17
2012
Rotation Concerns, 2012 Callups, Alderson
An article by 
ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin had his weekly chat on Thursday and I cherry picked a few questions I thought would make for an interesting debate.
With all of the potential question marks with the rotation, how could they not bring in one pitcher to compete for a job?
Money. Bottom line is Dillon Gee is not established, even though he had a terrific first half, and Johan Santana’s health — even with everyone optimistic — is not established. And there’s a dangerously thin safety net. Really, we’re talking Miguel Batista, Chris Schwinden, Jeremy Hefner and Garrett Olson right now. And maybe Chris Young at some point in the middle of the year, if he re-signs.
Can’t something be said for watching a bunch of young players develop while getting really cheap tickets to major league games? Why does the season have to be all gloom-and-doom?
They’re really not introducing young new players yet, if you’re referring to Matt Harvey, etc. That’s 2013. So we’re talking about Lucas Duda and Ike Davis? That’s fine. I wouldn’t put Josh Thole in that category, or really Dillon Gee. Are they major leaguers? Sure. But it’s not like we’re biding time waiting for them to turn into the next David Wright and Jose Reyes, or whatever the equivalent would be for their positions.
Does it seem strange to you, esp. in a depressing year, to have Sandy Alderson joking around so much, including about Mets finances, being reimbursed for gas, getting his wife a gift card at IHOP, etc.?
I think it’s well-intentioned and trying to make light of the situation, but my personal opinion is it’s not a good idea. It cements perceptions among fans — PERCEPTIONS — that he’s an MLB plant, kind of divorced from his legacy being impacted by what happens with the Mets. It’s like it’s their misfortune, not his. At least I think that’s how it’s being perceived by a segment of the fan base. The tweets will get more serious in-season. They have to. People would revolt if there were jokes being made with a sub-.500 team. Sandy Alderson went to Dartmouth undergrad and Harvard law. I’m positive he’s cognizant of that.
Do you think the Mets could be the Padres of this year and suprise some people ?
Not in the NL East. Rank the 25 starting pitchers in the division and see where the Mets’ guys lie. That will answer your question.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
25 Comments + Add Comment
NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 24 | 18 | .571 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 20 | .535 | 1.5 |
| Phillies | 20 | 23 | .465 | 4.5 |
| Mets | 16 | 24 | .400 | 7.0 |
| Marlins | 11 | 32 | .256 | 13.5 |
Last updated: 05/18/2013
Recent Comments
- StearnsDude: on Featured Post: If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try Again In The Minors: Demotion is long overdue. Besides being an...
- Joe D: on Our Savior Has Arrived!: It's gotta be the beard, ya gotta...
- Joe D: on Rafael Montero To Make Spot Start For Las Vegas: Trust me on this. CThomp is absolutely...
- CThomp519: on Rafael Montero To Make Spot Start For Las Vegas: U are so wrong about that. ...
- Edward: on Rafael Montero To Make Spot Start For Las Vegas: Funny, I haven't heard any scouts say...
MMO Mets Chat
Need Tickets To The Mets Game?
Check Out These Great MLB Links!
Photographs From Gordon Donovan
5360 Fans Follow Us On Twitter!
1269 Fans Like Us On Facebook!
2341 Fans Read Our Feed!
1702 Fans Subscribe via Daily Email!
69-93, No matter how we put it or try to cherry pick it, this team will be going nowhere fast, but hey, our GM is refreshing and funny on his tweets, so who cares if we’re losing as long as our GM keeps us entertain right? Pathetic…
ohh, and btw, no $ for pitching but $ to overpay for bullpen guys who are above average at best and nobody else was offering that type of $ right??? but some people here described that as a “good day” for sandy alderson..
Take a good look at the FUTURE: https://twitter.com/#!/DPLennon/status/170530839942283264/photo/1
HA! FREE FAMILIA!!!
I really don’t like Adam Rubin that much…he really seems like that “@ss kissing”, “do nothing”, “takes credit for others work”, “will be nice to face, but throw you under the bus to advance himself” co worker we’ve all had to deal with…
That said, he usually is pretty spot on with his analyses (even if he does have his own agenda when he does it). This is one of the times that I agree with him completely.
2 things that stick out to me.
1) I expect that there will be some more SP depth grabbed before the season starts (in ST, or late cuts). Yes, it is money driven 9cheap), but personally I would be surprised if they don’t bring any more depth in.
2) The NL east factor. the team is not that bad overall, it just looks worse in context of being in a tough division. Put them in the central, and it is a whole different story.
I saw this pix when he posted it.To me it looks like Domingo Tapia or someone else,not Familia.
i agree that ranking the SP rotaions in the NL East this year is indeed the cold-water-in-the-face dose to reality. i have no clue what our record will be this year, but there are always always always shockers in baseball. Maybe, one favoring the Mets may occur this year. Who knows? i do think the Offense will be much better than any of the experts / pundits expect.
