FLASH: Rochester Red Wings extend PDC with Minnesota Twins

     The Rochester Red Wings and the Minnesota Twins are expected to announce the renewal of their Player Development Contract for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

(Well....this eliminates basically the only chance the Mets had of getting their AAA affiliate back on the East Coast. There are still some other teams open but the closest to New York happens to be Oklahoma City. From a logistical standpoint, Vegas remains the easiest trip to New York due to the number of available flights.)

Captain Kirk Should Keep Jason at Bay

The Mets have had their fair share of injuries so far this season. None has been more of an impact to the team, the overall roster and the fanbase as when Jason Bay went down with a fractured rib. Why? It cleared the way for Kirk Nieuwenhuis (or Captain Kirk as I refer to him) to stay in Queens.


Capt Kirk was supposed to be groomed for the leadoff role and center field position in the minors this season after the team sent him back to AAA at the end of Spring Training. Instead, he was called back up when Andres Torres went down and impressed everyone.


He has a .310 AVG, two Home Runs and 12 RBI. More importantly, he has a .383 OBP. He just finds a way to get on and finds a way to extend innings for the team. He has 35 hits and 13 walks in 33 games. He has scored 18 runs.


When he gets on, he makes it count. Fans have embraced him and it is no coincidence that the team has done very well since his call up. When Bay went down, it was a no-brainer; he had to stay up with the Mets. Since Torres has returned, Capt Kirk has been getting comfortable in that number two spot in the order and making himself at home quite nicely in left field.


No one has missed Bay. The Mets are hopeful he will be ready to start a rehab assignment as early as next week. This brings up a tough question: should Bay ride the bench as the fourth outfielder when he comes back?


Bay is batting .240 with just 15 games played. He is in his third year of a four year contract that has been plagued with injury and nonproductive plate appearances. If anyone could use a change of scenery, it's him.


Trouble is that his contract is so big the Mets would not be able to move it. And to sit someone making all that money in place of a younger and better hitter, would be nearly insane.


A platoon may knock Capt Kirk out of rhythm and prevent Bay from getting his stride too. Therefore, it would be worse for both players. So we have arrived at a stalemate. What is more important; the value of a contract wasting away on the bench or the health of a young team?


It's easy to say the player with the big contract has to play. It's harder to have to guts to sit him. In this case, it very well may be better for all involved right now to sit him and let Capt Kirk start when Bay does return healthy.


While it may not be the best choice for their wallets, the Mets must realize it is the best option. Bay has not done well here and is not going to either. He has not shown any signs of turning it around to make that contract remotely justifiable.


Therefore, they have to just suck it up and come to the realization that they bought an over-priced lemon that will have to sit in the garage while they take the inexpensive newer model out for a spin. Such is the way of the Mets.


In the end, giving Capt Kirk that chance and showing him that support and faith, would be far more value to the team in the long run. It would boost his confidence and give him a chance to work on the facets of his game that need the most improvement at the major league level.


This could be more beneficial and pay off for the next decade as opposed to having him ride the pine or shattering his confidence by sending him back down to AAA for a player only expected to stay around another year after this one.


If the Mets wanted to make a statement and a commitment to their youth movement, their fans and the league that they are sticking with the younger players. they must choose Capt Kirk over Jason Bay when the time for decisions is upon is.


Hopefully, for all of our sake, they make the right decision.

Anticipated 2012 Buffalo Bisons Roster

So here is my first of a series of post listing which prospects I think will be playing for which teams. These lists are of course coming out far too early but i think it will give viewers better look at the talent that is making its way to Flushing within the next few years. First up is the 2012 Buffalo Bisons.

• Catcher- Mike Nickeas

I initially had Nickeas as my MLB back-up catcher until the club signed Vinny Rottino. Rottino's flexibilty and the pop he has in his bat will get him into Flushing though leaving Nickeas back in Buffalo. The Canadian product batted .214 with only 2 HR's in 168 AB's for the Bisons so there's not much to write home about for him. On the flip side he did throw out 39% of would be base stealers.

