Updated at 4:45 PM

Terry Collins said he doesn’t have a timetable for Shaun Marcum and said it could be a week or 2 before they know. #Mets

— Jorge Castillo (@jorgeccastillo) April 5, 2013

Original Post at 11:00 AM

MMO’s John Delcos reported on April 2 that Shaun Marcum was scratched from his simulated start and was flown from Port St. Lucie to New York to be examined by team doctors.

“He has some real discomfort running from his shoulder up through his neck,” said manager Terry Collins later that day during his pregame press conference at Citi Field.

“What that is, where it starts, what’s causing it, I think we won’t know until he sees the doctor tomorrow.”

The team has announced that Marcum was diagnosed with nerve inflammation in his neck at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York this morning.

Marcum was treated with “trigger-point injections” in his neck and will now rest for 2-3 days. He is on his way back to Port St. Lucie where he will continue to rehab at the team’s complex.

Marcum was placed on the 15-day disabled list with biceps tendinitis, retroactive to March 22. But at this point it looks like he won’t be activated until his neck and other nagging injuries have subsided.

Aaron Laffey is expected to replace him on Sunday against the Marlins and stay in the rotation for the foreseeable future.

Alderson has said that he would not be pursuing and external options to bolster the rotation in light of the Marcum and Johan Santana circumstances. He even decided to pass on Chris Young who the Nationals signed yesterday to a minor league deal for an insurance policy and added depth to their already stacked rotation.

Marcum is owed a guaranteed $4 million dollars and could have gotten an additional $4 million with incentives. He has been plagued with one health concern after another and one prominent Mets blogger is comparing the signing to when the Mets traded for J.J. Putz. Joe Janish of Mets Today writes:

Like Putz, Marcum’s injuries through the years are no secret. He had Tommy John surgery in 2008, and missed a significant portion of 2012 due to “elbow tightness” — which is a precursor to a UCL tear. In between, he’s had a rash of shoulder issues — something he’s described as “shoulder stiffness” and treated annually with a preseason cortisone shot. His chronic arm problems were so worrisome to the Brewers that they didn’t bother making him an offer to re-sign with them, even though they otherwise liked having him on the team and were in need of a veteran starter. It wasn’t guesswork, though — the Brewers had some research suggesting Marcum was on the verge of breaking down again.

Surely, the Mets were aware of the injury history and the research. Yet they made him their most expensive free-agent acquisition of the winter, positioning him as one of the key figures in what was supposed to be a strong starting rotation. You need go back only a month or so to the blogs and beat writers’ columns to read about how Marcum was going to be a big part of replacing the innings lost by the trade of R.A. Dickey.

That’s an interesting and relevant way of looking at it.

It seems our step brothers over at Evil Empire Inc., who were spurned by Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford this winter, have settled on the idea that what they REALLY needed all along was a 12 million dollar set-up man for Mariano Rivera.

Matthews begins his article with the assumption that the Yankees have pretty much sewn up the American League East with Soriano’s signing. He also goes on to say that we could score this off-season in favor of the Yankees.

I’m not sure what vacuum Wallace Matthews is living in but I’m pretty sure when he ventures beyond its protective dome he has to spend at least 8 hours in a decompression chamber.  Ok, we’re going to allow Matthews his winter in Wonderland just as long as he gives Alice her space.

I tried my best to not give his article that much credence considering it’s rooted in fantasy but it was just too ripe with nonsense to turn away from. He equates that with Crawford and Soriano now formerly of the Tampa Bay Rays, they will no longer haunt the Yankees and somehow that in and of itself translates into a division title for the Bombers. I guess when Matthews fell through the cosmic bunny hole and bumped his head he forgot the current state of the Yankees starting rotation in the coming season.

Not to mention how the Red Sox did an extreme makeover Basthun style with the additions of Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez and Bobby Jenks. Also you can consider the Yankees have to rely on Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre and the consistently inconsistent A.J. Burnett in the rotation; it pretty much makes the Soriano acquisition a bit moot, no?

Now I know as a Met fan I must have a lot of nerve considering Sandy Alderson is trying to refit his rotation with silly putty and Elmer’s glue. The thing is neither Alderson nor I or most sane thinking Met fans happen to live in the same ethereal magic world the Yankees have a set footing in.

Wallace mentioned the Yankee situation as a “roster problem”; you think?  So I assume he believes the importance of having Soriano outweighs having a reliable starter, especially if Andy Pettite retires. 

Don’t get me wrong, Soriano is a solid pitcher. He’s had success in the AL and the NL, both as a closer and set-up man but the only thing that keeps running through my mind is J.J. Putz. Soriano is clearly a better pitcher than Putz, I give him that without question. But Matthews believes that the Yankee pitchers need only go 6 innings now and somehow magically Soriano and the aging Mariano Rivera will front the load after that.  Good luck with that slick.

Didn’t Omar Minaya go down this road when he helped to orchestrate the three team deal that created the Wonder Twins of Flushing in J.J. Putz with Frankie Rodriguez?  That worked out perfectly.  Maybe I’m getting old and my memory is shot but didn’t the Mets also have rotation issues that SHOULD have been addressed that year, in spite of the bullpen issues that also existed?

