Feb
16
2011
16
2011
Mets Sign LHP Justin Hampson To Minor League Deal
An article by Hojo's Mojo
According to Matt Eddy of Baseball America, the Mets have signed lefthanded reliever Justin Hampson to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Spring Training.
Hampson, 30, hasn’t pitched in the major leagues since 2008 when he went 2-1 with a 2.93 ERA in 35 relief appearances with the Padres.
He was originally drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 28th round of the 1999 MLB Draft, and is 5-4 with a 3.38 ERA in 79 appearances in his career.
Looks like there will be plenty of southpaws competing to fill the vacancy left by Pedro Feliciano who will be getting left-handed batters out for the New York Yankees this season.
About the Author: Rob Johnson
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Who???
Another guy in his 30s!!! Can’t be.. Afterall the great Omar hater t agee told us all how different Sandy was! Turns out Sandy is just like every other GM in baseball. Has to fill rosters. But agee said it was bad and horrible when Omar did the same thing. How come t agee isn’t complaining now? Tell us t agee why are old losers ok for Sandy to sign and not any other Met GM.
Actually its not bad. Its not bad when Sandy does and its not bad when Omar did it. You need to fill the rosters of a lot of teams. And if you get pounded by injuries some will be called up. But when this happened to former GMs agee said it was horrible. Will it be horrible if any of these guys get a call up in mid season agee? I hope you are a man of your word. You won’t be, but I will hope anyway.
My guess is because the old losers Alderson is signing are on minor league deals with no guarantees and the old losers Omar signed cost millions of guaranteed dollars and draft picks.
Word man.
yep, like Scott Hairston…oh wait.
Oh wait, what? The one guy with a major league deal? That cost a princely sum of million dollars? One Luis Castillo = 24 Scott Hairstons. And Luis could have netted draft picks.
Oh, wait…..
Remember how upset everyone was with the Cora signing? But nobody says a word about Hairston, I wonder why that is…………
Because Cora was signed for two years at two million dollars per and couldn’t hit. Hairston cost 25% of that money and has some pop. Good enough for you?
No, Cora signed for one year.
We’re both wrong. It was a one year deal with incentives AND an easily reachable vesting option, which caused his release. So it was essentially two years for $5 million, but they cut him and ended up paying only three. But I can see where a limp bat for $3 mil is comporable to Hairston’s $1 mil tryout. Good one.
Vinny, Cora had a 2nd year vesting option. Considering the two players he was backing up had both spent considerable time on the DL it was almost a sure bet it would vest.
Only the fact that he played so poorly allowed the Mets to waive him and prevent it from vesting.
If his play had been even marginal the players association would have been all over this.
Comparing Hairston to Cora is like comparing apples to apes. The comparable comparison for Hairson (a 5th OFer) is Carter a DH Omar gave up TWO high draft choices to acquire or GMJ (a 4th OFer) Cora was a back up middle infielder who could no longer defend either position, hit or run the bases. GMJ also couldn’t do any of those things, either could Cattalonotto or Jacobs. That’s why they were all DFA’d mid season. Carter could hit some but because the DH is only used about 6 times a year in the NL was pretty much restricted to pinch hitting. He was also DFA’d this off season.
There also might be a difference in the number of options available to a GM in month three compared to year six in filling out the roster.
One of the things Omar did do well was provide a pretty good bench in his first couple of years. Chavez, Valentin, Tatis but come year six? Ughhhhh.
Big roll, no burger.
I was unaware of the vesting option for Cora….I thought it was just 1 year 2 million – i was wrong. Yes was that a very bad contract.
But anyway….the Hairston signing isn’t very good at all…..
The right mix of options for your bench aren’t always there for you. Hairston isn’t costing the Mets anything more than GMJ is this year but should at the least be able to do something.
With some planning and luck hopefully Alderson will be able to get us an Endy and a Heep for 4th and 5th OFers in a year or two.
A lot of these minor league deals are Minor league deals only because there is no room on the 40 man roster. Willie Harris is as good as a major league deal, everybody knows it. Capuano, Carrasco, Young are all over 30 and battling injuries neither have pitched an entire healthy season in a few years.
