Major League Baseball is introducing a brand new showcase for top prospects around the league to show off their talent, titled “Spring Breakout.” The event will put each organization’s best prospects against each other in a game that will be part of a doubleheader with a regularly scheduled spring training game. MLB is looking to use this as an opportunity to better market their minor leaguers; the games will be in the main major league spring training stadiums and fans will have the opportunity to meet the prospects after the game. The article by Jeff Passan of ESPN also detailed how MLB could televise the game on MLB Network. 

When asked about the event, commissioner Rob Manfred talked glowingly about it, saying, “We are thrilled that Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball and all of our Clubs are working closer than ever to grow the game and to shine a brighter light on our future All-Stars.”

The event will take place March 14-17.

Jett Williams, Photo by Bronson Harris of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies

Latest Mets News

The Mets came to an agreement on a minor league deal with veteran outfielder Trayce Thompson, the deal comes with an invite to spring training, per Andy Martino of SNY. For a more in-depth look at the Mets’ signing, click here!

Former Mets relief pitcher, and 16-year MLB vet, Tommy Hunter, has officially retired from baseball, per Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic. 

Andy Martino of SNY reported that the Mets are now in the race for Yoshinobu Yamamoto after there being no buzz between the star pitcher and the Mets for an extended period of time. 

The Mets held their annual holiday party on Wednesday, José Quintana appeared as Santa Claus and Mark Vientos came as his elf along with an appearance from manager Carlos Mendoza. Of note, Mendoza mentioned how the Mets feel good about what they have internally at third base despite the loss of Ronny Mauricio; Vientos mentioned how he has learned a lot while working out with Francisco Lindor during the offseason and will work with him again in January, via Danny Abriano of SNY.

Latest MLB News

A report from Beth Harris and Ronald Blum of AP, detailed how Shohei Ohtani‘s $700 million contract with the Dodgers has potential opt-outs if current owner Mark Walter or president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman lose their roles with the club.

Shohei Ohtani’s introductory press conference as a Los Angeles Dodgers will take place on Thursday at 6 P.M. eastern, per the club. 

On a Bleacher Report live stream, Jon Heyman reported that it is likely that Yoshinobu Yamamoto will receive the longest pitching contract of all-time. Along with that, Heyman also reported that Yamamoto has meetings planned with the Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Phillies. For more information on the star pitcher’s free agency, click here!

Among a flurry of reports on Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s free agency on Wednesday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reported that Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Shohei Ohtani were present at the Japanese superstar’s meeting with the Dodgers. 

The Dodgers are reportedly in trade talks with the Tampa Bay Rays where they would acquire starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow and outfielder Manuel Margot, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Starting pitcher Ryan Pepiot and outfielder Jonny DeLuca are part of a possible package that could be going back to Tampa. 

Shohei Ohtani set Fanatics’ all-time record for highest sales within 48 hours of a jersey release, via Fanatics. 

Former White Sox, and now free-agent, closer Liam Hendriks is looking to return to the field around the trade deadline after undergoing Tommy John Surgery on August 2, per Scott Merkin of MLB.com.

The Chicago Cubs signed free agent catcher Jorge Alfaro to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training, per Robert Murray of FanSided. 

Right-handed relief pitcher Daniel Hudson and the Los Angeles Dodgers came to an agreement on a minor league deal, per Jeff Passan of ESPN. If Hudson makes the team he will earn $2 million and has the ability to make $2 million more in performance bonuses. 

On what would have been his 100th birthday, former Cleveland Guardian Larry Doby was awarded with the Congressional Gold Medal. Members of the Doby family gathered at the United States Capitol to honor his achievements both on and off the field. 

Former Washington Nationals and Minnesota Twins outfielder Andrew Stevenson signed with the Nippon Ham Fighters of the NPB, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. 

Veteran catcher Roberto Pérez agreed to a minor league deal with the Red Sox which includes an invite to spring training, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post. 

Latest on MMO

Andrew Tripaldi looks back at the possibility of Ken Griffey becoming a New York Met. 

Check out the Mets Madness series recap between the 1973 and 2007 Mets. 

What options do the Mets have at third base following Ronny Mauricio’s injury?

On This Date in Mets History

2013: The New York Mets and veteran free-agent starting pitcher Bartolo Colón agree to a two-year, $20 million deal. Colón would go on to be a vital part of the Mets World Series run in 2015 and was named an all-star with the club in 2016.

1995: The New York Mets sign reigning AL hit king and outfielder Lance Johnson to a two-year deal. In 1996, Johnson would hit .333 and become the first and only hitter to lead each league in hits. 

Birthday: Shaun Marcum (42)

The post Morning Briefing: MLB Announces ‘Spring Breakout’ Prospect Showcase appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Good morning Mets fans! The Winter Meetings have come and gone and many players remain available in trades and via free agency. Despite already making some moves, Brodie Van Wagenen is still not finished for this offseason.

Latest Mets News

The Mets selected RHP Kyle Dowdy in the Rule 5 Draft. The last Rule 5 selection that the Mets made who lasted a whole season was Sean Gilmartin who they drafted in 2014.

The Mets also drafted OF Braxton Lee, RHP Chris Mazza and C Mitch Ghelfi in the minor league portion of the draft.

Matt Cerrone of SNY gave his opinion on why the Mets should trade Noah Syndergaard to the Boston Red Sox for Xander Bogaerts.

