Hearn for Cone Revisited
Last night I watched “Prime 9″ on the MLB Network last night; it was the episode titled “Top 9 Greatest One-sided Trades”. The #8 trade on the list was the Mets’ trade of Ed Hearn to the Royals for David Cone (though the narrator kept referring to someone named “Dick” Cone).
Back then, it seemed a bizarre trade from the Mets point-of-view. I remember it vividly, being a diehard Mets fan and owning an abnormal affection for Hearn (hey, I’m a catcher, and love ALL catchers!). To me it was a strange deal, because although he was one of three young and capable backups the Mets had on the roster — Barry Lyons and John Gibbons were the others — Hearn was head and shoulders above the others in terms of defense, and Gibbons had a hard time staying healthy. What made the trade stranger was that the Mets traded steady Eddie for, of all things, a pitcher.
The deal echoed the quote of Peter Falk from the opening scene of the original “The In-Laws”:
Gee, I can’t believe this trade. What do the Mets need another pitcher for?
All they got is pitchers.
That’s exactly how I — and many Mets fans — felt at the time. What in the world did the Mets need with another pitcher? After all, they were loaded. They were the reigning world champions, and had young arms up the wazoo. Dwight Gooden, Ron Darling, and Sid Fernandez were all under 25 and headed a rotation that also included veteran Bobby Ojeda and barely had room for young Rick Aguilera. And, they had a 21-year-old phenom named John Mitchell ready to break into the bigs, as well as another can’t-miss kid named David West who was knocking on the door (not to mention a lefty named Randy Myers who had been converted to relief because of the backlog of starters). Of all the trades to make, why would the Mets give up the possible heir apparent to Gary Carter for yet another young pitcher?
Hindsight, of course, is 20-20. We know now the genius of that deal. But now that we’re 20+ years past that time, it takes on more meaning. Not because Frank Cashen pulled a fast one on the Royals, but because Cashen believed a team could never have enough pitching — particularly, young pitching.
Again, remember that the Mets acquired Cone at the tail end of spring training in 1987 — about five months after the franchise won their second World Championship. It didn’t matter that the Mets were the best team in baseball, with the deepest and best young pitching staff in MLB. As far as Cashen was concerned, there was always room for one more good arm, even if acquiring one involved something of a gamble.
Compare that to the Mets’ philosophy of today — if you can even identify a “philosophy”. At the least, compare Cashen’s strategy to continue stockpiling what was at the time a strength, to Omar Minaya / Jeff Wilpon’s plan of crossing fingers and whispering novenas as they pin the team’s hopes on a half dozen hurlers coming off surgery.
Which strategy makes more sense to you? Granted, the Mets didn’t win another championship after ‘86, but they were legitimate pennant contenders through 1990 (Cashen stepped down after a terrible, disappointing 1991 season).
Unrelated addendum: you may already know the sad but also inspirational story of Ed Hearn after he left baseball, but if you don’t, you definitely should check out his website.
Mets Free Agent Evaluation
It appears that the Mets are done signing free agents this winter. Let’s take a look at the final tally of those given guaranteed MLB deals and play the “would you have … ?” game. Yes, there’s no guarantee that the players who signed with other clubs would have accepted the same terms to play in Flushing (more likely, they’d demand double). But this is a hypothetical game meant to be fun and create conversation — so just play along, OK?
Jason Bay
Would you have signed Bay for 4 years/$66M or (more…)
Super Thoughts
Every day, news swirling around the Mets becomes more depressing. Not surprisingly, the Flushing Hype Machine is clinging to any bit of positive information — no matter how trite — and pushing it fervently to keep fans’ hopes alive.
So I’m trying to decide which of these news items from the past week is most likely to get my heart racing:
- Jose Reyes is feeling good!
- Gary Matthews, Jr. is in “phenomenal shape”, and intent on proving everyone wrong this spring
- Fernando Martinez is lighting up the Caribbean World Series — against the same pitchers that Jesus Feliciano has hit .352 over a full season, and vs. whom Anderson Hernandez annually wins the batting title
- Jose Reyes is looking great!
- Omir Santos is prepared to be the full-time catcher
- the Mets are interested inTodd Wellemeyer
- Jose Reyes likes his trainers!
- the Mets still have a chance to sign Rod Barajas
- Carlos Muniz has returned to the organization, with an invite to spring training
- Jose Reyes is happy to be back!
