11-23-11: - http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.js p?ymd=20111110&content_id=25949502&fext=.j sp&vkey=news_milb&partnerId=rss_nym - Juan Lagares, Binghamton (38 games), St. Lucie (82 games): Lagares suffered an ankle injury in 2010 and, according to the Mets, it slowed him during Spring Training. Everything appeared OK by Opening Day, however, as he went on to lead all Mets full-season players in batting (.349), increasing his .338 mark at St. Lucie to .370 in Binghamton. The six-year Minor League veteran had never batted above .279 at any level. "Unbelievable year," DePodesta said from Arizona, where Lagares hit .303 in 15 games in the Fall League. "The move obviously didn't faze him." While Lagares drew only 26 walks, he also fanned only 76 times in 120 games. "The biggest thing for Juan this year was his plate discipline," said St. Lucie skipper Pedro Lopez, who also managed Lagares, as a taxi squad player in the AFL. "Managing the strike zone has helped him out. We're talking about a kid who was a free swinger a year ago; now he has a better understanding of what a strike is." "He can definitely play [defense] in the big leagues right now," Backman added. "It will depend on what the organization wants, but for me, he can go to Triple-A [in 2012]. He is probably the best player I had for the year, and I only had him for half a year."
With dissatisfaction over Ronny Paulino's adherence to game plans as well as lethargy, the Mets are likely to non-tender Paulino on Dec. 12 and go another direction for a righty-hitting catcher to complement Josh Thole. It's certainly possible Mike Nickeas, already in-house, gets the shot. But it will not be Jorge Posada. SI.com reports Posada inquired with the Mets about any possible interest and was told the Amazin's were looking for a defensive-oriented catcher to pair with Thole. www.espn.com
The Hall of Fame released its ballot for next summer's induction eligibility, and Bernie Williams probably is the player with the best credentials on the underwhelming list, which also includes ex-Met Jeromy Burnitz. (See full list/news story here.) Things get far more interesting a year from now, when players who last appeared in the majors in 2007 are eligible. That group includes Mike Piazza, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Curt Schilling and Craig Biggio. – www.espn.com
The Mets are seeking at least a four-month extension to pay back the $25 million emergency loan they got last year from Major League Baseball, while they work on closing the sales of minority stakes in the franchise, The Post has learned. MLB gave the money-losing team co-owned by Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz a one-year loan last November to help it make a revenue-sharing payment. “An extension has been discussed with the Commissioner and after some dancing, it should be approved,” a source following the situation said, adding that baseball commissioner Bud Selig has been speaking to baseball owners to rally support. The team in the last few days made its 2011 revenue-sharing payment of $20 million, meeting the Nov. 30 deadline and easing concerns, a Mets spokesman confirmed. www.nypost.com
Former New York Mets outfielder Jeromy Burnitz is among a fairly unimpressive group of players who are listed on the 2012 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for the first time. Burnitz was a first-round draft pick and a highly-regarded Mets prospect who didn’t enjoy a lot of success in New York. He received limited playing time in 1993 and 1994, before being traded to the Cleveland Indians in the winter of 1994 in exchange for pitchers Dave Mlicki, Paul Byrd and Jerry DiPoto. During his first go-round with the Mets, Burnitz was briefly one of my favorite players on the team http://randombaseballstuff.com/2011/12/01/jeromy-burnitz-is-on-next-years-hall-of-fame-ballot
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