Separately, Jeurys Familia is my ‘sleeper’ among our big 3 pitching prospect studs to ‘bring it’ big, first.
the good thing is, players don’t alwasy do what they are expected to “on paper”. And pitchers in particular tend to get hurt, and have bigger year to year swings.
LoL, and to think if Familia comes up and has success he already has his own song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywhKSSF49Vs&t=50s
LMAO!!!! MNJ what you know about charanga 76??!? me and you gotta def meet up one day man, salsa and guaguanco is my thing man… from the ERA of angel canales, fuego 77, hecotr lavoe, la fania etc…
Oh man Angel Canales now that takes me back. My appreciation for the era is due solely to my parents. As a kid I hated listening to Fania and all that but as I became older It was so much a part of my memories of my youth that I grew to love them for reminding of a time when my dad was a big part of my life. When I listen to Canales in “Lejos de ti” say “Yo no me quedo, me voy para Borinquen” That is the peak for me.
Question #2 addresses my main problem with the offseason moves!
I am fine if we are going to rebuild….WHEN does it start?
Sure isn’t this year! Every player signed was over 30!
All playing positions where we had Kids to play instead!
t would be one thing if we signed one Vet closer to anchor the pen, Pick Rauch or Francisco either or and I’m fine with that!
But why wasn’t the rest of the pen made up of all those guys who are out of MiL options and have no future in our rotation being put in the pen to maybe get some value for all that development we invested in them?
Why not save the money spent (close to 15 Mil!) and put it towards signing some players who will be here past 2013?
Why are we replacing a 28yo.270 Hitter in CF with a 303 yo mendoza guy?
Why not just use Pridie or Evans even if just as long as it take to promote Kirk?
Just to get ramirez?
We traded K-Rod for Herrera why did we need all that Pen help?
I keep hearing we are all about the youth but so far none of the moves have really resulted in any youth we are planning to use other than Wheeler!
At best we are getting two 2nd rounders for All Star Reyes! I wonder where THEY will play when they get promoted?
1B? prob not!
2B? Not if Havens has anything to say about it!
SS? well what to do with Tejada?
3B? Are we saying we know Wright is gone? What about Murphy?
RF? But Duda is our biggest hope no?
CF? Ok maybe thats one position we will fill in 5 years! Oh Wait we have Kirk, nevermind!
LF? Basically thats the only place we do NOT have a kid for other than the rotation and the part time pen!
People keep trying to say we have no kids and have to sell off talent to get them!
Well Three All Stars gone and the return was one prospect and two 2nd round draft picks!
With no place to play unless it’s all pitching!
And even if thats what we take…
Harvey
Familia
Wheeler
Mejia
Who are we getting rid of?
Niese? or Gee?
Where is the room for that pitching? Is it all pen?
We let an All Star go so we could waste two 2nd round picks on the pen?
This is the logic you guys who claim your REALISTIC REBUILDER keep trying to say!
We have PLENTY of kids! And many are ready to be here this year or next!
We have a pretty good core of kids already up here!
Duda, Davis, Gee and Murphy!
If Tejada grows our infield is set for the forseeable future!
Yet you all say I’m the pessimist but I have never been the one to trash them as an excuse to start a rebuild!
You optimists pretty much have argued with yourself this entire offseason!
Things are so bad we need to tear it down and rebuild!
But we are going to be good aren’t we?
If so then why the rebuild?
If so then why didn’t we just use the kids we had that you all said were so poor we needed to trade all stars to get kids to fill in?
WHY?
I could not get through all of that but I made it this far:
“Why are we replacing a 28yo.270 Hitter in CF with a 303 yo mendoza guy?
Why not just use Pridie or Evans even if just as long as it take to promote Kirk?
Just to get ramirez?”
Yes, we did it just to get Ramirez. Go look at his stats, under 30 years old and stats that would have been the best in our pen last year.
Ahhso we traded 9 innings of better stats to get one!
Sounds like an even trade!
If your a Mobster and used a gun to get it!
Uh… OK.
A GM must balance out the present vs. the future and risk vs. upside in order to build a consistent and sustainable team.
Pridie and Evans had to be taken off the 40 man roster in order to protect two slower developing prospects who may not even make it here but if they do, almost certainly will do a hell of a lot more than Pridie or Evans would in 2012 and come 2013 more guys have to be protected so is the potential of Armando Rodriguez and Wilmer Flores who could be big time layers for 6-10 years worth more than 1 year of Pridie and Evans? Of course it is.
Pridie has a clone in our system anyway (Den Dekker) and wouldn’t get any AB’s once Niewenhauss is up here in June or July anyway and the argument for Evans is really more geared to why couldn’t he and a LH hitter have platooned in LF instead of signing Bay and using that money to pay Reyes? That’s the only realistic question to ask.
Pridie and Evans as evidenced by the lack of interest in them every time they were waived are part time bench guys or AAA depth. Helpful when you need them but not guys to lose sleep over.
