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11/25/18

From The Desk… Bernie Smith, Jenrry Mejia, Lefty O’Doul, Kyle Regnault, Jordany Valdespin




Good morning.


PENSIONLESS MLB BALLPLAYERS: DRILLING DEEPER INTO PLIGHT OF A FORMER MET  -

Former Southern University Jaguar Calvin Bernard “Bernie” Smith, who spent eight seasons in the New York Mets minor league system, is one of 641 retirees not receiving a Major League Baseball (MLB) pension.

Smith, who played for the MLB Milwaukee Brewers in 1970 and 1971, and who later guided the team’s Single-A Danville Warriors affiliate to the Midwest League Finals in 1973, broke in with the Brew Crew in 1970. The rookie outfielder appeared in 44 games, came up to bat 76 times and collected 21 hits, including one home run.

          Mack – I wish that Smith had benefits, but I wish that I did too.
I worked my entire career for independent broadcasters with no IRA or retirement benefits. I made a lot of money, but I sure could use that fall back now.

Still, it was my choice to ‘play the game’ that way.


Sunday’s winter stat of the week –

        P Jenrry Mejia – 4.0-IP, 0-R, 0-BB, 4-K

                  Mack – I really don’t know what to do with this guy.

        Most of you are familiar with my feelings about this guy. I don’t want him in the organization.

        Still, we could use talent in the Mets bullpen which he should be able to step into (at his age) immediately.

        Your take?


Legendary San Francisco baseball bar  re-opens to fanfare –

                  A legendary San Francisco baseball memorabilia bar forced from its touristy spot in the city's downtown has re-opened in equally touristy Fisherman's Wharf.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed helped cut the ribbon for the opening of Lefty O'Doul's Ballpark Buffet and Cafe on Tuesday, along with owner Nick Bovis.

Lefty O'Doul's left its long-time spot on Geary Street by the cable cars in January 2017 after a dispute with the building's landlord.

Francis "Lefty" O'Doul was born in San Francisco in 1897.


The Mets released LHP Kyle Regnault on 11-20.

        The 29-year old undrafted pitcher came out of the University of Rhode Island in 2011. He pitched three years in the CanAm league before signing with the Mets prior to the 2015 season.

        He had a stellar minor league record before posting a respectable 4.77-ERA last year for Las Vegas.

        His overall minor league stat line over four seasons: 154-apps, 16-5, 3.18. 1.27, 209-IP, 231-K

        ???


JORDANY VALDESPIN  NAMED ATLANTIC LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE YEAR –

Valdespin led the Atlantic League with 154 hits, 94 runs scored and seven doubles during the 2018 season while ranking second in batting average at .3377, just .0007 from the batting title. The four-year MLB veteran was also among the league’s Top 5 in several other categories, finishing second in on-base percentage (.399) and total bases (222), third in stolen base percentage (.857) and fifth in slugging percentage (.487). In 113 regular season games, he totaled 12 home runs, 55 RBIs, 18 doubles and 46 walks.


Mack – I remember being asked in 2011 at the Mets spring training complex who was the best player in the Mets pipeline. I told that person that I had never seen a more exciting and talented infielder than Valdespin. But I also warned that person that he was a fuse waiting to be lit. It’s such a shame that this 30-year old pissed a guaranteed major league career away with his ego and drama.

21 comments:

  1. I have a feeling that Mejia will be back. He was probably cut to leave a 40-man slot open. After the Rule 5 is over, he can return.

    As for Reese's all-time fave Met, I'm sure he's really a classy individual who was cruelly mistreated by the sadistic TC. 😈

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  2. Maybe a more mature Valdespin gets one more chance somewhere...maybe on the same team as Jenrry Mejia. Best of luck there.

    Pension-less? Lots of people are. I have earned pension $$ over the past 25 years, partly by choosing the right employers, but in my first 16 working years, I ended up with only a small 401 k and no pension.

    A younger bro of mine worked 36 years with the NYC subway system in their track division and is now getting a great pension. He had a plan, when he could have worked elsewhere.

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  3. As a Lefty, opening a Lefty ODouls is great, whether I get there or not. Lefties are the most oppressed minority, no doubt :)

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  4. Good post, Mack.

    It is shameful that an organization with SO much money cannot provide a basic pension for former players (or take better care of their minor leaguers, but that's a different topic).

    On Tom's topic, my wife and I are just about to retire in 2019 and our pensions are a big piece of the puzzle. I probably could have made more money over the years in a different field, but I knew that our pension plan was a HUGE benefit and I am glad that I was patient, etc.

    Moving on to players like Mejia (and Valdespin), it is sad how they butchered their prospective careers with poor decision making and questionable behavior. Kind of like Doc and Darryl, only they were much more talented.

    The Mets could bring him back after the Rule V Draft and see what happens in ST, I guess. He isn't someone I would count on, as demonstrated by his past history, but you never know (its not like our bullpen is teeming with talent right now).

