Mets Fans Forever

Jose Reyes To Start 2010 Season On The Disabled List

Author: Greg Pomes

Sorry if I gave all you Mets fans a heart attack with headline but it's true Jose Reyes will be on the disabled list to start the 2010 season.  The good news is that it won't be a long stay on the disabled list.  Jon Heyman for SI.com says: 

"Mets doctors have advised Reyes and the team not to rush him back for Opening Day on Monday against the Marlins, and the team plans to comply with the doctors orders.  The plan is to place Reyes on the disabled list and back-date it so he could be ready for the fifth game of the season next Saturday versus the Nationals."

This I believe has nothing to do with his hamstring or the thyroid condition, it's just for Reyes to get some more training time.  I think this is the right move because Jose Reyes did miss almost 3 weeks of Spring Training in order to get his thyroid levels back to normal. During that time Jose was not allowed to do ANY physical activity including running, stretching, etc...  

It would be nice to be able to hear Jose Reyes' name announced at Opening Day and see him running out of the dugout and onto the field with his teammates but I'd rather see Jose Reyes play baseball at Citi Field throughout the year so if he misses 5 games or so it's not a big deal.

Chris Carter Should Start The Season At 1st Base!

AUTHOR: GREG POMES

With the news that Daniel Murphy will start the 2010 season on the DL the debates will now be who should start the season as the everyday first baseman.  Jerry Manuel has gone on record saying that Mike Jacobs is a veteran 1st baseman and it's his job going into the season.  Of course members of the media and the fan base are screaming for Ike Davis to come up from AAA and start the season as the 1st baseman.

I commend the Mets for not giving into media and fan pressure and keeping Ike Davis down at AAA at least for the start of the 2010 season.  Davis has not had a lot of at bats at the minor league level and his defense needs a little seasoning.  

The idea of Jacobs in this lineup to start the season is not a good idea in my opinion.  You look at the opening day projected lineup and there are a lot of potential swing and misses guys including Jacobs.  Also this Spring Jacobs has not been all that impressive at the plate hitting just .194.  

Chris Carter, one of the players that the Mets got from the Red Sox in the Billy Wagner trade has impressed me this Spring.  Carter is hitting .407 with 4 homeruns during the Spring.  His defense at 1st is better than Jacobs and he doesn't strikeout as much as Mike Jacobs does.  This trade caused the Mets to lose 2 draft picks since Wagner was a Type A free agent and he was not going to accept arbitration with the Mets since he wants to finish his career as a starter, let's see what Carter can do at the big league level.  

Daniel Murphy To Miss 2-6 Weeks With MCL Sprain

Author: Greg Pomes

Daniel Murphy injured his knee yesterday afternoon in a Spring Training game.  Today he got an MRI and the MRI brought bad news to Murph and the Mets revealing a Grade 1 Sprain of the MCL in his right knee.  This means that Murphy will be placed on the disabled list to start the season and Mike Jacobs looks like the most likely to start the season the Mets everyday 1st baseman.  

Mets Should Make Trade For Mike Lowell!

AUTHOR: GREG POMES

It's been no secret this past off season the Boston Red Sox would like to trade third baseman Mike Lowell. The Red Sox are willing to pay most of Lowell's 12 million dollar contract and would only require a "B" level prospect.  Lowell can play 1st base and still some 3rd base at the age of 36.  If the Mets did trade for Lowell this would make him the everyday 1st baseman.

If the Red Sox will pay most of his contract and will only require a B level prospect this is a trade the Mets should make.  The options for 1st base for the Mets are Daniel Murphy, Fernando Tatis, Mike Jacobs and Ike Davis.  Davis is not ready for the majors yet and will be sent down to the minors when the season starts.  Murphy and Tatis are both struggling mightly this Spring.  Jacobs has performed a little better this Spring but not enough to win the everyday job.  

Lowell did have surgery on his thumb but he's 100% and ready to play.  Last year the 36 year old hit for .290.  He also had 17 homerun's and drove in 75 runs.  Lowell is a gamer, he's a good clubhouse guy and he has experience winning.  

The only drawback for me is that he is a righty joining an already heaving righty team but that is not reason enough to not make this trade.  The Mets could also platoon him with Murphy to keep Lowell fresh.  Also if Lowell does get hurt unlike last year the Mets do have depth now at 1st with Murphy and of course Ike Davis is waiting in the wings.

Jerry Manuel Would Not Use Mejia In The 8th Inning!

Author: Greg Pomes

If you talk to Mets General Manager Omar Minaya 20 year old prospect Jenrry Mejia is going to start 2010 in the minor leagues, end of story.  I'm guessing that Jerry Manuel has a listening problem as he continues to talk about the possibility of Mejia joining the team after camp breaks.  I'll put aside the communications problems for now, as Jerry today said that he wouldn't use Mejia in the 8th inning!  

This makes no sense at all.  The Mets don't have a setup guy to provide the bridge to K-Rod. Mejia has been lights out this Spring so far.  I personally want him to start in the minors but if he does make the team then it needs to be as a setup guy, not a guy that comes in the 6th or 7th inning.  If Manuel would use him that way the Mets might as well send him down to the minors.  I personally think that if Mejia makes the team he should be the 8th inning guy, he has had the best Spring out of everyone else who would be up for the job.  

This shows that Jerry Manuel either likes to hear himself talk and read about his comments in the papers or he is just clueless on how to run a bullpen.  I think it might be both! Hopefully Omar sticks to his guns and Mejia will start in AA and work his way up to the majors.

By the Numbers

Author: Clare Lafferty

As I was watching the Mets spring training game yesterday, I saw Rod Barajas come to the plate wearing number 21. And it struck me  - - there are certain numbers, although not officially retired, that should not be worn because of the players that came before.

