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1/18/20

John From Albany – Mets Breakfast Links 1/18/2020


Jonathan Niese and Carlos Gomez were in action last night in the Dominican Republic and lots of links as always this morning.

Ken Davidoff thinks the Mets latest Managerial opening is a “golden opportunity” for Brodie Van Wagenen.  “Van Wagenen whiffed on his first managerial hire, Carlos Beltran, when the legendary former player got wiped out in the Astros’ sign-stealing tsunami, so now it’s take two for the beleaguered general manager as he prepares for his second season...he can pick from a crop that includes a gaggle of accomplished managers (The Post’s Mike Puma reports Dusty Baker’s candidacy has gained steam, though there hadn’t been any contact as of Friday afternoon)… Most who miss out on the Astros’ and Red Sox’s managing gigs would gladly accept the Mets’ spot…Why? Because their roster clearly has talent.”


Metstradamus weighed in on the possibility of a veteran manager being hired:  “That said, it isn’t happening. I can’t see Brodie Von Ego put his ego aside for some good ol’ collaboration with a strong personality. I also don’t see Fred and Jeff Vanderbilt paying Baker what I think he would want to come out of semi-retirement at the age of 70 to take over. But again, these are weird and desperate times, so we’ll see.”





Cooperstown Cred says forget twitter, Curt Schilling is a Hall of Famer: These articles from Chris Bodig are full of great points.  One quick highlight - “Schilling’s 216 career wins are low for a Hall of Fame starting pitcher and his 3.46 ERA is high. There is only one pitcher enshrined in the Hall of Fame who has both fewer than 220 wins and an ERA higher than 3.45. That one pitcher is Jesse Haines, a long-time hurler for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1920-1937 who finished with a 210-158 (.571) career record and a 3.64 ERA.” As the headline suggests, he has lots of arguments for the positive in the article as well.


Mets.com talked about how former Met Pat Mahomes is relishing in his son’s NFL success.

MLB.com had the top catching prospects for 2020.  #5, Francisco Alvarez with an estimated arrival time of 2023.

MLB.com also had the top defensive prospects for every team.  For the Mets, SS, Andres Gimenez. ”Gimenez was the shortstop on MLB Pipeline’s 2019 All-Defense Team and was in the mix again this year after a strong defensive campaign as Double-A Binghamton’s everyday shortstop. A plus runner who earns similar grades for both his fielding and arm strength, Gimenez committed 11 errors in 112 games last season and has totaled just 25 miscues over the past two years. What’s more, the 21-year-old appears ticketed for a breakout offensive season after winning the 2019 Arizona Fall League batting title (.371).”





Just one game last night in the Dominican Republic, but it was very interesting.  The Aguilas Cibaenas and the Tigres del Licey played 12 and a half innings only to have the game suspended in a 5-5 tie due to rain (box).

Carlos Gomez went 2 for 5, 1 RBI, a double, run scored, a walk and a strikeout.  He also threw out a runner trying to go second to third on a sacrifice fly.

Jonathan Niese came in the bottom of the 5th inning with a man on and gave up a single to Emilio Bonifacio, another single to Erick Aybar (scoring the inherited runner), then he hit Socrates Brito with the pitch to load the bases before being replaced.  The next pitcher was able to end the inning with just one run scoring (aided by that Carlos Gomez throw to third).  Jonathan’s line last night: 0 innings, 2 hits, 1 run.
Dario Alvarez pitched 1.1 innings and gave up 2 runs, 2 hits with 2 strikeouts.

Just one game in Puerto Rico as the Cangrejeros de Santurce beat the Indios de Mayaguez 3-0 (box). No current or former Mets in action in that game.


UltimateMets has the date in Mets History:

Transactions:
New York Mets traded 
Tim Leary to the Kansas City Royals for Frank Wills on January 18, 1985.

New York Mets traded Aaron Ledesma to the California Angels for Kevin Flora on January 18, 1996.

New York Mets signed free agent Roberto Hernandez on January 18, 2005.

Toronto Blue Jays signed Jeremy Reed of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 18, 2010.

New York Mets signed free agent John Lannan of the Philadelphia Phillies on January 18, 2014.

New York Mets signed free agent Adrian Gonzalez on January 18, 2018.


Want something else tracked here each day?  Please leave a comment below.

9 comments:

  1. Sherveyn Newton at #10? Nah.

    After a poor 2019 and 223 Ks over 165 games the past 2 years in the lower minors? He is not in my top 25 for that reason.

    Eric Campbell had an excellent K ratio in the minors but struck out 50% more in the majors. To be a future successful major leaguer, a guy like Newton should have been fanning 165 times in 223 games, not 223 times in 165 games. K rates kill many a prospect’s careers, and Newton needs drastic improvements starting in 2020 in that regard. He almost needs to cut his K rate in half, but by at least 30-40% to have a chance at success. That is a big hill to climb.

    What kept Kirk N and Matt DD from having real major league success? K rate. It kills careers.

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  2. I was especially fond of Satin and was bummed when baseball didn'tbwork out for him.

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  3. Me too Mack. Thought he was a good one.

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  4. Looks like all the current Mets have gone home, and Diaz never pitched this Winter.

    What about the pitcher whom we just signed on Regan's recommendation (I forgot his name)? Is he still pitching? If so, how's he doing?

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  5. Bill are you referring to Yefry Ramirez and Pedro Payano? Both of them pitched this winter for Phil Regan in the Dominican and have not pitched in a while. They both look to be done. We still may see some pitchers show up in the Caribbean series that starts in February and ends right before Spring Training. There are also some other pitchers throwing for Phil's team that have looked pretty good and are not signed. If any of these get signed, I will let you know.

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  6. Payano is the one I was thinking of. So it seems that as soon as someone becomes Mets property he gets pulled.

    Thanks, John.

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  7. Bill, With a few exceptions, it seems a lot of the players stop as soon as they sign a minor league deal. TJ Rivera played in both the Dominican and the Puerto Rican League but when he signed a minor league deal with the Phillies, he stopped. Carlos Gomez was not able to get an MLB deal and has announced his retirement after the winter season ends.

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  8. That makes sense, but what about those who were already under contract when they went to the Winter Leagues?

    Does that mean that only FAs played there?

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