Could Kunz land a role in the pen this year...

He spent most of last year getting beat up by lefties ( against LHH ERA 6.53 / .313 BA) and sitting in the minor league doghouse allegedly due to his conditioning.

But that wasn't always the case, Kunz was dubbed the next homegrown closer when he was drafted in 2007 and that seemed to be his destiny based on his performance in 2008. Between AA-AAA at the age of 22 y/o he posted an ERA 3.33 with 27 saves. Then he was called up to the majors and actually had a shot to close but when he struggled with his confidence it was all down hill.

Last year he never received a call-up and struggled in AAA, losing the closers job to Elmer Dessens and posting a 5.02 ERA in 50 appearances.

Still only 23 y/o I look for Kunz to rebound, Adam Rubin reported that he came to mini-camp in better shape which could be an indication that he's serious about changing his image within the organization, hopefully not only does that get him a shot but equates to a positive performance.

Minicamp attendees also include Oliver Perez, Bobby Parnell, Daniel Murphy, slimmed-down reliever Eddie Kunz, righthander Jack Egbert and first baseman/outfielder Chris Carter. source Daily News

Takahashi to throw an audition session for scouts...

As always hat tip to the Guru of Asian-Pacific Baseball Patrick of NPB Tracker.

It was reported earlier this week that the Orioles had offer Takahashi a minor league deal, also this week it was reported that the Mets are still in on him.

Today, Patrick passes along that Takahashi maybe in the states to throw a bull-pen session for scouts of teams interested. As always it's hard to read the interpretations but it seems like the gist is that he hasn't decided on whether he'll go to the pen as he see himself as a starter but he understands that the pen might be the fastest way to the majors.

My understanding is that the Mets are looking at him strictly as the second lefty in the pen but that interest is strong. Below is the bablefish translation ( my interpretation might be off so I posted it for others to figure out), here's the link to the original article..

FA declaring from the giant, furthermore Takahashi who aims toward major league transfer the forming pitcher (34), the possibility of doing release bull pen pitch inside the United States it came out. 　On the 27th with the Toshiba ground of Yokohama city independent [tore] as for the left arm which does, American visit schedule of 31 days before “the intention of throwing from February 1st with the bull pen”. When attitude is not decided to that, “in order (the measure authorized personnel) to be possible to come to seeing, preparation does”, you said. With the major league recently, FA player and [retsuzu] of the breakdown opening Chapman's of the original Cuban representation which enters way, focusing on the player who does not have the result in the American sphere boundary, gathering the scouts of each club, the case which releases practice increases. Furthermore the way of the adjustment which is complete “in the bull pen Takahashi, state where you insert with anytime”. By the fact that being raw, it announces the capability, early of dream you assure actualization.

Mets sign Frank Catalanotto

Multiple sources are now reporting that the Mets have signed Frank Catalanotto to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training. Hat tip to Andrew at the Ropolitans who was tweeting this signing last night, 12 hours before anyone else.

Catalanotto looks better on paper then he actually is the 35 y/o left handed hitter is a lifetime .292 hitter and has played almost every position on the field, RF- 515gms., 2B- 158gms., 1B -139gms., LF- 91gms., and 3B-35gms.

However; he hasn't played third base since 2001 and aside from 3 games last year he hasn't played second base since 2002. Over the last three years he has hit about .270 and is a left handed 1B and corner outfielder.

But what he's lost in range, versatility and hitting consistency he makes up for with intangibles. Not only is he considered an excellent clubhouse guy but he is further described as a playing hitting instructor. Catalanotto is also one of those rare players who can sit for a week and then get a pinch hit or play productively for a month after being a pinch hitter for a month.

I still expect him to end up in Buffalo but he is a solid player to have in spring training and is a decent candidate for the bench if a position becomes available.

"My role was going to be the same with any team that I signed with -- come off the bench, getting some odd starts here and there," Catalanotto said. "If there's a freak injury, you're thrust into a new role. You never know where that's going to be." source Brewers.com

Is the Mets plan character...

After a very frustrating and quiet off-season the Mets seem to be making their move and it appears a plan is in place. Whether this was the original plan or not is unclear but at least it looks like a plan. The Mets are attempting to surround their very talented but also very fragile core with character.

First they ensured early that their player/coach Alex Cora returned even if they over payed by a million, and today they brought back their inspirational story/ lucky charm in 2007-2008 Fernando Tatis. Two of their signings are known as hand nosed, lunch pail types in Jason Bay and Henry Blanco. We all heard last year when Jeff Francoeur came over that he would bring a football mentality to the locker room. Chris Carter was described as a Shelly Duncan type when being described after the trade. And they've been linked to two more great clubhouse figures in Frank Catalanotto and John Smoltz.

But what is making me put it all together is Josh Fogg, yes; I agree he's a mediocre pitcher who will probably be in Buffalo more then New York. I'm not trying to make this signing into something it's not but what I was trying to do was figure out why they picked Fogg over all the others pitchers they could have signed on one year minor league deals.

I kept reading article after article about what a great clubhouse guy he was ( Colorado beat writer Troy Renck described him as a baseball version of Vince Vaugn in Dodgeball), which kept bringing me back to every other player they've been linked to lately.

Then I read an article on how he got his nick name "Dragonslayer" and I thought man if Ollie, Pelfrey and/or Maine with their talent could have his mentality they'd be incredible, which brought me back to the plan ( could you image Ollie or Pelfrey taking the mound against the other teams ace in a playoff race with his own teammates messing with his head).

Maybe the plan without throwing the core under the bus is to surround them with guys who can teach them to be mentally tough and win...

Holliday paused for a moment to interrupt his thoughts about Peavy, smiled and said, "I can't believe we have to rely on Josh Fogg."

In other words, no sweat. The Rockies head into Monday's one-game playoff having won 13 of their last 14 games.Fogg (10-9, 4.79) is known as "Dragon-Slayer" in the Rockies clubhouse because he has been successful in a number of matchups against aces from other teams this season. He beat the Diamondbacks' Brandon Webb on Sept. 2, beat the Red Sox's Curt Schilling on the road on June 13, beat the Astros' Roy Oswalt on June 7, beat the Yankees' Mike Mussina (a one-time ace, anyway) on June 19 and outpitched the Dodgers' Brad Penny two weeks ago, although Fogg didn't get the decision in that Rockies' win. Now it's Peavy, in the biggest game of Fogg's seven-season career.

And Holliday is dissing him. "I've got that all year," Fogg said. "Go ask 'Tulo' [Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki]. He'll tell you we've got no chance tomorrow. He tells me all about it. 'No way you can beat Peavy. No way you can beat [Derek] Lowe' He likes to mess around with me. But that's just part of the game. You go out there and make pitches, you can beat anybody on any day." source ESPN

Mets losing momentum on another starter...

It's almost becoming comical to report, once again it's being reported that the Mets are losing ground on another starting pitcher. Look it borders on delusional to say this many free agents wouldn't help this team and that every contract doesn't make sense.

If that is the case then the Mets should walk away with the National league and are geniuses when it comes to gauging and forecasting the true market value of baseball players. They have literally missed out on enough players to field a playoff caliber team...


Jon Heyman is reporting that the newest player to take a pass on the Mets or that their passing on ( does it really matter) is John Smoltz...

#mets are said to have fallen behind in smoltz derby. could add to the semi illustrious list of players to pass on them. source Jon Heyman twitter

Mets interested in Catalanotta...

