Category: Minors

Jenry Mejia Should Make Mets Team

Dwight Gooden at Candlestick Park in San Franc...
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It’s a young man’s game now and Jenry Mejia is a young man with a good arm. Sure, he’s only pitched 7 innings so far this spring to a 1.23 ERA. But he’s looked good doing it. I’m not buying into the hype about Mejia. It’s a simple equation. The Mets are built to win now and Mejia can help them do that. It’s that simple.

You may think that the Mets would take Mejia north next month because Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya are trying to save their jobs. They’re not looking out for the kid. They don’t care about his future. There may be something to that, I don’t know. But if you read Ken Rosenthal’s column today on Fox Sports, it sure seems that way according to Rosenthal.

To get back to where I started this post, baseball isn’t a game for 35+ year-old players anymore. The worm turned with the MLB 2003 steroid report and testing for steroids and amphetamines. It’s back to being a young man’s game again and we have to face that fact and this new reality. Dwight Gooden made the team and won 17 games as a rookie when he was 19 years-old. Mejia is 20 years-old and he’s not Dwight Gooden, but if he wins a spot on the roster this spring we need to accept this new reality. The funny thing is that the new reality is the old reality.

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Jose Reyes Goes Down – Call FEMA!

NEW YORK - MAY 11: Jose Reyes #7 of the New Y...

But seriously, as much as I hate to lose Jose Reyes for any amount of time I don’t think losing Reyes is a game changer. As good as he is, I think the Mets will do fine with Alex Cora at the bottom of their lineup. Can you say Rafael Santana?

In ’84 Rafael Santana was the backup shortstop for the Mets. In ’85 he was promoted to starting shortstop, and then in ’86 the Mets won it all with a shortstop that batted .218, 1 HR, 28 RBI’s and led the team with 12 intentional walks. He was a solid defensive shortstop, not a Gold Glove by any means. Fundamentally sound.

Also remember Kevin Elster was the backup shortstop who batted .167, 0 hr’s, 0 RBI’s in ’86. He was a better defensive player than Santana and was such a smooth fielder. A pleasure to watch on the field but an automatic out at the plate.

Continue reading “Jose Reyes Goes Down – Call FEMA!”

Mets Links: Jose Reyes Thyroid Dominates News

Mets Spring Training - José Reyes

There are few stories coming from Port St. Lucie this week other than Jose Reyes and his thyroid condition. The fact that he’ll join Carlos Beltran on the disabled list come opening day has led to thoughts of another lost season and Mets’ minor leaguers getting a shot at the big leagues. Some of the biggest names in sports journalism have gotten into the act including William C. Rhoden and Joe Posnanski.

Here are the links:

  • NY Times – William C. Rhoden writes that Reyes’ thyroid problem should lead the Mets to look at rebuilding the team. “The Core” just isn’t getting it done.
  • Joe Posnanski – Joe writes that Reyes is one of the most exciting players in baseball and the Mets are due for something good to happen.
  • Daily News – John Harper writes that the conflicting messages about Reyes’ thyroid condition have to do with the players not trusting management on injury issues anymore
  • NY Post – Mike Puma writes that Reyes was blindsided by the Mets statement about his thyroid condition that made it sound worse than it is.
  • Daily News – Adam Rubin reprints a good piece about Ruben Tejada, who may get the opening day start at shortstop
  • Baseball Nerd – Keith Olbermann writes about the ridiculous story that Reyes’ thyroid problem was caused by eating too much shellfish
  • Fangraphs – R.J. Anderson writes that the Mets’ decision to work Jenry Mejia out of the bullpen is a short-term fix designed to save Omar Minaya’s and Jerry Manuel’s jobs more than for the good of Mejia and the franchise
  • Fanhouse – Josh Alper writes that the Mets signed Jason Bay instead of John Lackey because they were more concerned about Lackey’s ability to stay healthy
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Video: Mets 2010 Prospects Preview

This is another video in the series of installments previewing the 2010 season that I did with Kerel Cooper of On The Black and Joe Janish of Mets Today. In this episode we look at the Mets prospects to could have an impact on the Mets big league club this season.

http://blip.tv/play/guougczUFQI%2Em4v

Mets Links: Angel Pagan, Mike Jacobs, Daniel Murphy

New York Mets Angel Pagan reaches first base in the second inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citi Field in New York

