According to Andy Martino of the Daily News, “Sources familiar with the team’s thinking have maintained that the Mets are unwilling to offer six or seven years (to Jose Reyes), and might be uncomfortable with five.” In regards to the team’s parameters for re-signing Reyes, Martino quotes Sandy Alderson as saying, “We have a sense of where we would be comfortable or slightly less comfortable (or) totally uncomfortable.” http://www.metsblog.com/2011/11/01/mets-unwillingly-to-offer-six-or-more-years-to-reyes 11-1-11: - http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=228&f=1381&t=8181112 - Interesting, pretty positive scouting report on Robert Carson; sits at 92-95 and touches 96 fairly often, with good hop on the ball. Overall upshot is pretty much what IPA has been saying for some time now, that scouts like him better than his numbers would suggest, and he can become an above-average major league starter IF he can learn to command his pitches better, which mainly will come from learning to repeat his proper arm slot. Several issues would complicate this. As the Daily News reported last summer, Wright can void his $16 million club option for 2013 if he is traded. That will limit what the Mets can receive in return, because an acquiring team in July would be guaranteed only half a season from Wright. He could agree to an extension with the new club, but that would present a further wrinkle in trade negotiations. It is also worth remembering Wright's loyalty close friends say, affectionately, that he is loyal to a fault and his genuine desire is to lead the Mets out of this latest wilderness. In an age of cold capitalism in sports, those qualities are rare. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/expect-david-wright-remain-ny-mets-article-1.970967 Binghamton Mets President Michael Urda refuted a report that a group of investors was in negotiations to buy the franchise and move it to Ottawa. Contrary to the report, Urda -- who is part of the franchise's ownership group -- said he plans to seek an extension of the club's lease for NYSEG Stadium with the city. BallParkDigest.com reported on Monday night that a group called Beacon Sports Capital Partners had begun working on a lease for Ottawa Stadium with city officials there. The report asserted "there have been serious negotiations to buy the Binghamton Mets and move the team to Ottawa as soon as 2013, should a new lease be arranged." http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20111101/SPORTS/111010395/B-Mets-president-Team-intend-extend-lease-not-move?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cs
10-26-11: - http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/10/26/colemans-corner-mets-position-players-shining-in-arizona-sun - Then there’s left-hander Robert Carson. Or as he refers to himself on his Facebook page – Robert “I’mdestinedforgreatness” Carson. Whoa, big fella, dial that one back just a little bit. At Double AA Binghamton this season, Carson went 4-11 with a 5.05 ERA in 24 starts and one relief appearance. He gave up a whopping 154 hits in 128 innings, striking out 91 but walking 55. Not pretty. In Arizona, he’s still giving up too many hits – 10 in 9 1/3 innings – but the numbers are better – a 2.89 ERA in 5 relief appearances. 10-25-11: - http://www.newyorkmetsreport.com/2011/10/25/mets-have-precious-few-pieces-to-trade - Fernando Martinez: Had been sought after in previous years, but is a fragile, injury risk whose value has declined. Too bad they can’t turn back the clock two years. If the Mets can swing something with him, they should do it, but his real value to them would be to stay healthy and reach his potential, which is becoming less and less likely. 10-26-11: - http://www.metstoday.com/7132/mets-minors/a-look-into-the-future-top-shortstop-prospects - Phillip Evans DOB: 9/10/1992 Birthplace: Carlsbad, CA Height: 5’10” Weight: 185 R/R - I’m not going to even talk about his stats because they are irrelevant since he only played 9 games. However, he did reach Brooklyn, something Brandon Nimmo did not do. When the Mets snagged him on the signing deadline day, I remember rejoicing that we did not let him go. He’s practically my age and I’m praising him. His frame is pretty much maxed out at this point. It’s impossible to predict growth spurts, but you never know. Evans reminds me of your classic shortstop, who has potential to hit a few homeruns while being a solid gap hitter. He represented the west coast in the 2010 AFLAC All-American game, where he snagged the MVP honors in front of his hometown fans. According to Replacement Level Baseball, they clocked Evans in high school at 4.1 from home to first, predicting that he can be an “admirable base stealer at the next level”. RLP also said that Evans’ arm could be projected at a 65, well above average on the scouting scale. He’s what you want a high school prospect to look like. It’s not going to take him much time to fit into the system because he has the tools to succeed. 