Author Archive

Personally I would go with

K-Rod
Igarashi
Calero
Nieve
Figgy
Feliciano
Takahashi to open the season.

Green and Parnell have options and neither are good enough (at this point) that I would want to lose Figgy/Nieve just to carry them. This  Would allow the Mets to hold onto both Nieve and Figgy, Parnell to get more time to work on his cutter in the minors and get a longer look at Nieve, Figgy and Takahashi without losing talent. Personally I think Niese will be/should be the #5 but should he falter (or should Perez/Maine/Pelfrey do the same)  it would be nice to still have Figgy to fill in there.

per ESPN.com

”

The New York Mets say Jose Reyes has an overactive thyroid, but the shortstop isn’t buying it.

The team said on Tuesday that Reyes is expected to remain in New York while the results of additional blood tests are used to determine his treatment after tests confirmed he has an overactive thyroid.

But Reyes told ESPNDeportes.com’s Enrique Rojas later Tuesday: “The specialists who took care of me in New York have told me that I’m fine and that there’s nothing wrong with my thyroid. The test [taken to follow one conducted during his physical] showed that I’m fine. We just have to wait for the results of the additional test. The [doctors] found inflammation in my throat and no medicine to treat the thyroid or any other condition has been prescribed.”"

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2010/news/story?id=4980758

What the heck is going on?

UPDATE: Jose Reyes quotes from ESPN Deportes in spanish then translated in english.
Reyes: “Los especialistas que me atendieron en Nueva York me dijeron que estaba bien y que no tengo problemas de la tiroide”
Reyes: The specialists that attended me in New York told me that I am fine and that I don’t have Thyroid problems.

Reyes: “Me dijeron que solamente tenía la garganta inflamada y no necesitaba medicinas para la tiroide u otra cosa”
Reyes: They told me that I only had a inflamed throat and did not need medicines for the thyroid or something else.

Reyes: “La única recomendación de los especialistas fue que no comiera mariscos por la cantidad de yodo que contienen y que debía chequearme cada tres semanas para ver como sigue todo”
Reyes: The only recommendation of the specialists was to not eat seafood because of the amount of iodine that they have and that I should check myself every 3 weeks to see how everything is going.

Reyes: “El primer examen mostró que estoy bien, me dijeron, y los resultados del segundo no los tenemos”
Reyes: They told me the first examination showed that I am fine and the results of the second ones we don’t have.

Reyes: “Quieren que todo esté claro antes de autorizarme a volar de vuelta a Florida”
Reyes: They want everything to be clear before authorizing me to fly back to Florida.

Again according to ESPN Deportes Jose Reyes says the Mets announcement that Reyes has a hyperactive thyroid are false. Stay tuned I am sure there is more to come.

Updated lineup:

1. Angel Pagan, CF
2. Luis Castillo, 2B
3. David Wright, 3B
4. Jason Bay, LF
5. Daniel Murphy, 1B
6. Rod Barajas, C
7. Jesus Feliciano, RF
8. Luis Hernandez, SS
9. Kai Gronauer, DH

As we all know the Mets have 4 starting pitchers “penciled” into the rotation. Johan Santana followed by John Maine, Oliver Perez and Mike Pelfrey in some order.  Ideally headed into this season we would have been able to pencil in Jon Niese as the #5 but his hamstring injury last year has set him back a bit. From speaking to some of the beatwriters it appears that while Niese is “coming along fine” the Mets are operating under the assumption he may be a month or so behind “ready for opening day” status.

The Mets also have the issue of Fernando Nieve who showed flashes of why he was once a top prospect in the Astros system but is out of options and thus would be subjected to waivers should he not make the Mets. Nieve would likely be claimed so Omar Minaya’s proclamation a few weeks ago that Nieve was the early favorite for the 5th spot shouldn’t have caught people by surprise as it did. The Mets also signed 34 year old soft-tosser Hisanori Takahashi to a minor league deal with guaranteed money if he makes the team who will likely be given a chance to compete for the #5 spot but another option remains available and his name is Yunieski/Yuniesky Maya.  Maya is a 28 year old righty from Cuba waiting to be cleared so he can sign with a MLB team. Maya is NOT the top of prospect fellow countryman Aroldis Chapman is and is unlikely to see money close to what Chapman got. That said… “Who is Maya?”

