Coming up Later -
10 am – Christopher Soto – Mack’s
Mets Top 25- #19 1B Jayce Boyd
12 noon - Mack's Mets Writers Interview with 1B Dominic Smith
12 noon - Mack's Mets Writers Interview with 1B Dominic Smith
2 pm – Christopher
Soto – Position Battles Worth Watching: So....Who's the Starting 1B?
Dan Plesac @Plesac19 -
Two young pitchers I'm expecting breakout seasons from ?
A.L.: #royals LHP Dan Duffy. N.L. : #Mets RHP Zack
Wheeler. Both have the stuff.
Camp Update –
Cory Vaughn, Travis d’Arnaud,
Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Daniel Murphy have
arrived at camp… per Kevin Kiernan: Dice-K wants
5th spot, EY wants leadoff, Hef is workout buddy4Harvey, Niese wants OD start
again, lots of players come early
Who wins the fifth
starter’s spot? -
Typically, the veteran gets the nod early on, with the
prospects with options (or not even yet on the 40-man roster) heading to
Triple-A. If that is the case, Daisuke Matsuzaka and
John Lannan should slug it out in spring
training for the fifth spot, with Jenrry Mejia also
a candidate. That means Jacob deGrom and Rafael Montero much more likely start in Triple-A.
Both Dice-K and Lannan are in camp on minor-league deals. They have June “outs”
in their contracts if not promoted to the majors by then. http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/80995/pitching-preview-well-armed-minus-harvey
Mack – This story does open up a different scenario
that we haven’t considered before. Maybe we should stop looking at the 5th
starter as someone that is going to be replaced after the all-star break by
either Rafael Montero or Noah Syndergaard. Maybe we simply shouldn’t look past the June
‘out’ that the winner of the Dice-K, John Lannan ST battle becomes qualified for. Obviously, if
the results of this camp battle tanks by the time June rolls around, Jnerry
Mejia could take over then (after joining Montero and Thor in the Vegas
rotation in April). If the winner is doing well in June… well, just one more
positive pitching option.
Vic Black is an intriguing character. When the
Mets received him as the Player to be Named Later from the Marlon Byrd/John
Buck trade, he immediately stepped into the New York bullpen where he put up a
3.46 ERA in 13 IP, struck out 12 and walked only 4. It was a nice sign from a
guy who had an average fastball velocity of 95.5, and who can ratchet that up
when needed. He appears to be a future setup man or closer, but a detailed look
shows that there are some questions marks about this new Met sensation. http://mets360.com/?p=20629
Mack – I remember the day before Black was named as the PTBNL
that the General Manager of Pittsburgh reassured the Mets fans that they would
be very pleased with the player they wound up with. You’re going to see a lot
of him in spring training, especially since Bobby Parnell told reporters
yesterday that he’s around ‘two weeks behind’ in his schedule. I expect Black
to break camp as the 8th inning setup pitcher and I hope the Bucs’
GM was right.
1st Base –
First base is without a doubt the biggest question mark of
camp, and to be honest I'm not 100% sure its much of a question at all. The Mets appear set to offer Ike Davis 80-100 at-bats this spring in an effort to
"win" the job. It begs the
question, when will Lucas Duda get his
reps? If this is truly a competition, I
would expect each player to get his equal share. There certainly haven't been any references
to Davis playing some other position he's fair from suited to play. I'll let you in on a pretty poorly kept
secret... If Ike Davis is still with the
team come March 31st, unless he has just a simply awful spring, he will be the
team's first baseman on opening day. He
provides the higher upside, has the higher salary and still remains the distant
front runner to assume the role. http://effingmets.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-biggest-questions-of-mets-camp.html
Mack – I agree that first base is Ike Davis’ to lose this spring, which should
leave Duda without a team to play for. Josh Satin is an adequate backup and
Daniel Murphy can step in during an emergency. As for Las Vegas, nobody jumps
out there (Alan Dykstra, Brandon Allen, Eric Campbell, Matt Clark), so Duda
could go back there and beat up on the thin air until some deal is made with
another club (Jayce Boyd won’t push the Vegas roster until 2015). Yeah, I don’t
see any more decisions to be made here… Davis in Queens, Duda in Vegas.
Mets OF –
Curtis Granderson, Chris Young, Juan Lagares and Eric Young Jr. will compete for the starting outfield,
which will mostly be determined by who hits best in spring training, Sandy
Alderson told WFAN in Tuesday
Mack – I expect everything about this team will be based on
offense especially since the general consensus is, no matter what combination
they come up with, the team on the field will be in the upper half of defensive
skills in the league.
As important, the starting rotation looks to have the talent
to produce three or less innings in the first six innings they pitch. Add these
two facts together, and you got yourself a ballgame, every game.
I’m sure Curtis Granderson and
David Wright will get their bats, but everyone
else’s participation will be based on the temperature of theirs
MiLB Lawsuit
From the “I’m surprised it has taken this long” department, three former minor leaguers – Aaron Senne, Michael Liberto and Oliver Odle — have filed a putative class action lawsuit against Major League Baseball alleging that minor leaguers are underpaid and exploited and that the Uniform Player Contract unfairly takes advantage of them.