I guess I’m a bit old school because I’m not one of those who believe having a great bullpen makes up for the lack of a starting rotation. It may alleviate some issues but in the end I’d rather have 7 strong innings from a good starter than burn through four or five arms game in game out. 

Why do I keep getting the feeling that signing Soriano, a type-A free agent which will cost the Yankees their first round pick this coming year, was predicated as compensation for losing out on the slew of other premium names this winter? Sure Soriano COULD eventually become Rivera’s heir to the closers throne in two years, making Soriano around 34 years old. He’s not exactly a spring chicken and the last I knew, he doesn’t share in Rivera’s DNA which must have been formed from the waters of the Fountain of Youth.

Once again the Yankees have set precedence in MLB, forever altering the way teams have to pay set-up men. This is just the type of overpaying Minaya was notorious for but is easily absorbed and hidden by the behemoth that is the New York Yankees payroll. While it’s admirable that Cashman wants to improve his bullpen, one questions at what cost to his rotation, financially and to his organization’s future?  As a Met fan we can all say, so who cares, and I agree, who cares?  But the same people who would say who cares I guarantee you are the ones who would say Sandy should’ve spent 15 million to sign Soriano.  It’s insane. 

Hopefully for Brian Cashman’s sake the signing of Rafael Soriano won’t end up nearly as bad as Omar Minaya’s J.J. Putz deal. It certainly doesn’t seem he’s learned from Minaya’s mistakes. If not, there may be no mountain tall enough for Cashman to avoid his fanbase and repel from.

K-Rod had a nice season, but his dip from 62 saves in Los Angeles the year before to 35 with the Mets was both a reflection on the Mets having a bad season and him being a bit inconsistent.  His 3.71 ERA was also way inflated from his 2.24 mark the previous season.  Putz was pitching pretty well before blowing out an elbow and being put on the DL about a third of the way into the 2009 season.  And Parnell was great at times, and a gas can at others.

So now, how do you feel knowing that K-Rod is coming off a sub-par season, with Parnell, Kelvim Escobar, Jose Feliciano, Sean Green, Pat Misch and Ryota Igarashi behind him?  On paper, this bullpen is almost as much of a question mark as the starting rotation is.  That’s not to say they can’t overachieve and keep the team in games, but how likely is that?  And the rotation is not exactly the kind of group that will give the bullpen long stretches of rest at a time.  To the contrary, they will be called upon to pitch 2-3 innings each night.

So I ask you, how do you all feel about this bullpen?

“When the trade went down last year, I never really had a physical with the Mets.”

In 2008 Putz was ineffective due to injury in his pitching arm.  Can anyone name a franchise in any other sports that runs a team like this?  Before a player comes to your team you give him a complete physical, especially when he has a known injury. The Mets have one of the best medical staffs in the country and yet they continue to not use that staff in the way they should.

Unfortunately for the Mets and us fans Putz also revealed something even more troubling.  Putz says that he continued to feel pain and the Mets forced him to be quiet and tell the media that he felt fine.  I don’t know what is more worrisome, the fact that the Mets acquired a player who had a known injury and did not give him a full physical before completing the trade or that they are now in the practice of encouraging players to lie to the media.

I have often question the Mets integrity and accused them of not telling the truth and it seems I was right to do so.  I am not happy to be right about this as I now have to question whatever the Mets say for the foreseeable future.

That leads to this season with the Mets coming into 2010 with a lot of question marks.  Are they telling the truth that Johan Santana is feeling good and will be ready by Spring Training?  Is Johan lying to the press on how he was feeling after last week’s mini camp?  Yesterday Jose Reyes had a training session which he ran and afterward said he was feeling like the old Jose Reyes.  The Mets said they were encouraged by this workout but once again I have to question if they are being 100% truthful.

The Mets did release a statement that went by the numbers yesterday saying:

“J.J. underwent an exam during Spring Training and an additional exam and MRI before he was cleared to play in last year’s World Baseball Classic.”

While the Mets didn’t say it they are pretty much calling Putz a liar.  With all this incompetence it makes sense that free agents are avoiding the Mets like the plague, would you really want to play for this team?  I would like to take the side of my team and agree with them that Putz is lying but after seeing the way this team has been operating over the last couple of years I think I have take Putz’ word on this one.  I am surprised however that the Mets didn’t just go and blame a beat writer for this.

Former Mets reliever J.J. Putz has just stoked the flames of controversy once again in how the Mets and their medical staff handled injuries last season. A medical staff, I might add, that still remains in place unchanged.

Speaking out for the first time since being traded to the Mets over a year ago, Putz said, “It was a mess from the beginning”. He was referring to the fact that something was wrong with his elbow and the way it all went down.

“When the trade went down last year, I never really had a physical with the Mets,” said Putz. “I had the bone spur (in the right elbow). It was discovered the previous year in Seattle, and it never got checked out by any other doctors until I got to spring training, and the spring training physical is kind of a formality. It was bugging me all through April, and in May I got an injection. It just got to the point where I couldn’t pitch. I couldn’t throw strikes, my velocity was way down.”

Even more dismaying is the new revelation that the Mets told Putz to stay quiet about the injured elbow immediately after they acquired him. He was prohibited from discussing it with the media.

