Well here we are a little more than two weeks away from Opening Day and we can see the final twenty five man roster taking shape. There is still some competition at four positions ( first base, bullpen, fifth starter spot and shortstop) . So his my opening day roster predictions.
Catcher- Rob Barajas
First Base – Daniel Murphy
Second Base- Luis Castillio
Shortstop – Alex Cora
Third Base – David Wright
Left Field – Jason Bay
Center Field – Angel Pagan
Right Field- Jeff Francouer
Starting Rotation
1. Johan Santana
2. Mike Pelfrey
3. Oliver Perez
4. John Maine
5. Jonathan Neise
Bullpen
Long Reliever- Fernando Neive
Crossover specialist-Takahashi
                                    Ryota Irigashi
Roogy - Bobby Parnell
Loogy-Pedro Feliciano
Set up man- Kiko Kalero
Closer – Francisco Rodriguez
Bench
Mark Jacobs
Fernando Tatis
Henry Blanco
Russ Adams
Gary Matthews Junior
As you can see I left off some notable names such as Fernando Martinez, Jenrry Mejia , Sean Green , Chris Carter etc. I feel with the case of Shawn Green he has not proven that he can handle pitching in pressure situations. Like I said in last nights column , he has control issues and bouts of wildness, and when you are trying to erase the nightmare that was last season you cannot keep a player who like a Rich Rodriguez or a Mel Rojas will only spark the fans ire when he melts down ( which he will !!)
.In the case of both Tejada and Martinez I feel that both Jerry and Omar’s train of though is that both Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran might be back on the field much sooner than later so why
1. burn a option on both of them
2. start Tejada’s major league service clock. That is why I believe Russ Adams wins the back up job, plus he can be demoted or waived once Jose comes back healthy .
With Jenrry Mejia I am sticking to my guns and hoping that the front office realizes that this kid needs at the very least half a season in the minors. We don’t need a repeat of the Tim Leary or Paul Wilson debacles.
So there you go tell me if you agree , disagree love me hate me or are just plain ambivalent.
                                                               
                                                      ” Things are looking up in 2o10 !!”
And with that said …. HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!!
Happy Birthday wishes go out to reserve outfielder from the ’64 team – George Altman (1933) .
One time Yankees pitching prospect, Steve Dillon is 67.(1943)
Rick Parker, a back up outfielder from the ’94 team is 47 (1963) .
Middle reliever from ’95-’96, Blas Minor is 44 (1966) .
Utility man from the late ’90′s, Manny Alexander is 39 (1971) .
Sadly on this date in 2001, former backup infielder from the ’77 team, Luis Alvarado passed away.
New York Mets purchased pitcher, Frank Lary from the Milwaukee Braves on March 20, 1965.
New York Mets signed free agent pitcher, Octavio Dotel on March 20, 1993. He was touted as being our starting pitcher of the future, but we traded him to the Astros for Mike ” Mr. Colorado School District” Hampton, and Octavio never reached that success. He is one of the better middle relievers in the majors though.
New York Mets traded catcher Jason Phillips to the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitcher Kaz Ishii on March 20, 2005. I would say that trade was a wash.
And while you are watching today’s game on SNY and pondering your own 25 man roster, Just remember there are just 16 Lee Gooden ( HEY I’M BEING KING SOLOMON HERE !!!) days until the Mets open the 2010 season against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field.
22 comments
stickguy
3/20/2010-8:48am at 8:48 am (UTC -4)
Can I love you and hate you at the same time?
J/K. i could only hate some of your ideas!
Anyway, you could be right. My changes though?
Carter over jacobs.
Taka2 as the 5th guy, Neise in AAA, and Misch in the pen (he pitched too well so far to just waive, especially with how many SPs they likely need this year).
Other than that (and frankly, other than losing Misch in your scenerio, since he never clears waivers), not likely that big of a difference.
stickguy
3/20/2010-8:52am at 8:52 am (UTC -4)
Also, will be interesting to see what happens when R&B come back. Especially B, since I assume Adams will be th eodd man out for R, unless he somehow has a huge start. Maybe Cora or Castillo get hurt at some oint, opening up a spot? I just hpoe they have the depth at AAA when needed.
And I really, really like Davis, F Mart and Tejada down in the minors crushing the ball, trying to force the Mets to bring them up and find a place.
