San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey suffers a broken left ankle and torn knee ligaments following a devastating collision at home plate that wiped out his 2011 season.

Updated by Joe D. on 2/28

Interestingly enough, the topic of Travis D’Arnaud blocking the plate came up last night during our conference call with Sandy Alderson. Matthew Artus broached the subject with Sandy and asked him to elaborate on his feelings about catchers blocking the plate and if D’Arnaud’s injury history played a factor in the team’s decision.

“This particular issue has gotten some coverage in recent days,” the Mets GM said. “I think that Mike Matheny with St. Louis was suggesting there should be a rule change about collisions at home plate.”

“I think that you have to be sensible with this, catchers themselves have to be sensible about this. At this point the rule is what it is, and it’s really something we’ve only begun to address publicly over the last couple of days.”

“With the concern that all sports have concerning concussions, putting aside how valuable a catcher can be and whether he can be lost for the season, just general physiological well being is something that has to be taken into account. But as far as d’Arnaud is concerned, we also had to take into account his injury history and his value to us going forward for the future.”

I know some of you would disagree with me, but I’m totally on board with Sandy on this one.

From the standpoint regarding the seriousness of concussions and how much more we know about the longterm effects today, that we didn’t know ten years ago…

The potential for losing a valuable member of your team for perhaps the entire season or longer…

The investment and costs associated with developing a major league catcher….

And in D’Arnaud’s case specifically, he’s already suffered one concussion in his pro career, and we have to take every precaution to safeguard his health and think about his longevity.

That image of Buster Posey still troubles me and besides being a Mets fan, I’m a baseball fan first and I’m a huge Posey fan. We should make sure something like that never happens again.

* * * * * * * *

Amazin Avenue transcribed the entire conference call and I would encourage all of you to check it out. You’ll get a good sense of where we stand as an organization today and what the future might look like, from the general manager’s perspective.

I usually don’t get too much out of these conference calls that I already didn’t know, to be quite honest with you. But this one was very insightful thanks to some great questions and what I felt were some genuinely thoughtful, intuitive, and responsive answers by Sandy.

Great job by Sandy Alderson, Shannon Forde, all those who participated, and Amazin Avenue for giving us a written account that we can all draw from.

Original Post 2/27

Adam Rubin of ESPN recently posted a quote from Terry Collins regarding young catching phenom Travis d’Arnaud. The Mets manager had some very interesting thoughts on how he wants his catcher of the future to play behind the dish.

Here is the comment from Collins.

“I told him, ‘Trav, I know you’re a tough guy. I know it’s baseball. But if you want to play for the next 15 years, the last thing we need is to have you re-injure your knee. Just get in front of that plate and let them have the plate. And if you receive the ball early, get yourself in a good position. But I’m not going to let you stick that left leg out there and have somebody who is just a reckless guy come charging in and have you shorten your career. I’m not going to allow that to happen right now.’

This comment by Collins struck me as odd, but I kind of understand it at the same time.

The 24-year old backstop has a history of knee injuries, and when you think about what happened to Buster Posey back in 2011, you can kind of understand why the Mets might have some reservations with their prized prospect.

Posey was lost for the season with a broken leg while trying to block home plate. D’Aranud was lost for the remainder of the 2012 season after attempting a takeout slide as a runner at second base, and suffered a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you want a catcher who is forced to play conservative at home plate, or do you want a gamer who is going to put his body in harms way to make a play? Does the Mets thinking in this situation make sense to you, or do you think they are being overly cautious? Do you agree or disagree with Terry Collins?

We had a pitcher once who seemed to be slipping. He was approaching 33, his best years behind him. Over his last two seasons, his ERA rose 26%, his strikeouts decreased by about 8%, his wins dropped by nearly one–third and he was allowing more home runs. He was sent away for a slick fielding second baseman, a young slugger with a good eye, a lanky righthander who posted a 2.74 ERA the previous year, and a ‘cant-miss’ outfielder with great bad speed.

Just wondering… How many of you who were there, now think trading Tom Seaver for Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson, Pat Zachary and Dan Norman worked out well for us?

I’ve been a Mets fan for 40 years now and thanks to our GM, I apparently don’t understand the game. I always thought that when you have a good player you keep him. You use that player and try to build a winner. Apparently, I’m incorrect. I now see that when you have a good player, you trade him and gamble on young unproven prospects.

