Our season was over 1.5 months ago really, but the Mets offseason is already well underway. Bear with me, this will be long.

- First order of business, Sandy Alderson needs to be hired. Not only is he a thinking man's GM, but he has a track record of having a firm grasp of control over the organization, which the Mets GM needs to have in order to tell Jeff Wilpon to go fuck himself with his silver spoon. He also is great at grooming young execs in to promising GMs. I'd think John Ricco is the guy he will groom.

- Wally Backman for manager. Fuck Bobby Valentine. Backman is the guy. A Mets guy who can manage and kick ass when he needs to. Only real choice. Experienced GM/young manager.

- Cut/unload/maim/murder Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez. Sunk costs.

After that, there is not much that can be done from a player acquisition standpoint. We are committed to $108M already in 12 players with 5 more due raises via arbitration. We'll be looking at having $10-15M available and MAYBE as much as $20M, but that is doubtful unless the new GM can sell the Wilpon's on a vision. Lee and Crawford are pretty much out of the question (they will both be playing in NYC though) and there really isn't much out there in terms of quality after that to be honest.

In terms of organizational player movement, I expect Jenrry Mejia to start in the rotation should he get healthy but be taken care of as Phil Hughes has been. Maybe get him up to 120-130 IP next year. I expect Pagan to be given a fulltime position out of camp and for Daniel Murphy to be given every chance to win the 2B position (yuck, get me defense).

Lastly, I think a lot of thinking will need to be done in terms of what Jose Reyes' value is going forward and whether or not you want to extend his contract after his club option for next season. If you feel that he is not a "winning player" or won't live up to what he will likely earn on the open market ($13-15M per IMO) then the Mets really need to examine trading him. Frankly, I can't fathom trading he or Wright, but it needs to be at least looked at.

Really, there isn't much hope for 2011 but with some good young players and $60M coming off the books for 2012 this is a bridge year. Hope Bay and Beltran (in his last contract year) bounce back healthy and that Johan Santana can pitch somewhat like the Johan of old and maybe you play some meaningful games in September.

10/12/2010 9:40:13 AM

lock suspend!

iop1

and change your status name!

10/12/2010 9:51:51 AM

Haha this tread sucks. You needs pictures or stats man.

10/12/2010 12:41:39 PM

really, already?

[Edited on October 12, 2010 at 12:43 PM. Reason : ]

10/12/2010 12:43:03 PM

Every official thread should have a cool picture as the first post so you see it every time you reply. See my bobcats thread for a good example. Instead, we have to read your drivel.


And its going to be a lost season. Should've just made the 2012 thread instead.

10/12/2010 12:45:55 PM

I agree with basically everything you said. 2011 should be interesting though. We have players...Ike, Reyes, Wright, Bay, Pagan, Santana, Beltran. If we want to be competitive at all we need these guys to perform well (Bay, I'm talking about you) and stay healthy (I know that's not really controllable). We have some talent...I agree that our team really needs a makeover. Even though I don't expect a whole lot of the Mets in 2011, I'm still ready for the season to start.

10/12/2010 9:40:56 PM

dont read too much into anything, the mets will suck and if they turn out ok then they will choke and miss the playoffs

10/12/2010 11:54:36 PM

^ can we at least get some original trolling in here?

10/13/2010 2:15:59 AM

and I wanted to be your mod...

10/13/2010 2:30:33 AM

Slave, I'm original. I don't need to conform to TWW protocol.

This thread is all about business. It doesn't need the frills.

10/13/2010 8:12:57 AM

Holy crap, they actually made the correct decision and hired Alderson!!

10/27/2010 11:48:38 AM

Good hire with Alderson....now we need a manager.

10/27/2010 11:57:22 AM

Just for you NyM410

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?threadid=2326565

10/27/2010 3:07:37 PM

Wally is interviewing tomorrow..

But more importantly the Mets are building a dream team of sorts in the front office. Alderson is a great organizer and front man, Ricciardi will rebuild the farm system from the ground up and now they are going after DePodesta who is a renowned sabermetrics guy.

Love the direction the Wilpons are going for once!

11/5/2010 10:48:01 AM

Ricciardi and DePodesta are the Moneyball all-stars

Also, they have not been very good at their jobs

11/5/2010 10:58:58 AM

What are their jobs? Both were exposed as GMs but neither is going to be GM. And Ricciardi built a very nice young core in Toronto. They are certainly both bright young baseball minds..

