We're the Team to Beat - a Mets and Phillies Rivalry Blog
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18 February 2010
UPDATE: Johan says they had a catch together and the "can't grip a ball" rumors are not true. Well, damn -- forget everything I just said.
News out of Mets camp today, Kelvim Escobar has a sore shoulder to start out Spring Training. This is the guy who missed the last two season's with shoulder problems (torn labrum) and was a major injury risk coming in. $1.25 million dollars later, Escobar and his balky shoulder are having trouble again. On the surface this doesn't appear to be all that noteworthy -- first days of spring, old pitchers are going to have shoulder soreness.
However, if Hardball Talk has it correctly, Escobar can't even grip a baseball right now and that signifies a much, much bigger problem. I've had every type of shoulder soreness there is while playing ball. Tendonitis, subluxation, impingement, rotator cuff weakness, labrum soreness, you name it. Never once have I not been able to grip a baseball. If I'm a Mets fan, I wouldn't count on seeing Escobar in that set-up man role for too much of this season.
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16 February 2010
Finally, something in the Phillies universe to talk about. I don't know about you guys, but top 25 moments lists and recaps of last season aren't all that interesting. If the people want them, I will supply them, otherwise we will continue with relevant things to talk about. Today, we've got some comments from Ruben Amaro Jr. (our GM, if you didn't know that, leave now) included in a piece by Ken Rosenthal:
But right now, no team is more settled than the Phillies through 2011. In fact, the Phillies are so settled — and so expensive — that Amaro is not entirely kidding when he says he eventually might need to “disband” the roster.
The Phillies, according to the Cot’s Baseball Contracts web site, already have $132.4 million committed to 15 players in 2011— which, if you’re keeping score, is the season after this one.
Disband is a very strong word, however the point remains, this Phillies team is getting older and more expensive by the minute. If at some point the teams hits a major block in the road and falters, disbanding is not far out of the question.
“The payroll can’t continue to go north,” Amaro says. “When you get to a point where you’re basically at 100 percent capacity in your ballpark and 100 percent capacity almost in your revenues, somewhere it’s got to stop. I’m not crying poverty by any means. But at some point you have to be cognizant of where things are going.”
The Phillies have never been a "big market" team in the classic sense of the word. Yes, Philly is a big market, but the team only recently began to spend as such. The ownership isn't going to continue on a Mark Cuban/George Steinbrenner-like path to fiscal insanity. The road levels off and drops somewhere, most likely right where it is now around $110-130 million.
The choice, then, came down to this:
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One year of Lee, mediocre prospects for Blanton and the prospect of gaining two draft picks if Lee departed as a free agent or . . .
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Three years of Blanton and three better prospects for Lee.
Not so clear-cut, is it?
Especially not when, in Amaro’s view, the draft picks were less valuable than they appeared.
“Lee is likely to sign with a high-payroll club,” Amaro says. “If we get that pick, it could be somewhere between 25 and 30. That’s the first pick.
“...You’re not looking at slam dunks. You get after the 10th or 15th pick in baseball, you’re kind of rolling the dice... Plus, those guys that we’re drafting may not get to the big leagues for four, five or six years. They are so much further away.
“The whole scenario of ‘Let’s just go for broke and pick up the draft picks and that’s fine,’ that doesn’t serve the purpose of what we’re trying to do, which is put ourselves in a position to win every year.
"We’re going to have to start filtering in younger players for some of the guys who become less productive as they get older.”
Ruben is absolutely in his long-term assessment of the franchise (phew, otherwise we'd be in trouble), but I think he fails to see the ceiling a Lee/Halladay/Hamels team creates. Does talent directly lead to a championship? Hell no. But when you have a chance to distance yourself by such a wide margin, at such a low cost, don't you have to do it?
Yes, there needs to be young players to bridge the gap between retiring and diminishing players. And yes, the prospects we'd receive via draft may take 4 or 5 years from making the big club, but isn't that about the time we'd really need them. 4 or 5 years in when the Utley's and Howard's and Werth's are going to gone or on their way out. Why do we need a stocked farm system today? It's always good to have one, but there's a window where we're not exactly calling up blue-chippers because there's no room on the big club, right now.
Amaro says he would prefer to simply keep Howard “forever,” adding, “we have a little bit of time to deal with that.” But for the Phillies to retain Werth – or find a comparable right-handed hitter – something will have to give.
Things may look very different in Philly starting in 2011. Namely, the Ryan Howard negotiations could get messy and there are plenty of scenarios where we lose the big man. However, it is nice to see Amaro paying him his due respect and we can rest assured that the organization does in fact value him long-term.
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12 February 2010
The Mets had a busy day yesterday as they finalized minor league deals for 4 players, with a lot of incentives if they make the big league team. Here's a list and some links & analysis (I use that term lightly).