As Matt at Metsblog said I to have been rooting for the Mets to sign/acquire Frank Catalanotto for years. In November for the third season in a row I made my case for "Little Cat" in this post.

Jon Heyman is reporting that the Mets are one of three teams pursuing the utility player.


Catalanotto is a 35 y/o left hander with the following lifetime batting numbers; .292/.358/.446 /.804.

He plays every position except SS and catcher, more importantly he is known as an excellent clubhouse guy and pretty much a playing hitting instructor.

#mets among 3 teams looking at long island's frank catalanotto. #brewers, #marlins believed to be the others. source Jon Heyman Twitter

Lets run down these Smoltz rumors

Let me start by saying I don't think anyone truly knows where these two sides stands, someone mentioned to me yesterday that it seems extremely similar to the Bay negotiations where the longer it took the more speculations arose.

Yesterday in this post, the conflicting reports between the Bergen Record and Andrew Marchand of ESPN. Also the Daily News reported that Smoltz could sit out until Mid-season like Pedro and then sign on with a contender.

Today, those of us who think Smoltz would be a good idea, the news appears a bit more promising. Andrew Marchand rebuts his comments from yesterday saying he is interested in the Mets but in another tweet says he could sit out.

No, Smoltz is considering Mets. I don't know if he will sign. I think my words yesterday were misinterpreted. #Mets source Andrew Marchand twitter

The day before Marchand was citing Tom Glavine 's negative experience as a reason for hesitation, however, it's hard to believe Glavine would speak negatively about the organization. Rem. Glavine negotiated directly with the Wilpon's, they brought in Sandy Koufax to meet him and he was allowed to hold the entire off-season hostage two years in a row as he tried to beg the Braves to take him back. The fans were brutal on him especially after his comments in 2007 but the organization treated him great.

Two other issues I'm going to speculate about is the report that he's not interested in the northeast or that he may sit out. Isn't Smoltz the guy after the Braves bowed out last year who wanted to play for either his home town Tigers or the Red Sox ( where he ended up) which seems to fly in the face of the idea that he wants only the south or central regions. Smoltz has a home in Orlando, playing for the Mets in the NL east would put him in spring training in FL and in Miami / Atlanta more often then say St. Louis. Something I'm not going to discuss but will quickly mention, due to personal issues he may not be able to afford sitting out. Also I'm not sure if Smoltz has the personality to sit back and watch the season start if he thinks he can still pitch.

Jim Baumbach of Newsday spoke with Leo Mazzone who feels Smoltz would be a great fit for the Mets. By the way Mazzone is reportedly dying to get back to being a pitching coach. Also from Newsday they believe the idea of Smoltz pitching for the Mets is gaining momentum because of the campaigning of his close friend Jeff Francoeur and the amount of interest the Mets are showing.

Leo Mazzone, whose time coaching John Smoltz was "longer than most marriages," likes the idea of Smoltz as a Met. source Jim Baumbach Twitter

Orioles make offer to Takahashi...

The Mets have been looking at Hisanori Takahashi all off-season, they would like to use him as a second lefty out of the pen. Despite projecting as a reliever in the majors, Takahashi wants a shot at the rotation. According to Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker the Orioles have offered him a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.

Orioles make minor league offer, camp invite to Hisanori Takahashi source NPB tracker Twitter

Fogg signs a minor league deal..

Well at least Omar was accurate on one thing and negotiations went quick. Omar said he was going to look for pitchers who would accept minor league deals and had experience both in the pen and rotation. Yesterday, they were rumored to be interested in Josh Fogg and today he is signed.

I have no problem with the signing nor do I have any expectation s of his performance.

The Mets have signed Josh Fogg to a minor-league deal, the Daily News has learned. Add him to the fifth-starter competition source Daily News

Maybe Mets interested in Lopez & Looper

Matt Pignataro of Seven Train to Shea passes along that ESPN is reporting the Mets may be interested in Brandon Looper and Felipe Lopez. Now either of these would be solid pick-ups in my opinion.

I know a lot of Mets fans have a bad taste in their mouth over Looper in 2005 but the kid pitched hurt the entire season and never said a word while NY played pile-on with his reputation. The 34 y/o right hander has 100 saves a winning record as a starter with a lifetime ERA of 4.15.

Lopez is a 29 y/o switch hitter who is a lifetime .269 hitter who plays solid defense at SS, 3B, 2B and has played LF and 1B. I'd prefer him to Cora but with Cora here where does he fit, the Mets would be very lucky to get him on a minor league deal as depth especially if Cora's back isnt 100%.

#Mets could be interested in Felipe Lopez and Brandon Looper, according to ESPN. source Matt Pignataro

Mets interested in Fogg

It was reported yesterday that Omar said he would be looking to sign pitchers who will accept minor league contracts and could compete for the fifth spot or fill a roll in the bullpen.

According to Matt at Metsblog the Mets are interested in Josh Fogg, who fits that description to a tee. While he's not a flashy signing ( if it gets done) it's only a minor league deal and he's a flexible pitcher.

The 33 y/o right hander is a mediocre pitcher, who isn't a hard thrower and only has decent control. From 2002-2007 he pitched at least 175 innings a season to approx. a 5 ERA, the last two years between the majors and minors he's pitched 100 innings between the rotation and pen.

In 2007 in the post season he pitched six innings of one run ball against the D-Backs and then two scoreless innings against the Phillies.

Now that they've passed on every decent pitcher available, as far as I'm concerned they can bring in as many pitchers as they can on minor league deals and hope they find something.

Mets close on Tatis...

This is less of a knock on Fernando Tatis and more of a complaint on the organizations approach. The Mets are basically bringing back the exact same team as last year, minus Delgado with the addition of Bay. I feel the team needed some new blood and places like the bench and first base were opportunities to change the atmosphere.

Tatis at 2MM or less, who can play multiple positions, is a low risk signing but there will be a point where he's no longer productive and that almost came at mid-season last year when he was hitting into an incredible amount of double plays. No matter how nominal the cost, the Mets have been reluctant to cut ties with players who are no longer productive, see Marlon Anderson.

Fernando Tatis will return for a third season, according to a source. The deal should become official within days. source Daily News

Is this really the way to enter a season at 1B

Whether your on the Dan Murphy bandwagon which I know their is a large contingent of you or your part of the, your no longer funny shut your mouth Jerry Manuel group, one thing stood out to me.

Is this really how a large market team that is attempting to rebound and has playoff aspirations going to go into a season. Lets not forget this isn't a team that has over spent in other areas, this is a team that is over all grossly under budget.

So whether Jerry is right but should shut up or Murphy isn't getting credit, the fact of the matter is the manager is going into the season with this preconceived notion about his first baseman. We're really going into a season with the manager talking about his first baseman as surviving and needing other pieces to preform...

"I think Daniel Murphy can do enough that we can survive," manager Jerry Manuel said."He has some range at first base," Manuel said. "There are some things he can do, but I think the other pieces we have in place are going to have to perform to their offensive capabilities for us to get away with not relying solely on say what a Carlos Delgado would have brought." source NJ.com

What is my take, a little of both. I don't think Murphy should be the starter player at any position to start a season unless someone gets hurt at the very end of spring training. but I also think Jerry needs to have tighter lips. All of which are moot points because we've seen that once Jerry doesn't see a player in a position Omar places them, they might as well be traded ( Church/Castro)...

Smoltz situation...

