The Mack Attack - April 5, 2009

Mets:

1. New York Mets - This kills me picking this organization to win the NL East. I grew up in St. Louis and absolutely detested Strawberry, HoJo, Dykstra, Mookie, Doc (I snort after every game with Darryl)Gooden, Sid (I'm a fat elephant)Fernandez - I hate them and the list goes on and on. How much did I love Wainwright (a rookie) buckling Beltran's knees in game 6 of the 2006 NLCS...well - let's just say I am still excited about Adam doing that to Cardinal killer Beltran. But '09 is the dawn of a new era. The Mets only made two significant moves in the off season...but oh man were they huge. They added single season save record holder Francisco Rodriguez and stud closer, and someone who now becomes one of the best setup men in baseball, JJ Putz. That is all this team needed to add with a lineup that includes Jose Reyes, Beltran, Wright and Carlos Delgado. This team has Santana as the ace of the staff and Maine, Pelfrey & Perez as serviceable 2-4's. This team has to win their division or it will be a huge disappointment from the top down. - 2009 record 96-66

http://bigleaguebaseballblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/nl-east-preview.html


OF Joe Holden and P Joe Hietpas were released.

Mack: Holden was a good guy, who played extremely well for Brooklyn a couple of years ago and was considered the best defensive outfielder in the system two years ago. He was injured a while back and never got his legs again. Good luck Joe.


When Mets pitcher Oliver Perez takes the mound it is kind of like that line from Forrest Gump---"life is like a box of chocolate, you never know what your gonna get", whatever the heck that means. He seems to be at either end of the extremes; either on the money and in command (good Ollie), or wild and out of control (bad Ollie).

Mack: Boy, I hope this signing works out. The long term SP picture on the Mets looks very good, what with Jonathan Niese joining the five-some in 2010, and Bradley Holt scheduled in 2011… all the Mets need is one decent year out of Livan and Perez to finally shed his flakes…


Ken Rosenthal on Mets:

Mets: J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriguez will fortify the bullpen, but the rotation beyond Johan Santana could be a problem before September

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9410850/Predictions-for-all-30-MLB-teams

Mack: I don’t know about this team… on paper, the Mets solved what got them second place last year… put Putz and Rodriquez in the 8th and 9th inning of all the games last year in September, and walla… and there can only be good things from the bat of Sheffield. It only costs 400K to see if he has his attitude in check. No, the team is there, if the SPs hold up. I agree with Rosenthal.


And for all that Sheff brings to the table when he's at the dish, he takes away from the clubhouse with his demonstrative personality. His mouth has repeatedly caused problems at every one of his stops - this is, remember, the man who called Joe Torre a racist. Why bring in a me-first player like this now, when Jerry Manuel's message all spring long has been to put the team first above all? If he's happy coming off the bench, then fine. But does anyone really think that will be the case if he starts mashing? Manuel is a great communicator, but why put extra strain on him when he already has to answer to the ghosts of two September collapses past? The move only cost the club the league minimum salary, so it's clearly worth a risk. He's been a tremendous power hitter over the course of his career, and perhaps they'll catch lightning in a bottle. But when you take a closer look, this move has debacle written all over it. A past-his-prime 40-year-old slugger who can no longer play the field, and has been a distraction at every stop. This one will never work

http://www.examiner.com/x-1023-New-York-Mets-Examiner~y2009m4d3-A-riddle-wrapped-in-a-mystery-inside-an-enigma

Mack: This is one of the reasons I don’t rush to my computer and punch out an opinion piece every time the Mets sign someone. I simply try and look on the posititves, like, well… yes, Alou is old, but what if his bat comes alive in September? Or… yes, Lima’s a flake, but look at that rack on his wife… I stand by what I said above on Sheff… it only costs 400k to see if he can produce more than Ryan Church…


That is a .323 average over a season’s worth of at-bats. Now this is not to say that Daniel Murphy will hit that high in 2009. Chances are he will fall considerably short of that. But I think it would be very surprising if he was not better than a league-average hitter over a full season of at-bats. The average NL player hit .260 last year. So, we have a guy who makes contact, can hit for a good average, one who is not afraid to take a walk and who has enough sock in his bat to hit a good amount of doubles with some HR sprinkled in. I understand that people want to see him do it

http://metsonline.wordpress.com/2009/04/03/my-wager-on-daniel-murphy

Mack: That’s funny… I was thinking the same thing this morning about Murphy. People keep asking if this kid can hit, and all he’s done since coming to the Mets, playing winter ball, and playing ST is… hit. I never thought he’d be a starter, but I was wrong. This might be the best pure hitter on the team… John Sickles on Murphy:


Looking at comparable players, the top PECOTA comp is Paul O'Neill, which is intriguing given the fact that PECOTA doesn't like Daniel Murphy much for '09. Others include George Altman, Ben Broussard, Jim Northrup, Chris Richard, Brant Brown, Ricky Ledee, and Trot Nixon. Sim Scores bring up different names, Brian Giles, Rusty Greer, and Al Martin being the top three. The Greer comp is interesting: he hit .271/.355/.424, OPS+100 for the Rangers in 1995 at age 26, not far off of Murphy's .275/.321/.465/, OPS+106 mark last year. Greer broke through at age 27. Generally, I agree with the consensus regarding 2009, though I think he's capable of adding a bit more OBP as he gains experience. Murphy should have a long career as a platoon/fourth outfielder, perhaps not living up to the expectations created by his draft status and his '07 outburst, but certainly a player with value. If he can boost his production against lefties, there's still a shot he could do something Greer-like

http://www.minorleagueball.com

Mack: It’s hard not to get on this bandwagon.


B-Mets:


From the B-Mets:

It is with great sadness that the Binghamton Mets Baseball Club expresses its heartfelt condolences to those affected by the deadly shooting at the American Civic Association’s Front Street location. “The Binghamton Mets and the entire Binghamton community grieve for the families and friends impacted by this tragedy,” General Manager Scott Brown said. “We are all shocked that this occurred in our city, known for its low crime rate and safe neighborhoods.” The thoughts and prayers of the Binghamton Mets family are with those coping with this terrible calamity.


Mets Alumni:


The Four-Time Atlantic League Champion Somerset Patriots have announced the re-signing of the 2008 Atlantic League Player of the Year Josh Pressley

The Phillies purchased Miguel Cairo’s contract, making him the 25th man on the Phillies’ roster.

Philip Humber gave up four runs in one-third of an inning out of the pen against the Pirates on Saturday. His pre-season ERA is 7.53.

Mack: Humber is out of options so it’s either the Twins or buh-bye… it’s amazing no one is bitching anymore about the “4 great prospects” that were given up for Santana…



General:

Private equity legend Tom Hicks’ sports team holding company has defaulted on more than $500 million in loans, a source has told FINalternatives. Hicks Sports Group, which owns baseball’s Texas Rangers and hockey’s Dallas Stars, failed to make its interest payment on $525 million in syndicated bank loans on Monday. The group is now in talks with its lenders about a forbearance. Hicks made his billions on leveraged buyouts, founding private equity firm Hicks Muse Tate & Furst, now HM Capital, in 1989. He retired from the firm in 2006

http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/hicks_sports_group_defaults_on_a_half_billion_dollars_of_debt

Mack: I worked for this dude for one year… he hired a close associate of mine to run his radio stations, who, in turn, hired me as VP of National Sales… then, 4 months in, he dumps the guy that hired me… needless to say, they didn’t renew my one year contract, which I never signed anyway… it’s hard to find someone that no one has ever said a nice word about… even George has his fans… I never found one of Tom Hicks…