11/5/2010 11:09:01 AM

Ricciardi is 51.

Besides, all this means dick if we won't bring the fences in. Good luck growing any home grown hitters in that park.

11/5/2010 11:13:36 AM

I'm very excited about the home-grown talent going into next year. Joining Wright and Reyes as full-season starters will be Thole and Davis. If Murphy can adapt to 2B, this is going to be a young, energetic, and talented team.

(Angel Pagan too, but he isn't home grown. I'm also curious to see what happens with Martinez...if Beltran goes sooner rather than later, he should be starting too)

Without any position pickups in the free agent market, we could very well see this lineup:

Reyes
Pagan
Davis
Wright
Beltran
Bay
Murphy
Thole

Maybe not divisional winners yet, but WAY better than last season if everyone stays healthy. We just need a higher level #2 starter, a proven closer that doesn't beat his wife, and more reliable relievers.

[Edited on November 8, 2010 at 11:39 PM. Reason : -]

11/8/2010 11:33:01 PM

Mets fan optimism - cue Family Guy Mets fan Stewie gif.

11/9/2010 9:18:52 AM

You have to admit this is the best front office the Mets have had since the 80s easily.

And the ballpark size isn't close to the most important thing. AT&T is a cavern too..

^^ Pagan is homegrown but the Cubs took him in the Rule V before we traded for him again.

Fwiw 2011 is going to be bad but I'm ok with that..

[Edited on November 9, 2010 at 10:03 AM. Reason : X]

11/9/2010 10:00:32 AM

I think the size of Citi Field is over blown...

In 2010 the Mets hit one more HR on the road than they did at Citi Field. And in 2009, they hit more HRs at Citi Field than on the road. Simply put, the Mets lack power.

However, the Mets pitchers allowed only 47 HRs at Citi Field (best in baseball) and allowed 88 on the road (near the bottom of the NL).

So it seems that players that play at Citi Field have gotten used to its dimensions as there is virtually no drop off in power at Citi Field compared to on the road. Visiting teams apparently do have a problem with the dimensions. So, which would you rather have? I prefer to keep it the same...it gives us a home-field advantage.

11/9/2010 11:58:15 AM

Looks like Terry Collins will be named the Mets manager.

He managed the Astros from '94-'96 and the Angels from '97-'99...all time 444-434 record.

Not sure what to think about this...he wasn't my #1 choice. But I guess it's alright.

[Edited on November 21, 2010 at 5:28 PM. Reason : correction]

11/21/2010 5:27:17 PM

I don't envy Sandy Alderson. He has a difficult decision looming. Reyes and Crawford are stunningly similar offensive players by the numbers... But Jose is 3 years younger and plays a premium position to a near elite level. His contract talks, if he can prove his health should START at Crawford's level.

The Mets can't afford to get bogged down with longterm duds again and he has a ton of trade value. Really interesting season of decisions ahead..

12/10/2010 1:30:49 PM

Congratulations! You're #1!

Quote :

"Q. The Mets’ poor performance each of the past few years can’t be blamed on a low payroll, as they are almost always at the top of the list in terms of team payroll. They have to be at the top of your list of the most poorly run franchises in Chapter 6, right? I haven’t read the book yet but had to ask. – Mitch A. Right at the top of the list of the worst-managed teams of the 2000s. Not only did the Mets spend a lot, they didn’t win much either. The Mets problem is easy to identify: The Mets have a habit of signing high-dollar stars rather than focusing on building a better internal scouting structure. The Mets have developed some good prospects, but they have a penchant for buying players when they are expensive. Some examples of bad contracts include signing Oliver Perez to a three-year, $36 million contract in 2009, signing Francisco Rodriguez to a three-year, $37 million contract in 2009, and signing Luis Castillo to a four-year, $25 million contract in 2008. In 2010, the team was not ready to contend yet signed Jason Bay to a four-year, $66 million deal. Both Bay and Rodriguez were also huge disappointments in 2010. I think it’s fun to compare the strategies of the Mets and the Twins, whom I find to be the second best-managed team in the 2000s (the best was the Oakland A’s, but I think that team has been covered enough). During the last decade, the Twins averaged $32 million more in playing value than they doled out in player salaries, while the Mets paid out an average of $25 million more than they received in playing value. Before the 2008 season, the Mets acquired via trade and then signed former Twins star Johan Santanta when his performance was at its peak. Though he has been quite good for the Mets, the Twins had no problem winning and avoided paying the ace starter almost $23 million/year for six years. In the three seasons since, the Twins have made the playoffs twice, and the Mets have missed the post-season every year. How did the Twins do it? The key to success lies in acquiring young talent when the collective bargaining rules allow teams to pay players far less than their market value. For their first six years of big-league service, the salaries that players receive are restricted by MLB’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Twins exploited these rules by developing talent within their organization, while the Mets concentrated on bringing already-developed talent in. Comparing their 2010 rosters, the Twins drafted 21 of their players, which is equal to the number of players the Mets had signed as free agents. By building a strong farm system, the Twins have been able to survive with young and cheap talent. The Mets’ market size ought to give them an advantage that allows them to sign better players, but the spending strategy the club has adopted clearly hasn’t worked. If the Mets had adopted the Twins’ method of operation — spending far less for players than they receive in playing value — they might be the most valuable franchise in sports."