10-26-11: - http://www.metsminorleagueblog.com/what-do-the-mets-have-in-reese-havens - Reese Havens’ health has been his biggest flaw as a player since being drafted by the Mets in the 1st round of the 2008 Draft (22nd overall) out of the University of South Carolina. Skeptics might be concerned he will never stay healthy. While he does strikeout at a high rate, I will give Havens the benefit of the doubt due to the lack of consistent at-bats. Overall, I like what I saw from Havens when he was on the field. That potential is what draws the attention of scouts and the Mets front office staff. Havens just turned 25, and the clock is ticking very quickly for him. Should Havens stay healthy, the Mets look like they have their future everyday second-baseman. The bullpen, which lacked the hard middle-inning throwers that other teams employed, desperately can use reinforcements. Mets relievers combined for a 4.33 ERA and .267 opponent batting average this past season, both ranked 15th in the National League. The Houston Astros were the only team to finish worse, with a 4.49 reliever ERA and .269 opponent batting average. "Of course the bullpen was a big disappointment -- overall and certainly the last two months of the season," Alderson said in the Mets' clubhouse at Citi Field the day after the regular-season finale. "So I think a lot of our success or failure next year is going to be a function of pitching, regardless of who's playing for us. Now that doesn't mean we're going to go spending all of our money on pitching and not try to sign Jose. But I think our fate lies more on the pitching side than anything else http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/7148914/new-york-mets-finding-capable-arms-bullpen-key-amazins
Willie Harris played five positions -- six, including designated hitter -- but spent most of his time in left field. He is a point of contention amidst the alleged sabermetric groupthink that is Amazin' Avenue. Harris was a leading vote-getter for the AA Mets' Worst Hitter Award, yet I don't think he was as horrible as alleged. He posted a .351 OBP as a reserve while playing, in my estimation at least, solid defense. Yes, his power was Tholian and he probably played a bit too often but Harris wasn't the catastrophe that many made him out to be. That said, securing a Harris return in 2012 should not be an offseason priority. - http://www.amazinavenue.com/2011/10/25/2494933/2011-postmortem-left-field In an era when 40 home runs might lead a league, Dave Kingman stood out. The 6-foot-6 slugger, nicknamed Kong for his larger-than-life displays of power, was a prodigious longball threat, bashing 442 homers over the course of a 16-year career from 1971-1986. He led his league just twice, but only Mike Schmidt (495) and Reggie Jackson (448) went yard more often during that timeframe. And while HitTracker had yet to be invented, few people produced the distance that he did with his homers; his April 14, 1976 shot is said to be the longest in the history of Wrigley Field; it left the Friendly Confines and struck the third house beyond Waveland Avenue, some 530 feet away. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15364 You can generously say the Mets' timetable for returning to division-title contention is 2013, when pitching prospects Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler and Jeurys Familia might be legitimate major league contributors. But it is not until the following season that the Mets get true liberation from their weighty contracts, when Johan Santana is off the books and Jason Bay may be cleared off as well (assuming what may be a controversial vesting option based on plate appearances over the next couple of seasons does not kick in for 2014). Too often in the past the Mets made decisions based on public perception. That's how they got into the predicament of their cumbersome contracts in the first place. Rather than make pure baseball decisions, they signed big-ticket players to appease the fan base and sell tickets with little consideration for the down-the-road ramifications of those payroll commitments. www.espn.com 10-26-11: - http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/mike-newman-prospects-chat-102511 - Comment From Robert Carson - Is my fastball and slider enough to be a MLB middle reliever? Mike Newman: Fastball has enough giddy-up, but the slider still falls short. I guess I can mention this now since it was a couple of years ago, but near the trade deadline, I was specifically asked if he could be a guy who sat at 94 out of the pen as an adrenaline reliever. I thought he could at the time and still think he'll get a big league shot at some point.
