quality innings eater, but for $5 million or less they could have signed one of the guys you mentioned (Kennedy or Lopez), plus a real setup man and lefty specialist. Instead they squandered $5mil on Cora, Escobar and Matthews.
Here’s a thought, who is the backup plan if God forbid David Wright pulls up lame?
Which is almost certainly will.
I have been trying so hard to approach the new season positively and avoid the carryover of last year’s negatives. But, neverthless, here they are foisted down on us again. The season will now likely start without both Beltran and Reyes. We are headed down the same path as last year and that is waiting for the return of injured players. The wait is turning out to be eternal. Meanwhile we are forced to live with the likes of Cora, Pagan, and others of even less stellar potential. Ruben Tejada looks like a hack playing at ss. Being a Mets fan requires the patience of Job and I just don’t know how long I will be able to achieve that. Time for existential meditation, OMMMM…….
“Jose Reyes goes down and is replaced by Alex Cora” — yes, the impact is dreadful.
“Carlos Delgado goes down and is replaced by untested leftfielder Daniel Murphy” — no, the impact is not dreadful either defensively or in the clubhouse. He replaced a living Statue of Liberty at first base. Only on Leap Years did Delgado get his uniform dirty, and then only after he quit pouting when Willie left. The Wilpon’s saved on their laundry bills. LOL.
BTW, why call Murphy an untested leftfielder? What’s the relevance? He was an untested first baseman.
Des, I mentioned untested leftfielder because he was actually assigned the job of everyday leftfielder and despite not one game of major league experience at first base, he was the backup plan for Delgado. As always, thanks for commenting.
This post is just ridiculous. Some of you just have delusions of grandeur. How some of you can B#$ch & moan over Manaya resigning Alex Cora, when it has recently become apparent that we will need him now more than ever is ridiculous to me. Some of you seem to think that the Mets roster should consist of the top teir starting players, plus be backed up by top teir players that would probably start for any other team.
Alex Cora is a SOLID defensive “back-up” and no one is claiming him to be a top teir starting Shortstop. That job falls to Jose Reyes.
Perhaps the Mets should sign Derek Jeter to back up Jose Reyes next year incase Jose gets injured again.
Heck, while we are at it lets go out and get backups who are all starters for other teams.
Position: Ny Mets Starter: Back-Up:
1B Daniel or Ike Pujols
2B Castillo Pedroia
SS Jose Reyes Jeter
3B David Wright A-Rod
RF Francour Braun
CF Beltran C. Granderson
LF BAY M. Cuddyer
SP Johan Santana C.C. Sabathia
SP John Maine Roy Halladay
SP Mike Pelfrey John Lackey
SP Oliver Perez Justin Verlander
SP Nelson Figeroa Felix Hernandez
You get the point. Alex is a solid player who will work hard and give 100% whenever he is called upon. It’s wrong to judge and critique him as a starter, because he is not a starter, he is a backup.
If Jeter gets injured, do you think all hell breaks loose and everyone yells at Cashman for not having a starting SS waiting on the bench to just hop in and not skip a beat. No…
If you want to be mad, be mad that Jose is out, but don’t be mad that the Mets don’t carry two legitimate starting SS. In fact, if Manaya went out and dropped $6 million on a second starting SS, you all would be in hear typing your little B$&ch & moan comments on how Manays wastes money and spends $6mil on a starting Shortstop to sit on the bench.
$2-million for Cora is pennies, considering the 2 errors Anderson Hernandez made yesterday, hell I would chip $5 towards Cora’s salary now that Jose is out 2-8 weeks.
Enough with the 2010 Doomsday comments and predictions. Could’ve, Should’ve, Would’ve, rants are unproductive and uninspiring. You want to cry and whine, keep it to yourself. This is what we got for a team, deal with it, or jump ship!!!
