Mack Ade – Morning Report – 9-28-13 – Bud Selig, Amed Rosario, Cesar Puello, Dilson Herrera, Gavin Cecchini

The announcement that the Commissioner of Baseball is stepping down after the same season that Sandy Alderson’s contract runs out with the Mets is very interesting. If I remember it correctly, they had this whole scenario planned before. Any replacement for Selig requires a written vote of approval by 75 percent of the 30 owners and has to take place no later than si months from the date of the contract expiration. I have no idea where Alderson currently stands with the other teams in the league. It’s not like baseball would be losing one of the more successful General Managers in the business.

I would think that the first indication of whether or not Alderson plans on crossing over is the length of Terry Collins’ new contract. On year would make this whole process wrapped with a bow.

 

  Harry (Wisconsin): Amed Rosario only hit .241 in the APPY league. Am I missing something?

Clint Longenecker: Harry, you have a great point. Rosario's stats alone would not dictate No. 1 status. But evaluators loved his defense, athleticism and hitting potential. One evaluator even said that Rosario played better defense than a perennial All-Star shortstop that came through the league at the same age. Despite his pedestrian offensive numbers, Rosario drew rave reviews for his hitting ability and power potential. A huge factor is in statistical season was he was the only position player to qualify that played the whole year as a 17-year-old. His numbers might not be stellar for a few more years, as he will nearly always be among the youngest players in his league as he advances. He will play all of next year at a full season club at 18, which is extremely rare.

Greg K (NYC): How many different scouts were consulted regarding Amed Rosario and how would you describe the range of opinions?

Clint Longenecker: Great question, Greg. We spoke with over a dozen evaluators that saw him in game action. Frankly the feedback was fairly consistent. Only one person said that they questioned his ability to stay at short. But that individual said it was largely a by product of his age and not sure how much weight he will put on over the next few years, not anything about his present ability. One person said that they think he will get faster considering his age.

John (Chicago): Can you contrast Amed Rosario with 2008 Wilmer Flores, the #2 prospect in the league at the time?

Clint Longenecker: Given the team and age of the players when they played in the Apply League, there are some similarities between the two. The separators are the speed, athleticism and defensive profile. Even at the time, Flores was a below average runner that people thought would profile in a corner. While Rosario has a good speed and the ability to stay at shortstop for the foreseeable future.

 

John (Chicago): I'm surprised that you found consistently positive reviews on Amed Rosario. When he first signed, Ben Badler said that he was a very divisive prospect among scouts. Is the consensus just a result of increased exposure?

Clint Longenecker: Given Ben's reports, I was also surprised, frankly. It sounds like he has improved over this time, which has helped narrow the gap between the ends of the evaluation range.

Michael Stern (Rochester NY): Does Rosario project more as a leadoff hitter or middle of the order bat? In you write up it says he can run (although he only stole 2 out of 8 bases) or will his projected power play further down the line-up as he fills out. Thanks for the chat!

Clint Longenecker: He profiles to hit for power power, especially as he begins to fill his frame. It’s unlikely he will profile as a leadoff hitter. That 2-8 in stole base attempts is a perfect example that he has developmental strides left. Its just a matter of him learning how to use his speed advantageously. - http://www.baseballamerica.com/chat/?1380197414

                Mack – Reading that one of your players is a prospect is exciting, but when Baseball America, the premier prospect site in the world, says you have the top prospect in a specific league, that’s really exciting. I tell you this all the time… batting average, ERA, stats, and SABR shit are not the only factors in this sport. We knew Cesar Puello had the God given ability to excel in this sport when he passed through Savannah here, regardless of his stats. It looks like that Rosario will now definitely wind up in Savannah and will push Gavin Cecchini to St. Lucie. Bad news for Phillip Evans, but he simply hasn’t earned a starting job at either level.

The Mets seem to be building themselves quite the infield (1B – Dominic Smith, 2B – Dilson Herrera, SS Rosario or Cecchini, 3B David Wright, C Travis d’Arnaud) that will begin to pay benefits around 2017.

MLB Playoff format changes: How it actually helps the New York Mets

As of Thursday, the office of MLB Commissioner Bud Selig was still hammering out the details to expand the current playoff format. The plan is to expand it by one extra wild card team for a total of ten playoff teams (three division winners and two wild card winners).

If this happens (more like when), it will make a big change in the balance of each division. Take last season for example. Had this format been in place, both the Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox would've been in the playoffs.

There would've been no such collapse of historic magnitude to speak of. Terry Francona would still have a job and the Red Sox could still eat fried chicken and drink beer in the clubhouse. Let's go back further.

Had this format been instituted in 2007, our beloved New York Mets would've been in the playoffs. Who knows how far they could have gone that year? They ended on such a low note but had they gotten into the playoffs, they might have found a renewed energy. We will never know.

Returning to present day, our Mets are entering a season where the Phillies are heavy favorites in the division. The Braves are highly thought of as a potential playoff contender and the new look, new name Miami Marlins are capable of being another contender.

The Washington Nationals, led by Mets great Davey Johnson, can potentially be an x-factor. Then, there is our Mets. We all are aware of their roster changes. The stories of what they did or didn't do over the past few months have been well overly written.

Thanks to everyone's not so favorite commissioner of a professional sport, all of these teams will be vying for not just one division title, but one of two possible wild card spots.

With a very weak N.L. West and a thinner than usual N.L. Central, there is a chance the N.L. East will be the most competitive division in all of baseball, netting as many as three of the five available playoff spots.

If this scenario pans out, the Mets will not need to shock the world by taking the division outright. They may not even stun a division rival by overtaking them for second place. All they really need is to sit in third place with a better record than the second place team in the other divisions, in other words, the fifth best record.