On the other hand, Ken Davidoff of the New York Post believes that the Mets should hold onto their core and use free agency as the way to build up their team instead.

Amidst these trade talks, the San Diego Padres have emerged as a possible fit in a potential three-team trade involving the Mets and Miami Marlins.

Van Wagenen may not be done adding to the bullpen, but it is unlikely he goes after another high-end reliever according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. At this point the priority will be on adding an outfielder and a catcher.

Latest MLB News

The Texas Rangers traded LHP Alex Claudio to the Milwaukee Brewers for a competitive-balance draft pick (39th overall).

The New York Yankees responded to an ESPN food safety investigation that ranked Yankee Stadium last in food safety and gave them a violation rate of 79.07 percent.

The Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners made a three-team trade. The Indians got Carlos Santana, Jake Bauers and cash in the trade. The Mariners received Edwin Encarnacion, a competitive-balance draft pick (from the Indians) and cash. Finally, the Rays got Yandy Diaz, Cole Sulser and a player to be named later (from the Indians).

Zack Meisel of The Athletic wrote a first-hand account of what it was like to cover the three-team trade while aboard a flight with no Wi-Fi and the Indians’ front office on board.

Latest NL East News

The Washington Nationals seem unwilling to pay DJ LeMahieu what he’s seeking in free agency and they will likely go after one of the cheaper, short-term options instead according to Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post.

Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reviewed what the Philadelphia Phillies accomplished at the Winter Meetings, what they failed to do at the meetings and what they now must do afterwards.

Latest on MMO/MMN

Joe D. shared why Van Wagenen should not overpay for J.T. Realmuto, but instead move on to a pursuit of Yasmani Grandal.

Michael Mayer, who covered the Winter Meetings for MMO, analyzed all the action and non-action from both an MLB point-of-view as well as from a Mets point-of-view.

Tim Ryder complied some MLB offseason rumors for a “Hot Stove Rumor Roundup.”

Matt Musico wrote about the new perspective that Van Wagenen’s presence brings and how his effort, preparation and approach have all been positive signs.

John Sheridan argued that the Mets should look beyond the top-tier relievers in part because signing them was not a winning strategy for teams last season.

Jacob Resnick took a closer look at Dowdy and the minor leaguers whom the Mets selected in the Rule 5 Draft.

This Day in Mets History

1995: The Mets signed Lance Johnson to a two-year deal that was worth north of $5 million.

2001: The Mets traded David Justice whom they acquired a week prior from the Yankees in a deal that sent Robin Ventura to the Bronx. In return they received Mark Guthrie and Tyler Yates.

2013: The Mets signed Bartolo Colon to a two-year, $20 million deal.

Birthdays: Shaun Marcum turns 37. Also Jerry May was born on this day in 1943 and Greg Goossen was also born on this day in 1945.

The post Morning Briefing: Mets Leave Winter Meetings With Some Rule 5 Draftees appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

I couldn’t get into the pre-game “presser” so I was the first Mets person present in the second (visiting) row. Naturally I was grilled about, of course, Matt Harvey … is he for real? Can he pitch or is he just velocity? How is he compared like to a Verlander?

Then, I made the mistake of bringing up how Harvey actually reminded me a little of Tom Seaver without the big leg push, boy did I step in it. As Gil Hodges is my witness there showered a maelstrom of profanity that raised no one’s eyebrows but mine (they’d all heard this rant before apparently) … It was hilarious. Of course Reusse brought up Seaver’s recalcitrance to which my reply was “who cares, he was so great on the field.” A fact that Reusse acknowledged reluctantly, adding that Seaver’s abrasive personality more than likely helped him dominate on the mound … and I thought, yeah, “duh,” (didn’t say that of course).

Anyway, his next question involved how we “Mets fans” liked “our new first baseman?” I thought, what an odd question. There were several other more interesting stories at the time. including Shaun Marcum insisting on John Buck as his personal catcher, but Reusse apparently had a particular interest in Ike. I said “Davis somehow forgot how to go the other way,” but my answer was brushed aside. Patrick was amused, yes folks he was genuinely interested in Ike because he knew his dad.

Ron Davis is of course an ex-major leaguer who had a couple of outstanding seasons as a middle reliever with the Yankees, including an excellent 2.95 era season in 1980.

Same guy who got traded to the Twins where he was asked to close games, which apparently didn’t end well.

Davis torpedoed two consecutive pennant races with a withering assortment of gruesome meltdowns … And after these cataclysmic unravellings?

Davis, the very next day, would jog onto the field singing “Jimmy Cracked Corn” … every … single … time. A fact confirmed by a smattering of nods in the press arena. “Thing is” continued Reusse, “By the time Davis was shipped to the Cubs, the fans and the team were fed up with him. There’s even a story about how after he was traded Kirby Pucket performed a raucous rendition of Jimmy Cracked Corn on the plane ride.” Ouch.

So, naturally the busybody local press would wonder about Ron’s kid. Now Davis Sr. wasn’t all bad as a player. He racked up a bunch of saves with the Twins and would have been regarded differently were it not for his tendency to cough it up in huge spots, still, he was quite the character.

His son? I didn’t know what to say, “What do we think of our new first baseman?” What kind of question is that? He was hitting .165 for crying out loud! I said his power was legit, but Reusse countered by reminding me that the minors are littered with guys like Ike who can’t hit a breaking pitch. Tough to argue with, especially since Ike seemed to be compelled to swing at every kind of curve ball in the dirt ever invented. I felt schooled, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone. The lesson was that the Ike situation was one to keep an eye on.

