This is the stuff many Mets fans nightmares are made of…
Though we’re right on the precipice of the 2010 baseball year, I continually find myself looking ahead to 2011.
Next season for the Mets doesn’t look too bright. With “injuries” to two starting position players
likely keeping them out for Opening Day and beyond, the team will have to struggle to get out of the gates.
With a dead-man-walking manager, a slow start will likely cost him his job. With a poor season, there very well may be a new general manager come December.
A new manager and a new general manager, both looking to make a splash, win over fans and get off to a hot start in 2011, will do anything and everything to make the team as good as it can be.
And just look at the possibly roster come 2011…
Here are the players in their walk year: Carlos Beltran, Oliver Perez, Francisco Rodriguez (2012 option), Jose Reyes (if the Mets pick up his ‘11 option) and Luis Castillo.
Obviously, guys like Johan Santana, David Wright and Jason Bay are under contract well beyond 2011.
But what really excites me is the possibility of the young players making big impacts.
Guys like Josh Thole and Ike Davis are already penciled into my ‘11 Opening Day lineup/roster. Very different players, but both at key positions to make an impact on both sides of the ball.
Fernando Martinez, if he can stay healthy, may be manning right field to start the ‘11 season. Jenrry Mejia, hopefully continuing his work in the minor leagues as a starter, may be a bit closer to being major-league ready.
Though that might be a bit of a pipe dream to hope all four are perfectly fit for major league duty in only one more year of minor league duty, it’s a dream I will hold on to through this year.
Those four prospects, the cream of the crop of the Mets minor leagues, plus the Mets under contract, and a very strong free agent class next offseason have me dreaming big. We’ll just have to wait through the 2010 season first.
“I don't want us to get in the mode of, ‘Oh, here we go again,' as an organization because I think and feel that we're in a position to sustain a hit, whereas last year I didn't think we were there.”
I posted this question to The ‘Ropolitans page on Facebook and got quite a few responses, so I figured I would share it on the blog.
I asked: Which Mets player, past or present, would you want to be friends with on Facebook?
Here are the responses…
Who would you want to be friends with on Facebook?
On December 14, when the initial offer was made to Kelvim Escobar, I wrote…
“As a bullpen arm, Escobar could be a good low-risk, high-reward player, something the Mets will probably see a lot of in spring training.”
Two months later, when we found out he had a “sore shoulder,” on February 17, I wrote…
“And so signals the beginning of joke cracking and rehashing last season’s injuries from everyone and their mother.”
On February 19, when Hardball Talk reported that Escobar could not pick up a baseball, I wrote…
“Did the Mets work him out? Let him pitch for someone, anyone from the organization? Is there any way they could have gotten away with the “no physical” route, a la J.J. Putz?”
And now today, in a story in El Nacional (Spanish), via MLBTR, Escobar says that he is waiting until April 1 to begin throwing and if he still feels pain that day, he will make his decision then.
“If I wanted to retire, I would have done it already,” Escobar said.
Yeah, and take the $1.25 million guaranteed from the contract Omar Minaya inked you to and run for it.
My father and I just shook hands, sealing the bet.
The stakes: Ten whole dollars.
What we wagered on: Whether or not the Mets will finish the season in last place.
He has them in the cellar, I do not.
Last year, the Mets finished a full 11 games ahead of the Washington Nationals for last place in the NL East.
Obviously, this looks to be a two-horse race. All the Mets need to do is finish ahead of the Nationals, and I’m the winner. My dad needs the Nats to eek out any sort of lead over the Mets when the two teams finish their end-of-the-season series on October 3.
$10 is on the line. Let’s go Mets!
This list was culled from MLBTR. Their ages are (in parentheses).
Starting pitchers
Brandon Backe (32)
Cha Seung Baek (30)
Kris Benson (34)
Paul Byrd (39)
Bartolo Colon (37)
Adam Eaton (32)
Mike Hampton (37)
Braden Looper (35) - Type B, not offered arb
Noah Lowry (29)
Pedro Martinez (38)
Eric Milton (34)
Odalis Perez (33)
Sidney Ponson (33)
Mark Prior (29)
Jason Schmidt (37)
John Smoltz (43)
Jarrod Washburn (35)
My question: Would you sign any of them?
