The Real Dirty Mets Blog – Ed Marcus (Rusty Jr)

For this weeks edition of MMO Take Five, I spoke with Real Dirty Mets Blog’s very own Ed Marcus (AKA Rusty Jr).

Brandon Butler: What are your thoughts on the Mets potentially changing Citi Field’s dimensions?

Ed Marcus: I am pretty ambivalent on the altering of the dimensions of Citi Field. I admit I was never fond of the quirkiness of the dimensions, but bringing in the fences will not only help our offense score runs, but it will obviously help our opposition. I just hope when all is said and done Citi will play like Shea did – mostly neutral, but with a slight edge to pitching.

Brandon Butler: Chris Capuano has been made available in trade talks recently. Do you believe the team will bring him back in 2012, given the free agent market for pitchers is relatively low?

Ed Marcus: Capuano is a tough call. I think the Mets would like him back. The fans woudn’t mind him coming back, and Chris has stated that he would love to come back. It depends on how much money the Mets are willing to commit to him & if it will be a multiyear contract. The contract that he signed this past offseason was an incentive laden contract for a pitcher who was coming off his second shoulder surgery.  He has proven that he has been healthy & somewhat reliable, but it wouldn’t surprse me if another team offers him more $.

Brandon Butler: In your mind, who do you think surprised you the most this year with this Mets team?

Ed Marcus: No one has surprised me.  I’m mainly disappointed because I felt that this team was good enough to finish over .500. However, I am very pleased that for the most part this team has showed a never say die attitude.

Brandon Butler: Since its the end of the season, if you had to give a grade to both Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins, what grade would you give them, and why?

Ed Marcus: I have to give Sandy Alderson an A. He has done everything as well as you could expect from him. From cutting ties with Perez and Castillo, to getting out from under K-Rods contract, and trading Carlos Beltran for Zach Wheeler. He got raves for the players that he selected in this past draft. With the offseason lingering, his ultimate test will be resigning Jose Reyes. If he cannot resign him, then Ruben Tejada will have to prove that he is a suitable replacement.

As for Terry Collins, he gets a B+. He has proven that he can handle the different egos that makes up this team and he has been the polar opposite of Jerry Manual.

Brandon Butler: Final question. Lucas Duda has really shown that he belongs on this Mets team with his offensive ability. Will we see Duda in RF on Opening Day 2012 despite his defensive struggles?

Ed Marcus: Yes, Duda will be starting in right field next season unless Sandy can swing a deal for a top flight player.