More Mets Mack Attack - 1-12-9

MLB – NY Mets:
Now there are some who think that getting Oliver Perez back would be the better option anyway ... upside and age being the major factors. Besides, better the devil you know, right? More than fair. But if Perez becomes the play, I'm sure there will be fans who feel that the Mets didn't really move forward with the rotation. After all, Perez is kinda "been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. And if the Mets aren't going to get the discount on Derek Lowe because he prefers to play in the northeast part of the country, the Mets sure as heck aren't getting a discount on Ollie if he's the only option out there for a top flight pitcher. So then the choice becomes overpay for Ollie, or sign Randy Wolf and pray that he's the next Kyle Lohse.
http://metstradamus.blogspot.com/2009/01/i-was-afraid-of-this.html


New York has been hectic. J. J. Putz flew in for a press conference, then he and his wife began looking for a home there. They found one they liked, worked out leasing terms, then saw the house sold the day before they signed the lease agreement. “The people with the Mets have been fantastic helping us find our way,” Putz said. And how many Mets does he know? “Well, there’s Jeremy Reed and Sean Green,” he said, and laughed.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/mariners/mlb/story/591281.html


The Mets will continue to pursue a trade of Luis Castillo, but the odds of that are under 10% according to a source. If the Mets do manage to move Castillo, the Mets would immediately sign free agent Orlando Hudson. But don’t expect that.
http://nybaseballdigest.com/?p=6292


The Mets are also heavily looking into acquiring a left handed reliever to replace the traded Scott Schoenweis. This wasn’t a surprise to me, the surprise to me was how many names they appear to be looking into. The goal is to get the second lefty on a “one year deal, or at worst a one year deal with a 2nd year option. It is unlikely they want to guarantee more than one year. But depending on the situation they may guarantee two.” Joe Beimel,Dennys Reyes, Will Ohman, Eddie Guardado, Ken Takahashi and to a lesser extent Ron Villone are all of interest to the team. The team believes they will land one of those. source NY Baseball Digest
http://metsfever.blogspot.com/2009/01/loogy-market.html


Evan Brunell/Hardball Times’ spin on the Redding signing: - You know, I'm not that big a fan of this deal for the Mets. In 33 starts, Redding posted a 4.95 ERA in 182 innings. Not my idea of an innings-eater, or a particularly effective one at that. He walked 65 and struck out 120 to give him a 1.43 WHIP. I think there were far better options out there than Redding for the Mets to sign as a back of the rotation starter. As presently constructed, the rotation consists of Johan Santana, John Maine, Mike Pelfrey, Tim Redding and Jon Niese. The club expects to bring in either Derek Lowe, Oliver Perez or Randy Wolf as an additional starter, pushing Niese out of a spot.

Not that I've seen the Mets' books or anything, and yes, the Wilpons were affected by the Bernie Madoff scandal, but ... really? I think they could have gotten Wolf at a reasonable price with enough salary left over to bring in Lowe or Perez. Assuming they don't, I still see better options out there. I would take Paul Byrd over Redding any day of the week.I'm less than impressed, and I'm not confident Redding will last the whole season in the rotation. He's more than welcome to prove me wrong, but he's never been an innings-eater and always is pitching out of trouble.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/lost-in-transactions-1-5-1-11-09-busy-week


Now he is a Met, presumably taking the fifth starter's job away from Jon Niese, Pedro Martinez or some other similarly deserving reclamation project. This should also end any dreams of a Santana-Lowe-Pelfrey-Perez-Maine rotation, although if Tim Redding ends up serving as the #4 starter, the Mets won't have to worry about a third straight September collapse. They won't be playing any meaningful games in the final month of the season anyway. The only good thing I can think of about this deal is that it's only for one year, and at a price that probably isn't high enough to keep the Mets from shifting Redding into middle relief or outright releasing him by mid-summer. Jon Niese, don't go buying any real estate in Buffalo just yet
http://productiveouts.blogspot.com/

