Matthew Silva - If not $100 Million, Then What?

 

When the season ended, I was convinced that we would be shelling out at least one $100 million dollar contract. We needed to. To acquire the true talent that can help improve this Mets team, they have to shell out the big bucks. Players like Jacoby Ellsbury and Shin Soo Choo won't come for any less. But after listening to Sandy Alderson and looking over the layout of this team, I have changed my outlook. The Mets don't need to fall into the $100 million dollar contract trap; at least I am still trying to talk myself into that believing that.

The Mets need to refrain from dishing out contracts like this for a couple of reasons, most notably the fact that one player is not going to change the culture. There is no Will Myers or Mike Trout in this free agent pool. Fellow contributor Craig Brown pointed out that we need some money in the future to hopefully lock up players like Matt Harvey or Zack Wheeler. Most of all, the Mets can't be burned again. The last thing this developing team needs is to bog down with heavy pressure of too many ineffective contracts. Flexibility in a major league salary will allow for improvement through trades and international signings. The ebbs and flows of money coming through Flushing will hopefully return to a more effective pace.

Many people, including myself, have stated on more than one occasion that the creation of this year's Boston Red Sox is the consummate blueprint that will be followed. Frugality will be encouraged and "smart spending" will be the term you'll hear over the offseason. However, the Mets can't always shop at garage sales and flea markets. This team won't survive with six million dollar men, even if one of them is Steve Austin. Jhonny Peralta and Curtis Granderson could be the answer to that problem. Two players for the price of one Jacoby Ellsbury. Seems like a sensible idea in theory.

Will it solve everything? Probably not. This team needs to improve in a lot of areas and I can't see them filling all the gaps in one short offseason. It also doesn't help that their best pitcher is on the shelf for all of 2014. But again, this is the first step. The signings that happen this winter will set into motion the future that we've always talked about. Hopefully, the "smart spending" will bring about some success.

A Letter to Sandy

 

Dear Sandy Alderson,

Are you aware of the date? It's the offseason of 2013. You do remember what you promised Mets fans around this time, don't you? For years you have talked about the future and being competitive again. 2014 was said to be the year when competing again was going to be a given. Your mouth wrote the checks and now you have to cash them.

That's not to say that you have to break the bank. We all know that there isn't really that game-changing talent out there in free agency. Hell, this class of potential players is littered with a fair amount of middling guys. But you have to get somebody we can get excited about. There is potential to field an effective, competitive and most importantly, a winning team. We want to see it.

Don't listen to Jeff Wilpon. You have more than four good players, albeit not many. There are definitely holes to fill on the roster. Get someone who can mash. Marlon Byrd led the team in homeruns. A guy off the street displayed more power than was expected from so many of our in house guys. A real slugger (or two) could really lengthen this lineup that has been mostly dreadful over the last few years. Who really fears our hitters? Who should be feared? Go from there.

As far as pitching, don't quit on that bullpen. Little tweaks could really help make this unit an effective one. I know you're counting on developed players, but don't skimp. The starting rotation needs someone to fill the clown sized shoes left by Matt Harvey. This may seem like an impossible task and to some extent it is, but don't let it stop you from trying. There are some intriguing players on the market who could definitely help make carry this rotation in 2014. Ryan Vogelsong could come on the cheap after a down year. Bronson Arroyo might thrive in the vast spaces of Flushing after his time in Cincinnati. Think it through.

Lets be honest with ourselves for a second. The Mets aren't going to win anything in 2014, but that's okay. You don't have to shoot for the moon just yet. Take the little steps now to help this team win. Lets stop being under .500 for a change. Give some young arms a shot to see what they have because in 2015, this rotation could be the best in the majors. Then you'll have your winner. The forward thinking remains, sadly. I thought that would eventually go away. And yet, I don't hate it anymore. Just get this team better. We'll be grateful for it. I promise.

Your Pal,

Matt

Matthew Silva - Jeff Wilpon Said What?

 



Jeff Wilpon addressed the media about the Mets plans for 2014 and has some pretty interesting things to say. After reading each comment, the lunacy that came out of his mouth should be seen as very distressing to Mets fans.

His first comment is true. There is a glut at first base, albeit a very untalented one. Yet, this was the reason that Jose Abreu wasn't pursued? We simply have too many subpar players at one position that the Mets don't feel the need to add one more, even if they know at least one will be traded off in the near future. Just because you have a number of players that could play the position doesn't mean that it is an embarrassment of riches. It really is just an embarrassment. Anyone who manned first base for this team last year can be replaced and a prospective player like Jose Abreu is an upgrade, even if you put all five players together to form the first base version of Voltron. Thanks, Jeff Wilpon. You're an idiot.

