11/22/14

The Morning Report – November 22 – Expansion, Pat Roessler, Eno-Chat, Wilmer Flores



I know all you of you know that one of the sites I go to five times a day is Cot[i]. I even leave it open in lower case form so I just flip it open when I need to check out a certain team.

We’re spending a lot of time trying to speculate where some the excess Mets pitching will wind up someday. Well, let me tell you… those other 29 teams draft or sign just as many pitchers as the Mets do and, if you click down the teams and do the math, everybody seems to have too much pitching.
And then there is the desire to fill their squad with team controlled players rather than established players with bloated contracts. This morning, on MLB-TV in was San Diego and Cincinnati that plans on selling off some of ‘their pitching’.

It makes one wonder if this wouldn’t be a good time for baseball to consider expansion to 32 teams. You come up with some workable formula for each team to lose two of their 40-man squad and you basically have enough for two teams to start off with both a major league team but also a AAA affiliate.
You could expand this kind of draft to the AA/A level and you now have your four full season teams. Lastly, the draft and an international signing period would fill in the low-A, one rookie, and one DSL team.
Just thinking out loud…



The Mets have hired former Yankees farm director Pat Roessler as the assistant hitting coach. He also will do some other unannounced duties. Roessler was fired by the Yankees at the end of the 2014 season after serving as the director of player development from 2005 to 2014. That’s a lot of experience and you simply can’t have enough ex-farm directors in your system. Roessler also joins his buddy, Kevin Long, who is the Mets new senior hitting coach. You have to assume that all this old Yankee blood makes Curtis Granderson much happier playing in Queens rather than the Bronx.

Do members of a major league baseball team, who have climbed this impossible ladder to baseball success, actually turn to pitching coaches to help their swing?

Well, I’ll tell you what. You go out to a game three hours early and be the first let in the gate when it opens… or you go to every spring training game in April… and you find me someone in the cage with one of these guys asking them to help them play baseball.

Throw BP at 60 mph, yes…  but…



Comment From Greg - the Mets have all the pitching, will they go use it to acquire a bat? Cespedes would be a start somewhere.

Eno Sarris: If anyone wants Niese, Colon, Gee or any combo of the three, they can probably have them for offense. Does anyone want them?

Comment From john - I see everyone wants the mets to trade for a SS, and yet the only SS they can realistically afford (prospects wise) are not upgrades over Wilmer Flores. Ramirez projects to be 0.3 wins better, but gets paid 10 mil vs the league minimum, and flores will still only be 23 on opening day. Gregorius is a downgrade, wins wise, and so is Owings and Miller. Why give up a cost-controlled pitcher for a non-upgrade? It makes no sense. At this point, if they can’t get Tulo, they should just go with what they have

Eno Sarris: I don’t believe the projections for Flores. I don’t believe he’s a shortstop defensively.

Comment From Guest - Castro to the Mets makes stupid amounts of sense, no?

Comment From Cichago Cubs - Do you agree that it’s quite stupid to trade Castro? Prospects are not 100% and neither are pitchers. Castro is in the bag already.

Eno Sarris: I mean the Mets need a shortstop in my estimation. But the second is also true. They don’t yet have another shortstop that has shown he’s worthy in the major leagues!

Mack – Frankly, I post these ‘chats’ as a subject so I can yak about them and post them for your comments.

The frustrating part is we still can’t get past the subject of a shortstop and I guess we won’t until someone else is brought into the organization.
I go over and over the numbers, stats, etc. and I just don’t see a perfect solution from any of the excess guppies out there on other teams. The ones who can hit, can’t field… the fielders have no pop… and the best all-around one (Owings) is coming off injuries.

Now don’t get me wrong… you can have one of Dillon Gee, Bartolo Colon, or Jonathan Niese for any of them, but nobody seems to want these guys.

Past that, the Mets have six prospect starters and it probably would be best to hold on to the least projectable (Rafael Montero) in case anyone heads to the DL.

For now, and possibly the entire 2015 season, Flores is the Mets shortstop regardless of how many errors he makes or how ungraceful he completes the double play.

Comment From john - but the question is, does Montero or Syndergaard or wheeler or degrom or matz, would you give up any of those mets pitchers for didi gregorius or alexi ramirez? because niese or gee are not getting the job done

Eno Sarris: Yes this is the question. I get Nervous around DeGrom, 
Syndergaard, would say no there. I know some people I trust that love Matz. Montero is good, but I *might* trade him. I like his fastball, and command, but the secondary stuff…

Mack – And this is why I continue to lobby for Montero to join the Mets pen as the long or middle man…

Comment From Dr. Met - Everytime I see a picture of Jeff Wilpon lurking behind Sandy in a press conference, I feel so depressed for my fandom. Just me?

Eno Sarris: I hate the Wilpons, I’ll admit it out loud. Meddling owners who made their money to buy the team in a ponzi scheme.

Comment From Avid Mets Fan - d’Arnaud or Plawecki for the future?

Eno Sarris: TdA for me. Great framer, bat’s coming.

Comment From Avid Mets Fan - Who’s the ace in our rotation? Harvey/deGrom/Wheeler/Syndergaard?

Eno Sarris: Still Harvey.