“I knew that I wasn’t right. I wasn’t healthy. The toughest part was having to face the media and tell them that you feel fine, even though you know there’s something wrong and they don’t want you telling them that you’re banged up.”

By the time June, rolled around it was clear that Putz needed surgery and that the rest of his season would be wiped out.

“That’s when (the Mets) told me that I blew my elbow out. That was kind of a shock because I never felt any pain in it.”

This new allegation raises even more concerns and more questions.

1. Why did they make the Putz trade, knowing fully well he had an injured elbow and that his velocity was down?

2. Why was J.J. Putz told by Mets officials to conceal the injury, even when the media questioned him about his loss of velocity and his poor outings?

3. Have the Mets asked any other players to conceal their injury and who are those players?

This story isn’t going away anytime soon, and it makes you wonder who really dropped the ball on the Beltran surgery, and if the Mets were being truthful with us?

The contract includes several incentives that could increase the value of the deal to as much as $10 million dollars.

The Mets acquired Putz from the Mariners last off season in a three-team trade with the Indians Indians for Aaron Heilman, Endy Chavez, Jason Vargas and minor leaguers Mike Carp, Maikel Cleto and Ezequiel Carrera. The Mets also received Jeremy Reed and Sean Green.

The Mets declined to pick up Putz’s option after an injury-plagued season in which he appeared in just 29 games and posted a 5.22 ERA.

]]> http://metsmerizedonline.com/2009/12/white-sox-reach-deal-with-j-j-putz.html/feed 5 http://metsmerizedonline.com/2009/12/winter-meetings-where-we-were-where-were-going.html http://metsmerizedonline.com/2009/12/winter-meetings-where-we-were-where-were-going.html#comments Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:36:32 +0000 Former Writers http://metsmerizedonline.com/?p=16944 The 2009 MLB Winter Meetings are now underway in Indianapolis, and will provide fans with either much joy or just as much angst. Last year’s Winter Meetings certainly fit that bill.

In 2008, we suffered through another miserable bullpen, and it seemed like money would be no object to revamp it in the off season. GM Omar Minaya was under the gun to retool the bullpen and deliver a winner. This year, the details of need are different, but the gist is the same. Minaya will under even more pressure to deliver a winner after suffereing though a ridiculous number of injuries and a barren farm system.

The Winter Meetings were in Las Vegas a year ago, and we were witness to a very interesting turn of events:

Hot and Cold

The 2008 Winter meetings were home to two huge deals for the team, which would turn out to have strong and opposite results. The Mets signed Francisco Rodriguez for 3 years/ $37 million; much less than the 5/$75 mil he was anticipating after setting the single-season saves record. Not bad considering that the Mets were the one team that Frankie knew had the money he wanted, and the Mets were looking for the best of the bunch.

The following day, The Mets, Mariners, and Indians swung a three way trade that had All-Star closer J.J. Putz coming to Flushing. Among the notable players the Mets dealt were Aaron Heilman, Mike Carp, and Endy Chavez to Seattle; and Joe Smith to Cleveland. In two fell swoops, it looked like Citi field would be home to the best back-end of the bullpen in the National League.

Or so we thought…

That’s What You Get For Waking Up In Vegas

The Putz deal would go on to be one of the worst trades by the organization this decade. Putz would get injured in May and miss the rest of the season with a bone spur. And ironically, Billy Wagner ends up coming back from Tommy John Surgery, and Putz would never return from his bone spur.

As for the players we gave away, Heilman was later dealt to Chicago, where he was far from inspiring. Endy Chavez suffered a terrible knee injury and missed the rest of the season, and will miss part of this season. Joe Smith only pitched 34 innings due to rotator cuff injury. Mike Carp actually had a good run after he was called up by the M’s, though he is blocked at 1B. We also got Sean Green and Jeremy Reed, but with Reed a non-tender candidate, it looks like the inconsistent reliever Green may be the only thing we have to show for this “blockbuster.”

But this year…

Shut Up and Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Simply put, Omar Minaya’s best deal was his own, as it forced the Wilpons to keep him rather than eat his contract. This was one year he’s like to forget.  Fans can complain in blogs, radio call-ins, or the Mets Merized Chatroom all they want, but the only way to put pressure is to stop paying for the team. The Wilpons have a new stadium that they need to fill, and people will not show up to watch a AAA team, injuries or not. The front office traveled the talk show circuit in October saying that money will be no object. Well, show us. Last year, we fixed the bullpen (or at least it looked that way), but this year we have more holes to fill.

How can they make moves for fans and quality players?

If You Want Me, You’re Gonna Have To Break The Bank

The Mets, according to random rumors, are not expected to be big players in the meetings. Other fan comments (you know, the ones that start with “If I were the GM…”) seem to choose between one big move or a few smaller ones. It may be unlikely that we see any of the second-tier starters go early, as pitchers like Marquis, Harden, etc. will wait to see what John Lackey gets.

Omar Minaya made a statement supporting the likelihood of more trades than signings. Tom Terrific pointed out in his column yesterday that money is the big factor in deals, and it’s true.  But as Joe D. will point out, value is everything, as you can’t just go pumping money into a three year deal for Oliver Perez (wait…). Most likely candidate to be signed looks like Bengie Molina, the only haggle will be how many years. How much will that leave for a #2 starter and a power hitter?

