Mets Release Alex Cora

Posted on August 7, 2010 by Joe Janish

So there isn’t any big-time trade coming after all. Instead, the Mets have released Alex Cora and demoted Jesus Feliciano.

Per the Mets’ PR department:

METS RECALL OUTFIELDER FERNANDO MARTINEZ AND INFIELDER RUBEN TEJADA FROM BUFFALO (AAA);
OPTION OUTFIELDER JESUS FELICIANO TO BUFFALO (AAA) AND RELEASE INFIELDER ALEX CORA

FLUSHING, N.Y., August 7, 2010 – The New York Mets today announced that they have recalled outfielder Fernando Martinez and infielder Ruben Tejada from Buffalo (AAA) of the International League. Martinez will wear uniform #26 while Tejada will wear uniform #11. Both players will be available for tonight’s game at Philadelphia. In order to make room on New York’s 25-man roster, outfielder Jesus Feliciano was optioned to Buffalo and infielder Alex Cora was released.

Martinez, 21, was hitting .255 (63-247) with 38 runs scored, 16 doubles, 12 home runs, 33 RBI, 17 walks and 60 strikeouts in 68 games with the Bisons. Over his last 10 games at Buffalo, the 6-1, 200-pounder was batting .324 (11-34) with three doubles, two home runs and three RBI.

Martinez hit .176 (16-91) with 11 runs scored, one home run and eight RBI in 29 games with New York in 2009 before undergoing season-ending surgery on July 15 to repair a tear of the medial meniscus of the right knee.

Tejada, 20, was with the Mets from April 5-10 and June 4-July 19 this year. He batted .212 (22-104) with 17 runs scored, four doubles, five RBI, seven walks and 19 strikeouts in 35 games with the Mets. The 5-11, 162-pounder was hitting .280 (61-218) with 25 runs scored, 11 doubles, one home run, 16 RBI, 14 walks and 36 strikeouts in 65 games with the Bisons.

Feliciano, 31, hit .292 (19-65) with eight runs scored, four doubles, one triple and two RBI in 27 contests with the Mets this season.

Cora, 34, was batting .207 (35-169) with six doubles, three triples, 20 RBI, 10 walks and 16 strikeouts in 62 games with the Mets this year.

By cutting Cora now, the Mets have lost some grit and a future manager but they also are absconded of the $2M guaranteed to Cora if he had appeared in 18 more games this season. The move is similar to the dumping of Livan Hernandez around this time last year — who was let go before attaining numbers that would’ve netted about half a million in incentives.

From a financial perspective, the Cora move makes obvious sense.

As for Feliciano, I’m not sure what he did to deserve getting demoted. He seemed to do everything the Mets asked, and added a bit of a spark when he found his way into games. I’m guessing this means that F-Mart will be used at minimum in a platoon in LF with Jeff Francoeur while Jason Bay’s head mends — or perhaps he will be given the job full-time. It certainly makes more sense from a development standpoint for Martinez to play every day.

As for Tejada, I don’t get it. Is he going to play 2B over Luis Castillo? Why not bring Justin Turner back up, who is on a tear in AAA — his OPS over the past ten games is 1.300. In contrast, Tejada is hitting .229 over his last ten games.

Posted in Latest Mets News | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Mets Demote Feliciano, Release Light-Hitting 2B

Posted on August 7, 2010 by loge mezzanine

In order to free up room for the recently promoted Fernando Martinez and Ruben Tejada, the Mets have demoted Jesus Feliciano and released a light-hitting second baseman.

No, not Luis Castillo! Castillo is still owed $12 million over the next two years. Cutting ties with Castillo would be like cutting ties with Oliver Perez! Ridiculous!

Think again… Here’s a hint, the Mets are trying to save money.

The answer is Alex Cora! The de facto leader of the team was only 18 games away from reaching a vested option, so the Mets will save $2 million by sending him packing. Sweet!

So to recap… F-Mart and Tejada are likely to sit on the bench behind Francoeur and Castillo. Ollie Perez is still here. And the light-hitting second baseman who was the only semblance of a leader on this team is gone.

To be fair, the Mets may be working on a deal to ship Castillo and Francoeur out of town (possibly to Seattle?), and that would actually make this a good move because it would free up playing time for F-Mart. Let’s hope so, because as it stands now, it seems like the Wilpons are pinching pennies with no clear direction. Again.