Early today it was reported by Bob Klapish of the Bergen Record that John Smoltz was leaning towards returning to the Cardinals.

However, later in the morning the St. Louis Dispatch Post reported that with the signing of Rich Hill to a minor league deal the Cards would pass on on Smoltz...

the Cardinals appear unlikely to engage free agent John Smoltz about a possible return. source St. Louis Disptach Post

Andrew Marchand of ESPN radio reports that he believes the Mets haven't even made an offer to Smoltz.

So what pitchers could be had on minor league deals

Omar Minaya said that the Mets will look at some high risk pitchers on minor league deals to compete for the rotation or bullpen spots.

"We're going to have to look to take some chances on guys with minor-league offers who can maybe come in and compete for [jobs], whether it's that fifth spot or whatever you want to call it," Minaya said. source NY Post

So who is left on the starting pitching market. The surest bets are in bold, Braden Looper and Jarrod Washburn neither of which do I believe will land with the Mets. The players in blue are older or injury risks who If everything goes right could be very good additions. Most of the rest fall into the category of, "oh yeah I heard of him" or "I remember him". Todd Wellemeyer is an interesting candidate which is why I highlighted him in orange.

Brandon Backe, Cha Seung Baek, Miguel Batista, Erik Bedard, Kris Benson, Paul Byrd, Bartolo Colon, Adam Eaton, Shawn Estes, Josh Fogg, Tom Glavine, Mike Hampton, Mark Hendrickson, Livan Hernandez, Jason Jennings, Jason Johnson, Braden Looper, Noah Lowry, Pedro Martinez, Eric Milton, Dustin Moseley, Mark Mulder, Odalis Perez, Sidney Ponson, Mark Prior, Horacio Ramirez, Jason Schmidt, John Smoltz, Brett Tomko, Chien-Ming Wang, Jarrod Washburn, Todd Wellemeyer, Kip Wells

My rant about this off-season...

You have to be an ultimate front office supporter or have an extremely Pollyanna view of our players to not admit that something is amiss with this team's off-season.

The Mets were on the verge of an extremely good off-season, they had signed Jason Bay, grabbed two high reward pitchers to set-up and were on the verge of signing a solid pitcher for the middle of the rotation along with the best catcher available.

Suddenly they challenged the best player on the team and everything froze, it was the exact same thing that happen when Omar Minaya challenged Adam Rubin. It seems as if the baseball operations shut down while the organization was more worried about public relations and damage control.

Since that moment the Mets have not signed even one free agent player, they did make one questionable trade for Gary Matthews Jr. but a not single player has signed since January 5th (Bay).

I've heard two things from fans who support the organizations stance on this off-season, it wasn't that deep a market and they should save the money for next years' deep free agent pool. While I respect their opinions I adamantly disagree...

The one area I disagree most with is the starting rotation, our fifth starters position is a competition between Nieve, Niese ( still hasn't thrown yet), Misch and Figueroa. Two were claimed off waivers, two are coming off injuries and one is in his a mid-thirties with more success internationally then in the majors.

If your telling me the Mets couldn't find a pitcher who would be an upgrade over that group at a reasonable price, I'm sorry I just can't believe it. Aside from the fifth starters role this rotation desperately needed a consistent pitcher, someone other then Johan who wasn't a question mark.

The way this organization approached the off-season their 2010 slogan should be "We believe in If's".

Now to the money, according to Cots contract the Mets overall payroll last year was 149MM. On the spreadsheet they provide the contracts alone which equal 139MM that's with Sheffield's contract subtracted, then on the main page it equals 149MM with a justification of signing bonuses and prorated contracts. This season Cots shows them at 120MM minus the minor leaguers who make the team out of spring training.

I've heard many fans say they were glad they saved the money on a weak FA pool, spend it next year on the deeper market. I can see the Mets bringing the payroll back to 149MM but I can't see them spending that 20MM they saved this year and go up to 160MM in one year. Basically by saving that money the organizations wallet was padded not the operations budget. I get the feeling we're making up for Bernie's mess.

Besides I don't want to take a pass on any season, if there is a player who can improve the organization even slightly then I want my team to get him, as long as it's a smart contract and I believe there were those players out there. Waiting for next off-seasons free agent pool isn't something the NY Mets who are 20MM under budget in January should ever be doing.

After three consecutive years of missing the playoffs, regardless of the reasons you can't bring this much of the same roster back and say if everybody is healthy we will be the team that was predicted to win the World Series before last season.

Hey; if Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Shane Victorino and Roy Halladay get hurt the Phillies won't be as good as they have been the last two years. While that could happen, it seems like a ridiculous approach to hang your hopes on, so does bringing back the exact same roster and saying we'll be better if everybody is healthy and doesn't slump. Yes, we got Bay but without any other positional improvements he basically fills Delgado's shoes.

Because of my stance some have challenged my my fan loyalty and called me a pessimist, I believe a fan is a fanatic for the team regardless of how they view the team, I feel I'm not a pessimist but a realist. Look, I love my team and I'm a ticket plan holder. I will watch every game and attend every game I have seats for, I will root for them to win and hope they prove me wrong. But that doesn't make a blind cheerleader for the organization, when I feel they're doing it wrong I'm going to call them on it, and I feel they have drastically misplayed this off-season...

Carter has a sweet swing...

Chris Carter is a 28 y/o left handed 1B/LF who has also been described as having great power potential but ever organization he's been with his defense has ended up blocking him from making the majors.

In Arizona it was Chad Tracy, Conor Jackson and Mark Reynolds. In Washington where he was only for an off-season he had Nick Johnson and Dmitri Young ahead of him. Finally in Boston where he briefly did break in, Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz were staples in the line-up.

Despite having double the time at 1B ( 340gms. MiLB), Carter says he feels more comfortable in left field (114gms. MiLB).

Mack who went to mini-camp on a press pass says Carter is being looked at for a bench spot to help Murphy and be the fifth outfielder until Beltran returns. Here's what Mack has to say about Carter's swing...

Had a nice talk with Carter and he is an outstanding young man. He was especially greatful to the Red Sox for giving him the time they did, which is a class act for him to say. He also really, really, really wants to make it with the Mets. Lastly, I haven't seen a minor leaguer with a sweeter power swing since Ryan Zimmerman came to Savannah. source Macks Mets

Mets still interested in Hisanori Takahashi

I profiled the Mets interest and the pitchers arsenol in this post. This is just an update, Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker is reporting that the Mets are still interested..

The 35 y/o left hander prefers to be a starter but he projects as a reliever in the American majors.

Mets and Delgado still have mutual interest...

Carlos Delgado is finished with winter ball, whoever signs him will be basing it off of what they've already seen. Jorge Arangure of ESPN reports that both sides still have mutual interest, I wouldn't be surprised if Delgado is in Port St. Lucie this spring...

Spoke to Omar Minaya today. Says there is still mutual interest between team and Delgado. "We still have interest in him, yes." #mets source Jorge Arangure

This is why we need to sign Rod Barajas

Look in the Internet age there are no take backs, in reading interviews with Jerry Manuel this off-season it was quite apparent that he and Dan Warthen were not happy with the catcher's position ( for example here's one interview monologue source ASAP news).

More importantly there have also been grumblings that the pitchers themselves, weren't happy with Santos (source metsblog).

The Mets have made it clear all off-season that they needed to improve the catchers position and that they could afford to be patient with Molina because they could get one of the other catchers that weren't that much of a drop off from Molina.