- Val Pascucci has rejoined the organization
- Jose Reyes is “ready to play baseball” !
- the Mets may be the frontrunners for Hisanori Takahashi
- Keith Hernandez will help Daniel Murphy with his defense
- oh, and did I mention? Jose Reyes can’t wait for spring training!
Maybe it was simply a slow news week. Luckily there’s a football game on tonight.
Hudson to Twins, Kennedy to Nationals
Gold Glove second baseman Orlando Hudson has signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Twins, prompting the Nationals to sign Adam Kennedy as their second sacker.
Thus, it appears that Mets fans will endure another year of Luis Castillo at second base.
Yes, there are delusional fans still clinging to the fantasy that the Reds will trade Brandon Phillips for Omir Santos, but I wouldn’t count on it. Castillo is most likely Jose Reyes’ partner at the keystone come Opening Day.
Is it such a terrible thing? (more…)
Reactions to the Putz Affair
The fallout from J.J. Putz’s comments about his injured elbow has been substantial — seemingly everyone has an opinion on who was right, wrong, negligent, distrustful, unbecoming, irresponsible, and so forth.
Two reactions in particular struck a chord with me — one by Newsday’s David Lennon and another by former Mets trainer Bob Sikes. (more…)
Reds Trade Willy Taveras
The Reds have sent centerfielder Willy Taveras and infielder Adam Rosales to the Athletics for utilityman Aaron Miles and a PTBNL.
This trade has perked up the ears of some Mets fans and pundits, who are now wondering if it signals an opportunity for the Mets to trade Angel Pagan and a bag of balls to Cincy for Brandon Phillips, Bronson Arroyo, Aaron Harang, and perhaps even Joey Votto.
Such as it goes in that solar system where the planets revolve around Flushing.
In reality, I doubt highly that Taveras’ exodus to Oakland has anything to do with another deal for the supposedly cash-strapped Reds and everything to do with shedding some salary while making room for rookie Drew Stubbs.
The only place where the Mets come into the conversation is to ask why they traded Brian Stokes for Gary Matthews, Jr. if Taveras was available? (more…)
No Physical for JJ Putz
While being interviewed by Chuck Garfien on Comcast Chicago (hat tip to MetsBlog), J.J. Putz admitted that he had bone spur in his elbow long before his trade from the Mariners to the Mets, the Mets were aware of it, and the Mets didn’t put him through a physical prior to making the deal official.
Skimmed from MetsBlog:
“When the trade went down last year, I never really had a physical with the Mets,” Putz told Garfien. “I had the bone spur (in the right elbow). It was discovered the previous year in Seattle, and it never got checked out by any other doctors until I got to spring training.”
According to Putz, the Mets told him not to discuss the injury with reporters, saying:
“I knew that I wasn’t right. I wasn’t healthy. The toughest part was having to face the media and tell them that you feel fine, even though you know there’s something wrong and they don’t want you telling them that you’re banged up.”
Um …
There are so many things wrong with this I don’t know where to start. Why would the Mets knowingly acquire damaged goods, especially knowing the high salary that came with it? Why would they give up so much talent in return?
The answer is simple: season ticket sales. The Mets latched on to the nonsense propogated by the media that the reason they missed the 2008 postseason was due to a terrible cast of characters in the bullpen (rather than the mismanagement of the bullpen, the lack of an extra slugger, piss-poor fundamentals, below-average defense, occasional lackadaisacal effort, or the fact the rotation was absent of a high-quality starter behind Johan Santana). It was easy to blame all the team’s woes — and in particular their second consecutive late-season collapse — on one scapegoat, the bullpen.
Once everyone bought in to the idea that “the Mets bullpen needs a makeover”, the signing of Francisco Rodriguez combined with the trade for Putz was a seemingly simple solution that would propel the Mets back into the postseason. Therefore, the story the Mets sold to prospective season-ticket buyers was: “we’re bringing back the same team, adding two elite relievers, so we’re a lock to make the playoffs — hurry and buy a ticket package lest you get shut out from the glory and celebration in October”.
It didn’t matter that Putz was damaged, and could possibly miss the bulk of the season. As long as the injury was kept secret, people would believe the Mets would have a fantastic bullpen — perhaps the best in all MLB — and therefore would easily trot to “meaningful games in October”.
Why else would a team send seven players to two different teams for a $7M player? Why else would they completely ignore a documented history of chronic elbow problems?