Posted in Mets 2010 Games | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Mets and Mariners Talking Trade?

Posted on August 7, 2010 by loge mezzanine

ESPN New York is reporting that the Mets and Mariners may be close to finalizing a deal that sends prospect Fernando Martinez to Seattle.

It is still not clear who the Mets would get back or if they would be sending additional players, though Luis Castillo is mentioned as another possible piece in the deal.

Two sources — one with ties to the organization, one formerly with the organization — indicated the Seattle Mariners are the team involved in dialogue with the Mets.

One of the sources indicated that 21-year-old outfielder Fernando Martinez, who was one of the two players scratched from the Bisons’ lineup, could be headed to Seattle if a deal materializes.

Meanwhile, RotoWorld is guessing that the Mets could be getting Chone Figgins back as part of the deal.

This is mainly piecing a few things together to try to see what fits at this point. We know that the Mets and Mariners are talking trade. We know the Mariners shopped Figgins before the traded deadline and that he would almost surely clear waivers after the deadline. We know that Fernando Martinez and Ruben Tejada were scratched from their Triple-A lineups without any reason given. Put it all together and we could have a trade brewing. It’s possible Luis Castillo could be involved in the deal, as well. Stay tuned.

UPDATE (11:48am) – MetsBlog is reporting that both Martinez and Tejada will be called up today. No word yet on who will be moved, demoted or released to clear room on the roster.

Posted in Rumors, Trades | 5 Comments

F-Mart and Tejada Scratched

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Joe Janish

In a mysteriously salacious move, both Fernando Martinez and Ruben Tejada were scratched from the Buffalo Bisons’ Friday night game (hat tip to MacksMets via Twitter).

Could Tejada and F-Mart be on their way to another organization, as part of a post-deadline trade? Or, could they both be on their way to the Mets, to take the place of players on the current 25-man roster who are being sent away?

Hmmm ….

The Mets might be silly enough to try to make a desperation deal, but for whom, I have no idea. Carlos Zambrano? Manny Ramirez? Adam Dunn? Vernon Wells?

Bringing in Manny would make the most sense from the standpoint of selling tickets. Dunn or Ramirez would make the most sense in terms of improving the offense. Zambrano is a frightening thought, even if Oliver Perez is part of the deal. Vernon Wells is similarly scary, considering the length of his deal.

Perhaps it is more likely that the Mets are trading two (or more?) current MLBers and in turn will be replacing them on the roster with Tejada and Martinez. So we’d guess the players would be an infielder and an outfielder. Could some team be interested in Luis Castillo? Or the gritty Alex Cora? If it’s Castillo, the Mets would certainly have to pick up a big chunk of his salary. Maybe Jeff Francoeur is on the move? Or Carlos Beltran?

My guess is Francoeur is most likely on the move, maybe to Boston — a team in need of a corner outfielder and a team that has shown some interest in Francoeur in the past. The Red Sox are also in need of a second sacker, with Dustin Pedroia still on the DL. Jed Lowrie is doing an OK to pretty good job filling in, but you never know — this is the same team that gave Julio Lugo an obscene 4 year/$36M deal. They also had an overvalued appreciation for Cora.

According to reports, the Bosox have worked out Carlos Delgado as a possible fill-in for Kevin Youkilis. That in itself should be enough evidence that the “braintrust” in Boston is not thinking clearly, and ripe for a ridiculous deal.

All of this, of course, is conjecture. The scratches of Tejada and F-Mart may have meant nothing at all. We will soon find out.

Posted in Rumors | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Mets Game 109: Loss to Phillies

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Joe Janish

Phillies 7 Mets 5

Jonathon Niese had his big curveball working, the home plate umpire had a huge, pitcher-friendly strike zone, and the Phillies were without Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Shane Victorino.

In other words, a sure-fire formula for success.

But, something went wrong on the way toward fulfilling that formula — I blame the scientist in the lab.

Game Notes

Niese allowed 4 hits and 1 run in 7 innings of work. The bullpen allowed 7 hits and 6 runs in the 8th inning alone. That, in a nutshell, was the ballgame.