(PERIOD)
LOL, it took out the spaces, so I replaced them with dashes
Position — Met Starter —- Proposed Backup for 2011
1B — Daniel or Ike —- Pujols
2B — Castillo —- Pedroia
SS — Jose Reyes —- Jeter
3B — David Wright —- A-Rod
RF — Francour —- Braun
CF — Beltran —- C. Granderson
LF — BAY —- M. Cuddyer
SP — Johan Santana —- C.C. Sabathia
SP — John Maine —- Roy Halladay
SP — Mike Pelfrey —- John Lackey
SP — Oliver Perez —- Justin Verlander
SP — Nelson Figeroa —- Felix Hernandez
I totally agree.
I think you guys are missing the point. I think Joe D does an excellent job of portraying the IFs, which is something, as general manager of the Mets, Omar Minaya is SUPPOSED to do. And gets paid pretty handsomely to do so. In any case, did anyone think that 2009 was just a “fluke” and we’d get by with pretty much no changes (save Jason Bay) that got us into trouble in the first place? We have the highest payroll in the National League and for what? Absolutely nothing to show for it. Alex Cora is a good player. I like Cora. He is a SUPERSUB. And not an everyday player. We saw what happens when he plays everyday. HE GETS HURT. Just like everyone else on this team. It’s not about having the best backups in baseball. It’s about preparedness. Again, something the Mets FO gets paid handsomely to do and the fans seem to know better.
Please dont insult our intelligence. Instead here is what the point of this post is, and Joe even though I mostly disagree with your pompom waving, I totally support the premise of this post.
Here is my bench!
SS – Alex Cora $2MM vs Felipe Lopez $1MM
OF – Gary Matthews $2MM vs Andruw Jones $500K
1B – Fernando Tatis $1.2 MM vs Ryan Garko $550K
Total savings = $3.2 million
And your bench is a thousand times better and infinitely more productive.
KMaxx is my new hero.
FYI, Lopez signed for $1.75 MIL
http://metsmerizedonline.com/2010/02/cardinals-sign-felipe-lopez-for-1-75mm.html
Scott, Jon Heyman was wrong, and Lopez signed for $1 million.
http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2004/12/st-louis-cardinals_111971260115041890.html
Cora is a back-up, so why was he a priority to sign early in the off season when comng off surgery? The issue is not the $2M, rather the fact that he proved he is not very good. Poor range, low BA, no power, average to below average speed, low OBA, coming off surgery; lets make sure we get him locked up early and give him a vesting option so if we do actually use his below average skills we get stuck with them for 2 years. Nothing was learned from the Castillo signing. Meanwhile Lopez and Kennedy are available late in the off season for less than $2M and are actually decent starters. Add that either could also spell Castillo and Reyes so Reyes stays fresh (if he had been healthy) and provides a good defensive & offensive option at 2B when a groundball pitcher is on the mound for the Mets. All the missed opportunities and bad moves over the past several seasons put a very high payroll team at a disadvantage when compared to the Braves, Marlins, & Phillies. This isn’t gloom and doom or pessimism, it’s reality. Until the Mets get competent management they will under achieve. Moves like Cora, Castillo, and Perez while being cheap in the draft, both signing young talent and not keeping Wagner for two high picks, weakens the farm system and organizational depth in case of injuries. If we as fans just get out the pom-poms and pretend our team is well run then there is no reason for change.
Scott, lets just agree to disagree on this one.
I don’t think that anything I say will convince you that resigning Alex Cora was a near-sighted move by a GM who has tremendous loyalty for marginal players who had no interest from other teams.
You’re free to rave about Cora, but I prefer to do the opposite.
Thanks for the comment.
I’m going to agree with Scott and even though that rant went a little far its very much true. Cora is a fine backup, not an everyday starter. Isnt that why they signed alex cintron, but i have not seen him yet. well anyways, this post is clumsy and ridiculous. you cant anticipate reyes being anything but 100%. this is something that is unexpected but hopefully he comes back strong.
the Mets will be fine if they only have to go a couple weeks without him. the timetable is weird as well. he could be better in 2 weeks but who knows and i think he could honestly be back by late april/ early may.
