Cutnpaste: - F-Mart, Joe Torre, Pitching, Tom Seaver, and Sean Ratliff

Michael G. Baron

Fernando Martinez:

11-25-10 from: - MWOB  - 1. Fernando Martinez OF - There are 29 other teams that would like a player with his tools that is 22 years old. The problem many Met fans have is they had hoped he would be on their major league roster a couple years ago, even though he was only 20 years old. He is the youngest player to appear on an AFL roster and he was always the youngest prospect at each level he has played. Injuries have prevented him from developing into the player the Mets hoped he would be. Now at 22 he is at the age where many top level AAA prospects should be. Average wise the 2010 season may have been his worst, with a .254 average. He still hasn’t cracked .200 yet in the majors, hitting .176 in 2009 and .167 in 2010. Many players would like to have his tools, but those tools don’t shine if they are not on the field. In his five years of professional ball, Fernando has yet to go through a season without a significant injury derailing his season.

Joe Torre:

Earlier in the week, I wrote a post about how grounding into double plays erased 16.5% of Jim Rice's career offensive value. Of course, Rice isn't the only player I looked into, but the story really evolved to go into Rice further. Today, I'll share a few graphs of some other players of interest. One player who was similar to Rice is Joe Torre. Torre actually was worth more offensively than Rice (300 runs above average to 279) and his double plays were just a tad less damaging (-43 runs compared with Rice's -45). As a result, the double plays cost him 14.3% of his career value, by far the highest total of any player with 300+ batting runs above average (Rocky Colavito was second at 8.5%). - BTBS  

Pitching:
After Mike Pelfrey, Jon Niese and R.A. Dickey, Dillon Gee is the best internal option. The righthander impressed in a September callup, and the Mets hope he can secure a rotation spot. Jenrry Mejia might be an option, but the righty suffered two arm injuries last year, and some in the organization project him as a late-inning reliever.
So the Mets will have to sign a few inexpensive starters. But who will be inexpensive? Obviously not Cliff Lee, or even Jorge de La Rosa. The next tier, filled with guys such as Jon Garland and Jeff Francis, will also likely be out of range for the Mets. There are still lower-tier names such as Kevin Millwood, Brian Bannister, Jeremy Bonderman and Chris Young (who played under Alderson and Paul DePodesta in San Diego). Those are the sort of folks we are more likely to see in St. Lucie. - NYDN  



Michael G. Baron

 Tom Seaver:

RHP - Mets, Reds, White Sox, Red Sox • (1967-1986) - Age: 66 … Hall of Fame: 1992 -

It is difficult for one legendary righthanded starter to elbow the others off the crowded rubber. Bob Feller, the oldest living Hall of Famer, lost four years to World War II in the middle of leading the AL in wins five times. Bob Gibson may be the best postseason pitcher ever. Greg Maddux has the trophies. Roger Clemens, who has attacked steroid allegations with the same disdain he had for hitters, dominated with 354 wins, 4,672 strikeouts and seven Cy Youngs during an era ruled by offense. Seaver has the slightest edge. The Mets' great emerged as hitters took over. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in '67 and was 259-143 with a 2.60 ERA in his first 15 seasons. After he retired with 311 wins, 3,640 strikeouts and three Cy Youngs he was voted into Cooperstown with a record 98.84 percent. Seaver's power game and drop-and-drive delivery inspired the current generation of pitchers and, when Gibson, Nolan Ryan and other peers were polled they agreed that Seaver was the best of their generation. - St. louis Today  



Mack Ade

 Sean Ratliff:

11-24-10 from: - Mets Geek  - 16. Sean Ratliff. When I saw Sean Ratliff in 2009, I thought of a lesser version of Ryan Church. Looking at his 2010 season and Church’s same age comparison in 2002, they were almost the same player, slugging the ball and striking out a lot. He’s an average defender who will most likely make his living as a platoon bat or left handed hitting outfielder off the bench. Best case scenario is Ryan Church, before concussion. His worst case is Ryan Church, after concussion. He should start next season in Double A, attempting get his Strikeout numbers down.