Mets begin their journey to Port St. Lucie, settle with Pagan on 1-year deal
The calm before the storm is nearly over.
The Mets’ equipment trucks departed for sunny Port St. Lucie today, and Marty Noble from MLB.com was all over the action.
With an assist from Mr. Met, the mascot of moving, workers loaded all sorts of Spring Training paraphernalia onto a 10-wheeler… Baseball gear was included, of course, and also medical supplies, media relations supplies, the bikes of sons and daughters, playpens and some necessities of Florida living — golf clubs.
That sure sounded like the details of a reposing vacation, but a group of others decided to get down to business early. SNY analyst and former Mets first baseman Keith Hernandez was kind enough to offer on-field advice to youngsters Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans. Hernandez worked with the players on a practice field in St. Lucie, where he mic’ed himself up and demonstrated the proper way to play the first base position.
It was great to see Hernandez travel from his home in Florida, which he said was about 40 minutes away. Following the session, Murphy told reporters that he was very thankful for the opportunity to work with an established and experienced player such as Hernandez, and I don’t blame him. Hernandez is regarded as one of the best to play his position, and any Mets fan will tell you that his number belongs on the CitiField wall alongside Gil Hodges, Casey Stengel, Jackie Robinson, and Tom Seaver.
I hope the Mets will be willing to incorporate more of these sessions with the young players, as it seems to be something you don’t see every day in professional baseball. On the same token, it could be difficult to round up the former players and set up such an event once the season is underway.
In other news, it was fantastic to see that the Mets settled on a one-year contract with Angel Pagan in order to avoid arbitration. Pagan will be a major part of the outfield plans for the first few months of the year as Carlos Beltran recovers from surgery. Along with the newly-acquired Jason Bay, Pagan will be working with Jeff Francoeur and veteran Gary Matthews, Jr.
Moving to the infield, it appears that the Mets have been flipping through their old media guides in hopes of trying to find former players that are still active. The Mets are supposedly close to signing former first base prospect Mike Jacobs to a minor league deal. Jacobs spent a few solid seasons with the Florida Marlins, where he was notorious for striking out but popular for his home-run hitting abilities. Last season, Jacobs struggled as a member of the Kansas City Royals and only hit 19 home runs.
If anyone remembers, Jacobs hit a 3-run pinch-hit home run in his first major league at bat during his first stint with the Mets. Five seasons later, he is only one home run away from his 100th career home run.
Titles of Playoff rounds in MLB and NFL do not fit
Besides the Wild Card round in football, no playoff rounds in either football or baseball seem to fit what each team is playing for.
If I knew nothing about the baseball or football playoff system, and somebody asked what I thought the meaning of Divisional round meant, it would be an easy answer. Teams from the same division would play each other, or maybe division winners would face off. But in reality, that is not always the case.
In baseball, the divisional round features three division winners and a wild card team (best team that failed to win their division) in each league. So what’s the catch? Opponents within the same division cannot face each other in the Divisional round. It makes almost no sense other than the potential for a more exciting Championship Round.
However, baseball only has one wild card team as opposed to the two wild card teams in the NFL. It is much more likely that two teams from the same division could face each other in football, but it doesn’t mean they will face each other in the Divisional playoffs. The teams could face off in the wild card, or in some possible cases, the Championship round. For example, the 2006 Mets squad faced two teams in the 2006 playoffs from two different divisions. Neither of their opponents played in the same division, the NL East.
Another round that forces me to scratch my head is the Championship Round. Generally speaking, a Championship round of any kind of game or tournament is the final round and that no further rounds would be played. Usually, the winner of the Championship round would be the winner of the entire tournament. In baseball and football, you can be crowned as a Champion of your side of the league or conference, but not the entire league. You would still have to play the Super Bowl or World Series.
Even the World Series fails to makes sense considering teams are not playing internationally.
Molina signs with SF while Delgado returns to Toronto
After weeks of being “close” with veteran free-agent catcher Bengie Molina, the Mets can finally move on. Molina signed a cheaper contract to remain with the San Francisco Giants, allowing the Mets to focus on acquiring another arm for the pitching staff. Free agent pitcher Ben Sheets, who missed all of last season with an arm injury, auditioned for multiple teams yesterday and received mixed reviews. However, the majority of these reviews were positive and made it seem that Sheets would be able to pitch effectively in 2010. Sheets does need to be approached by the Mets with caution because of his injury. The Mets do not want to relive the 2009 season that was nothing but a disabled list disaster.
