While the New York Mets flop about trying to finish the season at least .500 in what is another disappointing season. One thing has been refreshing to see and that is the resurgence of the Mets Minor League system.
If the Mets future is down on the farm then what was once considered barren has shown signs of life all throughout the farm system. The Bison while not reaching the post season gave it a good run falling short in the last week of their season but one has to wonder if the Mets were not forced to call up many of the players they did from AAA this season would the Bisons be playing playoff baseball right now?
Other than a few teams most have something positive to boast. Here is a look at the Mets Minor League affiliates.
Dominican Summer League Boca Chica South
Mets1 39-32 record 7 GB 4th place
Best Hitter: 19 yr old Eudy Pina – .310/BA 3/HR 45/RBI 108/TB
Best Pitcher: 18 yr old Carlos Gomez – 7/W 2/L 1.47/ERA
Dominican Summer League Boca Chica North
Mets2 43-29 1st place Div. Winner
Best Hitter: 20 yr old Sneider Batista – .277/BA 0/HR 21/RBI 77TB
Best Pitcher: 20 yr old Isaac Monroe – 4/W 2/L 1.08/ERA
Gulf Coast League
Mets 31-25 6GB 2nd place Wildcard Winner
Best Hitter: 20 yr old Julio Concepcion – .282/BA 4/HR 28/RBI 81TB
Best Pitcher: 21 yr old Ramiro Peralta – 1/W 0/L 1.69/ERA
Appalachian League
Kingsport Mets 28-39 14.5GB last place
Best Hitter: 19 yr old Aderlin Rodriguez – .312/BA 13/HR 48/RBI 139TB
(Finished in the top 3 in the league in Hits, Doubles, Homeruns, Rbi’s and Total bases)
Best Pitcher: 22 yr old T.J. Chism – 4/W 0/L 0.45/ERA
New York-Penn League
Brooklyn Cyclones 51-24 1st place Div. Winner
Best Hitter: 20 yr old Darrell Ceciliani – .351/BA 2/HR 35/RBI 144TB (Won Batting Title)
Best Pitcher: 21 yr old Yohan Almonte – 8/W 4/L 1.91/ERA
South Atlantic League
Savannah Sand Gnats 1st Half standing 42-28 1st place 1st half Div Winner
Savannah Sand Gnats 2nd Half standing 33-36 8 GB 6th place
Best Hitter: 19 yr old Wilmer Flores – .278/BA 7/HR 44/RBI 120TB
Best Pitcher: 23 yr old Mark Cohoon – 7/W 1/L 1.30/ERA
Florida State League
St Lucie Mets 29-41 9GB 5th place
Best Hitter: 19 yr old Wilmer Flores – .300/BA 4/HR 40/RBI 115TB (Honorable mention to Eric Campbell)
Best Pitcher: 23 yr old Elvin Ramirez – 4/W 3/L 4.17/ERA
Eastern League
Binghamton Mets 66-76 17GB 5th place
Best Hitter: 24 yr old Nick Evans – .294/BA 17/HR 55/RBI 183TB
Best Pitcher: 25 yr old Manuel Alvarez – 3/W 1/L 2.87/ERA
International League
Buffalo Bisons 76-68 11.5GB 3rd place
Best Hitter: 26 yr old Justin Turner – .316/BA 12/HR 43/RBI 193TB
Best Pitcher: 24 yr old Dillon Gee – 13/W 8/L 4.96/ERA 165/SO ( Set the record for strikeouts in a season)
There you have it these are just some of the names of players I felt had good seasons for their club. While these may be my choices for best hitter or pitcher I am sure there are others that some of you may feel are more deserving and I will leave that to you to decide and choose who you like better.
Keep in mind I didn’t even mention players like Jennry Mejia, Josh Thole, Ruben Tejada, Fernando Martinez, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Reese Havens, Sean Ratliff, Joshua Satin, Jordany Valdespin, Kai Gronauer, Jeurys Familia, James Fuller, Brant Rustich, Rhiner Cruz, Eric Beaulac, Brandon Moore, Robert Carson, Cory Vaughn and Armando Rodriguez.
Here is hoping to a brighter future.
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Dillon Gee
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It will be interesting to see where the national rankings put the mets farm this year. Although with so many guys graduating, that might actually hurt them (if Thole and Ike and tejada are no longer considered prospects).
And also keep in mind how many guys came up to play for the mets. Not sure how many other systems could do that. certainly a plus to having talent stacking up at the higher levels for a change (a direct result of hoarding last year! and drafting a lot of college guys).
new GM is going to have to make some tough decisions. Not everyone will fit on the 40 man, and with a logjam at some spots, there will have to be some trades this year (maybe some OF for P deals).