Than you have guys who will most likely make the team in Byrdak 37 and Chavez 38, especially with Paulino suspended for first 8 games of the season.
We might end up having the oldest opening day roster since the late 90′s.
Let’s hope Alderson can bring the Mets into the playoffs within 2 season like Omar and Phillips did, and Saber Sandy is inheriting a better lineup than the other 2 got to start with.
He’s not doing a lot to help the pitching staff that Omar left him too. Alderson had enough money to have a better offseason and did not. I see another very bad period coming on for the Mets with this type of leadership.
That’s your factless opinion on how much money Alderson had to work with. It’s also your opinion that Alderson did nothing to help the pitching staff, when in fact nine new pitchers are in camp. It’s also your insane opinion that Kevin Millwood and Aaron Harang would be better options. Based on all that, you really don’t have much of a leg to stand on.
Harang would have been a much better option.
Hey, Didn’t Fangraphs have a post saying he was just as good as Matt Garza?
And what does that mean? I was very outspoken against acquiring Garza. Although, Garza is young and healthy, while Harang is old and unhealthy. He hasn’t started 30 games or pitched 200 innings since 2007 and is in a severe decline. But you want him and complain about the players Alderson signed. I get it. Wait, no I don’t…..
Yes I do want him becaus he’s a better picther than Young and Capuano.
He started 46 games in the last 2 years while Young and Capuano started 27 games combined in the last 2 years.
So he’s been more healthy than the guys we signed. He’s only a year older than Capuano, so I think it’s fair to say Young and Capuano are old AND more unhealthy than Harang….and didn’t sign for that much more.
I get that, but both Young and Capuano came back and pitched well last year, the year after they had the surgery, and it always takes the full year after to recover. So there’s a precedent for both guys from how they pitched in 2010. How did Harang pitch in 2010? Only 20 starts with nothing but old, nagging injuries. He’s declining, Young and Capuano are recovering. There’s a huge difference.
They both didn’t pitch a full year since 2007…. and Capuano hasn’t had a good season since 2006!
Terry Collins said that Capuano still has to prove that he’s healthy before he starts in ST, or something like that. So we don’t even know if he’s healthy now….
Young only made FOUR starts last year, so I think it’s VERY risky to count on him to stay healthy this year.
Sure it’s risky, but I’d rather pay 1.5 mil to a recovery project than 3-5 mil for a pitcher declining in both health and performance.
I just found this just a second ago,
Harang said his poor pitching latley was because he threw 166 pitches of a series against the padres in 08. he said he threw almost 400 pitches counting warmups, during the series. Here’s what he said about it:
“What it did, is fatigue me beyond the point of recovery. I started to change my arm angle to compensate for the fatigue and that’s when my forearm started to bother me. I feel like I’ve never been able to get back to the consistent, repetitive mechanics that I had, The last couple of years have been, ‘Try this, try that. Move your arm angle out a little.’ I’ve had a couple of my old coaches call me, asking, ‘What are you doing? You had so much success before doing the same thing. Now, all of a sudden, you’re turning your back on that?’”
I’ll take my chances on Harang with getting back to his old mechanics and hoping pitches like he used to pitch like a few years ago instead of hoping young and Cap stay healthy.
That’s cool. You root for a guy who got tired three years ago and hasn’t recovered yet. I’ll root for the guys who had reconstructive surgery two years ago, took their year to recover and showed sign of life just last year. Especially since when they were all healthy, Young and Cap were both better pitchers than Harang, anyway
Well, Harang just got away form what made him a succesful picther. He changed his mechanics, if he goes back to the mechanics that made the ACE pitcher he was for the Reds, he will be succesful again. He isn’t in decline, he just got away from what made him a good pitcher.
I’d much rather take my chances with Harang going back to what made him succesful, instead of hoping two injury prone starters stay healthy for the 1st time since 2007.
Capuano was never a better pitcher than Harang, anyway.
I liked harang in the past. Would have been worth a shot this year.
but, we don’t know if they did have contact. maybe he wasn’t interested in NY?
And he is still a risk, based on age, last couple years performance, etc. By no means a sure thing to be good.
Where did Harang wind up?
