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Who’s the man with the master plan?

Apr 20, 2010 By 1 Comment

I was gonna write this article last night after me and Eddie went back and forth with a few texts, but I decided against not contaminating the excitement of Ike’s Major League premiere with my negative karma. I am gonna wright it now because I feel it’s something that has to be asked, and I’d love to get an answer that’s for sure.

Who exactly has the master plan for the New York Mets? The reason I ask is because this entire debacle at first base stinks of desperation and it really illustrates the lack of an overall plan or strategy by the Mets front office. I feel this is the reason that neither Omar or Jerry should have been brought back this season, you create an environment that undermines them from the get go, because everyone knows they very likely dead-men-walking.

So who is calling the shots? Who is looking out for the Mets best interest long term? I do believe that Omar is trying to do this. I very much expected him to have no problem trading off anything in a win now type of trade, or overspending on free-agent pitching figuring what does he care if it handcuffs the team 5 years down the road … he probably wont be here by then. To his credit he didn’t do this, and I actually felt he did well by staying away from certain players (I felt Lackey was overpriced and too risky a move for the Mets).

With that said I find it hard to believe that Ike Davis has suddenly matured enough to be ready for the Major Leagues after two weeks. I can’t believe that when management said at the end of spring training that Ike needed to see more left-handed pitching, that they were talking about twenty at bats? And exactly who’s idea was it to sit Ike down for over a week at the end of spring training getting no at bats, if he was possibly being called up 2 weeks into the season.

I know nobody can predict the future, but all signs point to the Mets having no desire to call up Ike any time soon, yet here we are in game 12 and Ike has been called up. For the record I think it was the right move, and a good one, but it really makes me wonder just who is the man with the plan here.

I am a lifer. I am a Mets fan for life. I am one of those rare fans that would not mortgage the next five years just to assemble a team for this season. In fact I hate when teams do that. I have to worry about the farm system because those are the guys I will be cheering on in 3-4-5 years. So who is looking out for these things? You know Jerry isn’t. And to be true it’s kind of unrealistic to expect Omar to truly do this given his precarious standing. So who is it? This confusion has me really worried. Is it the Wilpons? Oh please God no. Is it Ricco? Acting in a sort of checks-and-balances fashion with Omar? That might sound good, but then what is the point of having Omar at all? If you have so little confidence in the guy then get rid of him already. All your doing then is turning this Mets job into one that premium candidate’s will not want down the road.

It’s this mixed message we continue to get that worries me deeply. All spring we heard how there was no way Jenrry Mejia would break camp with the club. Yet here he is on the roster. Then we heard all about Ike needing to mature, and face lefties, and polish his fielding, and two weeks later he’s called up. How is it that Ike wasn’t ready to be in the lineup on opening day, yet suddenly he’s ready to be our savior? It doesn’t add up.

I like Ike, and I would much rather watch him learn at first then either Jacobs, Murphy, or Tatis. But the truth is it sure looks like a move of desperation. A franchise that feels it’s losing it’s fan base and sees this as a move to satisfy them, and to draw attention away from other places (did you notice the news breaking of Beltran seeing the Dr. that broke during Ike’s first game? Fishy).

Hopefully I am just being a beaten, cynical Mets fan, but I wasn’t born this way, I was created over many years by our beloved team.

Filed Under: 2010 Mets, Blogging Tagged With: , , , ,

Jenrry Mejia will make opening day roster

Mar 29, 2010 By 4 Comments

It looks like 20 year old spring training phenom Jenrry Mejia is going to make the Mets opening day roster.  In what role nobody knows but it looks like he will come north with the club and be a part of their opening day bullpen.

Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com (launches Friday) has reported that Sean Green and Bobby Parnell will be demoted to AAA.  Probably more because they have options left then entirely on performance, though Green hasn’t looked very good this spring.

This would probably mean, as MetsBlog points out, that Nelson Figueroa will make the roster as well.  This is good in my eyes cause Figgy has pitched well and affords the Mets a lot of options with the way he can be the long man out of the pen and also make a spot start in an emergency.  I also have a soft spot for Figgy as he’s a guy that really wants to play in New York.

That would leave one spot to be occupied by either Mejia or Kiko Calero.  Calero has pitched fairly well and despite his late addition to the squad has shown improvements each week.  I would still have to lean to Mejia making the club as he has largely been dominant this spring, and is potentially the best fit as an 8th inning guy.  I’d like to see him matched up against batters that have already seen him a few times to see if they are able to figure him out at all.  At this point I am ok with bringing Mejia up.  I would rather see him in AAA for more seasoning but the fact is he is the best option and starting him in AAA would downgrade the big club.

Obviously nothing is 100% at this point, but this is the way it’s looking like it will shake out.

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The Mets need to be careful with Mejia

Mar 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Ted Burg from over at TedQuarters.net writes a good article on why people need to be careful when comparing Jenrry Mejia with other pitchers from the past.  People like to bring up names of pitchers that had success as young as Mejia.  They also like to talk about guys who started in the bullpen and then were able to make the transition back to the starting rotation.

Ted says:

And heck, for all I know, Jenrry Mejia can dominate out of the Mets’ bullpen this year while at the same time perfecting that secondary arsenal, then transition smoothly into the rotation next year to become a frontline starter and serve as a comp for all sorts of future young pitchers to come.


But as far as I’m concerned, it’s hard enough for a prospect to turn into a frontline starter without obstacles to his development, and the Mets would be best served making Mejia’s path to becoming a big-league frontline starter as smooth and effortless as possible.

It could be a pivotal moment for Mejia whenever the Mets make their decision on what to do with him.  It’s my opinion that all pitchers should be starting pitchers, until proven otherwise.  But as the debate rages on I can see a lot of merit on how Mejia, at 20, starting in the bullpen could be a good thing for his progression.

