The Morning Report 6.17.2015 | Ceciliani Continues to Rake, Mets Becoming Dark Horses, R.A. Dickey Trade Revisited.

Joe D. | Metsmerized Online- Playing left field in place of Michael Cuddyer who got the game off, outfielder Darrell Ceciliani went 2-for-3 on Tuesday night as the Mets edged the Blue Jays 3-2. Ceciliani, who played a pivotal role in the win, continues to earn playing time and is hitting .538 over his last six games dating back to June 11 while playing solid defense.“We use the term loosely a lot, but to me he typifies it: He’s a baseball player,” Terry Collins said. “No batting gloves, hits the ball to all fields, runs the bases hard, runs them intelligently.” The 24-year old rookie continues to make the most of his opportunity and he’s quickly become an integral part of the Mets bench.

(Chris Soto: I'm loving what Ceciliani is doing. Yea the K rate is high, but he's finding holes in the defense when he does hit the ball. Even if/WHEN that luck runs out, he still provides value off the bench as a late inning pinch runner and defensive replacement for Cuddyer in LF. Plus....hey... Grandy and Cuddy are no spring chickens, The Mets will need to give them sporadic days off during the summer months.)


Matt Turner | Rant Sports- The New York Mets are far from the team that won 11 straight games in April, but that doesn’t mean they’re ready to lay down just yet. Even though they’re only 7-7 in June, they’re 4-1 in their last five games including a series victory over rivals Atlanta Braves and an extra-inning win over the red-hot Toronto Blue Jays. As they continue to play without their captain, David Wright, the Mets keep finding ways to win games — pretty or not — and manage to hold their lead atop the NL East. Their recent stretch of play is what makes you think the Mets can be dark horse contenders. Sometimes they just get hot, and even though they might not have the most formidable lineup in baseball, they still find ways to win.

(Chris Soto: It is widely known that when it comes to playoff time...the team with the best rotation and the best bullpen generally is going to win the series. The Mets can match up and beat anyone in baseball with their starting pitching. The bullpen currently is on the weaker side, but, once everyone gets healthy, the combo of Mejia in the 7th, Parnell in the 8th, Familia closing, and Blevins keeping lefties at bay, is one of the more formidable combos in baseball as well.


Darrell Samuels | Call to the Pen- This week, the Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Mets play in a home-and-home four game series. After New York Mets starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard pitched 6 incredible innings against his former team on Monday night, many people were probably playing the ‘what if’ game. On paper Toronto now appears to have gotten the short end of the stick. Dickey is now 40 years old and probably not much left in the tank. Syndergaard is 22 years old and has a long career ahead of him. The Mets are fantastic during the middle of June this season. The Blue Jays are above .500 but still not at the top of the hill yet.

(Chris Soto: LOL.... the short end of the stick is an understatement here. Darrell only talks about a comparison between Thor and Dickey. d'Arnaud was also part of the deal and is developing into one of the Top 5 offensive catchers in baseball. Then you throw in John Buck who was packaged with Marlon Byrd to bring back a nice high leverage reliever in Vic Black as well as the club's new career 2B Dilson Herrera. Lets not forget the Wild Card in the trade Wuilmer Becerra, who is destroying Southern League pitching and is on the cusp of a promotion to the Florida State League. No....the Mets didn't just win this trade.....they ROBBED the Blue Jays.)

2-10-13 – R.A. Dickey, Jason Giambi, Don Newcombe

R.A. Dickey‏ @RADickey43

heading south tomorrow morning, excited for what lies ahead for the Jays nation.

From the ‘How Sad’ section of the rag, The Cleveland Indians signed Jason Giambi to a minor league contract. Giambi will play 2013 as a 42-year old, an age where you’re supposed to be teaching sports  not playing it.

I have the McAfee virus program on my computer and when I type in the words “Cleveland Indians” on my search page, a warning page comes up saying “Whoa… are you sure you want to go there??

Giambi makes the number of non-roster invitees grow to 23. This is a team with a $65mil payroll, 94 losses last season, and a fan base going nowhere. There’s only one lengthy contract on this team and that’s the $15mil/yr that is being paid to RF Nick Swisher through 2016.

This team needs everything, especially young pitchers… a possible trade target could be LHH Michael Brantley (.288, 6-hr, 60-RBI)who is in the last year of his contract.

MILB - In fact, five black players appeared in the Minor Leagues in 1946, all as part of Dodger president Branch Rickey's "great experiment." In New Hampshire, future stars Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella made their debuts with the Nashua Pride of the Class B New England League. Both men reported that there was virtually no racial prejudice in the small town of 35,000 people, and both were instrumental in leading their club to the league championship. Campanella made his Major League debut in 1948, and Newcombe followed one year later. And while their initial foray into white organized baseball may have been overlooked, the duo is lodged in the public consciousness as first-rate ballplayers and commendable social pioneers.

I May Be Wrong, But… Gary Carter, R.A. Dickey, Chris Schwinden, Lucas Duda

The Mets announced they plan to honor Hall of Famer Gary Carter on April 5 prior to the season opener vs. the Braves at Citi Field. Members of his family will throw out the first ball. Carter should have died pulling a Mets paycheck. If you can employ Wally Backman… well, you know where I’m going. Carter had his hiccup with the Mets when I was “out of the loop” recovery from a brain injury. David Rubin filled me in a few weeks ago and I then went on line and read all about the Art Howe-Keith Hernandez thing. With respect for the dead, it did seem that Carter went too far but guess you have to be there to determine if it was enough to be removed from the organization he loved. And, wasn’t it Hernandez that cried on camera when Carter died? Hmm. I hope he calls in sick on opening day. 