Apples to apes bayonne.
When Phillips got here Olerud, Fonzie and Ordonez were already here and there was enough in the farm to get Leiter, Cook and Piazza.
When Minaya got here there was Reyes and Wright and NOTHING in the farm but he did have the ability to add 175M in payroll the first year and 100M the 2nd and he had no dead ass contracts to shed.
When Alderson got here he had very little near ML ready, two of his best players in their walk year, 2 dead ass contracts on the books along with an albatros in LF and no money to work with.
Totally different situations that anyone could see. Of the three totally different situations Phillips would easily lend itself to the quickest turn around and depending on HOW Alderson deals with his walk year players and what the farm under Omar does produce Alderson could be 2nd or 3rd.
These three situations, 14 years apart are vastly different.
Anyone SHOULD be able to see that.
Phillips inherited Olerud, Piazza, & Ordonez and made smart trades for Lieter, Cook, Piazza, plus a whole lot more including Wendell.
Omar inherited Reyes & Wright.
Alderson inherited Reyes, Wright, Beltran, Bay, Pagan, Davis, K-Rod, & Santana (for half year) – with this lineup go get a healthy arm for just a couple bucks more. You have to, this in New York. NOT EVEN A TRADE. We have some minor league talent.
No excuses, he inherited more than his predecessors and did a bad job.
Isn’t this the part of your debate where you start calling yourselves jack asses?
Anyone with a brain in their head would know that Phillips inherited a roster AND a farm. He also was very fortunate to have a team in his own division no less, holding a fire sale.
Reyes, Beltran and K-Rod are in walk years, Santana will probably not be the same at any time in 2011. Bay is more likely to have a WORSE year this year. Not the same thing, not even close.
Also Mcillvaine got Wendell, not Phillips.
OK I have to know.
Why do you think Bay is more likely to have a WORSE year this year?
First of all, how was his season going from 4/1 – 8/1 last year and why was that? Hectic off season, new league, bigger field, poor line up, age, regression, got the last big deal of his career and took a breather, pressure to live up to the big deal? Could be any or all of the above.
Most of them remain and now he has the headaches and is MORE subscetable to another concussion. Maybe he’ll do the Olerud out in the field but I just think it’s more likely he won’t be better.
He wasn’t a good fit for here to begin with, it took him a long time to finally agree to sign here. I don’t think he would have chose the Mets if he had any other serious options. I think he was waiting/hopeing and then finally signed.
If he starts really getting booed he could just go in the tank.
1.Hectic off season
2.new league
3.bigger field
4.poor line up
5.age
6.regression
7.got the last big deal of his career and took a breather
pressure to live up to the big deal
8.headaches
9.or all of the above.
How about another player that tried to hard to live up to a contract that also happens to be a streaky hitter and wound up having a bad year that got worse once he got hurt?
You may be right and Bay may be as you said “more likely to have a WORSE year” but for me the idea I should expect him to be more likely worse this year is one I don’t share and will have to disagree with you on that point.
Why didn’t Omar go out and get a healthy arm LAST YEAR. He knew he made a mistake with Perez. Everyone knew it. No big deal, no one’s perfect. Admit it. Fix it. Way too much money but to be fair no one could have foreseen Ollie falling off the cliff the way he did.
You should always have 6 capable starting pitchers on your 25 anyway. Pinero at only 2/16 was a steal, and coming off 1 good and 1 great year under Duncan. Bring him to camp, call it a competition and whoever losses goes in the pen. Fair and square.
Considering how Omar threw money around like confetti 16 M for 2 years of a starting pitcher is like nickels and dimes.
The healthy perfect fit free agent pitcher was available last year. unfortunately Omar went after the non perfect fit free agent LFer with the added bonus of forfeiting yet another #2 pick which Pinero wouldn’t have cost.
If Omar wanted the bold splash Aroldis Chapman was available at no cost to the future and would have lit up NY 32 times a year.
Johnny Gomes and Greg Gross could have been pulled off the non tender list for 1M apiece and platooned in LF and for that matter Kelly Johnson could have been had 2M last year and 3M this.