I wish a Katy Perry lyric had the answer to that.

Till Next Time

His role with the team was supposed to be the seventh inning bridge to J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez, and foor the first half of the year his role on the team was just that.

Parnell embraced his spot in the bullpen rather nicely and in the first two months of the season he compiled a very impressive ERA of 2.13.

During this time period he also maintained a respectable K:BB ratio of 19:9.

After getting roughed up a bit in the month of June, Parnell returned to form in July by pitching 10.1 scoreless innings.

What impressed me the most about Parnell was his velocity. At times, his fastball was clocked at 100 mph, and normally hovered somewhere within the 94 mph range.

Unfortunately mid-way through the season, like many other teammates, Parnell was thrust into somewhat uncharted territory when he was called upon to join the starting rotation.

To be fair, Parnell had spent his minor league career as a starter, but he never really showed that he was more than an average starter, at best, during his four years in the Mets farm system, as his ERA generally hovered in the mid-to-high 4 range.

On August 15th, Parnell made his first start as a New York Met, going up against the San Francisco Giants. His debut was stellar as he pitched six scoreless innings, while striking out seven batters.

The success was short-lived and Parnell was rocked in the following three outings against division rivals, Atlanta and Philadelphia, as well as the Chicago Cubs.

In those three games alone, Parnell was clobbered for 22 earned runs in only 12.2 innings pitched. In simpler terms he gave up, on average, nearly two runs per inning.

Despite not having much success, aside from another shut-out performance, Parnell remained in the rotation until mid-September due to the team not having any other options.

Upon being moved from the rotation back to the bullpen, he finished the year strong by hurling 6.1 innings and only allowing one run.

One of the main reasons behind Parnell’s lack of success last year was the fact that many of his secondary pitches were unpolished and he ended up relying too much on his fastball.

While a pitcher may be able to get away with throwing fastball after fastball for one inning or so, it just doesn’t work when they face the same batters two or three times in a game.

I know it’s been said before, but Parnell really needs to develop secondary pitches in order to become an effective starter. Surprisingly, when the Mets wanted to send him to winter ball to work on these pitches, the righty declined, citing fatigue.

Until he has better command of his “other stuff”, Parnell should remain in the bullpen where he has shown he can flourish.

Final Verdict:

Unless he is shipped out in a trade, Bobby Parnell should be in a New York Mets uniform next year and rightfully so. Despite not having much success as a starter in 2009, he did prove to be a very effective reliever.

On top of that, Parnell made the league minimum of $400,000 last year, which is cheap when you consider that even with his struggles his performance was valued at two million dollars.

Next year, I envision Parnell taking the spot that once belonged to J.J. Putz, which was setting up for Frankie Rodriguez. Depending on how well he performs, it wouldn’t surprise me if one day he took over the role as closer after Rodriguez departs.

Last week after the World Series the Mets decided rightfully so to decline the 9 million dollar option they had on relief pitcher J.J. Putz and bought out his contract for 1 million dollars.  It’s a move that was not surprising at all, we all knew that when Putz was traded to the Mets last winter that the Mets were not going to pick up an option for 9 million dollars, that much money is too much for a setup guy.  Unfortunately for the Mets Putz had a horrible 2009, capped off with having season ending surgery.

There is no doubt that Putz came here to the Mets last year ready to help them win, knowing that he would be the 8th inning guy, the guy who would setup for K-Rod.  Putz knew that he would be playing the 2009 season for a contract with a new team, a team that would hopefully make him a closer again.  His plans like our 2009 season didn’t work out so well, he is now a free agent relief pitcher coming off of a surgery on his pitching arm.  The Mets didn’t do any favors for Putz as they made him get a cortisone shot instead of getting surgery that he wound up getting anyway.

Putz has to know that he is not going to make a lot of money and that he may not even become a closer on another team.  The Mets are in the market for a setup guy,preferably cheap so they can fill other holes for 2010.  Enter J.J. Putz.  The Mets could give him a low guarantee contract with performance based incentives.  Putz would be in the same situation he found himself entering 2009 in that he would playing for a contract for the next season and will be providing a much needed bridge to K-Rod.  Now I won’t bash the Mets if they don’t go out and sign Putz as he is a risk but I think with a low free agent class and a questionable amount of money available for the Mets Putz is an option that Omar and the Wilpons need to keep on their minds when building the bullpen for the 2010 season.

Not really a big surprise considering the Mets would have had to pay him over $9 million dollars to set up Frankie Rodriguez.

It doesn’t necessarily mean that Putz won’t be back, only that if he is it will be for a salary closer to $2 million instead of $9 million. Putz will have to prove himself as a setup man before any MLB team gives him an opportunity to close again.

In other Mets news, according to MetsBlog the Mets have added minor league third baseman Shawn Bowman to the 40 man roster. It’s a procedural move intended to keep him from being selected in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft in December. The free swinging Bowman batted .294 for AA-Binghamton, but struck out 104 times in 347 at-bats. He is not a top ten prospect for the Mets.

The Mets still have a few open spots which they will seek to fill in the coming days. One of those spots was recently created when they released 40 year old reliever, Ken Takahashi, last month.

When they acquired the hard throwing righty, the Mets envisioned having a proven closer that could fill in the closer’s role if needed.