Mike Jacobs 1st Base
Jacobs was dealt to the Marlins in the trade that brought Delgado to the Mets. At the time he was a rookie with a lot of promise. I was intrigued by him at the time, but in no way was I sorry to see him go in order to bring in a player of Delgado's caliber. So with the lack of depth at first, on the surface, this appears to be a good move. After all, the Mets are power-starved, especially with the absence of Beltran at least until May. Unfortunately, hitting home runs is the only thing he does well. He strikes out a ton. Does not hit for average and plays poor defense. Some have already speculated that Murpy is a better defender at first after learning on the job last year (after all he is working with Keith Hernandez). So, there is a minimal benefit of a glorified DH on the Mets bench that would be better served by a more versatile option. I have been preaching defense this whole off-season as the best way to improve the Mets rotation after Lackey was taken off the board, and Jacobs does not embody that. Furthermore, if Jacobs doesn't make the team, is he going to sap playing time from Mets prospects Ike Davis & Nick Evans? Ted berg said it best here.
Hisanori Takahashi Pitcher
Takahashi, or Tak, is a Japanese All Star. He is a 5' 10" 35 year old left handed pitcher who has 5 pitches, the best being a screwball. He has been compared to Jaime Moyer...only with more velocity. He throws in the upper 80's BTW. The scouting report on him is that he will throw any of his pitches at anytime and keeps hitters off balance. This is normally the time I start quoting stats, but I won't. Why? Because they are Japanese League stats. Nevertheless, I do think his arsenal of pithes as well as his unfamiliarity to the league will pay immediate dividends (at least until the league catches up to him). He is being given the opportunity to earn the 5th starters role and compete with the likes of Niesse, Figgy & Nieve. However, with Feliciano being the only left hander out of the pen, that seems the obvious best place for him. He can come in to face tough lefties, and could be left in to finish off the inning with his SP experience...or even be an emergency long man. I would rather give that last starting spot to one of our young guys.
Shawn Riggens Catcher
Non-Roster invite Riggens was picked up from the Rays scrap heap presumably because there was no more room for him after they signed Kelly Shoppach. Not much is known about Riggens as he has barely cracked the Rays depth chart mainly due to being injured the last two years. He has only had 209 PA's since 2006, and only played in 7 games last year. This move is simply to bring more depth to the position, however, Chone & Amazinavenue already predict that Riggens could be a better hitter than Santos and could see some significant playing time this year. This will be one of the story lines I will follow closely this spring.
Rylan Sandoval Shortstop
This move above all else intrigues me. Obviously, he will not challenge Reyes, but beyond this year who knows? I personally think Jose will be fine and bounce back, but his late season swoons in 2007-2008 and the re-emergence of the injury bug has cast a shred of doubt on Jose's future which is why a good 2010 season would crush those doubts. Nevertheless, Sandoval was one of the Leading hitters and top defensive shortstops in the AWL this year before he was plucked up by the Mets. In fact, he was drafted by the Mets in 2007, but opted to remain in School. I like that. What I wouldn't be surprised to see (and really what I want to see) is Sandoval being immediately converted into a second baseman. I think we are going to see Castillo break down this year. His defense is degrading at an alarming rate, and what this team really needs is good defense "up the middle". I think if Sandoval can translate his defensive skills to 2nd, though a long shot, we might even see him some time this year. The only thing that Castillo does well is get on base, and for someone that is not leading off, his services are expendable.
So there you have it. Apparently, the Buffalo Bisons should have one of the best records in AAA this year as their team is destined to be littered with MLB talent. Whether that is a good thing or a hinderance to our young prospects is yet to be seen. One thing is for certain though: Pitchers & Catchers report in a week, and I can't wait to finally see the start of baseball, and the end of all this negative speculation. Lets Go Mets!
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09 February 2010
Here's how Buster Olney sees the Phillies in his top 5 rotations around baseball:
Let's add this:
5a. Phillies: Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, J.A. Happ, Jamie Moyer. The Phillies would have been No. 1 if they had Halladay, Lee and Hamels 1-2-3.
I'm surprised by this, frankly. Obviously in a talk about top 3 staffs Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, + anyone, would be in the top 5 conversation, but on a complete rotation level I didn't see the Phillies this high. Blanton and Happ could very well be above-average to good in their respective roles, but Moyer is a total wildcard at this point in his career. This is of the best that the MLB has to offer? Eh. And no thanks to Buster for bringing up the fact that we could have the holy triumvirate of Cole, Roy, Cliff, because it ruins my day every time.
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09 February 2010
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09 February 2010
Last year's home run drought is solved! The centerfield wall is being taken down from 16 feet to 8 feet for the 2010 season. Obviously, a newly healthy lineup should do most of the improvement itself, but come on, it's half as high. Home runs are going to flying everywhere now! David Wright is going to be a 30 homer guy again now (I can't decide which way that sentence will jinx: pro-or-con for the Phillies).
