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
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'..........
ReplyDeleteHe 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...... :)
I checked in with Fred Flintstone this morning. Like me he is a big Wilmer guy....not surprisingly.
ReplyDeleteWIL-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.
Hmmmmmm 26-27 man rosters. ...... Terry Collins would have a lotta fun putting in 9 relievers each game to face individual batters.
ReplyDeleteYou are probably right, unfortunately
DeleteWilmer 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
ReplyDeleteMurph likely will go at some point (too much $), and Wilmer or Herrera will man 2B.
ReplyDeleteInteresting changes afoot from Las Vegas...
ReplyDeleteSatin gone to the Reds
Socolovich gone to the Cardinals
Reid gone to the Marlins
Dykstra gone to the Rays
'
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.
DeleteCould 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.
ReplyDeleteI expect one more year for Leathersich in Vegas
ReplyDeleteI'm particularly sad to see Satin go.
ReplyDeleteI 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.
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
ReplyDeletewhat about a 3-man taxi squad?
ReplyDeleteCleveland 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.
ReplyDeleteI 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!!! ;)
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.
ReplyDeleteAlso, 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.
Adam -
ReplyDeleteI don't think many of the readers here have ever seen Boyd play.
You describe him very well.
Good day fellas:
ReplyDeleteI 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