Number 21 for me will always be Cleon Jones. He was my first favorite Met and had a career year in 1969. His batting average that year still stands as a Mets record for highest average. He made some great plays in the outfield and was one of the Mets' first real power hitters.

Number 20 - has to be Tommie Agee. Agee was an amazing defensive center fielder and he was a great hitter as well providing a 1-2 punch with Jones in the Mets lineup.

Here are some other numbers that I think should be "unofficially" retired - Doc Gooden's#16, Buddy Harrelson's #3, Straw's #39 and Mike Piazza's # 31.

There are also some current Mets that have the potential to join that list - the list of players that when you see a number, it is only them that you think of. When I think of Number 5, it was Ed Charles, until David Wright came along. Same with Number 7- it was Ed Kranepool and is now Jose Reyes. And when Johan Santana is finished as a Met, maybe Number 57 will be included in that list.

I wonder sometimes why the Mets have not retired some of these numbers already. According to me, these numbers will only have one meaning - Mets that have made a mark on the organization and its fans forever.

I'll Take Good/Bad Ollie Over '09 Ollie

AUTHOR: GREG POMES

It looks like Good/Bad Ollie is back in business this Spring.  Of course I'm talking about Oliver Perez.  Watching him the last 3 years we have seen signs of dominance from him but we have also witnessed him getting dominated.  We've seen him destroy the Yankees lineup for 8 innings and then in his next outing he has given up 5-8 runs without making it out of the 1st inning.  That is Good/Bad Ollie at his inconsistent best.  

We all know that Oliver Perez is inconsistent.  Fans of the Mets wished for a consistent Oliver Perez and last year we kind of got our wish as Oliver was consistently bad, though he did have a knee injury that would eventually require surgery and end his season.

In Ollie's first outing this Spring he threw 49 pitches, 33 were called strikes.  That's the good news.  The bad news was that he gave up 5 runs in that game.  Obviously Bad Ollie was pitching that day.  In his next outing Ollie pitched 4 innings, allowed no hits but did allow 2 walks back to back but was able to work out of it.  That was Good Ollie.

I think at best Oliver Perez is an inconsistent player.  Ollie is going to give you a great outing in one start, followed perhaps by an abysmal start the next game.  If that is the case then so be it.  I hate that this guy who makes 36 million is going to pitch like this but he's on the team for the next 2 seasons so we'll just have to accept it.  Remember Ollie has always been inconsistent.  In 2007 Ollie did win 15 games and he was inconsistent then too.  I know in 2008 he only won 10 games but remember 2008 was the collapse of the bullpen, perhaps he would have won 3-5 more games with a more reliable pen that year. He was healthy those years so if Ollie stays healthy and wins 15 games or more this year then I will be satisfied with Good/Bad Ollie pitching for the Mets.

Putting This Season In Perspective Before It Starts

Author: Will Hernandez

The Mets three weeks from tonight open the 2010 season against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field. Johan Santana has yet to throw a single pitch from the stadium rubber, but the season is over according to fans' reactions on the airwaves and throughout the blogosphere.

I've been watching baseball long enough to know you don't write off a season in March. The marathon, sprint analogy used to describe the season couldn't be more accurate. But don't think I fail to recognize the challenges facing this team

The news about Jose Reyes' overactive thyroid has contributed to a large part of the negativity surrounding the Mets. No one is sure when Reyes will return and combine his absence with that of Beltran's appears to put the Mets in an early hole to start the season. The Mets will probably not have a full lineup until May.

It's difficult to remain optimistic, but there is some hope if you take a closer look at last year's numbers. Many people tend to forget the Mets led the National League with a .270 batting average. Batting average can be a misleading stat, but the Mets achieved that number mostly without the services of Carlos Delgado, Beltran and Reyes. One of the biggest problems, obviously, was driving in runs and it appears the Mets have addressed with Jason Bay.

There are other signs the Mets will do a better job scoring runs. David Wright again appears to have found himself at the plate. And while it's only spring training, Wright is driving the ball to all fields again.

Bay and Jeff Francoeur are struggling this spring, but they have a history of being RBI men. Those guys will drive in a bunch of runs if there are runners on before them. Reyes and Beltran are a big part of that equation, but it's not like the two are out the entire season. I hope I just didn't jinx them.

Let Jenrry Mejia Be Jenrry Mejia

Author: Greg Pomes

Spring Training has started and before you know it exhibition baseball will be over and the regular season will be in full bloom.  With Spring Training comes high expectations and the chance to see some of our potential stars that will hopefully one day play in Flushing.

The prospects spend time in the batting cages and throwing bullpen sessions; they impress the coaches and some of the writers and talk starts of them possibly going to the major leagues.  Unfortunately people get a little ahead of themselves and start comparing potential prospects to baseball greats. 

If you have been following the Mets Spring Training pitching prospect Jenrry Mejia has been impressing the press and the coaches, Darryl Strawberry and especially manager Jerry Manuel.  Jerry Manuel this past week has compared Mejia to Yankees closer Mariano Rivera.  Keep in mind that Mejia has not pitched in the major leagues yet and he’s only 20 years old.  Mejia has also had problems pitching in the minors.  From what everyone says Mejia’s fastball is electric and has a lot of movement. 

Mejia might one day be a great pitcher but it’s too soon to be comparing him to the best closer in the history of baseball.  Mejia is a prospect for a New York team, does he really needed the extra added pressure of being compared to Rivera at 20 years of age before he plays in the major leagues?  Let’s let him develop his arm and his skill as a pitcher and earn a spot on the roster before we start comparing him to some other player.  In fact I’ll give you one better idea: let’s let Mejia be Jennry Mejia.