Just to digress for a moment, Giants GM Brian Sabean must be an idiot. What does he know about building a winner? So what if his Giants have won two World Series in three years? He’s got Buster Posey who, in three seasons, has won a Rookie of the Year and an MVP. Why isn’t Sabean shopping him, that fool? Think of all the young prospects he could get in exchange for Posey. Hmm, maybe Alderson can call him up and give him a few pointers on building a winner.

Okay, bad analogy. Posey is 25, Dickey is 38. However, Dickey is a knuckle-balling 38. Charlie Hough pitched until he was 46, Tim Wakefield to age 45 and Phil Niekro until 48. Hoyt Wilhelm was 50. Think 38 is old? Well, consider it’s very possible that Dickey will still be pitching when David Wright retires.

Jose Reyes, among the most exciting players in baseball, was one of the most popular Mets in decades. Although he’d been our shortstop for eight seasons, Alderson channeled M. Donald Grant. After putting down his talents by saying speed was not important, he told Reyes, “Show me what you can do.” Jose sure showed him, becoming the first player in team history to win a batting championship… Then Alderson showed him the GW Bridge and pointed him south.

Alderson told us that Reyes wanted too much money and, due to his history of injuries, it was too big a risk. Fine, whatever.

Fast forward to one year later. RA Dickey became the one and only bright spot in yet another abysmal Mets season. He was the feel good story of 2012. For a change, the Mets were presented positively in the national spotlight. R.A. became the first Mets pitcher in more than a quarter of a century to win the Cy Young Award, and the first knuckleballer ever to cop the award. In addition to setting a team record of 32 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings, he also led the NL in innings pitched, strikeouts, complete games and shutouts.

Last winter, Alderson told us he couldn’t keep Reyes because he wanted too much money and that he wasn’t worth the risk due to injuries. This winter, Alderson lets Dickey walk because of a difference of only $6 million over three years in a new contract. And ironically, who do we get back, but a catcher who missed half the season with a knee injury, and also missed half a season in 2010 with two bulging discs in his back.

If we had no problem getting rid of Reyes because of injury concerns, then why now is it acceptable to get a player trying to recover from a season-ending injury? An injury to his knee… And a catcher yet, too…

M. Donald Grant is regarded as the worst GM in our history. He traded Seaver, Kooz, Tug, Rusty, Cleon, Buddy, etc… However, I have more respect for him than I do for Alderson.

Grant was an autocrat, a businessman who ran the team with a dictatorial approach. He did not care that the stands were empty. He did not care that the fan base detested him. He did what HE wanted with no fanfare, no concern for us. Mets fans be damned.

Alderson, however, gets rid of players in Grant-like fashion, but then turns around and tells us it’s good for the team. Don’t lie to me. Don’t insult our intelligence. Don’t treat us like we are stupid. Don’t talk down to us. Our wins and attendance have dropped for three straight seasons and these trends will continue into the future. isn’t that the truth?

Whereas Grant destroyed the team, he didn’t placate us with soundbites. Alderson does the same, but then lies to us about how great things are and will be.

If D’arnaud is indeed the next Mike Piazza, the second coming of Mickey Cochrane, then why did we also need to get John Buck? Isn’t one great catcher enough?

I guess the Mets approach is simple: If you’re good, we have no interest in keeping you. But if you’re no good, you’re more than welcome to stay. This approach confuses me.

Am I supposed to root FOR guys like D’arnaud or against him? I mean, lets say he does great. He’s Buster Posey 2.0. He’s Johnny Bench. He’s Yogi Berra. But if he does really well, then what? He’ll want more money and become too costly and we simply cant have that. So we’ll simply trade him for a couple of good prospects. Is that the cycle? The plan? The future?

What’s the long range goal?

When does this merry-go-round of lunacy end?

Why draw the line there? What if, GOD FORBID, Lucas Duda hits 35 HR’s next year? Well, we can trade him for a couple of prospects. Maybe Jon Niese will come through and become a 20 game winner like, say, oh I don’t know, RA Dickey. Eureka – Sell High – We can surely get two huge prospects for him now. Jackpot.

I can almost see M. Donald Alderson licking his chops at the thought of it.

