The official start date of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft will be Thursday, June 5th
Mack Ade - Vic Black - Kevin Gallo @kcmgallo905 - I saw him in Indianapolis he is very impressive. You should be pleased. Mack Ade - pleased with entire trade - Kevin Gallo @kcmgallo905 - they did a great job.
David Wright has informs anyone that is still listening that he has no intention of shutting things down. His exact words were: “it’s pretty much against everything I believe in to shut it down.”
I appreciate what Wright is saying, but I hope he’s ready for what’s left of this team. There is basically poor fundamental baseball being played by many of the players, most of which are of AAA-caliber at best.
I was particularly upset Wednesday after watching the walk-through job Ike Davis did both on the field and at the plate. This is supposed to be one of the team’s best players and it continues to just not be there.
Additionally, Terry Collins said all the right things about the Wilmer Flores error and that moving him from one position (2B) to another (3B) could be the factor, but that’s horseshit. This is the major leagues. There is no excuse for letting routine groundball go through your legs.
I said seven games ago that I felt the Mets run was over and that they were going to tank for the rest of the reason. Since then, Marlon Byrd and John Buck were sent to Pittsburgh and the team has gone 1-6. I look through both the 25 and 40-man and, I’m sorry, I just don’t see it for 2014. There’s some great pitching, David Wright, and what?
You know me… I love prospects, but the reason they are called that is the fact that they are untested. In that same seven game period, the Mets have increased the number of legitimate prospects by two, but, as I just said, they haven’t proven anything.
And now we have to deal with Daisuke Matsuzaka. Really? You’re going to be able to read thos column before he throws his next pitch.
Right here, right now, I move Zack Wheeler, Jon Niese, and Dillon Gee up to SP1-3. Counting Wright and Bobby Parnell, I’ve got five proven quality major league players. You need a lot more than this to even compete with the Marlins next year, no less the rest of this league.
Some good signs tonight as the regular season rolls down... Delson Herrera debuted with Savannah and seems to have set up an interesting 2014 lineup in St. Lucie that will include SS Gavin Cecchini and OF Brandon Nimmo... Gnats SP Gabriel Ynoa pitched his 15 victory and he too looks to be a viable candidiate to open 2014 for St. Lucie (we'll go into the new lower level SP log jam later today)... it looks like RP Vic Black (who has been clocked at 103) will pass through waivers and will join the Mets in Queens over the weekend. And lastly, Dustin Lawley hit his first AAA home run an was batting .500 during the game... all good news during a period we can all use it.
Short report... under the weather...
I agree Mack, we have 5 legit players to build around next season. Everybody else is either a role player, a fill-in or has injury concerns. It's gonna be a rough month but its for a good cause.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Mack, a lot of clear-thinking in here. In general, the prospect geeks can get a little starry-eyed at times, but I think you do a great job of keeping your feet on the ground. There's a lot of ways to build a great team, and I'd like to see the Wilpons pursue all of them. They need to spend some cash, because there's simply not enough talent here.
ReplyDeleteI think you might be selling the 2014 team a touch short. They'll have a good rotation and that's huge. The emergence of Montero and Thor will add to it and possibly make it one of the better ones, if not the best, rotations in the NL east.
ReplyDeleteThe bullpen should be solid with Parnell, Black, Hawkings, and possibly some of their young arms including Familia and maybe even deGrom.
Wright, Flores, d'Arnaurd, and Murphy make for a pretty good infield.
If Sandy works his trade mojo, there could be a good outfielder in right field to go with the gold glove tandem in Lagaras and Den Dekkee. Maybe they sign Choo or Elsbury as well.
I just don't see a losing team in 2014. Playoffs? I'll wait to pass judgment on that, but there's simply no reason to say its a lost season already.
About st. Lucy's infield....I don't see them skipping the Sally league for Checcini. They just don't operate that way. If Pawlecki and Boyd, two polished college hitters had to prove themselves there, so will Gavin.
I disagree.
ReplyDeleteFlorese has close to 100 rib eye steaks combined for the season and put him at second and leave him there, stop jerking him around. Put Murphy at 3rd and get on with it already.
D'arnaud will get his swings in and be ready to go in spring, the last injury was because he got hit with the ball, not because his body broke down.
Lagares has done real well for his rookie season and should get better with his batting average, I don't see to much power in his future.
And Young is just what the doctor ordered to bring speed to the lead off spot. i know his OBP is not where it should be, but until we find the next Reyes he will be helping us out big time in that department.
Maybe trade for Andrus or starlin castro ( they both have their heir apparents breathing down their necks) bring in Abreau for first base and Beltran for right field.
The lineup and especially defensively we will be set (except for Flores defense).
Andrus/ Castro
Young
Wright
Beltran
Abreau
Flores
D'arnaud
Lagares
P.S. maybe Puello and Lawley can fill the corners afterwards?
I like the Abreu idea, it's perfect. They'd be set to pay Davis a good chunk over the next three years anyway, so why not pay Abreu 10 mill a year because he won't be as bad as Davis.
ReplyDeleteThen I'd trade Ike for as much as I could get. Let him turn into the next Chris a davis somewhere else. The mets won't get any better hoping guys like Ike and Duda will finally start hitting.
