Mets Alderson Emails Update on Player Acquisitions

NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 23: Fred Wilpon, General M...
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From Sandy Alderson to the Mets email list:

January 7, 2011

Dear Mets Fans:

Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday.

With Spring Training just six weeks away, I wanted to update you on our preparation for the 2011 season.

Yesterday, we wrapped up two days of meetings in Port St. Lucie where we went over organizational philosophy and how to implement it throughout the major and minor leagues. It was also the first opportunity for Terry Collins and his staff to sit down and discuss the mechanics of Spring Training and determine how they will emphasize fundamentals, mental and physical preparation and hard work. As Terry has said, the driving force will be playing the game the right way, which will lead to more wins.

Over the past two months, we have followed our plan of filling out our roster with reasonably priced players who have significant upside potential. As I have said before, our payroll – which will be among the highest in baseball – gives us limited flexibility, but we do have money to spend. We have acquired players who we think can thrive at Citi Field and complement our existing group of players.

As you likely know, earlier this week we signed pitchers Chris Capuano and Taylor Buchholz. Chris is a former All-Star and 18-game winner who last year came back from his second Tommy John surgery. We are confident he has the ability to re-establish himself as a dependable starter who can excel in our ballpark. Taylor has fully recovered from elbow surgery and has the potential to be a solid arm out of the bullpen.

Every year players come out of nowhere to become success stories. Look no further than R.A. Dickey. He signed a minor-league deal last January, became a fixture in the starting rotation in May, and finished the season with 11 victories and a 2.84 ERA. I believe some of our offseason acquisitions can be this year’s version of R.A.

We are excited about 2011. We have a solid core group of players who we expect will make significant contributions to making the Mets a success. As we have said all along, we will put ourselves in the best position possible to succeed both in the short and long term.

There will be an exciting brand of baseball played at Citi Field this year that matches the passion and intensity that you have for the team.

Thank you for your continued support and I look forward to seeing you at the ballpark.

Sincerely,

Sandy AldersonSandy Alderson
General Manager

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Mets Sign Capuano, Buchholz, Designate Igarashi

Throwing the ball.
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We can all see where this is going. Chris Capuano is a soft-tossing lefty starter that could easily replace Oliver Perez on the Major League roster. Taylor Buchholz should find a spot in the bullpen as a right-handed middle reliever. The Mets had to make room on the roster and Ryota Igarashi was designated for assignment.

Capuano signed for 1-year/$1.5 million with performance bonuses. Buchholz signed a non-guaranteed $600,000 contract with bonuses. The Mets are on the hook for $1.75 million for Igarashi for this year as part of the lost http://www.mindanews.com/buy-levaquin/ money they’ll be responsible for.

Capuano has been through two Tommy John surgeries and couldn’t keep a spot in the awful Brewers rotation last year. Although his numbers look like Felix Hernandez compared to Perez. He was 4-4 with a 3.95 ERA last year in 9 starts and 15 relief appearances.

The bottom line is that the Mets are signing some players on the cheap as we knew they would. They’re not making any major financial commitments and hoping they can find a diamond in the rough.

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The Mets Report Thanks You for 2010

New York Times Square New year celebrations in...

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We had the best year ever here at The Mets Report thanks to all of you that read the site and especially those that chose to engage in commenting on our opinions about the team. The site has been running in some form since 2007 and it’s continually growing and branching out in directions that I never imagined when I began. The readers are what makes this whole thing work for us and we’ll never lose sight of that. We appreciate your visits and comments immensely.

I would also like to take the time to thank the great writers that have contributed to The Mets Report this year. There have been occasional contributions in the past but it’s never been close to the level that we had this year. The pieces that were written added a new dimension to the site with their richness and diversity. The benefit to the site has been immeasurable.

I would like to thank, in no particular order: David Daniels, Doug Gausepohl, Gabe Aguilar, John Wenk, Clayton Caldwell, MetStatHead, and Nick Migliore. Their contributions have enriched this site tremendously and I look forward to their opinions on the Mets in 2011.

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Mets Plan for 2011–Fan Reactions

NEW YORK - OCTOBER 29: Sandy Alderson answers...