To suddenly say that their not thrilled with the options available that a week ago made them not worry about Molina and say Santos is our guy after saying all off-season that they needed to upgrade, is the oddest revisionist propaganda I've seen from them since they tried to convince us Dan Murphy was a starting left fielder.

Now that they've passed on most of the pitching market and were going into the season with Johan and four question marks I think it's essential to sign the best catcher they can.

So who is the best of what's left, after taking a closer look at the candidates I came away very impressed with Rod Barajas. Going into it I knew very little about Barajas but by the time I was done I was satisfied that he could fill our needs. I did rem. a game winning homer he had in the World Series as a D-Back against the Yankees.

According to his wikipedia page, Barajas has taken the over the starting job twice, once in Texas in 2004 and for the last two seasons in Toronto. In Texas Laird went down with injuries leaving the position to Rod. But in 2008 Cito Gaston wasn't happy with Greg Zaun resulting in his promotion. The Blue jays lead the league in ERA in 2008 and were amongst the best last year as well.

Offensively, strictly by the numbers he is a better hitter the more he plays, his most productive years have been when he starts. In 2004 and 2005 his average was around .250 while he hit 15/21 HRs respectively and drove in 60 RBIs. The last two years he hit .250 with 11 HRs and .228 with 19 HRs.

But offense isn't what I'm looking for from the catcher now that Molina is gone, if he hit .250 with 11 HRs and 50 RBIs I'll consider that a bonus, what we need is a defender.

For all you stat heads here are the numbers that should stick out, in this Beyond the Box Score strictly on 2009 catchers block pct Barajas #14 & 19th compared to Santos # 23 and #37. There were two different charts based on separate grading system but in both Santos was significantly below Barajas.

Then in a post at Drive Line Mechanics they used sabermetics to grade catchers overall 2009 defensive performance. Barajas is ranked 11th in the league while Santos is ranked the 21st, teaming Barajas up with Blanco who was ranked #7 would give our pitching staff the best opportunity in the world to succeed. By the way this article breaks down each category and explains them, for a non-stat head like myself it was an excellent piece...

Look the Mets have saved so much money this off-season passing on players they can afford to sign Barajas and if somehow he stinks cut him before he has an impact on the season.

"For the last two years," Barajas said, "I've felt like with all the question marks that we had -- the injuries, guys going down, not just the starting rotation but the bullpen -- I felt like I was able to help guide these guys and go out there and was able to get the most out of them. It's a tough game, especially when you're young and pitching in this division against the caliber teams that we play day in and day out.

"They held their own. They went out there and they had some bad games, but they had some great games and I feel like I was a part of that. I feel like I helped guide them. I helped show them. I believe that they had confidence in my ability to call games and they kind of went with me. Overall, they had a pretty good season." source MLB.com

On a lighter side apparently Rod isn't afraid to handle his pitching staff when their not on the same page. Which reminds me Barajas was Ollie's catcher for team Mexico maybe Rod can scare him into focusing...

Barajas and Drese were involved in a confrontation in the Texas dugout in the middle of the sixth inning, apparently over pitch selection. Teammates and manager Buck Showalter separated the pair, who were on the ground, and Barajas and Drese later shook hands when Drese was pulled from the game after
the seventh.

After the game, Showalter acknowledged the episode but downplayed it. Barajas and Drese refused to comment.

Apparently, the Royals broadcast team mentioned this during the telecast, but Tom Grieve and Josh Lewin ignored it.

Hmmmm...I wonder, is this what Buck is talking about when he refers to how well Barajas "handles" the pitchers? source Lone Star Ball

Smoltz or Bust ?

There are very few certainties in the Mets rotation aside from Johan Santana, Ben Sheets was the one pitcher with so much potential that I was willing to add another risk to the mix Jon Smoltz in my opinion doesn't that same up-side at 43 y/o.

Would I have signed Sheets at 10MM, yes, because the Mets have spent so little this off-season they could afford to sign one bad contract which would be off the books at the end of the year.

Now that Sheets is go I would prefer they go after a consistent innings eating instead of a risk like Smoltz who might give you a few incredible outings but will probably not pitch the entire year. Give me a guy that can throw around league average and make at least 30 starts, 200 innings.

It appears that the Mets are going in the direction of Smoltz, which is at least consistent with them doing the opposite of everything I've wanted them to do all off-season.

#Mets' next target, after losing Sheets, looks to be Smoltz. They have not been aggressive on Garland, according to a source. source Ken Rosenthal twitter

Mets have offer out to Smoltz ?

According to Joe DeMayo of NYBD the Mets have made an offer to Jon Smoltz, at this time no further information is available.

I like Smoltz on this team as a mentor to some of the younger pitchers, I rem. John Maine really took to Tom Glavine and hopefully Smoltz could foster the same type of relationships with the staff.

With that said I don't want him to be the only addition, if Smoltz is adamant that he will only sign to be in the rotation then I would pass because the Mets only have room for one and he's too much of a question mark for this rotation.

As a pen arm or telling him, look if you win a spot in spring training your in the rotation but if the others pitch better then your in the pen and he agrees then I welcome him aboard.

But the Mets still need a starting pitcher other then Smoltz for this season.

Omar were close to done...

With Daniel Murphy at 1B, Omir Santos behind the plate and Angel Pagan in center the Mets are almost do making moves this off-season.

Mind you that includes Santos catching Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, Oliver Perez and Francisco Rodriguez.

I had a marquee at the end of the season "still believing but demanding change", obviously the Mets could careless about my demands or many other Mets fans.

With players in mini-camp and pitchers /catchers reporting in days, the Mets have essential returned the same roster with the addition of Bay and a few extra parts, while blaming everything on injuries.

I still hold out hope that this is just posturing because this team needed a face lift, not to the core but to the outer edges, if they have in fact almost finished there off-season work then they clearly don't understand many of their fans because a lot of us needed more changes then this...

"We're close to the team that we're going to start with," Minaya said. "That being said, things can still happen during spring training. source Daily News

If the Mets whiff on Sheets where will they turn...

In regards to the rotation, I would have had a plan A and a plan B. It doesn't appear that the Mets are going to do either so that tells you how good I would be as a GM....

Plan A - I believe Mike Pelfrey and Oliver Perez have the untapped potential to be #2 starting pitchers. What do I consider a #2 pitcher, someone who can start 30 games ( 200 innings)or more have a better then league average ERA/WHIP be dominant in at least 15 starts and win between 15-18 games. While I believe the two of them have that potential, I feel it will take an above average veteran catcher to pull that out of them, someone known for game calling, framing pitches and handling difficult pitchers. Plan A would be obtaining that kinda catcher and then bringing in an solid innings eating pitcher who's better then a five but not much better, Jon Garland or Jarrod Washburn.

Plan B - Would be if they chose not to sign a catcher or couldn't sign one and were left with in house option behind the plate, then they need to sign one of the pitchers with the highest potential because you have no idea what your going to get out of the rest of the rotation. This plan would mean signing Sheets or Lackey and hoping between them and Johan you could be assured more then 35 wins ( 18 wins each from your 1-2 punch) because we've seen how wacky Ollie, Maine and Pelfrey get without a stabilizer behind the plate.