Couldn’t this have been solved with a phone call? Everyone has a cell phone these days, ya know.
(Aside: Seinfeld is, undoubtedly, one of the greatest shows of all time. But if the characters had cell phones, the show would have been completely different. Just think about it next time you’re watching the show.)
Via JSchil’s Blog…
Watch a master at work and stand in awe. Before each start Johan Santana, the Mets' ace, struts past his teammates, smacking and fist-bumping and shimmying, as if performing a dugout Macarena, personalizing shakes for each teammate while throwing fake pitches. The innovation is ongoing (his shakes often change from week to week) and the complexity staggering—Santana is a veritable Baryshnikov of the hands, a choreographer of camaraderie.
-Chris Ballard, The Metaphysical Significance, Staggering Ubiquity
and Sheer Joy of High Fives
Read this article. (For the lazy, the Santana part pulls from here.)
It’s funny because it’s true.
Here’s the second installment of Jeff Wilpon’s video blog from 12 Angry Mascots…
From the Mets…
The additional blood tests confirmed that Jose Reyes's thyroid hormone blood levels are elevated and he is hyperthyroid. Mets Medical Director Dr. David Altchek last night spoke with Jose and his representatives. As prescribed by the doctors and specialists, Jose’s treatment plan is to rest, refrain from athletic activity and make changes in his diet. The doctors will monitor Jose's thyroid levels through regular blood tests. Once Jose’s thyroid levels return to normal, he will be cleared to resume baseball activities.
The waiting game begins.
Reyes’ thyroid could return to normal in a few weeks (mine were out of whack after my stint in the hospital at the beginning of February and were back to normal three weeks later), or it could be a lot longer.
Andy McCullough at NJ.com says it could be two weeks, or eight.
Update: Here’s why Reyes won’t be treated with medication, which I guess is a good thing.
For Reyes and for Mets fans, this sucks.
Just when he thought he would be returning to lead the team and when fans are itching to watch him play again, he’s sidelined once more.
Strangely, Reyes will not be receiving treatment (usually, a radioactive chemical, taken orally, to knock out some of the function from the thyroid), but will rather wait and see. The bad part about this is, if in a few weeks, nothing is changed, he’ll have to go the medicinal route, likely keeping him out even longer.
The mad minds behind 12 Angry Mascots are launching a Jeff Wilpon video blog called The WilVlog.
Below is the first installment.
They plan to post every Tuesday and Thursday for the next few weeks.
This should be fun.
(Driving to Atlantic City for the next few days. Might have Internet, might not. If not, talk to you on Friday!)
I did a quick Mets and NL East Q&A with the Phillies blog Macho Row.
Here’s a quick sampling…
How hot is the water that general manager Omar Minaya is sitting in? Is the pressure on Minaya to get the team back to the playoffs at a point where this is a make-or-break season?
Sizzling. I'm not sure this is a make-or-break season, but it might be a make-or-break year. If the team stinks it up and then he doesn't go out and get some big names by 2011, he's out.
---
What about manager Jerry Manuel? Will Manuel be the manager at the end of the 2010 season?
If Minaya's is sizzling, Manuel's is literally on fire. Manuel could be out in 20 games if they fall flat out of the gate. He's a dead man walking and he knows it too. A lot rides on the beginning of the season. I may as well write up his "obituary" now and just wait to post it.
For the full Q&A, where I discuss Citi Field, Jerry Manuel’s love affair with Jenrry Mejia and more, head over to Macho Row.
“With the question marks we have at two, three and four, each day those guys go out and throw strikes and compete is a big plus for us.”
-Jerry Manuel on the starting rotation
At least he admits they are question marks. But no question mark at five? Isn’t that the biggest question mark of them all?
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