- 5′11/6 feet tall

- FB 88-92

-Curve, Slider, Change

-Considered more of an “El Duque” aka smart pitcher than a guy with “great” stuff

-Pitched well in the WBC posting a 1.23 era in 7 1/3 innings

You can see video of Maya pitching here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50QsmRL0VY8)

The upside/downside to Maya really comes down to $$$ and how much he wants. The Red Sox reportedly are hot for him but his agent has inferred he 100% prefers to start and would like to sign with a team that he will have that opportunity. If the Mets can sign him to a deal which allows them to start him in the minors to get acclimated to this country and deal with the roster numbers crunch as well as the fact they can skip the #5 to open the year I think it would be a smart move. That said Cuban players traditionally haven’t fared as well as the hype so expecting him to be something he is not is not going to be very fruitful.

“…i have heard from people in the Mets organization who feel piazza could one day see his number retired in Citi Field… the team clearly puts him on the same pedestal as Tom Seaver, having the two featured shoulder to shoulder, with no one else, during various on-field ceremonies over the last few years… however, from what i can gather, the Mets are waiting to see what happens with mike and the Hall of Fame… i actually think this is pretty smart… i mean, if they retire mike’s number and then he is inducted in to the Hall of Fame in a Dodgers cap, or, if they have to retire his number after he’s in the hall as a Dodger, given all the Wilpons-Love-the-Dodgers criticism from Mets fans, i’m thinking that could end up being quite awkward for the team… and so, i can understand why they’re waiting, and letting this play out… mike isn’t eligible until 2012… he last played for the Mets in 2005… so, who knows, maybe in 2015, the 10–year anniversary of him leaving the Mets, maybe that will mark a good time to send up his number…” - Cerrone

I couldn’t disagree with Cerrone any stronger on any topic than I do on this one. So the Mets shouldn’t retire Piazza’s number before he makes the hall because “it may be awkward” if he is inducted as a Dodger? Really? So hypothetically he is inducted as a Dodger that should cease to end his chances of his number retired by the Mets? Bizarre rationale if you ask me. The guy was there for the final game at Shea and the first at CitiField putting him on par with Seaver. I don’t care if Piazza himself said “I see myself as a Dodger” he still would deserve his number retired by the Mets and the majority of Mets fans would agree. Was he an all-time great as a Met? That’s enough for me.Will his game winning homers be erased from our memory if the HOF puts him in as a Dodger? The 9/11 homer vanishes, his top 5 MVP finishes vanish.Somehow Nolan Ryan has his number retired by 3 teams (2 of which he wasn’t inducted to the HOF with) and that’s just one example. Furthermore since when has Fred Wilpon shown any love for the LOS ANGELES Dodgers? He may love his “Bums” but Piazza was an LA Dodger something that has nothing to do with the Brooklyn team Fred grew up cheering for.

Hypothetically speaking… What is your plan IF Bay decides he doesn’t want to be a Met and Holliday is out of the Mets price range? Which way do you turn? My plan Uggla(trade)/DeRosa (2 years 12 million…7 this year, 5 next year)/Byrd 1 year 7 million (2nd year vested option based on starts)/Barajas 1 year 2 million then sign Piniero and Dotel and “Juan Pierre” Luis Castillo to any team who will do it.

Obviously it’s not my “ideal” plan but I’m working with the idea that for some reason Bay turns us down and Holliday costs too much and thus we go short-term on a bunch of “solid”. The lineup would be a LOT better than last year with only Barajas truly “bad” but still a plus defensive player with pop. Byrd isn’t a terrible player, you still have Pagan, Uggla probably comes close to Bay’s production (from 2b no less) and DeRosa can be moved wherever to accommodate adding better players.