Mets 2011 Salaries Page

July 23, 2010 Los Angeles, CA..Mets Johan Santana in action during the Major League Baseball game between the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The Mets defeated the Dodgers, 6-1..Josh Thompson/CSM.

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsThe Mets roster and salary page has been updated to reflect the 2011 roster to date. You can see that the Mets are committed to about $122 million so far with the additions of D.J. Carrasco and Ronny Paulino in free agency. Also, Angel Pagan’s contract hasn’t been resolved yet but will likely be prior to arbitration.

There really isn’t a lot of room for the new Mets brain trust of Sandy Alderson, J.P. Ricciardi, and Paul DePodesta to make moves. Unfortunately, that means that we’ll likely have to suffer through another subpar season.

The other problem is that Johan Santana is taking up 18% of the payroll and won’t be able to play until July because of shoulder surgery this offseason. That’s a killer for any team, much less a struggling team like the Mets.

Things look really good for 2012 though. I’m sure that’s why Alderson and friends decided to come to the Mets. They have a chance to do a complete makeover of this team with half of the payroll going off the books. They’re going to have some fun spending the Wilpon’s money next offseason.

If you want to get a primer for the players that will likely be available in free agency before the 2012 season, check out MLB Trade Rumors. The big names will be Prince Fielder, Albert Pujols, Mark Buehrle, Edwin Jackson, Heath Bell, and Booklyn’s David DeJesus.

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Happy Holidays 2010 Mets Fans

Twilight over New York, NY
Image by Grufnik via Flickr

I hope all Mets fans have had a good year and are able to enjoy the holidays with family and friends. Thanks for reading The Mets Report this year. All of us that have been writing this year appreciate your support and comments.

Let’s wish for a positive future for the team. And a season without Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo.

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Mets 2010 Scorecard – Part 2 Offense

charts 2
Image via Wikipedia

In Part 1, we discussed a few of the hitting statistics that the Mets front office should be evaluating. Here we will look at some more stats that are important to the team’s future success.

These statistics are a bit more involved and really give insight into the team’s offense compared to the National League Top 5 Average (t5a). Here we will review simple stats such as RBI, BA, and OBP, as well as more difficult stats like SLG and OPS. Each of these stats is very important in measuring the success of the team and the efficiency of the offense. The more runners on the base paths the better the opportunity for scoring runs.

So let’s get at it!

Hitting YTD NL Top 5 Ave Variance % Variance
RBI 625 729.4 -104.40 -14.31%
BA 0.249 0.264 -0.02 -5.68%
OBP 0.314 0.336 -0.02 -6.55%
SLG 0.383 0.423 -0.04 -9.41%
OPS 0.697 0.756 -0.06 -7.76%
BB 502 582.8 -80.80 -13.86%
SB 130 114.4 15.60 13.64%
AB/HR 42.7 31.3 -11.40 -36.42%
XBH 434 504.2 -70.20 -13.92%

RBI- Runs Batted In is a count of the number of runs scored throughout the year when the outcome of an at-bat results in a hit or walk. This number does not include runs scored on errors. The number of runs that are batted in helps to determine the score of the game as well as how productive the team is with runners on base. Continue reading “Mets 2010 Scorecard – Part 2 Offense”

Brad Emaus – No Moneyball in Flushing?

CLEARWATER, FL - FEBRUARY 26: Infielder Randy...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The new Mets front office has taken the time to explain that “Moneyball” is not a game they will be playing in Queens. Paul Depodesta and J.P. Ricciardi have even criticized Michael Lewis for his characterization of their personas. I’m sure I wouldn’t appreciate being called a nerd either. Sandy Alderson, in a recent quote, told the press he would not have come to Queens if he had to instill the tactics used in Oakland.

Although I do believe the Ivy League squad running the Mets, one of the few moves made this winter seems like a chapter directly from the book. Kevin Youkilis, a key figure in the “Moneyball”, was a prime example because of his ability to walk and not strikeout. He was unappealing to most scouts because of his lack of “tools”.  Billy Beane perceived “tools” a less tangible marker for a successful big leaguer. He was called fat and a bad fielder and was unnoticed through most of baseball. Nevertheless, Youk was a star in Paul Depodesta’s computer. He was a break from what a time honored scout would particularly look for.

