Mets First Batting Champion and Finish in Last Place?

NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 09: Jose Reyes of the N...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

This was quite the interesting year for our New York Mets, from the worst start in club history to HatGate… with 9 games left to the season there are still a few things to look forward to. Hard to believe a team who has been out of playoff contention for months can have so much riding on the last 9 games of the season but it’s more about hope for the future than anything else.

Will Reyes Win the Batting Title?

Our first batting champion in Mets history? Although it won’t help our prospects of resigning him, but if the Mets do manage to resign Jose Reyes this will be a huge reason, maybe the only reason, why the fans will come back next year… to see our homegrown Batting Champion lead a new round of youngsters to a winning season.

Will the Mets End Up in Last?

I actually picked the Mets for last this year. They are 4 games out of last with 9 to play. They also happen to play a series against the Phillies and Cards before they end the season against the Reds. Will the Phillies cruise and give the Mets a break or will they go all out and try to bury the Mets? The Cards are in full blown Wild Card race mode so they will be tough to beat.

My Spring Training Prediction: Dead Last. A successful season would be if they take 3rd. 4th place and the season is a wash. So I’m hoping for 3rd. Last is not really looking like a possible outcome. Continue reading “Mets First Batting Champion and Finish in Last Place?”

Mets September 11, 2011 Game

I was at at the Mets-Cubs game last night with my father and I wanted to share a few images with you. As you know, it was another disappointing loss in a season filled with them so far. But the pre-game ceremony was more than worth the price of admission. The crowd was sparse as you would expect at this point in the season without playoff hopes. And the Cubs aren’t exactly a draw either.

There were representatives from pretty much every city service agency on the field before the game along with the kids from Tuesday’s Children. The NYPD and FDNY bagpipers and drummers were marching in a stirring ceremony that was filled with emotion. Continue reading “Mets September 11, 2011 Game”

Video: Mets Weekly Report – 9-11 and Bobby Parnell

New York Mets Statue of Liberty, promotion for...
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In this week’s Mets Weekly Report video I talk to Kerel Cooper of OnTheBlack.com about the September 11th game tonight and the future of Bobby Parnell. I’ll be at the game tonight against the Cubs for the September 11th remembrance ceremony. It should be an emotional night with families of the victims in attendance along with some of the heroes of 9/11, some of the members of the 2001 Mets, and Marc Anthony singing the national anthem.

We also talk about the recent struggles of Parnell. The problems that he’s had recently have caused some fans to reconsider whether he should be the Mets closer now and if there’s a future in closing for him. Although I’m not impressed with what I’ve seen from Parnell recently, I think there’s hope for the future. Check out the video below to see why and leave your comments at the bottom of the page.

Mets Trying to Sell Smaller Stake in Team

NEW YORK - AUGUST 06: New York Mets Chief Exe...
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According to the NY Post, the Mets owners had a conference call with the group of banks that have approximately $500 million outstanding in loans to the team. Fred Wilpon and banker Steve Greenberg expressed confidence that they would be able to sell several “smaller” shares of the team by the end of 2011 after David Einhorn pulled out of deal to invest $200 million last week. [The picture at the right is Wilpon and Einhorn in happier days].

A couple of months ago, JP Morgan sent a tersely worded letter to Wilpon stating that some covenants of the loan had been breached by Wilpon. The letter didn’t say Wilpon was in default. But you know where this was headed.

During the call, Greenberg also told the lenders that their potential exposure to the Madoff lawsuit had been reduced recently. And it came out that Wilpon and Saul Katz had kicked in some amount under $50 million of their own money to keep the team running.

It sounds like the tone of the call was that everything was great as far as the Mets owners are concerned. They’re still going to take on minority investors by the end of the year, the Madoff lawsuit isn’t as bad as it could have been, and the lenders should be assured that there aren’t any immediate financial problems. We’ll see if that turns out to be the case.

Report: Mets Will Field Offers for David Wright

David Wright
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ESPN’s Buster Olney writes today that he expects the Mets to listen to offers for David Wright in the offseason. It’s the perfect time contractually to trade Wright because he only has one year left on his contract plus a team option for 2013 that is eliminated if he’s traded. Next season he’ll make $15 million and the 2013 option is for $16 million with a $1 million buyout.

Olney expects the Rockies and Angels to be in on the bidding for Wright. I’m sure there would plenty of other teams that would contact Sandy Alderson if they knew that Wright was available. His contract is very much aligned with his on-field value and with only one year left, there’s almost no down side for a team to acquire him. If the first year doesn’t work out let him to free agency for, presumably, Type A compensation.

The problem for the Mets is that if they trade Wright, they need to re-sign Jose Reyes or the team will be in danger of completely cratering for seasons to come. If the Mets trade Wright and don’t re-sign Reyes, it will clearly be a salary dump move to help alleviate the Madoff situation. And that won’t sit well with fans like me.

Timing could be an issue as well. Free agency starts five days after the World Series ends and Reyes will be one of the most valuable players in free agency. He may sign a new contract quickly, which wouldn’t give Alderson much time to work out a trade for Wright.  That could be the most difficult aspect of this.

Thanks to MLBTradeRumors for the tip.

Video: Mets Weekly Report – Johan Santana, David Einhorn

NEW YORK - MAY 06: Johan Santana #57 of the ...
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In this week’s Mets Weekly Report video, Kerel Cooper of On The Black and I talk about some of the latest news from the Mets this week. Primarily, Johan Santana pitched 2 inning for the St. Lucie Mets and he may even make a start in the Majors this season. We talk about whether we want to see Santana pitching with the Mets this season or if the Mets should hold him back with an eye toward 2012.

We also talk about the deal that fell through last week for David Einhorn to buy a minority stake in the Mets. It seemed like a done deal in June when the Mets introduced Einhorn to the media as the next part-owner of the team. But delays in consummating the deal ensued and it ended up falling apart last week. We talk about why the deal fell apart and what that means to the Mets financially going forward.

Johan Santana Rehab Start for St. Lucie Mets

MIAMI GARDENS, FL - JULY 24: Johan Santana #5...
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Mets starting pitcher Johan Santana made his second rehab start for the St. Lucie Mets today. He pitched two innings, facing 9 batters, and gave up 1 run on 3 hits. He had 2 strikeouts and no walks in the game. He was scheduled to pitch 2 innings or 40 pitches.

Time will tell if it was a successful rehab start. If you remember, he made a start for St. Lucie on July 28 and hasn’t pitched again in more than a month now. Coming back from shoulder surgery is tricky and the Mets have to be careful. Not only because he’s coming back from an injury, but also because he’s the most costly resource in the entire Mets system making $22.5 million without even throwing a pitch.

His salary escalates to $24 million in 2012 and $25.5 million in 2013 with an option for 2014 at $25 million. If the Mets can’t get Santana healthy enough to pitch in 2012, they’ll be in big trouble combined with a decreasing payroll. The simple fact is that they just can’t have a guy on the disabled list taking up nearly 25% of the team’s payroll. It’s impossible to win that way.