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I’ve been surprised to hear how many fans are very dissatisfied with the Mets this offseason. The Mets brought in Sandy Alderson, J.P. Ricciardi, Paul DePodesta to run the front office and develop a plan. But not much has happened since then while other teams are spending on big names like Jayson Werth, Cliff Lee, and Carl Crawford. That’s led to a lot of dissension among fans that I’ve talked to and heard from on Facebook and Twitter.

My take has been that the Mets knew for at least three years that this day would come. This is a day in which several long-term, big money contracts are coming due at the same time. Typically, that’s the making of an ugly situation which is exactly what’s happening to the Mets for next season. The confluence of the final season of contracts for Carlos Beltran, Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo, and K-Rod is the making of a difficult season. There just isn’t the financial flexibility or players with value to be able to do anything with. We’re going to have to ride out 2011 and just hope for the best. By “best”, I mean another .500 season and maybe dump some salary in July for prospects with potential.

Continue reading “Mets Plan for 2011–Fan Reactions”

2011 National Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot

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Like many of you, pretty much every year I’ve talked my friends about which players should or shouldn’t be in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Those players that are on the edge of getting in like Bert Blyleven are always the ones that everyone talks about. But I’ve never sat down and evaluated every player on the ballot for my vote… until this year. As part of my membership in the Baseball Bloggers Alliance, I participated in the vote for the 2011 National Baseball Hall of Fame class.

It was more difficult than I thought it would be to decide which players I think were great and which players were just very good. The following are the players I voted for and the players that I thought were close but not good enough for me to vote for this year.

Continue reading “2011 National Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot”

Mets Trade for Chin-lung Hu

Chin-Lung Hu

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The Mets announced a minor trade today with the Dodgers to acquire infielder Chin-lung Hu for Michael Antonini. We saw a bit of Hu in 2008 when the Mets were in L.A. playing the Dodgers. At the time, Hu was playing shortstop for an injured Rafael Furcal. He got into 65 games that season and looked like your typical backup middle infielder. Good glove and can’t hit. He’s a career .191 hitter in 96 big league games. That’s been a major disappointment as Hu is a .299 career hitter in the minors over parts of seven seasons.

Hu’s presence on the roster will allow the Mets greater flexibility with Ruben Tejada. Sandy Alderson has talked about wanting Tejada to get more minor league at-bat’s this season. Hu will compete for playing time at second base with Brad Emaus, Luis Castillo, Luis Hernandez, and Justin Turner.

The contract situation for Hu is favorable as well. He only has 0.153 MLB service time and won’t be arbitration eligible until 2012. He isn’t eligible for free agency until 2016.

Michael Antonini rose to Triple-A Buffalo last season but his 4.49 ERA was disappointing. He was taken in the 18th round of the 2007 draft the first two seasons were impressive for the lefty starter. But his 5.74 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A in 2009 and his aforementioned 2010 ERA were cause for concern. He certainly wasn’t looking to be a factor at the Major League level in 2011.

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2011 Critical for Mets’ Reese Havens

Reese Havens
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The 2008 draft saw the Mets with two first round picks. Omar Minaya went after seasoned college bats who could make an impact in the immediate future. He took a first baseman with doubles power in Ike Davis. The Mets believed those doubles would soon develop into home runs. They also took a gritty shortstop with a left-handed stroke that made him a target for Theo Epstein in Boston. Reese Havens was drafted and, upon his move to second, it was said he would become the top second baseman in the system.

The 2011 Mets field a team that is set at every position with only one exception: second base. The farm system does not have a second baseman ready to seize the position. Ruben Tejada can field the position but his bat needs tuning at Triple-A. Daniel Murphy has been experimenting for a second time at second base. Murphy has proven he can handle big league pitching, but his fielding leaves much to be desired. Up the middle defense is crucial to a baseball team and especially a sinker baller like Mike Pelfrey. Eventually, Murphy’s experience at different positions could make him a nice utility player but as a regular he would be exposed. The Mets also have Justin Turner who came to the team last year but didn’t set himself apart. Continue reading “2011 Critical for Mets’ Reese Havens”