Well there are only sixteen more days until pitchers and catchers are to report to Port St. Lucie and kick off the 2010 base ball season. From what I have read yesterday, whether the reports are right or wrong, this will more than likely be the group of All Stars, rookies, seasoned veterans and scrap heap pick ups that will compete for jobs and hopefully erase the nightmare that was 2009. I just wish I was a little more enthused about the players that were brought in. Aside from the signing of Jason Bay , I am on record as being disappointed with most of the off season moves that were made. I hope Kelvim Escobar can revert back to their old form, I hope Clint Evers can show us why he was a number one draft pick before becoming injured, I hope that Frank Catalano and Josh Fogg can distinguish themselves in their roles on the bench and in the pen respectively. I hope that Henry Blanco can handle this pitching staff and swing a decent bat like Jerry Grote or even John Stearns for that matter. I hope that Carlos Beltran comes back healthy and productive, which would mean that Gary Matthews Jr. would have as much playing time as Jeff Conine did in ’07 ( very little). I hope Daniel Murphy proves that he can play first base and exceeds everyone’s expectations. I just hope that this team can show last season was a freak of nature and not the incompetence of a front office that has the stigma of being clueless. I just want to win – and prove all the Mets haters wrong. This franchise has everything to gain and everything to lose, it will be interesting on how this season will unfold.
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                                                                ” ALWAYS BELIEVE !!!”
And on that note … HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!
Happy Birthday to one of the best known Mets from the putrid ’78- ’79 seasons, reliever Dale Murray (1950) .
Back up infielder for the mid ’70′s Mets , Leo Foster is 59 today (1951) .
Reserve outfielder , Pat Tabler is 52 today(1958) .
Journeyman pitcher Scott Erickson is 42(1968) . I rooted for him hard in ’04 when he tried to break spring training with the Mets, he would only last two games with the Mets before being released in mid July.
Jack of all trades Melvin Mora is 38 today (1972) . I still curse Steve Phillips for trading him away for Mike Bordick !
Happy Birthday to the pitcher who never got the chance to shine with the Mets, but has been impressive with the Seattle Mariners last season , Jason Vargas (1983) .
And as I promised a few days ago – today is the two year anniversary of the day our New York Mets traded Philip Humber, Carlos Gomez, Kevin Mulvey and pitcher Deolis Guerra to the Minnesota Twins for Ace pitcher Johan Santana on February 2, 2008. It is obvious we came out on top with this deal, Santana, although playing while injured has been one of the premiere starters in the National League while the only player left in the Twins organization is Guerra, and he is still in the minors.
And remember , there are just 62 days until the Mets open the 2010 season against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field.
15 comments
metsfan4decades
2/2/2010-7:17am at 7:17 am (UTC -4)
While I would have like to have seen another season #2/3 starter added as I think SP is our biggest weakness, I still believe in this group. It was practically the same group SI predicted to win the WS last year. What’s not to like?
stickguy
2/2/2010-7:39am at 7:39 am (UTC -4)
looking at the big picture, I am actually OK with all the moves (well, maybe ambivilant abo0ut Tatis, but not a biggee).
But like 4D, I think they stopped a couple of moves short, and nothing major really. 1 more SP (and didn’t have to be a superstar #2) is the big one. Another more legit starting C would have been nice, and I still think they should have made a bold move to get a good defensive 2B that also has a more well rounded offensive arsenal than Slappy. And just made Slappy disappear somehow.
That move at least would have energized the fan base, and clearly indicated that the team meant business about getting better, not just lip service to move ticket plans.
metsfan4decades
2/2/2010-8:31am at 8:31 am (UTC -4)
I agree in theory about Castillo. I think they tried to move/trade him during the off season and it just didn’t pan out.
I don’t agree that we should just sign Hudson or even Lopez, then have Castillo as simply a bench/backup. There’s only 25 slots on the roster and that’s a waste of a roster spot. Especially now since they essentially signed Cora to be the 2nd/SS backup.
Only way it makes sense now would be to simply release Castillo and I can’t see them doing that. Simply put, I don’t see Castillo being bad enough – yet – to just simply release him and eat that money.
stickguy
2/2/2010-8:41am at 8:41 am (UTC -4)
what they will do, and what I would like to see, are certainly 2 different things!