Especially since they are all “blocked” by a guy(s) that are either injury risks, or should be on a relatively short leash due to potential suckitude issues.
rustyjr
3/20/2010-8:54am at 8:54 am (UTC -4)
I think that the mets would rather keep Carter in buffalo in case of beltrans return because when Carlos does come back I think gmj is trade bait – u might be right about taka2me but I feel they will listen to barajas who says he is m.l ready – misch like figgy will be the odd men out
stickguy
3/20/2010-10:01am at 10:01 am (UTC -4)
well, if Carter gets the role that you have slotted for Jacobs, it really doesn’t matter that Beltran is coming back, does it?
And if they listen to Barajas about Neise, I hope they listen to him about Mejia needing more development time too!
Neise, based on last year, probably is ready to make the next step stuff-wise. But, I think he would be OK getting fully up to speed (and recovered from his surgery) at a slower pace in AAA.
And I don’t care that much about Figgy, but I don’t want to lose Misch if possible. I am big on hoarding itching depth right now, and osing guys like this to keep another guy that isn’t noticably better, is going to come back to bite them probably.
I still don’t have great faith in the Met FO roster management.
rustyjr
3/20/2010-10:37am at 10:37 am (UTC -4)
well carter could have played the o.f also i think you are overestimating misch also he’s kinda like a brandon knight imho but i do agree with you on the f.o
pfh64
3/20/2010-10:15am at 10:15 am (UTC -4)
I understand the placing of Mejia, Davis and Martinez for different reasons in Buffalo, and agree with them. Tejada on the other hand, has to start in Queens. Cora is not a good enough defensive shortstop at this point in his career, and you have to have a shortstop that CATCHES the ball. If you are going to be without two of your key offensive players, then you have to catch the ball the best you can, and that means Tejada. As for the service time argument, while I know you are right, it is disgusting that this organization will act like the Pirates in terms of the roster, but not in terms of scouting & developing talent.
rustyjr
3/20/2010-10:39am at 10:39 am (UTC -4)
pfh64 first off if this is your first time posting, welcome aboard !!
Trust me i too would love to have tejada as the primary ss until jose comes back but i am going by the status quo that this qrganization goes by – and it unfortunately favors alex cora and adamn.
pfh64
3/20/2010-8:50pm at 8:50 pm (UTC -4)
Rusty, it is indeed my first posting, even though I have been reading the blog for a few months now. And while, I am not necessarily the total cynic, Rusty, I just know that when you are short offense you go with the best defense you can, and that means Tejada. I do not want to rush young players. I am not in favor of having Davis (although as an ASU alum, you can never have enough Devils on the team for me), Mejia, and Martinez, up either, unless they are ready to play every day, and NOT platooned. I hate the book, but I believe in defense up the middle, and if that means Tejada and he bats eighth, then so be it. As long as he catches the ball, if he only hits .230 or .240, I don’t care. Tejada in the Twins’ game yesterday had a good at bat when he was down 0-2 and fought his way back to get one of his two doubles, and it was against one of their regular pitchers. I would be more than happy to see the team go with the youngsters if they play every day. Martinez, Davis, and Mejia, it they get used like regulars…Martinez & Davis play everyday and not sat against lefties, and Mejia used as a regular in the pen. I would be more than happy to sacrifice a year for player development, unlike last year which was just a waste.
As for the “organizations’ status quo”, the team has done nothing in a long time, (since Bobby V) to earn the trust for their decisions. So, you will have to excuse me, if I keep an eyebrow raised at each decision for a while.
Thanks for the welcome.
Hazmet
3/20/2010-9:27pm at 9:27 pm (UTC -4)
Ditto, on welcome aboard, most of us are Metsblog outcasts. Proudly, Metsblog outcasts.
Nice ASU shoutout. Ocotillo Hall 1980 myself, before heading back east and my sis is also an ASU alum.
rustyjr
3/20/2010-9:43pm at 9:43 pm (UTC -4)
I love az would love to move to Glendale or cave creek – love crazy ed’s satisfied frog
Hazmet
3/20/2010-10:10pm at 10:10 pm (UTC -4)
Yeah AZ can be a blast, spent alot of summer’s visiting there as a kid, then alot of wild times in my 1 year at ASU before transferring back east, still have family their. I’m actually an adopted member of the Papago tribe courtesy of my Nephews who are American Indian heritage.
pfh64
3/21/2010-12:28pm at 12:28 pm (UTC -4)
Haz, I spent ten years in the desert before moving back to NY for job reasons. Spent a good chunk of that ten years in the 80s at the school radio station, and recovering from over indulging in wheat and barley and water, etc…
prismo
3/21/2010-12:34pm at 12:34 pm (UTC -4)
Haha…welcome to the comment section!
stickguy
3/20/2010-11:10am at 11:10 am (UTC -4)
and, it isn’t like Cora makes up for it with his bat.
