I was talking with Gary Seagran yesterday and we were discussing just how much we hate writing and talking about the same $80mil salary scenarios for this team in 2014. We couldn’t remember where that figure came from. Was it something that Sandy Alderson said, was it predicted by some blogger, or did we invent it here on the MMR?The only thing that Gary and I could agree on was that the upcoming Hot Stove season is going to finally expose the true direction both this team and its General Manager is going. You know my thoughts on a payroll under $100mil in the city of New York. And we all know the statements that Fred Wilpon put on the back of Alderson when he said the team literally had money to burn this off-season.
I will tell you this in his defense before all this heats up… convincing top free agents to play for your team isn’t just money. It’s a lot easier when they think your team has a chance to get to the World Series and the only way that was going to happen was if Matt Harvey was going to the bump every five outing and every four in the playoffs.
Still, we’re about to see exactly what our General Manager is made up. He’s gone on every talk show in the city and made every excuse about how thing might not happen. Now, he has to come out of the box and sign a few ballplayers more exciting than Eric Young Jr. or David Aardsma.
Maybe I’ve been wrong about my approach here. Maybe signing just bats isn’t the way to go and maybe it especially isn’t the way to start the Hot Stove season. Every free agent knows the Mets have a good pitching staff, but they thought it was a great one when Harvey was pitching. Maybe Alderson needs to bring in someone like Matt Garza or Tim Lincecum early on to show the hitters out there that this team means business in 2014.
Do you know what I yearn for? The days when agents used to call us. Everyone in baseball knew we had the money to make a deal and all we had to do was decide whether it was going to be a trade of a free agent signing. Sometimes they worked (Pedro Martinez) and sometimes they didn’t (Paul LoDuca), but at least a deal was struck.
As Antonio Banderos said once, ‘no more, chit chat’. It’s time to get off the pot and show us why the Wilpons have been paying you the big bucks. We really don’t care that you don’t like to sign long term contracts. You can’t turn your back on the same kind of length you and every other team are attempting to lock up your own talent with (i.e. Jon Niese and David Wright). This game gets a lot easier when you don’t have to look for eight positional players every year.
You want a model? Use St. Louis. There’s a perfect mix of drafted talent, international free agents, players traded for and selective free agents. They aren’t over-balnced in either direction like the Dodgers or Miami. You don’t have to solve all the Mets problems this off-season, but you can put to sleep two past that pitcher I talked about earlier.
It’ so easy to figure out why certain teams get to the final four in the baseball playoffs. The talent on these teams go far past the starting lineup and ownership, front office, and management understand what it takes to win in today’s market. That’s all I’m asking for. Competitive balance. This isn’t Tampa Bay.. It’s New York frigging City.
If you follow the draft you have to read this… http://sabr.org/research/history-and-future-amateur-draft
Mets Shea/Citifield attendance figures since 2008:
2008: 4,042,045… 2009: 3,168,571… 2010: 2,559,738… 2011: 2,352,596… 2012: 2,242,803… 2013: 2,135,657
From Baseball America -
@Jaypers413 (IL): Thanks for the chat, Josh. What did evaluators have to say about Cesar Puello's season, and did he end up close making your list?
Josh Norris: He didn’t end up close to making the list, and quite frankly, a great deal of it had to do with the Biogenesis scandal. It also didn’t help that people within the Mets organization have told me beforehand that they don’t really consider him a prospect.
Mack – I just don’t agree with this assessment. First of all, any drug activity Puello had with Biogenises was before the 2013 season. Secondly, there still is a lot of question whether there was any activity there past a visit and an appointment.
I have always heard the best of everything about Puello, both from people employed by the Mets and scouts that cover him. There were questions why his output went down for the two years he played in St. Lucie, which is not the norm for someone taking drugs to improve their performance.
Either way, Puello will get his chance this year to prove he can first make it in Vegas and then, one of the corner Mets outfield positions. Only then will all these questions be answered.
15 comments:
How can a player have the yr he had and missed 1/3rd of the season at 22yrs old not be a prospect.What scout did he talk to.
Morning Mack:
I agree signing a top notch pitcher to start the off-season will send out a good vibe,to free-agents,or teams looking to trade!
If they can sign Garza or Lincecum that would be a great start. Then wait to try and sign a reclaimation pitcher! I'd like Josh Johnson but would take Santana.
That would leave Sandy to figure out the 4 spots in the order that need to be upgraded. To me Drew is the shortstop,I want them to get. It gives the lineup more Lefty/righty balance. Aswell as signing Beltran,who also gives veteran leadership to a young team. I'd play Beltran in left. For Rightfield,I'd go after Byrd or Cruz. Then to help fix 1st base go international and sign Abreu. That's my wishlist
I honestly don't care who gets signed or traded for. To me, this is NY, and it's just not right that they're allowed to operate below 100 million in payroll.
It's not the fans fault and if it was true that the mets could've added a player like Bourn last year, then that would've probably raise their payroll over 100 million. So why can't they do it again this year when there's zero bad contracts?
I'm pissed and if this doesn't turn around, I'm done with the team until the Wilpons are gone. I'm not putting up with this crap anymore because none of us should have to.
ok so here's my take on all this. If a loss of 2 million fans over the last 5 years isn't enough to make our team re-access their business model and shake ownership to their core then nothing will do it. On the positive side is the fact that this year we had a $94 million dollar payroll of which $48 million was totally dead money which means we were operating a major league team in New York City on $46 MILLION FRIGGIN DOLLARS which is almost (hey we're the Mets)impossible to believe. Sandy would have to royally screw up to not improve this team to at least the .500 level this year...right? It's depressing enough to watch real teams play in the playoff's but to not really know if your team's ownership is really trying to improve or just covering their asses to the press makes it even worse.