Further, why would a team allow a high-salaried pitcher with a known injury compete in the World Baseball Classic? Perhaps because if they didn’t, people would wonder why — and the injury could be revealed. Or, maybe the plan was to keep fingers crossed in hopes that Putz could stay healthy enough in short spurts to display his 95 MPH a few times — in turn getting Mets fans jazzed up to buy ticket packages in March.
This time, it’s not a conspiracy theory. This time, the Mets really did know something, and kept it from the public, for the sole purpose of ticket sales.
Which makes one wonder about Jason Bay and the various concerns that caused the Red Sox to pull a 4-year contract off the table. Suddenly, we can’t be so sure to believe Bay’s assertion that he’s completely healthy. After hearing this news from Putz, we need to re-examine the detailed, bizarre story written by Rob Bradford of WEEI regarding what happened with Jason Bay and the Red Sox. Perhaps the Red Sox cautious approach was valid. Maybe there is a good reason that the Mets were the only other publicly known bidders for Bay’s services.
After all, the top “scapegoat” for the Mets’ failures in 2009 — after, of course, the injuries — was the lack of homeruns. The Mets’ “story” for prospective 2010 ticket buyers is this: “When healthy, we have a championship club. And now we just added a big-time slugger to hit some homeruns and really annihilate the competition. So hurry up and buy your ticket package lest you miss the glory and celebration in October!”
Sound familiar?
Of course, it doesn’t matter whether Jason Bay has potential injury issues that may creep up as soon as mid-season. All that matters is you phone in your ticket order — NOW. Leave the worrying about what happens after Opening Day to the Mets.
Mets Sign Frank Catalanotto
Over the weekend, the Mets signed Frank Catalanotto to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.
It’s about time.
If you are a longtime reader of MetsToday, you know I’ve been pining for Catalanotto for several years — going all the way back to 2006. In addition to my prefence for local products (Smithtown, NY), I’ve always coveted Catalanotto for his grit, hustle, and all-out play — he fits the definition of a “gamer“, or someone who can help give the Mets “edge“.
Beyond the immeasurable intangibles Catalanotto brings to the table, he also does enough offensively to keep the Beaneheads interested. More specifically, he has a knack for getting on base (.358 career OBP). He also sees a lot of pitches and doesn’t strike out often — he could be described as a “contact hitter”, and as such is a good choice for hit-and-run situations. Though some peg him as a singles hitter, he has a little more pop than most people realize. Don’t expect him to hit homeruns, but he can drive the ball into the gap and pick up some doubles. On the bases he once had above-average speed but at age 36 he’s likely lost a step, and was never a major threat as a basestealer. Still, he won’t clog the basepaths and he will be a smart baserunner, tending toward the aggressive side.
Defensively, he is adequate to average at 1B, 2B, and 3B, and plays a fair outfield (corners only). Statistically, his outfield numbers are not outstanding, but he won’t embarrass himself. He’ll catch what he can get to, throw to the correct base, hit the cutoff man, and will rarely make an error. In the field, he’s comparable to Fernando Tatis, with slightly stronger instincts and more experience both in the outfield and at first base.
One of his big positives — hustle — is also a negative in that his all-out aggressive play can lead to injuries. He’s had chronic issues with his hamstrings, back, and groin that could creep up again.
If this were three years ago, I’d be very excited to see Catalanotto on the team and would expect him to platoon somewhere. At this point, he is worn and aging and was only so-so in his NL debut last year with the Brewers, so I’m going to keep my expectations low — though I’m still thrilled that he’s finally a Met.
Where he fits in depends on whether the Mets intend to give any of their youngsters a crack at the 25-man roster and, of course, injuries that may develop during the spring.
“Omar [Minaya, the Mets' general manager] said he needed a good lefthanded hitter off the bench,” Catalanotto said. “I know I’d have more opportunities, more at-bats in the American League as a designated hitter. But Omar said there would be some playing time in the outfield and at first base. And he thought they’d pinch hit a lot. This is an excellent opportunity.”
From my count, the Mets bench will consist of exactly five men, four of which are currently filled by the backup catcher, Alex Cora, Fernando Tatis, and Garry Mathews, Jr. Catalanotto would fit in nicely as a lefthanded pinch-hitter who can play multiple positions, but will have to fight off Chris Carter, Nick Evans, Anderson Hernandez, and a few other youngsters. Which is too bad, because I would prefer to see an open competition for two or three if not four bench spots; instead, everyone will be competing for one uncemented position on the roster.
