Mack Ade Morning Report – 11-15-13 – Site, Pete Rose, Matt Kemp, Joel Carreno, Meetings

 

A very long and frustrating day yesterday.

I finally just got sick and tired of the website freezing and crashing so I asked the fellow Mets writers to help and Christopher Soto stepped up to the plate. We got the old Blogger site back up, which does have its own limitations; however, crashing wasn’t one of them. I was averaging having to re-boot my computer 8-10 times a day to get things done in a timely manner (I can hear Darth Mets Blogger from the Death Star laughing…) so our loyal readers can follow the writers here. Hopefully, all the writers will make the conversion back my sometime this weekend and the comments will come back to the level we have been enjoying on the macksmetsreport.com location. This has been a frustrating time during a frustrating period of being a Mets follower, but it beats a diagnosis of lung cancer any day.

 

The New York Mets hit five more home runs than the St. Louis Cardinals last year.

 

Joe Posnanski -

Pete Rose played baseball with an intensity and love that might be unmatched in the game’s history. He cracked more hits and reached base more times than anyone ever. He represented a way to play baseball that inspired millions of people. Then, he gambled on games, breaking one of baseball’s most cherished rules. Rose is 72 years old now, and I think it’s time to let him back into the game. I don’t think anyone should ask him to apologize again or come any cleaner than he has. I don’t think anyone should expect Pete Rose to be something that he is not. It has been almost 25 years. He has paid his debt. http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/11/13/pete-rose-has-paid-his-debt-let-him-back-into-the-game/

Mack – We’re close to 25 years since Rose was banished from baseball for betting on the game. He was simply the greatest ballplayer of his 24-year career and I think he has paid enough for his ‘crime’. If there’s room for Skip Bayless in this game, there has to be somewhere for Rose. 

Jeff Sullivan –

In the last two years, Kemp has had pretty major hamstring issues. He’s had ankle issues, and he’s had both major and minor shoulder surgery. His isolated power dropped to .125, cutting the previous season almost in half, and where Kemp’s never been considered a defensive whiz, he might not even be a realistic center fielder anymore given what’s gone on with his lower body. The healthy version wasn’t real good. Now he’s older and he’s got more scars. It’s not at all impossible for Kemp to get back to being a good regular player. As a matter of fact, I’d say it’s very possible. He is still young, and he is still extremely talented. Probably, he won’t return to being a star, and given the amount of money he’s guaranteed, to take that all on would be to roll the dice on Kemp being really good again right away. That’s not the 50% projection. That’s more like the 70 or 80% projection. Trading for Kemp and his salary indicates a belief he’ll be terrific. All that is a possibility, and he could just as easily be a corner outfielder with reduced power from this point forward. Kemp has basically the same career wRC+ as Ethier does. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/on-the-cost-of-moving-matt-kemp/

Mack – I don’t know. This sure sounds like an awful lot of money for a ‘buyer beware’ sign on the front lawn. 

Ben Badler –

The Mets quickly snapped up righthander Joel Carreno, who could be one of the steals (a relative term, of course) of the minor league free agent class. Carreno, who turns 27 in March, throws in the low 90s with a curveball that can help him miss bats, something he did more of in 2013 than ever before, perhaps in part because the Blue Jays made him a full-time reliever for the first time in his career. After striking out 25 percent of batters in his minor league career, Carreno’s strikeout rate jumped to 34 percent last year between Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Buffalo with a 2.43 composite ERA. Now he’s pitching well for Escogido in the Dominican League. The Red Sox just paid $4 million for 27-year-old Cuban righthander Dalier Hinojosa, who might not even be as good as Carreno. —Ben Badler http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/minor-league-free-agents-with-intrigue/

Mack – There are the kind of players our fearless leader has been famous in finding. We could use all the bullpen help we can find, so this would be a nice find if it worked out. 

David Lennon –

As they move into the next phase of the offseason, the three-week stretch between the GM meetings and MLB's winterfest Dec. 9 at Disney, Alderson believes we may see some movement. From a PR standpoint, the Mets can use a bump, if only to turn down the thermostat in the front office for a few days. Outside, people are getting anxious about their team. http://www.newsday.com/sports/no-one-will-take-mets-seriously-until-they-spend-money-and-sign-a-free-agent-1.6433475

Mack – The GM meetings have been real bust for the Mets fans. I’m not sure they are for the Mets because only a couple of players have signed anywhere and this whole process definitely is in the early stages. That being said, even the private meetings (Jhonny Peralta) have become public and you wonder if his “I want much more money than…” salvo wasn’t in response to the lack of confidentiality here. Mets fans are far past whether the first deal done is a financially responsible one. They just want a signing.