Trying to see how many players did the Mets wind up calling up after the 2010 season started and this is what I get.
Generated 9/9/2010.
Maybe the long range plan Omar laid out when he first came on board is finally starting to be realized. I won’t pretend to follow projections and the like for most of the minor leagues like our Metro (and Toby Hyde) does, but just the fact that I recognize many of these names from reading around the blogs this year certainly has to be a good thing.
As I mentioned on the last post, in response to reading the 7 page article on Omar’s vision that stickguy referenced, it’s not all bad with Omar. Whatever his plan or vision was, it appears to me it wasn’t well rounded enough even though he’s done some good things.
Since Omar is most clearly identified with the perception of this team, and that perception isn’t all that great right now, it’s time to shuffle the deck.
Yes you are correct 4D in the end it’s about winning and hopefully the time for change is now.
All the above prospects for all the talk about them until they can step on the big stage and perform will be labeled only with the promise of potential.
well, a bunch of those names are in no way prospects. MiL filler, ML retreads waiting for the call, stuff like that. But, still quite a few legit prospects (maybe not potentail superstars, but still viable ML guys) on the list.
Agreed stick. When I started doing this post the one name that stood out of interest to me was the 19 yr old from Kingsport Aderlin Rodriguez.
Milb says he was signed by the New York Mets as an non-drafted free agent in 2008 by Ismael Cruz.
Of note Cruz also signed Wilmer Flores. Here is an interesting article by the Times discussing how the Mets got Flores.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/sports/baseball/15flores.html
aderlin is scary good. He could move up the ladder quick.
If you love the Bohemian Rhapsody and the Star Wars Saga Episodes 1 through 3. Do yourself a favor and watch this music video that is a parody of Bohemian Rhapsody titled Midichlorian Rhapsody.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpvlTVgeivU
That what inspired
Slow night so just wanted to share what has to be the Greatest shampoo commercial of all time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um9KsrH377A
Loved Queen back in the day but this was truly one of the best commercials using music as a theme to sell a product that I’ve ever seen.
Whoever had this inspiration is just brilliant….
Brooklyn up 3-1 top of 3rd.
5-1.
great. now we might have to wait another week for the Wally era to start!
Nah; it has already started.
For me it has.
It is already 2011 and Wally is watching everyone hustle like they’ve never hustled, he’s watching Ike listen to advice and do everything but whine, he’s watching Blanco teach the eager Thole everything about catching and toughness, he’s watching Tejada take extra BP all day, he’s watching Jose practice bunting so he can begin getting all of those bunt singles he hasn’t his whole career, he’s watching Pagan simply work hard and hustle, he’s watching Niese soak up every last tidbit of info from new pitching coach Ojeda, he’s watching Pelf on his daily search for a brain and some nuts, he’s watching a dugout without trash like Carter and Hessman and washed up players like Castillo and Ollie, he’s watching guys who now understand that it’s time to hustle and stop bitching and moaning anytime anyone suggests they hustle, and best of all, he is watching a team that finally is being influenced to try their hardest at all times, which has become a history lesson rather than a daily occurrence for the orange and blue.
Not any more.
It’s the Wally Era. A new sheriff’s in town.
wait, does this mean you are going to be disappointed when the give Bob Melvin the job?
I guarantee that you will hear my screams if they hire Melvin.
No frigin way or Melvin or Torre.
Backman, Teufel, Valentine, and LaRussa are my short list.
King I enjoyed reading every word but one of your 10:36pm comment so I grabbed my x-acto knife and cut out a tiny piece of paper which I’ve glued onto my computer screen over “Carter.”
Now I have an annoying little piece of paper glued to my monitor. Thanks
HA!!
Yeah I think I feel bad about that too. He does hustle and he does care.
Thanks for making me laugh on a day with no postgame.
The Cyclones win the Pennant, The Cyclones win the Pennant, well almost.
6-4 win on to the next
On to the championship Series.
Very nice summary Mr N–thanks for it!
Can we consider the Wally Era to have started at this point?
He clearly is the next in line, and let us hope he becomes the successor to Gil, Yogi, Davey, and Bobby, and not Casey, Joe T, Torborg and Howe.
I think Wally is going to instantly improve the team and be a beloved manager.
I still question why he is clearly the next in line other than the fact the Mets have anointed him such.
Because he has had success as a player and a manager, because he is a beloved member of the greatest team in franchise history, because he is a fiery guy who maximized his talent and that type is–without a shred of doubt–what this apathetic group needs.
How many more times do we have to read about veterans recoiling at the suggestion they play harder and care more? Did you see the story about how a young unnamed player called out some vets for lack of hustle and caring and the vets whined and bitched at him?
