Cutnpaste: - Brian Schneider, Albert Cordero, David Cone, Forbes on Jose, 2012 Ticket Prices

Brian Schneider, Philadelphia Phillies -- Ok, so maybe Schneider's now plying his trade for the club he idolized growing up, the very same club that sent the Mets to the playoff exile now reaching its fifth year. He was the guy charged with replacing Paul Lo Duca, which wasn't terribly difficult from the performance perspective but moreso from the fans' point of view. And he only arrived as the end result of Omar Minaya trading Lastings Milledge well after the outfielder's star prospect status had faded away. Schneider never did anything terribly wrong, though. He didn't hit that well, but covered up his shortcomings at the plate with his respected defense behind it. He earned $9.8 mllion for his services across 2008 and 2009, but the Washington Nationals signed him to that contract. He might ultimately be forgettable in Mets history, but he's probably easier for Mets fans to root for than Phillies third base coach Juan Samuel. - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2011/9/30/2459916/a-mets-fans-guide-to-recognizing-your-saints-in-the-2011-mlb-playoffs

10-3-11: - http://www.metsminorleagueblog.com/season-review-the-full-season-catchers  - Albert Cordero split time nearly evenly with Forsythe. For my money, he was the most improved Gnat hitter from Opening Day through the end of the season, and it wasn’t particularly close. Sure, he made some minor mechanical tweaks to put him in a better hitting position, and improve his balance, but the major difference was that he stopped chasing everything. Cordero hit .219/.248/.297 with eight extra base hits and four walks in 45 games in the first half and .330/.373/.439 with 15 extra-base hits and 11 walks in 59 games in the second half. He became very good at taking pitches on the outer-half into right field. It’s nice that he hit, but he has the tools to become a strong defender. He has really good feet and soft hands. He threw out 40% of the runners who attempted to run on him (24-for-60) which would have been good enough for fourth in the South Atlantic League. However, he could get sloppy at times, as his 17 errors and 14 passed balls attest.

David Cone (1992): OK this one doesn’t really count, as Cone was traded to the Blue Jays right at the end of August. But he was in the last month of his contract and it was generally assumed that he would not resign with the Mets. GM Al Harazin realizing Cone was leaving, went into panic mode and moved him quickly to the Jays. Backing up the old adage that even a blind squirrel finds a nut occassionally, part of the haul included an unknown second baseman named Jeff Kent. Unfortunately, the Mets didn’t know what they had in Jeff and watched as he fueded with teamates, the press and the fans until they shipped him to Cleveland in the ill-fated Carlos Baerga deal. Later Kent developed into a Hall of Famer with the San Francisco Giants. Cone went on to spectacular career: winning a World Series with Toronto and a Cy Young Award in Kansas City. He then went to the Yankees (they do have a fetish for ex-Mets, no?) where he won four rings, pitched a perfect game and got Mike Piazza out in a crucial spot in Game Four of the Subway Series. - http://www.metstoday.com/7084/11-12-offseason/adios-jose-five-free-agents-who-left-the-mets

In the final analysis as to whether the Mets should re-sign Reyes, there are three subtle but significant factors worth attention. One is that it is easy to rationalize signing a player to an overvalued deal because many fans and owners have become increasingly detached from the reality that real dollar values are at play, which is as much a result of the explosive growth of fantasy sports as it is the enormous sums of money that are part-and-parcel of today’s sports business. Another factor is that the past few years have shown the Mets success—both on the field and at the turnstiles—does not hinge on Reyes as much as might be believed. And, third, if they do re-sign him, it will likely be for somewhere near top dollar, though maybe for no better reason than to satisfy the self-delusion that just a little more time, a few more attempts and a good many more dollars will be exactly what is needed to show that the player is able to perform to the range and level of expectations that most have been waiting for him to play up to all these years. - http://www.forbes.com/sites/sportsmoney/2011/10/03/the-mets-and-jose-reyes-pay-for-performance-or-potential

The majority of Season Ticket Holders will pay less for their seats in 2012:

 • 80% of seats will have a reduction of approximately 5% or greater

• 57% of seats will have a reduction of 10% or greater

• 35% will have a cut of 20% or more

• 18% will have a drop of 30% or more

 • More than 15,000 seats will cost less than $25 per game

Some of the deepest Season Ticket Holder price reductions are in the following seating categories: Caesars Silver (39%); Caesars Gold (34%); Promenade Outfield (33%); Promenade Box (30%); and Promenade Gold (30%). - http://www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/2011/10/mets_announce_lowered_prices_f.html

Cutnpaste: Reese Havens, Jon Niese, RBIs, Evans to Catcher, Albert Cordero

9-3-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/09/prospect-pulse-buffalo-2012-help-on-the-way.html  - Reese Havens - Havens will be embroiled in a fierce competition for the Mets 2B job in 2012. If they manage to retain Jose Reyes, the inside edge for 2B goes to Ruben Tejada, with Justin Turner, Daniel Murphy, Jordany Valdespin, and Havens all vying for the job. On natural ability and a balanced game, Havens may be the best baseball player here. His sweet left-handed stroke, is ideal for not just hitting, but hitting for power. And being a natural shortstop, he has made a fairly seamless transition to 2B. He just needs to stay healthy in order to open some eyes, and he could force his way into the picture anytime in 2012.