It appears the Mets are going with their own plan which doesn't include a catcher or one of the top tier pitchers. It looks like their passing on Barjas, Torrealba and Sheets while looking in house at catcher and the second tier pitchers for the rotation. One thing they may do that I didn't consider is bringing in Jon Smoltz as a mentor, but that still doesn't help when their on the mound...

if #mets dont get sheets (and i still dont think they will), theyll look at garland and washburn. smoltz also on radar. source Jon_Heyman twitter

These Delgado reports need better clarification...

On Saturday I made this post which was a report from ESPN about Carlos Delgado's mobility, now in following Delgado through the winter league box scores I knew this to be old information. The reason I passed it along wasn't because I felt it was new information but that it was specific information.

On January 3rd, Carlos Delgado returned to baseball activities for the first time since he went down with a hip injury in June. On the weekend of January 9-12th multiple teams sent scouts to observe Delgado's play and there were some vague reports that he was showing limited movement as I posted here.

That weekend in front of the scouts Delgado played one game at 1B and then for teams who's scouts stayed he played again, on I believe January 13th. Since those two games Delgado hasn't taken the field so I knew the scouting report describing him as limping to take 1B was old, I passed it along because it was the first specific report from the scouts on his fielding.

But like anyone who has rehabbed, of course your going to look rusty, especially in the first week of returning from a major leg injury that side lined the player for six months. unfortunately there wasn't much time left in the winter league and because Carolina plays on Astro turf Delgado hasn't risk it by playing the field.

However, there are ways to measure whether Carlos is progressing or not, originally he was Dhing every other day, leaving for pinch runners and leaving in the seventh inning. For the last two weeks he has played everyday, he is no longer replaced for a runner and DHes the entire game. He legged out a triple, scored twice from second and when on second beat a ground ball to the 3B to third. His hip is holding up while hitting for power and his walks are up meaning he has patience at the plate. When Carlos is pressing or his mechanics are off he guesses and his walks go down.

Only the scouts can make a recommendation as to whether they feel he can get into fielding shape in spring training or whether he has truly become a DH, that's not my issue. What my issue is, is with several outlets that have taken the scouting report ESPN obtained and acted like it's new information and not clarification of the stuff from early in the month. Like Carlos limped into the field last night, guys limping that badly don't leg out triples or score from second on a single. After reading one site that gave the impression that this was a new scouting report of his current status in a very negative way, I felt I needed at clarify the information whether he can or can't play the field and whether he returns to the Mets or not...

Heyman blasts Mets about Tatis

It's reported that if the Mets decide to pass on Delgado they will look to resign Fernando Tatis. I've said this before, if Tatis can produce as he did in 2008 and some of 2009 then at what he will cost, he's worth it. But I believe in the law of diminishing returns and that if we go into another year relying on Tatis, he will look like the double play machine he was in the middle of 2009 and will return to the player who found himself a weak hitting 3B out of baseball. I hope I'm wrong I like Tatis, but you can't keep hoping you catch lightning in a bottle. It appears that Jon Heyman also has reservations about Tatis returning...

if the #mets really do sign fernando tatis mostly for 1B (his worst position), they should have heads examined. source Jon Heyman Twitter

Johan would like a starter

At least the Mets are being consistent, it appears they are going to use the game plan they have frustrated Mets fans with for the past three off-seasons. The last time Omar Minaya acted like the Omar Minaya we thought he was going to be as the Mets GM was the 2006 off-season.

Here's how I see their game plan;

They act extremely aggressive to begin the off-season, rumors are floated about multiple players and they end up signing or trading for one significant piece ( Santana, K-Rod, Bay). Usually this occurs before ticket plan holders are required to re-up their ticket plans. The only time that wasn't true was with Santana but that year they were coming off the 2006 playoffs.

Then the Mets continue to be linked in rumors but not in signings, to players and they begin to become very passive. Look their offers are appearing to be more and more for appearance sake and not to actually acquire the player. I say that because, for two years they have made offers to players who the entire industry said wouldn't get them the player and they held firm on the offer, while they begin to say that they aren't going to bid against themselves and that no one signs for less.

When the players eventually sign else where, they refuse to acknowledge market value over actual value and call the contract bad or say that the player was never going to sign here. All seems to be an attempt to cover that they weren't really attempting to sign the player.

Once the solid up-grades are gone suddenly nobody would be an improvement over what they have and that if everyone returns from injury they will be a competitive team. They end the off-season pumping up the same roster from last year while bringing in a few cheap reclamation projects.

I say this as it appears, they are slipping out of contention for Ben Sheets, while pumping up the return of last years rotation from injury and beginning to look at Jon Smoltz as a starter. Either the Mets have some serious injury denial, where they are blaming everything on injuries and in denial over other holes or this is an orchestrated plan. I expected significant changes this off-season and with about three weeks to pitches and catches it business as usual for this team.

Johan Santana while talking about the return of the injured starters also implored the team to sign a starter. At least their Ace is holding them to the fire, hopefully, enough pressure can be put on them, that they make some improvements before spring training. There are players out there who would be upgrades. A starting line-up that included Murphy, Santos and Pagan with Pelfrey as the #2 isn't very inspiring...

"It’s always good to improve your team. The main key for us for this season is to stay healthy. There’s no question about it. I think we’ve got the guys to make that happen, but we have to stay healthy. And if they add another pitcher, it would be great. To strengthen our rotation is always good. Hopefully they do the best for our team and everybody stays healthy. source Daily News

Matthews clubhouse demeanor clarified..

Originally I was neutral about the Gary Matthews Jr. trade, as I said then Brian Stokes was out of option and was going to have a tough time making the pen anyway, so maybe they wanted to get something for him instead of losing him on waivers in April. Matthews as a cheap 4th outfielder seems to be fine and for those wanting a hard throwing righty reliever Clint Everts will fit that bill.

But I grew concerned with how Matthews would effect this team based on comments from Buster Olney which I address in this post.

However, Matthews former manager disputes the reports about his clubhouse demeanor which was my biggest concern, since after all he's only a 4th outfielder...

“Gary was not unhappy in our clubhouse,” Scioscia said. “He was a terrific teammate. He was always prepared. Any disagreements he had on playing time or his role were taken to me or Tony face to face and we came to an understanding.

“There was absolutely nothing but professionalism in what Gary did and he expressed his frustration to us on wanting to play every day. We obviously had a different look to the club we were going for. He understood that although he didn’t agree with it. But he was as professional as any player I’ve been around in dealing with that.

Scioscia said any portrayal of Matthews as “disruptive influence or … unhappy in our clubhouse was 180 degrees” from the reality of the situation. source Orange County Register

Hat tip to Matt at Metsblog

Smoltz as a starter...

While it's seems like the last upper echelon starter pitcher is slipping through there grasps, as reports are surfacing that the Mets aren't a front runners for Ben Sheets the Mets appear to be turning to Jon Smoltz.

I'd love to sign Smoltz but not as our big starting pitching acquisition. Smoltz as a set-up man or long reliever with a promise that if someone else flops in the rotation he gets the first shot would be a great signing. But that would mean that the team signed another starter for the rotation.

Smoltz wants to find a team willing to give him a spot in the rotation, if it was the rotation or nothing I would pass on him. I was hoping no one would be interested in signing him to the rotation and he would come here as a reliever seeing that there was potential to join the rotation.

#mets appear serious about considering Smoltz for a rotation spot source Joe DeMayo twitter from NYBD.

The Mets should win this bidding war =Sheets

Some complain that the recent Mets hierarchy don't have the stomach for bidding wars, that they have shied away from players who they might have to over pay for to secure their services over another team.