TRS, I love this team as much as you, I promise, but for me, after the last four years, if Wally’s fieriness was his ONLY qualification, I would take a flier on him.
But he has been a winner as a player and as a manager. Who among the younger guys without MLB managing experience is really THAT much more appropriate for this job?
This group needs an ass-kicking.
Plus, Wally will come real cheap; that, alas, is almost surely a factor too.
well, the bar recently has been set really, really low for tactical managerial ability, so might as well take a shot at the leading the troops into battle aspect instead.
and I agree that if you are going new/cheap (as in, not paying $5mill for a senior citizen like Torre), you can make a case for any of them really, and they will all just be a crapshoot.
wally is at least a somewhat known quantity, after a year in the system. Even basic non-field stuff, like how he communicates with the FO, he now has a track record.
besides, he is probably the only one that might actually energize the fan base at all.
I really agree….it is not football; a marathon season and a slack bunch like we have need a fiery guy.
Wally, Bobby V or Teufel.
I would be thrilled with any of them.
Tomorrow would be OK.
Your note there about Wally coming cheap is precisely why when Francesa this afternoon declared that Valentine & Backman were the 2 favorites for the job I proclaimed Wally Backman the next Mets manager. I figure there is so much working in favor of it (’86er, cheap, already in org., having success, blessing of sports Pope) that it’s all but a done deal.
Again, I just don’t see a guy that played on a championship Mets team before many of these guys were even born with mostly single A and independent league experience coming to a big league team and it just suddenly say ooooh it’s Wally Backman we better hustle and play hard for him.
It’s not about the “ohhh, it’s wally”. It’s about the “oh crap, wally is gonna get in my face and bench my sorry butt if i don’t get it in gear”. And I would bet dollars to donuts that Wally isn’t going to be a big old puss and use the media to get his point across to the players. He’s going to get right in their face and make them understand. (i don’t know that for certain, but all i’ve read leads me to believe that).
i wonder if Wally and Beltran could coexist. total opposites right there.
Considering Beltran barely exists now and won’t exist (in met land) after 2011, i’m not too worried about it.
at most it is for 1 year. Minus, of course, the time that beltran will spend on the DL.
I am curious though to see what kind of a rebound year he will have, since he is playing for his last contract most likely. Boras will pull all the tricks out of his (medicine) bag for that one!
at least you know he won’t be taking the year off to rest up.
+ Many, Tex.
Every manager in the history of the major leagues was a first-time major league manager at one time. Every one. Ever.
Gardenhire managed 3 minor league years, never above AA.
Backman managed two successful years at AA.
Manuel was a winning MLB manager.
Randolph never managed anywhere.
Wally clearly has very similar qualifications to a huge number of men who were given their first MLB managing job, and in fact already WAS hired once to be an MLB manager.
You are quite clearly totally biased against him. If your reason is largely his past behavior, I can understand that.
But the argument for his not being qualified is simply pretty wrong. He has the same qualifications—success as an A and AA minor league manager–as a huge number of MLB managers.
And again, he was a successful player who was on winning teams, and clearly hustled and got the most out of his talent.
This team plays hard and smartly in spurts, as Willie and Jerry are just not driving, motivational types, which Wally may be.
If you are so clearly against him, I have yet to hear any sort of reasonable, fact/history-based argument other than his past behavior.
Which, to be sure, is relevant, but as I have also pointed out, many very successful managers have had poor off-the-field behavior (Leo Durocher to Billy Martin) and many also have been nutcases ON the field as well (Martin, Earl Weaver, Piniella).
Sorry TRS, but his resume quite clearly qualifies him to be a leading candidate.
“it just suddenly say ooooh it’s Wally Backman we better hustle and play hard for him.”
So the team will say oooh, Bob Melvin was fired twice but has MLB experience!? Ooh, Terry Collins’ players hated him and mutinied!?
Why in the world would the players necessarily hustle more for those guys? Or not hustle for Wally?
I just think we are setting ourselves up by proclaiming Wally to be great before any of us really even get a chance to know anything about him as a manager. I can’t see how the Mets have fallen so far that the leading candidate for the job is in deed Wally Backman. It’s not about bias but more about the fact that he has about the same qualifications as many other single and double a managers.
The first question to answer is do you want a big name guy? Buck is gone, so that leaves bobby V. I think Torre is a non-starter.
or a non big name with a ML resume. Hello, Bob Melvin!
Or, a newbie with only MiL managing experience? Hey Wally.
yes, he has basically the same qualifications as all the rest of the first timers. so while you can’t say he is obviously the best choice, you also can’t say any of the other naes are a better choice.