They could, if the right player fell to them at a bargain price, just grab him and worry about Luis later. See how things go in ST. Hope that he looks OK and has a decent spring, and that some team loses their 2B and gets desperate, so you can move him (with some cash) and actually get something in return.
I also don’t see him on the bench, and the fall back of course is to just release him.
Too bad they didn’t just go 3/24 instead of 4/24 (I remember this discussion from when that deal went down, that they paid less per year but gave him more years).
If he had 1/8 left, it would be easy to package him up with say 6mill and move him along.
prismo
2/2/2010-8:47am at 8:47 am (UTC -4)
The funny thing is that next offseason the only decent FA 2B might be Lopez and Hudson again, if they both sign 1 year deals. We’ll get to do this all over again!
njstuckintx
2/2/2010-9:16am at 9:16 am (UTC -4)
Well, we can all root root root against the Reds and hope for a blockbuster trade involving phillips and harang/arroyo to solve multiple problems for this year and next.
stickguy
2/2/2010-9:21am at 9:21 am (UTC -4)
well, it does give them a 2B for 2011 (just an expensive one) at least. But hard to see the option on either pitcher getting exercised, although the positive view is that it means they had a huge 2010!
stickguy
2/2/2010-9:19am at 9:19 am (UTC -4)
Oh joy. But the big difference is Luis on a 1 year deal. If he has a good season, NP since they either keep him or he will be easily movable. If he falls apart, much cheaper to release.
Ideally, Havens settles in to play a good defensive 2B, and stays healthy and has his bust out year with the bat (if you really look at his numbers, he is comparable to Davis, especially considering he is a MI).
Even if a “kid” doesn’t win the job outright, a platoon type deal with say Havens and a vet that has other value for 1 year? something to dream about.
prismo
2/2/2010-8:55am at 8:55 am (UTC -4)
Check out the latest MetsBlog poll.
What track is the team on?
Wrong – 64%
Unsure – 27%
Right – 9%
Already over 2,500 votes.
Even though I’m confident that a healthy team can at the very least compete for a wild card spot this season, I hope someone in the FO sees this poll and realizes that this team has a serious image problem.
metsfan4decades
2/2/2010-9:02am at 9:02 am (UTC -4)
Agreed. Their PR really does leave a lot to be desired.
stickguy
2/2/2010-9:14am at 9:14 am (UTC -4)
yeah, but it is the off season.
Once the season starts, the manic side of the average MB poster’s brain will kick in if they come out of ST healthy and win some games.
Really, people care about the team (rooting for the laundry 1st, followed by players). And winning cures all. Or at least most.
Hopefully the team clicks and the FO can just go underground into the storm cellar and not make any more bone headed PR moves.
At least the moves this off season have been fine, and nothing with LT nasty implications to the health of the team (IOW, no horrible contracts combined with trading eveyr decent prospect).
Whatever complaints people may have, they are either about PR “stuff” which really is just back ground noise (unless you really care what guys like Olney think), or that they didn’t go a couple of moves further, but at least that can still happen (mid-season or after this year).
It is also amazing that MB has that many people reading and voting. You think there is an algorithm that multiplies every vote x10?
trs86
2/2/2010-10:32am at 10:32 am (UTC -4)
Problem is make one move and all of a sudden the poll shifts. It always has.
prismo
2/2/2010-9:47am at 9:47 am (UTC -4)
I made one of my rare comments on MetsBlog. It’s awaiting moderation (as expected).
Had to point out to Matt that Seattle isn’t closer to Wisconsin than New York.
stickguy
2/2/2010-10:11am at 10:11 am (UTC -4)
geography is just another of those unimportant “details” I guess!
although to be fair, I read that post where the details comment came from. As is common over there, the thought was reasonable, just not articulated well.
I think he was referring to the discussions we have, where you can certainly debate a “concept” (just ask TRS) even if it isn’t really based on a true rumor. Kind of a “what if” scenerio.
Of course, there is a big difference between debating philosophy, and screaming for the GMs head for not making a deal which was never actually on the table anyway!
trs86
2/2/2010-10:33am at 10:33 am (UTC -4)
Hey!!! At least I am good at it.