Mack,
Agree 100% on need to add legit quality MLB starter. Goal for 2014 should be NL East title, with or without Harvey. As good as he was, Mets were 13-13 in his starts last year. Add a legit MLB starter, a DiceK type to compete for the #5, and a legit bullpen arm that can close if needed, and make the pitching as good as anyone in the NL east. Remember, the Marlins gave up less runs that the Mets last year, and they have Big Jose healthy for 2014, so all this banter about the pitching is just banter right now. Stock the 12 on the MLB level so there are no weak links - no Manny Acostsa, Brandon Lyons, Colin McHughs, and then go get the bats. It will take $100 mil in 2014 payroll, but it is doable without depletng the farm of getting bogged down with real long contracts.
Yes, I'm cheering. You are 100% correct, Mack. It all comes down to the Wilpons. But I also concur that the Sandy Alderson business model does not work in NYC, which has the greatest revenue-earning potential in MLB.
The thing I sometimes ponder: WHAT IF Beltran crushed a double in 2006? What if they won the World Series? Wouldn't that have effected the team and the budget in 2007? The team was on the verge of a completely different model and they were thisclose to seeing it come to fruition.
I am not a scientist, so I don't have the authority to forcefully make this opinion, but my belief that is that there's a widespread misunderstanding of PEDs. First, they are not all the same. In the early days of Steroids, sure, the effects were short-term. But what about HGH and its variants. Is all that growth suddenly undone after 3 months? I know a kid who takes takes them for medical reasons. He's bigger and stronger now, and I think that's forever. He's not going to shrink. So if that's true -- or reasonably halfway true -- it stands to reason that a Player X (let's call him Marlon Byrd), can take SOMETHING, do his 50 game suspension, and then reap the benefit of those enhancements for years. In which case, if true (this is just a theory, I can't prove anything), it tells me that it is totally worth it for fringe players to try the PEDS, do their time, and then come back strong.
JP ("2 Guys")
Mack I have a question?
I can't remember where I read it,or saw it! Do you remember when Sandy was signed,did he coin the phrase Moneyball with money? Or was it the beat writers? For some reason I'm thinking it was JP Riccairdi who said it!
I don't know where you got your $80 million figure. Everything I've read indicates that the team has about $55 million tied up in contracts, estimated arbitration awards, and pre-arbs, and that the payroll will be under $100 million, probably in the vicinity of last year's, not less. That leaves about $40 million for acquisitions and FA signings.
If $40 million is about right, I would not rush to sign a Garza or Lincecim (or Tanaka) since there are just too maly hones to fill. I'm not going to rant and whine about not having a 9 figure payroll because I know it is not happening THIS YEAR. So, I'll live within the $40 million budget, and sign Kazmir or Arroyo or Nolasco, and add Dice-K or Harang for depth. Then I'd bring back Hawkins to complete the pitching brigade.
For position players, we need 2 outfielders and a shortstop . . maybe one bench player in addition to a decent basck-up catcher. I'm betting that Ike is your openning day 1B, with Satin on the bench as his backup. For the outfield I could see 1 trade and 1 FA signing. On the trade market, you know Braun is my first choice, but I'd be ecstatic with Kemp too, (Ethier not so much) and CarGo or Bautista would be fine too. I'd sign Beltran if I could, or Cruz or Byrd if Beltran elects to go elsewhere. So many options to replace Tejada. Any one of Drew, Peralta, Lowrie, Alcedes, Aybar, Andrus, Howell, etc. would be a significant upgrade. I wouldn't mind bringing back Buck to back up Td'A. I think Salty will be too expensive.
So my opening day rotation would be sommething like Wheeler, Niese, Kazmir, Gee, with Mejia and Dice-K duking it out for the 5th spot. And my opening day lineup would be:
Young - 2B
Beltran - RF
Wright - 3B
Braun/Kemp - LF
Davis - 1B
d'Arnaud/Buck - C
Drew - SS
Lagares - CF
That's a team with a $95 million payroll that should compete in the NL East or for a WC.
James, do you recall that the team that beat us in 2006 had a payroll of $88.8 million, while our payroll was over $100 million?
That is an expensive wishlist
Steve... I don't think it was Alderson
The Mets lack an identity, they are a franchise adrift in a sea of mediocrity. I'm not talking about individual players like Wright or Harvey. I mean as a brand, a franchise and an organization. It's difficult, impossible really, to be as nondescript as the Mets are currently. Yes, there is great pitching on the horizon but that can said by just about any team. You can't look at the potential greatness of our pitching in a vacuum, because off the top of my head fans of the Pirates, Cardinals, Reds, Rays, Marlins, A's and many, many more can say the same thing. The Mets need to make bold strokes this offseason and bring back some big-city swagger, and most importantly attitude to this franchise. Because right now, asking the question, Who are the Mets? Would elicit few, if any, clear or satisfying answers.
Is there anyone else that thinks there's a CHANCE Tejeda can return to his 2011-2012 form offensively (.287/.338/.345 combined 2011-2012) and defensively? Drew, Peralta etc. do nothing for me except subtract resources for getting OF bats & pitching.
Hobie, I don't think it is solely his recent lack of production that works against him. It seems that his perceived attitude and poor work ethic has soured the FO on him. I imagine Alderson might give him another (last) chance, thinking he can always sign someone next year.
It is my understanding that he became highly influenced by Jordany Valdespin
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