 R.A. Dickey wrote in his book that came out this week that he was abused as a child. Some of us that follow this team still thing he is. It takes a lot of strength to write something like this and then, publish it. Most just write it to get it off their chest and then throw the manuscript in the bottom draw of their desk. R.A. has had a hell of a twelve months… Mets, mountains, and memoirs (Dickey pitched in an intrasquad game Tuesday: 8.0IP, 7-H, 1-ER, 1-BB, 5-K, 105-P, 70-strikes). 

 Well, Chris Schwinden had one of those outings yesterday that every prospect dreads. You’re just about to be told to pack your bags and you’re coming north and you go out and toss a bad outing. I have had Chris as a long guy/SP6 that would come along in case either Johan Santana needs relief, or Mike Pelfrey doesn’t come around. Will this outing hurt him? It won’t help. 

It’s starting to come quite apparent that Lucas Duda is going to be the home run leader of this team in 2012. That makes you a #4 hitter in my book. There seems to be a good chance that Duda, David Wright, Daniel Murphy, and Ike Davis can combine for 100-HRs and 400-RBIs this season. Now, all we have to do is get 20/80 out of Jason Bay and this team may just win a few games they lost last year.

I May Be Wrong, But… R.A. Dickey. Mike Pelfrey, Matt Harvey, BA Ranking

 

 • I mentioned the other day after the last Santana outing that it then seemed like the Mets had three of their rotational pitchers ready to start the season. Well, after watching R.A. Dickey today, we might be up to four now. 

 • I read that Mike Pelfrey is now saying that he has played the entire spring training with a “high ankle strain”. Obviously the wrist of the hand that signs contracts is A-OK. If this is true, he should be treated the same way John Maine was when it was determined that he was lying about his health. I also want to remind everyone tat this is the time of the year that under-preforming baseball players get placed on the IR with mysterious injuries that were never discussed before. 

 • The Mets announced that Dillon Gee will not pitch as scheduled. Instead, he will throw a minor league game and he will be replaced by… wait for it… Matt Harvey. Why? Forget the media attention this gets you; what does it do to Dillon’s head. I continue to, year after year, realize I have never been qualified to be hired by the New York Mets.

 • I could give a rat’s ass where Baseball America ranks the Mets minor league system. System ranking means nothing. You have 25 slots on your major league team and you can’t play more than nine of them at the same time. The Mets are one year away from producing four quality major league pitchers. Four. That’s a #1 ranking to me.

Mets - Cory Mazzoni, Daniel Murphy, R.A. Dickey, Stephen Holmes

2-10-12 - http://seedlingstostars.com/2012/02/10/s2s-2012-team-prospect-lists-new-york-mets/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter   - #1.) Cory Mazzoni, RHP. Mazzoni, a 2nd-round pick in 2011, pitched very well in 13 one-inning appearances between the NYPL and FSL, and many see him as a reliever long-term. He would immediately be the top relief prospect in the system, but I’m calling him a starter for now. Like most Mets pitching prospects, he features a 91-95 mph four-seam fastball and an inconsistent curve that flashes plus. He’s not especially big, but he does have a smooth delivery. He’ll need to get off to a strong start in pro ball next year if he’s going to stick as a starter. Grade: B-

5th Round (154th overall): Stephen Holmes, RHP – University of Rhode Island - Holmes was as dominant as any college pitcher over his three year career, but only had average stuff that played up because of his command and bull dog mentality. Unfortunately tragedy of a close one struck Holmes just after he signed and he decided to return to school instead of playing professional ball. He attempted to come back with the Mets in 2008, however, in the process he tore his rotator cuff and has yet to pitch a professional inning to this day. I guess this is one of those that we will just never know. Sad. http://metsmerizedonline.com/2012/02/grading-the-omar-regime-the-2006-draft.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=grading-the-omar-regime-the-2006-draft

There's little doubt that Daniel Murphy can hit. Before his season-ending knee injury last season, his second in two years, Murphy had an .809 OPS through 109 games and was batting .320, the fifth-highest average in the National League. The Mets would love to get that type of offensive production from second base -- if he can survive at the position. Murphy will get plenty of reps there in spring training, sparing him outfield duty, but the questions won't be answered until he can stick at second base for an entire season

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/three-mets-with-something-to-prove-1.3541005

R.A. Dickey appreciated fellow knuckleballer Tim Wakefield mentioning him in the former Boston Red Sox pitcher’s retirement speech. But now that Wakefield has hung up his cleats, Dickey is feeling, well, kind of isolated. “For a period there were four, with [Tom] Candiotti, [Phil] Niekro, [Charlie] Hough and Wake,” Dickey said about the major league knuckleballers clan. “It’s fairly lonely I think. I feel a little bit of loneliness. I think you’d have to say, just by what we’ve all seen, that it’s a dying art. One more died, what, two days ago? There’s one left in the big leagues. My hope is that somebody is going to see the real value and want to keep doing it.”

Don't Sleep on Beato in the Rotation

By: Frank Gray
The New York Mets have had their pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training a few days ago. As the roster gets molded into Opening Day shape, Terry Collins has several decisions to make. Among them is the starting rotation.

With reports of Johan Santana's health being better than originally expected,  the starting five look pretty much set. They would include Santana, R.A. Dickey, Mike Pelfrey, Jon Niese and Dillon Gee.

With Niese becoming a valid starter and Dickey posting one quality start after another, this would hardly be referred to as Johan and the four rain-outs this year. Can anyone argue that Gee hasn't earned a chance to be the number five pitcher out of the gate this season?

