Ugh. 2-5. Andy Martino writes that organization will not be dragging it’s feet.
I’ve been maintaining that Jeff Wilpon will not allow the club to go through failure without making moves. I believe that Maine will get one more start, but that will be it.
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This post was written by bobsikes on April 14, 2010
George Vecsey‘s column today is written with it’s typical grace. He’s good. Real good. But even with my own reservations about the current club, I think that Vecsey has gone too cynical by half.
I sense change has come to the Mets. Much of the negative influences that brought the club down are gone and have been replaced by reasons for hope.
Jeff Wilpon’s hands on approach with personnel has improved the outlook. While roster changes did not occur as many of us would have hoped, the opportunities to do so this past off-season were not there. Moves were not made out of panic. The addition of Jason Bay was a good one and will prove to benefit the club this year and beyond.
It is true that if this club gets off to a poor start, changes at the top should begin to occur. But Wilpon has prepared for it with replacements already present within the organization. As the club perhaps struggling early on may already be anticipated, the only mistake that can be made is if the Mets do nothing and allow a cynical New York media to dicate the narrative.
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This post was written by bobsikes on April 4, 2010
The Post’s Mike Puma says it best regarding Oliver Perez:
Oliver Perez finally has a healthy knee, but spent most of the spring serving up batting practice to opposing hitters, inspiring little confidence that he is about to get his act together and have a breakout year. Perez wasn’t wild, but didn’t fool many people, either.
Perez’ face can be posted in Websters by the definition for “enigma”. I’ve always hoped that Perez would one day find his inner Sid Fernandez. He never has and only rarely given anyone hope that he would. Fairness dictated that last season was a wash as he was saddled by an injured knee. Reportedly, he is in good shape after a productive off season.
But as Puma indicates, Perez wasn’t very good this spring. So it begs the question of just how long will the club go with him if he struggles.
The Mets won’t tolerate any Perez drama this year. He’ll probably get three starts to show what he can do. Two members of the bullpen are there now in Hisanori Takahashi and Fernando Nieve that they won’t hesitate to put in there.
But what then with Perez? The Mets may attempt to get him to go to Buffalo, but his agent Scot Boras won’t let that happen. The Mets may then attempt to deal Perez with the stipulation that they would pay the bulk of his remaining salary. There aren’t likely to be many takers as there weren’t when Perez was a free agent. Omar Minaya was probably bidding against himself in the first place. As Jeff Wilpon will be looking to be as drama free as possible, the Mets might just cut their losses and let Perez go in the event he struggles.
In many ways, Perez future is similar to that of Minaya and Jerry Manuel. Poor play over an extended period will prompt Wilpon to take action.
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This post was written by bobsikes on April 4, 2010
“Meet the old boss. Same as the new boss.”
With apologies to The Who, I fear we are seeing much of the same we left off with last year. Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran will not be in the opening day line-up. Carlos Delgado and his Hall of Fame type numbers are gone from first base and a a journeyman will open there. Mike Pelfrey, John Maine and Oliver Perez are healthy but have had lackluster springs. And unlike previous seasons, we’re not sure whom will take the mound in the 8th.
It’s not hopeful.
But let’s hope nonetheless.
Jason Bay will be in the line-up on opening day as will another new leader in Jeff Franceour. David Wright will not be alone in the middle of the line-up. The two players that have vied for the centerfield job in Angel Pagan and Gary Matthews Jr have been pleasant surprises and one could be dealt to bring back pitching. Maybe the catching will be better and make a difference. Ike Davis, Fernando Martinez and Jennry Mejia look like they will be future All-Stars.
The minor league system is not barren afterall and under more effective and positive leadership than was during the Tony Bernazard regime. The Mets are embracing their past. Wally Backman’s back. Tim Teufel is the AA manager. They both look like future managers in Flushing.
But there’s still the start to this season.
If the club gets off to a poor start, the Omar and Jerry watch will begin. If it gets bad, the team will play as if they are waiting for someone or more than one to get fired.
I don’t think that Jeff Wilpon will put everyone through that. He’s made it clear that Minaya no longer has his favor. People are already in place to easily step into both positions. Wilpon won’t get fooled again and will act quickly and decisively.
