2010 Analysis: Sean Green

Posted on October 30, 2010 by Joe Janish


Remember when the Mets traded Endy Chavez, Aaron Heilman, Joe Smith, Jason Vargas, Ezequiel Carrera, and Maikel Cleto in return for Sean Green and two other Seattle Mariners? Seems like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it?

Green was supposed to be Pedro Feliciano’s foil – a right-handed situational reliever with the ability to occasionally step in as a setup man. Fans who rejoiced at the arrival of Green and the departure of Heilman soon learned that you must be careful what you wish for. Sure, Green never had the opportunity to allow a postseason homerun; but at the same time, the Mets’ dependence on talents such as Green to fill key bullpen roles was at least part of the reason they’ve been watching the playoffs from home since 2006. For those who forgot, Green was penciled in as the backup to the backup setup man in early 2010 — the man who would step in if Kelvim Escobar and Ryota Igarashi didn’t work out.

2011 Projection

Green’s time as a Met has been marked by inconsistency and injury. In an effort to salvage his career, he converted from sidearmer to submariner – a move that might’ve panned out had he given it enough time. But now that he’s back to being a sidewinder with sporadic control who turns 32 shortly after Opening Day, I’m not sure where he fits in to the Mets’ plans. He’s under the team’s control, but after earning $975K in 2010, does it make sense to renew or go the arbitration route? My guess is they’ll cut him loose and try to re-sign him on a minor-league deal.

Click here to read the 2009 Analysis of Sean Green

Posted in 2010 Mets Evaluations | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Since It Doesn’t Matter Who the Manager Is …

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Joe Janish

Now that Sandy Alderson is in charge, and we know he does not believe a manager has any impact on a team’s success or failure — provided, of course, said manager follows orders and executes the plan issued from the front office — then how do we go about choosing the next Mets manager?

Seriously — if you buy into this idea that “the manager doesn’t matter”, then, it doesn’t matter who is chosen; ergo, we can choose anyone we want, based on just about anything we want.

Further, it means that Jeff Wilpon can choose anyone he wants to be the manager, based on whatever he deems valuable, and in doing so, he’s not encroaching on Alderson’s “power” — because Alderson doesn’t really care who the manager is, so long as he is a good soldier.

So, if I were Jeff Wilpon, my three most important traits in selecting the next Mets manager would be: Continue reading →

Posted in 10-11 Offseason | Tagged , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Four Answers To Anti-Wally Questions

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Joe Janish

Before the interview process starts, the beat writers and blogosphere are already counting out Wally Backman as a viable candidate for Mets manager in 2011.

Let’s address the top 4 “reasons” Wally won’t be hired by Sandy Alderson:

1. If Alderson hires Wally Backman, it proves to all of baseball that he is Jeff Wilpon’s puppet. Alderson has to hire someone else to show he’s in charge.
Continue reading →

Posted in 10-11 Offseason | Tagged , | 9 Comments

2010 Analysis: Dillon Gee

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Joe Janish

I want to believe that Dillon Gee will continue to be as good as he was in five starts in September. I’d like to pencil him in to a 2011 rotation spot right now, and expect him to give the Mets 6 to 7 innings every five days, limiting opposing batters to a .212 batting average and only 2.18 earned runs per 9.

But something tells me he isn’t that good.

Which is a shame, because he’s incredibly likeable, with a great story. True grit, determination, and hard work pushed this non-prospect to the big leagues – an ideal side story turned sequel to The Legend of R.A. Dickey. I’m rooting for success by Dillon Gee in the same way I rooted for Jeff Francoeur – with high hopes, but realistic expectations.

Spending over 30 years watching the likes of Mike Vail, Roy Lee Jackson, Daniel Murphy, Kelvin Chapman, Anthony Young, Jason Jacome, Keith Miller, Brian Bannister … well, you learn to keep your guard up.

2011 Projection

I like Gee’s competitiveness and guile. I also love the fact he wears an American-made Akadema glove. I didn’t like his walk rate in his 5 MLB games, and I’m not convinced his pedestrian stuff is enough to retire big-league hitters consistently. But if he can keep his walks down at this level – something he did at lower levels – he could, at best, evolve into a Scott Baker or Nick Blackburn type of pitcher (for Mets fans, Bobby Jones is a good example), which would be a more than welcome addition to the Mets’ staff in 2011. I’ll go on a limb and say that there’s a good chance he pitches as well as Brian Bannister would have in Flushing, had he not been sent to Kansas City. The truth is, the Mets don’t have much choice but to hope that he can – a quick look at the farm system is showing no one else ready to make the leap, and the free-agent pile isn’t likely to render anything better than a journeyman rotation filler.

Posted in 2010 Mets Evaluations | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Will Sandy Alderson Answer the Steroid Question?

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Joe Janish

Ian O’Connor of ESPN-NY points out an intriguing chink in Sandy Alderson’s armor — and wonders if he’ll apologize for it: Continue reading →

Posted in 10-11 Offseason | Tagged , | 11 Comments

Sandy Alderson May Choose a Former Met to Manage

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Joe Janish

It’s not yet official but Sandy Alderson as Mets’ GM is as good as a done deal. So next we move on to who will be the next Mets manager?

If you are a loyal reader of MetsToday then you know who my choice is — Wally Backman. But it doesn’t matter who MY choice is, it matters who Sandy Alderson wants. Is Wally on the list?