The next great line he throws out is that the organization only feels solid about four of the 25 roster spots on this team. Read that again. Four players. Jonathon Niese, David Wright, Dillon Gee and Zach Wheeler. But, where are the five first basemen that you just praised over a potential star? Forgot about them already? Sweet. He doesn't name players who will seem to be very important to next year, like Travis d'Arnaud, Bobby Parnell or even Daniel Murphy. Sure none of those guys are world beaters right now, but could he maybe show a little more confidence in the way this team has been put together? What team other than maybe the Houston Astros feels good about just 16% or less of their team? I'm all for the idea of competition at every position and evaluating, but why should we feel good about the process if everything we have done produces a team that isn't confident about over 4/5 of the roster?

I realize that the offseason is slow and Jeff Wilpon was caught at an event and answered random questions, but man was this discomforting to hear. This is supposed to be a year of more comfort where the plan would be to improve on a brighter future rather than dancing in the dust bowl of losing and despair. Comments like these made my Jeff Wilpon bring visions of the latter rather than the former. Always fun to start the offseason on a low note, I guess.

What do you think of these comments and the state of the Mets as they stand now?

Models for Success

 

The St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox are set to face each other in the World Series tomorrow. It should be a fantastic series that pits two of the best teams in baseball. Why is this series of interest to Mets fans? Well, maybe we can get a glimpse of how our organization should be run. Both teams got to the World Series with different methods and I think a lot can be learned from how these two teams were put together.

St. Louis has the closest blueprint for what the Mets have now. This team built its  foundation from within. Their drafts and farm systems have yielded countless contributors to this team every year. The cornerstones of this franchise have never played anywhere other than for the Cardinals. Jon Jay, Yadier Molina, David Freese; the list goes on and on with homegrown talent. The only two places that have been filled from outside the organization have been the corner outfields with Matt Holliday and Carlos Beltran. Does this sound like the lineup blueprint for what the Mets will be trying to accomplish this offseason?

The starting rotation produces more of the same. Young arms that have been given the chance to contribute to this club in important situations. Shelby Miller and Michael Wacha are the new studs that, along with Adam Wainwright, form a very effective troika of starting pitchers. The bullpen has had more plug and play than the rest of the organization, but still has organizational depth. Trevor Rosenthal has blended with new faces like Randy Choate and a reborn Edward Mujica to complete their team. St. Louis sits at a team payroll closing in on $102 million dollars so this isn't to say that a team like this doesn't come with some cost, but their greatest asset is knowing when not to make the big salary move. Their refusal to pay Albert Pujols was considered heresy by some who worship Pujols as a baseball god, however, his play has done nothing to make the Cardinals regret moving on with Allen Craig, who is only the best hitter with RISP on the planet.

The St. Louis Cardinals just seem to do everything right and to some extent as a Mets fan, I hate their guts. But you have to respect the innate ability to always be right. The Boston Red Sox aren't always right, but they sure didn't do a whole lot of wrong this year.

Few people seem to remember just how terrible this team was a year ago. The team was written off, doomed to a wasted year of irrelevance with beer and chicken jokes being thrown in their faces. Boston of course went on to shock the baseball world and is now competing for a championship. The question of how can be attributed to the correct distribution of funds for players that fit in with the team and what they were trying to do. They got rid of cap salary destroyers like Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford and found players like Shane Victorino and Stephen Drew who were able to produce in the situations where the former players could not. The team became more balanced and even got a shot to the arm with the acquisition of Jake Peavy to the starting rotation.

Boston never had a terrible team design. There were obviously star players on the roster and they just needed complimentary players. Now, Mike Napoli definitely plays better than anything you would consider complimentary, but  his addition is the type of calculated add that moves a team into contention. They needed a power bat to help David Ortiz. They identified that need and filled it without mortgaging their future. When 2014 comes, this team may look nothing like the one playing in the World Series. They are set to move on with the future of players like Xander Bogaerts and could surely lose out on Jacoby Ellsbury to free agency, but the new regime in Boston has gambled and won. I'm inclined to believe that the winning won't stop there.

When you watch this series, think about how these teams got there. The process for both teams was successful and the Mets could go a long way by implementing a little from both organizations.

Oh and just a prediction: Cardinals in 7. Pitching is just too good right now.