Gomes(1M) Gross (1M) Pinero (8M x 2) AND Chapman (30M X 6) = 48M and no draft picks. Also was about 30 HR’s and TWO good starting pitchers all for about 35M LESS than Bay.
The perfect fit free agent for your team is not always available at the position you need every year, witness Alou, El-Duque, Valentin, Redding, Castillo, Perez, Bay. But we knew this going all the way back to Coleman, Burnitz, Bonilla ect ect ect
First of all I never told anyone anything about Alderson. I’m just willing to give him time for his plan to bear fruit, the same way I gave Omar, Phillips, Mcillvaine, Harazin, and all the rest.
Anyone SHOULD be able to tell the difference between an expensive major league contract and an inexpensive minor league one.
Anyone SHOULD be able to see there would be a difference in the number of options available to a GM in month three as opposed to year six.
Anyone, even you Harry.
Not when those old losers cost you part of subsequent teams futures by costing draft picks and deferring salary onto future teams especially when it’s for guys who are merely shells of their former selves. Here for the last, most expensive and injury prone and worst years of their professional careers.
These are just inexpensive “hold the fort” guys who don’t cost draft picks and are making league minimum, if they get anything at all.
Of course you already knew that Harry, your just trying to compare apples to apes again. Nice try.
I had no idea how miserable not having a Fat Mo or a Bobby Bo under your tree would make you.
Maybe next year. NOT. Those days are over Harry, the days spent dreaming of which soon to be in decline former shell of themselves we can lavish wheelbarrows of cash are over.
But at least you have your memories.
I think you’re the one comparing appels to apes.
I believe Harry is talking about backup players that Omar signed, not starters that he signed that didn’t work out. Omar was criticized for signing Mike Hessman, a minor leaguer…..and he also was for signing R.A Dickey. lol. When Alderson signs a minor league guy it’s always “low risk high reward” When Omar did it, he was an idiot for signing such terrible player.
Big difference backing guys up with AAA players in year 6 of your plan as opposed to bringing in as many minor leaguers to compete or provide depth in the 3rd month of your plan as possible.
In the 5th year of the prior regime’s era AAA depth wasn’t even given a thought at all and that was with a team expected to compete for a World Championship.
The options available for a GM with no money to spend over a 3 month period are quite a bit less than the options available to a GM with plenty of cash to spend has over a 6 year period.
Of course it wasn’t just AAA depth that wasn’t addressed. Just look at the bench last year. Most of it had to be DFA’d mid season, some of the rest of it was filled out by 20 year old’s not even close to being ready. One spot went to a 36 M dollar mistake left to clog up the roster and another to a DH.
All of this so called depth was after having an almost limitless budget and 6 years to prepare for.
Totally different scenario’s.
No there not,
Omar signed minor league guys for depth, and Alderson signed minor league guys for depth.
It’s the same exact thing. It doesn’t mattter what year you’re in, every team does it, but Omar is the only one who gets attacked for it.
Your right Vinny, every team does it but by year six you would think a few ML ready prospects might be among the one’s being stashed in AAA. Not guys in their first year in AAA but guys who are banging on the door to get up here.
Like perhaps some minor league talent from another teams system Omar had identified and brought over. Guys who’s prime was still in front of them. Guys who still had a chance of having a credible Major League career.
Hessman, Feliciano, Sullivan, Turner, Adams. These guys are fine but where were the Sid’s, Darlings, Terrill’s that Omar discovered in other teams farm systems and brought over here during his 6 years.
That was Omar’s strength, his focus could have been on building up but he spent 99% of his effort on the 25.
I would have bet everything I had that by year 6 of Omar’s era he would have had every affiliate brimming over with talented young prospects. So many that we wouldn’t have had anyplace to put them all. So many that rule 5 would take a few from us every year.
In Cashman’s 5th year when his CFer went down he brought up Dykstra. In Omar’s 6th year when his CFer went down (in January) he went and got GMJ.
That’s the difference.
No, when Beltran went down, we had Pagan to replace him.
Not many teams are able replace injuried players with an MLB ready prospects. Look at the Phillies last year.