We need to sign 1B Abreu(7yrs/50MM), RF Beltral(2yrs/20MM), LF Choo(5yrs/75MM), SS Drew(2yrs/10MM); Trade Ike-Duda-Murphy-Tejada
ReplyDeleteLF Choo
SS Drew/Castro/Tulo/Andrus/Tovar(why not?)
3B Wright
1B Abreu
RF Beltran/Young(late games defensive)
2B Florez
C d`Arnaud
CF Lagares/ den Dekker
Rotation
S1 Wheeler/Harvey???
S2 Nice
S3 Mejia
S4 Gee
S5 deGrom/Thor(after super 2)/Montero/Sign a veteran
Bullpen
CL Parnell
8 Germen/Hawkins/Familia
7 Black/Germen/Familia
L Edgin
L Rice/Feliciano
R Atchison
LR Torres
I think the rotation can begin the year with:
ReplyDeleteSP1 Wheeler
SP2 Niese
SP3
SP4 Mejia
SP5 Torres
Torres seems like a natural to me to hold down the last spot. He's performed well enough that I think he can give the team quality starts from SP5 until June when Syndergaard comes up. Then Torres can swing back to the bullpen, leaving 4 in the rotation of Wheeler, Niese, Mejia, and Thor. If Harvey pulls a Doc Halladay and makes it back early and without surgery, he's obviously in the mix as the Ace. If not, I'd rather see the FO sign a vet for a 1-2 year deal (Arroyo?) to hold down a rotation spot until Harvey is back. That allows the Mets to still follow their offseason plan to acquire hitting and can still make a trade from their pitching depth (Gee, Montero, etc.) to make it happen.
I think the opening day rotation will be:
ReplyDeleteHarvey, Wheeler, Niese, Gee, Mejia...
I'll elaborate tomorrow morning...
Mack do you think that the METS should call Nats for SS/2B Danny Espinosa?
ReplyDeletewell, to be honest, Espinosa has worse stats than Ruben Tejada over the 4 years he has played for Washington.
ReplyDeleteI want a big time shortstop like Tulo, but with the Harvey injury, the team is in no position to trade a time tested starter (Niese or Gee) which would have to be part of a deal for someone like that.
The Mets don't have the depth for a big time trade right now.
I'm afraid that Tejada might be the best choice on opening day 2014
Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI agree Mack...
ReplyDeleteWith Harvey's injury, they must keep their pitching.
Which is unfortunate, because before this season, they had even more depth in the minors and that depth isn't really there anymore.
Mateo, Mazzoni, and Fulmer all have had lost seasons. And all could have been in AA or higher to start the year in 2014. Mateo and Mazzoni easily could have started in AAA. If that's the case, you could have still traded a Dillon Gee or a Niese, but now? That's a gamble.
Harvey's injury means that the Mets will have to open up the checkbook. And do you know what? They should!!!!!
The Yankees are going to be in bad shape DROPPING their payroll to 189 MILLION!!!!
And us, we'll be lucky to see it raise to 115 million. However, due to all the money coming off the books, if they actually add 50-60 million to the payroll, the mets should easily have a good team.
Enough is enough, no more chit chat. Fred Wilpon has had his time to weather the storm. It time to go back to acting like a big market team that owns its own TV network, gets 25 million a year in naming rights, plays in a new stadium, and will receive an extra 50 million in MLB tv revenue starting next season.
GRAB THAT CHECKBOOK!!!!! IT'S TIME TO TAKE BACK THE CITY AGAIN.
Charley -
ReplyDeleteAlderson seems to have the unique ability to wait out a trade situation and wind up with a good prospect in exchange for someone that had no future on the Mets.
Wheeler (Beltran), d'Arnaud, Syndergaard, and Bucerra (Dickey) and Black and Herrera (Buck, Byrd) are all examples.
The good news is three of these guys (Wheeler, d-Arnaud, Black) will be on the 2014 opening day roster.
The Mets MUST circle the wagons on their starters, especially since a handful of them are currently on the DL. Guys like Ynoa may look like the real deal, but he really has to pitch two more years for any team to want to build a trade around him. Throw in, yes, but trades aren't built around A-level players.
Right now... today... your 2014 Mets have to be built around Wheeler, Niese, Gee, Montero, Syndergaard... possibly Torres... guys like Mejia and Harvey have to mend themselves back. You can't trade any of those first 5 guys because they may be the only 5 you have in 2014.
And...
you have no depth at any other position to build a trade.
Which is why I said they must break open the piggy bank that Fred, Jeff, and Saul have hidden somewhere under the long forgetting rubble of old Shea Stadium.
ReplyDeleteThey have no choice but to sign some free agents. That's why they must also play .300 ball the rest of the year too. For that protected first rounder.
Also, I think Mejia will be ready for 2014. It seemed as if his surgery wasn't a huge deal.
Niese, Wheeler, Mejia, Gee, Montero. That's how I stack the rotation to start the year. Torres has been too valuable in the pen and the team needs to stop worrying about super two status on their prospects. They just can't do that and expect to win. The best players must fill their 25 man roster. No more place holders in a time where wins count and wins count in April.