John From Albany – Mets Breakfast Links 2/8/2020

Brian Schneider named as Mets quality control coach, the Dominican Republic wins the Caribbean Series, Mookie Betts trade is still in Limbo, and much more.

First, from the Associated press: “Roger Kahn, the writer who wove memoir and baseball and touched millions of readers through his romantic account of the Brooklyn Dodgers in “The Boys of Summer,” has died. He was 92…The author of 20 books and hundreds of articles, Kahn was best known for the 1972 best-seller that looked at his relationship with his father through their shared love of the Dodgers, an object of nostalgia for the many fans who mourned the team’s move to Los Angeles after the 1957 season.” 

Call to the Pen had more on Roger Kahn.

This site has many great Roger Kahn quotes including this from the Boys of Summer: “You may glory in a team triumphant, but you fall in love with a team in defeat. Losing after great striving is the story of man, who was born to sorrow, whose sweetest songs tell of saddest thought, and who, if he is a hero, does nothing in life as becomingly as leaving it.”

Per SI.com Roger talked about Warren Spahn including his time with the Mets and Casey Stengel which included this: “The two crossed paths again, in 1965, when Spahn's pitching days were almost done and Stengel was managing the Mets into the cellar. Spahn was pounded in a few starts, and Stengel complained, ‘The hitters jump on him so quick, I can't get him outta there fast enough.’ Summing up not so long ago, Spahn said, exercising his fine and occasionally malicious wit, ‘I pitched for Casey Stengel both before and after he was a genius.’”

As we had yesterday on Mack’s Mets: Brian Schneider has been hired as the Mets quality control coach. Additionally, Schneider will oversee catching instruction.

Per Syracuse.com: “Syracuse Mets need new manager...again. The Brian Schneider era as manager of the Syracuse Mets was short, but at least he leaves the job undefeated. The New York Mets announced on Friday that Schneider has been promoted to a job as quality control coach for that team. The move comes a little more than a month after Schneider was named new Syracuse manager for 2020.”

Per Michael Mayer in Mets Minors: “Mets Sign Outfielder Sebastian Elizalde to Minor League Deal. Elizalde, 28, spent the 2019 season playing in Mexico during the regular season and winter ball. The left-handed hitter slashed .313/.389/.414 in 39 regular season games. He then hit .308/.397/.507 with six doubles, four triples, 10 home runs, and 21 stolen bases during the winter leagues.”

Gus Livaditis of Mets 360.com asked: “How far are the Mets away from having Dodgers-like success?” As always Gus does an amazing analysis including this: “Brodie Van Wagenen has tried to emulate this (the Dodgers model) as best he can by stealing the Royals AGM and two of Boston’s top analytics people, but he needs the resources to go for more. Consider this: Jon Updike was a Mets Scouting Supervisor and the reason the Mets have Matt Allan and Pete Alonso in their organization. However, this man left the Mets to start an analytics business for the amateur player called Baseball Cloud.”

Mets video posted Cyclones Manager Blankmeyer On 2020 Goals.

SNY.TV had video of Brandon Nimmo Saying: "’I'm feeling good," Nimmo said. ‘I've been here all offseason and just been doing some work on the neck and everything's been good. ... I've been down here, I'm ready to go, and I'm 100 percent healthy.’…” The left-handed hitting Nimmo struggled at the start of 2019, scuffling for all of April and May before his injury took him off the field. But he returned to action on September 1st, and for the rest of the season he slashed .261 BA/.430 OBP/.565 SLG, playing mainly in center field but also getting time in the corner outfield spots as well.”

SNY.TV had “Rick Porcello on pitching for the Mets: 'It's a dream come true for me'.”

Per SNY.TV: “Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported on Friday, the Mets "aggressively" tried to trade for Lindor during the Winter Meetings -- with that dialogue first reported by SNYs Andy Martino -- and that the price would have likely been Amed Rosario and two top prospects.”

The NY Times had: “‘Sell the Team!’ Please, for the Sake of Mets and Knicks Fans.”  The article included this quote: “The Wilpons call to mind that family down the street that talks of selling the old house even as they insist any new owner must let their son retain the master bedroom.”

Empire Sports Media said: “The NY Mets – ‘nuff said.”

Metstradamus said: Why We're Getting Stuck With The Worst Case Scenario (Why an Impending Mets Sale Won't be the Celebration You Think It'll Be).

The Wall Street Journal reported ‘Dark Arts’ and ‘Codebreaker’: The Origins of the Houston Astros Cheating Scheme.  MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s previously undisclosed letter to Astros GM Jeff Luhnow details the team’s spreadsheet and algorithm to steal signs in one of the biggest scandals in baseball history. During MLB’s probe, Luhnow maintained that he had no knowledge of any of the Astros’ misconduct. However, Manfred wrote in his letter that ‘there is more than sufficient evidence to support a conclusion that you knew—and overwhelming evidence that you should have known—that the Astros maintained a sign-stealing program that violated MLB’s rules.’”