In other news, MLB.com has reported that free-agent first baseman Carlos Delgado has signed with his former team, the Toronto Blue Jays. The 37 year old Delgado played winter ball in Puerto Rico this off-season after his 2009 campaign was cut short due to injury. The Blue Jays have refused to comment on the situation likely due to the fact that he has not yet followed through with a physical.
Mets and Molina, Francoeur’s contract, and Carlos Delgado over Daniel Murphy
The Mets have been negotiating with veteran catcher Bengie Molina for quite some time, and they clearly aren’t THAT interested in him. What they are currently more focused on is the development of their top catching prospect, Josh Thole. The team has been trying to figure out how long it will take him to become the catcher of the franchise while trying to juggle the responsibility of finding a short-term rental until that date arrives.
Bengie Molina works, but the recently-conservative general manager Omar Minaya really seems content with resorting to Omir Santos to carry the load at the catcher position. My guess is that Minaya could assimilate Thole into the mix by having him catch day games after night games and just scratch the idea of Molina entirely.
On that same token, the Mets have built successful teams over the years and have failed to execute their plans, leaving many writers, fans, and others scratching their heads. Minaya knows that he needs to do what is best for his short-term job status in New York because 2010 will be a very important season for him.
Moving to the outfield, Jeff Francoeur and the Mets settled on a cheap, one-year contract in an attempt to avoid salary arbitration. It is fine and dandy that the Mets avoided arbitration, but Francoeur really needed more years. Minaya has had a difficult time signing free-agents and Francoeur is a solid player that was one of the bright spots of last year’s disaster. The Mets have always seemed to have some kind of a void in the corners of the outfield, but keeping Francoeur could prevent this once and for all. To top it all off, he could potentially lend the Mets some inside information on the Atlanta Braves as he spent many years in the organization.
At first base, the Mets should seize the opportunity to re-acquire first baseman Carlos Delgado by signing him to a contract loaded with incentives. It is the perfect time for a contract like this, especially coming from a guy who may be getting old but has certainly shown his potential in recent years for the Mets. The Mets absolutely need to avoid giving Daniel Murphy a starting role at all costs. Murphy is overrated and makes mistakes that will cost games throughout the season. He was thrown in the spotlight too early and needs to take a backseat. Everyone praises his workout regimen but it is important that he allocates enough resting time in such an arduous 162 game season. A reduced utility role would work well for him.
Taking a look at the NFC East
The Giants, Eagles, and Redskins will be watching division rival Dallas from their couch tomorrow, but they all have the advantage of an extended off-season to repair themselves. Each team has made some significant moves so far, but the edge goes to to the Redskins. The Redskins really needed the extra help, and they have worked quick to address their problems. Following the firing of head coach Jim Zorn, they were fortunate enough to fill the void with veteran coach Mike Shanahan. This should increase the team’s win-loss record significantly, even if it takes a season of transition.
In Philadelphia, the Eagles were shocked when their General Manager ditched the team for the Browns. I know, it sounds like the craziest idea ever. The GM must have had serious connections with Mike Holmgren or the Browns in general, because his job security in Philadelphia was probably pretty comfortable. The Donovan McNabb uncertainty rumors began to float around yet again as his age increases, but coach Andy Reid shot down any rumors and confirmed that McNabb will be his leader in 2010.
The Giants shook up their defensive coaches in a hurry following their owner’s furious rant. Owner John Mara was disgusted with how the team performed in the final game at Giants Stadium with the playoffs on the line. He promised changes, and the promise was fulfilled later that day as news broke that New York fired rookie defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan after one season. The Giants surprisingly followed up by firing defensive assistant Mike Waufle, who was credited with the development of the dangerous defensive line that won a Super Bowl only two seasons ago. Big Blue shouldn’t be too worried as long as they are able to patch up some holes in their secondary. The offense won’t need any help, so the focus can be zoomed in on the defensive back position.