12/30/11

I May Be Wrong, But... Theriot, Havens, Spira, Mets Merchandise, Dickey


1.     MLBTR reported today that the Mets are interested in signing SS/2B Ryan Theriot. He’s eligible to make in the 3.5mil range. I assume the interest is based on the fact that the Mets currently have no emergency plan in Ruben Tejada was to go down. Jorday Valdespin needs a full year at SS in Buffalo to see if he can stay out of trouble long enough to maximize his God-given talent. Justin Turner is more of a second and third base backup plan; in fact, Theriot has never played an inning at third. He has a respectable career MLB BA of .282, but had a career high 18-errors last year for St. Louis, mostly while playing short.



2.     Let’s remember one thing when it comes to the 2012 Mets infield. There actually is an outside chance that Reese Havens could win the second base job out of spring training. Reese was drafted in the same class as Ike Davis and, barring unlucky injuries, should already be in Queens.



3.     There seems to be an awful lot of dying around me lately. Today’s “surprise” was http://www.baseballprospectus.com  Greg Spira, one of the real good guys in sports writing. He was 44. I’m 64. (shaking head…)



4.     I want to talk to all of you about buying Mets merchandise. There are very few things fans can do to influence the team that they root for, but buying tickets, shirts, autographed baseballs, and other official merchandise is one. The current owners of the Mets have no desire to sell, but let them miss a couple of paychecks and see what the MLB does. Stop reading that the Mets project a 10% increase in attendance. That’s like Iran telling you they are going to block the waterway. Just don’t go and don’t buy anything for one year. You’ll have a say in this. I promise you.



5.     Lastly, I saw comments by R.A. Dickey in The New York Times about his upcoming trip up the mountain:



“I continue to believe that the risks of climbing Kilimanjaro are minimal. In fact, it may prove to be less dangerous than the roller coaster and all those loopty loops. I am encouraged to learn that a 7-year-old named Keats Boyd and an 82-year-old man named George Solt both have summited. I feel confident that a 37-year-old knuckleballer stands a fair chance to do the same. Nonetheless, I am still taking the necessary precautions to ensure my safety.”



I have no problems with anybody doing anything in the off-season, as long as there is a provision in every Mets contract that the contract is void if an injury occurs doing something like this.



You pay me $4mil a year, I’ll behave,

No comments: