Looks like Sandy Alderson has added a couple of new scouts according to Ken Rosenthal. [tweeted]http://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/3899123719741440#[/tweeted] Michael Baron of Mets Blog wrote a short bio for each: Roy Smith served as vice president of scouting and player development for the Dodgers from 2004-2006. With the Dodgers, he oversaw professional and amateur scouting, player development and acquisitions. He was hired by Paul DePodesta, who was the Dodgers GM, in 2004. Smith pitched eight years in the [...]

According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, the Pirates have hired Clint Hurdle to be their next manager. The Pirates have hired Clint Hurdle, the former Texas Rangers’ hitting coach, as their 39th manager, 10 days after interviewing him, an industry source said today. Team president Frank Coonelly said the team will hold a press conference Monday morning to announce its new manager, though he would not say who that was. The press conference will be [...]

In the next few weeks Sandy Alderson and the Wilpons will be making a crucial decision and the individual they choose to take the reigns of the 2011 Mets faces an uphill battle. From overpaid/under-performing stars to players coming off injuries to a closer with a police record to a front office in disarray to an incompetent medical staff, the Mets resemble a Seinfeld episode more then a major league team. As Sandy, Fred and [...]

Adam Rubin of ESPN NY keeps churning out some great stuff on the Mets so far this offseason. Today, he got some great quotes from David Wright who commented on a variety of issues while at a children’s event at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan. One topic that came up, again… is the outfield dimensions at Citi Field and the height of the walls. “I don’t think there’s any question that it affects your thought process and your [...]

Last night and today, there’s been a lot of buzz in the Mets blogosphere about Jose Reyes being on the trading block. This rumor originated on 7 Train To Shea, where Matt Pignataro wrote: According to sources, the Mets have put word out to teams that SS Jose Reyes is available and will look to trade Reyes during the Winter Meetings. The Red Sox, Orioles, and Rays have called to get a feel for the [...]

According to Richard Sandomir of the New York Times, ESPN is expected to announce that Bobby Valentine and Dan Shulman will join Orel Hershiser in the broadcast booth for Sunday Night Baseball for the 2011 season and beyond. Regarding the decisions to fire Joe Morgan and reassign Jon Miller to radio, Sandomir writes that it was simply time for a change, For some, Morgan’s end is a time to celebrate. He became cranky, often intransigent, [...]

According to Joel Sherman of the NY Post, the Mets have narrowed down their managerial search to three candidates: Terry Collins, Clint Hurdle and Bob Melvin. Team sources have told Sherman that Collins was still the favorite, but that Hurdle and Melvin were still in the competition. Ultimately, Alderson determined he did not want a first-time manager in New York for this Mets team, which is why Chip Hale, despite interviewing well, is no longer a candidate, though he [...]

The Mets have added one more manager to their first round of interviews. According to David Lennon of Newsday, the Mets will interview Jose Oquendo on Monday in Orlando. Updated 1:15 PM According to Adam Rubin, Tim Teufel will not be interviewed for the Mets manager position as first thought. When Sandy Alderson mentioned he may add one or two final candidates to the managerial interview mix, he apparently was not speaking about Tim Teufel. [...]

The Mets just announced that equiptment manager Charlie Samuels has been fired for violating club policies. “The New York Mets announced today that they have terminated Charlie Samuels’ employment with the Mets for conduct in violation of club policies.  This decision is the result of a thorough internal investigation over the course of several months.  The Mets will have no further comment on this matter.” Updated 11/5 11:00 PM This is starting to feel like an episode [...]

I got an interesting email from a reader named Kevin who I immediately liked because he said he’s been following MMO for six years which I thought was very, very cool considering we’ve only been Mets Merized Online for five years. Before that we were strictly just Mets Merized and operated on MySpace since March of 2005. Anyway, Kevin wanted to know who I thought would be the starting second baseman next season. It’s actually pretty difficult [...]

Here’s a recap of some minor Mets news and notes from around the web… Carlos Beltran said Thursday, that he still believes he can thrive in center field, but would be open to playing right field if the team asked him. ”I’m all for doing whatever is good for the team” Beltran said, “I have never been a selfish type of player.” Beltran also discussed his feelings about waiving his no-trade clause should the team approach him about it. [...]