Juggling player options, 25 and 40 man roster movements and weighing future vs. present needs are a vital part of a teams success that one needs look no further than catcher and how we lost a 21 year old good defensive catcher who had 21 HR’s in A+ back in 2006 and is sorely needed on this team right now. If the roster hadn’t been bungled we’d have a pretty competent catching tandem in place instead of having Alou’s 87 games or David Newhan’s 56 games.
Therin lies the danger of only planning for this years team. If you don’t win your making the hill steeper in subsequent years.
ok he’s got Financial balance (Not really) in the present…
Where is this balancing for the future?
Wheeler and what else?
HOPE? Your weighting the future balance with HOPE?
The future will take care of itself provided you take care of the present!
he can draft just as easily while winning as he can while losing!
Unless you plan on changing your position that you don’t NEED to lose to build from within!
“The future will take care of itself if we just take care of the present.” How? and if so how did we wind up with four firstbasemen in our starting eight?
How did we wind up needing to import 12 arms for the bullpen in the last two off seasons?
How did we wind up with a colosell underperforming contract in LF?
How did we wind up with a rotation that is the worst in our division?
We just came off a 3 year spell where all we were doing was taking care of the present and that’s how we got this way.
“He can draft just as well while winning as losing.” Not if he’s giving away the best picks he can’t and if that were so we wouldn’t be playing four firstbasemen in our starting lineup or having to import 12 arms for the pen or have the divisions worst rotation.
Hell we have to import the entire bench every year too.
I would do everything in my power to put Santana, Pelfrey, Niese, Dickey, Gee, Wright, Ramirez, Francisco, Byrdek, Rauch, Torres and Bay in only those situations that they thrive in. I know that’s virtually impossible for some of them and not feasable for most but as much as possible that’s what I’d do and seek to pick up as many top shelf prospects in A-, A+ and AA ball as possible. With just a little good fortune we could pick up two top rated catchers and two all around good OFer’s and a couple pitchers to add to Mejia, Familia, Harvey, Wheeler, Havens, Valdespin, Tejada, Duda, Murphy, Davis, Thole and Parnell.
Then we can see what we have and where we are and go about filling in where necessary with trades and just a couple of carefully selected free agents.
We did have six 90 loss seasons in a row before we got it under control in 1984 this wouldn’t take but two.
For the life of me, i don’t remember: “Who’ was the “21-yr old catcher, good D, 21 hrs in High A” that we lost after the 2006 Season? Thanks.
Metsie,
Pelfrey will not be in this rotation. When he becomes a free agent in a couple of years, he should be gone.
Well you will note I didn’t mention Pelfrey…
Thats why I asked who will be replaced Niese or Gee!
Santana, Pelfrey and most likely Dickey will be gone in 4 years. Dickey might hold on as knuckleballers can be effective after 40!
I am hoping he is out before that. 200 bad innings are not worth the money.
Metsie- This team is sadly just treading water right now…or even better, doing everything possible to slow the sinking.
I really don’t like the moves made this year…we let Evans, FMart and Pridie go but sign Hairston and Ronny Cedeno?
Why do people assume that Rauch or Francisco are great pick ups? What have either of these done to prove that they can anchor a bullpen?
Picking up Armando Rodriguez and Andres Torres for Pagan was probably the best move…my only real problem is that we waited a year for trade Pagan…we should have dumped him while his value was high after 2010.
Until this whole money issue is taken care of, nothing is gonna change. They’re afraid to admit to “rebuilding”…like us fans are really that stupid and can’t see what’s going on. Until the debts are figured out or Wilpon is forced out, we are gonna be looking at the same garbage every year.
They assume they are great Pickups merely because Sandy picked them!
These same people will buy cheap clocks because they only cost $5 but have to buy 10 of them where buying one $20 clock would last them the same duration!
Called penny wise and pound foolish!
The arguments and attempts to make what we have done sound good have NOTHING to do with Sabermetrics, Good Baseball or finances…
It’s all about promoting the Moneyball/don’t spend philosophy they want to see and excuses to promote how well it works!
Thats why it’s all about the IFs and nothing to do with the Statline, actual moves or the baseball itself we will be presented with!
They talk about the future because the future is the only thing that can change what has been done!
Which is the decimation of a team that with a good starting pitcher or two could have made the playoffs and beyond!
It’s face saving for what they wanted to happen when Omar was here but didn’t. And now that they see it being done all effort must be maintained to make it look good despite what the result obviously will show!
They even admit this team is worse and then pat Sandy on the back for it!
Like getting worse is required to get better!
Only a fool thinks going backwards is progress, just that much further you have to go before you see any!
Which is why IF and FUTURE is so overused around here!
https://twitter.com/#!/DPLennon/status/170559273171034112/photo/1
Hmmmm, at one point WE HAVE to get lucky!!!!!!!!!!!