Recalcitrance can be a good thing or a bad thing. Seaver’s stubbornness may have very well been a vestige of his assertiveness on the mound, it was probably a good thing. Ike on the other hand doesn’t have much to show beyond his 32 homer 2012 season. “It’s hard to believe anyone could hit 32 homers in the majors and not be pretty darned good.” I said …

But the Jury is still out on Ike.  There’ve been stories about a tirade that didn’t stay in Vegas after he didn’t get a call-up, whispers about questionable “coachability,” petty rumors about keeping poor hours, and more recently he was the endless subject of trade rumors. In the end Ike’s success with the Mets will largely be contingent on his ability to rediscover a way to punch that outside breaking ball the other way.

I eventually kind of ran out of stuff to say and just started nodding as if I was still part of a conversation that was no longer there … Reusse no doubt got tired of my amateurisms and became engrossed in what appeared to be 4 or 5 conversations at once — a palpable chorus of bubbling commentary under the hum of computer clicks and keyboards. Trying to eavesdrop was all but impossible, and It didn’t help one bit that Jay Horwitz seemed to have an uncanny knack for hitting me with a scoring question every time I missed a play.

So there you have it, that was my Ike Davis conversation with Patrick Reuse. Relevant today not because Ron Davis recently accused the Mets of botching his son’s development (never mind Ike’s incessant proclivity to try and pull everything over the right field wall), but because first base for the N.Y. Mets is, somehow, a year later, still unresolved.

The post Talkin’ Mets With Patrick Reusse: Ron and Ike Davis, Tom and Matt Seaver? appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Fellow Mets fans, the apocalypse is officially upon us.

I wish the adjective bold or a close comparable – say, courageous, fearless, forceful, even the profane, ballsy, or the colloquial, out of the box — could be used to describe the organizational steward of the Mets as he tries to navigate the franchise through these very troubling waters, a whirling turbulence (see: a drain and water flushing down it) he has been in large part responsible for making.

But Sandy Alderson is the antecedent to bold, the polar opposite. Bland, stoic, methodical, taciturn, dispassionate – these words are more apt to describe him. Yet this is also a man who will clownishly crack obtuse inside jokes often at inappropriate times for his own cackling bemusement and often at the expense of Mets fans, has seemingly resorted to passive aggressive tactics as a defense mechanism to criticism, and who is a grand master at double talk, denial, and deflection. Oh, the enigma that is Sandy Alderson.

This off-season has been famously proffered as the winter of reclamation for the Mets franchise, when everything changes, when three large contracts come off the books and the stars finally align – and we, the loyal and beleaguered Mets fans who have been heroically patient, finally see the end of the penny pinching and the bottom feeding. But this off season, if reports such as the one above is any indication, like the off season before it, and the one before that, is beginning to shape up like yet another exercise in numbing futility, if not unadulterated madness.

In baseball’s version of theater of the absurd, its ‘Groundhog Day’ again, with one cruel exception – rather than correcting the sins of the past, Alderson and his fawning triumvirate just keep repeating them, ad nauseam, again and again and again. Sign chair-throwing Francisco to a $12 million contract, repeat with the signing of Chris Young, who wouldn’t start for another team in baseball, for $7.25 million. Any rebuilding plan that includes these two players is in truth a misnomer, a big ugly lie foisted upon the fan base for 3 seasons now – an abject betrayal of our trust and faith we collectively put in Alderson. The soul sucking reality is, given Alderson’s track record over that time, what should we have expected? The jokes on us, right Sandy? Ha, ha, ha. Stop. I get it now.

So on this day after Thanksgiving (I’ll let the bitter irony fester without comment) lets try and get to the bottom of all of this, shall we? This past Tuesday, Alderson held a press conference to ostensibly welcome Chris Young and his dreadful .235 lifetime BA and, it should be noted to all the sabermetric fanatics reading this, a miserable .315 lifetime OBP. Mind you, these are not one season aberrations but his lifetime averages. Young also doesn’t walk much, strikes out too much, but did have five relatively productive seasons for Arizona from ’07 to ’11. Still, no matter how much lipstick Alderson puts on this signing, its still a reclamation project, albeit with a very large price tag.

Of more concern to Mets fans, the signing has absorbed almost 25% of the meager $30 million budget the team has to spend. Alderson not only can’t keep promises but what’s just as maddening is he’s unfaithful to the core principles of sabermetrics and his creation, Moneyball, when circumstantially required, because Young is anything else but that type of player, and $7.05 million is hardly a bargain basement price tag.

Even more exasperating than all of that, Young’s signed for one year. Alderson must be the brightest man on the planet because that makes absolutely no sense at all to the rest of us mere mortals – if Chris Young does well, if he does reclaim his career, he goes elsewhere next year for a multi-year deal. Not even a second year option, just in case? In others words, even if Alderson is right about Young, he’s still wrong. Trade bait in June? If the Mets pick up most of his salary, which they won’t do, or salary dump him for no one in return, which is more likely (don’t let the exquisite paradox go unappreciated – dumping the salary of a player in less than a full season, who the Mets signed to the bloated contract that needed to be dumped in the first place). Young playing well enough to the point another team would even want him as a piece for a playoff run still strains percentages. For every Byrd, there are ten of these types of signings that fail. If he does poorly, which odds are he will, another $7.05 million outright wasted. Chris Young, your guardian angel is named Sandy Alderson.

