Reconstruction Nearly Complete

Posted on December 1, 2009 at 6:59 am by Joe Janish

The building of the 2010 World Championship Mets has begun with the signings of Alex Cora and Chris Coste.

Not only that, but the Mets are on the verge of re-signing reliever Elmer Dessens and inking Henry Blanco to a contract.

What’s that rapid clicking noise? Ah yes — the rush of 2009 season-ticket holders zipping to Mets.com to re-up their plan for 2010. With pieces like this in place, a postseason appearance is pretty much guaranteed.

The only thing that could complete this outstanding makeover would be the hiring of Joe Morgan, Joe Buck, and Steve Phillips to handle the TV broadcasts.

This is a lot to process in one post, and I’m so excited I can barely contain myself. But I’ll try to be professional, compose myself, and provide my take without letting the giddy emotions cloud my rhetoric. We’ll go through them one by one.

Alex Cora

I cannot begin to explain how important it is to have a someone as incredibly impactful as Cora in the clubhouse. He is one of the best dominoes players on the team, knows ALL the signs given by the third-base coach, and almost always picks up the dinner tab. In addition, he is a REALLY NICE GUY. You statheads with your ridiculous OBP, OPS, and UZR numbers just don’t get it. This guy can make everyone else play better simply by vocalizing his kind-hearted thoughts, inspirational speeches, and zen-like koans — all in a warming, caressing tone of voice that would make Jimmy Stewart weep.

Who cares that Cora is fragile, aging, and fading in the field? Why does it matter that his offense is below mediocre? What’s the big deal that there are younger, more athletic, and more rounded utilitymen available for one-third the price? This guy MIGHT BE A MANAGER someday!!!! You can’t let people like that get away, and the Mets were absolutely genius in getting him re-signed early in the free agent period, before other teams realized he was available and an all-out bidding war erupted. I mean, really — how many backup infielders are available this winter? And thankfully, the contract includes a club option for 2011, so no worries about keeping him under wraps as he continues the dénouement of his career — he can step right in as the Mets’ skipper upon the conclusion of Jerry Manuel’s contract.

Chris Coste

Forget Nails: The Inside Story of an Amazin’ Season, Bats, and Shea Good Bye: The Untold Inside Story of the Historic 2008 Season — The 33-Year-Old Rookie: My 13-Year Journey from the Minor Leagues to the World Series is the most inspirational book written by a backup catcher who came from the indy leagues in the history of MLB. The only other catcher I can think of with that kind of writing talent is yours truly, and as you know the Mets couldn’t possibly come up with a deal that would overwhelm my current gig as MetsToday’s lead blogger. So Coste is the ideal next-best choice.

And again, I can already hear you Beaneheads whining that Coste’s 2006 .328 AVG was bloated by a .363 BABIP, and that his career .744 OPS makes Jerry Grote seem like an offensive juggernaut. But you guys don’t understand the value of having a bestselling author on the roster — and one that has a GUARANTEED spot on the 40-man roster at that. You can blab all you want about Gregg Zaun but he NEVER wrote a book! So there!

Elmer Dessens

OK, if you don’t understand Dessens’ value as a mopup reliever then you obviously weren’t watching the Mets’ 2009 season. Guys like Dessens don’t grow on Mexican trees.

Henry Blanco

Blanco is a tremendous defensive talent who can singlehandedly catch a baseball. I’m serious — I’ve seen him do it. OK, his offense makes Jose Molina look like a batting champion and he’s 38 years old but he’s VENEZUELAN. And last I checked, Johan Santana is also VENEZUELAN. If you don’t see the value of that, then I don’t know what to tell you.

So, with those four players under contract, it’s only a matter of filling in the final pieces of the puzzle. We can all rest easy knowing that Cora, Coste, Dessens, and Blanco will be Mets in 2010.

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About the Author

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers.

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