Wilson Valdez, Jaun Castro, Dane Shardinha, Paul Hoover, Brian Schneider, Cody Ransom, Brian Bocock, and Mike Sweeney all played for them.
So even the Phillies one of the best teams in the league, doesn’t even come close to the depth that you wanted Omar’s teams to have.
You’re asking for way too much.
The Phillies gutted their farm in acquiring Lee, Halliday, Blanton and Oswalt. Something has to give. We didn’t gut our farm for that type of quality starting pitching. Valdez is an excellent back up MIer because of his defense. Schneider was a still relatively young former starting catcher.
Would I gut my bench and triple A depth for a rotation like that? You bet your ass I would.
It’s not just the Phillies. Let’s look at some other teams.
Giants had Ryan Rohlinger, Darren Ford, Matt Downs, John Bowker, and Eugenio Velez.
The Rangers had Andres Blanco, Arias, Cora, Craig Gentry, and Esteban german.
the Cards had Pedro Feliz, Nick Stavinoha, Daniel Descalso, Joe Mather, Tyler Greene, and Jason LaRue.
You’re asking for WAY too much…pretty much every team has bad players like that, it’s not just the Mets. EVERY team has them. That’s why they aren’t starting, they aren’t any good!
And I never complained about any of Omar’s moves (or Phillips, Mcillvaine, Harazin, Hunsicker or anyone else’s) that didn’t cost draft picks or weren’t expensive long term contracts for guys on their last legs.
Omar could have signed a million guys like Dickey or Escobar to minor league contracts and my opinion was always, why not? The more of them the better we are as long as we’re not going to lose a real prospect by having to take him off the 40.
Really, almost anyone he would have signed to a minor league contract had to be better than GMJ, Jacobs, Cattalanotto or Cora.
How many teams are lining up to sign those guys this year?
Jacobs did sign a minor league contract with the Mets last year, and so did Cattalanotto.
This year, Jacobs signed a minor league contact with the Rockies.
Cora signed a minor league contract with the Nationals.
I remember seeing the Phillies were considering GMJ.
and I believe Cattalanotto retired.
Vinny, your right again but you know what? Major League or minor league contract aside Jacobs was the first option if Murphy went down or failed. This in year 6. Carp didn’t have to be included in that rediculous trade for an injured relief pitcher. He still had a chance to have a career. If Murphy had played well enough to stay in LF Carp would have come up for Delgado.
Come year 6 there is now way GMJ or Jacobs should have been the backup plan at CF or 1B. C’mon.
Again, GMJ wasn’t the backup plan, Pagan was the backup plan.
I actually liked the Jacobs signing at the time. He hit 32 home runs not too long ago, and if he played like he did in 09, then you bring up Davis. And that’s exactly what happened.
Signing Jacobs didn’t hurt us at all. He only played 7 games for us…….
GMJ was not the back up. He was the bloody starter. Pagan was the 4th OF. They traded for GMJ January 22, 2010, a week after they announced Beltran was out until at least June (how did that work out?).
And Jacobs only played 7 games…horrendously at a premium position. What was the point of him being there? Everyone knew he was a strike out waiting to happen. All that garbage about trying to prevent Davis’ arbitration clock from starting early turned out to be pointless.
He didn’t hurt us in that we lost a pennant but he did hurt us in that we selected him instead of possibly someone else but the real question is after 6 years why didn’t we have a few corner IF, MI OF and pitching prospects fighting for that May/June/July/Aug/Sept promotion?
Maybe it’s unfair to expect that starting from a barren wasteland in only 6 years but I still feel that Omar had the talent to identify guys in OTHER teams systems, make some deals, even among nontenders. Get us a layer of C talent WITH upside for AA and AAA while building the low minors.
Properly preparing those undervalued prospects in other teams systems could have mitigated some of the freak show we wound up with in 2009 and 2010 and might have even facilitated a trade or two for something that would have really made a difference.
I feel Omar had the talent to do this, whether he had the time is debateable but the major fly in the ointment is the same old pressure by the Ownership to “sell tickets” instead of building a team that would sell out 162 games a year and then some.
Lot’s of time the work you do five years ago is what is driving your success this year.
Shame that the Wilpon always is only interested in this years success.