Guys play well, they’ll earn more money, and that’s not something that fits into the Mets plans… This new philosophy.

Hey, here’s something to consider. Maybe if Alderson trades away each player for 2 or 3 prospects, he can get a special dispensation from Bud Selig. Maybe the Mets can have a 60 man roster. (Of course, 57 of them would suck but still…)

And wow, imagine if in 2013 David Wright becomes the first player to hit .400 since Ted Williams. Hmm… A .400 hitter would definitely warrant a few prospects and he is getting long in the tooth at 31.

Last season we bid farewell to Jose Reyes. Now we all watched R.A. Dickey get sent away. Both are now reunited in Toronto, a team that is determined to win. GM Alex Anthopoulos stated on Monday night that the Jays have not been to a World Series in 19 years and “that’s too long to ask fans to wait”. Hey, Alex, try 26 years.

Reyes and Dickey are now with a team that has become the powerhouse of the AL East, and fully capable of dethroning the Yankees. Maybe next October, Reyes and Dickey can join the likes of Carlos Beltran and Angel Pagan. Remember them? They are also ex-Mets discarded by Alderson who then immediately found their way into the post-season with other teams.

Over the last month or so, the Carlos Beltran rumors have heated up to the max. It has quickly became a “when” Mets deal Carlos Beltran instead of “if”.

Ken Rosenthal reports the Red Sox and Phillies have been the most persistent thus far. That may be true and I’m not discounting that, however I don’t believe Carlos Beltran will be in either uniform come August 31st.

The Red Sox lack that true “blue chip” prospect that Sandy Alderson is apparently coveting. They traded away top prospects such as Casey Kelly (currently tearing it up for the Padres in minors), Reymond Fuentes (Beltran’s cousin), and Anthony Rizzo (recently made MLB debut).

The Phillies have one or two stud prospects. One happens to be a slick hitting RF named Domonic Brown. Brown draws a lot of loose comparisons to Darryl Strawberry due to his long swing and power ability. While I would take Domonic Brown in a heartbeat, I highly doubt the Phillies are willing to deal potential future star in division just to possibly guarantee another championship. But hey you never know…

Since early March I’ve pegged the San Francisco Giants as a perfect fit for Carlos Beltran come the deadline. And this is before Buster Posey got injured. Now with Posey out the Giants lack a big bat to glue together their lineup. Not to mention the gaping hole in RF>

Early this season MMO did a poll to see everyones guesses for 2011 NLCS. I picked Giants and Phillies (mainly because of their pitching). A rematch of 2010 all over again in 2011.

Now imagine this? Start a bidding war for Carlos Beltran between the Giants and Phillies. Both teams know he could put their team over the edge come the playoffs. Now were talking about huge prospect packages in return. Especially if the Mets are willing to eat Beltran’s salary like predicted.

What prospects can we expect from the Giants? Gary Brown (top OF prospect, batting .313/7 HR/56 RBI in Single-A at age 22.) (*also has 39 SB!)…Zack Wheeler? (Top pitching prospect) Both? I doubt we could get both, but one is certainly going to happen if Giants want Beltran.

Oh and as for the Phillies? If they want Beltran, Dom Brown’s name better the first thing out of Ruben Amaro’s mouth when he calls Sandy.

Starting back in 1883 through 1957 some of the best to ever walk onto a baseball field walked onto that field wearing a Giants uniform. Legends such as Christy Mathewson (373-188, 2.13 ERA and 79 shutouts), Carl Hubbell (best known for mastering the screwball and for fanning Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, Simmons and Cronin in succession in the 1934 All-Star Game), Mel Ott (the 1^st NLer to surpass 500 HR‘s), Bill Terry (341 career BA and the last NLer to hit over 400), ‘Iron Man’ Joe McGinnity (246 wins in 10 years) and Roger Connor (baseball’s original HR king) all played for the Giants.

They were managed by John McGraw, the 2^nd winningest mgr ever. McGraw compiled a .586 winning percentage over 33 years. In 1904 the Giants won the pennant but McGraw refused to let his team play in the World Series. The American League was ‘inferior’ as he put it and they didn’t deserve to be on the same field with his team.