A 13-6 record with a 4.43 ERA at a young age of 25 last season shows what a tremendous upside he has. The question with him will be now that the league has adjusted to him, what will he tweak in his game to counter that?

Mike Pelfrey was handed the "ace" title last season in the absence of Santana and sputtered in the spotlight. With Santana returning, could he find the 2010 season stats (15-9, 3.66 ERA) again or will he continue to develop into the headcase bust that we saw last year?

There is one x-factor in all of this, however. His name is Pedro Beato. Pitching coach Dan Warthen is high on him as a potential starter. Should Santana not be ready at the beginning of the season, need a rest between starts or not be the Santana we all know or if the team needs a starter for a double header, Beato could emerge as the guy right now.

They do have Chris Schwinden for that option as well and later in the season the temptation will be swelling over to call up Jeurys Familia or Matt Harvey to take on that role. Beato makes the most sense, though.

As Warthen points out, he has four solid pitches and at 6' 4" he has the size to be a powerful presence on the mound. He has proven he can pitch at the MLB level. His stats last season, when the team had to reserve a roster spot for him due to the Rule 5 draft rules, were very respectable.

He posted a 4.30 ERA in 67 innings pitched to go with 39 strikeouts in his 60 appearances. The question would be his endurance. If he were to start on a consistent basis, would he run out of gas halfway through the game or can he last into the latter innings?

He may very well begin the season in AAA to groom him as a spot starter/long reliever. The team can afford to do this now that his contract is under their control.

With that said, the rotation can be in good shape if healthy. That, however, will be the issue.

Christopher Soto - Is R.A. Dickey the Next "Great" Knuckleballer?

Its April 2017, New York City is bustling with excitement as the Mets return for their home opener after playing the first 6 games in Florida and Atlanta winning 4 of 6. Mat Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and Jon Niese are all All-Star caliber pitchers anchoring a team that has tons of promise if they can only provide some run support for them.

However on this particular night, as I take my future son to his first game in Citi Field, its the fan favorite of many years taking the mound. He never tops 15 wins a year but he also never has over a 4.00 ERA. He's not a 98 MPH flamethrower like our closer Juerys Familia, he doesnt have a huge 12-6 curve like Niese, he's never created hype like Wheeler, Harvey, or Mejia, and he's never made more than $8MM a year. He just goes out every 5th day and throws 7 innings of good baseball.

"Starting for your 2017 New York Mets R. A. Dickeyyyyy!!!!!"

While this may be a huge stretch, it's honestly not outside of the realm of possibility. Knuckleballers have the unique ability to not only pitch deep into games regularly but to also

have long productive careers. Our most obvious comparison would be between to look at Tim Wakefield.

Wakefield, who begins his 20th season in the MLB at the tender age of 45 years old, was originally drafted in 1988 as a 1B. By 1990 it was apparent to him that he had no future in the majors at that position so he converted to a pitcher and picked up the knuckleball. He had immediate success with the pitch and helped the Pirates reach the NLCS. He also won Rookie Pitcher of the Year honors and would've been NLCS MVP had the Braves not come back late in Game 7 to win the series.

Despite his early success he was severely inconsistent and did not actually perfect the "art of knuckleballing" until he worked with famous knuckleballers Phil and Joe Niekro in 1995 when he signed with the Boston Red Sox and went on to become the leader in almost every major pitching category except wins (3rd behind Roger Clemens and Cy Young), K's (2nd behind Clemens), and appearances (2nd behind Bob Stanley).

Although this is only one example, there are 10 others who I would dub "great" knuckleballers. Amongst these greats are the two Niekros, Jim Bouton, Tom Candiotti, Eddie Cicotte, Jesse Haines, Charlie Hough, Dutch Leonard, Ted Lyons, and the ageless Hoyt Wilhelm. Amongst them the average career length is 19.5 yrs long, the average retirement age is 44 years old, and the average ERA is roughly 3.55. In fact the only knuckleballer not to retire in his 40's (Cicotte) was actually forced out of baseball after the Black Sox game fixing scandal of 1919. So according to the math above, Dickey should still have 7 years left on his arm of which perhaps 4 of them will be as an effective starter and 2 as an aging but useful reliever.

Knuckleballers have been known to be a tad bit quirky when it comes to their careers and/or personalities and Dickey is no different. Originally drafted in 1991 by the Rangers, it was determined that RA was born without a UCL which lost him over $700,000 in signing bonus money. The young Dickey was a "dime-a-dozen" prospect, 90 mph fastball, a so-so curve, and a

odd moving forkball that he referred to as "The Thing." After struggling through his first 10 years of professional baseball bouncing between the minors and the bigs, Dickey decided to look into "The Thing" a little. Turns out that the Thing was actually Dickey's most effective pitch right now, his hard knuckler.

Unlike knuckleballers of the past Dickey has developed both his hard knuckler, which clocks in at about 78-83mph, and a normal knuckler, which clocks in around 69-74mph. He has also messed around with a slow/eephus knuckler that has gone as slow as 59mph. These 3 pitches combined with his "harder than normal for a knuckleballer" 84-86mph fastball makes it almost impossible for batters to guess what pitch is coming. If the batter can pick up the speed of the pitch, the hard knuckler and fastball are so close in speed that it's hard to tell which is which until its too late. To make matters worse even if the batter picks up on the movement of the knuckler, there is 3 different speeds it could be moving at!

In the end, R.A. Dickey will NEVER be a Hall of Famer, or an ace, or even a #2 starter so Mets fans shouldn't expect it. However, I am fully confident that he can be the next great consistent year in and year out knuckleballer, anchoring and provided positive reinforcement to Generation K 2.0 from 2014 on. History is on his side and the Mets should probably cut him a deal similar to Wakefield's "rolling" 1 yr/$4MM extension in order to keep him in New York for as long as he's useful.

