Category: Pitching

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.

Continue reading “Mets Five Prospects That Could Impact 2010”

Mets 2010 Stars Already Aligned

Pittsburgh Pirates at New York Mets at Citi Field in New York

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I’ve been disappointed that the Mets didn’t do more to shore up the pitching rotation this offseason. I’m also surprised that they didn’t attempt an upgrade, even incremental, at first base. The more that I thought about it, after John Lackey, Matt Holliday, and Jason Bay signed their free agent deals there wasn’t anybody left on the market that I’d consider a “difference maker”. Sure, there were, and still are, some players that would be solid peripheral players for the Mets. But the 2010 season doesn’t hinge on any free agent that’s been available since Holliday signed with the Cardinals.

The 2010 season does depend on Johan Santana, Francisco Rodriguez, David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, and Bay. They’re the ones that are going to carry this team. I know it’s a long season and everyone needs to make a contribution at some point. But there’s a big difference between making an impact and making a contribution.

Continue reading “Mets 2010 Stars Already Aligned”

Video: Johan Santana throws in Port St. Lucie

Here’s some video from ESPN of Johan Santana throwing off the mound for the first time since his elbow surgery in September. With Ben Sheets and Jon Garland going off the market today, the Mets need a healthy Santana more than ever.

http://espn.go.com/videohub/player/embed.swf

Mets Should Add John Smoltz For 2010

John Smoltz
Image via Wikipedia

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Nick Migliore. Nick is a big-time Mets fan and frequent commenter here and on other Mets fan sites. It’s great to have him making a contribution that should add some diversity to the perspective on the Mets from other posts that are on this site. You can follow Nick on Twitter.

First and foremost, I’m glad to be part of The Mets Report! Thanks again to Dave Doyle for the opportunity to write for this site. I’m a huge Mets fan, and to give you a heads up about my writings, I tend to rely on more in-depth stats than just the standard ERA, win-loss records, batting average, etc. I hope everyone enjoys my contributions. If you have any questions or comments feel free to drop a comment below and I will do my best to reply.

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Now, on topic: John Smoltz. Yes, he pitched to a 6.35 ERA and a lousy 3-8 record last year. Yes, he was extremely hittable (95 hits in 78 IP), and yes, he’s 42 years old and will turn 43 about a month and a half into the season. But I really think this guy can help the Mets in 2010. Why? I’ll try my best to explain. Continue reading “Mets Should Add John Smoltz For 2010”

Mets Links: Hall of Fame, Mini Camp, Starting Pitcher

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 26: (L-R) Former members...

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The biggest news this week is that the Mets finally announced the election of Doc Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Frank Cashen, and Davey Johnson into the team Hall of Fame. They’ll go in on August 1 and that’s a date to mark on your calendar to be at Citi Field. It still burns me up that the team seemed to forget about the Hall of Fame, not electing anyone since 2002. You can see the entire list here. How is Johnny Franco not in the Hall?

On the same note, Remembering Shea has a good list of the nine greatest Mets, the next nine to go into the Hall, and the next nine to have their numbers retired. It’s a great post. Take a few minutes to read it. The lists are great but I’m not as high on Jerry Koosman. I’d move him down a few spots, but other than that the lists are spot on.

The Mets are holding a voluntary mini-camp in Port St. Lucie starting on Monday. It’ll be really interesting to see who shows up to that. There should be an announcement within the next day or so about which players will be there. If Oliver Perez doesn’t show up, I’ll be livid. Nobody needs the extra work more than he does.

Continue reading “Mets Links: Hall of Fame, Mini Camp, Starting Pitcher”

Mets 2010 Arbitration List, Maine Agrees To Contract

MLB: New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers

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The Mets had six players file for arbitration today and John Maine was the first player to agree to a new contract. Maine will return to the Mets on a one-year/$3.3 million deal plus bonuses that could go to $225,000 based on the number of starts that he makes.

The other players are: Pedro Feliciano, Jeff Francoeur, Sean Green, and Angel Pagan.

I thought it was time to move on from Maine and non-tender him. I don’t think anyone would have thought that Maine deserved a raise coming off his 15 start 7-6 season last year. But he will be getting a raise from his $2.6 million 2009 salary. It’s funny how baseball contracts work sometimes. Or maybe the Mets are just that desperate for starting pitching.

There are some huge names on the arbitration list this year including Tim Lincecum and Felix Hernandez. It should be really interesting to see where they end up.

The Mets players in arbitration had 2009 salaries of:

  • Feliciano- $1.615 million
  • Francoeur- $3.375 million
  • Green- $0.471 million
  • Pagan- $0.575 million

Mets Links: David Wright, Jay Marshall, John Smoltz

Mets vs. Marlins

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It’s 27 degrees and windy outside right now. I’m watching the NFL playoffs, but I’m thinking of warmer times when baseball is the sport of the season. With that, I’ve got some more links for you on this Sunday afternoon. Here are the links:

  • Jay Marshall claimed off waivers– I like this move. Marshall is a sidearming southpaw that has had great success in the minors, even at Triple-A level. But had no success at the big league level. He’s 26 years-old and it’s worth a shot to see if he can figure things out. This is a nice, low-risk move.
  • David Wright expects to bounce back in 2010– Mark Hale of the Post got an interview with Wright. Of course, he says all of the right things. He doesn’t blame Citi Field or the depleted lineup for his lack of production. Wright is media-savvy enough to make his 2009 10 HR, 140 K season all about himself.
  • Mets considering John Smoltz– Smoltz looked totally washed up to me last season. His 8.32 ERA with the Red Sox was atrocious. There are many options better than Smoltz at this point. The only way that I’d consider Smoltz a viable candidate is if he would take a minor league contract, and I don’t think there’s any way he would do that.
  • The Mets are actively scouting in Dominican Republic– Always Amazin’ has a link to a Peter Gammons-led discussion with Theo Epstein and Omar Minaya about the two teams being very active in the Dominican.