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/21/the-baseball-economist-answers-your-questions/

12/22/2010 7:53:51 PM

They pay for what players have done, not for what they're expected to do over the course of their new contract. They're like the suckers who take Vick in the first round of their drafts next year. Past returns are not indicative of future results, and hopefully Alderson finally realizes that.

[Edited on December 22, 2010 at 8:55 PM. Reason : x]

12/22/2010 8:55:00 PM

Neither Reyes nor Beltran are guaranteed to still be on the team by July. I'm ok losing Beltran, but I just can't imagine letting go of Reyes. No one could replace what he gives to the team.

1/7/2011 2:33:03 PM

^I really hope Reyes stays a Met. I love watching him play.

Oh...and the Mets have signed Chris Capuano, Taylor Buchholz, and Ronny Paulino. Nothing earth shattering.

1/7/2011 7:52:03 PM

Mets have agreed to a deal with pitcher Chris Young...pending a physical.
http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/news/story?id=6031066

1/18/2011 12:15:18 AM

1/20/2011 3:24:10 PM

Worst owners in all of professional sports?

Quote :

"For the owners of the Mets, their involvement with Bernard L. Madoff’s giant investment fraud has been embarrassing and costly. They are being sued for hundreds of millions of dollars, and have been accused of having been, at minimum, willfully ignorant of what Madoff was up to. But for the owners, Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, it is not the first time they have had their names and personal fortunes roughed up in a Ponzi scheme. An investment firm started by the two men had to pay back nearly $13 million two years ago when a hedge fund run by the scion of a wealthy New Orleans family collapsed in what was then regarded as one of Wall Street’s more brazen frauds."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/31/sports/baseball/31mets.html

1/31/2011 2:31:12 PM

Good time to be a Mets fan.

1/31/2011 2:51:30 PM

This sucks. I always kinda of liked Fred Wilpon. Wasn't a huge fan of him as an owner, but he seemed like a good, hardworking guy.

The recent news is that he is going to be FORCED to sell the team with the over $1B suit hanging over his head. I really, really don't want Mark Cuban to buy the team as people are suggesting may happen. Sure, the Mets have been a circus the last few years but I don't feel like listening to that clown every time the Mets lose a game... the New York media bad enough.

2/5/2011 8:31:56 AM

Ok, I have admittedly been disconnected from the Mets this offseason. A lot of that was due to the Jets success and a lot of that was due to just needing to take a step back from the organization for a bit.

But anyway, with pitchers and catchers a few days away I'm back on board. 2011 should be the lowest expectations a Mets team has had in the David Wright/Jose Reyes era. No one is expecting anything and the talk is more about the owners than the teams. Maybe that is a good thing?

This is what Opening Day is looking at right now.

C Jose Thole
1B Ike Davis
2B Luis Castillo (yuck)
SS Jose Reyes
3B David Wright
LF Jason Bay
CF Carlos Beltran
RF Angel Pagan

That is still a very stout offensive lineup. Of course that is pending the bounce back of Jason Bay (which I expect -- NYC baseball history is littered with very good players who struggle in year one) and the health of Carlos Beltran (this is a lot iffier).

The bench is pretty poor IMO...

C Ronny Paulino (Mike Nickeas until he Paulino serves his PED stint)
2B Chin-lung Hu
1B/2B/3B Danny Murphy -- he is actually going to be a solid fifth infielder
OF Scott Hairston
OF Willie Harris

--------------

Pitching is a disaster. I have no effing clue what they are going to do. Not a single sure thing and Johan still hasn't even started throwing despite being cleared to do so. Probably looking at late May/early June for his return.

