It's quite clear that Sandy is a man with a plan !!!"
Last night I had the privilege of being part of a blogger conference call with Mets G.M Sandy Alderson. Here are some of the key points from the call:
There is a good chance that both Brad Emaus and Pedro Beato are not offered back to their original teams
Emaus status as a Rule 5 draftee plays a big part of his decision to keep him.
They will see how it goes in terms of a contract extension with Jose. The Mets finances should not affect any efforts to re-sign him.
In regards to the recently departed Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo Sandy felt that fan sentiment played more in the decision to cut Castillo than Perez.
Nick Evans is in the mix to make the team whether Carlos Beltran is on the Opening Day roster or not.
There should be no restrictions financially when it comes to acquiring a high priced player when the trade deadline looms.
When it comes to looking at players during Spring training he feels that you have to look at a players career body of work.
He is extremely impressed by last years number one draft pick Matt Harvey
To see a transcript of Sandy’s comments from last night , go to Amazing Avenue.
And with that said … HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!!
Mets alumni celebrating birthdays today include :
Believe it or not , Sheepshead Bay’s very own Lee Mazzilli is 56 (1955). Its hard to fathom that it’s been 35 years since he broke into the big leagues with the Mets. He helped make those dark days of the late ’70′s a little easier to get through.
One of the most disliked Mets of all time, pitcher Tom Glavine is 45 (1966) .Although I was never a fan of Glavine, I always tried to support him during his tenure with the Mets. I still can’t get over his comments on the last day of the ’07 season though.
Sadly on this date in 2009, One time Mets Director of Public Relations and later their traveling secretary, Arthur Richman passed away. When you watch those Mets yearbooks that are aired on SNY, he was the brains behind that original concept.
The New York Mets signed free agent Orel Hershiser on March 25, 1999.Our very own Metsfans4decades still gets the dry heaves when thinking about Orel for what he did to us in the ’88 NLCS.
And while you are wondering who will win the final spots in the Mets bullpen, just remember that there are just 7 ( that’s right just 7 !!) Jose Reyes Days left until the Mets open the 2011 season against the Florida Marlins in Miami, and only14 days left until the Mets 2011 home opener against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field.
Mo Vaughn wants to ride a pygmy pony !!!!
34 comments
kingman 26
3/25/2011-8:38am at 8:38 am (UTC -4)
Great, great job representing the site Rusty; but, when you were armed with such brilliant questions to ask Sandy, how could you go wrong?
Wow, Mazzilli is 56? That is among the most eye-opening reality checks about how young I no longer am that I can ever remember. I recall Arthur Richman too.
rustyjr
3/25/2011-8:42am at 8:42 am (UTC -4)
It was a good question wasn’t it
kingman 26
3/25/2011-8:53am at 8:53 am (UTC -4)
Seriously buddy—amazing job.
Again.
At this point, you do more for this site than the rest of us peons combined.
oleosmirf
3/25/2011-11:07am at 11:07 am (UTC -4)
the answer was kinda obvious no?
ajgmets
3/25/2011-9:44pm at 9:44 pm (UTC -4)
The fact that you my friend Ed, were invited to participate in this “conference” call is a pretty nice tribute to your work here at THRDMB…I begrudgingly offer my congratulations and my deepest envy…LOL
Regarding some of “Saldy’s” comments, I have been on record as saying Brad Emaus would be on this roster. While I’m rooting for the rule 5 draftee to become an impact player soon, I have hope that his spring numbers prior to yesterday were not the deciding factor and that the kid is being kept as both a symbol of deep trust in JP Ricciardi’s talent evaluation skills and a realistic expectation of the skill set he showed in yesterday’s game against the Redbirds of St. Louis.
I however get the sinking feeling that should they keep Beato it is at least partially as a payroll cost savings tool.
As far as fan sentiment playing any role, as minute as it may have been, in the release of the “terrible 2”, this information flies directly in the face of comments made by virtually every blogger/reporter/talking head who vehemently said that Alderson will make these decisions based on performance only. His alliteration to the contrary again raises the issue of over saturation of media coverage. I even read in the past few weeks where the White Sox will be providing a press box like blogger box” Enough already.