• Infielders- Val Pascucci, Reese Havens, Jordany Valdespin, Zach Lutz

There's a nice mix of power and contact hitters here. The return of Pascucci at 1B brings back a legitimate power threat to the Bisons line-up. With 21 HR's and 91 RBI's in 443 AB's all he needs is some guys in front of him to get on base.

At 2B, I have Reese Havens making the jump up from AA. Now i know the guy has only 2 incomplete AA stints to his name and some will start he will start in Binghamton again in 2012 but the stats speak for themselves. When Havens was healthy he was mashing AA pitchers with a .301 avg and a SLG of .505 over his 2 stints. The guy can hit so why not challenge him with AAA.

At SS, I have Valdespin getting a full season's work with Buffalo. In his brief 2011 stint, he batted .280 but struck out almost 25% of the time. Defense will be a major concern with "Spin" as his 32 errors at SS last year in AA/AAA makes us wonder if he should change positions but his bat and speed in the Bisons line-up should make up for it.

Lastly at 3B, I have Zach Lutz returning. Like Havens, he can definitely swing the bat but has had trouble staying healthy. In 220 AB's, Lutz hit .295 with 11 HR's but was extremely unlucky after landing on the DL with a hamstring strain, and then being on it even longer when he broke his finger after being struck by a foul ball while sitting in the dugout. He also suffered two concussions from HBP's.

• Outfielders- Raul Reyes, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Fernando Martinez

In LF I have 24 yr old Raul Reyes being promoted from AA. Reyes hit an unimpressive .292 when compared to Lagares .370 however he does have 137 more career games at the level than Lagares does. He'll keep the seat warm till Lagares is done mashing AA pitching.

In CF i have Captain Kirk returning for his second stint. Kirk was on the 7 express train to Flushing going from St. Lucie to Buffalo in a short yr and a half. He would've probably been promoted before Duda had it not been for a season ending surgery. However if he can continue to hover around the .300 avg line and continue to play good defense in CF he'll be in Flushing sometime this season.

Lastly in RF, I have the one and only Fernando Martinez. I refuse to write anything else on him as i have officially given up on him and am willing to place Kirk, Lagares, and Puello above him in any OF prospect rankings.

• Starters- Mark Cohoon, Jeurys Familia, Chris Schwinden, Jenry Mejia, Dylan Owen

The rotation is going to be a pivotal point of interest this year for the Bisons. For now I only have 2 of the "Generation K 2.0" guys starting here. Once Mejia is back from his surgery he probably be placed in the bullpen to ease his way back but eventually i would think they put him back into the rotation for at least until September when they call him up for bullpen work. Now that Familia is on the 40 man his clock is ticking in terms of options. He's got 3 years to solidfy his spot as a MLB caliber pitcher or risk being claimed on waivers. Schwinden, Cohoon, and Owen are all returners from the 2011 team that posted a 4.36 ERA. Expect Harvey to join the group after 7 or so dominating starts in AA and for Wheeler to join after the AA All Star Break.

• Bullpen- Josh Stinson, Robert Carson, Jack Egbert, Erik Turgeon, Armando Rodriguez, Bradley Holt, Rhiner Cruz

I'm not going to lie, I dont spend too much time reading in relievers stock and potential. However Stinson is an interesting name who can possibly help out the Big League club from the right side. The same can be said abour Carson from the left side. It'll be interesting to see if Holt gets claimed via Rule 5 draft this year. If not it really shows how much his stock has fallen from his days of dominance in St. Lucie.

• Bench- Kai Gronauer, Luis Hernandez, Michael Fisher, Johnathan Malo, Russ Adams

No big names here. Just a couple of organizational guys.

All in all the 2012 Bisons season should have a lot of energy running through out the year. With Generation K 2.0 arriving and lots of impact positional young guys they should see a pretty successful 2012 season. Although i worry about the team defense and the bullpen, the rotation and line-up should be enough to at least propel the team to an above .500 record and put the talks of leaving the Mets organization to rest.