Open Letter to Omar Minaya

Dear Omar,

First off, I want to thank you for signing a closer, a very good one (K-Rod), and quickly. I also know that you will be trying to buff up our bullpen even more and make some additions to our rotation and offense.

However, when addressing our rotation, please do not go the cheap and ineffective route of signing or trading for someone like Jon Garland, or Jason Marquis. Instead, please target Ben Sheets. There is no reason that you cannot sign him. You have the money to do it and he is a proven ace. Sure, he has some injury history, but at two or three years for only 30/40 mil, its worth taking a shot. Plus, last year he still managed to pitch 200 innings.

The difference between having someone like Sheets in our rotation over someone like Jon Garland is infinite. Our starting four would be Santana, Sheets, Pelfrey, Maine and than Niese/Vargas, whoever in the number 5 slot would be one of the deepest rotations in the league.

Thank you for listening.

Sincerely,

Mets Fans Everywhere

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Congratulations, America

Now, I know this is a Mets blog. But I just want to congratulate this country on electing Barack Obama the 44th President of the United States. With two wars and a sinking economy, I am confident that Mr. Obama is the right person to handle this. I hope everyone realizes how historic a moment this is, and it shows how far our country has come. Now, whether if you supported John McCain, Hillary Clinton, or Obama, we're ready to be one and move forward as a proud country once more. Again, congratulations America, and President Barack H. Obama.

P.S. There is a rumor that Michelle Obama is a closet Mets fan, so all the more reason she rocks :-)

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Jeremy Affeldt a Sleeper for Closing?

Dave Cameron over at FanGraphs has an interesting article about Jeremy Affeldt and how he's probably the best bargain out there in the pitching market for this upcoming off-season.

It all depends on how many years he's looking for in my opinion. If he wants 4-5 year deal then it may be a little too steep, but for 2-3 years at $3 Million would be fine with me. Affeldt could be an effective set-up man and if the Mets lose out on Francisco Rodriguez and Brian Fuentes then he could possibly get some 9th inning consideration.

According to Detroit Tiger Thoughts who seemingly have the Elias Rankings figured out Jeremy Affeldt is a Type B Free Agent, just missing Type A, which is also a plus seeing how the Mets wouldn't lose a first round pick in the 2009 First Year Player Draft.

When the World Series is over and the Free Agent period begins there's no reason why Omar Minaya shouldn't offer Jeremy Affeldt Scott Schoeneweis type money and years and go from there.

Also over at FanGraphs, Dave Cameron has a recent post on why Juan Rivera and would be a good signing as well in the Off-Season

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Prospect Watch: Robert Carson

Robert Carson was born on January 23, 1989 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi the birthplace of major leaguer's Fred Lewis and Joey Gathright and went to high school at Hattiesburg High School.

Carson was drafted in the 14th round (453 overall) on the 2007 First Year Player Draft. He threw nine innings over four games in the GCL in 2007. However, he was hit on the head by a line drive in 2007 and after a minor concussion and rehab was shut down for the duration of the GCL season.

In 2008 with Kingsport of the Appalachian League Robert made 6 starts and posted a 2-3 record and an amazing 1.76 ERA over 30.2 innings(12 runs, 6 earned runs). He gave up 29 hits and a terrible 18 BB's good for a 1.53 WHIP. He only gave up one home run(0.29 hr/9) and 21 K's(6.16 K/9).

In the GCL with the Gulf Coast Met's in 2008 Carson pitched much better when it comes to control and ability to miss bats. He tossed 23 innings giving up just 11 hits (4.30 H/9) and walked just 6 batters (2.35 BB/9) good for a fantastic 0.74 WHIP. He struck out 25 batters in the 23 innings(9.78 K/9) and posted a 1-0 record in the 5 starts all without giving up a home run.

The 6'3 220 lb. Carson throws a 90-93 MPH Fastball and uses a Slider and Change-up. Carson has an extreme ground ball tendency and had a GB/FB ratio of 6 in the GCL this season. Remember, ground ball rates are better predictors of future home run rates than home run rates themselves. On August 12th Robert Carson threw 7 shutout innings giving up 6 hits and 2 walks to go with 3 K's and a tremendous 14 ground balls.The ground ball rates are a plus going forward and if Carson can keep good control he could be very promising and exciting from the left side of the mound.

Some Information from: http://www.metsminorleagueblog.com/

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Maine Good after Surgery

John Maine had surgery to remove a bone spur in his shoulder on September 30. The stitches were removed on Oct. 7 and Maine said that he's feeling "great" and "wants to start throwing now." Doctors have said that he can begin his normal winter throwing in December.