In 1951, the Giants trailed the Dodgers by 13 ½ games on August 11. Although Brooklyn played well down the stretch (26-22) the Giants took it to another level, playing an unfathomable 841, going 37-7. It was arguably the greatest comeback ever. It culminated with Bobby Thomson’s HR in a playoff game against Brooklyn to determine the pennant. Thomson’s HR is considered the greatest ever in Baseball history. Russ Hodges’ cry of ‘The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!’ has gone down as perhaps the most memorable line ever spoken by a broadcaster.

Willie Mays catch in 1954 is the best and most famous defensive play in World Series history.

It was October 1956 and as usual, Brooklyn was battling the Yankees in the Fall Classic. But as the Yankees prevailed in 7 games there was a storm brewing. Rumors were intensifying that the Dodgers as well as the Giants were considering moving.

Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley was seeking a new home. Ebbets Field, while beloved by faithful fans, was becoming run down. The surrounding neighborhood was unsafe. In spite of the teams unparalleled success throughout the 1950’s the small stadium rarely sold out.

O’Malley was butting heads with Robert Moses, the construction coordinator for the city. O’Malley set his sights on a plot of land at the Brooklyn waterfront. Moses, however, had the power to condemn the land. And he did just that. Instead, he tried to bully O’Malley into moving to Flushing Meadows. O’Malley was irate and began looking elsewhere. The exact spot that Moses had in mind would later be the site of Shea.

O’Malley was heavily courted by city officials from Los Angeles. At the time baseball did not extend beyond St. Louis and it would be too costly to fly to California for just one team. O’Malley needed someone else to move.

Enter Horace Stoneham, principal owner of the Giants. Stoneham was also looking for a new home. Their stadium, the Polo Grounds, was also badly in need of repair and Stoneham, like O’Malley, was getting nowhere with city officials. He had been leaning towards moving his Giants to Minneapolis. However, he was being enticed by officials from San Francisco. That, along with O’Malley’s skill of persuasion, convinced Stoneham to head west.

When the Giants Board of Directors voted, there were only two individuals who voted for them to stay put: Joan Whitney Payson and M. Donald Grant.

Grant would become the Chairman of the Mets. It was he who was the driving force in bringing Gil Hodges ‘home to New York’ in 1968 to manage.

Joan Payson would become the first principal owner of the Mets. But she never stopped loving her Giants. It was she who was very influential in the design of the ‘NY’ logo on the Mets cap. As a tribute to the city’s baseball heritage, she wanted to use the exact same NY insignia as her Giants wore-Giant orange but now on a Dodger blue background. It was also Payson who was prominent behind the Mets getting Willie Mays in 1972. She was determined to have her idol finish out his career in the city he started.

In spite of many great players playing in San Francisco, a championship has alluded them. Only the Cubs and Indians have gone longer without winning.

As an organization the Giants have won 21 pennants, but 17 came in NY. They’ve won 8 World Series but all of those were in NY as well.

In 2002, they lost the World Series in 7 games to the Angels. In 62, they again lost in 7 games, this time to the Yankees. Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the 9^th in game 7, the Giants put the tying and winning runs in scoring position but Willie McCovey lined out to end the series.

In 1989 they got swept by their cross-bay rivals, the A’s. But that series was more remembered for the massive 7.1 earthquake that hit the Bay Area. The quake hit at rush hour, 5:04 pm. 63 people were killed that day. But many had left work early and were in Candlestick Park or at home preparing for Game 3. Had the Giants not been in the World Series experts calculate the death toll would have been between 400-500.

Since moving west the Giants have had 9 MVP’s and 4 Rookie of the Year’s. In 1981 they became the first team in the NL to hire an African-American manager. 2 of the top 4 HR hitters of all time, 3 of the top 18, all played in SF.

The NY/SF Giants have won more games then any other team. They have 28 players enshrined in Cooperstown, also more then any other team.

Some of the biggest stars of the last half century have been San Francisco Giants. Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, Orlando Cepeda, Gaylord Perry, Will Clark, the Alou brothers, Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent have all played for this team. In spite of this, the Giants have yet to win a Series.

Based on that, it’s almost hard to imagine them winning it all with Posey, Lincecum and Huff. It’s hard to believe that Matt Cain can do what Marichal couldn’t. But isn’t that what makes this game great?

It’s World Series time. Welcome to October…