The Mack Attack - 1-5-9

The Future of the Mets On Third

I know, this one is pretty simple, but let’s remember that David Wright is getting older every year, does not possess the greatest arm to first base, and really projects better in his 30s as a first baseman.That being said, expect Wright to be the Mets third baseman for at least 3-4 more years.Prospect wise, there are two. Jeffry Marte (Mack’s Mets Prospect #4) is a hunk, but at least three years away from any major league roster. As they said about Shawn Bowman around five years ago, this is the kid that could bump Wright to first. The other prospect is Zach Lutz whose star shined in Brooklyn last season. Team wise, I still have Bowman at AAA, though I’m not sure the Mets re-signed him. B-Met wise, the Mets are a little light here, with only Jacob Egsti projected. Joaquin Rodriquez will probably move from Savannah to Lucy, while there’s a glut on the Sand Gnat board, including Lutz, Nick Giarraputo, Stefan Welsh, and Eric Campbell. Lutz is first in line, so Marte is pushed back to Brooklyn, with Imbewar Alvarez and Rogelio Del Campo. I’ve got Richard Lucas and Juan Torres at K-Port, and Charlie Hinojosa and Valentin Ramos playing for GCL.In my opinion, the one to watch here is Marte, who, like Wilmer Flores, could easily wind up either an outfielder or first baseman some day in the Mets chain. Watch for him to move fast, especially if Lutz stumbles.

MLB – NY Mets:

From Kat O’Brien/Newsday: - After a holiday respite, things could get busy again in the baseball world this week. For the Mets, negotiations are expected to heat up for righthander Derek Lowe. The Mets have made a three-year contract offer worth about $36 million to Lowe, who is their preferred addition among starters left on the free- agent market. But Lowe and agent Scott Boras are seeking a more lucrative deal. According to SI.com, the Braves, Phillies and Red Sox are among the other teams interested in Lowe. Mets general manager Omar Minaya said last week that he thought things could drag into mid-January. If the Mets are unable to sign Lowe, they likely will look more closely at lefthanders Oliver Perez and Randy Wolf.

Feb. 14, 2009 - • First date injured players, pitchers and catchers may report to Spring Training. • All World Baseball Classic players for the teams from China, Japan, South Korea and Chinese Taipei must report to Spring Training. • All pitchers and catchers for other World Baseball Classic teams must report to Spring Training. - - Feb. 17, 2009 - • First date all players may report to Spring Training - • Remaining World Baseball Classic position players must report to Spring Training. - - Feb. 22, 2009 - Mandatory Spring Training reporting date for all players. - - March 5-23, 2009 - World Baseball Classic

From My Team Rivals: - As we are all aware, Omar Minaya and the New York Mets have been negotiating for some time now with Scott Boras who represents free agent pitcher Derek Lowe. The Mets have reportedly offered the 35 year old pitcher a deal worth $36 million over three years. Very reasonable if you ask me. However, the problem is, as I feared from the beginning, he is represented by Scott Boras. Boras has a well deserved reputation for raking teams over the coals. You always over pay for a Boras player. Period! Don't get me wrong, if I were a free agent, I would want him to be my rep because he is a master at getting more money from clubs then his player's are actually worth. It seems now that Lowe and Boras seem to feel they are worth $16 million per year and other clubs are in the running. The Mets shouldn't go crazy chasing him down. Randy Wolf is still out there and will come at a much more reasonable price. Personally, I don't care what they spend but Fred Wilpon has made it clear he is not spending a ton this off season. My point is sign Wolf and hopefully have money left over to fill another hole.

AAA – Buffalo:

PRWL Playoffs: - Ponce 3, Arecibo 2 A three-run rally in the bottom of the eighth inning spoiled a strong pitching performance by Houston's Raymar Diaz and solidified Ponce's position as the first-place team in the Puerto Rican Winter League. Gabriel Martinez's single, the fourth of the frame, brought home the eventual winning run against the second-place Lobos with two outs. Starters Javier Vazquez (Braves) and Diaz were both locked in a tight duel in the first half of the game, with Diaz scattering three hits over 4 2/3 shutout innings and Vazquez allowing an unearned run and striking out six over four frames. Reliever Juan Padilla (Mets) picked up the win, allowing an unearned run over one inning

Low A – Clones:

From TCPalm: - Kayla Shoemaker of Vero Beach, daughter of John and Jackie Shoemaker of Vero Beach, was married to Casey Hoorelbeke of Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Nov. 21 at St. James Cathedral in Orlando, with John McCormick officiating. The groom graduated from Coeur d'Alene High School in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho, in 1998. He received a bachelor's degree from Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho, in 2002. He is a professional baseball player with the New York Mets.

