Mack’s Morning Report – 12-9 – Latin PED Users, Johan Santana, Carlos Beltran, Lucas Duda, Howard on Grandy

Steve Randel -

I mentioned before that all the condemned players besides Ryan Braun were Latinos, and many of these guys believed certain banned substances sped up the healing process after injury. Many are insecure about their careers and worry about getting released and sent home. A case in point was that of Francisco Cervelli of the New York Yankees, the catcher who is in line to back up newly acquired Brian McCann next season. Over the last three years, the energetic Venezuelan has played only 63 games for the Bronx Bombers, spending most of his time in the minor leagues or on the DL shelf. During that period of time, Cervelli has suffered a broken foot, numerous concussions, a fractured right hand and an elbow issue. “I’ve felt many times in my career that I was going to lose my job,” admits the 27-year-old receiver, who says he was looking for a “quick fix” when he visited Tony Bosch’s clinic. Nicaragua’s Everth Cabrera, the shortstop and lead-off hitter for the San Diego Padres, has a similar story to tell. Frustrated with nagging injuries, Cabrera tinkered with remedies Bosch had sent him. Later, he tearfully told teammates in English and Spanish that he had made a mistake  http://throughthefencebaseball.com/yasmani-grandal-ped/40431#sQodI37A9kYGmxwh.99

Mack – Most fans of this game don’t realize that the majority of ballplayers never make the big money we write about every day. For every Curtis Granderson, there are 10 Daniel Herrera’s that never make more than the pissy minor league money paid in this game. Additionally, these are players   who get a sugar high for a couple of years, but most of that money is sent home to help their family and, once their career goes away, they are left high and dry without a US passport.

You have no idea what kind of lifestyle (or lack of one) these ballplayers came from. Most of the homes they grew up in had no running water or sewer system. Their only road out of this both for themselves and their family is to keep their ‘day job’, playing baseball in America.

I’m not defending their usage of substances that they feel will help heal injuries faster. I just want you to realize why it happens mostly to young, Latin players.  
 

It quickly went around the Orlando hotel lobby that the Mets were one of the teams interested in talking with representatives for SP Johan Santana. Considering the Mets paid him five million additional dollars less than two months ago, the least they could do was share some salmon with Sandy...  I love the idea... let's say 1-yr, $3mil deal with a ton of incentive clauses that get to $10mil if he gives the team 200-innings and 10-wins...


Carlos Beltran signs a 3-yr, $45-mil deal with the New York Yankees

I guess $15mil a year is the going rate right now for an outfielder. Good for Carlos. I’m not sure if the Mets are now talented enough to compete for a playoff spot in 2014, but it got a lot easier with Beltran’s bat now in the American League. You just don’t want to play against this guy in the playoffs. Unless you are talking about the year… oh, never mind. 
 

Paul West - http://throughthefencebaseball.com/lucas-duda-player-watch/40463#utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

One thing even Lucas Duda’s detractors have to admit: He clearly performs better at the plate when he’s at first base. This is why moving him to his natural position solved two problems at once: It closed a gaping hole in the Mets’ outfield defense, and it allowed Duda to relax and stop stressing about being a gaping hole in the Mets’ outfield defense. When  Duda hits the ball, he clobbers it. If nothing else, he’s proven that he’s got tremendous raw power and can hit the ball out of any park in baseball. Being a lefty, this is of particular importance to the Mets, even after the acquisition of Granderson. If Duda emerges as the kind of lefty power threat he can be, the effect will ripple up and down the lineup. Duda’s lineup protection can make proven hitters like Granderson and David Wright even more dangerous, and will also remove pressure from the bottom of the order. But Duda’s importance isn’t just about his power; after all, the enigmatic, temperamental Ike Davis had as much power as anyone, and he might be the most frustrating Mets hitter since Luis Castillo. What separates Duda from Davis is that he’s a threat to do more than hit it 400 feet.  http://throughthefencebaseball.com/lucas-duda-player-watch/40463#xwGKweCghjP16klJ.99

Mack – There sure seems to be an awful of lot of additional Mets national press since the Grandy signing. Maybe baseball people are taking this team more serious.

Howard Megdal on Curtis Granderson –

These Mets don’t have any such pipeline in the outfield. Granderson might be worth 2.4 wins above replacement, if Dan Szymborski’s ZIPS is to be believed (and lord knows, it should be). But replacement is an amorphous term. The outfielders the Mets have on hand without Granderson aren’t likely to rise to even that minimal level of production.

And as Toby Hyde, Mets prospect guru, pointed out when I asked him, no one in the organization is likely to rise to Granderson’s production, even in 2015. Squint hard, and you can maybe see Brandon Nimmo there by 2016. Of course, baseball teams still require three outfielders, and Chris Young is signed for only one year, so a logjam is unlikely.

            Mack – Gee… I remember when I was the ‘Mets prospect guru'  L