The upshot: excluding bonuses which only a few minor leaguers get in any real size, Major League Baseball often pays minor leaguers less than $7,500 for an entire season and requires mandatory overtime in violation of state and federal wage laws. The Uniform Player Contract they are required to sign binds them to a team and keeps them from shopping their services elsewhere. Though they are only paid during the season, they are required to perform duties such as training, meetings and the like all year long and their duties and obligations to the club extend on a year-round basis too. - http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/02/11/three-former-minor-leaguers-file-a-class-action-suit-against-major-league-baseball-over-low-wages/
MiLB Lawsuit
From the “I’m surprised it has taken this long” department, three former minor leaguers – Aaron Senne, Michael Liberto and Oliver Odle — have filed a putative class action lawsuit against Major League Baseball alleging that minor leaguers are underpaid and exploited and that the Uniform Player Contract unfairly takes advantage of them.
The upshot: excluding bonuses which only a few minor leaguers get in any real size, Major League Baseball often pays minor leaguers less than $7,500 for an entire season and requires mandatory overtime in violation of state and federal wage laws. The Uniform Player Contract they are required to sign binds them to a team and keeps them from shopping their services elsewhere. Though they are only paid during the season, they are required to perform duties such as training, meetings and the like all year long and their duties and obligations to the club extend on a year-round basis too. - http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/02/11/three-former-minor-leaguers-file-a-class-action-suit-against-major-league-baseball-over-low-wages/
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9 comments:
Mack,
Good stuff as usual. I have been all over Alderson, and with good reason, but he has done just what was needed with the SP. Yeah, Colon carries some risk, but they now have a lot of decent arms, with kids behind that. I could even see DiceK winning the 5th, with Lannan as long man and Mejia in the pen.
Regarding the MiLB suit, I have always wondered about this as well. With all the money in the game, wouldn't it make more sense to trickle a little more down to pay these guys a living wage with benefits? I mean, MLB is the best 750 guys, and they make good coin. Throw in the next best 450 on the 40 man, plus the other minor leaguers of about 2,500 to field A, A=, AA, and AAA teams, that is about 3,000 out of 7 billion people as elite at their craft. Baseball can't find a way to pay the non-bonus guys say $75K/year with benefits on a year-round paycheck to support themselves and feed their families? Agreed, that is a joke.
Has anybody heard if there r any rumors of the mets making a push to sign cuban ss A Diaz? Thanks.
Minor minor leaguers pay........we often seem to almost forget that professional athletes are 'employees' of a company. ......
And, technically, there are many state employment laws regarding employees who are under 18, and how many hours they are allowed to work, per day and per week...........
That being said: nobody has to work a job they don't have to......even if it is their dream..........
In Los Angeles alone, I met hundreds of struggling artists, and personally saw their struggle to work low wage jobs, work for free (intern) (independent films, etc) and actually pay money to try and make it.
And there are thousands more out there I never personally met.
Couple of quick questions: on the Lannan and Dice K deals, can they be optioned to the minors before their June deadlines if they start poorly or are they there to stay til June if they start with Big Club; and 2. didn't Alderson say that both Ike and Duda have minor league options? and if so, isn't it true they don't earn MLB salary while if optioned to minors? if that is true, the actual money saver could be sending Davis to Vegas, but not sure what his prorated salary would be there
Ernest,
Good point regarding the struggling artists, but I think there is a big difference. The artists are independent contractors. Prospects are "property" of teams. I would think that it would benefit teams to have athletes at that level low A through AAA, that are paid a "living wage". This would alleviate some financial stress, would allow for standard of living increases like better eating, and would likely allow them to perform better on their job. This is even important for non-prospects, and guys that never make it to the bigs, since the better the "organizational" guys are, the better tested the prospects will be. It just strikes me that the cost isn't that big relative to the money in the industry. I understand baseball is not welfare, but even the guys that will never make it are elite atheletes and have a rare skill that contributes to the overall financial health of a billion dollar business.
Many artists, like my wife, are active members of a union (SAG/AFTRA).....they pay dues every year, and dont get anything in return from union, unless your a tom cruise type who makes a ton, and thus qualifies for health ins, and many other benefits of the union....you also cant act/sing/perform for certain other people/independents. ............ok, boring offseason causing this current discussion. Lol...........
Bottom line I agree with you 100% on need for basic wages to earn a living, especially for all the AAAA type players, and 23+ year old A ball players.
Greg -
I don't think there is any interest at all. He's not that big of a prospect
Anonymous -
I believe Ike has one more option and Duda has more than one.
I have no idea how the Lannan/Dice K deals work... sorry.
For someone who has proven to be shrewd with the dollar (Chris Young signing notwithstanding), if my understanding of contracts and arbitration is correct then Sandy Alderson made a HUGE goof when it came to settling before the arbiters heard the players' cases. Arbitration money is not guaranteed and a team can still cut a player if deemed prudent to do so. However, when they voluntarily negotiate a contract with the same player to avoid going to arbitration, I THINK (but can't swear) that money is indeed guaranteed. Consequently sending Ike Davis to Las Vegas doesn't save a dime since they didn't go to arbitration.
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