Evan Roberts gets some time in with Alex Cora before today’s game to talk about the shortstop situation Lucky number 13 and what they did to pass the time during yesterday’s 3 hour bus trip.

Evan Roberts
Saturday, March 13th - Mets infielder Alex Cora is kind enough
to joins Evan on a Saturday morning to talk about his role with
the Mets as the Jose Reyes fiasco continues.

I apologize for not posting yesterday but after the Jose Reyes thyroid fallout this past Thursday, I just felt I needed a 24 hour break from everything Mets related. Yes during this hiatus I even managed to stay away from the negativity box that is WFAN placating myself by listening to the soothing sounds of the new Slayer CD entitled ” World Painted Blood” ( I recommend it highly !). So as I was regrouping my thoughts ( and cleaning my high powered rifle ), I had a epiphany. This might be the best thing that could ever happen to the 2010 Mets. Okay so now before you reserve the rubber room for me just hear me out. With both Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran out for a period of time ( who knows how long before they take the field again), this could be a rallying call for this team, a incident that could quite possibly band this team together. I feel that if Jerry Manuel Would instill a “fight or die”" us against the world ” mantra, this team could find the fire that it has been sorely lacking since game seven of the ‘06 NLCS. I believe that Ruben Tejada is the best in house option to hold down the fort until Jose gets back, with Alex Cora serving as backup . From the stats I saw Tejada has a better than adequate bat and is possibly the most defensively sound shortstop other than Reyes in the organization He might not be the human highlight reel like Santana is, but if he is more like Rafael Santana than Ramon Martinez I feel that this team can win. I feel the Mets would be making a big mistake if they traded for a temporary replacement ( remember Mike Bordick).
But to get back to my main argument here, it seems that almost every media outlet is predicting nothing but doom for this organization this year. This team has to channel this negativity - get angry and DOMINATE !!!

                                                         ” The Mets have to get ANGRY !!!”

And now …. ON WITH THE INFAMY !!!!!

Happy Birthday wishes go out to back up outfielder from the ‘66 -’67 campaigns , Al Luplow (1939)

Utility-man for the ‘65 team , Gary Kolb is 70 (1940) .
One of the best pitchers the Mets never gave a real chance to , Terry Leach is 56 (1954) .

Former third base coach, Luis Aguayo is 51 (1959) .
Back up catcher for the ‘98 team , Jorge Fabregas is 40 (1970) .

Happy 31st birthday to our Ace - Johan Santana (1979)

New York Mets traded reliever Mardie Cornejo to the Detroit Tigers for reliver - and Pride of Flushing - Ed Glynn on March 13, 1979. It is common knowledge that Glynn was once worked for the Mets as a concessionaire when he was a teenager, and he was a decent reliever in his two year tenure as a Met, garnering eight saves and a e.r.a of 3.53

Detroit Tigers claimed infielder , Shane Halter of the New York Mets on waivers on March 13, 2000.

And don’t forget - there are just 23 Doug Flynn days until the Mets open the 2010 season against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field !

Photos:

Alex Cora signing autographs for the kids

Would have come in handy for 2009

A Jose Reyes Action Figure...cant get any cooler than that

Me, MRose and Jeff "Frenchy" Francoeur

Dirtysanchez:

Just got back from Port St Lucie and it was great. It has been unseasonably cold here in Florida but today was just beautiful. We got there at about mid day and walking up to the park, we saw Alex Cora (and his BMW) signing some autographs for the kids. Me and Matt didn’t have anything for Alex to sign so we just waved and he waved back. We decided to get something for the players to sign if we saw another one. At the Fanshop, it was honestly more difficult in showing restraint than anything. I could have bought half the store if I had my way (and a crap load of money), I mean who could resist a Jose Reyes action figure or a Mets Flask? After getting at least a baseball and sharpies, we went back to the parking lot and chatted it up with some other Mets fans.

The security guard was pretty good at letting us know who was coming out. We caught a glimpse of Jason Bay as he rode off, apparently he had to be somewhere fast but he was pretty apologetic as you could see him mouth “I’m sorry guys” while he made his turn up the ramp and out of the complex. Jeff was the next one up out of the complex and let me say, Jeff is a BIG guy…like TV does not do him justice. He actually was VERY cool and stopped on his way out and signed every fans ball that was there (including ours). He was smiling the whole time and didn’t mind taking a picture with whoever asked him too…Jeff was just really cool and definitely jumped up in my personal favorite Mets group. The last guy we saw was David Wright, but like Jason Bay he was in a rush to get somewhere (in a very nice Audi). Everyone there was waving to catch his attention but David just waved back and drove off. All in all it was a very nice trip and I would recommend that everyone should visit that place at least once. Even though there wasnt a game that day, you can still feel the vibe that baseball is seriously right around the corner.

