Cutnpaste: - Bobby Parnell, Frank Cashen, Duda/Davis Status, Jeff Wilpon, Sandy and Jose

Bobby Parnell: Young and a power arm is always attractive. Not so much is his command and thought process on the mound. There are no assurances the Mets will make him their closer as there are numerous reports saying that is their greatest need. If Parnell can’t convince the Mets he’s closer worthy, then what must other teams be thinking? Right, he’s a bullpen piece who needs a lot of work. Not a long line here. http://www.newyorkmetsreport.com/2011/10/25/mets-have-precious-few-pieces-to-trade

Frank Cashen took over as general managerin 1980. At that time, the Mets were consistently scoring below the NL average per game and were a dismal 40% below the league average in terms of home runs. Through the draft, trades, and free agent acquisitions, Cashen built an offense that was better than any in Mets' history at clearing the bases. You can also see the impact of the home run on the Mets ability to score runs. Only three times have the Mets have finished above the league average in runs per game without also finishing above league average in home runs, last year being one of them with by far the largest gap between the two statistics. http://www.amazinavenue.com/2011/10/31/2523345/visualizing-the-mets-offense-through-time?ref=fangraphs

The concussion symptoms that sidelined Lucas Duda for the season's final seven games, after a collision with the right-field wall in St. Louis, have cleared and Duda is no longer experiencing headaches or other troubles, assistant GM John Ricco said. Ike Davis, who opted not to have surgery on his troublesome left ankle, similarly is doing OK, according to GM Sandy Alderson. Davis is at home in Arizona and just doing conditioning work at this point, according to Alderson. http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/36290/mets-confident-in-duda-ike-health

Chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said Monday that the sale of small blocks of the team to minority investors is “going very well,” but he declined to offer any specifics about the progress. The Wilpons are seeking multiple small shareholders to offset the loss of the planned $200 million minority investment from David Einhorn, which fell through Sept. 1. Team sources previously told ESPNNewYork.com the Mets were looking to sell shares in varying amounts in the neighborhood of $15 million to $20 million apiece with the hope of raising in the vicinity of what Einhorn planned to invest. Wilpon declined to identify anybody who has followed through and invested at that level. http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/36292/jeff-wilpon-sale-not-fans-business?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Sandy Alderson and Co. are doing things their way. This ballpark was built big. That’s the way ownership wanted it, but that has changed, and to Jeff Wilpon’s credit, he has blessed the new dimensions. If Alderson thinks the financially-troubled Mets can survive without a $100 million shortstop, he will make that move as well: Fences in, Reyes out. Hello, Ruben Tejada. Alderson is not going to cancel the 2012 season if Reyes is not a Met. Reyes seems destined to land with a team like the Nationals or Tigers. The Giants or Angels would be an interesting fit, too.  http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/mets/there_no_place_like_homer_2GG2MluoVhPWI85rXJg65I#ixzz1cS9iFcje

Cutnpaste: Jeff Diehl. 2012 Rotation, Ruben Tejada, Bobby Parnell, The Kid

9-19-11: - link  - Jeff Diehl, C: Drafted in the 23rd round from high school in Rhode Island, Diehl signed too late to play so we have no stats to look at, but he qualifies as someone to watch in '12. He's considered raw but promising, with a strong arm, plenty of bat speed, and good power potential. His $135,000 bonus could be a real bargain if he reaches his maximum potential.

Given the organization's limited financial flexibility this winter, there's not a whole lot the Mets can do to revamp their rotation. They expect Santana to be healthy and hope he can again be an ace -- short of that, they are rooting for him at least to give them some consistent innings. Though rumors of the Mets non-tendering Mike Pelfrey may swirl this winter, I suspect the team will offer Pelfrey a contract simply because he is their best bet to deliver 200 innings. Jon Niese will be back and I'd expect more of the same from him. Dillon Gee will also be back and, the team hopes, more consistent. And I expect the Mets to sign a relatively cheap starter to fill out their rotation, a la Chris Capuano and Chris Young. Perhaps even Capuano himself will return on a less incentive-laden deal, if the money is right. - http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110919&content_id=24917188&vkey=news_nym&c_id=nym&partnerId=rss_nym

9-20-11: - http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/mets-hope-reyes-tejada-combo-is-a-keeper-1.3183457 - Tejada is listed at 5-11, 185 pounds, but in reality, he's well under in both cases. That doesn't mean he won't generate the power Collins speaks of at some point. Dustin Pedroia, after all, is officially 5-9, 180 pounds -- again, an exaggeration -- and he has 20 homers through 150 games this season. Tejada's learning curve, however, won't be measured by how far he hits the ball. What the Mets have noticed most from him this season has been his selectivity at the plate and an ability to hit with two strikes, a fear that young players must overcome. Tejada has a .335 on-base percentage with two strikes; a year ago, it was .272.

It’s one thing to throw 96 to 100 miles per hour. It’s another to do it along with a killer slider or nasty hook. Parnell gets hitters to swing-and-miss at his slider 41 percent of the time. That sounds good and it does rank well. But the really good relievers do better. Kimbrel, League, Walden, Hanrahan, and Bard all get hitters to miss on at least half of their sliders. How many times did it seem like Parnell was about to finish off a hitter, only to give up a hit? More than a few. He’s given up 28, twice as many as last season, but hasn’t gotten twice as many outs to go with it. - http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/35051/in-depth-whats-kept-parnell-down

