Mack Ade – Morning Report – 10-31-13 – David Ortiz, Golden Gloves, Glut, My Starting Lineup, More Stuff

 

Andrew Vazzano ‏@AVSNY  - "Outside of Boston, 70% of baseball fans - maybe more - think David Ortiz is using performance enhancing drugs"  - Mike Francesa

                Mack – Those of you that know me know of my radio background, so I want to break down what Francesa said and why.

                First, never think that talk radio is reality. Everything you are listening to was created by either someone else, or the ‘disc jockey’ you are listening to. Yes, all they are, are disc jockeys without music.

The Mike Francesa and Howard Eskin’s of the world are creations of Program Directors that encourage their ‘personalities’ to go out of their way in expressing their fringe opinions. I remind people of the early 70s when I was the Sales Manager of WKTU-FM. Don Imus came into town from Cleveland and became the new star on WNBC. At the same time, Howard Stern was working weekends on an FM station in Briarcliff Manor. What people didn’t realize that Stern was a genuine nice person who decided his on-air שטיק  (schtick) would be exactly the opposite. At the same time, Imus took a gentler approach on the air while, in real life, he was a genuine prick.

And Rush? A failed Midwest disc jockey that was hired and told to learn what a conservative was.

And the same went for television. I was VP of the radio ‘bad paper’ for GE Capital in 1991. I reported to Michael Eskridge, who founded and created CNBC-TV. I always remember what he said to the staff in the first department head meeting… ‘if you have someone on the air in the first fifteen minutes of the hour that tells you to buy Cisco stock, make sure you have someone in the third fifteen minute segment that recommends you to sell Cisco stock’.

Never, never, never take the Mike Francesa’s of the world serious.

 It’s just entertainment.

 

Ira Robbins on Lou Reed: An Appreciation – worth the read: http://observer.com/2013/10/lou-reed-an-appreciation/

 

Andre asked –

                Hey Mack. I can’t believe that David Wright didn’t win a Golden Glove Award and Juan Lagares wasn’t even a finalist. This is wrong.

                                Mack – Awards are nice but excellent defense is much more important.

                                Lagares was a breath of fresh air in 2013, but he only had 392 at-bats, and, remember, Wright was out for over six weeks. Only one player per position per division wins these things so I wouldn’t sweat it. The important thing is to try and figure out if Lagares is for real. A .281 OBP is not going to hack it in the majors no matter how many people he throws out at home.

 

Fred Wilpon –

                Nor could Wilpon offer any insight into the competition at first base, though he acknowledged that "something's got to happen there with the logjam." More likely than not, the solution will come from within the organization. Wilpon said that the Mets didn't seriously pursue highly touted Cuban defector Jose Abreu, largely because the team doesn't view first base as a position of need. Abreu recently agreed to a six-year, $68 million deal with the Chicago White Sox.

                                Mack – This one is easy. If your owner says you didn’t bid on a first baseman because you have too many of them, you’re not going to bid on Boston’s Mike Napoli either.

It’s Davis or Duda, folks.

 

Mark my word… the Dodgers will sign P David Price.and  Masahiro Tanaka.

 

Just for grins, here’s my prediction for the 2014 Mets starting lineup:

1B – Ike Davis – He’ll get a last chance to prove what we all really know anyway. He has the talent to be a major league first baseman.

2B – Wilmer Flores – Daniel Murphy will depart in a deal that will give Flores the chance to add 80+ RBIs into the equation.

SS – Stephen Drew – Drew represents the perfect image for the Mets and a three year deal here would fit perfect into future Mets plans for this position.

3B – David Wright

C – Travis d’Arnaud – An injury free 2014 could add 25-HRs and 80-RBIs to this lineup.

RF – Michael Cuddyer – Acquired in the Murphy deal, he also represents the perfect backup at first base in case Davis flops again

CF – Juan Lagares – Lagares will get the opportunity to improve on his OBP because of the addition of bats in the lineup

LF – Eric Young Jr. – EYJ will hold the fort down waiting on the arrival of Cesar Puello.

Rotation – Zack Wheeler, Jon Niese, Dillon Gee, Jenrry Mejia, Daisuke Matsuzaka – Dice-K will hold the fort down awaiting either Rafael Montero or  Noah Syndergaard.