9-6-11: - .mlb.  - Though the Mets are not ruling out a return this season for starting pitcher Jon Niese, the left-hander has not progressed significantly since straining his right intercostal muscle last month. Niese is currently doing pool work in Port St. Lucie, Fla., and is "not close" to returning, according to assistant general manager John Ricco. "That midsection is kind of tricky, so we've just got to wait until he's pain-free," Ricco said. "When he sneezes, he feels it. It's not a sharp pain, but he still feels something in there, so we're not progressing him until he totally feels good."

9-6-11: - http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/  - RBI clearly is not a predictive statistic. A predictive statistic is one that correlates highly from year to year.[1]. What a player accomplishes in year X, we should expect him to accomplish in year X+1. As an example, look at xFIP. xFIP does not tell us what happened in the current year - how a pitcher was able to prevent runs - but rather tells us how one should have been able to prevent runs by looking at one's strikeouts, walks, while assuming a league average homerun rate. The assumed home run rate isn't even something that actually happened.

9-6-11: - http://mets.lohudblogs.com/2011/09/06/nick-evans-for-catcher/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+mets+%28The+LoHud+Mets+Blog%29  - Way back in October of 2009, I wrote that moving Nick Evans to catcher made a ton of sense for the New York Mets. After all, Evans had a plus bat, no clear on-field destination, and the Mets certainly needed depth at the position. Like many things concerning the Omar Minaya Mets, this was n apparently fleeting idea with no follow-through. Two years later, it is hard to see how anything has changed concerning Evans, or how he could best help the Mets. Evans certainly holds his own at first base- his 143 OPS+ this season is more than adequate for the position. Among catchers? It would make him a superstar, assuming he could merely hold his own behind the plate.





photo by Allan Greene

 9-3-11: - http://bleacherreport.com/articles/833229-new-york-mets-ranking-their-current-best-prospect-at-every-position/page/7#/articles/833229-new-york-mets-ranking-their-current-best-prospect-at-every-position/page/2 - Fantastic news, Mets fans! For a team that is basically using a platoon role for their current catcher, they also don’t really have a top prospect catcher anywhere in the minors! Luckily, I was able to find a bit of a sleeper candidate in Albert Cordero. Cordero has a good glove the plate, puts up decent power numbers (eight home runs, .189 ISO, 32 RBI in rookie ball), and shows breakout potential as a prospect. His power numbers were behind only Aderlin Rodriguez in rookie ball last season, and at 20 years old, he has already shined behind the plate defensively.

Mets Q and A: - Wally Murphy on The Sand Gnats

Mack: - Welcome Wally. No one has seen more from this team this year than you have. First question is really simply. Name the one player, and why, that is definitely going to be a star in the pros for the New York Mets?


Wally: - That is a good question. There are several players on the team this year that could play for the Mets in the future. The player I think will advance to the top is Josh Edgin, who pitched great in relief for the Gnats the first half-he was (1-0), ERA under 1, with 16 saves. His fast ball was 90 plus and had a great curve ball. I think he could pitch relief or come in the game to get a left handed batter out.


Mack: - I agree. I think Josh might make Queens by the beginning of 2013. Let's talk about Aderlin Rodriquez. Sadly, you've watch a lot of Mets prospects kick the ball around the infield in the last couple of years. We all know A-Rod can hit the ball out of the park, but is he as bad a fielder as the stats say?


Wally: - Aderlin Rodriquez has made lots of errors at third this season. He has a great throwing arm to first and has made a bunch of super plays at third. He is only 19 so they may keep working with him at third. Maybe he will play first base in the future.


Mack: - Regarding the rotation, is there one pitcher that stood out this season from the rest?


Wally: - I was impressed with Angel Cuan pitching well this season leading the team with 10 wins. Not overpowering, his fast ball is 85-86 range, but has good breaking pitches, moves the ball in and out and up and down in the strike zone. I would call him a "crafty" pitcher. Hope he does well in St. Lucie next year.


Mack: - You've watched this team for years now... a little word association. Cory Vaughn or Matt den Dekker?


Wally: - Both play very good defense in the outfield. Slight edge in hitting goes to Den Dekker.


Mack: - Better bat... Aderlin Rodriguez or Josh Satin


Wally: - Josh Satin has hit for good average (.300) at all of his stops. Aderlin Rodriquez has more power (17) home runs, but is hitting around 220. The upside for Rodriquez is that he is only 19 years old, and has time to improve his average and be a more consistent hitter to go with his pop.


Mack: - Wally, your thought on "DC". He didn't have the year everyone expected....


Wally: - The injury slowed down Darrell Ceciliani and he has been hitting better the second half (.260's). He is a tremendous center fielder and it seems like he runs down every ball hit to left-center, center, and right center. Only 4 errors for the year. Good speed leading the team in stolen bases with 25. I look for him to hit for a higher average next year.


Mack: - Wally, any other thoughts on any of the other players this season?


Wally: - Albert Cordero has improved his hitting and made adjustments to lead the Gnats in hitting (around .280) the second half. Gnats pitching has been strong, Angel Cuan (10-3), Adam Kolarek (7-0), Chase Huchingson (7-2), Taylor Whitenton (5-4), closer Hamilton Bennett (2-0) with 14 saves. The entire pitching staff has pitched well leading the SAL with the lowest team ERA.