Rose-colored Glasses
Omar Minaya danced around discussed several subjects during his recent appearance on SNY, attempting to paint a positive picture of the 2010 Mets.
One issue in particular that struck me as disconcerting was his evaulation of the current Mets’ pitching staff.
Kevin Burkhardt pointed out the various question marks on the staff, nearly all of which are related to injuries. Minaya’s response was
“Kevin, every team will enter the season with question marks … there are always a lot of question marks with pitching.”
True enough, but no pennant-contending team has as many question marks as the Mets do when it comes to the pitching staff. They have no less than five starting pitchers coming off season-ending surgeries and two pie-in-the-sky candidates for the setup role. The fact that the Mets are hoping that many injured arms come back healthy is enough of a concern, but to me what is more worrisome is that Minaya believes a healthy Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, and Oliver Perez are good enough to comprise a playoff-bound club.
So not only is Minaya counting on everyone to come back 100% healthy, but he’s also expecting Pelfrey, Maine, and Perez to make great leaps forward in their performance as Major League hurlers.
With Pelfrey, I can understand optimism, since he is still relatively young (26) and can improve dramatically if he ever learns to command an offspeed pitch. Perez and Maine, though, are what they are — inconsistent pitchers with awful mechanics and concentration issues who won’t ever be more than average again. Actually, that’s not entirely true. Perez or Maine could once again win as many as 15 games IF they were under the guidance of a detail-oriented pitching coach — one who makes sound mechanics a priority, can teach / correct mechanical flaws, and implements focused, disciplined throwing programs. Someone like, uh, Rick Peterson — or perhaps Dave Duncan or Mike Maddux. Yes, Peterson rubbed a lot of veteran pitchers the wrong way, but he was a wizard when it came to clueless, mechanical distasters such as Maine, Perez, and Jorge Julio. Peterson had his failures (Victor Zambrano, Alay Soler), and is nowhere near the genius that is Dave Duncan, but his approach worked wonders with Maine and Perez specifically, as well as Pelfrey (it has always bugged me that Dan Warthen received credit for Pelfrey’s success in 2008, when he began his strong run while still under Peterson’s care).
Beyond the starting rotation, the bullpen is headed by a suddenly unreliable and velocity-losing K-Rod and a LOOGY (Pedro Feliciano). The rest of the relievers are … who? Kelvim Escobar, who has thrown 5 innings in the last two years and may not be as healthy as Duaner Sanchez was last April, is the next-best relief man. After Escobar is a wild splitter specialist from Japan named Ryota Iragashi (who has also seen his velocity decrease in recent years). Beyond that is fireballer Bobby Parnell — whose penchant for allowing baserunners recalled the days of the aforementioned Victor Zambrano — and sinkerballer Sean Green, who could most succintly be described as “underwhelming”.
Maybe I’m seeing the Mets’ pitching staff as a half-empty glass. But it’s clear that Omar Minaya sees the same personnel as half-full — and through rose-colored lenses. Most likely, the truth is somewhere in the middle. But unfortunately, somewhere in the middle is exactly where the pitchers will carry the Mets to in the final standings.
Mets Sign Josh Fogg
According to Troy Renck of the Denver Post, the Mets have signed veteran starter Josh Fogg to a minor-league deal.
Considering the Mets’ multiple question marks throughout the pitching staff, I see this as a smart, shrewd signing. In essence, Fogg is a healthier version of Tim Redding, but who also has better potential than Redding as a relief pitcher.
Ironically, Redding has signed with Fogg’s 2009 club — the Colorado Rockies.
By no means is Fogg the answer to the Mets’ problems in the starting rotation. At his best, he’s a .500 pitcher on a strong offensive club, and someone who rarely pitches far past the fifth inning. He’s very hittable and walks too many batters for someone who is so hittable (though, by Mets’ standards, he’s a “control pitcher”). However, he posted an excellent 1.13 WHIP in 2009 — the best of his career — pitching almost exclusively out of the bullpen. Though the Mets might see him as depth / insurance at the back end of the rotation, I would pencil him in, right now, as their top setup man — mainly because he less of a health risk than Kelvim Escobar, and has shown more MLB success than Bobby Parnell and Ryota Igarashi.
Wow. So that’s how low the Mets have fallen — to the point where Josh Fogg could be their best setup man.
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