It is true that sometimes market value doesn't allows reflect on a players true value, do to the demand for that player and teams are left to decide whether they're willing to over pay for a player based on their needs and available alternatives.

I can't say as a blanket statement that the Mets don't have the stomach for bidding wars but I can say they seem to bow out early if there is demand for a player and seem to steer towards targets with less suitors.

Their biggest signings in the last two years have been of players with very little other market, Francisco Rodriguez and Jason Bay.

I do find their approach in the last three off-seasons extremely frustrating, it seems like they only sign players at their price and are more willing to leave major holes in the roster then over pay even slightly...

Ben Sheets is a player the Mets can't afford to pass on even if they have to outbid other teams, after passing on several offensive players and not improving behind the plate, they simply need Sheets as the 1-2 punch with Johan.

#mets dont appear to be frontunner for sheets at moment. could come down to AL West battle: #a's, #rangers, #m's source Jon_Heyman Twitter

Is Frenchy trying to lure Smoltzy...

First let me start by saying that I think John Smoltz would be a perfect fit for the Mets, he's versatile enough to fill multiple positions based on what the pitching staff needs.

If Igarhashi or Escobar struggle as the set-up men then they could easily plug Smoltz into that role. They could keep him stretched out as the longman just in case a starter needed to be replaced in season or if someone was injured/ineffective in spring training he could be plugged in as the fifth starter.

As much as Tom Glavine annoyed me in 2007, he did have an impact on the pitching staff, to a man they credited Glavine as a mentor. Smoltz could refill that spot, but where Glavine took a more business approach, even at 42 y/o Smoltz is a bull dog, fiery type competitor.

The beginning of the month there were multiple rumors linking the Mets and Smoltz, which I chronicled here. Things have cooled since then, but he's always mentioned when available pitchers are mentioned. I believe Smoltz is looking for a team who will give him a spot in the rotation before he settles for a utility role.

So take this for what it's worth, the information is coming from a fan on a message board. I know some people feel that these things shouldn't be passed along on a blog but I've always felt that this was a site to pass interesting information along from one fan to another., and to allow the reader to form there own opinion. It's true that Francoeur had a signing at the Roosevelt Field Mall and that he plays golf with Smoltz, so it seems absolutely viable that the rest of the conversation happened.

At Prosportsdaily.com a fan with the user name "Metslegacy" attended the signing and relayed the following conversation.

Well I ended up attending this signing and I must say that I'm extremely glad that I did. First off, there was practically no line. One person ahead of me and no one behind me when I showed up an hour into the signing. Francoeur was a class act, though. He posed for a picture even though the person had trouble snapping the picture with a digital camera and Francoeur took the time to talk about his workout regime(which I asked about since I'm really into fitness), his injury(wasn't event wearing a bandage, he said it's all good to go and no pain), and also said he just got done playing golf with "Smoltzy"(apparently him and Smoltz are good friends). He said he hoped that Smoltz was coming over to NY soon. Overall, though, absolute class act and would recommend meeting him. The signing was well organized and the security weren't being obnoxious like most are. source Prosportsdaily.com Metslegacy

Mets have contacted Sheets

There were reports that the Cubs were close on Ben Sheets or at least the front runners to land the right handed pitcher. However the Chicago Daily News reports that the Cubs have put any pursuit of Sheets on the back burner and even if they acquire a set-up man, his asking price is currently too much.

It was reported a few days ago that the Mets seemed to be one of the teams who could afford to really bid for Sheets and I believe he is the one pitcher that the Mets need to out bid anyone else on.

MLB.com is reporting that the Mets have been in contact with Sheets since the workout they attended on Tues.

The New York Daily News reported that the Mets have been in touch with Sheets since watching him at a throwing session Tuesday in Louisiana, and Newsday called the 31-year-old right-hander New York's top target. Meanwhile, Alan Nero, Wang's agent, said the Mets are among 15 teams interested in his client, which differs from what he told ESPN.com earlier this month. Jon Garland is a possibility, too, the Daily News added. source MLB.com

I could be off on Delgado...

I stand by my support of Delgado in this earlier post today but to be fair I openly admit that I could be completely wrong. I mean if anyone went down to Port St. Lucie, to watch any player in the first days of their recovery from a major leg injury they would probably give a very bad review of that players mobility. But all the scouts have go off for fielding range is his two games in the field, that were within his first week of him returning to action. Despite my willingness to take a chance on Delgado based on what the offensive box scores are telling me, I felt it was only fair to pass along just how bad scouts said his fielding was. Jayson Stark of ESPN reported this quote today...

"He's got no range at first -- none," said one scout. "He actually limps out there. He can't play first on a day-to-day basis. I think he can still DH, because he's still got power. But to play first for a team like the Mets? Can't see it."source ESPN

Molina takes a dig at the Mets

Look whether your glad the Mets missed on Bengie Molina or wanted him, that doesn't change the fact that it was a complete miss for the Mets.




You can't pursue a guy for the entire off-season, have the entire industry expecting you to sign him and then allow him to sign a one year deal for less without having egg on your face.



It seems extremely odd that the Met openly identified Molina as their primary catching target and then allowed him to go for what would have only been guaranteeing the second year. Now they're left with a major question mark behind the plate with a staff that needs a solid catcher.



Molina in his press conference addressed the Mets offer, stated that he didn't understand why they didn't include a second year and said that it wasn't worth moving his family moving for an extra 1MM for a year deal. This is the second time negotiations broke down with Molina and it seems a bit personal at this point, as he took a shot at the Mets, saying the Giants gave him a better shot at the playoffs.

Molina did say the Giants have a better chance to make the playoffs in 2010 than the Mets do. source NY Post

Not pretty reviews of Matthews Jr.

While the trade didn't excite me, it also didn't cause me the consternation that it did many Mets fans. Look my take was, he's going to be a fourth outfielder who cost you next to nothing and Brian Stokes, who's out of options was going to have a hard time making the team anyway, so who cares about this one.

But the more I read the more I scratch my head about it, especially since Cory Sullivan ( my pick) had just signed a minor league deal with the Astros. Sully said he enjoyed his time here, so they could have certainly outbid the Stros and his numbers are similar to Matthews.

Who knows maybe they knew Stokes wasn't going to make the team and wanted to at least get something for him or maybe they feel they need a guy who could start in center and weren't convinced the group of 4th outfielders could handle the spot for two months.

The reports would give anybody trepidation if there team just traded for a guy who's older (35 y/o) with a bad knee, who isn't hitting for power/average, has declining range in the field and can be a clubhouse distraction.

This off-season is either going to make Omar look like a genius or become an out of work scapegoat. So far, he picked Bay over Holliday, will be blamed for messing up the relationship with his star player ( Beltran), missing out on two majors targets, making a questionable trade and there's the chance of holes not being filled that entering the off-season were absolutely necessary to fill.

The reports for his team were clear: Matthews is a player to be avoided. Slow bat. Declining range. And above all else, a player who wants to be a regular and will be an unhappy distraction in your clubhouse when he's not in the lineup every day. source Buster Olney ESPN

Delgado keeps getting on base...

Last night in his fourth playoff game Carlos Delgado was on base four times in five plate appearances. Triple, two walks and HBP with a run scored, go here for box score.

Here's the thing for those who keep saying, I need to see him play the field before I decide to sign him, no one is going to see him field because by design he's not going to be playing the field.