But I digress for the comic relief of it all. During the press conference Alderson announced to the world that, surprise of all surprises, free agent shortstops – free agents in general — want too much money this off season. Bla, bla, bla, bla, he droned on about the state of free agency, in full and pedantic lecturing mode, and my mind began to blank out from the boredom of it all (after all, he’s sung some version of this tired song for three years now, and keeps hauling it out as if the heavens had just suddenly opened up and revealed only to him this epiphany). Then he said something quite peculiar – breathtaking in its fantastic disconnect to what had transpired last season, really. Ruben Tejada – yes, the same Ruben Tejada he toyed with like a yo-yo and banished to the minors seemingly at whim, which might as well have been Siberia, and defamed and ridiculed him for good, sadistic measure on his way out – has a real chance to be the starting shortstop for the Mets in 2014. Though my heart clutched a beat and the hair on the back of my neck stiffened at the sheer raving audacity of this man, is anybody really surprised that the slick, double talking Sandy Alderson is in full swing obfuscation mode again?

Face it. Unless Alderson drastically changes his thinking, Drew isn’t coming, Cruz isn’t coming, Cano’s coming when the Mets play the Yankees next year at Citi Field. Chris Young quickly said yes to signing with the Mets – after starting to breath again — because Alderson bribed him with $7.05 million that no one else in baseball would have paid, if half that. Hell, I think Andrew Brown could have a better year, if given the chance. One of the true bitter ironies about the absurdity of Alderson is that he has been responsible for some of the most market inflating free agent contracts in baseball over the past three seasons. Its altogether perverse to use a dime of revenue derived from the hard work of Mets fans to overpay the likes of Chris Young, Frank Francisco, Sean Marcum, and DJ Carrasco, but that’s precisely what he did. Yes, its theater of the absurd, baseball’s version — the dogmatic Alderson, on his bully pulpit, howling into the void about the insanity of free agent contracts.

That sound you hear is 29 other GM’s snickering. I’d laugh, too, but the searing bile is rising up in my throat.

Now its back to rearranging the deck chairs for the genius of Moneyball. The Cardinals had enough in the bank, and thick enough skin, to sign Perralta to a contract that apparently shocked Alderson. What was missing from the press conference was Anderson fainting from the horror of it all. The Cardinals win World Series at a pace second only to the Yankees, and get to the playoffs just about every season … so what exactly shocks Alderson about how the Cardinals conduct business? That they are successful? That they act with boldness, not whining, wimpy excuses and boldface lies?

After promising a $100 million payroll, then changing that, without a scintilla of explanation, to the rather vague $90 ish million, Alderson now is promising – promising, I say! — that the budget will go no lower than $87 million. Whatever his faults, there’s no question Alderson leads the majors in broken promises to his fan base.

I have arrived at the conclusion that the ever shifting payroll budget of the Mets is essentially Alderson’s doing. Alternately, with assets and property worth probably in excess of $3 billion, I have to believe that the Wilpons have the resources to cobble together the money they need to run this franchise like a large market team but that Alderson and his Moneyball constructs and conscripts have become a self-fulfilling prophesy. Do you really think that Alderson, with money to spend burning a hole in his pocket, would say anything else other than how shocked he is at the steep prices of free agents?

Somebody needs to wake Alderson up and tell him its not the 1970’s anymore, and free agent prices are, well, very steep. Guess what else is very steep: ticket prices, hot dogs at the stadium, beers, sodas, parking. Its $13 to get over the George Washington Bridge, for crying out loud. So if Mets fans are expected to pay steep prices to watch this team play lousy baseball, why is he so shocked that he might have to pay steep prices to get better players to help the team win more games? You know, do his job.

His latest parlor tricks twist credibility into a pretzel. No other large or mid market team, for that matter, appears to be wringing their hands with the shamelessness of poor, poor pitiful Sandy – all alone in this madhouse world, save his three devoted followers. Does anybody else wonder what these four men do on a daily basis? Again, if you want to talk about out of control spending – do the Mets really have to pay what amounts to 4 GM’s to not spend money wisely in free agency, not draft very well, and besides a couple of layups still to be determined, not trade very well? Its like Moe, Larry, Curly and Shemp.

The Tigers, in a downtrodden city mired in bankruptcy and hopelessness and hardly with the resources of the NYC market, trade Fielder, relieving themselves of his massive contract, gets Kinsler and his large contract in return, talk of moving Cabrera to first, and Kinsler to third, and then immediately contemplates bringing the $300 million man Cano out for a visit. All bold, daring, dynamic moves. I thought I’d never write these words in my lifetime, but I am envious of Detroit Tigers fans. Texas gets gargantuan Fielder, and his gargantuan contract too, and now is deciding on also pursuing Cano. Yes, bold and daring.

The Mets grossly overpay Chris Young, when nobody else wanted him, and bask in the glory of their work as if they invented baseball. Throw them a bone, any bone, and get them to stop all the damn barking! I suppose its okay to sign Young, Francisco, Carrasco, Rauch, and Marcum for $25 million dollars a year, but spending $15 million on a power hitting, slick fielding shortstop who just won the World Series isn’t smart baseball? Really?

In Alderson’s upside down world, this stands as organizational strategy. Sign this truly reprehensible group, a stain on baseball and frankly on Alderson’s reputation, who suffers no tangible consequences for squandering every red cent for less than zero production, and then pass on a slick fielding, power hitting shortstop. Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it?