Gary Carter's battle with cancerous brain tumors has taken much of his energy, but the Hall of Fame catcher was able to briefly help coach his Palm Beach Atlantic University baseball team this past week. Carter was due to begin taking a second, higher-dosage round of chemotherapy pills Monday night, but his white-blood-cell count was too low, his daughter Kimmy Bloemers wrote in an online family journal to which ESPNNewYork.com has been granted access. "There is no doubt that dad is fighting an extremely difficult battle," Bloemers wrote. "He is exhausted, sad at times, unmotivated and frustrated that his body won't move like it used to. However, there are moments where we will see dad laugh, smile and show that determined attitude to win. - http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/6995672/gary-carter-attends-practice-palm-beach-atlantic-university-team

Cutnpaste: Mark Cohoon, Chris Schwinden, Manny Acosta, Bobby Parnell, Juan Lagares

9-3-11: - http://metsmerizedonline.com/2011/09/prospect-pulse-buffalo-2012-help-on-the-way.html  - SP5: Mark Cohoon - What can you say about the season that the Mets’ 2010 Minor League Pitcher of the Year, has had to endure? He has really, really struggled. Just when it seems like he is on the verge of finding his old form, he gets his brains beat out by International League hitting. Since joining the Herd rotation, in mid-May, the south-paw has been remarkably ineffective. In 17 AAA GS over 88 IP, he has a dismal record of 4-10, with an ERA of 6.01. He has been raked for 110 hits, 59 ER’s, 9 HR’s, 38 walks and only 49 K’s, and opponents are hitting .316 against him. Now some would say, “this guy is awful just get rid of him!” But what are we actually talking about here? The 5th rotation spot on the Buffalo Bisons? If you don’t live in Buffalo, then who cares? After all, he was pitcher of the year last year, he is left-handed, and he is breathing. Cohoon has shown himself to be a resourceful pitcher before. Last year when he first joined Bingo, he got his lunch eaten a few times, but he managed to make the necessary adjustments to succeed there. With luck he can possibly do the same thing again next year, but he needs the opportunity first, so lets give him a couple months worth of starts, and see if he can do more than just hold down the fort until Mejia returns around mid-season. As for helping the Mets next season? It ain’t gonna happen, but if he does pitch well for the Herd in 2012, he could be in this conversation for real, this time next year.

9-14-11: - http://www.minorleagueball.com/2011/9/14/2423353/prospect-of-the-day-chris-schwinden-rhp-new-york-mets  - (Chris) Schwinden was undeterred however, and ended up having a fine season this year for Triple-A Buffalo, with a 3.95 ERA and a 134/48 K/BB in 146 innings, allowing 138 hits. He was promoted to the majors for this month and gave up eight hits and five runs in five innings in his first start, though he walked just one and fanned four. There is nothing special about his velocity, his fastball is just in the 86-90 range. He mixes in a cutter, curveball, and changeup, relying on sharp command of his secondary pitches to succeed. He has little margin for error and needs a strong defense behind him, but there are pitchers with worse stuff who have made careers for themselves due to superior command, and he's shown the ability to make adjustments to higher level competition. Schwinden really snuck up on us this year, but I don't see him as a total fluke. I think he projects as a fifth starter or long relief type as long as his command remains strong.

As for underappreciated players, there are a few who come to mind on the 2011 Mets. The circumstances surrouding the players and the Mets certainly differ from those of the A's at the turn of the century, but acquiring or retaining underappreciated players can only be a good thing for any organization. If a player can be had at a price below the value he'll provide, he will benefit the team. (Manny) Acosta was a Braves castaway when the Mets picked him up on waivers early in the 2010 season, but he's been nothing short of a very good reliever in his time with the Mets. Although the "Acostalypse" nickname created in his Braves days has stuck with him, Acosta has struck out 84 in 79.2 innings of work, a rate of 9.5 per nine innings, while posting a 3.05 ERA. Control has never been Acosta's speciality, but over the same span he's walked 3.4 per nine innings. Both numbers are a marked improvement from his time with the Braves. His splits show an ability to handle left-handed hitters without issue, and his salary is quite low by major league standards. Acosta rarely gets credit, but he's a great fit for medium-to-high leverage situations out of the bullpen. - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2011/9/14/2423158/the-moneyball-mets-underappreciated-players-on-the-2011-team  

The question never is, should (Bobby) Parnell be closer or not. It isn’t a binary choice. If not Parnell, someone has to close. And clearly, there are plenty of relievers who wouldn’t be likely to perform as well as Parnell next season, closer or otherwise. But there’s a decent chance the Mets can find someone better, too. Meanwhile, as he struggles late in the season, let’s not pretend it says anything other than that Parnell sometimes struggles. Look no further than Ryan Madson in Philadelphia, a pitcher talked about as effective but not, somehow, closer material. He’s saved 30 games this year. And unfortunately for the Mets, he’s a much better pitcher than Parnell. And that has nothing to do with role. If the Mets can get a pitcher like Madson, he should close. If not, Parnell is a good bet to be a middling, Leo Nunez-type closer. And when the Mets are ready to contend again, Parnell should be a mid-level bullpen contributor. - http://mets.lohudblogs.com/2011/09/14/who-is-bobby-parnell  

9-14-11: - http://www.metsminorleagueblog.com/juan-lagares  - Defensively, (Juan) Lagares can play both left and right field, and also is a good enough athlete to play some center-field in a pinch. While Lagares would not be a liability in centerfield, he is not an everyday centerfield type mainly due to lack of foot speed. Lagares shows good instincts in the outfield to go along with smooth clean actions. Lagares does not fit the mold of a starting corner outfielder in the big leagues (on a championship type team). His lack of power is the biggest reason for this. Lagares would need to hit a ton in order to make up for the lack of power to be an everyday corner outfielder. The closest comparison I can see Lagares becoming is perhaps a Jose Tabata type. Lagares looks the part of a solid fourth outfield type. His ability to play all three outfield positions to go with his ability to hit, gives Lagares a chance to be a future solid bench contributor to the Mets organization