Delgado played the field for two games while all the scouts were present just to show that he could at least get out there and of course, he looked sluggish, he was coming off hip surgery in which he hadn't moved laterally in nine months.

But the team is playing on astro turf and he's not going to be playing the field, just as a precaution, so reading into him playing DH is a misinterpretation of the situation and basing his fielding ability off two games when he first returned also seems unfair to me.

Look the last year Delgado was fielding he was barely bending over for balls anyway, he's not on a team for his fielding, he's on a team for his bat. I would judge whether I offered him a contract based on how productive the scouts felt his bat could be and not whether he was rigid at 1B in two games.

Back to last night game, Delgado had enough mobility to leg out a triple to right field and then after being hit by a pitch he scored from second on a single to right field. The Mets are following Delgado's progress very closely and there are ways for the Mets to measure his mobility without him fielding. I believe he is showing progress even as the DH; first he's no longer being pulled in game for pinch batters/hitters, second his extra base hits, and finally his ability to advance on the bases ( last night was the second time in a week he scored from 2b).

Again for me it's about his bat, Delgado is hitting and hitting for power. It's obvious even from just the box scores that he has the offensive intimidation factor going that the Mets line-up is missing (especially with Beltran out). Pitchers are walking him nightly, last night he had two more walks which tells me two things. First Delgado is being patient and has his eye for the zone, secondly pitchers are afraid to make mistakes to him. After the triple last night he walk, walk, and was HBP before finally popping out in the bottom of the 8th to third baseman Alex Cora.

The walks, extra base hits and solid batting average all tell me the most important thing I need to know, his bat speed is there and he can confidently put hitting tork on the repaired hip. If the hip can with stand the violence of a power swing then after a full spring of conditioning he will be moving laterally good enough to field.

Also the scouts can measure his mobility based on his base running and ability to get out of the box which both appear to be progressing well. It should only take a low base salary with incentive deal to bring him in and if the scouts feel, based on what they're seeing, with a full spring training under his belt, he can be effective enough in the field to justify his bat then I'm all for bringing him back.

With Tejado signing with the Orioles they now have Atkins at 1B and Scott at DH, so it appears the Mets have their choice of 1B; Delgado, Tatis, Mora, Garko, Blalock and Branyan.

Thole shouldn't be the starter in the majors

To use one of my favorite baseball movies as an analogy I believe this teams pitching staff has a bunch of Ebby LaLooshs' and what the team really needs is "Crash Davis".

Omir Santos relayed a story on WFAN of running out to the mound to see what was wrong with with Oliver Perez and said to himself who's he talking to. We need a catcher who won't be shocked by that but will take control of the situation and get "Meat" back on track.

I contend the a catcher is more important then a front line pitcher, sure I'd love to have a healthy Ben Sheets in my rotation but I still believe that Pelfrey or Oliver Perez could be a number two under the right catcher. If just one of them reached their potential all we would need is a Steve Trachel, a guy who kept you in the game every fifth day without missing a start= Jon Garland.

But without a solid catcher we still could see Jon Maine on the mound arguing with himself over a ball that missed by two inches six pitches ago, Pelfrey could be licking his arm, K-Rod could be wildly throwing too many off-speed pitches and Ollie well Ollie could be talking to himself.

So while every one is worried about the GMJr trade which I had no problem with I was more concerned with the quote about going with Josh Thole as the starting catching. The kid is simply too green and inexperience to even be the back-up catcher with this rotation on the major league level.

"Without signing Molina, we are going to still continue to look for a catcher. In the ideal world, we would like to have Josh Thole be here and playing all year, if not most of the year.source Daily News

No, there aren't many option left but I would rather take Barajas or Torrealba over either Thole or Santos. I would even go with Blanco as the starter and Coste in AAA with a bag always packed, then bring in this free agent as a back-up and Ollie's caddy, Brad Ausmus...

Brad Ausmus- Known as "a brilliant defensive catcher,""an incredibly smart catcher," and "one of the most respected game-callers and pitching-staff handlers" in the game source Wikipedia

Correction: As pointed out by Scott I completely misinterpreted Omar comments in reference to Thole, Omar was speaking about Thole spending the year in Buffalo which makes sense. I'm leaving the post becuase it still has my opinion on the catchers position and the impact on the staff. Thanks to Scott for the clarification, Yes I, Got it ?

Mets acquire Gary Matthews Jr.

According to multiple reports the Mets are on the verge of acquiring Gary Matthews Jr.. The 35 y/o switch hitting outfielder has been a bad fit with the Angels for three years.
In 2006 Matthews made a highlight reel catch and had a career year at the plate(.313/.371/.495/.866). The Angels choose to see it as a break out year instead of a career year and signed him to a five year 50MM contract. The very next year he returned to his normal numbers and the Angels signed Tori Hunter during the 2008 off-season.

For the last two years he has been a very expensive fifth outfielder, behind Hunter, Vlad, Abreu and Rivera.

Last year he played in 103 games 56 of which were in center field when Tori Hunter went down with an injury.

Matthews name has come up before but has been immediately dismissed because he's owed 23.5MM ( 11M- 2010/ 12M-2011/ .5M for trade) but the reports indicate that the Angels are pitching in somewhere near 20MM and are only receiving Brian Stokes in return.

So the Mets have acquired a switch hitter who can play center field, and will only cost them 3.5MM for two years and a middle reliever that is out of options.

Here are Matthews career numbers which is what he basically hit last year; .258/.333 .408/.740. Which aren't great and his knees are starting to limit his range, but he has been successful at playing all three outfield positions off bench or as a spot starter.

Even without a follow-up move this deal makes sense to ensure center is covered until Beltran returns, I'd rather have Matthews then the group of back-up center fielders I mentioned the other day, of which only Reed Johnson and Alfredo Amegaza ( who's just starting to run) are left...

Source says #Angels will, in fact, acquire Brian Stokes in their Gary Matthews trade with the #Mets. Not sure yet on the money. source Jon Morosi Fox Sports

A's won't be in bidding war with Mets

Last night Buster Olney speculated that the Mets and A's were in the best positions to bid on Ben Sheets. Later in the night we heard that the Mets in fact plan to be in big on Sheets. Today Steve Popper reports that sources tell him the A's aren't getting in a bidding war with the Mets over him...

But one baseball official said Thursday, "If the Mets are in, no way [the A’s] are in." source NorthJersey.com

Delgado Vs. Tatis...

Mike Puma of the NY Post reports that the Mets maybe deciding between returning Carlos Delgado or Fernando Tatis.

Delgado has been primarily a DH in winter ball, he's shown a good eye with a lot of walks and has been hitting consistently. The article goes on to explain that he's been DHing because the surface is astro turf and he doesn't want to over extent himself, causing another injury or set back.

If Tatis can produce as he did for the past two years then he's a solid pick-up for the positions he can play and what he will cost. However, during last season he became a double play machine and his BA sharply dipped when over exposed. He is a risk in that he has no track record prior to the past two years and if relied upon could revert back to what landed him out of baseball.

According to an industry source, if Carlos Delgado is not re-signed, Fernando Tatis is a strong candidate to rejoin the Mets next season. The organization continues to monitor Delgado's progress in the Puerto Rican winter league. source NY Post

Pitching rumors heating up; Sheets, Smoltz and Wang..