Donal,
we got GMJ to backup Pagan. GMJ had a hot spring and started some games…..but the plan was to have Pagan as Beltran’s replacment.
You’re complaning about SEVEN games? If I went on a Phillies blog would they be complaining about Dane Sardinha playing 12 games for them?
i don’t think so…..
If Pagan was the annointed starter, a hot Spring for GMJ (who is a confirmed bust at that point) should not have mattered. At best, they were going to platoon. The FO panicked and had no real plan and no real options.
And I don’t know or care what the commentors on a Phillies blog would say. And if they didn’t complain about Sardinha, it was probably because they made it to the NLCS for the 3rd year in a row. So, obviously, Sardinha was not another symptom of a much larger problem, which Jacobs was.
And thats what the people arguing like you are missing. It’s not about one player, or one problem or one bad contract. Its the way it all fit together and how it became so obvious that the FO was totally lost.
Vinny, when the trade was made I do not think that GMJ was told he will backup Pagan.
“New York wanted another outfielder after Carlos Beltran had knee surgery last week. Beltran, sidelined for much of last season, is not expected back until May, and Matthews will compete with Angel Pagan to play center field while Beltran is on the disabled list.
“I think it’s going to be open competition,” Mets general manager Omar Minaya said. “Nobody’s going to be given the job.”
sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/baseball/mlb/01/22/mets.matthews/index.html
“Matthews gives the Mets a good defensive outfielder who they say will compete with Angel Pagan for the starting center field job until Beltran returns from last week’s surgery, likely in May or June.
“It will be an open competition,” GM Omar Minaya said in announcing the trade Friday. “That’s what I told Gary.”
A club source said the Mets expect Pagan him to win the job, but they are wary of both his history of injuries and baserunning foibles.”
nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2010/01/22/2010-01-22_mets_get_angels_outfielder_gary_matthews_jr_in_trade_as_insurance_for_carlos_bel.html
“It remains possible, though unlikely, that Pagan could start over Matthews while Beltran recuperates.
“I think it’s going to be open competition,” Minaya said of the center-field job. “That’s the same thing that I told Gary Matthews Jr. when he asked that. Nobody’s going to be given a job. Whoever performs is going to be given the opportunity.”
mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100122&content_id=7953786&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
ALL teams sign bad players like Jacobs, The Rockies signed him this year for depth also….every team has players like that. That’s my point with Sardinha, even the best teams have bad players. Every team does it, But only Omar gets attacked for doing it.
The front office was not lost, they had very bad luck with injuries, this was a team that had the best record in the NL from 06-08 and before the injuries in 09 we were in 1st place…..and we have a nice future with young promising players like Davis, Niese, Thole, Parnell, Pelfrey, Gee, and Mejia.
Oh and after Beltran got hurt in mid Jan, what backup OF that was available then, that would you have liked to have gotten instead?
NJ,
I’m fine with that, it was an open competition – nothing wrong with that.
GMJ played good ST, then got some starts in the regular season, But then he played bad once the season started, and then was released.
It turned out to be a bad move. but if you leave out the fact that Pagan was there, it makes it seem MUCH worse than what it was. Pagan did a GREAT job replacing Beltran when he was out – Everyone leaves that part out.
Yes Pagan did one bangup job. Hard to imagine what would of happened had Pagan not been able to play CF last year.
IMO the decisions made to start the season just had me scratching my head.
That somehow GMJ was seen as a starter coming out of camp instead of Pagan was one.
That they decided to go with Jacobs and Cat over Ike with the S.T. and winterball before it that Davis had was two.
That they took Mejia up and stuck him in the pen and on top of that to only barely use him was three.
I can only hope the decisions made to start this season will be better than those 3 were for me in my opinion.
“ALL teams sign bad players like Jacobs, The Rockies signed him this year for depth also….every team has players like that. That’s my point with Sardinha, even the best teams have bad players. Every team does it, But only Omar gets attacked for doing it.”
No, Omar gets attakced for doing it repeatedly and not having better options. Again, its not just one isolated incident. Its a near patholical behavior.
