Results tagged ‘ mets ’
It’s Not Over Yet
With the Mets current 5 game winning streak, and another game tonight as part of a doubleheader, there is no doubt they are doing great right now. If they sweep the Rockies tonight they will be only 3 games out of the Wild Card. Omar Minaya cannot give up yet. This year is like many other years for the Mets. They are far back but then make a great run to get back in it. I guarantee it that in a month or two they will be driving me crazy, they will keep losing but still be in the race. But maybe the Mets will make a trade today or tomorrow.
Ryan Garko was the perfect fit for the Mets, a good, affordable, young player who is under contract and can hit. The only problem is that Daniel Murphy has found a home at first base and he may even stay there when Carlos Delgado comes back. Murphy is playing gold glove defense in fact, so I would like to see what happens then.
But the Rays want to shed payroll. They have been linked in rumor to be shopping Scott Kazmir to the Mets, but we don’t want him. Carlos Pena is also available, and I heard Carl Crawford can also be traded in an offer they can’t turn down. We don’t need Pena unless he can play some other position than first base, which as far as I know he can’t, but Kazmir and Crawford would be absolutely PERFECT fits. Admit it, Oliver Perez sucks, and Jon Niese may not be full-time ready for the bigs. We need a lefty. We need a new starter anyway, because Livan Hernandez is starting to fall off the table, and Mike Pelfrey is not that consistant. Scott Kazmir is having a bad year, but pitching coach Dan Warthen is good at fixing guys like him. He is a good buy-low candidate. As for Crawford, we need a left fielder. We never had a left fielder, all year. At first it was supposed to be Daniel Murphy, but he stunk there so he got moved to first base. Since then we’ve had Fernando Martinez, Gary Sheffield, Cory Sullivan, Nick Evans, and Jeremy Reed. None have worked. We don’t have a left fielder for next year, either, unless you think F-Mart will magically be a viable option next year. Crawford is the ideal player for Citi Field; great defense, great speed, and a line drive hitter who has decent pop in his bat. Imagine all the triples we’d have between him and Jose Reyes. It would be so much fun to watch! I say trade the whole farm. Trade Jennry Mejia, trade Brad Holt, trade Ike Davis, whoever it takes. How many prospects like them actually wind up being successful major leaguers? And more successful then Scott Kazmir or Carl Crawford? Not many. The chances are so slim that they will be a star, I say make a trade.
This season isn’t over yet, this hot surge has gotten me even more pumped for this year.
Spring
I am reading all these other blogs and reading about Spring Training games. Game updates, player updates, injuries, everything else that happens in baseball. It is driving me crazy. I don’t want to read these updates; I want to watch these updates, I want to listen to these updates. But I have no MLB.tv. No Gameday Audio. Nothing. I need to get myself closer to baseball. Even when I walk outside, I know I need baseball back. It is warm now, I can go outside without a coat (even though my mother has something to say about it). The snow is all gone, and when I walk onto my lawn, I remember the great feeling that is grass. Grass and dirt. Outfield grass and infield dirt. I need to go have a catch with somebody, even for 5 minutes, but it seems the whole world is full of lazy bums. It is tough sitting is school, doing math, waiting for dismissal at 2:00 when I know that down in Florida and out in Arizona it is beautiful and people are playing baseball. I want to jump start time so that the next 5 weeks can speed up. Spring break seems so far away when we just finished President’s Week. I am missing baseball so much, you can hand pick a bunch of schlubs out of high school and college and tell me they are Major Leaguers, and I will believe you. I would be too excited to notice. Too excited to care. Right now, I am already too excited to care. All winter long, I feel into a routine. Wake up, school, homework, computer, dinner, shower, bed. Same thing every day. I felt a hole in my life. Now that hole is getting smaller and smaller, but it feels so much bigger.
Second Assignment
First off, I’d like to thank everybody for checking back on this and helping with the project. I was very happy to see that it put me number 31 on the Latest Leaders! Of course, I’d be happier if this project was finished and everyone saw what was being kept in store for them. I can’t wait to read all the comments I get when you see the end result, you’ll love it! I know that the longer this takes, the more people will lose interest, so please hurry up and help me gte this done! Now, I am going to give the second assignment. If you haven’t already, please go back and do the previous one. The previous assignment will always be open to doing no matter how far up I am.
So, this time around, I have a few questions for you to answer.
1. Why do you enjoy MLBlogs?
2. What is one thing you wish other MLBloggers would do?
3. In one word, describe your own blog.
4. List your top 5 favorite blogs (FAN ONLY).
5. List up to 3 pro blogs you enjoy reading.
6. Which do you like better, music or visual art?
Thanks a bunch guys. This really is going to rock in the end. I just want this to be a laid back, fun kind of thing, because although it is a lot of work I am really enjoying it. The best part will be the end, I promise.