Fear not Mets fans there is at least some minor hope for 2012!!

Mets – Chris Schwinden, Wilmer Flores, Greg Peavey, R.A. Dickey

Chris Schwinden:  The only home grown option on Rubin's list, Schwinden was drafted in the 22nd round of the 2008 entry draft.  Probably the most realistic option of the group, Schwinden started four games for the Mets in the fall of 2011, going 0-2 while pitching to a 4.71 ERA and striking out more than seven batters per nine innings.  Ideally, Schwinden projects to be a Dillon Gee type of pitcher who could possibly aid in shoring up the back half of the Mets rotation in the event that someone goes down due to injury.  He will not be over powering, but it does appear that he can be effective. http://www.metsfever.com/2012/01/what-options-do-mets-have-if-johan.html 

1-3-12 - mets360  - 6. Wilmer Flores, SS, Hi-A, .269/.309/.380 in 559 PA - Everyone wants to write off Flores but while his stock has dropped considerably it’s way too early to dismiss a guy who played most of last year at age 19. For a comparison, David Wright batted .270 as a 20 year old in St. Lucie. As for Flores’ future, he’s four months younger than Puello, they put up similar-type seasons at the same level and Flores still has a chance to stick in the infield. Everyone is burned out on hearing about Flores, especially given that he hasn’t had a monster year yet in full-season ball. But neither has Puello. Flores will start the season in Double-A and if he fails to put up good numbers in hitter-friendly Binghamton than we’ll know that his ship has passed.

metsmerizedonline  - 33. Greg Peavey (RHP) It was a very successful season for the 23 year-old right-hander despite the fact that his performance was over-shadowed by other highly regarded pitchers in the system. With the sizzling professional debut of Matt Harvey, the continued development of Jeurys Familia, the meteoric rise of Darin Gorski, and the outstanding acquisition of Zack Wheeler, it was easy to forget what a terrific season Peavey had on the farm. Drafted by the Mets in the 6th round out of Oregon State in the 2010 draft, Peavey signed too late to pitch that season. He made his professional debut in 2011 pitching out of the Savannah rotation. There he went 6-2 with a 3.12 ERA over 78 innings, and 14 game starts. He surrendered 75 hits while striking out 69, and walking 11, and his WHIP was 1.10. After making the SAL Mid-Season All-Star Team, he got a call-up to Advanced-A St. Lucie, and continued to pitch well, finishing the year with a combined record of 11-6 with a 3.48 ERA over 24 game starts, and 137 innings. His fastball sits in the low 90′s, and he also throws a slider, change-up and curveball. Although quite advanced, Peavey will, probably need two more seasons, but by then, should definitely be in the discussion about joining the big league team.

An American baseball player scaling an African mountain for an Indian charity might seem an odd way to draw attention to human trafficking. But that’s just what R.A. Dickey is doing. The Mets pitcher is climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, which peaks at more than 19,000 feet above sea level (and documenting it on Bats, The New York Times’ Baseball blog) in part to bring awareness and money to stop sexual slavery thousands of miles away in the gritty lanes of Kamathipura – Mumbai’s largest red light district. About 100,000 to 200,000 women and girls are working in brothels in Mumbai, according to the latest government estimates, which are a decade old. Activists say the number has since reduced to 75,000 to 100,000 in the city. http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/whats-r-a-dickey-climbing-for/#more-14717

Mets – Lastings Milledge, Ruben Tejada, Financial Woes, Aderlin Rodriguez, R.A. Dickey

The Tokyo Yakult Swallows have formally announced the signing of outfielder Lastings Milledge according to a Sanso report (passed on from Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker.) The deal is worth $750k with unknown performance bonuses included as well as a club option for 2013. Milledge last appeared in the Majors this past season (2 games) as a member of the Chicago White Sox. He spent most of the season in Triple-A where he posted a .295 avg in 505 plate appearances. Milledge was once a top prospect in the Mets system when he was selected with the 12th overall pick in the 2003 draft. Since then, he has been unable to live up to the hype and has tried to latch on with the Nationals, Pirates and the White Sox since being traded from the Mets.  http://www.prorumors.com/2011/12/rumors/yakult-swallows-sign-lastings-milledge?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Defensively, Ruben Tejada looks above-average at second base, with good range, soft hands, strong arm, and good turn on the double-play. Offensively, I can’t get a handle on him; there is some discrepancy between what my eyes saw and what the numbers state. What I saw was a younger, less disciplined, slower afoot version of Luis Castillo — bloops and bleeders that were directed where “they ain’t”. Tejada did draw an impressive number of walks, but that total might have been skewed by batting in front of the pitcher the majority of the time. Granted, hitting eighth didn’t help Rey Ordonez, but anyone with a modicum of patience should be able to draw a decent number of walks in that lineup position. Tejada’s strikeout total was a little high for someone with minimal power: one K every 7.5 plate appearances, or, about 90-95 strikeouts over the course of a full season. I like that he hit .333 with two outs and a man on third, and he stayed near his average with RISP (.282). I don’t like how his swing gets a little long — in that way, he does remind me of Ordonez. Also like Ordonez, Tejada can’t bunt — though, that’s not much of an issue for someone hitting eighth. But, if he can field as well as he did at second base and clear the #8 spot in the order to bring the pitcher up, then Tejada is a valuable asset. http://www.metstoday.com/7324/11-12-offseason/2011-evaluation-ruben-tejada/

