IF Ronny
Cedeno signs a 1-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Noah Syndergaard @Noahsyndergaard - Today I attempted a knuckle ball... It was not
pretty
LHP Darin Gorski - After a
breakout 2011 in the High-A St. Lucie rotation (2.08 ERA), the 25-year-old
struggled against more age-appropriate competition at Double-A in 2012 (4.00
ERA). He doesn't feature an overpowering fastball or much of a jaw-dropping
repertoire, but his change-up is more often than not a plus offering. He'll
have to take a big step forward to reach his ceiling as a back-end starter;
however all signs point to a Spring Training audition for the second LOOGY
role. And with a markedly better resume against lefties since 2011 (.193
opponent average) he's got a fair shot against the crop of journeymen the club
will be looking at this March
I don’t remember who said that Gorski was going
to be used as a LOOGY in ST next month. I think it was TC and I remember
thinking how cute that was. I think his chance of this happening has now
diminished with Pedro Feliciano coming to camp and I know Robert Carson has a different plan
here. Gorski had a magical season in 2011, so may do at the A/A+ level, but I
just don’t see the ‘stuff’ here for, first, a LOOGY role in the majors, or, a starting
role in the majors. There will be nine pitchers battling it out for the five
starting slots in Las Vegas. Gorski deserves one and I hope he gets it.
The possibility exists. MLB sources say SportsNet New York
brass has reached out to Bobby Valentine to
discuss a possible studio role on Mets telecasts. Valentine, who managed the
Mets (1996-2002), would be featured on about 20 games, mostly marquee matchups
like the Subway Series. He would be seen on SNY’s new pre-pregame show.
Valentine would also fill in for Bobby Ojeda,
SNY’s No. 1 studio analyst, on his off days. Sources said the fact SNY execs
have already contacted Valentine means the Mets organization has approved the
idea of giving their controversial former manager a TV platform
I was in broadcasting for 32-years. Bobby
Valentine was made for the microphone and television camera. A move like this
would make so much sense and I bet even Valentine has learned he needs to play
the game a little more conservative. Anything he did along with Ojeda would be
Mets magic and could turn SNY into the most watched local New York sports
channel.
Keep in mind Boras is the King of The Opt Out (think Alex Rodriguez, J.D. Drew and Rafael
Soriano). So it is possible, for example, Bourn could trade length of
contract — perhaps accepting three years — in exchange for being able to opt
out and re-enter the free-agent market a year from now if he desires. The Mets
could be amenable to that, determining Bourn could help them in 2013, give them
another season to incubate a center fielder such as Matt
Den Dekker and — should Bourn opt out — provide the Mets the chance to
tender him a contract and recoup a June 2014 second-round draft choice if he
were to sign elsewhere.
Regarding
the new reports on illegal use of drugs out of a Miami clinic… is anyone going
to mention the Latin elephant in the room? It is obvious that the vast majority
of ballplayers caught cheating are Latin. And, let’ remember this… you’re not
suspended the first time you test positive, so, you have to be stupid to take
the drug, get caught, and then be more stupid and take it again. Anyway, the
one thing on this particular story is most of the players named seem to live in
South Florida during the off-season, but once again, Latin surname after
Latin surname. Carlos Gomez (the scout) told me
once that there is a lot of pressure in countries like the Domincan Republic to
follow in the footsteps of players like Alex Rodriquez and Pedro Martinez. Jose Reyes’ brother told me that the primary reason many
Latin players can’t wait for free agency is this is when they will receive the
kind of money needed to take care of all the members of their immediate family.
The natural body size just isn’t there and a specimen like A-Rod is the
exception to the rule. ‘Buscons’ have been the sports worst enemy, telling
these kids that they never will make it to the States without doing whatever it
takes to build up strength and muscle. Sadly, this may start as bad people
around innocent kids.
The future outfield, I think, will be purchased next off season or acquired via trade during that same period. I can see them letting this year play out to see if Duda and Kirk can actually hold down a starting gig, but unless Den Dekker gets over those K's in Vegas, the would have to assume the Mets finally become players in free agency next season.
ReplyDeleteBy then, they could have a ton of legit top pitching prospects rising from the depths of their minor leagues, making trades a lot more possible. Once the St. Lucy and Savannah rotations have another season to develop, there's a good chance the Mers have another 4 or 5 starters that will be good trade chips. At the same time, they'd be able to make possibly Gee available as well and he could easily fetch then a young good outfielder.
There just won't be room in the Mets' rotation for all these arms and when these guys are coupled with all the cash that will be available, I just don't see a reason they'd have to settle with a mediocre outfield.