However, as usual, things did not work out as planned for the Mets.

Throughout his brief season Putz found himself filling in for closer, Francisco Rodriguez only four times. He was able to successfully convert two of these four opportunities into saves.

On top of that, Putz never seemed to be completely healthy. In April, he posted a lackluster 4.09 ERA in eleven appearances.

During his second full month with the team, in May, Putz began to settle down and had an ERA of 3.63 in 17 games.

Putz also, improved his K:BB ratio to 15:12, which is by no means good, but it was definitely an improvement of his April ratio of 4:6.

Just when things appeared to be turning around for the better, Putz’s season took an alarming turn in only two appearances. Both were against the Pittsburgh Pirates, who were by no means a powerful team.

In the first game that he pitched, Putz surrendered four runs, three of which were earned before being lifted without recording an out.

In the second game of the series, Putz didn’t fare much better. This time around, he was able to get through the inning, however not before giving up two runs.

By the end of these two nightmarish performances, Putz nearly doubled his ERA to 5.22. Before long, the fears regarding Putz’s struggles were confirmed…he was hurt.

In mid-June it was announced that Putz would need elbow surgery to remove a bone spur, but that he would return to the team later on in the season.

Unfortunately that day never came, and he ended up requiring additional surgery. Putz ended up finishing what was one of the worst seasons in his big league career on the sidelines.

As has been discussed a countless number of times, the Mets hold an option worth $8.6 million for the pitcher’s services in 2010.

All indications are that Putz will be ready to pitch by the time Spring Training rolls around next year. However, is that enough of a reason to bring back the veteran pitcher?

It is an interesting case, as despite the fact that Putz is coming off a terrible injury ridden season, it is hard to ignore his impressive track record. An All-Star in 2007, Putz has had numerous successful seasons in the hitter-friendly American League.

Final Verdict: While I believe it is fair to say that 2009 was not an accurate gauge on whether or not J.J. Putz will be an effective pitcher in the future, there are just too many question marks to commit nearly $9 million to.

Turning down Putz’s option is a no-brainer. However, I believe the team should pursue him as a free agent and try to sign him to a one year deal at a significantly lower salary to help rebuild his value.

Keep in mind, this year’s free agent pool will be filled with numerous potential closers, so Putz will not be able to command as high of a paycheck as he would if the pool was more shallow.

If the team is unable to come to terms with the pitcher then I wish him well as he seemed to bring a sense of spunk that no one else on the team seemed to have last season.

With all the problems the Mets have right now, why would they even consider paying almost nine million bucks to a setup man who hasn’t been effective since 2007?

We’ve been bashing Omar for over spending on players for the last three years, and now some of us would encourage him to engage in yet another disastrous signing? Haven’t we had enough of those already?

At a time when the Mets should be stocking up on value picks, throwing good money at a pitcher who is coming off surgery and has yet to prove he is healthy is sheer insanity. Especially when a healthier and more superior option like Joe Beimel can be had for less than $3 million dollars per season.

Of course Putz wants to stay with the Mets… He has 8.6 million excellent reasons for wanting to setup for K-Rod… Too bad that not one of those reasons is because he can actually help the Mets win a championship.

If there was no option hanging in the balance, Putz would be putting so much distance between himself and the Mets that you’d need the Hubbell telescope to see him. The bottom line is that no team will give Putz a closers job until he proves himself as a $2 million dollar setup man first next season. Enter the Mets and Putz’s newfound love for the setup job.

It’s bad enough that we overpaid tremendously for Putz last off season, especially when it was no secret that the Seattle Mariners were desperate to unload him. Additionally, he was damaged goods then, and now he’s even more of a risk.

If the first move Minaya makes this off season, is to pick up the option on J.J. Putz, strap yourself in for another bumpy ride in 2010.

Brandon Lyon had a great season out of the bullpen for the Detroit Tigers in 2009.  He finished the season with a 6-5 record and a 2.86 ERA.  He also finished with a sparkling 1.11 WHIP.  The thing I found most impressive about Lyon’s season was how he fared against righties and lefties.  He held righties to a .205 average and held lefties to the same .205 average.  Plus, despite the fact that he is a right-handed pitcher, he gave up only one home run to a left-handed batter in 112 at-bats.

Lyon’s effectiveness against lefties would help the Mets in two ways.  First, he wouldn’t have to be taken out of the game whenever the opposing lineup alternated between lefties and righties.  In 65 games for the Tigers, he pitched 78.2 innings, meaning he could go more than one inning when needed, which would save the bullpen from being overused.  Second, he would give Perpetual Pedro a much needed break.  In 2009, Pedro Feliciano set the all-time franchise record for appearances by a reliever.  Since he was the only pitcher who was consistently effective against lefties (they hit .215 against Feliciano in 2009), Jerry Manuel was constantly going to him, eventually pitching him in 88 games after he was used 86 times in 2008.  Brandon Lyon would allow Manuel to give Feliciano more breaks in 2010, allowing him to remain sharp for the entire season.

Also, Brandon Lyon is a much cheaper alternative to J.J. Putz.  The Tigers paid Lyon $4.25 million to pitch for them in 2009.  Although Lyon’s good season has him in line for a raise, it should still be less than the money the Mets would have to give Putz to keep his injury-prone self around.  Lyon’s age (30) should also attract the Mets, as Putz will be 33 before Opening Day.