In some delusion of grandeur, Alderson must see himself as the Quixote of baseball, on a crusade with his three Sanchos to save a fiscally challenged game from its own worst `instincts – namely, greed (which is, really, one of the engines of free enterprise, whether we want to admit it or not, or call it something else).

Moneyball might have worked in Oakland – did it? — but its incorporation into a large market team is an insult to every Mets fan who buys tickets to a game, pays $20 to park at Citi Field or forks over $10 on a coke and hotdog, pays a monthly fee for cable to watch the games on SNY, or buys expensive team gear. They’re either playing us for suckers or they are simply self absorbed idiots if they truly feel Mets fans will idly sit by this time.

Here’s the moral to this nightmare: You don’t hire an atheist to teach catechism, and you don’t hire a Moneyball acolyte to run a large market baseball team.

Do you know what Alderson should do this off season to rouse the fan base and make his mark as something more than a small market cult master? He should give Cano $30 million this year, and for 6 more seasons, and make do internally filling in the holes, and with trades in 2014. Move Murphy to first, trade Davis and Duda for prospects. Let Black close if Parnell can’t; bring up Leathersich, Walters and Familia for pen. Let Puello (16 HR, 73 RBI, .326. BA, .403 OPB, .547 SLG, 24 stolen bases & 8 outfield assists in ban-related abbreviated season) play right field. Maybe he’s our Puig.

Pitching-wise, start with Mejia in the 5^th slot in rotation until he hits his inning limits, then use Montero until he reaches his limit; build up Wheeler’s innings before shutting him down again, and use Torres as your 4^th starter or use one of the trade pieces for a stop gap starter in a trade. Then see where that gets you while you wait on positional player development – Puello, d’Arnaud, even Tejada — and Harvey to get well again in 2015.

I wouldn’t trade any of the Mets young, top tiered pitchers this off-season. Second tier – Mazzoni, deGrom, Matz – different story, and perhaps there is a noteworthy trade to be made from this group to help the cause.

Signing Cano would be a ballsy, out of the box, creatively bold move that would set the Mets up with two superstars hitting in their primes at Citi for the next 7 years, when, as we all know, a flood of great young pitching will be in Queens led by Matt Harvey (all under inexpensive team control for most of those years). Sounds a lot like the way the SF Giants have built two championship teams, and it would position the Mets for 7-8 year run for glory beginning in 2015 and a payroll that will remain relatively stable, probably never passing $100-$110 million.

Starting Line-up: E. Young, Murphy, Wright, Cano, Puello, C. Young, d’Arnaud, Tejada.

Starters: Wheeler, Neise, Gee, Torres, Mejia.

Bullpen: Parnell, Black, Edgin, Familia, Rice, Leathersich, Walters.

Bench: Turner, Brown, Recker, Lagares, Flores.

The 2014 payroll would break down like this: $30 million Cano, $25 million Wright, $5 million Niese, $7.05 million C. Young, $16.1 million arbitration settled contracts Gee, Tejada, Turner, Young, Jr, Murphy, Parnell, $7.5 million for base contracts on Harvey, Flores, Black, d’Arnaud, Edgin, Familia, Mejia, Recker, Rice, Tejada, Wheeler, Leathersich, Torres, Lagares, Puello, Walters.

That’s $90.65 million for 25 players or just $3.65 million more than the absolute low side of the budget according to Alderson’s latest pledge, or the equivalent to what Alderson paid Frank Francisco for each game he actually pitched in. Or a bit less than Alderson paid for the one game Shaun Marcum won.

Ha, ha, ha. Just kidding, Sandy.

The post In Theater Of Absurd, There’s No End To The Madness appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

I came across this on MLBTR this morning:

The Mets are looking for players to buy into their offensive philosophy, and that means finding guys with discipline at the plate, writes Andy Martino of the New York Daily News.  That might help to explain why the free-swinging Daniel Murphy has found himself on the pages of MLBTR over the last week or so.

I headed over to Martino’s post after reading that, and immediately knew I was in store for something strange when I saw the title “The Mets Need Fewer Sourpusses.”

Sure enough, Martino makes his maiden voyage into MMO Fair or Foul…

In Sandy Alderson’s previous three offseasons, the GM was shackled by budget constraints, and forced to choose from an undesirable pile of free agents.  In many cases, he did not choose well, signing guys who brought a sour vibe into the clubhouse, in some cases creating more trouble than was justified by their limited contributions.

It began with catcher Ronny Paulino and reliever D.J. Carrasco in 2011; the former was uninterested in following game plans, and the latter drove the coaching staff crazy with frequent whining about his usage.  Subsequent years brought Jon Rauch’s unrelenting surliness and Frank Francisco’s unwillingness to pitch, along with attempts to dissuade youngsters from doing so.

Shaun Marcum was, well, not charming, and while Marlon Byrd arrived with a questionable reputation, he was generally a pleasant surprise in the clubhouse — save for what many Mets people saw as his overcoaching of teammates.

It is that latter point that the Mets want to address, in addition to bringing in more pleasant people. On every level of the organization up to major league hitting coach Dave Hudgens, Alderson’s staff has spent three years working to instill a hitting philosophy that stresses plate discipline and on-base percentage.  Agree or disagree with that view — many baseball folks criticize it for making hitters less aggressive, a characterization that proponents dispute — it is one that the GM insists on.