Yesterday, MetsBlog reported that Wally Backman’s (and Bobby Valentine’s) chances were “dwindling“. Today, the same blog cited a tweet by Mark Healey of Baseball Digest that stated Backman was a “leading candidate“. So what gives? Does Wally have a chance, or doesn’t he?

Being part of SNY, Matt Cerrone has access to fairly reliable “inside sources”, and yesterday’s post supports the same thing that Jon Heyman has been hearing. Adam Rubin of ESPN-NY is hearing the same thing. Heyman also has a strong argument in this tweet:

will be shocked if alderson hires wally back as manager. will show right away he isnt running things, and i dont see him doing that.

The notion behind this is that Wally Backman is Jeff Wilpon’s choice, and therefore, in order for Alderson to make it clear that he isn’t Jeff’s puppet, he has to hire someone other than Wally.

Now, if that’s actually the main reason behind not hiring someone, does it make any sense? What if Wally is actually the best man for the job?

The interesting thing about this latest drama is that MetsBlog linked to the wrong tweet by Baseball Digest — there is another one posted earlier that is likely to be more accurate:

I think #Mets will be going outside the organizaton for MGR candidates, think Hurdle and McEwing could get interviews

That’s right — Clint Hurdle and Joe McEwing. It’s too perfect, isn’t it?

Hurdle is a former Met, has 8 years of MLB experience as a manager, is a God-fearing family man, once won a pennant, and has the reputation as a company man who does as he’s told. In other words, a dream choice for both Alderson and the Wilpons. (Never mind that he has a career losing record of 534-625; Alderson and the statheads know that the manager has no effect on a team’s winning or losing — so get on board with it.) In other words, he’d be “Art Howe Redux”.

McEwing is also a former Met — and a huge fan favorite at that. “Super Joe” was loved for his grit, hustle, determination, scrappy play, and team-first attitude — all the things that Mets fans have been craving. Additionally, he was named the “Top Managerial Prospect” in the SAL by Baseball America after leading the Winston-Salem Dash (White Sox A-ball affiliate) to a 73-65 record in 2009. McEwing followed up that with an 81-58 record in 2010, again in A-ball. Sounds like … “Poor Man’s Wally Backman”. As if that’s not enough to qualify him, he’s a local guy, born in PA, played at the County College of Morris. Oh, and David Wright loves him — which pretty much seals the deal, doesn’t it?

Where does that leave Wally? Or what about his ’86 Met teammate Tim Teufel? Or Ken Oberkfell and Chip Hale, for that matter? We’ll soon find out, but if Sandy Alderson wants to make clear that he runs the show, the next Mets manager will come from outside the organization. However, it could still be a former Met.

How do you feel about the prospect of Hurdle or McEwing as managerial candidates?

Posted in 10-11 Offseason | Tagged , , , | 11 Comments

Why I Haven’t Been Writing About the GM Drama

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Joe Janish

For the past few weeks, I’ve received several emails from MetsToday readers asking why there has been little to no coverage of the Mets’ search for a new General Manager.

First of all, Continue reading →

Posted in 10-11 Offseason | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

2010 Analysis: Pedro Feliciano

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Joe Janish

For the third consecutive season, Pedro Feliciano set a new Mets record for appearances by a pitcher, while leading the league in the same category. “Everyday Pedro” was exactly that, taking the ball 92 times – including a whopping 23 appearances in September / October. The modern-day Iron Joe McGinnity pitched without rest (i.e., back-to-back days) an incredible 43 times. Manager Jerry Manuel and pitching coach Dan Warthen both insisted that such use did not affect Feliciano’s performance, and didn’t physically harm him. Maybe not.

One stat proving their point was the number of homeruns he allowed – only one. Quite an accomplishment, especially considering he allowed 7 gopher balls in each of the previous seasons. Pedro also induced 10 double plays – which was, um, double what he did in 2009. But, his WHIP swelled to 1.53 (after a 1.16 posting in ’09) and his effectiveness was uneven – dropping off significantly in July and August. Those who look at stats in more depth will point out that opposing hitters’ BABIP of .351 as an indication that Pedro suffered from bad luck. Maybe … or, maybe batters were getting better pitches to hit than they did in the past.

Overall, his numbers weren’t terrible, and in fact he was quite good in stretches – not unlike a streaky hitter. It could be argued that Felciano’s drop in performance (if indeed there was one) was due as much to overuse as it was to his ever-changing role.

2011 Projection

Regardless of how you judge Feliciano’s season, the bottom line is that he continues to be one of the premier LOOGYs in MLB. The question is, what is that worth to a Mets club that is unlikely to sniff the postseason in 2011? Feliciano turned 34 in August, and isn’t likely to vastly improve any part of his game. He “is what he is”, which is a valuable asset to a championship club in need of one final bullpen piece. This winter he hits the open market as a free-agent, and it’s going to be hard for the Mets to justify spending more than the $2.9M he earned in 2010, and/or offering him beyond a one-year deal. As much as I have enjoyed my daily dose of Pedro over the past five years, it seems apparent that he’ll be wearing an opponent’s uniform in 2011.

Click here to read the 2009 Analysis of Pedro Feliciano

Posted in 2010 Mets Evaluations | Tagged | 10 Comments