If you haven’t yet heard, Jon Heyman broke the news that Rangers manager Ron Washington used cocaine during the 2009 season.
However, Washington was not reprimanded — neither by MLB nor by the Rangers — and continued to serve in his role as the club’s skipper without consequence.
To Washington’s credit, he Continue reading
The Washington Nationals have released eternal enigma Elijah Dukes.
The remarkably talented outfielder was penciled in as the Opening Day rightfielder. According to GM Mike Rizzo, the move was NOT made due to a behaviorial issue.
From the Washington Post:
General Manager Mike Rizzo called Dukes’s release “a performance-based decision” and that “no singular incident” led to the decision. But Rizzo also implied that Dukes’s presence in the clubhouse adversely affected the Nationals, saying they “will be a more cohesive group” without him.
“The clubhouse will be more united,” Rizzo said. “We’ll have a better feel around the ballclub. We’ll gain just by that alone.”
I will be the first to say that the Mets do not need any potential headaches. I will also say that Dukes is beginning to look like another Milton Bradley: an outfielder seemingly oozing with talent, but one who may never fully realize his potential due to the simple fact that his on-field performance does not outweight his off-field issues.
Many people inside the Nats organization (including teammates) assert that the 25-year-old Dukes has matured drastically since arriving in Washington, DC in December 2007. However, his athletic skill has not translated into results; he hit only .250 with a .729 OPS and played poor defense in over 100 games in 2009.
I’m sure there are a few Mets fans out there who are interested in Dukes, so please voice your opinion in the comments.
Spring training “competitions” are usually nonsense, no matter what message is spewed by the team’s management (this is in regard to all clubs, not just the Mets). Management has predetermined thoughts about the lineup and most of the spots on the 25-man roster, and so spring training is used to support their “prevaluations” made long before pitchers and catchers report.
For example, is first base really an open competition? Both Ike Davis and Chris Carter are hitting the snot out of the ball, but we all know that — barring injury — Dan Murphy is the Opening Day first baseman. Why? Because Murphy proved satisfactory to the upper levels of Mets management based on his 2009 performance — if he wasn’t, we would be watching Adam LaRoche in a Mets uniform right now. (Note I stated “satisfactory” according to Mets management, rather than my or the popular opinion.)
Similarly, Angel Pagan would have to seriously falter — and Gary Matthews, Jr. put on a Roy Hobbs demonstration — to lose his grip on centerfield. Yes, Pagan’s mental issues were frustrating, but after what he did in the batter’s box from July through September, you can’t not put him in centerfield come April.
But another individual who seemed to “earn” a spot on the roster based 2009 was Nelson Figueroa. Continue reading
If you haven’t yet seen, Kerel Cooper produced a 7-part series of preseason evaluations, videotaped on location at McFadden’s in NYC and featuring Dave Doyle of Mets Report and yours truly. You can see the entire series by clicking here or see each episode separately by clicking on the below links.
Should you choose to watch the videos in chronological order, you will see the mysterious sinking level of suds in the bottom left corner of the screen. Not sure how that happened … must have been the ghost of McFadden’s.
2. Catchers, Castillo, and Murphy
4. Outfield
5. Pitching
6. Prospects
Kelvim Escobar told Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional that he will decide on April 1st whether or not to pitch in 2010 (hat tip to TheRopolitans, via MLBTR).
Does anyone else see “April 1st” as a fitting day to make such a decision?
Yes, from the beginning the Escobar signing was seen as a “risk-reward” situation. But you have to wonder if any other team was willing to risk $1.5M guaranteed on a pitcher with extensive, chronic shoulder problems, had been shut down after tossing only five innings in 2009, and would not have passed a physical.
We are going to assume that the Mets gave Escobar a “Putz Physical”, because if his arm was “weak” in February, then how could it possibly have been healthy, or “strong”, in mid-December?
The Mets’ pattern of throwing good money after bad continues, and nothing is learned by mistakes. I understand the idea of “low risk, high reward”, and often support it. But you have to examine exactly what “low risk” really means.
$1.5M doesn’t seem like a “high risk” for big-market team like the Mets — and it shouldn’t be. But when you gamble $1.5M on damaged goods, and you pencil in those goods as your setup man, how can it be defined as “low risk” ?
What makes the “low-risk” gampble more risky is inserting another “low-risk, high-reward” proposition as Plan B — a Japanese import.
We’ve beaten this horse before, but it bears repeating: the Mets overspend as a rule, and yes, it IS an issue even when it’s “only” one or two million dollars. The Mets bid against themselves in spending $3.5M on Escobar and Cora — a sum total that would have netted, say, Bobby Crosby and Bobby Howry … or, say, Felipe Lopez, Clay Condrey, and LOOGY Javier Lopez. We could play this game all day — fill in the players of your choice. Bottom line is the Mets continue to be penny-wise and pound-foolish, gamble on multiple high (not low) risks, then wonder how the second-highest payroll in MLB can result in second-to-last place finish.
One thing’s for sure: I know exactly how I’m betting if I see Omar Minaya rolling the dice at a craps table in Atlantic City.
With Jose Reyes out for an indefinite period, it’s time to discuss the possible replacements. Continue reading
If you haven’t heard by now, Jose Reyes may be out of action for anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks. Or longer — there’s really no way to determine just yet.