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This post was written by bobsikes on April 2, 2010
Bill Madden’s piece this morning illustrates the significant change in direction they took on this winter. Its becoming more and more clear that Tony Bernazard’s Rasputin-like hold was realized last year by Jeff Wilpon and he has quite frankly taken over on personnel matters. He’s done well.
Madden does a good job in pointing to the value and experience of newcomers like Wally Backman and Bob Melvin. Terry Collins has taken over as coordinator of minor league operations. Tim Teufel has been promoted to AA. What Madden left out were the intangibles, the most important of which is leadership and where it comes from.
Bernazard was a centralized control freak who had grasped control of far too many parts of the organization, including intricate on field details. As spring training unfolds, uniformed field managers and coaches will be providing the leadership. Motivation and instruction will come from them and not from someone like Bernazard. Players will rightfully feel that they are playing for a manager, not some omnipresent threatening force.
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This post was written by bobsikes on March 5, 2010
John Harper revealed that Tony Bernazard made the entire organization emhasize hitting the ball the other way. The grip this man had on the Mets continues to amaze me.
The fact that he could control a major league manager’s philosophy like that is surprising. The minors, yes. But not at the major league level. Why Omar Minaya let him get away with it is beyond me. But the fact that he did shows that Bernazard was out of control and had the Wilpon’s snowed.
Organizational moves since Bernazard’s departure indicate that Jeff Wilpon is taking a bigger role. Minaya did not want Wally Backman, but he’s back now. The philosophical change could have only been prompted by Wilpon. Recruitment of Mets alumni from the 1980′s seems to be ongoing. Maybe they finally realize that having these guys around is a good thing.
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This post was written by bobsikes on March 1, 2010
So Mike Francesa had the goods afterall.
As Francesa had this yesterday and no local or national writer had it, it’s clear he got the tip from somebody way up. My guess is that it was Minaya himself. Second guess is Jeff Wilpon. It wasn’t Jay Horwitz who would protect a secret even if you put bamboo shoots under his fingenails.
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This post was written by bobsikes on December 29, 2009
It’s clear that the Mets could have had Jason Marquis and at a price they might have found acceptable. Today’s report in the Daily News puzzles me:
The explanation coming from the Mets last night, via a club source, is that they are focused on offense first, as they continue negotiations with Molina and outfielder Jason Bay. As such they aren’t ready to negotiate with pitchers until they know how much it costs to add bats.
Really? You mean you don’t have salary already slotted for a starter and you cannot go after more need than once? How do you explain all your efforts to improve catching. All of those available now are going to go for about the same thing. A relaible veteran player who wants to play for the Mets should not have been dismissed so easily. If there was diagreement on Marquis, it must have been from somebody high up like Omar Minaya or Jeff Wilpon.
So the quote the John Harper got sounds like a cop out to deflect criticism. The Mets hypersensitivity toward what’s written about them in the newspaper far too often results in clearly disingenuous spin. The Mets just needed to be big boys and say that they had no interest in Marquis. Because if they were, letting him sign with the Nationals was a screw up.
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This post was written by bobsikes on December 22, 2009
He probably could have, but being the pure baseball man that he is, Minaya served the club well by not forcing something to get a useful big league player in. Like it or not, the Mets realize that they will not be in the playoffs this season and kept thier chips.
My whole problem with Omar and the Wilpons is that they did not know just how cancerous Tony Bernazard was. Sadly the only way that the Wilpons can demonstrate it is to let Minaya go at the end of the year. As both Omar and Jeff Wilpon served as Bernazard’s enabler, the club’s future direction is in doubt as long as Minaya remains and Jeff Wilpon doesn’t further answer for Bernazard.
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This post was written by bobsikes on July 31, 2009
They’re in it to win it again.
With Jeff Wilpon saying yesterday that assessment of the Mets will not be done until some injured players return, the acquisition of Lee tilts the balance further in favor of the Phillies over the Mets. Lee is signed through next season
The Mets have won a surprising four straight and have Santana pitching today. It’s nice to see them play well, but I’m still realing from yesterday.
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This post was written by bobsikes on July 29, 2009
