Minors Stuff

B-Mets:

Friday, June 19 Trenton 7:05 pm LHP Eric Niesen (0-1, 9.00) vs. RHP Josh Schmidt (4-1, 1.36)

Saturday, June 20 Trenton G1 5:05 pm TBA vs. LHP Wilkin De La Rosa (3-4, 4.30)

Saturday, June 20 Trenton G2 TBD TBA vs. RHP Kanekoa Texeira (5-4, 3.68)

Sunday, June 21 Trenton 1:05 pm RHP Eric Brown (4-5, 4.81) vs. RHP Zach McAllister (5-3, 1.81)


Lucy:


Reese Havens, ss, Mets: Havens has yet to play this month as he’s been on the DL with a quadriceps injury. A first-round pick last year, Havens is hitting .228/.343/.413 in 44 games with high Class A St. Lucie, and he’s also committed 15 errors.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=4839


K-Port:


The Kingsport Mets will open the 2009 season with a six game home stand. This will be the Mets 29th season in Kingsport.

The season will begin on Tuesday, June 23rd when the K-Mets host the Johnson City Cardinals. The opening game will be sponsored by Golden Corral. The series will continue with Fill-It-Up-Night on Wednesday. Patrons who show proof of purchase of at least one gallon of gas that day will receive free admission. The series concludes Thursday with US Army Night. All members of the United States Army, past and present, will receive free admission to Thursday night's game. Thursday will also be Gate City Little League Night with free admission to all Gate City Little League players in uniform.

Friday, June 26th will see the Bluefield Orioles come to Kingsport for a three game series. All Kingsport Parks and Rec. Little League players wearing their uniform will receive free admission to this game. At the conclusion of Friday's game there will be a fireworks show sponsored by Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union. Game two on Saturday will also host the annual ALS Group picnic. The home stand will conclude Sunday with Fellowship Night. Bring your church bulletin to the gate that night and receive free admission.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090617&content_id=5380334&vkey=news_t506&fext=.jsp&sid=t506



International:

ESPN.com's Jorge Arangure Jr. reports that MLB investigators are looking into Miguel Angel Sano's age after the Twins requested more detail on the top Dominican prospect's background. Sano says he's 16, but some believe he's older because of his physique. The investigation will include a DNA test and could prevent a quick signing when the international signing period begins on July 2nd. Any player caught lying about his age receives a one-year suspension from MLB.

Arangure reports that Sano's expected to sign with the Twins or Pirates as long as he's not suspended.


Mets Alumni:

On KZNE this morning, I was asked about Pedro Martinez, who remains a free agent without a home. ESPN.com's baseball page indicates that the Rays and Cubs are among the teams kicking the tires on the free-agent righty, who pitched effectively in the World Baseball Classic. Martinez might well be on a roster but for his insistence on better terms than those usually given to a pitcher of his recent track record; while the specifics are debatable, it's clear that he's been unwilling to sign a minimum-salary make-good deal, instead holding out for guaranteed money. Considering the money paid to low-end pitchers in MLB who don't have Martinez's upside, and the number of teams for whom he might be a two-win upgrade—perhaps the difference between making the playoffs and not—I'm a little surprised that no team has pulled the trigger.
Certainly the Rays and Cubs would be interesting spots for Martinez. Rays' manager Joe Maddon is one of the more creative managers of a pitching staff. Would adding Martinez to a rotation with five-inning pitchers like David Price, Jeff Niemann, and Scott Kazmir tempt Maddon to do something radical, such as using tandem starters in a couple of rotation slots behind James Shields and Matt Garza? Keeping Andy Sonnanstine in his job and pairing the other four would be one way to work around the issues that Price and Kazmir have had being unable to work deep into games because of their inefficiency, while asking Martinez for less work than you would a normal starter. You could still have four or even five traditional relievers in this arrangement.

http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=9083


Draft:

Possible Type B Free Agents:

•Brian Schneider
•Carlos Delgado
•J.J. Putz*