10-11 Offseason

In a recent interview of Sandy Alderson by Adam Rubin at ESPN-NY, Alderson made fairly clear that Luis Castillo either will be the starting second baseman on Opening Day, or he will not be a Met.

From the interview, see this particular exchange:

Rubin:

In terms of second base, Luis Castillo — in addition to Oliver Perez — is a lightning rod for the fan base. If Castillo does not win the second base job, is there another role for him on this team? He does not have a lot of pop, or run-producing ability as a pinch-hitter. And I don’t know that he’s capable of playing multiple positions. Is it kind of second base or bust for him?

Alderson:

“Well, that’s certainly his best role on the team. If he’s going to be on the club, it probably will have to be as the regular second baseman, or somebody who plays quite a bit of the time at second base. He just doesn’t give us enough coverage other places to play a utility role. So I would say he needs to have a role on the team. And I think that’s probably his best and maybe only role — regular duty at second base.”

Unless Castillo puts on the catcher’s gear and starts shagging fly balls, it appears that he has to win the 2B job in order to remain in the orange and blue. And it makes sense, because if he’s not starting, Castillo has very little value. Further, since the Mets are going nowhere, and Castillo has no future, it behooves them to give younger players auditions throughout the year.

Castillo’s competition includes Daniel Murphy, Justin Turner, and Brad Emaus. From Alderson’s comments, it sounds as though they plan to give Ruben Tejada a full year in the minors, so he’s a darkhorse for the position. Additionally, the utility infielder position is Chin-lung Hu‘s to lose.

The thing I wonder about is how the Mets are going to give Castillo, Murphy, Turner, and Emaus enough reps at second base during spring training to make a decision. It would be a challenge if we already knew the defensive capabilities of all four players — because theoretically, you could alternate them in DH roles just to give them at-bats — but the main issue is that no one has any idea if Murphy or Emaus can handle the position, and if Castillo has any range left at all. Ironically, Turner is the closest to a “known entity” in that the club had a good long look at him in Buffalo last year, yet he’s most likely to lose the competition because he still has options remaining. Turner, in 78 games with Buffalo in ’10, and two seasons in the minor previous, he’s proven to be a solid offensive player with good plate discipline and occasional pop, and plays about average defense. Some might project him to be a righthanded Todd Walker, or a Mark Loretta. If he can reach the level of either of those longtime MLBers, he’ll do OK for himself. But it seems like the competition is more about whether Emaus and Murphy can field the position, while also hitting well enough to force the Mets to eat the last $6M of Castillo’s salary.

Here are the possible scenarios:

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According to the St. Louis Dispatch, the Cardinals have begun discussing a contract extension with Albert Pujols. Per most reports, Pujols wants to get something done before spring training begins, and if nothing gets done before ST, he prefers not to talk contract at all until after the 2011 season — when he has the opportunity to become a free agent.

Though it appears that the Cards and Pujols will indeed get something done before Valentine’s Day, one never knows — as of this moment, his contract ends at the conclusion of the ’11 season. And if Albert Pujols became a free agent, would the Mets be in the bidding?

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In case you didn’t hear, Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar were voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, while Jeff Bagwell — among others — was not.

Cast Blyleven aside for a moment, and let’s focus on Alomar.

Personally, I was ambivalent about Roberto Alomar until he spit in the face of John Hirschbeck. Then, I despised him for disrespecting Hirschbeck, baseball fans, and the game itself.

Despite this, I still was able to appreciate the fact that Alomar was — hands down — the best fielding second baseman in MLB during the 1990s and first two years of the 21st century. And for that reason alone, he, to me, deserves consideration for the Hall of Fame.

However, there is the little matter of the “Steroids Era”, in which Alomar participated. Further to the point, there were many BBWAA voters who chose not to cast a vote for Jeff Bagwell because they suspected that he might have been a PEDs user — but DID vote for Alomar. What’s the problem with this? It’s hypocrisy; how could a writer not vote for Bagwell because of PEDs suspicion but DO vote for Alomar, who played during the same period of time?

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The Texas Rangers have signed third baseman Adrian Beltre to a 6-year, $96M contract.

Color me amused.

I’m guessing that the

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The Baseball Hall of Fame voting results will be announced at some point today. No doubt there will be some people disappointed by the news, since the voting process makes it very difficult for a player to “enter” the Hall.

More to the point, there is the major dilemma of the PEDs issue — specifically in regard to Rafael Palmeiro, who failed a test, and Jeff Bagwell, who some feel was a PEDs user. The “can of worms” was opened a few years ago when Mark McGwire appeared on a ballot, but as the years go by it becomes more and more of an issue that can no longer be ignored. With each new year, and new ballot, more and more players from the “Steroids Era” are eligible. Who knows whether Bagwell cheated … or Roberto Alomar, for that matter? For all we know, some players already voted in were cheaters … we have absolutely no idea for sure.

This dilemma makes the voting incredibly difficult — and will continue to be more and more difficult for the next ten years at least. But what to do?

I have a solution:

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