And on a baseball note, the Mets signed Livan Hernandez to a minor league deal. Finally, if Omar is going to sign minor league deals, at least he decided to sign someone who has potential!
Almost There
Well as I write this I am thinking to myself, “‘Spring Training starts in less than 3 days, and look at all the free agents that are still available.”
We still have Ivan Rodriguez, Adam Dunn, Manny Ramirez, Bobby Abreu, Orlando Hudson, Orlando Cabrera, Joe Crede, Garret Anderson, Kevin Millar, and Jim Edmonds. Most of the pitchers seem to be in place, though, Pedro Martinez still hasn’t found a job. There are minor league deals flying around all over the place, like storks and other exotic birds that many teams will be seeing in Florida.
Pedro Martinez is probably going to be playing for the Domincan Republic during this year’s World Baseball Classic. He said if he couldn’t get a contract by then, it would be his job interview.
I think that the Mets are pretty much set for the 2009 season. Things have quieted down with Manny Ramirez, and now he probably going to sign the next offer from the Dodgers, or from the Giants if they offer a multi year deal. The Mets could easily get him if they wanted to, but they really want to stick to a budget I guess. That and the fact that he was practically free at the Trading Deadline.
But if Adam Dunn or Bobby Abreu are smart, they will drop their prices now. Just to get a major league deal. I heard Abreu might even be falling into the $2-3 million range. Wouldn’t it be crazy to be having Bobby Abreu and Alex Cora making the same money? How about having Adam Dunn in the minor leagues? The Mets can still go after them, but don’t forget that they still have to pay Billy Wagner.
And Manny, how does that Worcester Tornadoes offer look now?
I Don’t Know Why, But Now I See Manny As A Met
Before I said that I can’t see Manny Ramirez as a Met. He would cost way too much, and I don’t think that the Mets front office would like him. However, the Mets payroll for 2009 is shaping out to be around $135 million. Last year the Mets’ payroll was $143 million. The luxery tax is $160 million, so the Mets still have plenty to spend if they want to. I’ve heard that Fred Wilpon wants to keep it around the same as last year, but if we are going into a new ballpark, I think the revenue sales are going to go up. Don’t forget that the duo of K-Rod and Putz will also drive in more of a crowd. The tickets will cost more because there will be less seats at Citi Field than there were at Shea. So now, if the Mets want to sign Manny Ramirez, I think they really can do it. If they get him, that will also bring in more fans.
Manny already turned down a 4 year deal a few months ago by the Giants, and that was a huge mistake. Now he’ll be lucky if he gets 2 years. The Dodgers haven’t made any offers as of late. So the Mets really can blow this right open and jump right in. If not, then Manny might be coming back to Massachusetts for $24 thousand.
Fifth Projection of 2009
Omar Minaya certainly has been busy since the last projection. He hasn’t made any major splashes, but he has signed many minor leaguers to add depth. These moves include signing Casey Fossum, Jason Cooper, Tom Martin, Cory Sullivan, and my personal favorite, resigning Argenis Reyes. Here is the fifth projection of 2009, presented by Geico Auto Insurance (not really, but I thought it would make me sound more professional).
Starting rotation:
1. Johan Santana
2. Oliver Perez
3. Mike Pelfrey
4. John Maine
5. Tim Redding
Bullpen:
Closer – Francisco Rodriguez
Set Up Man – J.J. Putz
Middle relief – Sean Green
Duaner Sanchez
Casey Fossum
Lefty specialist – Pedro Feliciano
Long relief – Jon Niese
Lineup:
1. SS Jose Reyes
2. 2B Luis Castillo
3. 3B David Wright
4. CF Carlos Beltran
5. 1B Carlos Delgado
6. LF Fernando Tatis/Daniel Murphy
7. RF Ryan Church*
8. C Brian Schneider/Ramon Castro
9. Pitcher
Bench:
OF Daniel Murphy/Fernando Tatis
OF Cory Sullivan
IF Alex Cora
IF Marlon Anderson (I comlpletely forgot about him the past four projections :p)
C Brian Schneider/Ramon Castro
Time to Put Our Mouth Where Our Money Is…. Or is it the other way around?
Well, the Mets have done their offseason rebuffing and have topped it off with the signing of Alex Cora to a one year, $2 million contract to play backup infield. Now the team is finally starting to take shape and every major role is filled. Now that the Mets have spent the money, its time to go out and prove that they are a winning team. I am so ready for Opening Day already, but I will settle for Spring Training. Now, if we can’t go out on the field and play ball, we need to talk it up. This is the best part of the offseason-preseason transition, as it is time for the annual circus that is the “New York-Philadelphia Child’s Playtime”, as I like to call it. You know, that rousing time of year where Mets and Phillies players bicker back and forth about who is better. In case you don’t remember, here is a timeline of whats been going on for the past few years.
