Mets Report Mailbag- Oct. 27, 2010

New York Mets pitcher Francisco Rodriguez is escorted by police for his arraignment on a third-degree assault charge at Queens Criminal Court in New York August 12, 2010. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL CRIME LAW)

What should the Mets do with the bullpen?  K-Rod is a mess and Takahashi is a free agent. Do you think any young players could help?

-Rich – Astoria, Queens

K-Rod

The Mets are stuck with anger management 101’s newest enrolled member for one more year. His velocity has been decreasing since he arrived in Queens and his control issues make fans climb walls. Most elite closers can manage with decent control because of a 95-98mph heater. K-Rod has been throwing a 92 mph fastball, and he’s been hurt when he falls behind in counts. Nevertheless, it should be K-Rod’s job to lose come spring training. With that said, The Mets should have the flexibility San Francisco has had with their under performing stars. K-Rod is still the best option on the club due to his track record, but his rope should be tighter than in years past.

Hisanori Takahashi

The Mets should only bring Takahashi back if it’s a one year deal. I don’t like the idea of signing an aging relief pitcher with one year of big league experience to a multi-year deal. He was solid in many different roles for the Mets and succeeded in some very tough situations. They should look to get him at a reasonable price and not over spend. Middle relief is often tricky and unpredictable. You don’t want to pay too much and get tied up in big deals.

Jenrry Mejia and  Bobby Parnell

In my opinion Mejia and Parnell need to start the year in the bullpen and be left there. I look at a Neftali Feliz and see a 22 year old top prospect flamethrower with 40 saves. Mejia has the stuff you want from a closer with an A fastball that cuts and a nasty slider. Putting a big prospect arm in the pen for the long haul is not a punishment or an over aggressive move if he shortens the game. Mejia has the stuff of a dominant closer. Parnell’s development depends on his ability to throw his secondary stuff consistently for strikes. His fastball runs triple digits and he’s a power arm you’d love to give every chance come 2011. Continue reading “Mets Report Mailbag- Oct. 27, 2010”

Poll: Fans Choice for Mets GM

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Jeff Wilpon sent an email to everyone subscribing to the Mets email list that they’ve cut their GM candidates down to two people. Josh Byrnes and Sandy Alderson are the two candidates left standing. Allard Baird, Rick Hahn, Dana Brown, and Logan White were informed that they’re out of the running.

I still can’t understand why Wilpon won’t wait for the Rangers season to end to speak with Jon Daniels. But it looks like the Mets are intent on making a decision this week.

I would like to know who your choice is for GM. Both guys have experience, although Alderson’s is much deeper. Do you prefer Byrnes, Alderson, or someone else? Answer the poll below.


Who is your choice for Mets GM?online survey

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Pepsi Refresh Project- Joe Torre Safe At Home

The month of October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, brings with it an exciting opportunity for our Foundation and the children whose lives we affect.  The Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation has been selected by Pepsi to compete for a $250,000 grant and the only way to ensure our success is through the support of our friends and their commitment to voting!  This grant will go to our signature programming initiative, Margaret’s Place, a safe room in schools that works to promote awareness, prevent violence, and intervene in high-risk situations.

Please take a moment to VOTE EVERY DAY in the month of OCTOBER – We are asking you to reach out to your contacts and embark on a recruiting campaign as an official teammate of the Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation!  We truly believe in our chance to win this grant and change the lives of countless children who are affected by abuse, but we know we cannot do it alone.  We need your support and the support of your friends and families!  Please click the link below, sign up for Pepsi Refresh and vote EVERY DAY IN THE MONTH OF OCTOBER.

Each person is allowed to vote once a day online and via text and you’ll need a simple sign up to get started on the Pepsi website.  You can even sign in using your Facebook account!

1.       Go to the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation‘s page

2.       Click on the “Vote for this idea” button

3.       If you haven’t registered or signed in, you will be prompted to do so

4.       After you have signed in, make sure you click the “Vote for this idea” button

(The button will disappear once you have voted for us)

  1. After you vote, you can easily promote our idea on Facebook and Twitter!
  2. Let us know if you have any questions!  It will be posted on the Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation website and Facebook page every day for easy access to the website!

We also encourage you to vote via text every day!

Text 103254 to the number 73774 (Pepsi).

Put it on your calendar!  Set an alarm!  Keep those votes coming!

THANK YOU!

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Mets Should Wait for Jon Daniels

Texas Rangers' GM John Daniels watches as the Rangers prepare to take on the New York Yankees in the ALCS at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas on October 14, 2010. Game one of the best of seven series will be on October 15, 2010 in Arlington. UPI/Ian Halperin Photo via Newscom

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsIf you’re a Mets fan and you’re not aware that the Mets have interviewed Allard Baird, Rick Hahn, Josh Byrnes, Sandy Alderson, and Logan White for the open GM position, you’ve been living under a rock. The Mets also were denied permission to speak to Tigers assistant GM Al Avila.