Impossible? Not really. With a healthy Johan Santana returning, a decent to good rotation, a quality bullpen and a solid and consistent offense this team can accomplish more than most will expect them to.

If they make a conscience effort to rally behind the concept that just getting into the playoffs and then anything can happen, they could very well succeed.

If they realize that a fifth best record is all they need, they can get to that mark. They must shoot for the stars and settle for the clouds. In other words, they have to make their goal be lofty enough that they can still finish well if they don't get to what the desired goal is.

They should set their sights on first place and be happy to settle into third with the fifth best record. That would make them a playoff team.  From there, who knows? We have seen example after example, time and time again what happens when a hot team gets into the postseason.

If the season were to transpire in the particular way the Mets need it to, that extra playoff spot could make the Mets a very dangerous team.

Head of Surgery and Psychiatry: Sandy Alderson

By - Jarod Alley               

In a perfect world the New York Mets would be annual competitors in the playoff picture, harvesting young talent and spending their free agent dollars on the most premier talent. Reality though has held a different fate for our lovable losers. We’ve been through multiple questionable trades, reckless free agent spending, a sapped farm system, over exaggerated major league rosters, seasons filled with injuries, an ongoing financial dispute and three different coaches. All of this happened within the last 10 years.

                Yeah, it is tough being a Met fan sometimes, but it’s also tough not to like the Wilpons decision in hiring Sandy Alderson to reign in a team that was looking like it was going to take a very long downward spiral. Even if he were forced upon Fred and Jeff by Bud Selig and Major League Baseball, Sandy has been very efficient in re-structuring the seemingly fractured parts and pieces of this team. True, he did let Jose Reyes walk almost without much dialogue but how many of you would have guaranteed Jose…Jose, Jose, Jose  that kind of contract? I know I wouldn’t. Without a solid pitching staff the retention of Reyes combined with Wright, Davis, Murphy and question marks at other positions would seem like a major gamble to put together a World Series caliber team.

           

     One can hardly argue with some of the other decisions he has made too. He’s been signing guys that are very much low risk high reward guys to stitch up vacancies on the team. Last year we saw the resurgent Isringhausen and durable Capuano perform above and beyond expectations both on salaries that amounted to roughly 2.5 million, combined. Also, for the first time in as long as I can remember our Rule 5 draft pick ended up being a very serviceable arm in our bullpen. While Pedro Beato wasn’t a complete success he still proved to be a useful piece out of the bullpen and will be back with the organization since they were able to keep him on the roster all of last year.

                In regards to the minors he’s been active to shape it to his liking as well. Trading Carlos Beltran mid-year for a top pitching prospect in Zack Wheeler helped to gain favor with fans by adding a young phenom arm to go along with Matt Harvey.  In years past the Omar Minaya regime would have clung to their expiring contracts with little hope of making a push into the playoffs thus leaving the club without any return on investment. Instead last year Sandy let Reyes walk saving major cash and gaining an additional draft pick along with the midseason acquisition of Wheeler; two moves that should h elp strengthen a middling minor league system.

                While many of his decisions won’t be known to be truly successful until the next 5-10 years, he has created an environment where competence is not as easily questioned. I for one hope his disinfecting, stitching, splinting and overall medication proves to be the elixir the Mets have been looking for to make this team successful not just in the now but for the foreseeable future as well.

The Great Met Depression

On December 11th 2008 a date that Met fans have come to call "Black Thursday" Bernie Madoff was arrested for securities fraud. Those who had invested money with his firm stood to lose everything. For Met fans, the owners of their beloved team stood to lose a lot of money, but they assured the fans, "This will not affect the team."

Later we learned that the Wilpons, good friends of Bernie Madoff, may have actually profited from the legendary ponzi scheme. If not profit, perhaps they had, at least, colluded with the swindler to rob others.

The court case seems to be favoring the Wilpons... a little, but does that mean they should still own the team?

NO!

What happens when Frank McCourt has an ugly divorce and can't sustain a major market team? The league steps in and takes it away. What happens when the Wilpon's are set to lose millions? The MLB loans them money.

Now I understand why the MLB likes the Wilpons. They play ball, they follow the bonus guide in the draft, they support everything Bud Selig says and they even hire the general manager he picks, but something has got to give.

Why Am I Harping On This Now?

Photo Courtesy of: Joe Petruccio at MyMetsJournal

Jose Reyes has left the Mets to bring his services to South Beach. Unlike Lebron James, he didn't become Public Enemy #1 doing so (Thanks for no publicity stunt, Jose). He left the Mets because the Mets are no longer a team that is capable of putting out $100+ Mil in payroll. Forget home-town discounts. If the Mets were owned by people not in a financial crisis, they would keep one of their best and most loved (by the fans) players.

Look at the payrolls from 2011 of the other major market franchises:

• N.Y. Yankees $201,689,030
• Philadelphia $172,976,381
• Boston $161,407,476
• Los Angeles Angels $138,998,524
• Chicago White Sox $129,285,539
• Chicago Cubs $125,480,664
• San Francisco $118,216,333
• Los Angeles Dodgers $103,788,990

Now... the Mets HAD sat in that range back in 2011 but in 2012, the Met payroll will likely sit below $100,000,000. They won't sniff that $120 Mil figure (that was a $20 Mil cut from 2010) and they may belong to the bottom 16 teams in payroll when all is said and done.

Does Milwaukee suddenly have more revenue and a larger fan base then a New York team? Does SNY bleed money? Will the league do anything to end our suffering?

No... No... and No.

The bubble popped and the Met fan is left on the breadline of the sports world... again.