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.”

Deesha Thosar of the NY Daily News says that the Mets “now more than ever, need an experienced manager”.

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.”

SNY.TV says that Luis Rojas is getting serious consideration for the job. 

John From Albany still carries a candle for the other Mets Managerial Candidate, Edgardo Alfonzo.  Sorry Mack, couldn’t resist.

About the sign stealing controversy, Steve Contursi in Refelctions on Baseball says: “MLB and, in particular, Rob Manfred have done baseball an excellent service in policing the cheaters. But all investigative activity needs to stop – it’s time to move on…”

SNY's John Harper, Anthony McCarron, and Dave Lennon unveil their 2020 Hall of Fame ballots: John Harper : Todd Helton, Derek Jeter, Andruw Jones, Jeff Kent, Scott Rolen, Curt Schilling, Omar Vizquel, Billy Wagner, Larry Walker; Anthony McCarron: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Derek Jeter, Jeff Kent, Scott Rolen, Curt Schilling, Gary Sheffield, Omar Vizquel, Billy Wagner, Larry Walker; David Lennon: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Derek Jeter;

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.

Cooperstown Cred also recently noted that Derek Jeter’s career was filled with Hall Of Fame moments.

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).”

4 Congress people wrote an opinion piece for USA Today to discuss their “bipartisan Save Minor League Baseball Task Force”.

Amazing Avenue continued their list of 25 Top Mets Prospects with #10: Shervyen Newton.

213 Miles from Shea continued to look at their 2019 projections versus performance for Mets players with Robinson Cano.

Mack’s Mets Reese Kaplan forwarded me this link yesterday, Everything you need to know about the current state of MLB as told by Mean Girls.

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 5^th 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.

Mack’s Blast From the Past comes from January 2011: Mack looked at Josh Satin.

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 more?  Check out https://sportspyder.com/mlb/new-york-mets/news. 

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