On a positive note, Niese had his big overhand curveball working really well — as well as we’ve seen it all year. Why was it so good? Mainly because he was staying more “over the top” with his arm action, staying on top of the ball with a consistently high release point. In other words, he was doing all the things we’ve been saying he needed to do right here at MetsToday (check the archives). With that nice overhand delivery, Niese gets good 11-5 bite on the curve and a mild sink on the fastball. He does not get as much sideways movement on the slider that he calls a cutter, but in my humble opinion that is generally an ineffective pitch that should be used only as a “show” pitch — something to throw maybe 4-5 times a game just to keep the batters thinking of something else. Having a great curve working as he did in this contest is the ultimate equalizer, as we saw through seven formidable innings.

Mike Sweeney had two hits, a run, and an RBI in his debut as a Phillie. Sweeney is one of my all-time favorite players, and if you’ve been visiting for a while you know I’ve advocated the Mets acquiring him several times in the past. It’s remarkable that when the Phillies lose a player like Ryan Howard they are able to pick up a solid veteran such as Sweeney, but when the Mets had all those injuries last year, the best acquisitions they could muster were Wilson Valdez and Anderson Hernandez.

As well as Niese was pitching, there was this eerie feeling throughout that the Phillies were just waiting for the opportunity to explode and take the game. Or maybe it was just me.

Ike Davis went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Jeff Francoeur very quietly went 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored. Mike Hessman very loudly hit a pinch-hit, 3-run homer in the top of the ninth that chased J.C. Romero from the game.

Is a New York Met EVER going to slide hard and aggressively into second base to break up a double play? Just throwing that out there, because it seems like they’re always doing their best to get out of the way and make sure the second baseman or shortstop has a clear, unobstructed path to throw the relay to first.

Next Mets Game

Game two in this three-game set begins at 7:05 PM on Saturday night. Johan Santana faces Cole Hamels and the bullpen binoculars.

Posted in Mets 2010 Games | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Aug 6: Friday Mets Links

Posted on August 6, 2010 by loge mezzanine

MetsGazette – Congratulations to Omar Minaya and Jeff Wilpon, as they will be able to destroy the Mets for another season in 2011. Get your tickets now!

MetsBlog – Jon Heyman says the Mets will be crossing their fingers and hoping the season turns out ok. Good luck with THAT.

The Mets Police – The start time of Lunch Box Day on August 15th has been moved to 8pm because the game will be broadcast on ESPN. Will a Mets lunchbox make me less likely to lose my lunch when I watch the Mets? I hope so…

And here is Kerel Cooper from OnTheBlack, giving his thoughts on trading David Wright and Jose Reyes:

Posted in Link Dump | Tagged | 6 Comments

Compare and Contrast: Cutting Dead Weight

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Joe Janish

The Mets continue to carry the albatross known as Oliver Perez on their roster, as he refuses to be demoted to the minors and the Wilpons refuse to pay between $12M – $24M for someone who is not employed by their organization.

It simply wouldn’t be “good business” to release Perez outright, considering the amount of money left on his egregious 3-year deal. Better to continue to drag him along on the team bus, and take up a precious spot on the 25-man roster.

Or is it?

The following teams had similarly bad contracts recently (within the last year and a half), and chose to cut bait. Interestingly, few of these teams can as easily “afford” to give up on high-salaried player — but they did, anyway, for the good of the team.

Most of these players were released outright, though a few were traded away on the condition that their salary would be absorbed by the team shedding the player. It is in no particular order.

[TABLE=48]

Interestingly, the Yankees don’t have much in the way of owed money to players no longer on their roster — despite the fact that many pundits regularly point to their riches as a security blanket for when they make mistakes. Other than Igawa, the Yankees owe a grand total of about $2.4M to players no longer on their roster.

After looking at what other teams have done in the way of dropping dead weight, how do you feel about the Mets’ insistence on keeping Oliver Perez and other bad contracts? One would think that if a “small market” team such as the Detroit Tigers can bite the bullet on so much money in bad contracts, that the big-city Mets would be able to act similarly.

Posted in Opinion and Analysis | Tagged | 9 Comments

Mets Season in Pictures Part 4

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Joe Janish

Posted in Opinion and Analysis | 2 Comments