Mets Sign Daisuke Matsuzaka
This is a few days late, but in case you haven’t heard, the Mets have signed Daisuke Matsuzaka to a minor-league contract that includes an invitation to spring training.
The Mets have decided to give Dice-K a chance to continue his legendary Human Rain Delay act in 2014 — one that would make Steve Trachsel and Mike Hargrove proud, and the rest of us cry. If Matsuzaka makes the big club, he gets a $1.5M contract.
As much as I cannot — and usually will not — stand watching him labor through five innings with all the speed of a terrestrial gastropod mollusc, this signing makes plenty of sense for the Mets. Having Dice-K and John Lannan as backup plans behind the very sketchy competition of Jenrry Mejia and Carlos Torres for the fifth-starter role.
I get the feeling that Mejia will pitch well enough, and avoid injury long enough, to earn a role on the pitching staff come April. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be the #5 starter, nor does it mean Mejia will remain healthy through June — and that’s why the Mets need both Lannan and Matsuzaka in the mix. Not to mention, we have no idea if Jonathon Niese‘s shoulder is going to last through six months of a big league season, and who knows what other random ailment will befall a Mets starter at some point.
Again, I find watching grass growing, paint drying, or fossils forming to be more exciting than witnessing Daisuke Matsuzaka slog through a ballgame, but, at this point in the winter, it’s a signing that makes sense for the Mets.
Your reaction? Post it in the comments.
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-His ‘gastropod’ wind-up will make the other starter’s job easier if hecan scew with the oppsition hitters timing.
-Colon and Dice-K if nothing else should provide decent mentoring to the kids coming up.
-NOW if only Terry could figure out the personal catcher concept.
healthy and are pitching well when Syndergaard or Montero or both are ready to pitch in the majors in june?
Do they trade Gee or Colon and what if Dice K or Lannan
or both have good springs and are pitching well in june at AAA? I know their big if’s but their real possibilities and they would be great problems to have and here’s one more, I know with the super 2’s there’s no chance in hell that Syndergaard or Montero makes the club out of spring training but what if(their’s that if again) Syndergaard or Montero has a great spring and out pitches every one would they bring Syndergaard or Montero north?
Dunno about Matsuzaka.
In terms of effectiveness, it’s bad for the defense, but it also screws with the hitters sometimes. Trachsel always delivered about when the hitter was about to call time out. I always wanted to see Steve face Bagwell, to see if Bags could actually stay in that sitting crouch for that long without popping a quad.
Return of the Diceman makes total sense. you know, for his $3 mil per year of Wilpon dough, Alderson does have a knack for these bottom of the roster moves. Whether Lannan and/or DiceK will accept a vacation in sin city I don’t know, but if so, they have plenty of depth with the SP. Just need a legit bullpen arm, a Balfour-type, and a legit SS to compete with Tejada, and they should be good to go. I know Sandy was busy scripting his monolgue for the BBWAA dinner last week, so maybe he can find some time this week to improve his 2014 roster.
I think there’s scope to bore the opposition to death, and I hope Dice-K does well. But I’d love it if Meija stays healthy and can pitch.
Don’t you know that Warthen is going to “fix” him?
I have to say that despite your lack of objectivity regarding Alderson, I must agree with you again. Earlier in the offseason I heard Alderson on the radio referencing a 100 game span in 2013 that they played .500 ball. My stomach just turned. Frankly, that is the talk of losers. I understand the extenuating financial circumstances but he has fielded a losing team each year as Met GM, and he has a streak dating back to the Padres that may challenge for the longest GM/exec losing streak in baseball history. His current roster is very likely to produce yet another losing record in 2014. There are players available that can address significant weaknesses on the team. Now he is stating that they may only “sign” guys on minor league deals to address those weaknesses. Yes, the farm system is improved, mostly due to talent acquired at the cost of all-star caliber big leaguers, and yes, they have a lot of young arms that may, “may” be able to contribute in 2014, but at this point his offseason grades out at best as a D. He has 61 days to improve his grade.
By the way, Dave, as you criticize Alderson for not filling the holes at SS and 1B, don’t forget there is no natural leadoff hitter. And the two spot could be better. But the #8 spot has a lot of competition.
Absolutely. The lack of a legit leadoff hitter is a huge unfilled hole. Furthermore, Collins’ take is concerning to me in that he may cram EYjr in there because he is fast. I like EYjr, but the Mets had about the worst leadoff OBP of any team in MLB, and his .310 OBP was a big cause. With these players, my preference would be to tell EYjr and Chris Young that they are in direct competition for both the LF and leadoff roles, and maybe a platoon. I would tell C Young directly that the number of ABs will be linked directly to his ability to get on base.
That said, I can’t really tell fans who care about the difference between 66 and 74 wins that they’re wrong.
As for leadoff, lineup order is fairly trivial. Just take whoever’s getting on base and put them in front of Wright. Yeah, Duda’s slow, but he’s not so slow that he can’t score from first on a two-out double in the gap.
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