New York Times columnist Richard Sandomir penned a really nice piece on the New York Mets and their precarious financial situation. He talks about the large amount of debt the team carries as well as the debt load some of the other business entities related to the Mets, such as their sports network, SNY, also carry. I've always thought Mets' owner Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz have Frank McCourt to thank for them getting this long to sort out their financial mess. Wilpon and Katz are camp-Selig guys, and that helps, but things seem to be spiraling out of control and only a worse financial situation in Los Angeles has kept them out of the spotlight. At this point, the team seems to be holding it's hat on finding minority investors to raise $200 million. Still, this has been a long time coming, and it's funny that nothing has materialized yet.  http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/bob-mets-financial-situation-unveiled/

I have a Community Research Participation Project for you. New York Mets prospects Cesar Puello and Aderlin Rodriguez got me thinking about the topic of plate discipline again. I did a study for myself about this several years ago, but I don't have time right now to revise the data. It occurred to me that this could be a prototype for a new feature I am considering for 2012, the "Community Research Project." Cesar Puello had a 18/103 BB/K ratio last year for High-A St. Lucie. He drew walks in 3.7% of his plate appearances and struck out 21.1% of the time. Aderlin Rodriguez had a 29/106 BB/K ratio for Low-A Savannah. He drew walks in 5.2% of his plate appearances and struck out 19% of the time. These are very poor numbers.

R.A. Dickey, a female knuckleball pitcher, climbs Mount Kilimanjaro. Fighting her way through surprise cells of Al Qaeda soldiers in the mountains, she finally reaches the top of the mountain to uncover a secret terrorist missile silo. She saves the Western Hemisphere from certain doom. Dickey returns home a national and international hero, retiring early from baseball to become an orator and a political activist for anti-secret terrorist missile silos. After several decades in the national spotlight, Dickey retires to her lonesome ranch in the Montana wilderness. One day, riding her black and white stallion slowly down a ravine on the western edge of her property, she hears the distinctive rhythm of a rattlesnake poised to strike, followed quickly by a scream of pain, echoing down the tall, red walls of the ravine. Spurring her horse into a sprint, she rounds the corner to find Dengchi. “Dengchi?” she says in shock, yanking the horse to a stop. “Help!” he says, pointing at the snake bite on his ankle. Knowing too well that Dengchi is dying, Dickey holds him, kissing his forehead. “I love you,” she says, “I always have. You were the greatest Sherpa a female knuckleballer could ever have.” Dengchi dies in her arms. Dickey then climbs Mount Kilimanjaro again, burying Dengchi in the old missile silo. But suddenly, it becomes apparent the silo was not built with human technology. Dengchi emerges from the silo, healthier and stronger than ever. Dickey stares at amazement as her own body becomes youthful and healthy again. Her sexy, zombie Sherpa falls in love with her http://www.fangraphs.com/not/index.php/r-a-dickey-the-movie/

2012 Through Rose Colored Glasses

Ignoring the things we don't know... like the future of Jose Reyes and whether David Wright will be traded. Let us look at the season where everything just broke right for the Mets. So light a scented candle, put on some smooth jazz and relax as you allow yourself to pretend for a second that the Mets could JUST MAYBE get lucky.

Johan Santana is back on the mound on opening day. On that day he pitches seven strong innings whilst only giving up one run. As the season wares on he turns out a steady sub 3.00 ERA and 4-5 K's a game. He's not quite All-Star caliber but he's winning more games then he's losing and proving to still be the stopper when things aren't right.

Angel Pagan is hitting, running and fielding. By mid-July the thought of the Mets non-tendering Angel is laughable. His batting average is above .300 for the entire year and he's showed some pop here and there.

R.A. Dickey is SO good the Mets negotiate to extend his contract for two more seasons. Dickey has become the outspoken leader that the clubhouse has needed and his jersey becomes one of the top 5 selling Met jerseys.

Ike Davis is back and fully charged. He leads the NL in home runs through June before falling into a neck and neck race with Washington's surprising Mike Morse. Ike finishes his All Star season with the first (of what will be many) gold gloves.

Jenrry Mejia returns to AA after recovering from Tommy John surgery and promptly puts on a clinic. He winds up the year in AAA with a combined ERA under 2.00 and a 10.1 K/9. The Mets opt to not bring him up to the majors to allow him to build up his strength in the minors for a full year.

Lucas Duda is not only a surprise All Star game player, but he also manages to top Ike Davis for RBIs. His 111 RBIs have cemented Duda into the New York Met outfield for the foreseeable future.

Matt Harvey eases right into the majors. After giving up 4 runs in his first outing in the majors, Harvey quickly demonstrates JUST how good he really is. He finishes his year with a 3.56 ERA a 9.1 K/9 and a 10-4 record in 17 starts.

Jason Bay returns to being a solid performer with an average floating around .275 and 25 home runs on the year. He credits his returned success to an offseason strength building routine.

Zack Wheeler and Jeurys Familia both succeed in the minors. Both of them end the year in the AAA rotation ready to compete for the rotation in 2013. Familia is rumored to be headed for the bullpen but Sandy Alderson is mum on the issue.

The Mets are surprise contenders for the division finding themselves 7 games back of the Phillies with 14 games to play. After suffering injuries to Cliff Lee and Ryan Howard, the Mets win the NL East and return to the playoffs.

Improbable... unlikely and TECHNICALLY possible. Met fans... let us not give up on 2012 before 2012 begins. Even if the whole world tells us we have no shot of success, you play the game for a reason. In any season, in any game and in any inning... someone might just surprise you with something BIG.