Lyon is projected to be a Type B free agent, but that should not factor into the decision, as Lyon’s positives far outweigh his negatives, which as of now, is just his Type B free agent status.  Let’s not forget that one of the things Omar Minaya was being praised for last season when he traded for Putz.  He made a big deal about Putz being able to close games should something happen to Francisco Rodriguez.  Well, Brandon Lyon also has closer experience, saving 54 games over his career when pressed into the closer’s role.

There might be other options the Mets could consider for the eighth inning role, but if the Tigers choose not to re-sign Brandon Lyon for the 2010 season, the Mets should take a long look at him.  He could be the set-up man they’ve been looking for.

The 2-spot as in the #2 pitcher, the Set Up man, and the 2-spot in the batting order.  Before you rip my head off about worrying about the second spot in the order, trust me when I say I’ll explain later, and let’s start with the pitching.

We know the Mets won’t have Top Dollar to spend this offseason, so let’s be hopefully-realistic.  Brandon Webb announced on Wednesday (Rotowire.com) that he would not accept an incentive-laden deal from Arizona, and would test free agency if his option is not picked up.  Now, I said hopefully-realistic, so Brandon Webb would appear out, right?  Not necessarily.  His option that he wants the D-Backs to pick up is worth $8.5 million.  That doesn’t mean we’d get him at $8.5 million, but it does make the day brighter.  Would I want Brandon Webb pitching behind Johan in the Mets rotation next season and beyond, even WITH the injury this year?  Absolutely.  Do I think the Mets could sign him considering their likely budget?  That remains to be seen (and I wouldn’t think the Wilpons would be willing to sign his paycheck, too, next year), but it brings up two interesting scenarios involving two free agent starting pitchers who missed the 2009 season.  Yes, I’m talking about Ben Sheets.

I know, I know, he’s a risk, but it is high-risk, high-reward.  Playing it safe doesn’t get you anywhere but the golf course in October.  I’m not suggesting throwing cash after either of them, I’m suggesting (if I can play GM for a moment) making them bid against each other.  Now, obviously, Webb is worth more than Sheets, but they are both in similar situations.  In 2008, Sheets had the better ERA (3.03 to 3.30), and Webb edged Sheets in K/9 (7.3-7.2) and WHIP (1.20-1.24).  As injury-prone as he is, Sheets has only pitched under 140 innings in a season once before 2009 and had NEVER pitched fewer than 100 in his career…not Webb’s 220 IP/year average (before 2009), but not as bad as you’d think.  I say put them in a bidding war of sorts, but sign Sheets to the contract and save the money for other spots.

Now let’s get to the Pen.  We moved Billy Wagner to Boston, so any hopes and dreams of him taking the role of setup man in 2010 are out the window.  JJ Putz was damaged goods when we got him, but I’m not drinking the Kool-Aid that he’s a total bust…if we can keep him.  After missing significant time, and with JJ no longer being a premier closer or even setup option, a one-year deal to keep him on again so he can try out for a closer’s job in 2011 may not be too far-fetched.  Plus, with guys like Bobby Jenks and Jose Valverde likely on the market, he wouldn’t even have the benefit of being the best option of a weak field.  I’m not suggesting the Mets pick up the option, but try to negotiate a different deal that has some incentives.  Offer him $3 million and $3 million more in incentives ($1 million for ERA, $1 million for WHIP, and $1 million for the Playoffs, all with a minimum amount of IP).  He won’t make $5 million in this free agent market (we’d pay him the other $1 million in a buyout), and if he has another bad/injury-plagued season, we pay him only $2 million extra for it.

Now for the 2-spot in the order.  This is where we make the money back.  By keeping Angel Pagan in the 2-spot (behind a hopefully-healthy Jose) and in LF and deciding on it sooner rather than later, it allows us to do a few more things.  First, we can build his confidence and work with him on the things that he needs to work on (not going down that road right now).  Also, Dan Murphy gets another season (or 2) of experience in the Minors, and, most importantly, we save the money by not needing a new left fielder to sign Nick Johnson, Hank Blalock, Adam LaRoche, or another 1st Baseman.  On the flipside, keeping Murphy at first base and replacing Pagan with a slugger in LF bat takes that extra speed option out of the picture.  As much as I like Murphy, the team is better off signing a first baseman and keeping Pagan in the lineup rather than vice versa.

I do agree with Joe that Pagan needs work on the fundamentals and everything else, but let’s get hopefully-realistic…  We will not be able to afford to sign both a LF and 1B replacement this offseason, so it’s one or the other.  Murphy’s looked somewhat sharp at 1B at times, but let’s not say that he’s suddenly a Gold Glover.  And, no, Angel Pagan has not been perfect either, but as Joe pointed out, blunders aside, he’s been VERY good at the dish, and he, too, has had his moments of defensive glory.  One of these guys (at least) will be in the Mets 2010 Opening Day lineup plans, and I feel more comfortable with Pagan than with Murphy at this point.