The NY Post reported “A.J. Hinch opens up on sign-stealing scandal — to a point”: “’I should have had a meeting and addressed it face forward and really ended it,’ Hinch said. ‘Leadership to me is often about what you preach. Leadership’s also about what you tolerate. I tolerated too much. … Right is right and wrong is wrong, and we were wrong.’”

Per AP News: “Major League Baseball intends to impose new limits on what live video is available to teams, and Commissioner Rob Manfred hopes to complete his investigation into alleged electronic sign stealing by the Boston Red Sox before spring training camps open next week.”

Per NBC Boston: Red Sox investigation expected to yield “light punishment”. “The Red Sox are expected to receive ‘no more than a light punishment’ from Major League Baseball once it concludes its investigation of the team's alleged 2018 sign-stealing plot, USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale reported Friday, citing two officials involved in the investigation.”

Yahoo Sports reported how MLB players union issues blistering statement about delayed Mookie Betts trade: “Tony Clark, head of the players union, issued a statement Friday afternoon that made it clear where he union stands on this. ‘The proposed trades between the Dodgers, Red Sox, Twins, and Angels need to be resolved without further delay. The events of this last week have unfairly put several Players’ lives in a state of limbo. The unethical leaking of medical information as well as the perversion of the salary arbitration process serve as continued reminders that too often Players are treated as commodities by those running the game.’”

CBS Sports says: “Red Sox trade Mookie Betts: Dealing an MVP for salary relief completes John Henry's dishonest offseason.”

Also Per CBS Sports: “Mookie Betts trade: Dodgers rightfully taking aggressive approach in hopes of winning World Series.”

Beyond the Box Score notes: “Alex Verdugo was credibly implicated in a sexual assault. Why doesn’t that seem to matter?”

SNY.TV reported that Jessica Mendoza is leaving her advisor role with the Mets to focus on an "expanded" role at ESPN. "We have enjoyed our relationship with Jessica and appreciated all her contributions and insight over the past year," Van Wagenen said in a statement. "We are excited for her expanded role at ESPN and fully understand and support her need to fully invest her time in all the new platforms. We have such respect and value her baseball insight and know her impact on the game of baseball is just beginning.”

Per CBS Sports: “Jessica Mendoza resigns as Mets adviser after calling out whistleblower Mike Fiers. Mendoza is also being removed from ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball broadcast team.”

CBS Sports has this idea about implementation of the DH: The big idea? The home team of a given game gets to choose whether the DH is used.  Besides espousing the benefits of this idea the writer Dayn Perry points out “There's a counter-argument to be made that this might lessen the value of DH-only players on the market.”  I could also see small market teams never using the DH players to save money.

Business insider reports on the First Female MLB Coach San Francisco Giants assistant coach Alyssa Nakken.

Per MLB Trade Rumors:

Giants To Sign Hunter Pence to big league pact.

Rangers Sign Cody Allen to a minor league deal.

Giants Sign Billy Hamilton to a minor league deal.

Dodgers Reach Two-Year Arbitration Deal With utilityman Chris Taylor.

Dodgers Defeat Joc Pederson In Arbitration.

Indians Sign catcher Cameron Rupp To Minor League Deal.

Kendrys Morales Retires.

Winter Ball:

Los Toros Del Este of the Dominican Republic are Caribbean series Champions!

The team that Phil Regan served as pitching coach beat Venezuela 9-3 (box).

Jordany Valdespin went 0 for 3 with a walk and scored.

Tim Peterson threw a scoreless inning allowing one hit with two strikeouts.

Ramon E. Ramirez pitched a scoreless ninth inning, no walks, hits or strikeouts.

Peter O’Brien, per Twitter was named MVP of the series.  He was also the MVP of the regular season in the Dominican Republic.  The former Yankee and Marlin signed a minor league contract with the Braves this winter.

Mack’s Blast From the Past comes from February 8, 2012 – “Buscones”.  “A buscon is far less than an agent and more like a surrogate father. They start with kids as young as 13-years old and pretty much take them completely under their wing. They feed them, put clothes on their back, teach them what fundamentals they have learned along the way, and expose them to the Dominican version of professional baseball. In return, they receive up to 30% of the signing bonus these kids get if they sign someday with a professional baseball team.”  Great post from Mack.

Per Ultimatemets.com:

Born on this date:

• Don Heffner (1911)

Died on this date:

• Mike Bishop (2005)

Transactions:
New York Mets signed free agent Rey Ordonez on February 8, 1994.

New York Mets signed free agent Rich Rodriguez on February 8, 2000.

New York Mets signed free agent Justin Hampson on February 8, 2011.

San Francisco Giants signed Elmer Dessens of the New York Mets as a free agent on February 8, 2011.

New York Mets signed free agent Brandon Lyon of the Toronto Blue Jays on February 8, 2013.

Arizona Diamondbacks signed Tyler Clippard of the New York Mets as a free agent on February 8, 2016.

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