11/9/20

John From Albany – Mets News and Breakfast Links 11/9/2020

 



Good Morning. Steve Cohen and Sandy to meet the Media on Tuesday. SNY proposes questions for Sandy and Chris Flexen is back on the mound in the KBO playoffs this AM. 


Section Links: Mets Links, MLB Links, Asian Baseball, and This Day in Mets History.


Mets Links:


MLB.com: Steve Cohen introduction: Tuesday, 12:30 ET.



NY Post: Mets about to get first look at Steve Cohen as owner.




SNY.TV: 5 questions Sandy Alderson needs to answer at introductory press conference. What is the trade and free agency plan? What about the future of Luis Rojas? Will you employ an aggressive draft strategy?  Is there an ETA for the front office hires?  How does this feel?


CBS Sports: MLB rumors: Cleveland hoping Mets are in on Francisco Lindor; Jackie Bradley Jr. market heating up.


Brain Joura Mets360: On the claim that the Mets improved under Brodie Van Wagenen. Brian provides an in-depth look as always with this takeaway - “Van Wagenen leaves behind a locked up deGrom, three more years of Cano, an arbitration-eligible Diaz, relatively expensive bullpen pieces in Betances, Brach and Familia, along with Davis. Is that worth d’Arnaud, Wheeler, Kelenic, Woods Richardson, Dunn, Kay and $40 million? Not in my estimation, not even close.”


The Score: Evaluating Brodie Van Wagenen's memorable tenure as Mets GM “In some ways, Van Wagenen's impact on the Mets is incomplete. A quick turnaround under new ownership that's more willing to spend could help his legacy grow, especially if Alonso continues to ascend and Davis remains a key piece. However, the last two years featured plenty of questionable moves and odd, almost "Metsian" moments that will likely define his tenure.”


Rising Apple: One quality fans are looking for from the next general manager. “Whoever it is they hire does, however, need to have some level of experience of front office work.”




Mike’s Mets is not a fan of the Mets tanking in “Why Winning by Losing Wouldn't Be the Right Call.”


Reflections on Baseball: Luis Rojas: A Critical Bridge Between The Analysts And The Players.



Mets Junkies: Mets Trade Target Tyler Glasnow. “The 27 year old 6’8 hard throwing righty has an overpowering fastball that averages 97 MPH and a nasty curveball with great movement. The negative thing about Glasnow is that hitters know that he only throws these two pitches and so can flip a coin in their heads as to which one is coming next”


Rising Apple: Mets must move Steven Matz to the bullpen for the 2021 season. “Mets need to replace their top lefty arm, Justin Wilson” and “given the Mets’ recent injury woes, stashing Steven Matz as an emergency starter is a smart move”.


Rising Apple: Five under the radar pitching free agent candidates to consider. Keone Kela; Corey Kluber; Mike Leake; Jose Alvarez; Taijuan Walker.   



Empire Sports Media: New York Mets Player Evaluations: Pitcher Jacob deGrom.



Mets You Tube Channel: Catching Up with Edgardo Alfonzo.


 ICYMI Yesterday at Mack’s Mets:


Mack’s First 10 Picks in the 2021 Draft v1.0.


2021 Mets Draft Targets - Davis Sharpe, Malakhi Knight, Matt McLain, Sal Frelick, Ty Madden.


Mack - Weekly Draft Notes.


Scouting Report - RHP - Davis Sharpe.


Scouting Report - RHP - Gunnar Hogland.


MLB Links:


MLB.com: Every team's roster right now, ranked. Dodgers are ranked #1.  Mets come in at #10. 


MLB Trade Rumors: Jeff Luhnow Sues Astros For Breach Of Contract.


NY Post: MLB barely tested for PEDs this season.


MLB Trade Rumors: Trade Candidate: Joe Musgrove.


MLB Trade Rumors: Red Sox, Jackie Bradley Jr. Have Been In Contact.




Asian Baseball:


Chris Flexen is back on the mound for the Doosan Bears this morning as they take on the KT Wiz for the first game of that KBP playoff series (Box Score). Daniel Kim on ESPN2 during today’s game noted that Korean Players have historically had problems with tall pitchers that “come over the top”.




Here is KBO’s Scoreboard.   