Now for everyone’s favorite part: the math.  The Mets, in just Billy Wagner, Brian Schneider, and Carlos Delgado’s salaries, cut $27.4 million dollars from the books.  Let’s say the Wilpons decide to cut $7.4 million from the budget (for ease of numbers’ sake…it’s about 5% of the total 2009 salary).  That leaves us $20 million.  Sheets and Putz total to around $10 million ($7 million for Sheets seems reasonable to me considering his injury history and lack of Scott Boras as an agent), and our first base solution could come for about $6-8 million, leaving some more money for a rainy day, like November 14, 2139 (when Uncle Bernie is released from prison).  Jokes aside, adding these 2 players (and keeping JJ) for 2010 would greatly improve our team.  Just as a projection (assuming no other signings):

Lineup:
SS-Reyes
LF-Pagan
3B-Wright
CF-Beltran
1B-Johnson/Blalock
RF-Francoeur
C-Santos/Thole
2B-Castillo (only because I prefer placing speed and contact ability in the 8-hole instead of in the 7-hole)

Rotation:
Santana
Sheets
Pelfrey
Maine
Perez/Niese

Bullpen (Big 3):
F. Rodriguez
Putz
Feliciano

I’m not saying this offseason is as easy as 1-2-3 (SP-1B-RP) to go from 2009′s team to a pennant-contender, but it’s certainly a jump-start in the right direction and an instant and vast improvement.  There are other holes to fill (like the one between the ears of certain people within the Mets organization), but you’ve got to start somewhere, so I say start by looking out for #2.

Two years, two chokes. The Mets have gotten good at this. And, sure, the bullpen was a big issue, so seeing J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez in the eighth and ninth innings will help make Citi Field a far friendlier place in its freshman year. Still, this team gives off the feeling of one that needs to be blown up and started over instead of rejiggering things and hoping the memories of September collapses wane. Those linger. You don’t get rid of ugly artwork by painting over it. You discard the thing. And no one with the Mets seems to have gotten the message that there is trash in dire need of disposal.

Of course, we didn’t expect Putz to miss most of the season.  And let’s face it, K-Rod has been awesome sometimes and like Armando Benitez at times as well.  Injuries, of course, were an X-factor that no one could have predicted, but still, the Mets didn’t exactly play great baseball when everyone was healthy.  Certainly nobody could have also predicted the utter lack of power in the lineup.  What they could have seen coming were the lack of fundamentals, and the lack of any kind of bench whatsoever once key players went down.  Those are things that fall squarely on the shoulders of guys named Jerry and Omar.

Still, blowing up the entire team seems far-fetched and crazy, especially in a major market that demands and deserves to see marquee players.  But the thing is, we also deserve quality baseball, and haven’t exactly received that end of the bargain.  And even if this team (amazingly) finishes second in the NL in batting, they still are last in home runs and near the bottom in RBI.

So while Passan’s idea may have been crazy, you can’t say he was totally wrong.  And now looking ahead to 2010, there are so many question marks, and a window of opportunity with the current core of players that is rapidly starting to shut.  I don’t have the answers, and I’m not sure anyone does.  But we deserve some form of change for the better.

First base is usually a position for power hitters and Murphy will not likely reach a dozen homeruns. Also Delgado’s contract will be ending this season and has a 12 million dollar club option for next season. But with his (what shouldn’t have been) season ending hip surgery the Mets really shouldn’t pick up that option and look to another powerful first baseman.

Who could that be? Derrek Lee!

The Chicago first baseman is having a great ’09 season with the Cubs hitting .294 with 27 homeruns and 90 RBIs. He’s in line for a 30-100 season.
(before Saturday’s game.)
(Update: Lee hit 2 homeruns in Saturday’s game.) 

I’m sure you’re asking yourself, “Sure Lee is a great hitter and has a nice glove, but why would Cubs trade him and who for?”

Well I asked that myself and I took a look around the Cubs roster and the Cubs seem to need one thing the most. A reliable closer. Oh hey look, the Mets have a former closer in J.J. Putz. Putz is currently on the disabled list and will be there for the rest of the season. Putz has not had the best season with the Mets, he blames it on not having the intensity he had when he was a closer with Seattle.

Some of the Mets back-up pitchers have been doing a great job with the team lately and have really fought for a spot on the team next season. With Pat Misch pitching well along with Nelson Figueroa, Tim Redding and Bobby Parnell they could be in the ‘pen next season. The Mets are also looking for a number two starter this offseason along with an outfielder and a catcher.

So here is my projected trade with Cubs for Derrek Lee who’s contract will be ending after next season. Lee has a $13MM contract and has a no-trade clause.

Mets offering

JJ Putz RHP
John Maine RHP*
Brian Schneider C
Daniel Murphy 1B*

Mets acquire

Derrek Lee 1B

* Mets would have to re-sign players before trading them.

This trade would actually free up over 13 million dollars plus whatever Mets use to sign Maine (if they do).

Yesterday, Omar Minaya said that Putz’ scheduled rehab appearance had been canceled to give him an extra day of rest, but a few hours later Jerry Manuel announced that Putz was being shut down for the season because of new fraying and a slight tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right forearm.

Putz had surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow June 9 and was apparently making progress but, an MRI yesterday afternoon later revealed the injury.

Putz, was earning $5.5 million in his walk year, has a $8.1-million club option for 2010 with a $1-million buyout. There is now no chance the Mets will pick that option up.

