2/16/10

Carlos Beltran, Jason Bay, Steroids, F-Rod... and Javier Rodriquez

Carlos Beltran:


Mets management sparred with star centerfielder Carlos Beltran after he had knee surgery to correct a problem both sides agreed needed to be corrected. Apparently, the Mets believed a third opinion could be beneficial, even though the first two belonged to world-renowned knee surgeon Richard Steadman and highly respected longtime Mets surgeon David Altcheck. Altcheck actually had already given the go-ahead for the operation, but Mets people still felt they needed to give some sort of written approval. At this point, with much bigger issues, the Mets should probably not concern themselves with such technicalities.- link 

Jason Bay:

First off, it is great to bring back a former Met farm-hand. I am not sure why the Mets ever got rid of him, but that is ancient history. From the minute he arrived as an everyday player for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2004, he has produced at a high level, with the possible exception of his one down year in 2007. One down year can be accepted, however, when sandwiched between groups of highly productive ones. This is a guy who has hit at least 30 home runs and driven in over 100 runs in four of his six full big league seasons. That is very respectable to say the least. He is also a lifetime .280 hitter and carries a lifetime slugging percentage of a tick under .520. He does strikeout a ton, reaching the dubious plateau of 162 last season. You will take that with career highs of 36 HR and 119 RBI as the entree. He also sports a solid lifetime on-base percentage of .376, so he is not afraid to take a walk either. - link
Steroids:

One of the most beautiful aspects of baseball is the neverending debate it inspires. Whether the subject is roster construction, game strategy, or even the media's coverage of the game itself, there's never a shortage of points to argue. There are, however, two fundamental questions, the answers to which define one as a fan. The first has to do with numbers and such: To what degree do you believe objective analysis should be used in evaluating players? Given that you're here, you've likely already answered that one for yourself.

The second question is, in my opinion, more difficult to answer: How do you feel about performance-enhancing drugs? "They're bad" is not what I'm going for. How do you view the PED era in general? The users and non-users in particular? How big of an impact did PED's have on the game? Are they mostly gone now? Should they be? - link

F-Rod:

It seemed that after Luis Castillo dropped that ball at Yankee Stadium, F-Rod’s season went in the wrong direction. He didn’t have a lot of playing time in the 2nd half of the season due to save situations being few and far between. I think it was one of the reasons why his production was so bad in the second half. Some have said he quit playing hard since this was the 1st time in a long time he was not going to the playoffs or in the hunt for the playoffs. Pedro Feliciano has said that he would tell F-Rod to tell Warthen and Jerry that he needed to pitch but F-Rod did not follow that advice. F-Rod makes a lot of money, he’s an important player on this team and he’s a veteran player and if he feels he needs to pitch every couple of days to be able to perform when needed than he needs to step up and say it. – link

Javier Rodriguez:

OF, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy, #68 Overall: Rodriguez was a solid all-around talent who really came just short of being a five-tool player. His best attribute was a hit tool rated as above-average to plus. He was expected to go anywhere from the second to fifth round. Following players selected: James Darnell, Zeke Spruill, Jason Knapp. Signing bonus: $585,000. –  link

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