John From Albany – Mets Breakfast Links 1/27/2020

The Sports World mourns the loss of retired NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and Bryant's 13 year old daughter, Gianna, killed in a helicopter crash Sunday.

Among the other victims in the crash, Baseball Coach John Altobelli.  Per Newsday: “Among the players he coached were future major leaguers Jeff McNeil, now with the Mets, and Donnie Murphy, who played for six big league teams from 2004-14. McNeil played for Altobelli in 2012 with the Brewster Whitecaps, a summer collegiate team in the Cape Cod League, ESPN reported.”

Also Per Newsday: “One of my favorite coaches I have ever played for and one of the main reasons I got a chance to play professional baseball,” McNeil tweeted. “Both the baseball and basketball world lost a great one today.”

Per Elite Sports NY: “He made you believe in your ability,” McNeil said. “I remember when we first got to the Cape, he said, ‘You’re here for a reason. You’ve just got to believe you can do it. If you want to steal, steal. Play your game. Do what you guys want to do. Enjoy it. Have fun with it. This is gonna be one of the best summers of your life.'”

Per the NY Post: McNeil told ESPN he had a poor first two years at Long Beach State. His coaches there asked Altobelli to bring McNeil to Brewster anyway. “He took a chance on me, kept me the whole summer. Him taking that chance on me, having me on his team, got me drafted,” McNeil said.

Also Per the NY Post: “In his first season with Brewster, Altobelli coached Aaron Judge and Jeff McNeil. Judge, who was teammates with McNeil on the 2012 Brewster team, wrote on Twitter, ‘This isn’t real…’”

Metspolice had the reactions on Kobe Bryant’s passing from Noah Syndergaard, Pete Alonso, Mike Piazza, Dellin Betances.

Other Links:

Per MLB Trade Rumors: Mets Sign Erasmo Ramirez To Minor League Deal.  “Erasmo Ramirez, 29, spent last year in the Red Sox organization, pitching mostly in Triple-A and making one appearance with the big league team. In 125 1/3 innings with Boston’s Triple-A affiliate, Ramirez notched a 4.74 ERA and struck out 95 batters. In his last stint of sustained big league action, he made 10 starts with the 2018 Mariners, working to a 6.50 ERA.”

MLB.com had video clips of the Baseball Writers of America Awards (BBWAA) dinner Saturday night where Pete Alonso and Jacob deGrom received their awards for Rookie of the Year and Cy Young.

People still raving about Saturday’s Mets Fan Fest, Tim Ryder of Metsmerized.com says “Mets Hit It Out Of The Park With Inaugural Fan Fest.”

James Schapiro of Elits Sports NY talked about his Fan Fest experience, including playing ping pong with Jacob Rhame and meeting Turk Wendell. 

Brian Joura of Mets 360 looked at “How veterans and young guys have performed in depth roles for the Mets”: Brian looks at the Mets backups in 2019, 2018, and 2017 and comes to some surprising conclusions trying to determine who makes a better bench player, a veteran or a young guy. 

213 Miles from Shea continued to look at how Baseball America’s Top 30 2019 Mets prospects did last year with #29: William Lugo. “William Lugo played with the Gulf Coast Mets last year at the age of 17, 2.5 years below the league average. 2019 Stats: 176 PA, 146 AB, 6 2B, HR, .158/.280/.219, .499 OPS. He didn’t do great, but he played in a fairly advanced league for his age and if he was killing the Gulf Coast league we probably would all already know his name by now.”

Tim Boyle of Rising Apple says “The dream of the New York Mets acquiring a star player via trade isn’t so fantastic with the realization that it would cost them Jeff McNeil.”  He points to potential deals for Francisco Lindor and Nolan Arenado.

Tim Boyle of Rising Apple also noted the fact that Robert Gsellman’s remaining options could result in him being shifted back and forth to Syracuse. 

Steve Contursi of Reflections on Baseball says MLB marketing to London is a non-starter.

Marshall Field of Metsmerized.com says that Jeff McNeil expects to play mostly Third Base in 2020.

Per Yahoo Sports: “Ron Darling believes Nationals are vindicated for Strasburg shutdown.”

Per thespun.com: Not everyone was happy when Justin Verlander joked at the BBWAA dinner that: “everyone knows the Astros are technologically analytically advanced”. 

Per 12up.com: “Dallas Keuchel Saying the Astros Didn't Cheat Every Game is Absolutely Hilarious.”

Per si.com: Dodgers fan group is planning to buy Angels tickets to vent at the Astros when they visit Anaheim this year.

Call to the Pen says “Los Angeles Dodgers say thanks but no thanks to AstroGate consolation prize.”

Call to the Pen also says that Ryan Zimmerman returning to the Nationals is right where he belongs.

Call to the Pen notes how the Yankees want Miguel Andujar to learn new positions (1^st Base and LF).

Per MLB Trade Rumors:

MLB Trade Rumors detailed the Draft Picks that teams lost or gained as a result of free agent signings.  The Mets acquired the overall 70^th pick as a result of the Phillies signing Zack Wheeler.

Reds are frontrunners to land Nicholas Castellanos.

The Marlins signed corner outfielder Matt Joyce.

The Astros interviewed A’s quality control coach Mark Kotsay for their manager position.

Winter Ball:

Last night in the Dominican Republic, the Final Series continued with the Toros Del Este losing to the Tigres del Licey 5-1 (box).  The series is now all tied 3-3. 

Jordany Valdespin played right field and went 0 for 4.

Historical Links:

Mack’s Blast From the Past comes from January 27, 2011: Mack had Baseball America’s top 31 prospects Here were the top 5: #1-Jenrry Mejia, RHP; 2-Wilmer Flores, SS; 3-Cesar Puello, OF; 4-Matt Harvey, RHP; 5-Kirk Nieuwenhuis, OF.

UltimateMets has the date in Mets History:

Born on this date:

• Nick Willhite (1941)
• Angel Berroa (1980)

Died on this date:

• Bing Devine (2007)
• Sammy Drake (2010)
• Charlie Williams (2015)

Transactions:
Atlanta Braves signed Pete Falcone of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 27, 1983.

New York Mets signed free agent Dick Tidrow of the Chicago White Sox on January 27, 1984.

New York Mets signed free agent Dan Wheeler of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on January 27, 2003.

Colorado Rockies signed Tim Redding of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 27, 2010.

Colorado Rockies signed Omar Quintanilla of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 27, 2015.

Chicago Cubs signed Jim Henderson of the New York Mets as a free agent on January 27, 2017.

 Also per National Pastime.com:

1999        Former Mets infielder Carlos Baerga signs a one-year free-agent contract with the Cardinals. The second baseman, who did not meet the expectations of the fans in New York, will be released by the Cardinals during spring training and will sign with the Reds, who will also release him at the beginning of June.

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