Before making any final decisions, the Wilpons should wait to talk to Jon Daniels, the current Texas Rangers GM. He’s only 33 years old and has been GM of the Rangers since 2005. Oh and by the way, he grew up in Queens as a Mets fan.

I’m not saying the Mets should hire him. But Daniels has an out clause in his contract if the Rangers are sold, which they were this season. So he can bail out on the Rangers at the end of the Rangers playoff run.

It took him five years to build a winner in Texas. So it’s not like he instantly changed the team there. But you could see that the Rangers were moving in the right direction with second place finishes in 2008 and 2009.

I certainly haven’t loved everything that I’ve seen from Daniels. He’s the GM that made that awful trade sending Chris Young and Adrian Gonzalez to the Padres for nothing in 2006. And in 2007 he sent John Danks to the White Sox for Brandon McCarthy. Another bad deal.

He’s had some good deals as well though. He got Neftali Feliz and Elvis Andrus from the Braves for Mark Teixeira. And he got Josh Hamilton from the Reds for Edinson Volquez. Most of his other trades have landed somewhere in the middle. But he did build the farm system into the number one rated system in 2008.

It’s been a mixed bag with Daniels, as it is with most GM’s when you look back at their trade histories. But it’s worth it for the Mets to postpone a decision to see if they can talk to Daniels. At worst, they’ll spark a bidding war with the Rangers for Daniels.

The Mets should bring in some people that have a personal connection to the organization. It isn’t a required attribute for a candidate but it would mean something to us as fans. I would love to see a combination of Daniels at GM and Wally Backman managing. That’s something that we all could get behind for the 2011 season.

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Mets, K-Rod Postpone Grievance Hearing

New York Mets pitcher Francisco Rodriguez is escorted by police for his arraignment on assault charges at Queens Criminal Court in New York August 12, 2010. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL CRIME LAW IMAGES OF THE DAY)

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsThe Mets and Francisco Rodriguez were scheduled to have a hearing before an arbitrator today but canceled as negotiations are ongoing. I’m sure you recall that K-Rod is accused of beating the crap out his girlfriend’s father at Citi Field.

The Mets unilaterally decided to put K-Rod on the disqualified list for the rest of the 2010 season which allowed them not to pay about $3 million that they owed him. The Mets also unilaterally decided that K-Rod’s contract for 2011 wouldn’t be guaranteed, despite the written agreement they had in place.

Everyone knew the Mets wouldn’t get away with what they were trying to do. It was completely ridiculous. The MLBPA immediately filed a grievance on behalf of K-Rod, as they should have.

If the Mets and the players union are negotiating a settlement, there’s no way that K-Rod’s contract for next year won’t be guaranteed. The MLBPA is the most powerful union in sports. They won’t take this lying down. I’m sure they’ll agree to a relatively small fine for K-Rod. Maybe he won’t get paid for the $3 million for 2010 that he missed. That’s not too big of a deal. It’s less than 10% of his total contract anyway.

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Chat w/Adam Rubin- Mets GM, Manager Positions

Manager of the Brooklyn Cyclones Wally Backman gets vocal during a game on July 31, 2010 in Brooklyn, NY (Photo by Jack Shea / Meet The Famous) Photo via Newscom

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.js Today, (Oct 12th) I was able to jump in on a chat that was hosted by Adam Rubin, ESPN.com, that was held, lunchtime, earlier today. He was actually conducting the chat from Yankee Stadium where the Yankees were having a full squad workout. The whole chat can be found here…. I’ve posted a screenshot of one of my questions regarding Beltran but I found many of the questions asked during the chat were excellent, including the questions before and after mine. Screenshot of chat w/Adam Rubin Although I think that the Mets GM search could essentially be over before it starts because Sandy Alderson is interested in the position, Mr. Rubin also reminds me that this is a too simplistic approach to searching for a GM and there are so many other qualities that should be considered.

  • In regards to another question as to whether Adam’s interview for the GM position has been setup yet, he did state that he was “under contract“.

Sounds like he’s still “Lobbying” for a position. Where’s Omar?

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Mets GM Search is Over Before It Even Starts

The Mets GM search is over. Sandy Alderson, currently fighting corruption on behalf of MLB’s commissioners office in the Dominican Republic, has thrown his hat into the ring with the full backing of commissioner Bud Selig. Basically the commissioner’s office is telling the Mets “Get your act together and if you can’t we’ll do it for you”.

Here are the GM names that have been thrown around this past week as candidates for the Mets GM position… Sandy Alderson, Pat Gillick, Gerry Hunsicker and Terry Ryan. Three of them don’t want the job. I’ll give you a hint who the three are… none of their names are Sandy Alderson.

Sandy Alderson’s current position is working as commissioner Selig’s new point man to address the issues of the corruption of baseball in the Dominican Republic, the largest supplier of Major League Baseball talent outside the United States. ~wikipedia

The Dominican Republic also happen’s to be the largest supplier of talent to Los Mets. Continue reading “Mets GM Search is Over Before It Even Starts”