The Detroit Tigers designated for assignment ex-Met outfielder Ezequeil Carrera. The ex-Mets prospect played his last full season in the Mets organization in 2008 for St. Lucie (430-AB, .263-AB.

He was traded in a three team that lost the Mets Carrera, Endy Chavez, Aaron Heilman, Mike Carp, and Jason Vargas.

Carrera bounced around for Seattle Cleveland, Philadelphia and Detroit. His best year was this past season, for AAA-Toledo: 374-AB, .307, 6-HR, 41-RBI, and 43-stolen bases.


Carrera is 27 years old



17 comments:

Ernest Dove said...

I stopped caring about the Wilmer Flores haters a long time ago. At this point its simply become routine to still argue about his defense. Even after he hits bombs. Has a 6 rbi game, and turns a double play, we still have to point out the error in a random game and the sky falls on his 'lack of range'..........
He will not cost, nor produce, any more significant games then anybody else the Mets qre reportedly looking into. And if he hits 15 himerst and bats .270 next year everyone will shut up, just like we all did when lagares kept his batting average over .280, Duda hit 'in the clutch' and managed 30 homers, etc etc etc...............
Ok im done...... :)

Tom Brennan said...

I checked in with Fred Flintstone this morning. Like me he is a big Wilmer guy....not surprisingly.
WIL-MER! Wilmer will hit more than anyone expects this year, and people will then say "Wow, I missed that one" as Wilmer makes like Bam Bam with his club - err - bat.

32 teams? Depends on the cities that might be considered. I'd prefer a 26 or 27 man roster. Then teams can protect their guys from TJ surgery by lighter use, and perhaps some borderline hitters won't be squeezed out of baseball.

Ernest Dove said...

Hmmmmmm 26-27 man rosters. ...... Terry Collins would have a lotta fun putting in 9 relievers each game to face individual batters.

Zozo said...

You are probably right, unfortunately

greg b said...

Wilmer Flores can not play SS. But he can be an all star 2nd basemen. His adequate at 2nd and can turn the DP. And hit 20+ HR's

Tom Brennan said...

Murph likely will go at some point (too much $), and Wilmer or Herrera will man 2B.

Reese Kaplan said...

Interesting changes afoot from Las Vegas...

Satin gone to the Reds

Socolovich gone to the Cardinals

Reid gone to the Marlins

Dykstra gone to the Rays

'

Ernest Dove said...

Sounds fine by me in all accounts..... time for leathersich, nimmo, jayce Boyd and company to fill the vegas roster with prospects instead of aaaa veterans.

Tom Brennan said...

Could not agree with you more, Ernest. If Leathersich does not make Mets out of spring training (seems unlikely if they are shopping for a lefty reliever) then I very much look forward particularly to Boyd and Leather in Vegas from day 1, with Boyd hopefully playing full time. If Nimmo is ready, definitely challenge him there too. If Puello is still here, play him every day. He would not be holding anyone back. If not, play Taijeron there every day.

Mack Ade said...

I expect one more year for Leathersich in Vegas

Mack Ade said...

I'm particularly sad to see Satin go.

I know that Reese had a bad incident with him in El Paso, but Josh has always paid me respect and has kept touch with me over the years.

I wish him well.

Tom Brennan said...

Satin is the kind of guy who'd stick around if rosters were expanded to 27. Keeping them at 25, when teams carry 1 or 2 more pitchers than in years long gone by, is very tough on fringe non-pitchers making, and staying in, the bigs. Pretty unfair to them

Mack Ade said...

what about a 3-man taxi squad?

eraff said...

Cleveland won 85 games and drew 17,000 fans per game....that's aroung 1.5 million attendance The Marlins and Tampa struggle for Fans. A counple examples that would point against expansion.

I don't agree that there's enough pitching to go around...depth and quality are always lacking.

I would support a 250 games season---I get lonely for the game in these months!!! ;)

That Adam Smith said...

Really excited to see Jayce Boyd get a full, healthy season. He's certain to start in Vegas, and with Dykstra gone, there will really be no one for Wally to play in front of him. I think he may be a real sleeper in the system. Kid can flat out hit, possibly for more power than people give him credit for. He controls the zone beautifully (that certainly has this FO's attention). And he hits righty.

Also, from what I hear, he's a solid defender at 1B, and a good, smart kid. He's my pick for a (somewhat) under the radar breakout guy in 2015.

I have no idea if the kid ever played another position in college. He would be really valuable if he could play some LF. He DH'd some early this year because of injury, not defensive issues. But he's never played anywhere but 1B in the minors. As it stands, he'd be strictly the short side of the Duda platoon post-Cuddyer (or post-Cuddyer injury.) Not a recipe for a lot of AB's.

But an interesting guy, and I believe, a professional hitter.

Mack Ade said...

Adam -

I don't think many of the readers here have ever seen Boyd play.

You describe him very well.

Anonymous said...

Good day fellas:
I am very happy with how the team has started the off-season.
There is a lot of flexibility, tons of pitching, players who can be traded with replacements ready.
That is how a franchise should operate! If anyone gets hurt,or multiple players get hurt the team will have ready replacements!

Sorry Mack I don't see expansion coming! But if there was I'd love to see a 154 game schedule. Stay with the 25 man roster, but have a universally use the DH!

Have a great evening
Steve