I May Be Wrong, But… Team Depth is Depthless, Pelf May Be Back, Some Tradable Options, Next Sunday’s ‘The War Room’ Subject,

1   1.      Sunday’s ‘The War Room’ accomplished what I set out to prove. I asked my readers to help be build next year’s 25-man opening day squad having full knowledge that it was impossible without including player that simply will underplay the position they would be assign to. I have news for you… even excellent teams usually go to camp knowing as many as 20. The best teams top off at 22 or 23. Bad teams like the Mets run out in the 9-14 range.

I did something like this right before the off-season that Pedro Martinez arrived. All I was trying to do was educate fans on the particular positions that the Mets needed to target on, either by a trade or through free agency. Those conditions don’t exist anymore. Teams only want to trade with the Mets if they offer a player whose last name rhymes with either Marvey or Keeler. Past that, they pass. Too many owners, agents, and General Managers have had smoke blown up their ass by the Wilpons and the team is not a priority to the main players in the game anymore.

Go back and read the comments on ‘The War Room’ posts. You will see how some of the regulars and writers here figured out that we were playing baseball masturbation on Sunday. Players we even liked (Ronny Cedeno, Scott Hairston) were just pass over, knowing they will get their services sold else to a team that will pay them more than the Mets can afford and to a team that has a chance to make the 2013 playoffs.

Free agent wise, you have a better chance of seeing Jason Bourne in a Mets uniform (remember… there never was just one…) than Michael Bourn. You have to trust me on this one point. There only is money enough in 2013 to renew RA Dickey and David Wright’s existing contract. Sandy Alderson will be given the same $5mil range he got last year to pull relief rabbits out of a hat. Prospects will be moves along and some may change positions to accommodate the immediate future of the team (example… Wilmer Flores will play 3B for the Mets if David Wright is traded, but he’s also slotted to play 2B if Daniel Murphy is sent packing, and, he’s penciled in as the 3rd option behind Lucas Duda at first base if Ike Davis doesn’t play well April-June 2013).The point I was trying to make is you are going to have to gp through… at least… another year of this.  

Photo by Mack Ade

  2.      We talked about Mike Pelfrey Sunday and the general opinion is he is not an option in 2013 for a myriad amount of reasons. I agree that the 2013 rotation, on paper, will be Johan Santana, RA Dickey, Matt Harvey, Jon Niese, and Dillon Gee, but I also know that I have never covered this team without a rotation pitcher going down before the all-star break. Jeremy Hefner isn’t enough and, will also probably be gone. Chris Young will sell his talents elsewhere. This leaves us Chris Schwinden, Collin McHugh, or Pelfrey before Zack Wheeler is called up prior to the all-start game. Let’s table who  Wheeler would replace if there were no injuries at that point in the season. I’m talking one of the above listed five SPs going on the DL.

David Rubin made a good point, stating that Pelf and the Mets pitching coach don’t seem to be on the same page. Additionally, I’ve been told that Mike has had confidence problems in Josh Thole catching him (I have never been told this is Thole’s fault). The Mets will never execute the $5mil option in December, but they might offer Pelfrey a one-year (ARB 3 year), incentive loaded deal in the $2mil range. I’m sure Pelfrey’s agent will test the market first, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t see him back, making Dillon Gee a viable trade option in the off-season to a small market team that would fall in love with what he is paid. Remember, you have Wheeler coming sometime next season, Rafael Montero and Tyler Pill in 2014, and Michael Fulmer and Domingo Tapia in 2015.This team does not have an SP problem and Pelfrey, on paper, seems to me the best cork to plug the dyke until the baby-Mets come along. 

3.      Pitching coaches love to trade for toosy guys that seem to have been handled badly. Every scout wants to make their bones on an absurd draft pick. Well, it’s no different with batting and hitting coaches. ‘Go get me Fernando Martinez and I can turn him around’… “I can make Mike Carp into an MLB first baseman’… ‘I can get Jason Bay to hit 30 jacks over the green monster (oh, please, God)”, etc.

The Mets have a few of these guys that just don’t fit in the plans here, but could generate some interest by another team’s coach to fill one of their 25-man slots we had trouble with on Sunday. Some candidate:

            RHRP – Bradley Holt – still has the velocity, just lacks the confidence and can’t find the barn

            IF – Jenry Marte – shows hitting progress but is blocked at 2B and 1B (actually, the Mets need to move him to a corner outfield position in winter ball).

            2B – Josh Satin – is just never going to get a proper shot with the Mets for reasons left undefinable

            1B – Alan Dykstra – same as Satin, and has hit at every minor league level

            SP – Collin McHugh – no place to go on a team flooded with SP prospects

SP – Cory Mazzoni – big time trade bait who I think will be a great MLB SP, but, again, no room on the Mets

            2B – Reese Havens – still has a prospect tag and I bet there is someone out there that actually thinks he can prevent Havens from getting injured and producing at the same time, a la F-Mart this year.

            IF – Wilfredo Tovar – blocked every which way from(to?) Sunday 

4.      David Rubin had another good idea, this one about next week’s subject. I’m going to take a chance of blurting it out here, in hopes that my fellow bloggers don’t try to steal either the concept or the subject. This will also give all of you a chance to work on the comments for your first post next Sunday, beginning at 8am on Sunday.

The subject is simple. What would you do if you were the General Manager of the New York Mets, beginning on October 1, 2012, knowing that you are only going to be given around $5mil to spend on new players, unless you choose not to exercise the options of either (or both) David Wright and RA Dickey? Let’s also limit the pipe dreams and work under the assumption that both Jason Bay and Johan Santana will be part of both your team and your problems.