Disgruntled Mets Fan

Well, folks, the moment has finally arrived.

The Mets played an intrasquad game today. The lineups were as follows:

Away team:
1. Angel Pagan CF
2. Alex Cora 2B
3. Jason Pridie LF
4. Jeff Francoeur RF
5. Mike Jacobs 1B
6. Fernando Tatis 3B
7. Josh Thole C
8. Ruben Tejada SS
9. Chris Carter DH

And Tobi Stoner (RHP) on the mound.

Home team:
1. Gary Matthews Jr. CF
2. Luis Castillo 2B
3. Jose Reyes SS
4. David Wright 3B
5. Daniel Murphy 1B
6. Fernando Martinez LF
7. Henry Blanco C
8. Kirk Nieuwenhuis RF
9. Frank Catalanotto DH

…with Jon Niese (LHP) on the mound.

Some notes (hat tip to MetsBlog):
-Jose Reyes tripled on the first pitch of his first at-bat. Manuel seems serious about batting him third, as Reyes will also bat third in the Mets’ first official Spring Training game tomorrow (more on that in the upcoming post)
-Jenrry Mejia appeared in this game, and had a private conversation with Jerry Manuel after pitching, a conversation which both were seen laughing in.
-Four errors were committed between the two teams (as per Brian Costa of the Star Ledger).

In any event, I’m excited. I remember last year, Reyes batted third in the Mets’ first spring game and went yard twice. That pumped me up, and knowing that Jose is okay and good to go makes me feel pretty secure right now.

According to a Tweet from Jon Heyman, the Mets are serious about batting Jose Reyes 3rd and will do so until Carlos Beltran returns.

A projected Opening Day ‘10 lineup:
1. Angel Pagan
2. Luis Castillo
3. Jose Reyes
4. Jason Bay
5. David Wright
6. Daniel Murphy
7. Jeff Francoeur
8. Rod Barajas
9. Johan Santana

Sooo…there you have it. What do I think? Stranger things have happened, and it could be worse. Something about batting Jose third interests me…for example, look at Hanley Ramirez. After hitting leadoff for his whole career, he switched to batting third last year. Despite lower power numbers and steals, Hanley hit for by far the highest average of his career.

Jose Reyes is certainly a different player. Hanley is much more powerful and will likely further develop into more of an A-Rod type player while Reyes is in his own category, perhaps more like Jimmy Rollins (but with a higher ceiling across all the tools except power). However, I do think batting Reyes third can make him an all-around better player. I think he will hit for more average batting third; he will take fewer risks and learn to play more smartly; he will probably learn to hit for more power as well as he learns to drive the ball and drive in more runs as opposed to getting on base and wreaking havoc that way. As a leadoff hitter, Reyes would usually be around a .300 average with 15 homers and 50 steals; as a 3rd hitter, it’s not outlandish to say that he would be more along the lines of .315 with 20 or more homers and 35 to 45 steals.

In terms of the Mets lineup, it does make the lineup much deeper. Instead of a large drop off after the 4th spot (Wright to Murphy) you move that drop-off back a spot and now you have five hitters at the top of the lineup that are on-base machines. When this happens, you create more opportunities for the bottom of the lineup to drive in runs. Furthermore, after the first inning, the top of the order doesn’t matter as much, because different batters will lead off innings. Reyes may lose a few at-bats, but ultimately, he will only truly HAVE to be a different player once a game. You also get a “triple lead-off” with your first three hitters, when can be beneficial.

I realize in writing this post than in my attempt to analyze the decision, I’m in support of it unconsciously. I suppose this is true; ultimately, it may turn out to be more out of curiosity than anything. Until I’m proven wrong, though, I will believe as fact that Reyes will always be better suited to bat first.

Much has been said about David Wright’s home run total in 2009.  Mets fans everywhere are wondering if Wright will have a bounce back season in 2010 power wise, getting his total back up to the thirties that we’re used to.  Well the Mets are trying to help. (Or so they think)

In what seems to be an attempt to make Citi Field more hitter friendly, the front office has decided to lower the Center Field wall from 16 feet to eight.

Personally, I don’t think the height of the center field wall had anything to do with Wright’s lowered home run total last season.   I think his swing had become bigger, and in turn slower, which would help explain his high strikeout totals as well as his lack of home runs.

Looking at Wright’s spray chart for 2009, there were only two balls hit out the part of the field effected by the change.