I don’t expect much more because I believe that the free agent market is sparse, and that 29 other teams will outbid us for many other players available in free agency. The general opinion in this sport is keep away from the Mets and the Wilpons, so this leaves only trading, drafting, and signing international free agents as your primary options to rebuild this team.

Cuddyer and Drew would be two great additions and this team will be defined by the kids (Flores, d’Arnaud, Puello, Syndergaard, Montero) that will become an intricate part of the 25-man squad

 

Adam Rubin –

 

                Teams are permitted to bid and sign other teams' free agents on the sixth day after the World Series. That means the Mets and other teams can start bidding on any available free agent on Tuesday. 

 

Tim Britton/Providence Journal

 

If nothing else, Xander Bogaerts' revelatory postseason has confirmed the high opinion the Red Sox front office had of the organization's top prospect. That emergence in turn can affect the way Boston approaches free agency. The Red Sox can offer Stephen Drew a qualifying offer but feel fine if and when he rejects it. They probably don't have to find a suitable veteran to compete with Bogaerts at short in spring training. Boston can enter the spring just about certain of who Bogaerts' place in the Opening Day lineup. http://www.providencejournal.com/sports/red-sox/content/20131030-xander-bogaerts-has-excelled-on-postseason-stage.ece

 

                Mack – Thank Boggarts if or when Drew becomes a Met. 

 

Gary Seagran asked me about my opinion on adding the DH to the National League. We’re going to use that as the main topic in ‘The War Room’ on Sunday (oops… just gave an advance promo on what The Mack’s Mets Report is going to do…).

All of this hype came from one reporter asking the Commissioner if there was any chance of this happening. The Commish said anything can happen, which was nothing more than a generalization. I don’t see it. Let the two leagues have this one thing that keeps them from being identical. We’ll talk more on Sunday. 

 

It was a great World Series... two great teams with the proper mix of veterans and talented rookies. Both teams were not afraid to showcase their recently drafted (or internationally signed) talent regardless of age or experience. It’s time to move on to one of my favorite time of the year… the Hot Stove season. This is when Christopher Soto and I drive you crazy with all our ‘FLASH’ posts every time someone of some significance is signed or traded. Hey, it’s a lot more exciting than one more of the “What if So And So…” or “Mets Prospect Profile” posts that are like liter all over the Mets blogs out there in Mets-land.  

 

Jason Mast –

 

                With Matt Harvey out and much of their young pitching potentially on the move in the offseason, the Mets need to bring in a veteran starter. Why not have it be Roy Halladay? He is not likely to command an expensive or multi-year contract, leaving Alderson room to spend on bats, and spacious Citi Field is a great environment for an intelligent pitcher like Halladay to reinvent himself in. Halladay could also serve in an unofficial player-coach capacity. A starter with his expertise and knowledge can only help in the transitioning of the Mets’ many young pitchers from the minors to the show. On a one year deal, the Mets have nothing to lose. If he struggles, it’s only for one year and he can still provide tutelage to his younger brethren. Should he succeed, then the Mets can keep him down the stretch if they’re in contention and ship him off for prospects if they are not. http://risingapple.com/2013/10/31/roy-halladay-mets/

                Mack – I know… he’s not the pitcher he used to be and his fastball doesn’t hit 92 anymore (read the whole post), but also won’t command the big money he has been getting from the Phillies all those years he kicked the hell out of our hitters.

                Let me ask it this way… Halladay for one year or Dice-K? 

 

 

And lastly… the one thing you can count one here every day… the Morning Report… may have some ‘outages’ in the future. I have some med issues to deal with that will include an operation sometime next month. I’ll do the best I can do here, but there might be some short content days (or no content at all). Don’t worry, the other writers assure me that they will step up and keep the site active, but, if you log in and find there is no ‘Mack’s Morning Report’ on a given day, that doesn’t mean there won’t be one the following day.

One thing… if someone would like to spell me during the month of November and write the morning report (1,000 words a day of cut and paste with comments plus original material), contact me at: Macksmets@gamail.com.

We’ll move on together… just a little slower.