Home Grown Phuture

Home Grown Phuture: This image is burned into my mind as the low point of the Wright and Reyes love fest. Home Grown, means a lot to Met fans... even if it perhaps shouldn't. David Wright isn't from Flushing, he never went to the Whitestone Deli for rice pudding and he doesn't know that the world lost something great when Lum's Chinese packed up shop and left town. HOWEVER, Met fans treat him like we personally nursed him and got him through his terrible twos. We may not have "RAISED" Wright and Reyes but we saw them as kids in the farm who could have wound up being nothing... and we saw them become something.

2014 New York Mets: So... while we're all fawning over generation 2K and the 5 young arms who may find themselves in the 2013 Met rotation I thought I'd focus on this home grown hitting that might find its way to Flushing by 2014. Put your rose colored glasses on and join me as I preview the VERY home grown 2014 New York Mets.

1. Jose Reyes, SS (S) - Reyes will be over 30 but still capable of getting on base better than nearly any other pair of legs in baseball. Reyes may no longer be shooting for records in stolen bases but he's still a threat on the base paths and capable of stealing 30-40 bags every year. Plus... the contact oriented players who protect him have made Reyes a run scoring machine as he doesn't need to STEAL to get from 1st to 2nd to 3rd.

2. Reese Havens, 2B (L) - In 2012 Reese finally put his injuries behind him and after an unfortunate injury to Daniel Murphy, got his shot to play in the majors. Reese proved to be one of the most advanced eyes promoted within the Met system as he managed an OBP above .400 in his first half season. Since then he's become a dangerous #2 hitter who is adept at moving Jose Reyes around the bases. He knocked 16 HRs in 2013 and hopes to improve upon that in 2014.

3. Cory Vaughn, RF (R) - Cory Vaughn replaced Jason Bay as the starter in left field after his successes in Spring Training (2013) combined with a dominance of AA (2012) forced the Mets to promote him. Vaughn eventually shifted back to his natural position of RF and quickly made Met fans enamored with his speed, patience and power mix. Vaughn supplanted David Wright in the #3 spot after the all-star break because of his .330 average.

4. Ike Davis, 1B (L) - Ike Davis won the NL MVP in 2012 with a 56 HR onslaught and has since become the hero of New York. His HRs took a slight dip in 2013 (43) but he hopes to turn the power back up with all the talent that now surrounds him. Davis was always a sure glove and has easily taken the Gold Glove award in 2012 and 2013. The NLCS MVP from 2013, he has become the quiet and composed leader of the Mets in the clubhouse.

5. David Wright, 3B (R) - David has done everything New York has ever wanted of him. In 2012 he carried the Mets with Davis into the post season. In 2013 he brought the Mets to the World Series and in 2014... he's promised New Yorkers a ring. David's no longer a .300 hitter but down in the five hole he's become an RBI machine. Though... hitting behind Davis has caused him to steal considerably fewer bases.


6. Brandon Nimmo, LF (L) - The Mets are eager to see what Nimmo will do with his opportunity to play every day. The Mets traded Juan Lagares in the off season to improve the bullpen because they knew that Nimmo was on the way. Nimmo hit 37 HRs between AA and AAA in 2013 and led the Met minors in SLG, OPS and RBIs. The Mets think he'll one day be hitting dead center in the heart of their order but know he'll succeed wherever they place him.


7. Wilmer Flores, C (R) - Who would have thought that moving Flores to catcher would have made as much sense as it did. The kid with good hands and a strong arm who didn't have the range to play short... SURE had the range to be one of the league's best catchers. Flores ended the 2013 season hitting .363 with 17 HRs and he hopes to improve on his power numbers in 2014. Matt Harvey, the new Ace of the rotation, has lauded Flores' development calling games behind the plate.

8. Matt Den Dekker, CF (L) - Den Dekker took some licks when he replaced Angel Pagan mid-way through 2012. He's known for his defense as he ever was but he's also getting things done with his bat. He hit .239 in 2012, raised that 13 points in 2013 and hopes for even more improvement in 2014. His power has been surprising. Only Jose Reyes hit more triples than Den Dekker in 2013 and his 11 HRs were timely. His catch in the 7th inning of the final game of the 2013 NLCS preventing Bryce Harper from tying the game will go down in history as one of the greatest catches in Met history.

People... don't look for the clouds to rain on my parade. Sure... Flores isn't a catcher, Nimmo hasn't signed, Vaughn has yet to prove his NYP power, Davis isn't a TOP slugging 1B, Havens is an injury MACHINE and Den Dekker may never be more than a #4 OF. Hoping for the best never hurt anyone. Just beware the spread that GQ Magazine has planned for this bunch.