Why I’m already looking ahead to 2011

Though we’re right on the precipice of the 2010 baseball year, I continually find myself looking ahead to 2011.

Next season for the Mets doesn’t look too bright.  With “injuries” to two starting position players likely keeping them out for Opening Day and beyond, the team will have to struggle to get out of the gates.  

With a dead-man-walking manager, a slow start will likely cost him his job.  With a poor season, there very well may be a new general manager come December.

A new manager and a new general manager, both looking to make a splash, win over fans and get off to a hot start in 2011, will do anything and everything to make the team as good as it can be.

And just look at the possibly roster come 2011…

Here are the players in their walk year: Carlos Beltran, Oliver Perez, Francisco Rodriguez (2012 option), Jose Reyes (if the Mets pick up his ‘11 option) and Luis Castillo.

Obviously, guys like Johan Santana, David Wright and Jason Bay are under contract well beyond 2011.

But what really excites me is the possibility of the young players making big impacts.

Guys like Josh Thole and Ike Davis are already penciled into my ‘11 Opening Day lineup/roster.  Very different players, but both at key positions to make an impact on both sides of the ball.

Fernando Martinez, if he can stay healthy, may be manning right field to start the ‘11 season.  Jenrry Mejia, hopefully continuing his work in the minor leagues as a starter, may be a bit closer to being major-league ready.

Though that might be a bit of a pipe dream to hope all four are perfectly fit for major league duty in only one more year of minor league duty, it’s a dream I will hold on to through this year.

Those four prospects, the cream of the crop of the Mets minor leagues, plus the Mets under contract, and a very strong free agent class next offseason have me dreaming big.  We’ll just have to wait through the 2010 season first.

Manuel’s Musing

“I don't want us to get in the mode of, ‘Oh, here we go again,' as an organization because I think and feel that we're in a position to sustain a hit, whereas last year I didn't think we were there.”

-Jerry Manuel on, um, sustaining hits

Poll: Which Mets player would you want to be friends with on Facebook?

I posted this question to The ‘Ropolitans page on Facebook and got quite a few responses, so I figured I would share it on the blog.

I asked: Which Mets player, past or present, would you want to be friends with on Facebook?

Here are the responses…

Who would you want to be friends with on Facebook?

The Kelvim Escobar signing

On December 14, when the initial offer was made to Kelvim Escobar, I wrote…

“As a bullpen arm, Escobar could be a good low-risk, high-reward player, something the Mets will probably see a lot of in spring training.”

Two months later, when we found out he had a “sore shoulder,” on February 17, I wrote…

“And so signals the beginning of joke cracking and rehashing last season’s injuries from everyone and their mother.”

On February 19, when Hardball Talk reported that Escobar could not pick up a baseball, I wrote…

“Did the Mets work him out?  Let him pitch for someone, anyone from the organization? Is there any way they could have gotten away with the “no physical” route, a la J.J. Putz?”

And now today, in a story in El Nacional (Spanish), via MLBTR, Escobar says that he is waiting until April 1 to begin throwing and if he still feels pain that day, he will make his decision then.

“If I wanted to retire, I would have done it already,” Escobar said.

Yeah, and take the $1.25 million guaranteed from the contract Omar Minaya inked you to and run for it.

The bet

My father and I just shook hands, sealing the bet.

The stakes: Ten whole dollars.

What we wagered on: Whether or not the Mets will finish the season in last place.

He has them in the cellar, I do not.

Last year, the Mets finished a full 11 games ahead of the Washington Nationals for last place in the NL East.

Obviously, this looks to be a two-horse race.  All the Mets need to do is finish ahead of the Nationals, and I’m the winner.  My dad needs the Nats to eek out any sort of lead over the Mets when the two teams finish their end-of-the-season series on October 3.

$10 is on the line.  Let’s go Mets!

The list of unsigned free-agent pitchers: Who would you sign?

This list was culled from MLBTR.  Their ages are (in parentheses).

Starting pitchers
Brandon Backe (32)
Cha Seung Baek (30)
Kris Benson (34)
Paul Byrd (39)
Bartolo Colon (37)
Adam Eaton (32)
Mike Hampton (37)
Braden Looper (35) - Type B, not offered arb
Noah Lowry (29)
Pedro Martinez (38)
Eric Milton (34)
Odalis Perez (33)
Sidney Ponson (33)
Mark Prior (29)
Jason Schmidt (37)
John Smoltz (43)
Jarrod Washburn (35)

My question: Would you sign any of them?

This sucks [Tweet]

Couldn’t this have been solved with a phone call?  Everyone has a cell phone these days, ya know.

(Aside: Seinfeld is, undoubtedly, one of the greatest shows of all time.  But if the characters had cell phones, the show would have been completely different.  Just think about it next time you’re watching the show.)

An insane baseball brawl [Video]

Via JSchil’s Blog…

Santana is the Baryshnikov of the hands [Quote]

Watch a master at work and stand in awe. Before each start Johan Santana, the Mets' ace, struts past his teammates, smacking and fist-bumping and shimmying, as if performing a dugout Macarena, personalizing shakes for each teammate while throwing fake pitches. The innovation is ongoing (his shakes often change from week to week) and the complexity staggering—Santana is a veritable Baryshnikov of the hands, a choreographer of camaraderie.

-Chris Ballard, The Metaphysical Significance, Staggering Ubiquity
and Sheer Joy of High Fives

Read this article.  (For the lazy, the Santana part pulls from here.)

Jeff Wilpon’s video blog [Day 2]

It’s funny because it’s true.

Here’s the second installment of Jeff Wilpon’s video blog from 12 Angry Mascots…