Most of you have already heard Buster Olney's report that the Mets and A's appear to be the teams most able to bid on Ben Sheets. Now Joe DeMayo of NYBD tweets that he here's the Mets are going to be serious bidders for his services.

hearing #mets are very serious contenders for Sheets .. team intends to make a good run at him. source Joe DeMayo Twitter

Ken Davidoff of Newsday ( subscription required) discusses that the Mets are seriously considering Jon Smoltz and have talked to Wang's agent. Wang won't be ready to start the season. Smoltz (pen) and Sheets would repair all the concern and frustration over the Beltran incident and the slow winter.

FMart has a big night

Fernando Martinez went 6-6 ( write up says 5-6 but box score says 6-6) with a three run homer, double which resulted in five RBIs in all and he is hitting .636 for the playoffs. The home run came in the ninth inning with two on and two outs.

Mets outfielder Fernando Martinez belted a three-run homer and finished 5-for-6 with five RBIs as the Leones thumped Cibao in Game 3 of the Championship Series. source MiLB

Starting pitchers who's left and who's looking...

Jerry Crasnick of ESPN here are who is still looking for pitching and what type of pitching their looking for, by the way Crasnick goes on to look at each position including both teams needs and players available.

Who's still looking? The Dodgers, Mets, Mariners and Padres are trolling for an established starter, and the Cardinals, Nationals, Pirates and Diamondbacks are among the clubs that could use some depth. Cleveland is absolutely desperate for pitching, but GM Mark Shapiro has no money to spend. source ESPN

The Dodgers might be out of the mix with the signing of Padilla or at least out on the top pitchers. The Padres don't seem to have the money to spend on a front line starter. The Mariners seem to be the Mets true competition for what is left of the starting pitchers market. As Crasnick states most of the other teams are looking for depth type moves.

Ben Sheets is the cream of the crop but with 12 teams watching his work out, the competition will be stiff, the Mariners could have King Felix, Cliff Lee and Ben Sheets, wow. Buster Olney just tweeted tonight that he feels the A's and Mets are in the best position for Sheets.

The Mets and OAK might be in the best position to be aggressive, based on the agents' perception of who has money this late in the winter. source Buster_ESPN

So if Sheets goes elsewhere who else is left, I think the Mets would be fine with Jon Garland but he's reported to want to stay on the West coast and with the Mariners in the market he's going to be hard to get. Jarrod Washburn, Todd Wellemeyer and Branden Looper are amongst the best of what is left.

Then much like Sheets is a group of interesting injury project type starters; Noah Lowry, Pedro Martinez, Chieng-Ming Wang, John Smoltz and Eric Bedard.

Snyder talk disputed

Yesterday there was speculation that the Mets could look to trade with the D-Backs for Chris Synder.

The 28 y/o right hander is coming off a poor offensive year and limited play due to back issues which resulted in surgery. While he was out Montero really stepped up and now the D-Backs have a 10MM back-up/platoon partner.

It makes sense for them to look to move him, however, according to the AZ central the Mets and D-Backs have not talked recently.

Before going any further, here’s what we’ve heard on this front: As of this afternoon, there hadn’t been any new discussions between the Diamondbacks and the Mets regarding Snyder. The Diamondbacks have been preparing to go into the season with Snyder on their club, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t consider moving him. source AZ Central

Takahashi too..

According to the NY Times the Mets have contacted Hisanori Takahashi's agent. The left handed screw ball pitcher is more of a reliever then a starter but this is probably about keeping their options open.

Meanwhile, Minaya continues to look for pitching. The Mets attended Ben Sheets’s workout in Louisiana on Tuesday, although his injury history is an issue. They are also in talks with Joel Piniero and have spoken to the agents for the Japanese left-hander Hisanori Takahashi. source NY Times

Hat tip to Patrick at NPB Tracker who breaks down the market for Takahashi. Here's part of Patrick's profile of the 35 y/o left hander.

Takahashi has said he wants to continue in a starting role after he crosses the Pacific, but putting everything together he seems better suited for the bullpen. That said, assuming his screwball doesn’t get lost in translation, I don’t see why he can’t be an effective reliever in the Okajima mold. source NPB Tracker

Delgado keeps hitting

Carlos Delgado still has not played the field since his two games in the regular season, but again I'm not sure how much you can read into that since his team is in the playoff's and Valdes is having a very good season. The one thing that can be said, is that they appreciate his bat since they decided to carry him on the roster and play him as the DH every night.

With Carlos Beltran out to start the they are going to need more offense, whether Delgado becomes a part of that offense or not is yet to be seen but it will need to come from somewhere.

Last night Delgado went 2-3 with a run scored and a walk, he's currently hitting .375 in the playoffs.

The Daily News reports that the Mets continue to monitor his progress and I've heard they are much more interested then they are letting on. The Mets main competition is the Orioles and the Jays both of which would use him as a DH. Delgado has always preferred to play the field but he will also have to be realistic both in regards to his physical limitations and the offers he receives.

If the Orioles were to sign him then there wouldn't be anyone left looking for a first baseman and the Mets could probably get one of Blalock, Branyan and Garko for next to nothing...

Go here for the box score

They have to do better then Santos...

After hearing for months that the Mets were in the driver's seat in regards to catchers, even if they were scorned ( again) by Bengie Molina they could have their pick of Yorvit Torrealba and Rod Barajas. Suddenly not only did they miss out on Molina but they are un-enthused with the other two candidates and could move forward with Omir Santos as the catcher ( source Mets.com).

There's a reason Santos was a 28 y/o rookie last year and in his prior 8 seasons he had 10 games in the majors. Santos filled in admirably last year but that's exactly what he is a AAAA fill-in not an opening day starter. When I hear the organization try to sell me on the idea of Santos as the starting catcher, I'm immediately reminded of them trying to sell me on Murphy as the opening day left fielder.

The coaching staff was not happy with the way the catcher's called games last year and there have been grumbling that the pitchers themselves felt the same way. Rightfully so this is a pitching staff that has potential and talent but significantly regressed last season and most of that regression appeared to stem from mental break downs; Pelfrey's yips, K-Rod's wildness, too many off-speed pitches and lack of concentration, Maine arguing with himself and Ollie off in never-never land. This pitching staff, with that group need a veteran presence behind the plate to guide them through games.

Some have said that the team should just use Blanco as the starter he has only caught 100 games two seasons in his entire career and the last time was in 2004. While I'd have faith in Blanco catching our difficult staff, there's no indication that he could handle the work load he is a back-up catcher suited for 75 games a season.

Furthermore, I know game calling and pitcher handling is an unmeasurable intangible, but when Santos isn't hitting .260 and the staff continues to re-regress for the second year in a row, Barjas and Torrealba are going to look like significant up grades.

Chris Snyder's name came up as a possible trade candidate and I'm a little leery of a catcher with a bad back but when healthy he has been a very good catcher. 2007 was his best year in which he caught 110 games hitting .252 with 13 HRs and 47 RBIs while hitting .263 in the playoffs. Snyder had a good reputation behind the plate and caught some tough pitchers, Webb's sinker and Haren's delayed delivery come to mind.

I have no problem with Omir Santos as a back-up catcher or a call-up fill in while somebody is hurt but just as Murphy had no business being the opening day starting left fielder neither does Santos as the catcher...

While catching may be on the back burner, the Mets are considering options there, too. There was one indication yesterday that they have made trade inquiries about Arizona's Chris Snyder. WFAN host Mike Francesa, who has recently announced Mets news on his radio show - including the Jason Bay signing - threw out Snyder's name yesterday. source Daily News