When your shortstop is attempting to return from tnedon surgery, torn hamstring and ruptured calf muscle, ALEX CORA IS A POOR BACKUP!
You needed to have a backup who COULD play everyday because odds are you would need him to.
PLUS!!!!
Cora was not fine because he was comeing back from two surgeries himself!
Signing him was as fine as signing Castillo was.
Cora was a good sign at the time when Jose was listed as 100%.
You can’t expect the team to make preparations for if all starting players were to go down, that they could just pop starters in off the bench.
Hindsight is 20/20, and if the gods sent a letter saying Reyes was going to miss 2-8 weeks and prepare accordingly, well then maybe the Mets go another direction than Cora.
Get off the Felipe Lopez bandwagon cause he hasn’t played SS in years.
Since 2001 Felipe Lopez has committed 145 Errors vs. Cora’s 100 errors from 1998-present. Thats 45 less errors with three mor years of playing
Last year Cora had 8 errors (6 at SS). Felipe Lopez had 17 Errors non at SS since he has not played shortstop in a more than 1 1/2 seasons.
Yeah Lopez has better batting stats last year, but he also has more than twice as many at-bats.
Last year Lopez struck out 100 times in 604 AB (16.6%), Cora struckout 28 times in 271 At-Bats (10.3%)
Cheaper Maybe, improvement NOT
Jose was never listed at 100% in November. In fact he wasn’t even cleared to run bases until February.
My point was that some commenters feel the Mets should carry two starting SS, which is not practical.
Felipe Lopez is a defensive laibility and has not played SS in over a year. I am not implying Alex is to replace Reyes, not at all. Just to plug the hole till reyes is back. Alex is a decent defender who makes all the routine plays and is consistent.
Just because the Mets gave the 2 Mil to Cora doesn’t mean that if they didn’t, they would have used somewhere else.
Cora is familiar with the team, plays hard, a gamer, decent defender, sub-par offense.
Felipe would be new to the team, possible chemistry issue, downgrade at defense, upgrade at offense.
To me it’s Mox Nix, and having Cora or Lopez start is not ideal either way.
Listening to Omar today it’s just such a reminder of what we heard last year all too often.
“We don’t feel the need to make a trade for a shortstop because we expect Jose Reyes back in a month.”
That quote wasn’t from last year it was from this morning.
People have different definitions of what a backup player should be. In my opinion the backup must be someone who can step in when injury strikes and at the very least provide adequate production and defense, but most importantly they should be able to shoulder the burden of playing everyday.
I’m not saying the backup should be an all star caliber player, not at all, but considering Reyes was still questionable in November, Minaya should have waited before shelling out millions for Cora, or sign a player who would have represented an upgrade just in case. Maybe a Mark DeRosa who not only would have covered the shortstop position but also first and third and outfield as well. I think we all agree how important versatility can be on the bench.
Alex Cora sucks and cannot be counted on to play everyday. He couldn’t do it last year when he was healthier and he won’t do it this year when he’s at 80%. Some of you need to take your blinders off and stop drinking the Koolaid.
No hit, no field, Ruben Tejada is plan C.
All this from the team who had the highest payroll in the NL last season.
We deserve to finish in last place because we keep pissing off the baseball gods.
Oh NO, another post from NEGATIVE NANCY
Again, let’s see how long reyes is out for, as someone said before when I ranted about felipe lopez versus castillo and cora, this is the team we got and we need to support it, granted omar should be fire along wit jerry let’s see what happens, I’m still trying to figuere out what exactly was he thinking givin a 35 year old 244 career hitter a 2 million dollar contract right away w/o even waiting for the market, that’s exactly what he did wit castillo and now we’re stuck wit him for 2 more years, signing players like perez, cora, castillo, redding, livan, el duque, is gonna be his own dimised, once he’s fired around june he’s gonna look back and say “what was I thinking”.. and of course we mets fans are gonna be clammoring for trades, or the wilpons to sell.. or, I could be wrong (and I really wish I am) and the mets whether the storm and win it all!!!!!!