2010 Free Agents:

Starting pitchers - Brandon Backe (32) - Danys Baez (32) - Miguel Batista (39) - Josh Beckett (30) - $12MM club option with a $2MM buyout - Erik Bedard (31) - Daniel Cabrera (29) - Chris Capuano (31)- Jose Contreras (38) - Doug Davis (34) - Justin Duchscherer (32) - Adam Eaton (32) - $9MM mutual option with a $500K buyout - Mike Hampton (37) - Rich Harden (28) - Mark Hendrickson (36) - Tim Hudson (34) - $12MM mutual option with a $1MM buyout - Randy Johnson (46) - John Lackey (31) - Cliff Lee (31) - $8MM club option with a $1MM buyout - Jason Marquis (31) - Kevin Millwood (35) - Rangers can decline $12MM salary for '10 unless he reaches 180 innings in '09 - Brian Moehler (38) - mutual option - Brett Myers (29) - Vicente Padilla (32) - $12MM club option with a $1.75MM buyout - Chan Ho Park (37) - Brad Penny (32) - Joel Pineiro (31) - Horacio Ramirez (30) - Jason Schmidt (37) - Tim Wakefield (43) - perpetual $4MM club option - Jarrod Washburn (35) - Brandon Webb (31) - $8.5MM club option with a $500K+ buyout - Todd Wellemeyer (31) –

Fantasy:

From the Waiver Wire: - I've seen a few people express the opinion that Scott Kazmir is overrated. I'm not sure what that's based on. In fact, I'd say that if anything he's underrated. Kazmir is consistently putting up K/9 rates of 10.0 or higher, while pitching in the tougher league. His control is bad (BB/9 of 4.2 in 2008), but he's also only 24 years old, despite the fact that it seems like he's been pitching forever. Another weakness in 2008 was an extreme tendency to allow flyballs (30.8% groundball rate), but that may have been a fluke, as his groundball rates in the past have generally been over 40%. I expect Kazmir to be one of the top pitchers in the American League in 2009. As a Mets fan, I'm still bitter about the one-for-one Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano trade. Since the day the trade happened I've considered it the stupidest trade in the history of major league baseball. Other trades may have worked out slightly worse, but none were as hard to justify.Alumni:

From MLBTR: The more interesting piece of info on Washington this week was the report that Lastings Milledge could be trade bait prior to the 2009 season. Milledge was impressive in the second half and is immensely talented; I'd imagine the return would have to be quite nice. Pure personal speculation, but the Yankees still need a center fielder and have some young pitching available...

PRWL Playoffs - Caguas 6, Carolina 2 - Free agent Raul Casanova, who played in the Mets system in 2008, homered twice -- both solo shots -- to lead Caguas past last-place Carolina. Former Brewers prospect Vince Perkins lowered his ERA to 2.91 and picked up his fourth win after allowing two runs -- one earned -- on four hits and a walk, while striking out five in six innings

From The Connecticut Post: - Make no mistake at age 58, Bobby Valentine is better thanks to his time in Japan. And Japan is a better baseball nation for having experienced Bobby Valentine. "It has been a great life experience. I lived in Japan as a minority, which is quite a different perspective on life," Valentine said. "I feel good about myself. I learned a new language. I learned a lot about baseball. I learned a lot about patience. I learned a lot about cultural diversity and people's motivations. "I'm glad that I was young enough when I went there to experience it," Valentine continued. "It is so challenging. It is such a demanding baseball culture. Japan was a place where there was room for baseball growth. A place where I got to see the fruits of my labors. Japan is full of 30,000-capacity baseball stadiums. My first year we drew 400,000 fans. Now attendance is up to 1.7 million and my Japanese players come out and sign autographs before games. I was truly part of some positive change." But even with that elusive first professional title on his resume, and even with that first World Series champions ring on his finger, Valentine's influence ultimately only goes so far. "Japan is not like the United States. You don't have one meeting, throw ideas out on the table and things get implemented immediately," Valentine said. "Things aren't said and then done. The weight of tradition is such that any new idea is tested over and over and over. And then ... maybe ... it's adopted. "I've always been a kick-the-wall-down type of guy," Valentine continued. "It's difficult in Japan. There is resistance all along the way. My thought is that Japanese baseball belongs to the Japanese people. Not up to the hierarchy of the sport to make all the decisions. I make decisions during the nine innings of each game. But the rest of my ideas become mere suggestions." That frustration is a reason why it's good that Stamford's finest baseball player ever is home for the off-season.

Mack
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