The Morning Report – 2-17-15: Jerry Seinfeld, Dillon Gee, Harvey talks World Series, Gabriel Ynoa, Bovada

Jerry Seinfeld | Twitter

Nelson Figueroa is taking over for Bobby Ojeda as analyst on pregame and postgame show. #mets "Booooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!"
— Jerry Seinfeld (@JerrySeinfeld) February 16, 2015

(Chris Soto: I know he's one of the higher profile celebrities that loves the team....but jeez....give the guy a chance before you start booing him. Speaking of which.....Give the guy a follow on Twitter!

Just setting up my Twitter. #myfirstTweet
— Nelson Figueroa Jr. (@FigSNY) February 16, 2015

Josh Chapdelaine | Around Citi - "Former minor leaguer Sergio Miranda filed a formal complaint against the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball. Miranda, along with his fellow plaintiffs, All worked in excess of 50 hours per week from March-September and earned less than $10,000 for their efforts. Individuals that earn less than $11,770 annually fall below the poverty line, according to U.S. standards. On May 29, 1922, the Supreme Court ruled Major League Baseball was not subject to the Sherman Antitrust Act, thereby allowing clubs to maintain player’s salary rights. For every multi-million dollar agreement a top prospect earns, most players receive fractions for the opportunity to play professionally. The process starts early, when minor leaguers arrive early to Spring Training to try to get ahead.“You don’t get paid the whole time.” former Mets farmhand Alonzo Harris told Around Citi. Though minor league players are given room and board, most do not receive a paycheck."

(Chris Soto: This was one of the very few things Commissioner Selig did not do well during his tenure. I hope Commissioner Manfred see how unfairly the average minor leaguer is treated in terms of salary and rectifies it.)


Associated Press Sports | Yahoo - "Mets general manager Sandy Alderson has been open about the possibility he might trade a starting pitcher. ''I wouldn't say it was awkward at all,'' Gee said Monday, five days ahead of New York's first formal workout. ''I think we all know that at some point something like that might happen. Guys switch teams, that's just part of the game. It was kind of weird to see my name floating around a lot, but at the same time it doesn't change my offseason at all. I'm trying to get better every day and make sure I'm ready for the 2015 season, no matter where that is. I want to be here. This is kind of all I've known so far. But what happens is going to happen. If there isn't a trade, Gee could get shifted to the bullpen. He made three relief appearances in 2011, his first full season in the major leagues. ''That's not what I want to do,'' Gee said, ''but I'm going to do the best I can in whatever role I'm given.'' 

(Chris Soto: I feel bad for Gee. He knows he's not wanted and he knows he has no role with the Mets right now. One can only hope that someone, on a different team of course, sustains an unfortunate injury and it opens the door for Gee to contribute somewhere else.)


Andy Martino | NYDailyNews.com -“ the cold weather boasting actually went up another notch on Saturday night, when (Matt) Harvey told the Daily News that it was “very realistic” to think that these Metsies could win a World Series.” He goes on to say “Harvey is just being Harvey, bringing his special swagger to everything he does and says. “I think it’s very realistic,I think we’re looking forward to it and we’re gonna do everything we can.” Martino’s take on all this is summed up this way - “The talk is fine. All of the Mets people who have spoken this winter have their own compelling reason to do so. Alderson has been rightly itchy for some time to change a Citi Field culture that sometimes seems to accept mediocrity. 

(Herb G. I think it’s just great that the Mets are standing tall and talking big. It’s the kind of confidence I want to see in my team, and should be the carrot that motivates each player to strive to meet the lofty goals they have set for themselves. While the World Series may be a lot to hope for, if things break right for these Mets, they certainly could win a wild card spot, and from that point, who knows? And if they get off to a slow start, I for one, will continue to believe. It wouldn’t be the first time a Mets team came from way back to snag the prize.)


Jonathan Mayo / mlb.com - "There are other pitchers with better pure stuff than Ynoa, there's no question of that. He does have plenty of fastball, sitting in the low-90s and touching 95 mph, but that's not up where upper-echelon pitching prospects live. Ynoa has an excellent changeup and a slider that's OK, but nothing like the exploding breaking stuff you might see from the guys at the top of the Top 100. What Ynoa can do is throw strikes. He walked 1.5 per nine innings across two levels, reaching Double-A, in 2014. And that was a career high. . . . In his Minor League career, Ynoa has issued 63 walks in 86 total games. Everyone realizes how insane that is, right?"

(Herb G. I love a pitcher who can throw strikes consistently, and for that reason, I have had my eye on Ynoa since he came out of the DOSL 5 years ago as a 17 year old with a 1.99 ERA, a 0.982 WHIP, and 1.0 BB/9 in 72.1 IP. Although he has stayed close to that level of excellence over the following 3 years as he moved up the ladder, his ERA "ballooned" this year to just over 4.00 and his WHIP was a tad above 1.3 over two levels, while reaching AA and facing hitters 2 - 4 years older than himself. If he has the season that Mayo envisions for him, we could see Ynoa challenging for a spot in an already stacked Mets rotation in 2016.)

• Bovada Sports Online Betting has set the over/unders for 2015 win totals for each MLB team yesterday. The Mets came in at 81.5 wins. The gambling sharks feel that the Phillies are the worst team in baseball at +/- 68.5 wins and that the Dodgers and Nationals are tied for the best at +/- 92.5 wins. For what it's worth, they also have the Marlins at +/-81.5 wins.