“The front office was not lost, they had very bad luck with injuries, this was a team that had the best record in the NL from 06-08 and before the injuries in 09 we were in 1st place…..and we have a nice future with young promising players like Davis, Niese, Thole, Parnell, Pelfrey, Gee, and Mejia.”
Yes, they were lost. They had bad luck with injuries, but so does everyone. And that promising future has almost been ruined because some of the you promising players got rushed to the bigs and put in positions detrimental to their developement.
“Oh and after Beltran got hurt in mid Jan, what backup OF that was available then, that would you have liked to have gotten instead?”
He didn’t get hurt. He had surgery on a chronic knee problem that had bothered him most of 2009. I don’t think they should have waited until January 14th 2010 to worry about that. Beltran has had balky knees for a while and was 32 at the time. The idea that he would miss a good chunk of time should not have snuck up on Omar.
“No, Omar gets attakced for doing it repeatedly and not having better options. Again, its not just one isolated incident. Its a near patholical behavior.”
Other GM’s do it repeatedly as well. The two world series teams had these players play for them.
Ryan Rohlinger, Darren Ford, Matt Downs, John Bowker, and Eugenio Velez, Andres Blanco, Arias, Cora, Francoeur, Craig Gentry, and Esteban german.
So it isn’t just Omar, the 2 WS teams had a lot of bad players as well.
“Yes, they were lost. They had bad luck with injuries, but so does everyone.
Every one has that amount of injuries? I don’t think so. reyes played 36 games and Delgado played 26…..and beltran missed half the season, Wright and Santana missed time as well. How can ANY team win with that amount of injuries to their best players? We were in 1st place before the injuries to Delgado and reyes, and before Beltran got hurt we were 1.5 games behind, then after that we fell apart – the injuries KILLED us that year.
“And that promising future has almost been ruined because some of the you promising players got rushed to the bigs and put in positions detrimental to their developement.”
Where’s you’re proof of this? is Davis ruined? Or what about Niese? or Thole? are they ruined? And I believe Mejia said the big league experience actually HELPED him.
You’re probably right about beltran, they should have gotten a better backup earlier. But Pagan did such a GREAT job replacing beltran, that in the end, it didn’t really effect us.
10 players among 2 teams? And how many started a significant amount of games?
Rollinger had 18 PAs and was constantly shuttled between the bigs and the minors.
Ford had 0 PAs in 7 games, He was late inning defensive replacement and pinch runner and was a September call up.
Down started the season in AAA had 88 PAs for the Giants before Houston took him off waivers.
Bowker also started the season in AAA but got a whole 41 PAs before being traded to Pittsburgh at the deadline.
Velez…hey actually made the opening day roster. Granted he got dropped down to the minors after a month as part of a platoon, but at least you found one. He even had a whole 66 PAs.
Blanco was shuttled back and forth by Texas, for whom he had 185 PAs.
Cora was released by the Mets, got 7 PAs with Texas and was released 3 weeks after signing. On the Mets Opening Day Roster making $2 million.
Gentry was called up for 3 weeks in April and May because Nelson Cruz was hurt. Another guy not on the opening day roster who bounced up and down. 35 PAs.
German signed with the Rangers on April 8th and managed a grand total of 16 PAs.
Franceour is the only guy who got significant playing time and the only guy on the playoff roster that you mentioned. And even he was released as soon as the season was over. He’s also the only guy you mentioned that either wasn’t a September call up, injury replacement or journey utility guy.
You noticed 2 of those crappy players were on the Mets Opening Day roster? You notice only one of those guys played in October? You notice only one of them had significant playing time?
“Every one has that amount of injuries? I don’t think so. reyes played 36 games and Delgado played 26…..and beltran missed half the season, Wright and Santana missed time as well. How can ANY team win with that amount of injuries to their best players? We were in 1st place before the injuries to Delgado and reyes, and before Beltran got hurt we were 1.5 games behind, then after that we fell apart – the injuries KILLED us that year.”
Delgado was 36 with a history of back problems. Reyes has a history of leg problems. Santana was a 30 year old power pitcher and didn’t shut down until August 25th when they were already out. And its not that they couldn’t replace all of them. Its that they couldn’t even back up any of them. There was no plan.
