3/1/10

Josh, Matt Lindstrom, Lineup, Mets No. 1 in Salary Loss... and David's Body

Josh Thole:

C, New York - 2009 Peak Level: The Majors - 2010 Roadblock: Rod Barajas - You can't really fault the Mets organization for nabbing Barajas. The club got great value for a veteran catcher who slammed 19 homers last year for the Blue Jays. Thole is a much different type of player, with almost zero power (.094 ISO in double-A). However, you don't find many big league catchers that can hit .300 with a solid eye at the plate. - link








Matt Lindstrom:

Matt Lindstrom:


Houston Astros—closer Matt Lindstrom, Others: Brandon Lyon, Sammy Gervacio, Chia Jen-Lo -
Another speculative closer situation, the Astros are yet to decide which of their two bullpen acquisitions will be picking up saves in 2010. Lindstrom is an older pitcher with huge upside while Lyon is a serviceable middle reliever. Rookie Sammy Gervacio is another player who could make an impact in the closer situation. Pitcher Chia Jen-Lo is worth grabbing if reaches the major leagues this season because he is another reliever who could become a future closer - link

Lineup:

As you can plainly see, the Mets have players batting out of their ideal positions. This is particularly true for Jose Reyes, whose capabilities project very well as a leadoff hitter because of his speed and the intangibles he brings to the game. He does not fit the profile of a third place hitter very well, as that slot is defined as a team’s most patient, intelligent, and fundamentally sound hitter. It usually is held down by someone who has a great eye for pitch recognition, and that with this selectivity, can fight off tough two-strike pitches before he eventually capitalizes on a mistake pitch. I think that it is safe to say that Jose Reyes is not this type of hitter. Would anyone argue with me? - link






Mets #1 Salary Loss:

Since I have already looked at the salary lost to the DL for individual player totals and teams totals from 2002 to 2009, I will now look at the individual teams by year (injury information from Josh Hermsmeyer at RotoBlog.com) . Looking over the lists the only points I noticed was that the Mets and Dodgers did not do a good job of keeping their high priced players off the DL while the Chicago White Sox did an amazing job. Here is the top 20 teams and bottom 10 by total salary lost (link to a spreadsheet with all the teams and years for reference).

Rank   Team    Year     Salary Lost   

1         NYM     2009     $54,962,

David's Body:

"Jerry Manuel noticed David Wright wincing last season as the third baseman pulled up to a base while running. And while Wright downplayed the effect on his performance, he acknowledged he was banged up at points last year - although he's not precisely sure what was wrong. "I don't know if it was necessarily the groin," Wright said. "If I'm wincing, chances are there's something that's biting at me. A lot of times I don't know because I don't really go get it checked out, to be honest with you. I don't know. Sometimes it flares up and sometimes not so much." Regardless, Wright insisted, it wasn't a big factor in his 2009 power swoon. "Everybody has injuries through the course of the year,"  - link

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