This brings me to the Rule 5 draft. The resemblance to the the Moneyball school of thought was undeniable. J.P. Ricciardi’s familiarity with a prospect in Toronto led Sandy to scoop up Brad Emaus. Emaus has nothing flashy or exciting in his bag of tricks. He is not the “toolsy” raw talent that scouts drool over. He was brought aboard, not surprisingly,  because of his ability to draw walks and not strike out. Pitch selection and on base percentage have brought him to the Mets roster.

I don’t believe the trio will be pinching pennies in years when the funds are more available. Emaus however, is an early indicator that the new regime has an idea about picking out under appreciated talent. Emaus will be the first in a list of benchmarks to judge if they can still scoop these under the radar contributors. At the very least it makes for interesting debate.

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Mets have Bigger Problems than Cliff Lee

May 28, 2010- Milwaukee, WI. Miller Park..New York Mets starting pitcher Johan Santana pitched for 8 scoreless inning giving up 3 hits and striking out 5 Brewers batters..Milwaukee Brewers won over the New York Mets 2-0, taking the first game of the 3 game series against the Mets...Mike McGinnis / CSM.

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsThe Mets front office has their work cut out for them. With the announcement of the Phillies signing of Cliff Lee, Mets fans everywhere cringed at the possibility of another World Series Championship to a division rival. Now the best team in the division just got a whole lot better. The Phillies will start the year with a rotation of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels. This is the best rotation in MLB right now.

This is painful for Mets fans. The front office has simply conceded that this year and maybe next, will be a wash. They are wasting the prime of David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Johan Santana. They are also wasting the end of the career of Jason Bay. They are tricking themselves into believing that Daniel Murphy will be a good fielder and that they will be able to spend money in the next two years for free agents.

With the Mets on the decline, I really hope that someone is taking a close look at their financial future. They have money tied up in players next year for over $120 million dollars. In 2012, they already have over $60 million dollars allocated to players but this does not include the impending signings of Ike Davis, Angel Pagan, R.A. Dicky, Jose Reyes, Mike Pelfrey, Jon Niese, Bobby Parnell, or Josh Thole. While I do not think they will sign all of those players in 2012, the signings of even half of those players might push the 2012 dollars over $100 million and it still would not include any big free agent signings. Continue reading “Mets have Bigger Problems than Cliff Lee”

Cliff Lee Spits Back! Spurns the Yanks for the Phillies

All New York baseball fans are either crying, cursing or doing both simultaneously this morning.

In one stealth move Cliff Lee made both NY teams irrelevant in 2011.

Lee to Phillies

Now some questions remain:

  • Will the Mets win a game against the Phillies this year?
  • Will the Phillies have 4, 20-game winners?
  • Do you think that anyone in Philly really cares now about losing Jayson Werth?
  • Can our new ace, R.A. Dickey, beat any of the Phillies top 4?
  • Is there a no-spit clause in the contract?
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Mets To Announce 2011 Coaches This Week

New York Mets coach Chip Hale talks to Angel Pagan (16) at the end of the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field in New York City on May 27, 2010. UPI/John Angelillo Photo via Newscom

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsIf you take a look at the Mets website coaches page, it’s pretty empty right now except for Terry Collins and bullpen catcher Dave Racaniello. That should change drastically this week. It has been widely reported that Sandy Alderson and Collins will name the rest of the coaching staff.

Expect Dan Warthen to return as pitching coach and Chip Hale to return at third base. Other than that, it’ll be a new group coaching the Mets next season. Here’s what the staff will likely look like:

Manager: Collins

Bench coach: Ken Oberkfell will be promoted from managing at Triple-A Buffalo

Third base: Hale will return

First base: Mookie Wilson after Moises Alou turned down the job

Pitching coach: Warthen will also return

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