The “finances will have no impact on the signing of Jose Reyes” and “acquiring a high priced player if needed” are words we’ve read and heard before and thus must be taken with the proverbial grain of salt. A we shall see approach will be best applied in both cases. In my opinion a top four or five MLB shortstop is impossible to replace. Pay the Man. 6 years at 17 million per would be fair.
Nick Evans, quite simply is an out of options utility type of player with some ability who needs to be on this roster or will be lost via the waiver or trade after a claim is made on him. Either way an opportunity is all the young man is looking for, not unlike the chance being given to Daniel Murphy this season… Good Luck Nick wherever you may play this season…
Ceetar
3/25/2011-8:53am at 8:53 am (UTC -4)
MMO stole my question from last time _and_ referred to himself as an optimistic mets fan. that bum!
rustyjr
3/25/2011-8:58am at 8:58 am (UTC -4)
Lol i almost asked the Jose Reyes question – I’m happy Delcos did it
Ceetar
3/25/2011-9:16am at 9:16 am (UTC -4)
I thought about Reyes, but I figured that was too much a ‘beat writer’ type question, and it’s no surprise Delcos is the one that asked it.
Actually, Michael Kay said something (grain of salt) yesterday that interested me. He said that the Red Sox probably already ahve an extension worked out for Gonzalez, and that teams wait until the season starts to announce such things because it means they don’t have to pay the taxes or whatever on the deal until _next_ year.
Given the current financial climate, no matter how it ultimately ends up turning out, I’m sure the Wilpons don’t want an additional tax hit this year.. Sandy didn’t hint at anything like that, although it did sound like Reyes will be resigned.
oleosmirf
3/25/2011-11:09am at 11:09 am (UTC -4)
to me Sandy just wants to make sure Jose is back to his old self before resigning him b/c the Reyes we saw in 09 and 10 cannot be given a big contract…
mrose
3/25/2011-9:04am at 9:04 am (UTC -4)
you gotta trademark Optimistic Mets fan, and quick!
Ceetar
3/25/2011-9:13am at 9:13 am (UTC -4)
heh. I should!
Actually, I probably should buy optimisticmetsfan.com and redirect it to ceetar.com
mrose
3/25/2011-9:17am at 9:17 am (UTC -4)
that would be good…. godaddy does frequent deals (posted at slickdeals.net) for like $1.17 a year or something for a domain
Ceetar
3/25/2011-9:14am at 9:14 am (UTC -4)
My write up
Dirtysanchez
3/25/2011-9:45am at 9:45 am (UTC -4)
Lidge to start on DL
Utley to start on DL
Going to be interesting to see how philly wins the east by 100 games like the media is predicting :/
metsfan4decades
3/25/2011-9:54am at 9:54 am (UTC -4)
Bah….the Phillie ain’t winnin’ no 100 games.
A couple of us have been saying this since ST started: the NL east is going to be a lot closer race than many predicted.
kingman 26
3/25/2011-10:16am at 10:16 am (UTC -4)
Well, the race between the Phils and the Braves for 1st will be closer than people expect!
metsfan4decades
3/25/2011-10:17am at 10:17 am (UTC -4)
Except from what I’ve been reading, a good chunk of Philly fans are totally dismissing the Braves as being good enough to have a shot and are instead worried about the Marlins.
The Marlins?
kingman 26
3/25/2011-10:42am at 10:42 am (UTC -4)
Well, there are a lot of insane Philly fans!
metsfan4decades
3/25/2011-9:52am at 9:52 am (UTC -4)
Very cool, Rusty. Glad someone associated with this site is represented on these blogger calls. Very informative – I love reading these. In some ways, the FO is just a bit more forthcoming on these calls and often there are new tidbits to pick up on.
Going to read Ceetar’s write up next.
Oh…Orel Hershiser – lol. From the day I read about the trade in the paper I hated it. He’s the number one Met player I ‘disliked’ before he even donned the uniform. His comments coming down the stretch in ’88 just annoyed me to no end. I really, really wanted to see the Mets knock him and his team right off that pedestal. Sadly, that was not to be.
metsfan4decades
3/25/2011-10:09am at 10:09 am (UTC -4)
‘Yesterday, the Daily News reported that a lawyer for the Bernie Madoff victims demanded the resignation of Irving Picard. The lawyer, Helen Davis Chaitman, said the trustee “has been dishonest with the court and should step aside as trustee because nobody can trust anything he says.” The News story also revealed that Picard has been questioned by Congresspersons on a number of different issues, from his connections to Securities and Exchange Commission that may constitute a conflict of interest, to his unwillingness to provide the depositions on which he’s built his lawsuit.’