“Where’s you’re proof of this? is Davis ruined? Or what about Niese? or Thole? are they ruined? And I believe Mejia said the big league experience actually HELPED him.”
Niese, Thole and Davis should be OK, despite the bizzare reasoning for not starting Ike at with the big club last year, but Pelf and Mejia were definately set back.
And people who actually have experience with talent deleopement disagree with your assessment of Mejia. He should get back to form, but using him in the bullpen the way they did set him back a year.
“You’re probably right about beltran, they should have gotten a better backup earlier. But Pagan did such a GREAT job replacing beltran, that in the end, it didn’t really effect us.”
Ya, Pagan was always highly rated. No idea why it took so long for him to get a shot.
“You notice only one of them had significant playing time?”
And did you notice that the players that you are complaning about didn’t have much significant playing time either? Jacobs only played SEVEN games and you complain about him? come on. But if other teams have bad players play a few games for them it’s okay. Right?
“Reyes has a history of leg problems.”
You mean the 26 year old Jose Reyes that was healthy for 4 consecutive years? How stupid of Omar for not expecting him to miss 126 games.
“There was no plan.”
Nobody can plan for that amount of injuries. NOBODY. I’ll give you Delgado being a risk, but Reyes and Beltran…no way.
Pelfrey is fine. And Mejia is fine……don’t worry about them. picthers have come up to the big leagues and went to the bullpen before it’s nothing new – A LOT of good picthers have done that. Like Santana, Wainwright, Price……I can go on all night. I don’t think those guys are ruined. Are they?
And show me where Mejia was “almost ruined” for pitching out of the bullpen. How do these people know if the experience helped or hurt Mejia? Do they know him personally? Did they talk to him?
Not bad. I liked Hampson when he was in San Diego a few years ago. Solid lefty with a respectable WHIP & ERA. Fair amount of K’s but a high H/9. I wonder why he hasn’t played in the majors since ’08 although he had a cup of coffee in Oakland’s minor league system in ’09.
Let me see if I get this. So now it’s about Alderson trying to get to the post season as fast or faster than prior GM’s?
What if he makes it to the playoffs this year and gets eliminated in the 1st round and never makes it to the post season again? Is he somehow better that say Steve Phillips for getting to the playoffs in his 1st season?
Since when was it about getting their faster than prior GM’s for some of you Mets fans?
Are some of you that are bragging about seeing if Alderson can get to the playoffs before Phillips going to all of a sudden say well Alderson must be better than Minaya just cause the Mets made the playoffs this year?
I thought it was about building a team that can win not one W.S. but multiple W.S. titles due to a sustained system of excellence the likes the Mets have never seen?
Here you have people only concerned with seeing if Alderson can make the playoffs in 2 years or less.
Go figure here I thought some of you wanted the Mets to win a title. Turns out all some of you want is for Alderson to beat Phillips and Minaya’s record for making the playoffs.
Go figure.
No it’s not. It’s just bayonne setting up a false and misleading bar so he can have something to call Alderson on.
Very transparent.
You know bayonne will be rooting for the Mets to lose every game so he can continue his rant against Alderson.
Every move he has made since day one has been met with complaints including the tie he wore at his introductory press conference.
Everything that will turn out right will be met by excuses.
Everything that turns out wrong will be met with I told you so’s.
Anyone with a brain in their head knows Phillips had WAY more to work with when he got the job AND was already familiar with the Organization. He also had Pulsipher, Paul Wilson, Izringhausen, Preston Wilson, Vance Wilson, Terrence Long, Jay Payton, Benny Agbayani, Butch Huskey and AJ Burnett in the minors. He also had Olerud, Alfonzo and Ordonez, Gilkey, Lance Johnson, Hundley, Jones and Reed on the 25.
Of players that eventually made a contribution to any team in the Majors, Omar had only Brian Bannister and Angel Pagan.
Similar situation my ass.
Your kidding about the tie right?
actually, I do remember some people complaining about his tie at the time.
I honestly can not recall so much hatred against a FO guy before the team has even played a game under his watch.
and you would think that everyone would have to at least admit that he walked into a tough year taking over a team, considering all the factors to deal with.
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