Cutnpaste: - Zack Wheeler, Francisco Rodriguez, R.A. Dickey, Angel Pagan, Jordany Valdespin

 10-25-11: - http://www.minorleaguerundown.com/2011/10/25/2011-top-20-new-york-mets-prospects - 2011 Top 20 New York Mets Prospects - 2.Zack Wheeler, RHP (High Class A): Even though, statistically speaking (3.75 FIP), there may have been stronger pitchers out there, Wheeler has fantastic upside. His hard low-to-mid 90s tailing fastball gets on hitters quick, a pitch that sets up a quality hard breaking curve. As long as he brings down his 4.81 bb/9 IP in 2012, Wheeler should be well on his way to carving up AA hitting with an already strong 10+/9 IP strikeout rate. Only 21, his 1.68 FIP in 6 post-Beltran-trade starts show how good he can be when he keeps the walk totals low.

http://www.metro.us/newyork/sports/article/1019347--mlb-free-agency-fire-up-the-hot-stove - Francisco Rodriguez: 6-2, 2.64 ERA, 1.298 WHIP, 23 SV  Rodriguez spent the final few months as a successful setup man in Milwaukee, posting a 1.86 ERA and striking out 10.2 batters per nine innings. Even though he mostly kept quiet about it, he wants to close games again. A pitcher who will be 30 on Opening Day that has already racked up 291 saves is attractive to some teams. One could be the Marlins, who might not tender inconsistent Leo Nunez, otherwise known as Juan Carlos Oviedo.

Dickey's transition to becoming a knuckleballer came after years of trying to do something that simply was not working. He challenged the status quo, and by the end of the 2005 season, became one of the few knuckleball pitchers in baseball. In 2010, he made his way to the New York Mets after bouncing around the league and immediately became a fan favorite. Known, in part, for his fascinating, honest, and introspective post-game interviews, all in a deep, Tennessee drawl, Robert Allen Dickey has since become a voice to a franchise marked by inconsistency, injury, underperformance, and failure. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/9108331/ra_dickey_one_of_the_games_best_pg2.html?cat=14

The word is the Mets will tender Pagan so this might all be a moot point. I would still rather them take the gamble with Grady Sizemore, or if nothing else, see what somebody else can do. The Mets aren’t loaded with outfield options, but if Pagan produces as he did last year, he’s not offering much. For a team wanting to get better defensively and fundamentally, Pagan doesn’t bring much to the table. Defensively, he doesn’t judge balls well and has a below average arm. In 2010 it appeared he was ready to take over centerfield, but I don’t see that anymore. For all his speed, his .322 on-base percentage is poor and his strikeouts-walks ratio is roughly 2-to-1. Let him go and move on. http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/11/2011-player-review-angel-pagan.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MetsMerizedOnline-GetMetsmerized-NewYorkMets+%28Mets+Merized+Online%29

11-9-11: - http://www.metsminorleagueblog.com/season-review-upper-level-shortstop  - Jordany Valdespin played 78 games at shortstop for AA Binghamton. Did you realize that prior to 2011, he had played 47 games at short stop in his entire minor league career? Really. Coming into this year, scouts did not think he could handle shortstop everyday, questioning both his hands and arm. They weren’t wrong. Valdespin tied for second in the Eastern League shortstops with 26 errors. That’s an error every three games. Errors aren’t perfect, but they do illustrate a point here. At age 24 by Opening Day 2012, he’ll be two years older than Ruben.  Of course, Valdespin can hit: his .297/.341/.483 with 15 homers and 33 stolen bases was eye-opening. I certainly don’t regard him as a competitor to Tejada at short if Reyes isn’t resigned. Rather, he’s a second baseman, who like Justin Turner can slide over to short stop in a pinch.

Cutnpaste: - R.A. Dickey, Damien Magnifico, Lucas Duda, Dae-Sung Koo, David’s Pad

R.A. Dickey: Teams don’t trade for journeyman knuckleball pitchers in the off-season. They wait for the trade deadline. He’s been arguably the Mets most consistent starter, but he’s a No. 4 according to most scouts, maybe a No. 5. He’s somebody a contender might covet in July, but he’s not going to bring back a lot of talent.  http://www.newyorkmetsreport.com/2011/10/25/mets-have-precious-few-pieces-to-trade

10-28-11: - http://www.soonersports.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/102611aaa.html  - Damien Magnifico, a 2009 fifth rounder of the New York Mets, and Gray, a 2011 10th rounder by the New York Yankees, were both clocked in the mid-to-high 90s in the intrasquad. Magnifico tripped triple digits on the MPH display on the scoreboard, topping out at 102.  "It's pretty amazing," added Golloway on the two pitchers' performance. "We've had that display for a number of years and I have never seen it hit 100. And you have Magnifico hitting 100, 101, 102 today, then you have someone like Jon Gray pitching against him, and he's sitting there rocking the gun at 97-98. It's pretty amazing but those guys also understand its about throwing strikes."