Even though John was not having as good of a season as '07 (which was almost certainly, partly a result of the pain he was in from the bone spur) he was sorely missed at the end of the season. At the end, the Mets were relying on three pitchers (one who had never before pitched so many innings, and the other who is the most inconsistent pitcher in baseball).

Hopefully John will be feeling better this coming season, and can work on his mechanics to really get that "out" pitch in order to bring his pitch count down.

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Carlos Beltran for Robinson Cano/Ian Kennedy??

Rob Neyer posted a rumor he heard on his blog:

"Frank Russo, on New York Baseball Digest Radio's Yankee Special, mentioned that his connections have shared that the Mets are accepting inquiries for Carlos Beltran. And, further, according to Russo, his sources have also shared that there's a rumor of a possible deal between the Mets and Yankees which would breakdown as follows:

Carlos Beltran from the Mets to the Yankees in exchange for Robinson Cano, either Jose Veras or Brian Bruney, Ian Kennedy, and another prospect from the Yankees system."

I know this sounds nuts. A commenter on MetsBlog.com thinks that the Mets would do this to free up money to sign K-Rod, and other free agents (Manny comes to mind?). DEBATE (in the comments section): If you are the Mets, would you make this trade?

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Daniel Murphy off to a good start in the AFL

According to Rotoworld, Daniel Murphy got of to a good start for the Suguaro's of the Arizono Fall League, going 2-4 on tuesday night with an RBI.

Murphy, who the Mets are trying at second base, is an excellent hitter who doesn't seem to have a true position at this moment. If he can't play an adequate 2B, then he could possibly man first in the years to come, seeing as he is 6'2 214 lbs.

If Murphy has a good showing in the AFL both on offense and defense, then I can't see how the Mets would not have him starting there for the start of the 2009 season. If all goes as planned, Murphy will push Luis Castillo out of town and have a new position that he would hold for several years.

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Prospect Watch: Kyle Allen

According to http://www.metsgeek.com/ and http://flhsbaseballreport.com/:

Kyle Allen was born on February 12, 1990 in Portugal and went to High School in Bradenton, Fl at Pendleton High School where he was a well regarded 2-way player who won Rawlings/Perfect Game All-American as a 2-way player.

Kyle was drafted in the 24th round (734th overall) of the 2008 First Year Player Draft who had 2nd to 4th round talent/potential but fell due to signability concerns because of his commitment to NC State.

Allen has baseball bloodines as his uncle Ray Semproch was a Major League RHP and his cousin Matt Allen was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 40th round of the 1999 First Year Player Draft.

Because of Allen's size, 6'3 and 195 lbs, theres plenty of projection and potential as he already has a pretty good repetoire that consists of a 90-92 MPH 2-seam and 4-seam fastballs, 80-84 MPH slider and 79-86 MPH changeup.

This season for the Gulf Coast Mets Allen had a 1-1 record with a 2.12 ERA in 11 games and 5 starts. Kyle also notched 2 saves in his 34 innings while allowing only 24 hits and 10 BB's for a nifty 1.00 WHIP. Not to mention that Allen only gave up one home run, to the 3rd ranked Minor League Prospect in Baseball, Colby Rasmus. He also struck out 45 batters in the 34 innings, good for a 11.91 K/9.

Kyle Allen seems to have a good mentality and head on his shoulders,as evidence by this quote:

" I want to thank all the coaches who've ever been involved with my development and specifically the former coaches at Tampa Catholic, Tom Reidy (Former Florida Southern Player and USF Asst Coach) and Keith Strickland (former USF and PSl player). They have been very instrumental in my life. Not only because they started me from Day 1 of my 9th grade year on a senior/junior loaded team, but because they taught me a lot about life away from baseball and still to this day continue to give me great advice."

" I come to play, compete and win. I want to leave it all on the field. I want the ball to come to mewhen that guy is trying to tag up from 3rd, so i can try and throw him out, although I'd love to see my pitcher strike him out, but either way, I love the action. I want to be the guy with the at bat when we have the winning run at 3rd. I just love to play the game and be involved. That's the strongest part of my game".

The quotes are from high school when he was a 2-way player as both an outfielder and a right handed pitcher.

As you can see by the numbers and projection the sky's the limit for the 18 year old kid and he's someone I will be watching closely next season and he could rise through the system quickly.

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