AAA – Buffalo:


The Buffalo Bisons will unveil new uniforms as well as 2009 caps when the team hosts the annual “Hot Stove Lunch.” The event is set for noon, Jan. 16 at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in downtown Buffalo. The uniforms for both home and away games will reflect the team’s new affiliation with the New York Mets, including the base blue and orange colors. Fans will be able to order personalized jerseys at the luncheon. “Since we announced the Mets affiliation, there has been a lot of excitement surrounding the Bisons,” said Brad Bisbing, team spokesman.


http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/stories/2009/01/05/daily48.html

A – Gnats:


Raul Reyes- This kid was one of the best defensive outfielders I’ve ever seen. Great arm, range and hustle. However in like of that, many people were scared off by his lack of patience at the plate, which in all honesty, was somewhat scary at times. He had that all or nothing Rob Deer-like swing that you hate to see in a youngster, but at only 22 years of age, you have to like what you’ve seen from him thus far. Nine homers and 34 RBI in 71 games aren’t bad numbers for short-season A-ball, so at the very least he still proved he could be productive in spite of his patience. Hitting .298 through just 13 games and 48 Abs last season with Savannah, Reyes spent the rest of the season on the shelf, making this upcoming season that much more important for him. If I was a betting man, I’d put a few bucks on Reyes having a huge season in 2009.
http://www.dembrooklynbums.com/


Saber:


I have added the ability to reverse rank ERA, FIP, BABIP, WHIP... and, I added the K/BB (and reverse rank) function. Now, you can do some fun stuff to search for SP gems... For instance, I just did a rank using these search fields: ERA- (reverse ranking, highest to lowest), FIP (lowest to highest), K/9 (high to low), and WHIP. This was the Top 10 that was generated:
http://www.playertrack.com/blog.pl?18


Alumni:


Former Mets 3b and baseball scout Chris Donnels talks about his career in New York, Japan, and his philosophies on scouting and development. He will also look back at the Mitchell Report a year later. Today Chris works with Mike Pagliarulo at the independent scouting company: iscouts
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/nybaseballtalk/2009/01/15/Chris-Donnels

Before there was David Wright, before there was Mike Piazza, before there was Keith Hernandez, there was Tom Seaver. He was the first true superstar to wear the blue & orange, the first 'Face of the Mets.' And to this day, a quarter of a century after he pitched his last game for us, he still remains the fans all-time favorite. Of 800+ players who have played for the Mets, Seaver's #41 remains the only number retired. He was nicknamed Tom Terrific, or more suitably, 'The Franchise.' Tom Seaver truly was The Franchise. Prior to his arrival in New York in 1967, the Mets had been a laughing stock, a floor mat for the NL to wipe their feet on. From 1962-1966, the Mets averaged an embarrassing 52 wins a year. However, within 2 years of Seaver taking the mound at Shea, the unimaginable happened. It was he who led the Mets to the miracle in 1969 with an impressive record of 25-7, a 2.21 ERA and 208 strikeouts. He had a World Series ring on his finger to go along with his first of 3 Cy Young Awards
http://metsmerizedonline.com/2009/01/special-feature-the-franchise.html


In 1966, the Mets chose not to select Reggie Jackson with the first overall pick. Instead, they took Steve Chilcott, a catcher who would never make it to the Major Leagues.

General Baseball News:


Former SoftBank Hawks pitcher Michinao Yamamura is the latest released NPB minor leaguer to announce he’s taking a shot at signing on with an American organization. He’ll be flying to Arizona on the 25th to spend 4 days playing winter league games and trying out. “My agent is talking to a number of teams about a minor league contract. Ever since I threw in international games in college, going overseas has been a dream,” said the righthander. Yamamura, 30, has made 25 appearances at the top level in Japan, going 2-2 with a 3.58 era in 27 2/3 innings.
http://www.npbtracker.com/2009/01/yet-another-minor-leaguer-to-attempt-a-move-to-mlb