Purely as a hitter, Duda put up numbers over 324 plate appearances last year that stack up on a percentage basis with what Mike Stanton did in 2011 and what Ryan Howard did in 2005. And that’s why I think Duda is a star with the bat in his hands. There are certainly reasons to be skeptical. Duda has neither the pedigree nor track record that Stanton and Howard possess. He’s not come close to matching the over the fence power of either of those two players. And his outfield defense is atrocious. But when he steps into the batter’s box, Duda has put up some eye-opening numbers. Now we have to see if Duda can overcome the adjustments that pitchers make against him this year. We have to see if he can produce over a full season. And we have to see if he can cut it in the outfield. But there are definitely reasons to be excited, too. And the proposed new outfield dimensions at Citi Field could help improve his power numbers. Duda could be the best hitter on the 2012 Mets. That is if they don’t trade him for help in other areas.  http://mets360.com/?p=8305

TO THE untrained eye, Dae-Sung Koo looks like any other weekend warrior at Petersham Oval. But this 42-year-old baseballer is not your garden variety pitcher. After all, we're pretty sure most of his teammates haven't won an Olympic medal, starred for the New York Mets, don't possess a 150km/h fast ball or have an estimated $50 million in career earnings.  But while he can't walk down the streets of his homeland, South Korea, without getting mobbed, Koo has been preparing for the Australian Baseball League in the relative anonymity of a Sydney winter league. http://www.smh.com.au/sport/korea-opportunities--mets-unlikely-hero-finds-a-home-in-harbour-city-20111029-1mpek.html#ixzz1cBfUbUGf

New York Mets star David Wright has been trying to sell his swank penthouse in NYC’s Flatiron District for quite some time… He paid $6.1M for it back in 2006, tried originally selling it for $7,850,000, and has continued to lower the price to unload…Here’s what my real estate expert says about the property, ” I hear rumblings that it’s gonna come down another $200k to $6,750,000. No buyers are stepping up to the plate…In the meantime, Wright is living in a $12,000 pad on the Upper East Side.” http://www.terezowens.com/david-wright-trying-to-sell-swank-penthouse-in-nycs-flatiron-district

Mack’s 25-man: - RHSP R.A. Dickey

There hasn’t been a better pitcher of the staff in the last two seasons, and yet I still can’t figure out why two Mets managers kept pulling this guy 50 pitches before his arm would become tired.

This is not one of those post series that are going to be filled with a bunch of stats. Simply put, there was no pitcher last season that made me feel more comfortable than Dickey. And, I include his bad outings. The 2011 Mets proved they could score runs and Dickey proved most of the time that he could settle down.

It also seemed to me that the Mets played better when he was in there (somebody go look it up…).

Johan Santana will be given the SP1 slot, even if it is only out of respect. Right now, Dickey would be a lot of people’s SP2, but frankly, you’d like to pitch this guy behind the pitcher with the most heat.  I’d let Jon Niese sit at 95 first, then follow him the next day with R.A.’s 13-mph knuckler.

Long term is definitely up in the air here. First, if Dickey has another year like the last two, he would have to signed for a lot more than the Mets are paying him now (forget age…  knucklers can pitch until they die of natural causes).

There will be lots of young meat in this rotation in 2013 and Niese may be the only survivor here, but I’m sticking with Dickey until he shows he can’t carry his own weight.

Cutnpaste: - Wayne Krivsky, Luis Carreno, Jose’s Final Days, R.A. Dickey

Two holdovers from former New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya's regime were let go by the organization Friday, major league sources told ESPNNewYork.com. Former Minaya deputies Wayne Krivsky and Bryan Lambe are out, the sources said. Krivsky is the former general manager of the Cincinnati Reds. He was influential in bringing rookie infielder Justin Turner to the Mets as a waiver claim. The departures were expected as their contracts expires and GM Sandy Alderson and lieutenants sought to bring in their own personnel. Both had scouting roles this past season. - http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/35323/ex-reds-gm-krivsky-lambe-out

9-23-11 via Twitter: - AdamRubinESPN - The #Mets signed 16-year-old Venezuelan RHP Luis Carreño in recent days… When BA did their list of top 40 International prospects, he wasn't on the main list but in an "Other Notables" list.

As the rain poured down Friday afternoon Jose Reyes still sat at his locker. He was one of the few players who hadn’t deserted the clubhouse, waiting for a chance to play a game. But the rain finally beat him, the game called and rescheduled, condensing Reyes’ career with the Mets to just five more days until he slips into limbo. The Mets will face the Phillies in a split doubleheader today, accelerating the countdown for Reyes, who has six games left before becoming a free agent. And after a season of insisting that he just wants to play and not think about the future, even he can’t push it out of his mind. "Right now I don’t think about that stuff," Reyes said. "But the next couple of days when the season gets closer to the finish maybe I’ll think about it. I have a lot of great memories here. I don’t know if I’m going to be back. Who knows what’s going to happen? - http://www.northjersey.com/sports/130488958_Reyes__time_is_almost_up.html

Twitter: - RADickey43 - R.A. Dickey -  by sabometrics - Thank you everyone. It's been a long season I know. But never abandon hope. It is the quintessential human emotion. Glad I finished strong.

Cutnpaste: Omir Santos, Josh Satin, R.A. Dickey, Moneyball, Mechanics

9-5-11: - http://www.rotoworld.com/sports/mlb/baseball?r=1  - Tigers recalled C Omir Santos from Triple-A Toledo. Santos will function as the Tigers' emergency backup catcher down the stretch. The 30-year-old from Puerto Rico has managed one hit in eight big league at-bats this year

9-3-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/09/prospect-pulse-buffalo-2012-help-on-the-way.html  - Josh Satin - Satin continues to hit at every level he plays and has a .307 BA for his career, his lifetime OBP is .397. This season, split between AA and AAA, his slash line is .322/.411/.493. He is a September call-up for the Mets, and has been added to the 40 man roster, so we should get to see his debut any day now at Citi. Next year he should be in the ST mix as a back-up 1B-2B-3B and PH, but with Evans blocking his path, he will probably spend 2012 as insurance for the big club, as he works on his defense at AAA, while playing 1B, 2B, and 3B.

9-5-11: - http://www.latimes.com/sports/sns-rt-bbo-metsmtze793x3w0gt-20110904,0,794512.story  - RHP R.A. Dickey had gone more than a month without a victory before he finally picked up a win Monday, going seven shutout innings against the Marlins. The wait wasn't so long this time as he followed that up by pitching on three days rest for the first time this season and he got the victory over the Nationals with six innings, allowing three runs.