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  5. I had read that Mejia couldn’t be reinstated before spring training, so he wasn’t going to cost a 40-man spot. Was that not correct?

    I too thought Valdespin was mistreated by Bozo the Manager, until I saw him wearing the Marlins hat. Then, once he did go to South Beach, his stay was much shorter than in New York. Even if he may be a total jerk, if some team thinks he can help win games, he’d have a job. Unless he’s deemed a cancer...

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  6. Lots of players with questionable personalities have had long careers...Albert Belle, Ty Cobb, Bryce Harper...

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  7. Morning everyone -

    Obviously, I wrote my Mejia comments before he was released.

    I think this was more than a 40-man thing.

    Yes, he wasn't on it... yet... but he would have had to be added.

    I don't think our current front office has any attachment to him.

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  8. As for Valdy. he screwed up his time with the Mets. That time, along with his youth, has passed.

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  9. Texas Gus, there are always going to be jerks in life. Some grow out of it, but lots don't. If J Val ever will grow out of it, he needs to do it now. The clock is ticking.

    Valdespin is .324/.414/.387 in 30 fall games in the Dominican Winter league, too, so he is not letting up. 10 of 12 in steals, too.

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  10. Saw this tweet elsewhere - to reiterate, ad nauseam, the Mets should draft power arms and bats whenever possible. 31 rounds in, this dude gets selected - why would the Mets lack the foresight to repeatedly pass on a live arm like this?

    * The Braves are converting their 31st round pick Gabriel Rodriguez into a pitcher.

    * And he's already touching 99 mph.

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  11. Pensions are for the baby boomers and government workers (who largely work 35 hours a week and get every holiday plus some). Even those govt workers newer to the pension system largely get a gutted version. Personally I had no interest in working a miserable govt job for 30 plus years.

    So does someone have to put a claim in on Mejia or is it possible he goes right back to our farm system? How does that work?

    Things have been so quiet on the baseball front. There is usually some big news before Thanksgiving break (not necessarily Mets). Winter meetings are approaching quickly.

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  12. Dallas -

    Hey buddy. Hope you had a nice turkey.

    Speaking of turkeys, it's my belief that Mejia is now a free agent and welcome to sign with any team for the minimum. We will pay the frieght on the rest owed him.

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  13. Tom -

    Re: the Mets should draft power arms and bats whenever possible. 31 rounds in, this dude gets selected - why would the Mets lack the foresight to repeatedly pass on a live arm like this?

    Do you actually believe this? All bats with every draft pick?

    First, please don't quote other Mets sites here. I don't care what readers there think or say. I care what Mack's Mets writers and readers think.

    Secondly, yes, the draft is a place to find future stars, but one of the top reasons for it is to feed all pipeline teams the number or players needed to fill their clubhouse of players on ALL positions... most of which will support the chips you drafted in the early rounds.

    I agree with you that we need more qualified bats but this isn't the approach to build a successful team.

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  14. Mack, as for the catcher the Braves are converting into a pitcher, that’s not always easy.

    As for the other Mets sites, it ironic that in other sites they speak very favorably of Mack’s Mets and it's what led me here. I’m sorry to hear that we can’t share our similar bond.

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  15. Confused, Mack, the pick I mentioned was an arm, not a bat, and it was a Baseball America tweet, as I recall, which isn't another Mets site.

    My point was, if the pitcher could throw high 90's it is the kind of pitcher who should dominate our pitcher selections. Draft 10 fireballers, maybe 7 fail, but 3 don't. The best pens seem to have super velocity arms. The Braves, who've historically out-drafted the Mets, were smart enough to take a shot at him.

    Same with Power Bats: we did, for example, pick Zach Rheams in round 27 of 2018, a dude with size and pop, and although he hit just in the .220's in Columbia, it wasn't rookie ball, and he showed good power (8 HR, 8 doubles, 155 ABs) Maybe the Mets get lucky with him. A very worthwhile gamble pick to me.

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  16. Howdy, Texas Gus...one catcher turned pitcher whom I am sure ou recall who was felled by arm problems was the Mets' Henry Owens, who had that brilliant season in 2006 in AA: 40 innings, 76 Ks, 1.58 ERA.

    So, it can be done.

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  17. Tom, the Braves did it with Villanueva, the Dodgers did it with Kelly Jansen. It’s more common than it appears. The Tigers did it with a lefty CF, whose they got from the Blue Jays a few years ago. I forget his name, but he was a candidate to be included in the Dickey deal...

    There was talk of Shaun Dunston doing it.

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  18. No one would have run on Shaun Dunston, Texas Gus - what a rifle he had.

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  19. And if you mean Dunston as a pitcher, wow. That would have been interesting. Another - Rocky Colavito did the player-to-pitcher switch.

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  20. Kyle Regnault is a puzzler. But Paul Sewald pitched better in the minors and is 0-10 in the majors. What worked well in the minors sometimes flops against superior hitters.

    Kyle likely is an overachiever and hopefully he can continue to overachieve somewhere else.

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