When Omar Minaya made the blockbuster 12 player trade to acquire Putz, he knew about the bone spurs in his shoulder and yet paid full price for damaged goods. The Mariners had been looking to unload Putz since the 2008 season after a red-flag-filled year in which he had just 15 saves and a 3.88 ERA. He missed a month of the season with a hyper-extended elbow and an AL executive not involved in the deal said in 2008 Putz’s fastball was somewhat diminished, he flushed his slider for a curve and often looked as if he was pitching in discomfort.

The Mets traded right-hander Aaron Heilman, reliever Joe Smith, center fielder Endy Chavez, first baseman Mike Carp, right-hander Maikel Cleto, left-hander Jason Vargas and center fielder Ezekiel Carrera in that 3-team deal.

In return the Mets got 29.1 mostly ineffective innings with a 5.22 ERA.

“He felt he was fine, so he’s not going to New York as planned,” Minaya told The Associated Press. “He’ll be seen by our doctors when they come down. It was the weather also.”

Obviously Omar was lying since his lips were moving but this is 100% unacceptable.  What will it take for this guy to tell the truth about anything regarding this ball club?

Omar also said in his press conference on the news that J.J. Putz had been scratched from tonight’s game in Brooklyn for the Cyclones

“”to give him a little more time”

Well it appears now that Putz is going to have a lot of time as reports are that Putz has been shut down for the remaining 2009 season.

Weren’t Reyes and Beltran due back right after the All-Star game?  It’s August 25, 2009 and no Reyes and Beltran in sight.

I truly have become embarrassed to be a fan of this ball club ladies and gentlemen.  This GM is only out to save his skin, and he will lie at the drop of a hat, throw anybody he can under the bus and will continue to make the Mets the laughing stock of professional sports.  I think I finally understand what fans of the Knicks have gone through the last few seasons and it stinks.

Currently, the Mets have two ex-All-Star setup men on their roster in Billy Wagner and J.J. Putz. Although, both have options for next season it is highly unlikely either will be brought back without at least signing a new deal that will pay them less money. Even so, I still don’t see this happening.

In Wagner’s case, he wants the role of closer, which he has held with numerous teams for the better part of the past decade. This is something that the Mets simply cannot offer him due to that position being occupied by the younger Francisco Rodriguez.

As in Wagner’s situation, J.J. Putz would also prefer to close, however agreed to setup K-Rod upon being traded to New York from Seattle. Putz is also six years younger than Wagner and in theory has a few more productive years ahead of him.

However, despite this there is no way even the Mets could justify handing out nearly nine million dollars to a pitcher, who posted an ugly 5.22 ERA. I understand Putz was hurt, but at the same time when it looks as if management may only be able to allot $20 million dollars for salary next year that amount of money becomes a significant issue.

Taking Wagner and Putz out of the equation, the Mets will have a bullpen consisting of Brian Stokes, Pedro Feliciano, Sean Green and Francisco Rodriguez. I neglected to include Bobby Parnell, who could either start or relieve next year.

This all is obviously subject to change as it is still to early to tell whether or not this tandem will be back in a Mets uniform.

It wouldn’t be unimaginable for the Mets not to tender a contract to Green, who has been less than stellar this season with a 5.13 ERA and three blown saves.

Assuming the Mets do not retain him for next year that would leave them with three quality arms for the bullpen. Clearly, that is not enough to warrant a solid bullpen. Whether it be via a trade or a free agent signing, the Mets are going to have to get a reliever that can get lefties out.

For the past two years, the Mets have supposedly been searching for a lefty specialist to take some of the workload off Pedro Feliciano. However, after some 152 relief appearances over the past two seasons Feliciano has still yet to receive reliable assistance in the bullpen.

Looking exclusively at the upcoming free agent class there aren’t that many intriguing names out there. Sure there’s Joe Beimel, but if Omar didn’t pick him up last off-season when he had the chance to last year I don’t see it happening this season when he will have even less funds to spend.

As for filling the other impending voids in the pen the Mets had a young reliever who had the ability to get both righties and lefties out in Darren O’Day, but they put him on waivers to enable Nelson Figueroa to make a spot start back in April. Another great roster move by Mr. Minaya.

Since joining the Rangers O’Day has been stellar, posting a 1.84 ERA and accumulating 16 holds.

All in all, the Mets will have a lot of voids to fill this coming off-season, however it is important that they do not neglect the one aspect of the team that lead to a very disappointing season in 2008.

But here’s something I just can’t get past.  The disabled list itself, and the fact that our core that have landed on there (Beltran, Reyes, Delgado, Putz, Maine) and are probably all done for the season.  Here is the list of who went on the DL when, and why…

The 60-day DL sometimes means longer, but how is it that Reyes, Maine and Beltran are all on the 15-day DL?  So far, Reyes has been on there for 90 days, Maine 73 days, and Beltran 58 days.  We’re not talking broken bones here.  We’re talking tendonitis, shoulder fatigue and a bone bruise, respectively.  I’m not a doctor, but apparently neither are the guys in charge of the Mets’ infirmary either.  I think there is a real problem in this organization, whether that’s on the diagnosis end or in the weight room or something.  But there is a problem here for sure.