Players like Byrd and Daniel Murphy are good hitters, but operate in a mode that is far from Aldersonian.  Byrd is an aggressive swinger, unwilling or unable to draw many walks (his walk rate last year was a lowly 5.4 percent), and more than willing to encourage teammates to follow his own ideas while they worked pregame in the batting cage. That is one of the reasons the Mets did not pursue a reunion with the outfielder, who signed a two-year, $16 million deal with Philadelphia on Tuesday.

The Mets are open to trading Murphy for similar reasons.  Murphy has earned the respect of the front office by working to turn himself into a passable second baseman, but he is another aggressive hitter, whose style does not fit what the general manager, hitting coach, and organizational instructors teach.  This is one of the reasons that the team might be ready to move him.

Read the rest of this article here.

Well that was quite the mixed bag… Who knew that backstory on Marlon Byrd as well as all those other free agents that have come and gone. I thought Byrd’s coaching of the younger players was kind of a good thing, but I guess it didn’t sit well with the higher-ups.

But what bugs me most is the thought that Murphy could be shipped simply because he doesn’t comply with the program. As much as they say it’s not a one-size fits all approach, you read something like this and it makes you wonder just how much truth there is to that.

The way I see it, the Mets already have their hands full trying to replace the 40 homers they got from Byrd and also John Buck. That should be difficult enough to do. But then to also have to replace Murphy as well makes me wonder how they intend to replace all three and then begin to upgrade the offense on top of all that. Maybe Sandy has a few tricks up his sleeve…

The post MMO Fair or Foul: Mets Need Fewer Sourpusses And More Players Who Buy Into Offensive Philosophy appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

The question is whether or not this is a smart move and there are a number of reasons why one would question whether this is a smart move.

Nothing excites Mets fans more than thinking about Noah Syndergaard, Rafael Montero and Zack Wheeler joining Matt Harvey in the rotation in the coming years. But the truth is, as Matt Harvey has shown this year, your ace can be lost for an entire season in the blink of an eye. In fact, a study conducted during 2010 found that pitchers are 34% more likely to hit the disabled list than a position player, and pitchers also spend more time on the disabled list (62.4% of the time versus 37.6% for position players).  

Having your system stockpiled with exciting pitchers but lacking in impact bats creates a problem for teams that lack offense. The old adage states that good pitching beats good hitting, but there should be an asterisk next to that statement. There should be an asterisk next to that statement because I don’t care how good your pitcher is pitching, you can’t win a game if your offense doesn’t produce runs. Now depending on who you speak to, there are many different schools of thought on how to generate runs. However, the best formula for scoring runs is having good hitters in your lineup.

Hitters are more predictable over time. Hitters tend to produce pretty consistently until they start getting up into their early 30s. Pitchers, on the other hand, are a lot more difficult to predict. R.A. Dickey, although a knuckle baller, is a prime example of that unpredictability. That is because much of a pitcher’s success can be determined by many more outside factors than a hitter’s can—like the defense of their teammates.

Is it cost effective to develop as much young pitching as possible? When looking at the average salaries of position players taken from the Associated Press in 2010 (shown below), you would think not. By not developing offensive players, you are forced to go shopping in the free agent market, and susceptible to some of the costs displayed in the graphic. From looking at this chart, I could sign two pitchers for the cost of signing one first baseman (on average)—so why wouldn’t I opt to develop my own offensive talent and opt to add pitchers in free agency?

There was an article on MMO yesterday regarding Theo Epstein and trying to get one step ahead. I had the opportunity to cover the Chicago Cubs last year as a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, and he truth is, the Cubs farm system is the opposite of the Mets. Instead of being stocked with pitchers, they have some of the more exciting offensive players in the game today in their farm system—Dan Vogelbach, Jorge Soler, Javier Baez, Mike Olt and Albert Almora are a very solid foundation to build their future around…very solid. They have some nice pitching prospects, but they have an abundance of offense.

Having offensively gifted players makes the average pitcher look better, but have anemic offensive players and great pitching just makes the offense look even more anemic. Good offense allows pitchers to relax a little more out on the mound, and they will pitch differently when they know their offense is capable of putting up a ten-spot than they will if the offense struggles to score three runs.

When taking everything into consideration, why would a team build their system around pitching? The Mets have some promising young offensive players, but even those prospects have some pretty big question marks hanging over their head—Wilmer Flores doesn’t have a steady position defensively, Travis d’Arnaud hasn’t played a full season since Double-A, and now we’re hearing that Mets’ scouts don’t even consider Cesar Puello a prospect. The remainder of the Mets offensive prospects are still a couple of years from helping out the team at the big league level.

So what the Mets have is good pitching, and lots of it. We are left wondering what the Mets will do with all this pitching since there are only a limited number of pitchers you can carry on the major league roster, and how many insurance policies are you going to carry in case someone gets hurt? The Mets have to start flipping some of these pitchers while they are hot to reap some offensive rewards. All it takes is one injury to destroy the value of one of these young pitchers.

If the Mets were smart they would sell high, and bring in some offense now. The only Mets pitcher that should be untouchable in the farm system right now is Noah Syndergaard—and for the right combination, even he can be had. But Syndergaard is one of the brightest Mets pitching prospects I have seen in awhile, and the Mets would be wise to keep young Thor and transform Citi Field to a virtual Aasgard in the near future.