This is just going to go on forever and ever.
kingman 26
3/25/2011-10:12am at 10:12 am (UTC -4)
The sad part is that at that level of the business/legal world in 2011 America, there really is not such a thing as an attorney who is both honest and who operates without conflicts of interest.
The system is definitely that filthy.
saltygary
3/25/2011-10:50am at 10:50 am (UTC -4)
Got another financial tidbit to add, ESPN reported that the team lost 50m last year and are expecting the same based on advanced ticket sales and other projections:
http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/news/story?id=6256710
saltygary
3/25/2011-10:51am at 10:51 am (UTC -4)
It was actually based on a NYT report that was more in-depth:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/25/sports/baseball/25mets.html?_r=1&ref=sports
Prismo
3/25/2011-12:03pm at 12:03 pm (UTC -4)
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!!!
metsfan4decades
3/25/2011-11:16am at 11:16 am (UTC -4)
Braves Looking For Right-Handed Bench Bat
Evans is the most interesting player since he’s blocked by both Ike Davis and Lucas Duda. The Braves have seen a lot of him this spring, and if the Mets don’t have a spot for him on the roster, Atlanta may be interested.
*************
No, no, no.
I could care less that the Phillies signed Castillo and even less so that the Nats signed Perez. But Nick Evans to the Braves? That would be a different story. I’m sure Evans would be happy to go to any team though that would give him a chance in the MLs.
stickguy
3/25/2011-11:34am at 11:34 am (UTC -4)
The Braves are annoying, especially if they go from the long extended run to another run at the top, with only a couple year break in the middle to retool!
And they do it with a middle of the road payroll, which means other teams have no excuse.
speaking of Castillo, he may not be around much longer with the Phils. Another O-fer yesterday, with the last 2 being Ks looking! He was even getting heckled by the fans at the game.
Oh, my take on Evans is that he makes the team for the first series, with Beltran starting on the backdated DL. What happens after that, who knows.
TRS86
3/25/2011-11:47am at 11:47 am (UTC -4)
Could be just another Ruben Gotay.
metsfan4decades
3/25/2011-12:06pm at 12:06 pm (UTC -4)
Gotay? Nah…I think Evans’ bat is better than that.
I’m not thinking Evans is exactly a starter on many teams but he plays multiple positions and he’s got some pop in his bat. Nice utility player, if we can hold onto him.
metsfan4decades
3/25/2011-12:07pm at 12:07 pm (UTC -4)
That and I don’t want to give Atlanta anything that could remotely help them.
TRS86
3/25/2011-12:31pm at 12:31 pm (UTC -4)
Just saying he is a guy that most likely we will get all worked up for that will never really be worth getting worked up over.
TRS86
3/25/2011-12:34pm at 12:34 pm (UTC -4)
Gotay AAA: .273 .384 .428 .812 career: .277 .374 .428 .802
Evans AAA: .249.319 .467 .786 career: .274 .341 .479 .820
Prismo
3/25/2011-12:02pm at 12:02 pm (UTC -4)
I’d be fine with it…it’s not like the Mets would be giving them Evans for nothing. He’s not going anywhere with the Mets, for better or worse.
Mr North Jersey
3/25/2011-11:55am at 11:55 am (UTC -4)
Nice job Rusty. I saw that Ruben’s article
http://proxy.espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/17630/alderson-predicts-rule-5-picks-staying
Was based on the reply Alderson gave to your question so I tweeted Rubin to see if he would give you a shout out since it was your question thaat he used to base his post on.
Last I checked though no shout out.
Still again you represent the site well. Keep up the great work.
kingman 26
3/25/2011-12:23pm at 12:23 pm (UTC -4)
Pssst—It was I who suggested that Rusty ask that!
So please say hi to Adam for me!