SI’s Jon Heyman talks to Mike Francesa on WFAN about the Mark Teixeira signing with the Yankees. And he covers all of the hot stove activities.
Mets 2009 Spring Training Schedule
I added the 2009 spring traing schedule to the site. For those of us planning to be in Florida this spring, it’ll give us dates and times for each of the games. I’ll continue adding to the schedule by adding maps to the specific locations of each stadium so you can easily get driving directions from Google Maps.
You can also access the schedule on the navigation above. Just click “Spring Training Schedule”.
Add a comment below if you’re planning on a trip to Florida for spring training.
Report: Mets And Lowe In Talks
- Image by Getty Images via Daylife
This story from Yahoo writer Gordon Eades really got a lot of press yesterday. Eades reports that the Mets and Derek Lowe’s agent are in “deep negotiations” for Lowe to come to New York.
It’s the typical story without substance that happens this time of year. Ken Rosenthal and Jon Heyman have mastered the art of reporting rumors. It sounds like Eades is trying to make a splash by using the language “deep negotiations” in the story.
I’m sure that Omar Minaya has kicked the tires on Lowe. But I suspect that Lowe will end up back in Boston. Now that the Yankees have landed Mark Teixeira, Boston will need to start collecting some big-time players. Lowe is the best pitcher left on the market, so Boston should go hard after him.
Mets fans, don’t get your hopes up about Lowe coming to Queens. I suspect he’ll be back in Boston again next season.
Report: Santana May Be Asked To Leave WBC
- Image via Wikipedia
In a report for the NY Times, Ben Shipgel relays some quotes from Mets GM Omar Minaya about Johan Santana’s participation in the World Baseball Classic. Apparently, the issue here is that Santana had a very minor knee surgery after the 2008 season ended to repair torn meniscus in his left knee.
From Minaya:
He should be O.K., but we’re going to be conservative. If we have a little bit of doubt or concern, we’d rather have him not play. We’re pro-Classic, but we always have to be mindful and protective of our players.
We don’t want to have him be in the heat of the battle in early March when he’s coming off a minor surgery. It’s minor, but it’s still surgery. We will have to use precaution.
As I’ve written before, I’m not a huge fan of the WBC. So I’d be happy if the Mets didn’t allow any of their players to participate. The risk of injury to play in this tournament is too great and provides no benefit to the clubs.
Minaya might as well come out and say he’s looking for any excuse possible to keep Santana from playing in the tournament. Santana’s the best pitcher in baseball right now and if he got hurt in a meaningless tournament, it would have a devastating impact on the 2009 season.
Mets Have Options For Rotation
It isn’t news to a fan of the New York Mets that they have at least one hole to fill in the rotation. The Mets have a solid three starters in Johan Santana, John Maine, and Mike Pelfrey. Jon Niese offers a possible alternative as a fifth starter as well.
Niese went 1-1 in three starts last season including a brilliant eight-inning start against the Braves on September 13th, giving up no runs. But he did get hit hard in his two other starts against the Brewers and Cubs resulting in a 7.07 ERA. He’s got potential but it wouldn’t be wise to bank on him to hold down a spot in the rotation.
The top of the Mets shopping list has to be Derek Lowe. But Oliver Perez and Ben Sheets offer interesting alternatives. We know all about the inconsistent Perez. But he did seem to fare well under the tuteledge of pitching coach Dan Warthen last season.
Lowe and Sheets are both Type A free agents and were offered arbitration by their teams. So the Mets will have to give up draft picks to sign them. The Mets already gave up draft picks to sign Francisco Rodriguez, so that will make it tougher to stomach signing Lowe or Sheets.
Jon Garland is an interesting option. He’s a Type B free agent that was offered arbitration by the Angels. He’s an innings-eater and a consistent performer. Tim Redding and Brad Penny are available as well and wouldn’t cost any draft picks.
Randy Wolf has been rumored to be flirting with the Mets. But he’s wanted to stay on the West Coast for several years. He’s even taken one year deals to stay in Los Angeles and San Diego. I think he’s using the Mets to get a better offer out west.
The list of starters available to vie for the fifth spot in the rotation is pretty long. It includes names like Pedro Martinez, Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, Mark Mulder, and Mark Prior. The Mets may sign Pedro to a one year deal. But for anyone else it’ll be a race to see who the Mets can get to accept a minor league contract with an invite to spring training. They can have a competition in spring training with Niese.
Although the Mets seem to be moving slowly to shore up the rotation, there are plenty of options to fill the one or two spots available. I expect the Mets to announce a signing soon after the new year.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia
Mets Wright To Play 3B In WBC
New York Met David Wright is set to be the starting third baseman for the US team in the World Baseball Classic next spring. The position was opened up for Wright when Alex Rodriguez decided to play for the Dominican Republic team. The Braves’ Chipper Jones is expected to play but he’ll get most of his time at designated hitter.
Wright will be playing next to New York Yankee Derek Jeter at shortstop. Wright is expected to be the only Met playing for the US team. Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran are playing for Puerto Rico, Johan Santana and Francisco Rodriguez are playing for Venezuela, and Jose Reyes is expected to play for the Dominican team.
I wasn’t a big fan of the WBC tournament in 2006. It seemed really contrived to me and quite possibly just another marketing scheme for MLB and the Japanese league. I’m trying to keep an open mind about it though. I used to consider myself a baseball purist, disliking the designated hitter. But I have enjoyed inter-league play, and the wild card is a no-brainer.
This spring I’ll attempt to enjoy the WBC despite my misgivings about it’s nature.
The Mets Report 