The issue with his thyroid is not one to be taken lightly, and you have to credit the Mets’ medical staff for spotting the problem — they may have saved his life. Additionally, you have to credit the Mets’ management for taking the cautious route and immediately shutting down Reyes. We don’t want to see Reyes out when Opening Day rolls around, but we DO want to see him happy and healthy over the next several years — the long-term risk is not worth the gamble of one or two months activity.
Yes, the issue could have been handled much better from a PR standpoint. But over the past two years, it has become crystal clear that the Mets have a major flaw in their communications. Over and over again, we receive multiple, incongruous messages from various official sources — in other words, no one is “on the same page”. A few days ago, Omar Minaya stated to the US press that Jose Reyes had an overactive thyroid, while Reyes simultaneously denied he had any issue with his thyroid to ESPN Deportes. This is the latest in a long line of conflicting quotes from the Mets, and perpetuates the image of the organization as a “Mickey Mouse operation”.
You have to wonder how much this public ineptitude affects the thoughts of opposing ballplayers — in particular, those who will be part of next winter’s bumper crop of free agents. The Mets’ reputation has gone backward over the past few years, and as a result the team will have to continue to overpay players to convince them to come to Flushing (see: Jason Bay, Bengie Molina).
It would be easy to blame Jay Horwitz for the problems, but based on what we’ve seen from the Mets as a whole, I’m not so quick to identify a scapegoat. Everything filters from the top, and my gut feeling is that Horwitz has little control over the outgoing communications — despite his title of “VP, Media Relations”. He can’t muzzle players (or the GM) without someone “from the top” giving him the power to do so. As a result, you have an organization that resembles the Wild West, littered with gunslinging cowboys in sheriffless towns who shoot their guns — or in this case, mouths — off in every direction.
One need only look to the other side of town for an example of how external communications should be handled. In the Bronx, there are only one or two sources from where the official, high-level messages flow. Very few Yankees fans can name the teams’ PR person, the VP of Player Development, the Assistant to the GM, or the team doctor. In fact, I’d bet that few casual Yankees fans know the name of the team’s trainer, the pitching coach, or the batting coach — these people as a rule do not speak to the media, and when you do hear from them, it is with information that is barely newsworthy, rarely controversial, and never in conflict with whatever the team’s “main” message. There is consistency across the board, from every Yankees quote — whether it is someone’s sprained finger, Joba’s pitch count, or a PEDs accusation.
But I digress … next post we’ll discuss the possible replacements for Jose Reyes.
Let’s get down to brass tacks (and not of the Bronx type): for the past few months, the content on MetsToday has not been nearly as prolific as you remember. The reason for the relative lack of frequency in posts is simple: I started a new, full-time job that is taking most of my time. There is a significant learning curve as I get the lay of the land and figure out what the heck I’m supposed to be doing. This isn’t a complaint — I’m absolutely, positively thrilled to be working for Opici Wines (pardon the plug). And the good news is, I’m starting to “get it”, and will soon return to a more regular rhythm of posts here on MetsToday.
In the meantime, to sate your reading appetite, I highly suggest — no, demand — that you head on over to AmazinAvenueAnnual.com and download the 2010 edition. I have been grossly remiss in not pointing you toward the Annual before today — but in all honesty, I did not have the time to give it a look-see until now.
It is salaciously scandalous; refreshingly negative in tone, yet delivered with tongue planted firmly in cheek effusing biting humor that often spurs legitimate, doubled-over, laughing out loud (not to be confused with the ubiquitous “LOL” littered irresponsibly in billions of texts every minute of the day). But it’s also incredibly informative, chock full of stats and analyses that will impress the stathead … yet there are also numbers that are digestible by the old school crowd. And that’s a major point I’d like to communicate: contrary to what you may know of AmazinAvenue and the former “MetsGeek” staff, this is NOT a book expressly for Beaneheads. More correctly, it is a book for everyone.
Where else can you find a great Mets drinking game based on quips by Gary, Keith and Ron? Where else can you read an homage to Lindsay Nelson written by a kid who was born five years after Nelson’s last broadcast? Where else can you read in-depth about “CHONE” and it have nothing to do with a certain Mr. Figgins? Where else can you find a journalist like Eric Simon using words like “rejoinder”, “mordant”, “trenchant”, and “intransigent” — all in one paragraph? If nothing else, Simon’s diatribes are an entertaining alternative to the Reader’s Digest “It Pays To Enrich Your Word Power” exercises.
The bottom line is this: you should download this book (it’s FREE) and read it. Read it from front to back, backward, sideways, or just pick out some of the articles from the contents that tickle your fancy. I have absolute confidence that you will find SOMETHING worth reading in this tome — more likely, many things.
And to be clear, this review is completely, 100% sincere. I am receiving no kickbacks nor special favors from the AA team, and in fact none of them even asked me to write a review. The Amazin’ Annual is better — hands-down — than any other Mets-centric publication that you would have to pay for.
The only beef I have is that nowhere in the 340 pages of content, is MetsToday mentioned nor am I quoted. This wouldn’t be a big deal if Ted Berg hadn’t been quoted (and twice, no less!). I don’t care that Berg is one of the contributors of the book, and I don’t care that he is on the SNY staff — the guy’s website isn’t even a dot-com, it’s a “dot-net” for goodness sakes! How do you quote a dot-net wannabe blogging from his parents’ basement and not include a solitary quip from a legitimate website that happens to be one of the most abrasive and straightforward in the Mets blogosphere?
I’m kidding of course … but not kidding about the Amazin’ Annual. Go get it before they realize what they have there and start charging for it. Enjoy.