I don’t think anyone would say two more home runs by Wright last season would have been a make or break change for the Mets.

I’ve always been a big fan of Citi Field’s dimensions, and I think a winning baseball team can easily be fielded to give a huge home field advantage.   The Wilpon’s have said they want to build a baseball  based around pitching, defense, and speed.  I challenge any Mets fan to name a player the Mets have acquired this off-season that will help the team in those three areas.

I have low-expectations for 2010, but I wouldn’t be disgruntled if I didn’t.  I do however, think there is a lot of room for me to be wrong, and pleasantly surprised by the Mets.  Unfortunately, too many things need to go right for the team to be successful, including bounce back performances from every starting pitcher not named Johan.

Here’s to the Mets proving me wrong!

The writers of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance would like to announce that they are taking to the airwaves.

Beginning Tuesday, February 16th at 11 pm Eastern, BBA Baseball Talk can be found at Blog Talk Radio.  This one-hour show will discuss the big stories of the day in major league baseball and other baseball-related topics.  Callers are welcome to chime in at 347-884-8690.

Your hosts for the first edition will be BBA founder Daniel Shoptaw, who writes at C70 At The Bat, and Ron Kaplan of Ron Kaplan’s Baseball Bookshelf.

Hosts will rotate on a weekly basis and the time and date of the show may move depending on the requirements of that week’s hosts.

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance is a confederation of 132 blogs working together for collaboration and discussion possibilities.

I think it’s becoming clear that Omar Minaya is no longer the only guy calling the shots in the Mets front office.  Between his absence at the Carlos Beltran Drama Conference and the emergence of John Ricco as the mouth of the organization, Omar may well be on his way out.

The fact that the news broke today about Bengie Molina rejecting the Mets latest offer should not be looked at negatively.  If anything it shows a change in philosophy at the top of the organization that will help the team get better in the future.  That change is patience.

The Mets have continually displayed patience this offseason.  They haven’t over-payed for anyone.  They haven’t tied up tons of money for tons of years in an attempt to appease the disgruntled fan base.

Instead they’ve put their offers on the table, with a “go out and find a better offer” approach.

Molina wants a three year offer, the Mets offered him a year with a team option for a second.  How a thirty five year old catcher can think he’s going to get a three year deal is beyond me, and apparently beyond the Mets.

As early as last season, when Omar was the guy captaining the ship, you could have almost guaranteed Molina would have signed already, happily inking his name to the three year contract he’s asking for months ago.  Now it seems that times have changed.

If Molina finds a better offer, the Mets will likely beat it, meaning Molina will likely end up a Met before the start of the season anyway, but this way they won’t be bidding against themselves.

Perhaps while Bengie is out “shopping” the Mets can focus on the area they need to address the most, starting pitching.

I believe that at least one of Joel Pinero, Jon Garland and Ben Sheets will be a Met by the start of the 2010 season.  I’m certain we need at least one of them to fill the rotation, and two of them to bolster it.  After all, 80% of the rotation will be coming back from injuries or surgery and the other 20% is Mike Pelfrey.

Looking forward to some good news, but for now I’ll settle for good playing from the J E T S Jets Jets Jets.

I’m not called the Disgruntled Mets fan for no reason.  I describe myself as a self-hating  fan that wishes he had no morals so he could switch allegiances to a team that did not aggravate him so much.  But alas, after 20+ years of aggravation, I’m still here.

In my first off season blogging, I found myself unsuccessfully trying to think of things to write about.  My writing style is more about gut reactions to things that are happening on the field rather than reporting on the day to day news about transactions and signings.

The off season was pretty uneventful up until a few weeks ago, when the Mets landed their version of the “Big Fish” in Jason Bay.  Bay may have been the smallest big fish out there this season, but there’s no doubt he’ll be an upgrade in left field.

The main problem I had with the Bay signing, was that Bay was not a starting pitcher.

The Mets have a gaping hole that makes up the last four spots in their rotation.  Johan Santana is the only guarantee they have.  They have what amounts to three No. 3/4 starters vying for the No. 2 spot in the rotation, and a huge question mark at the No. 5 spot.

The Mets have let opportunities pass in the starting pitching market this off season.  John Lackey was the guy to go out and get, and they missed their chance.  Whether Lackey didn’t want to play for the Mets or not, a big money offer would have changed his mind.

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