Regardless, after last season I think we all knew that some stadium changes were coming. Whether it was a moving wall or a shrinking one, something was going to change. Right field couldn't be changed because, well, Chase Utley would never make an out at Citi field. As far as the other two are concerned, I'm a little surprised that neither got moved in a little. With near-DH Jason Bay playing left field and recently hobbled and aging centerfielder Carlos Beltran in the middle, either of those fields could've used a relocation. But who am I to judge?
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05 February 2010
Slow on the baseball front recently, so there's always the option to Phillie Bash!
Susan Finkelstein; the woman & Phillie Phan who allegedly posted a craigslist ad offereing sex for World Series tickets was in court recently (or rather her lawyer was in court for her...apparently she was in Mexico. I wonder what sporting events were going on down there?).
Her lawyer made a--ah hem-- interesting argument in front of the judge:
Even if Finkelstein intended to trade sex for tickets - which she denies - that wouldn't make her a prostitute, her lawyer argued yesterday in Bucks County Court. "You can be a slut; that's not illegal," attorney William J. Brennan said, comparing it to someone "who buys a woman a cosmopolitan and then has sex."
The Judges Ruling? Motion Denied
Perhaps she should try "If the condom don't fit, you must acquit" defense next.
Classic.
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04 February 2010
You know this is getting out of control when I start to get tired of it. More Mets organizational nonsense to talk about. Today, the insight comes from Murray Chass who shares some information he gathered talking to various agents who've dealt with the Mets this offseason. And the consensus seems to be that the Mets are incapable of multitasking. It's one free agent at a time and everyone else has to wait until that has been dealt. This would explain why the Mets lost out on so many targets this offseason, because simply they were focusing on someone else at the time. 2010 is looking more and more like the year of the Mess and less like the Amazin' Mets Matt has warned me are coming. I'll end it with some quotes from the initial story:
But more than one agent cited the Mets’ inability to deal with more than one free agent at a time as the primary reason they lost out on free agents. “We’re interested in your guy,” more than one agent recalled the Mets saying, “but we have to deal with this other guy first.”
In one instance, the Mets were a player’s first choice, an agent said, but he was one or two down on the Mets’ pecking order – a phrase used by another agent – and the player and the agent weren’t going to wait for the Mets to deal with them. They went elsewhere.
Another agent said that Omar Minaya, the Mets’ general manager, told him at the winter meetings in December that the Mets would address their catching need in January. “How can they wait and be sure what will be there?” the agent asked.
Classic Mets.
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02 February 2010
At some point, doesn't the perception just become the reality? The ineptitude of this organization of has reached new, fantastic lows this offseason. Every day, seemingly, comes with more news and/or insight into a front office that can't seem to get out of its own way. Today? J.J. Putz never received a physical when the Mets traded for him. The team says that they knew about his bone spurs and were confident he could pitch with them.
Let me continue, they knew he had bone spurs in 2008 and pitched with them, so why not again in 2009? Let me get this straight, Putz pitched with bone spurs in his worst season to date, so it's probably fine if he pitches through it again? No! That makes negative sense. Not only that, Putz says the Mets pushed him to pitch through injury, which eventually led to his season ending surgery. Now that my friends, is quality management.
Matt, Benny, get on here. Defend this organization, please. How many things like this have to happen before, i don't know, Omar gets fired? The team gets moved West? The Wilpon's are forced to sell? The Middle East declares war on Flushing? Is there any floor to this free fall? Honestly, the Mets had better play out of their minds this season or heads are going to roll around Flushing like a spilled can full of marbles.
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01 February 2010
ESPN just released the top 200 fantasy players for the 2010 season, let's look at what guys from each team found their place on the list:
7. Chase Utley
11. Roy Halladay
13. David Wright
14. Ryan Howard
24. Jose Reyes
34. Jimmy Rollins
36. Jayson Werth
40. Jayson Bay
58. Johan Santana
68. Shane Victorino
79. Francisco Rodriguez
87. Cole Hamels
104. Raul Ibanez
109. Carlos Beltran
170. J.A. Happ
You know why I like fantasy ranking lists like this? Because it gives you a good idea of the talent levels for different teams. Obviously it skews the rankings on a player-to-player basis, but team wise you can see talent disparities very easily. The Phillies have 9 guys, the Mets have 6. Still a very respectable number for the Mets, but it speaks volumes about the set-up of their current team. They employ 6 of the top 110 players, but don't have another in the top 200 after that. Fantasy rankings are obviously different than value or player rankings, but they value a lot of the same things -- production wise.
These rankings show a trend back upwards for most Mets and that's more than fair considering how young their stars are. I was very surprised to see Raul and Beltran as low as they are. This guy must be anti-old guys in his fantasy world -- well, I am too, so I can't blame him.
I assume most of you guys play fantasy baseball, what say all of you?