SP Mike Pelfrey
SP Jon Niese
SP Chris Young
SP R.A. Dickey
SP Chris Capuano

Two major health issues and three major question marks. Not a single sure thing and in this division (which ultimately will be the best in baseball the next decade or so IMO) that is a bad sign.

Bullpen ain't much better:

CL Frankie Rodriguez
SU Bobby Parnell
SU Manny Acosta
P DJ Carrasco
P Taylor Bucholz
LONG Oliver Perez

--------------

That's what most of the 25-man roster will look like in all likelihood.

I'm going with 83 wins and third place.

2/10/2011 10:39:10 AM

Phillies fan here, NL East champs 2011!

2/10/2011 11:15:16 AM

^^ I think the Marlins will finish ahead of the Mets again.

Also

Quote :

"SP Chris Capuano"

I thought he retired or something. I think I'd rather have Kawakami as my #5 before Capuano.



[Edited on February 10, 2011 at 4:45 PM. Reason : df]

2/10/2011 4:45:38 PM

On paper, that's the worst NL East rotation I can remember

Mets finish dead last, I'm calling it now

And I actually hope Capuano has a great season so NyM is forced to cheer for a Duke guy

2/10/2011 5:16:49 PM

I have pretty low expectations for the season...I think a lot of people do. But I'm ready for the season to start. New coaching, new management...same ol' Oliver Perez though.


Go Mets

2/10/2011 10:00:25 PM

i have no expectations for this season

but to clear a ton of payroll after the season

2/10/2011 10:21:05 PM

^exactly what he said

2/10/2011 10:29:34 PM

I do this to myself every year, but I can conceivably see the offense being a Top 3 offense in the NL. It's all about pitching, pitching, pitching. IF Pelfrey and Niese can continue to mature and Dickey can replicate his season last year they can at least be competitive with the rest of the division sans Philly.

[Edited on February 10, 2011 at 10:31 PM. Reason : lots of IFs but a reason to watch nonetheless]

2/10/2011 10:30:56 PM

dont do it nym

i've been taking the bait for years now

kinda like state basketball

2/10/2011 10:47:05 PM

^Same with me...Being a State fan and a Mets fan leads to lot of disappointment.

2/10/2011 10:52:24 PM

Your ace is still R.A. Dickey

Let that sink in

[Edited on February 10, 2011 at 11:45 PM. Reason : There are Mets R.A. Dickey tribute videos on Youtube lol]

2/10/2011 11:44:35 PM

RA Dickey is the man, fuck you

2/10/2011 11:49:04 PM

As a Braves fan, I'm happy any time I see him on the mound

2/10/2011 11:50:57 PM

Quote :

"dont do it nym i've been taking the bait for years now kinda like state basketball"

Eh, State basketball is nothing to me compared to the Mets... if you can't get optimistic in Spring then you aren't a baseball fan; no matter how bad the team actually will be.

I just watched the OTL segment on Wilpon/Madoff. It really is depressing how quickly and how far they've fallen since 2006. I really, honestly thought that was the start of something really good with the Mets.

I have a feeling this will be the last year we see Jose Reyes in a Mets jersey and that is really, really depressing. Also, hard to believe Reyes and Wright will be 28 this year.

2/13/2011 10:26:51 AM

Quote :

"Your ace is still R.A. Dickey Let that sink in"

I would argue that our "ace" should be Pelfrey...

But it's hard to argue with a 2.84 ERA....

2/13/2011 3:14:18 PM

Good to see Carlos Beltran swinging free and easy and with only a neoprene brace. As I said before, I can see this offense being very, very good. Top 3 in the NL with any luck at all.

Pitching is still a disaster and I really hope that K-Rod doesn't hit his vesting innings count. We really don't need to be paying that prick $17.5M in 2012.

** Grapefruit starts next Saturday. Mejia on Sat and then Pelfrey on Sun the headliners.

[Edited on February 20, 2011 at 11:19 AM. Reason : x]

2/20/2011 11:16:48 AM

Mets/Nats replay on MLBN

RA Dickey sounds like a woman

2/28/2011 10:06:08 PM

Watching the Bobcats and Mets player management these past several years has me fully convinced I could be a successful GM in either sport

Quote :

"Mets cut Luis Castillo, eat $6M PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Second baseman Luis Castillo has been released by the New York Mets with one year and $6 million remaining on his contract."

3/18/2011 11:57:14 AM