The Mets had it right last year when they signed Shaun Marcum, it looks terrible now, but on a team with a solid offense a guy like Marcum could have been a very effective pitcher. That’s why you build your farm system around bats and supplement it with some solid pitching, and not vice versa. If the Mets build around pitching, and a few of those guys get hurt and wash out, they are left with nothing—no offense and no pitching. The odds of a pitcher getting injured is about 40% more likely than a position player. Not only that, but a position player helps my organization every day, and pitchers can only impact about 30 games per year.

The Mets have their philosophy in place, and a bank account full of young pitchers which many believe leaves Sandy Alderson sitting on a stack of gold bars. But pitchers aren’t like gold bars, they are more like internet stocks—their value can come crashing down in one pitch, and the Mets pitching prospect bubble will burst leaving them with a whole bunch of nothing. It’s time to start unloading some of this volatile stock and get some long-term value in offense in return.

The post The Mets Plan Of Building Around Young Pitchers Is Like Gambling On Internet Stocks appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Warning !!  What you are about to see is an exercise in futility.

What if Johan Santana didn’t blow out his surgically repaired shoulder again during Spring Training ?

What if Shaun Marcum pitched anywhere near the numbers on the back of his baseball card ?

What if Matt Harvey didn’t injure his elbow – possibly requiring Tommy John Surgery ?

What if David Wright didn’t tweak his hamstring and missed seven weeks of the season ?

What if Ruben Tejada actually showed that he belonged on a Major League Roster ?

What if Jordany Valdespin showed that his baseball  I.Q was higher than his batting average ?

What if Ike Davis hit like he did during the second half of last season ?

What if Lucas Duda actually proved that he is a power hitter – or at least could hit with RISP?

What if Eric Young Jr was on the Opening Day Roster.

What if the Mets offense gave some run support to Harvey, Wheeler, Gee, Niese etc. ?

What if Frank Francisco was arrested for impersonating  Armando Benitez ?

What if Bobby Parnell didn’t injure his neck ?

What if Terry Collins was a good in-game manager ?

What if Sandy Alderson was given a little bit more flexibility with this past offseason budget ?

What if Freddie never met Bernie ?

Could/would the Mets have finished over .500 with a chance of a wild card berth ?

Does is really matter ?

And with that said….. HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!!

Mets alumni celebrating a birthday today includes:

Dick Gernert  is 85 (1928). Most fans never heard of Dick Gernert, but I guess when you were the Mets Director of Player Development from 1978-1980 I am sure you wouldn’t want to be remembered for that job anyway.

Reserve catcher from ’82-’85, Ronn Reynolds is 55 (1958).

Middle reliever from t’04-’05, Mike DeJean is 43 (1970). In his 2 seasons with the Mets Dejean compiled a record of 3-1 with an ERA of 4.21.

Mo Vaughn frequently wonders what if he followed his childhood dream of being an opera singer instead of playing baseball !!!!

The post This Day In Mets Infamy With Rusty: The “What If” Edition appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Last nights game between the Mets and the Cleveland  Indians was stomach churning bad. That first inning pitched by Jon Niese made me wish that Shaun Marcum was still with the team (well not really). All I know is that after viewing last night’s game, I have finally come to terms with the fact that this Mets team, the way it is currently structured, has pretty much no shot to finish the season remotely close to a respectable .500 record. In order for them to finish .500 they would have to go 19-3 the rest of the way which we all know would need a miracle to happen.

So hear area few songs that I think pretty much fittingly describes last night’s game.

1. “Welcome to My Nightmare” by Alice Cooper

2. “Indians” by Anthrax

3. “Run to The Hills” by Iron Maiden

4. “One Bourbon, One Scotch and One Beer” by George Thorogood (because I sure needed it !)

5. ” No More Mr. Niese Guy” also by Alice Cooper

6. “Sleepwalk” by Santo and Johnny (because essentially that’s what this team did last night).

7. “Shot Down In Flames” by AC/DC

8. “Sounds of Silence“ by Simon and Garfunkel

9. “If” by ’70’s Top 40 friendly band, Bread (I have dubbed this the official post game song for Terry Collins)

And lastly at number 10:

“Cleveland Rocks!” by Ian Hunter – well because last night they did !

So do you agree/disagree ? Any songs that you think that I am wrong about or that you think describe last night’s lesson in futility any better ? If so please leave your suggestions in the comments section below.

And with that said….. HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!

Mets alumni celebrating a birthday today includes:

Mets coach from ’64-’67 and briefly in  ’74, Sheriff Robinson would have been 82 (1921). Robinson also managed the Mets minor league teams, The Quincy Jets in 1963 and the Buffalo Bisons in ’65.

Middle reliever from the ’89 season, Don Aase is 59 (1954). Aase didn’t fare well in his lone season as a Met. He went 1-5 with a 3.94 ERA in 49 appearances that season – But he had one of the best last  names in baseball history.

Current Mets closer, Bobby Parnell  turns 29 (1984). Hopefully he will be back in prime health next season so that he can anchor a hopefully revamped bullpen.

Mo Vaughn‘s favorite Rap group is The Fat Boys !!!

The post This Day In Mets Infamy With Rusty: A Soundtrack For Last Night’s Mets Loss Edition appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

In case you were wondering, left-hander Pedro Feliciano continues to make strides since his promotion to Triple-A Las Vegas last week.

The veteran reliever is maintaining his higher velocity and getting the job done out of the bullpen for the 51s.

