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| Photo by Mack Ade |
.metsparadise - Coming out of 2009 one of the unknowns the Mets had was catcher. Omir Santos came off an impressive season, but was he really ready for a full season defensively or offensively? Was prospect Josh Thole ready to be the everyday starter? Mets management decided the answer to both those questions was no, and went out and signed two veteran catchers: Rod Barajas and Henry Blanco. Just like the Mets started with a bang so did Barajas. In the month of April a month where the Mets went 14-9, Barajas hit .227 with 5 home runs and 11 RBIs. While the Mets veered off course for a bit in the month of May, Barajas stayed right on course. Barajas hit 6 home runs and 19 RBIs with a .304 average in the month of May. Two months into the season, Barajas was hitting .265 with 11 home runs, and 30 RBIs
Sickles - With few exceptions, I believe that most pitchers benefit from a full season at each level of the minor leagues, and that skipping levels or pushing pitchers too fast often backfires. For a high school pitcher, I would start them off in rookie ball after they sign. Depending on the specific pitcher and his background, for his first full season I would start him off in extended spring training, then send him either to Low-A or short-season A (depending on what affiliates my organization has) in late May or early June. They need a full year of Low-A and a full year of High-A, a full year of Double-A and at least a half year (preferably more) of Triple-A, before I would consider them for a large major league role. For a kid drafted at age 18, this would put them on the cusp of the majors at age 23 or so. Most Latin American prospects should be handled like the high school kids, perhaps even a bit more conservatively if they need time adjusting to North American language and culture.
thebrooklyntrolleyblogger - The partnership group headed by Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon purchased the NY Metropolitan BBC on Jan. 4, 1980 from Charles Shipman Payson, (who took control of the team after his wife Joan passed away 5 years earlier), and their daughter, club president Lorinda de Roulet. The Mets' original and only owner to that point passed away October 4, 1975. We owe everything as Met fans to Mrs. Joan Payson, the New York Baseball Giants fan and season ticket holder at the Polo Grounds, and to Mr. William Shea. Joe McDonald had been the General Manager for the previous 5 years under the old ownership. The way I understand it, the new ownership told Mr. McDonald the last few years at Shea weren't his fault but they (Doubleday and Wilpon) wanted to go in a new direction. The club made an offer to Mr. McDonald to stay with the team in a different capacity which he did for one year to help make the new ownership's transition smoother. But by 1981 he was gone from the Mets' employ moving on to other endeavours.
bleacherreport - Grade: A+ - Stats: (11-9, 2.84, 1.19) - No one could have seen this coming from R.A. Dickey. His career low ERA before this season was 4.62. The knuckleballer seemed to be the most consistent pitcher on the Mets staff. Dickey is a candidate for the Comeback Player of the Year award. Many fans may not realize this but Dickey actually started the season in the minors. His first start didn’t come until May 19th. Dickey was 7th in the National League with his 2.84 ERA this year.
.prospectjunkies - When a friend of mine told me the Reds had signed Aroldis Chapman, my immediate respon se was, “Okay, who is that?” I don’t really keep up with prospects. I probably shouldn’t admit that on this particular site, and perhaps it will be edited out, but the future talent isn’t what interests me about baseball. I don’t have that kind of attention span. This is why I watch television on hulu.com while I simultaneously view movies on my actual television, and why I play yahoo euchre during my Grad School classes. It’s probably also why my grades could be better, and it’s definitely why after writing for a solid 4 minutes, I’m going to take a break. Okay, I’m back. When I heard Aroldis was an untested, unpolished flamethrower, with a fastball that reaches well beyond 100mph, I thought it was a joke. When I finally realized that he actually throws that hard, I thought it was a terrific signing by the Reds. With that kind of stuff, if Aroldis had proven to have control of his pitches, there’s no way the Reds could have acquired him. The Yankees or Red Sox would probably have outbid everyone. The Reds, and clubs in a similar financial situation, need to allocate their money to the farm system, to develop cheap talent, and take risks on free agents that the large market clubs aren’t willing to do. After Aroldis’s 6-year, $30.25 million deal expires and he’s reached his potential, then the Yankees will get him. Apparently, the Nationals felt the same way I did, since they finished 2nd in the Aroldis sweepstakes (think about Strasburg, Chapman and Bryce Harper on the same team in 3 years).
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