Wally does have the onus points of fan name recognition, ties to the club, and known firey/gritty personality. The last one at least seems to be of high importantce this tiem!
plus, he is now a known quantity to the FO, in terms of how he works (communicates) within the organization.
playing for a championship in brooklyn isn’t hurting either.
will he be great? I don’t know. But, at least he isn’t Jerry!
Oh I agree on at least he isn’t Jerry. I just think it’s too early to box ourselves in to one candidate. I hope they take a little time and do their due diligence on who they pick not just jumping into what they think will be fan favorite.
Your welcome King.
the thing is the 2011 Mets have the potential to be a really good team and they can do so without operation hope and pray.
I do not expect the mets to sign a big name SP this offseason as I expect them to have Gee and Mejia (plus some invitees) compete for the 5th spot. Dickey obviously is coming back
I do expect the Mets to aggressively try to trade Beltran + K-Rod (castillo + ollie too obviously). I expect them to wind up keeping Beltran but I do believe K-Rod has pitched his final game as a Met. I also see Feliciano gone with Takahashi as his replacement.
That leaves a closer, 2B, 4th OF and a setup man as the spots they need to fill. Orlando Hudson remains the obvious choice for 2B, guys like Soriano, Fuentes are available to close and there are lots of setup man on the market this offseason.
Lineup: Reyes, Pagan, Wright, Beltran, Bay, Davis, Hudson, Thole
Bench: Blanco, Murphy, Hernandez/Arias/Turner, 4th OF, Carter/Duda/Evans
SP: Santana, Dickey, Pelfrey, Niese, Gee/Mejia/other
RP: Acosta, Parnell, Takahashi, setup man, closer and others
I think this is a pretty excellent and accurate analysis of what we are going to see.
Which is precisely why we need a fiery, younger manager to come in here and get in the face of our very complacent veterans.
If i have to go through another season of Hudson speculation I may lose it. I do NOT want that guy on this team.
Agreed.
Disagreed.
I was the leader of the anti-Gritty parade the last two years, but we need SOME production out of 2B.
At least if we have him in the 7 or 8 hole, we can count on some offense. And if he again signs a 1-year deal, he will be motivated to hustle. Maybe even moreso if all of the stuff about his wanting to be a Met is actually true.
We need change, and penciling in Murphy or the not-yet-ready Tejada is not the answer I don’t think, and Slappy is quite clearly done.
You think they would ever go cheap and just go with Taka (assuming he resigns) or parnell as the closer?
2B i see as an internal fix (read:cheap). I wish Murph would grab this by the short ones, play passable D and hit like he always has. Uggla-lite, if you will.
4th OF… Your guess is as good as mine. FA pickup, Guillen from KC?, Fmart/Carter/Flotsam?
Murphy…maybe. Doesn’t seem likely they’ll rely on him, although I could see it working. There are no other internal options that we can do more than hope are ‘almost’ ready. None of them would put up the production that Castillo would.
Honestly, Unless they are able to flip Castillo, to say KC for a 4th OF or BP guy, I can’t see Castillo not being on this team next year.
And for Murph, I honestly do not see him in that role, but would like to.
I can see Beltran moved (most likely not). I can see Ollie moved (most likely he will be, at pennies on the dollar). I can see Castillo moved (50/50 on this one).
it depends what their goals are. You can’t have Parnell as the closer, Gee/Mejia in the rotation and Tejada as your 2B and expect to make the playoffs.
i am ok with a youth movement but as long as they dont try to fool themselves into thinking they are real contenders. If that is the way they want to go, then Beltran MUST be traded at some point during June/July to get more propsects and young players in here (assuming of course we are out of the race and Beltran is close to his old self).
If they are going to go young, then go young everywhere. You cant rebuld and be “competitive” at the same time.
I don’t really know but I’m not sure KRod will be gone.
If that contract stay guaranteed, it’s going to be hard to move him – given the fact he’s coming back from an injury and that vesting option is quite expensive.
Since we absolutely must eat some/all of Perez’s contract, might be eating some of Castillo’s and if they want to move Beltran will be eating some of that too, I think it’s highly unlikely they’ll do the same with Krod’s this year.
I don’t expect the mets to be able to non-guarantee the contract. I am sure they willsave his salary from this year though.
so, I exepct a big grovel session and some anger management sessions, and he will be back in 2011.
and frankly, it probaby gives the team the best chance to win next year (and since I think they are close and talented enough to do it, that works for me.).
Now, getting out from the vesting option somehow and making a fresh start in 2012 would be OK, unless he is lights out, and you don’t mind 1 year of a wildly overpaid RP.
On a side note, and sorry to MF4D on this. Kevin Towers to the DBacks… There goes one of her options for replacing the O-mahh.
Well damn…..
well, it does mean you can have Jerry Dipoto now if you want him!