Feliciano has retired all six batters he has faced — four lefties, two righties — over three appearances since the promotion from Binghamton to Las Vegas, reports Adam Rubin.

Overall, Feliciano has made 22 appearances as he continues his rehab, and in 21.0 innings pitched he has a 1.29 ERA while allowing just 14 hits and 4 walks, and 19 strikeouts.

Go Petey!

Original Post 7/25

Pedro Feliciano has been assigned to Triple-A Las Vegas, after a successful stint with the Binghamton Mets as he continues to make solid progress toward a return to the majors.

Here is what our John Bernhardt had to say about Feliciano during his most recent game at Binghamton:

It’s almost unfair. To watch Pedro Feliciano work a pitchers mound against young Double-A batters is to watch a master craftsman applying his craft to a gaggle of apprentices. Feliciano defines what it means to pitch, not to throw a baseball.

The former workhorse of the major league Mets, the 36-year old lefthanded relief specialist is working to prove he still has something left, something that could matter at the big league level. So far, Feliciano’s Double-A audition is supporting evidence to argue his case.

In 12 appearances on the mound as a B-Met, Feliciano has been brilliant. Feliciano has pitched 12.1 innings allowing 2 runs giving him a sparkling 1.46 earned run average. Only 8 hits allowed and one base-on-balls leave the seasoned veteran with an improbable WHIP of 0.73.

It’s not the standard statistics alone that tell Feliciano’s Double-A story. It’s the high volume of missed bats, as the crafty lefty expertly mixes his pitches and nibbles, nibbles, nibbles around the perimeter of the strike zone. Watching Feliciano twist and turn hard swinging baseball youngsters into pretzels never fails to leave a smile.

The first time I saw Feliciano pitch as a B-Met his fastball never topped 81 mph. Even so, an array of pitches dipping as low as the mid 60’s kept batters off-balance, unable to make solid contact with the ball. My most recent time observing the pitching master work, his fastball had dialed up to as high as 86 and was coming in consistently at 83 and 84. That seemed to only add to Feliciano’s effectiveness.

Feliciano worked two innings in that outing, perhaps necessitated by several extra innings. A two- inning stint has to support Feliciano’s case that the major leagues might still be in his future.

In a day and age when power and speed are code words, it’s refreshing to see a seasoned veteran effectively mixing pitches and speeds and utilizing pitching smarts to get the job done.

In other news, the Mets have announced that Shaun Marcum has been released.

It was already known that Marcum had thrown his last pitch for the Mets after surgery to treat neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome in his right throwing shoulder last week.

*** Two important things here for the Mets is that this now opens up a 40 Man Roster spot for the team and gives them some flexibility for future moves. And they save $1 million in roster bonus that they would have had to pay Marcum.

The post Feliciano Still Dealing In Vegas, Overall Has 1.29 ERA In 22 Appearances appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

There’s an old adage in baseball: you can never have enough good pitching. There’s another adage in life: you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.

Beat both in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy and you’ve got something resembling the 2013 New York Mets.

In case none of that makes any sense, consider someone like Carlos Torres. In his last two starts, he’s gone 11 IP allowing 12 hits, two walks, two earned runs and striking out 11. He’s 1-0 over those two games—a quality candidate for long relief later on.

Also look no further than Jenrry Mejia. In Mejia’s debut he pitched seven scoreless innings, gave up seven hits, struck out seven, didn’t surrender a walk and earned the win.

Torres and Mejia are just a few of the productive commodities the Mets have stashed on their roster.

Now, you might be thinking to yourself, “Okay, if that’s the case, then why has the team been so mediocre? If the Mets have all this talent on the team, why can’t they put it together?”

That’s where the second ingredient comes into play. Terry Collins can sit in the dugout and watch young or talented or both players all season. That doesn’t mean he’s going to play them. Sandy Alderson can watch his dumpster dive players over-perform. That doesn’t mean he’s going to flip them.

I believe that most teams can make the postseason. It’s about whether you put the right combination of players out there. Making the right organizational moves can assist that endeavor. It’s taken too long for that to happen. It took too long and an injury to get Omar Quintanilla to play every day at shortstop. It took too long to decide to platoon Ike Davis. Juan Lagares is finally getting a chance to play every day.

Yes, Shaun Marcum was a failure. Yes, Brandon Lyon was a failure. There are players on this roster that can fill those voids though. Some of them aren’t pitchers. A player like Marlon Byrd can net pitching—something you can never have enough. I’m not saying he can bring back a top pitching prospect, but I don’t see a problem with trading him for a bullpen arm.

If the Mets are striving to follow the San Francisco Giants mold, they must keep solidifying their pitching.

I don’t think you trade a good player in the middle of a winning season. I also think you don’t keep a 35-year-old outfielder when you’re in the middle of a rebuilding year. You’re 11 games out of the wild card spot and you’d need to pull off one of the most miraculous second half’s in team history. I’m sorry. I’m just being realistic. The Mets have a better chance of competing for the next few years with another bullpen arm than they do of making a run with Byrd this season.

This isn’t to discredit what Byrd’s been doing. He’s been good for the locker room, good on the field and good for this organization. That only adds credence to the idea that some team will be interested in acquiring him for something the Mets could always use more pitching.

Trade Byrd. Keep Bobby Parnell.

What do you think the Mets should do by the trade deadline?

The post Mets Need More Pitching More Than They Need Marlon Byrd appeared first on Metsmerized Online.