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Now that we’re only eight days from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training, there’s starting to be some action in the news over the last few days. Unfortunately, none of the news involves the Mets signing a #2 or #3 starter, a first baseman that can hit, or a legitimate big league catcher. That being said, here’s the latest news:

  • Angel Pagan worked out a deal with the Mets to avoid arbitration. He’ll be back on a one-year/$1.45 million contract. That’s a 152% raise over his 2009 salary. Pagan wanted $1.8 million and the Mets were offering $1.275 million before they agreed on $1.45 million.
  • It looks like Mike Jacobs is coming back to the Mets on a one-year minor league contract. I’m not sure what the Mets expect from Jacobs other than a first baseman that can play a little for the fans of Triple-A Buffalo. Clearly, Ike Davis is the first baseman of the future. But Jacobs offers a little protection against another horrific season by Daniel Murphy.
  • Keith Hernandez is in Florida teaching Daniel Murphy how to play first base. Frankly, I think someone needs to teach Murphy how to hit and do it with power if he wants to stick at first base.
  • The Mets are lowering the center field wall from 16 feet to 8 feet. I thought the Mets brain trust liked having a pitcher’s park? If anything, they should have lowered the wall in left field if they wanted to have an impact on home runs.
  • Mookie Wilson is coming back as a minor league outfield and base running coach. I always like when they find a job for former players. Good job bringing Mook back.
  • Joel Sherman has a plan to save the Mets in 2010. He’s been on the Mets pretty badly over the last few days. You have to wonder what his motivation is. Did someone turn down an interview with him?

Mets Five Prospects That Could Impact 2010

Mets Thole Singles for First Major League Hit in Denver

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.jsAs promised, here is my list of five prospects, in no particular order, that could potentially help the Mets in 2010. Enjoy!

1. Josh Thole, C (age 23)

Josh Thole is coming off of a tremendous season in which he hit .328/.395/.422 in the Eastern League (AA) followed up by an impressive .321/.356/.396 performance when called up to the Mets in September. Since his power is limited, Thole’s defense will go along way in determining whether he will be a starter or backup at the big league level. I do expect Thole to potentially help the Mets in 2010. Right now the current catching tandem is Omir Santos and Henry Blanco, which I can’t really see lasting the full season, especially if the Mets are getting little production from the catching position and Thole is tearing up the International League (AAA), both of which are realistic scenarios.

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Mets Links: Doc and Darryl, Catalanotto, Jeffries

Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry press conference New York City

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The news about the Mets has become a trickle over the past week. There’s just not a lot happening 18 days from pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training in Port St. Lucie. There are some minor signings to talk about that, hopefully, won’t have a big impact on the 2010 season. Here are the links for today:

  • SI.com – Tom Verducci wrote an article comparing the 80’s and 90’s days of Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry to the steroid users. It’s hard to follow the premise that the off field activities that got Doc and Darryl into trouble are comparable to using performance enhancing drugs. But it’s worth a read.
  • CBS Sports – The Brooklyn Cyclones are ending their stadium naming deal with KeySpan Energy. KeySpan was taken over and the company name doesn’t exist anymore. The original deal was supposed to run until 2020, so I wonder how much KeySpan had to pay the Cyclones to buy the rest of the deal out.
  • NY Post – The Mets signed Long Island native Frank Catalanotto to a minor league deal. He’s not a bad offensive player but at 35 years-old it’s hard to imagine how much of an impact he’ll have in the big leagues anymore. I imagine he was signed to be a draw at Triple-A Buffalo more than he was to be in Queens.
  • NY Post – Kevin Kernan did a good piece on Greg Jeffries. He was such an enigma with the Mets, coming up to a lot of fanfare in ‘87 only to prove that he was an average and immature player.
  • Daily News – The active career leader in minor league home runs, Mike Hessman, signed a minor league deal with the Mets. Again, I think this is a move to try to improve the miserable Bisons team.
  • Daily News – Bill Madden details the laundry list of moves that Omar Minaya should have made this offseason. The funny thing is, that it’s nothing that you haven’t seen written anywhere else over the past two months. Madden needs to work on some original material.