Tidbits: F-Mart shut down, Ruelas on board, milestone for me

A few tidbits before I go out to cover three seperate sporting events for The Quinnipiac Chronicle up at the TD Banknorth Sports Center.

• Fernando Martinez, who might be the next Bobby Abreu, has been shut down for three weeks after straining his elbow in the Carribean Series. This kid just cannot stay healthy. I'm worried.
• The Mets have signed Heriberto Ruelas to a minor league contract. Ruelas is fresh off 44 appearances with Mexico City from the Mexican league.
• And last night, I passed the 100,000 visitor mark. I know that seems like a low number for over two years of this, but I was very, very slow to get off the ground. The last few months have been spectacular, and I hope this trend continues. Thank you to everyone who visited.

Fernando Martinez: The next Bobby Abreu?

From Jayson Stark's Rumblings and Grumblings:

Fernandomania: One scout says the best-looking young player he saw in the Dominican Republic this winter was much-ballyhooed Mets prospect Fernando Martinez.

"He looks to me like he can be a young Bobby Abreu," the scout said. "His discipline at the plate is good. He worked counts. He hung in against left-handers. He did a lot of good things. He may be 20 years old, but he doesn't look like it, the way he handles himself. He really plays under control."

Too bad he just can't stay healthy.

Pedro Feliciano avoids arb

Pedro Feliciano and the Mets have agreed to a one-year deal, believed to be worth $1.65 million, according to Adam Rubin.

This would be a $572,500 raise over last seasons salary.

Feliciano was the last Mets player left in arbitration.

The State of the Mets -- 2/6/09

The fourth edition of The State of the Mets.

Today I focus on Oliver Perez, Manny Ramirez and what Omar Minaya has to do for the rest of the off season.

Enjoy.

(YouTube link here)

Another crazy Spanish language story

Here's another gem from Impacto Deportivo:
Se soltó el loco; Manny Ramírez podría botar a Scott Boras
or
Came off the loco, Manny Ramírez could throw to Scott Boras

Here's the translation of Impacto Deportivo, from Google Translator:

Scott Boras, who once was separated from his duties by Alex Rodriguez, it could suffer the same fate with Manny Ramírez.

It is hoped this Wednesday at Impactodeportivo.com.do, Ramirez is quillao with Boras.

Boras has been estimated that a very hard time to ask and that is moving away to the teams.

Ramirez could take control of a future negotiations as soon as this weekend.

The gist of that is Manny Ramirez is considering firing Scott Boras and would begin negotiating for himself.

As if the story wasn't crazy enough...

Mets sign Elmer Dessens

The Mets have signed pitcher Elmer Dessens to a minor league deal, according to the Denver Post (via MLBTR).

Dessens is guaranteed $72,000, but could earn up to $600,000 with incentives.

He has pitched for eight different teams in his 12 year career, most recently with Atlanta. A career 4.56 ERA, and a season ERA that hasn't dipped below 4.50 since 2005, Dessens can work as either a reliever or a starter.

Enjoy Buffalo, Elmer.

Scratch Sheets

A torn flexor tendon in his right elbow is standing between Ben Sheets and a major league contract.

News broke today that Sheets will get surgery to repair his injured arm, and might be able to pitch this season -- in August.

So count out Sheets for now, but you never know. Say Oliver Perez goes down in August and the Mets need a boost in the rotation. A rehabbed Sheets wouldn't be the worst option.

Hey, you never know.

A right-hand bat or a left-hand arm?

The Mets may be targeting Rich Aurilia, according to Ken Davidoff.

Aurilia has seen time at all four outinfield positions over the last few years, with the bulk of his time being at first base with his range and speed now diminished. Last season with the San Francisco Giants, Aurilia hit .283, had an OBP of .332 and slugged .413.

He'd be a nice addition, but with all the people the Mets have brought on this off-season, where's that extra arm they so sorely need?

Davidoff goes on to note that they have some interest in the available lefties (Will Ohman, Joe Beimel, etc.) but believe they can fill the role internally, possibly with Casey Fossum or Tom Martin.

Though they shouldn't lean on either of those guys, hoping for a full, productive season out of them, the possibility of mixing and matching could work. It may not be the best move, but it's better than nothing.

Ex-Met: Uncle Cliff signs with San Diego

I thought San Diego was in a rebuilding phase? Maybe they're counting on Uncle Cliff Floyd to mentor their young guys.

Floyd and the Padres have agreed to a one-year deal.

Good luck, Uncle Cliffy!

Citi's advertising budget: Why 'Citi Field' is just a drop in the bucket

Commenter "Des" does a great job of proving what I've been trying to say all along. Think of Citi Field as one big advertisement! Des really puts it into perspective with some calculations. Take a look:

According to American Banker, Citigroup's third quarter marketing and advertising budget for 2008 was $515 million (that's down 33%, by the way). So figure their M&A budget is around $2 billion a year.

The naming rights cost Citi $20 million a year. Guess what percent $20 million is of $2 billion? I have a calculator, so don't sweat it -- one percent. A drop in the bucket.

It is in everyone's best interests for Citigroup to survive. A big part of that, from Citi's point of view, is to at least appear to be sound and successful. And to their way of thinking, having their name on the Mets' field helps. A year or two from now, once they've gotten back on track and this storm has (hopefully) passed, will the naming rights look so bad? Not at all.

But that kind of thinking requires some perspective and thought, which is in short supply with the hair-trigger crowd, which is made up of morons who like hearing themselves scream and yell, or seeing their byline on page three instead of in the back of the paper.

$20 million = One percent. Whew. It's hard to even wrap your mind around that one.

Unfortunately, I like to hear myself scream and yell and to see my byline anywhere in a paper. Heck, I'm a journalism major. It's in our blood.

Great job, Des!