It’s merits back and forth under consideration, I think it’s going to boil down to can this guy help the club right now?  With both the Manger and the GM sitting in the fire with their jobs on the line, do we really expect them to make a decision for the long term betterment of the club?

It will be interesting to watch, that’s for sure.

Read: Why the common comps on Jenrry Mejia are not good comps for Jenrry Mejia.

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The kids are kicking down the door

Mar 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Consider this your warning incumbents. Your years of experience, your huge contracts in some cases, and your incumbent status don’t mean much to a team like the Mets. You need to work your ass off and perform. Because if you don’t, your gone. The kids are kicking down the door.

Have multiple prospects flourishing in spring training is a great problem to have.  The debate about what should be done with them is fun for fans. When they fully deserve to win the starting  job, yet you can still leave them down in AAA to season a bit longer. It’s a great position to be in.

Even if they do get sent down to AAA they will still have a great impact on the big club. Just their presence down there, a phone call away, should really push players who are reminded every day by the media that their jobs are in jeopardy. Guys like Daniel Murphy and Jeff Francoeur really need to get off to good starts. They really don’t have any wiggle room when you consider the springs that Ike Davis and Fernando Martinez are having.

If the Mets didn’t really love Frenchy and what he brings to the clubhouse, you can bet they would already be considering starting FMart in RF. Why RF? They wouldn’t make that move for a 1 month audition to cover Beltran. They would want to bring the kid up and let him play.  Additionally there are a lot of people close to the Mets that don’t think FMart is a centerfielder. This is puzzling because all he does in the minors is play CF. Ike Davis on the other hand has really done everything he can to be the opening day firstbaseman. Unfortunately with Murhpy the Mets hands are sort of tied. They have to give him a chance since there is no where else to play the guy. They have to at least give him a chance to build up value so they can then trade him for some value.   If Murphy struggles either at the plate or in the field, Ike could be here sooner rather then later. I think Murphy get’s one shot, they will not coddle him like they did last year. He will get a chance to flourish, or fall flat.

There are other players that are really lighting up camp. Maybe you’ve heard the name Jenrry Mejia? If you haven’t then you really haven’t been paying attention. Aside from all the comparison nonsense I think the biggest question about this kid is do we potentially hamper his progression as a starting pitcher by pitching him in the bullpen this year? It’s really a matter of team philosophy.  He is very young so by pitching him in the pen you will limit his innings and allow him to learn in the bigs a bit.  By doing so you will slow down his development of extra pitches that are imperative if he is ever going to be a major league starter. This decision is coming, be it before or after opening day, but it’s a tough decision that is going to have to be made.  It could have ramifications down the road for Mejia, so it needs to be made with caution.

Omar has already been forced to change his mind. Two weeks ago he said publicly there was no way Mejia was staying up with the club for opening day. That he was definitely being sent down to the minors. A few days ago he changed that statement saying he was definitely in the competition for a bullpen job.

There are other guys too: Josh Thole and Reese Havens to name two. Wonderkid Wilmer Flores is still very young, but all of them are showing promise. Lets hope the days of fat-cat players that are rich and lazy for this team are over. We need to build within in order to push the players at the top. Let’s also hope that Omar doesn’t go and completely trade away the farm in an effort to save his job, which is a big worry of mine. I am a fan for life so I think long term/big picture, Omar is a GM for another year, at best.

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Mejia In Mix

Mar 17, 2010 By 1 Comment

According to SNY Sportsnite, Omar Minaya is now saying that Jenrry Mejia is in the mix to make the team, which of course is a change from last weeks “headed to the minors.” According to SNY insider Eamon McAnaney, he still believes Mejia will be the odd man out but SNY and WFAN’s Marc Malusis, feels that Mejia will in deed be the setup man and Sean Green will be the odd man out. Moose claims that Manuel wants him and with Jerry and Omar’s jobs on the line expect some desperation moves. Stay tuned to this developing story!

Filed Under: 2010 Mets, Breaking News Tagged With: , , ,

Mejia, Davis could prove to be Amazin finds

Mar 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Spring training is a great time of year for a baseball fan.  Hope springs eternal.  Your team can be anything you can dream up.  One of the best parts of spring training is taking a look at your teams future.  You get to see the next generation out on the field wearing the blue and orange.

For the Mets the talk of this spring training has been almost totally focused on the promise of both Ike Davis and Jenrry Mejia.  It’s unilaterally accepted that both have bright futures, the question is whether that future is now or not.

Mike Vaccaro of the NY Post writes a great article about how these two phenoms could turn out to be “amazin” finds.

It’s what happens once everyone arrives that makes the spring fun. It’s watching Ike Davis blast baseballs toward spots at Tradition Field that only a select few sluggers have ever reached before.

It’s watching Jenrry Mejia sling baseballs toward opposing hitters with velocity that steals breath and breaking balls that buckle knees

It’s a great read with your cup of coffee on Sunday morning so give it a read!

Link: Mejia, Davis could prove to be Amazin finds!

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Get to know Mets phenom Jenrry Mejia

Mar 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Brian Costa of the Star-Ledger and NJ.com wrote a great article today giving us a look into the background of the Mets latest Spring Training phenom.  All the talk this spring has been about Jenrry Mejia’s bright future, but most of us know nothing about this kid.  I just realized I didn’t even know how to accurately spell his name.

It’s a cool story about a kid who saw big money and big potential chasing his version of the American Dream and worked hard to chase it.  Now at 20 years old he is the Mets top pitching prospect.

It’s a great Sunday morning read, give it a look!

Link: Mets pitching prospect Jenrry Mejia leaves shoe shining days behind for good

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