1. Jimmy Rollins calls out the Mets, says, “I think we are the team to beat in the NL East – finally. But that’s only on paper.”
2. Carlos Beltran fires back the next season, states, “Without Santana, we felt, as a team, that we had a chance to win in our division. With him now, I have no doubt that we’re going to win in our division. I have no doubt in that. We’ve got what it takes. To Jimmy Rollins: We are the team to beat.”
3. Jimmy Rollins acuses Carlos Beltran of being a plaguerist.
4. Rumors sprout that there was going to be a fight between the two clubs during the Mets home opener on April 9, 2008.
5. Phildelphia’s Shane Victorino mocks Jose Reyes’ home run celebrations after hitting one of his own.
6. Jimmy Rollins stabs at the Mets after the Phillies win the World Series. ”A lot of things were made in the offseason. We can talk about the New York Mets. They brought in that great pitcher, Johan Santana, but they forgot that it takes more than one player to bring home a championship.”
7. Cole Hamels calls the Mets choke artists on WFAN, the Mets radio network.
8. Francisco Rodriguez quickly joins in on the fun right after signing with the Mets, saying, “Of course we’re going to be the frontrunner. Of course were going to be the team to beat. I don’t want there to be a controversy. I don’t want the other team to take it personally, or take it in a bad way. But I’m a really competitive guy. I like to win. If they ask me, ‘Oh, which ballclub is going to win the National League East?’ It’s going to be the Mets. Easy question.”
What is going to happen next? I can’t wait to find out.
Or, if you like, you can say that now the Mets have done all this preparation for the season just to pump up the fans, and now it is time to make an ever bigger acqusition such as signing Manny Ramirez. If they can sign him for a one or two year deal, I say go for it. I used to be against them signing Manny Ramirez, but after they lost out on Derek Lowe I am upset. They need to do something big to make the fans happy again. I say if they have the money, why not use it?
No Trading Allowed
Right now I am reading all the rumors going around the Hot Stove now that the Winter Meetings have started, and let me tell you, I am shaking in my boots. While I am convinced that the Mets are dedicated to signing K-Rod and K-Rod is signing with the Mets, which is the way I like it, I am all too concerned about the Mets’ desire to make a trade involving prospects.
I am all for being aggresive in the Free Agent market. This is New York, we are atop the Major Leagues in terms of highest revenue total. We can afford to spend big money and land the big free agents. What we cannot do, and what every team cannot do, is trade away the farmsystem.
We’ve already messed it up way too much, from the Scott Kazmir deal to Mike Jacobs deal to the Matt Lindstrom deal to the Johan Santana deal. Now its time to start rebuilding. I understand that in New York, that is not allowed and we have to go for it every year, but honestly, that is not the way to go, and honestly, we are not going to win the World Series this year.
I have said before that in order for a team to be successful, there must be a balance between a good farmsystem and good free agent signings. We have done the trading already, and that hasn’t worked, so why are we still going for the stars, who are obviously under too much pressure or something, instead of growing our own stars and teaching them to deal with the spotlight of the Big Apple so they will be ready for it?
I am sick of hearing all the rumors about trading Jon Niese, Robert Parnell, Mike Carp, Nick Evans, anybody. I don’t want them to trade Luis Castillo, and at this point, I am even getting tired of the Heilman rumors. Either do it or don’t do it. The front office needs to give up on trades, and focus on signing quality free agents and building up the farmsystem again.
Nothing New in Metsland
How strange. Lots of talk about activity in the offseason and yet no major news has even mentioned in the past few days about the Mets. I sure hope it won’t be like this all winter. We have too many needs to be addressed to not do anything all winter. I don’t know what I am expecting to be said now, with the ALCS and NLCS in full swing but in 3 weeks free agency starts so I wish they would talk a bit more about who they plan to acquire. There are so many rumors, so many possibilities, I just think the Mets should let their fans know what they plan to do. I know it is October and we have the postseason to enjoy, but only 1-2 games daily (and they aren’t Met games) just isn’t enough motivation to get through the day and turn on ESPN to see what happened. Some days there aren’t game at all. This is boring.
It looks like I’ll have to settle for this if I want baseball this winter.
What’s On My Mind
Why is Mets pitcher Ambiorix Burgos wearing a White Sox cap?
Why isn’t Argenis Reyes in Fall Ball? Is he playing Winter Ball in Venezuela or something?
What will the Mets do if Tony Bernazard becomes GM of the Mariners?
This song is stuck in my head!
This is it backwards equally as good.
It is the funniest when you play them both at the same time.
*sigh* I sure have too much free time now that the Mets are finished.
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