Today in Mets History Per Ultimatemets.com:


Born on this date:



Died on this date:



Transactions:
New York Mets sold Ed Glynn to the Boston Red Sox on November 9, 1984.

Colorado Rockies signed Lenny Harris of the New York Mets as a free agent on November 9, 1998.

Gary Sheffield granted free agency on November 9, 2009.

New York Mets released Jesus Feliciano on November 9, 2009.

Robinson Cancel granted free agency on November 9, 2009.



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


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

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8 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Any writer who weighs and criticizes BVW's key decisions should also be willing to admit if they got those decisions wrong at the time, too.

I was cautiously optimistic about the Diaz trade at the time, and every other one, especially d'Arnaud, I was against. I did at least hope that Stroman would pay off more than he did, but BVW got pandemicked.

I just wonder if Flexen tries to return stateside. It feels like his accelerating excellence this season kind of mirrors Wheeler's slow rise from his pit.

I watched that prospects video - that kid Dominguez that the Yanks got for $5 million and is still only 17 looks like a freak, at brief glance.

November 9, 2020 at 6:14 AM
John From Albany said...

Eduardo Perez on today's telecast said something that I said here. The Pitchers in Japan and Korea will have a big advantage over the AAA Players - they were able to pitch in 2020. He thinks that this fact will make them very attractive to MLB teams next year.

November 9, 2020 at 7:05 AM
Tom Brennan said...

Kudos for Flexen - I thought he was a bum based on his stateside performance, but he is resurrecting his career.

Now, with Pfizer's news that the vaccine tests were NINETY % EFFECTIVE, baseball could return to normal in US in 2021.

Is he still Mets property? Or a free agent?

November 9, 2020 at 7:33 AM
John From Albany said...

Flexen would be a free agent. Mets waived (no one claimed him) and then released him (to allow him to go to KBO). I think Flexen was cut to make room for Wacha. Flexen is the first KBO pitcher to strike 10 or more in his first two playoff games. He looked real good again tonight. Big slow curve and up and in 95 MPH fastball. Left after 7.1 innings with 11 Ks, two runners on which eventually scored to tie game at 2-2. He should have fared better as the LF had the ball go in and out of glove to put runners on 2nd and 3rd when he was pulled.

November 9, 2020 at 7:39 AM
John From Albany said...

Actually a great site we all know and love had more about this on the Breakfast Links in December 2019 when they linked to a story on MLB Trade Rumors:

Right-hander Chris Flexen is set to join the Doosan Bears of the Korea Baseball Organization, reports Marc Carig of the Athletic (via Twitter). The Mets designated Flexen for assignment yesterday to make way for Brad Brach.

The terms of the deal aren’t yet known, but Flexen will presumably take home significantly more with the Bears than he would’ve had he cleared waivers and remained in the Mets’ system. The 25-year-old has made 27 appearances (11 starts) at the big league level for New York since 2017. They’ve not gone well, as Flexen has a cumulative 8.07 ERA with 49 strikeouts and 54 walks in 68 innings.

Disastrous MLB results aside, Flexen was solid this season with Triple-A Syracuse. In 78.2 innings across 26 games (14 starts) in the hitter-friendly International league, he worked to a 4.46 ERA with a strong combination of strikeouts (26.7%) and walks (6.1%). He also showed a velocity boost in his brief big league time in 2019, averaging 94.54 MPH on his four-seam fastball, up from 93.31 MPH the year prior, per Brooks Baseball.

Between his youth, arm speed and high minors results, it’s easy to see why the Bears are intrigued by Flexen. He’ll need to demonstrate better control in the KBO, but Flexen’s certainly young enough to pop back up on MLB teams’ radars in the future.

November 9, 2020 at 8:12 AM
Bob W. said...

On Lindor:

"I'll take Sucky Mets for $100."

"This perennial All-Star played in the infield for the Cleveland Indians before landing with the Mets."

"Who is Carlos Baerga?"

"Wrong! Who is Roberto Alomar, Jr.?!"

R.I.P. Alex Trebek.

November 9, 2020 at 8:21 AM
John From Albany said...

Bob,

Will Lindor make that category in the future?

November 9, 2020 at 9:03 AM
Unknown said...

John:

The Mets may be going for the trifecta. I hope it doesn't work out that way.

Bob W

November 9, 2020 at 2:37 PM

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