If you are going with a weaker glove (and way less range), at least do it like in the Hojo or Mitchell days, and just make up for it with power.
Hazmet
3/20/2010-11:05am at 11:05 am (UTC -4)
Rusty, nice “Doczilli” homage, well done you trickster you. Your Biemel graphic last night is a classic. I forgot about the shot glass incident.
I could easily see your take or Stick’s take above being the final mix. I like your bullpen with the 2 Japanese imports and Nieve/Misch flip a coin for long relief. I haven’t seen much of Neive this ST but what I did see it looked like he was having trouble working Lefties inside like he did last year. Takahashi could fill the long relief role too.
Good read on Adams, but I think Tejada will be their selection. I’d rather see Tejada in the minor’s as I haven’t liked his positioning and instincts on reading the cut off’s/relays from the outfield from what I’ve seen so far. A little more seasoning will fix that in no time. Ideally, I’d love to see him in AAA getting work at 2B in case LC goes down during the year. Then plug him in and go at 2B.
Lastly, the only young player I do want up now is F-Mart. He’s earned the look in the bigs for the first month while Beltran’s out and I’m concerned that he doesn’t go Nick Evans on us and crashes and burns at AAA after proving in his mind he should have broke camp last year with the team. Underscore “his mind”.
GravediggerHebner
3/20/2010-12:46pm at 12:46 pm (UTC -4)
FWIW Rusty I read last night that a beat writer (Rubin? not sure) had tweeted that the Mets are not concerned with starting Tejada’s arb/free agent clock, they don’t consider him “the kind of player that concerns you about.”
So assuming that report is accurate there may be reasons why Tejada doesn’t make the team but his “clock” is not one of them.
Obviously I both agree with and like a lot of your selections. My subtle changes (not my preferences but rather what I think they will do) are these:
Starting 1B: Mike Jacobs
Starting SS: Ruben Tejada
Back up MIF: Alex Cora
Back up CIF/IF: Frank Catalanotto
Not on the ML club: Murphy, Adams
Shocker eh? As much as I hate the thought of Mike Francesa crowing about it, and as much as I think he hasn’t received enough of a chance to become a ML starting 1B, I am beginning to believe the Daniel Murphy era is coming to an end.
rustyjr
3/20/2010-12:50pm at 12:50 pm (UTC -4)
If he keeps hitting .174 you may be right
in regards to Frankie the cat – I thunk he’s a long shot
GravediggerHebner
3/20/2010-1:03pm at 1:03 pm (UTC -4)
Obviously I have no insider knowledge, this is just my gut feeling based on watching and lots of listening and reading. Could be completely wrong, I’m certainly not betting on anything I’ve said here.
RE: Cat, I agree he’s a long shot but on a roster which doesn’t include Murphy and Jacobs is starting at 1B, I think a spot is wide open and I think he fits nicely with the rest of what would be the bench in that instance (and full disclosure I’ve wanted him to make the big club since the day they signed him).
njstuckintx
3/20/2010-1:25pm at 1:25 pm (UTC -4)
I certainly hope you are wrong, my friend. Murph has become a hometown hero for many, myself included, and we’re rooting for him to succeed. It’s less nerve wracking to worry about what we’ll do with Murph as he’s ripping the ball while young Ike is knocking on the door than it is to worrying if Ike will hurry up and be ready cause Murph is toast and we’re struggling with Jacobs/Tatis at 1B.
And it does seem that every proclamation they make that this will or that won’t happen usually turns out to happen in the opposite fashion, doesn’t it? Maybe that bodes well for Mejia…
stickguy
3/20/2010-2:07pm at 2:07 pm (UTC -4)
Another reason to send majia down. Unless Neive gets back in the rotation (or GF Figgy), the #6 Sp is either Taks2 or Neise (which ever one that doesn’t get the #5 job to start).
So, if Maine did hit the DL, you could easily end up with 4 lefties in the rotation. Not something you normally see.
metsfan4decades
3/20/2010-3:53pm at 3:53 pm (UTC -4)
16 Lee Gooden – LOL…
I think Tajeda will make the roster until Jose is back.
I’m thinking Taka2 might very well be the 5th starter for the month of April. Niese down to AAA and Misch in the BP to go along with the rest you’ve got.
I think it will be Jacobs for the 24th roster spot and really don’t know about that 25th spot. Cat only has like 2 hits in ST so far….
rustyjr
3/20/2010-4:04pm at 4:04 pm (UTC -4)
I had to placate both the maz & doc camps lol