Cutnpaste: - Jose Reyes, Velocity, Kai Gronauer, Urinal Dividers, 2012 Payroll, Sherman on 2012

When is Jose Reyes going to start hitting again? I mean really hitting? I mean hitting enough to put distance between himself, the leading batter in the National League by average, and his closest competitor, Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers? What’s happening now is the opposite of that. Back in the halcyon days of June and earliest July, it was Jose who was setting the pace, pulling away, altering our perception of what a “good” season was. Then…hamstrings. Stupid hamstrings. Saboteur hamstrings. They’re Jose’s, but it’s like they’re conspiring with Braun. When Reyes went out the first time, on July 2, his league-leading batting average was .354. Second to him, for all intents and purposes, was nobody. He had this thing cold. I wasn’t worried about Ryan Braun or anybody on any other team in 2011. I was focused on Jose and looking forward to him necessitating new lines in the 2012 media guide. http://www.faithandfearinflushing.com/2011/09/03/the-met-who-would-be-king

Velocity generally tends to outweigh command. Command and control are vital, but most scouts insist that they would rather see a young pitcher throw 95 with no control than 86 with plus command. Aside from the rare outstanding athlete who fields limitless physical projection which could lead to additional velocity on his fastball, most pitchers generally don't add much velocity. They can, however, improve their command. More often than not, pitchers enter the lower stages of the minor leagues with pitches that project to be better than than their current state. If they are able to develop an improved feel for the change up or additional bite on a curveball, which often is the case, the pitches get better grades and are valuable assets to the pitcher himself. - http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2011/9/2/2400473/another-scouting-primer-how-to-scout-pitchers#storyjump

9-3-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/09/prospect-pulse-buffalo-2012-help-on-the-way.html  - Kai Gronauer - The 24-year-old German back-stop is known for his defense, game calling, and throwing out would-be base-stealers. His bat has lagged a little behind in his developmental curve because he has only been playing baseball for 9 years. But 2010 was a breakthrough season for him as a hitter, when he hit .291 combined between Savannah, and St Lucie. 2011 in AA started slowly for Kai at the plate and then he went down in early May with a bad hamstring injury that cost him three months of the season. He’s been back about a month and is hitting .248 in 149 AB’s. He could be kept back in Bingo for the start of 2012, but with no real talent at the catching position in the upper levels of the farm system, he has a fairly unimpeded path to the starting catcher job at AAA. All he needs to do is stay healthy and hit a little bit and he may be making his debut this year at Citifield. I guess that would make him the first German national to play for the Mets, no? Actually, no, I mean yes, he is the first German national to play for the Mets. The great Tobi Stoner was born in Germany, but his parents were in the millitary, and he’s a US citizen. The first German born Met player, was Ron Gardenhire. Yes, that Ron Gardenhire.

The news has been full of speculation on just why the Wilpon-Einhorn ownership deal fell apart. Some sources report that Wilpon had been dealing behind Einhorn's back. Other sources say Mets ownership was fed up with Einhorn's attempts to wrestle away majority control. The Apple has spent the last 24 hours investigating the break-up and what we ended up finding out was shocking. In the end, it was urinals that sunk the deal. An aide to David Einhorn tells The Apple that Einhorn was adamant about the inclusion of urinal dividers in any deal that would make him a minority partner. "Mr. Einhorn felt that the fans need to be happy and comfortable if the organization is to be successful.", said Einhorn's aide. "If the fans are constantly wondering who's staring at their junk they will never truly embrace the stadium and the team. It's a proven fact. - http://www.readtheapple.com/2011/09/disagreement-over-urinal-dividers-sunk.html

The Mets’ best strategy very well could be to continue to: 1) Give youngsters such as Lucas Duda and Dillon Gee experience. 2) Allow key prospects such as Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler time to grow closer to the majors while Jenrry Mejia returns to the mound after Tommy John surgery. 3) Have a second high-risk, high-reward draft in the Alderson regime with the potential of having two more high compensation picks if Jose Reyes leaves. 4) Get one year closer to running out bad contracts to Jason Bay and Johan Santana — both can expire after 2013. 5) Avoid spending on an ordinary free-agent group and save toward what is setting up as a blockbuster crop after the 2012 season — think Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Cole Hamels and Matt Cain. - http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/mets/alderson_mets_gameplan_for_cheap_nC5X7wyJiluXhMeGrkssyM#ixzz1WzHIXTvS  

A top Mets official said to me what none had been willing to before, either for the record or for background: That one serious discussion being had at the upper reaches of the franchise is whether it would be wise to cut back greatly next year and make 2012 a rebuilding season in which club officials do not go through the annual game of trying to convince fans, if everything breaks right, they can be a playoff team. Obviously, the public perception will be that such a strategy would be designed specifically to save the Wilpons money. Considering their plight, that cannot be rejected as part of the reasoning. And the Wilpons hate being called cheap by the media and their fan base. - http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/33847/mets-morning-briefing-9-4-11