9-5-11: - http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=14921  - There's one scene that sticks out in my mind, though, if only because it made me realize something about the Moneyball phenomenon as a whole. You'll remember it from the book as the chapter where Billy Beane simultaneously wheedles Ricardo Rincon out of the Indians and leaves Brian Sabean wandering around the Embarcadero wearing a barrel. That moment is the heart of Michael Lewis's book. In the film, it seems almost out of place, as if some poor assistant rushing a latte to Mr. Sorkin had tripped and fallen and gotten his script crossed up with 10 pages from another movie. What to that point had felt a little like, I dunno, The Bad News Bears Learn Microsoft Excel became something else entirely. Pitt works the phones, and Jonah Hill beaches himself in the corner of the screen, and the whole enjoyable hustle unfolds like something out of another movie—Glengarry Glen Ross, maybe. And that's when it occurred to me: Moneyball is, very quietly, a story about a con.

9-5-11: - beyondtheboxscore.  - When scouts begin their evaluation on a pitcher, it’s usually during his warm-ups (once he’s one the mound). They don’t hold their gun or stopwatch, but instead simply watch the mechanics and delivery of the hurler. That’s because for some scouts, mechanics are the initial attribute that scouts evaluate. First and foremost, they look to see if he can repeat his delivery. If he can, that’s obviously a plus. Even though all pitchers are different and some have their own unique style, scouts typically want to see a clean and smooth delivery. Things usually flow from there, as you can’t do much of anything should you be unable to consistently repeat your mechanics. Scouts prefer clean and smooth deliveries for a variety of reasons, one of which is to prevent injury. You want to make sure he isn’t changing his arm speed when throwing his off-speed stuff. That generally occurs in the arms of younger pitchers, but tinkering can fix that. On a similar note, changing his arm slot when throwing off-speed pitches isn't acceptable either. Tinkering can fix that too, but you don’t want to see the pitcher lose bite on his stuff when changing a delivery flaw. However, consistent mechanics are more important by a mile.

The Face of the Franchise

R.A. Dickey is the face of this Met team. Don't believe me? R.A. Dickey is a scrappy guy who occasionally exceeds expectations. A guy we can relate to because he's had some struggles through the years and he's never going to be a supermodel, but he's going to go out their and try. Sometimes you forget he's a re-tread who picked up a knuckler late in life and think he could really be something special. Most of the time we remember that he is what he is and we should be happy to have just that.

The Mets are a scrappy team who occasionally exceed our expectations. A team that has had some bumps and bruises over the past few years and doesn't exactly possess the mystique of say... their Bronx relatives. Sometimes we forget that the experts predicted that the Mets would be AT BEST a .500 team and think they could be a playoff team. Most of the time we remember that this is a REBUILDING year and that is fine.

But... what of next year?

Jose Reyes: If Jose is the face of the Mets, we'd be young and fast and full of energy. Capable of sprinting ahead of the competition with a certain level of "Wow Factor". It'll be a little hard for Jose to be the face of the franchise if he's not a Met, but just think of all the great things he does and imagine that all of those were commonly associated with the team. Now... think of the not so good things. Think of the team being VERY talented but ONE INJURY AWAY from being washed up. Think of a team who might be a little immature at times... what about Wright?

David Wright: If David Wright is the face of the 2012 Mets, they certainly have a little more pop in their bats. Despite missing a prodigious amount of time, he's still showed good power this season and in his career. Wright is also a dynamic player who not only brings power, but also brings speed. A team with speed, power and a certain quiet dignity... that doesn't sound half bad. Until you get to the bad parts. A David Wright team is also a team that is unbearably streaky. A team that might his .486 for a week and then .134 for 3 more. A team that has good defensive ability, but might throw the ball away a bit too frequently. Maybe it's a team that simply shies away from a leadership role in the club-house or one that's a good player... but not a superstar. Maybe... maybe, Justin Turner.

Justin Turner: Justin Turner is a success story for 2011. He was abandoned by the Orioles and picked up by the Mets in 2010 and in 2011 he proved he could make us all forget about a mistake named Brad Emaus. He's been a timely hitter and hard worker. That sounds like the team I want to root for. Hardworking and clutch with an Everyman angle that I can relate to. Then there's the issues of Turner not exactly being Ozzie Smith in the field. The issue of Turner not necessarily even having a job if Ike Davis is healthy. Or maybe the fact that Turner isn't exactly fast OR powerful. Maybe, we should pick a pitcher?

Mike Pelfrey: Oh no! Great! We're mental headcases who go from being very promising to flaming failures in the course of a single at bat. We're the #1 pitcher despite having mediocre (middle of the rotation) stuff. We're the kid who looked like he might have been a major asset to the ball-club but winded up being equally a hindrance and a part of the problem. Maybe... you know maybe... we shouldn't even be looking at the major league club for the 2012 face of the franchise. Ever think about that?

The Face of the Franchise:

Matt Harvey: The face of the franchise? He's not likely to pitch a single game in Queens for all of 2012. How is he the face of the franchise? Take this and spin with it: The 2012 Mets are a team who have a lot of talent coming up through the minors. Talent headed by Matt Harvey, Jenrry Mejia, Zack Wheeler, Jeurys Familia and others. A team that might not be so good now... but a team that is going to mess you up and leave you shaken in a couple of seasons. That's the kind of face I can live with. Plus it looks like he's about to drop an F-bomb every time he pitches.

With Mack away from the computer, I'm pitching in an extra post.