MRose

I don’t have much to add from Dirty’s post, he covered most of the feeling.  I will add that David Wright must have had somewhere to be, as there was a girl there that had a picture from a “night out with David Wright” she had won, and he took a look, waved and kept on goin!  I have read in the past that he is typically very good about interviews, so I’ll give him a pass.  I also completely agree about Frenchy climbing up my list of favorite Mets.  When I said to him “Jeff, we are looking forward to what you can do for the Mets in a full year”, he responded with “Yea, me too! We have to stay healthy though!”.  Also, if you notice in the picture with him, before we shot it, he looked at Dirty, then looked back at me to make sure he wasn’t blocking either of us, and that we would all be in the picture.  He seemed genuinely happy to be there and be talking to fans.  I know there are a lot of people hes not too popular with, but I’m 100% pulling for him now.

I did catch on pretty quickly that Jason Bay was driving a rental car.  I believe it was some middle of the road small SUV, with Florida plates.  Being I’ve read his offseason home is Seattle, he is originally from Canada and the only teams he has played for are the Pirates and Red Sox, that was pretty obvious.  It also doesn’t help that all the other players we saw come out were driving much nicer vehicles, he must have just not shipped his down like the others.

All in all, we did not get to see a whole lot, but we got our feet wet with the Port St. Lucie area, and found it is just under 2 hours for us to get there.  I will be likely making a trip down in a couple weeks to see some games, which Dirty is welcome to join for or we may go to the Wide World of Sports and see them play the Bravos at some point as well.  Worst case, we did decide that this is a definite yearly trip and next year will be done with more planning and we hope that some of our readers or other authors can make a plan to join us as well!

Lets not forget Duffy’s.  We went to Duffy’s for a late lunch, even though it was fairly empty it had a great atmosphere.  It appears that it gets pretty packed at night, or after game days.  Next time, we will plan that portion better as well.  Good beer prices, great food.

Enjoy the pictures (additional small pics @nleastchatter on twitter), hopefully we will have better ones in the future and hopefully we can get a TRDMB Bandwagon in ‘11 worked out.

Lets go Mets! Its almost time!

No that is not referring to the upcoming 2010 Mets season even though you can make an argument that it should be (not literally of course).

Dustin Pedroia on today’s episode of Baseball Tonight while discussing his fear of flying said that one of his great friends Alex Cora while with him in Boston took a page from a line in Rocky IV and said “If we die we die”. It worked at calming him down and he still remembers that till this day whenever he flies.

Well there are only eleven days until pitchers and catchers report to Port St Lucie for spring training. I have to admit that I am looking forward to it, because it means that we should be out of this arctic chill within a month. But this is the first time in possibly six years that I am not overly excited about this team. Don’t get me wrong I will be at some games this year ( I couldn’t commit to a Saturday Plus plan this year) , and I will root hard for my team. It just seems like this year above any of the last five seemed -aside from the Jason Bay signing - to be littered with reclamation projects and scrap heap pick ups. Before you call me a spoiled Mets fan, just remember I have been a fan for almost 40 years. I lived through the time when Shea Stadium was a monument to futility in the late ’70’s to early ’80’s. I lived through the George Bamberger and Art ” Battling” Howe eras. I have seen both the good times and the bad. But I saw this off season as a bait & switch. We were promised by ownership an aggressive off season where top notch talent would be imported and the flotsam and Jetsam within the coaching staff, training staff, and players would be thrown out like yesterdays garbage. Well last that I checked the entire training staff is still here, two coaches who didn’t really have much bearing on the teams problems last season were dismissed while Dan Warthen and Razor Shines were retained ( still scratching my head on that one) and we retained the services of Alex Cora, Elmer Dessens and Fernando Tatis.Yes we signed both Tatis and Dessens at discounts , but how can you rationalize giving Alex Cora - a back up a two million dollar contract , while the market dictates that a back up infielder should be paid less than that! Look I understand that this off seasons free agent class was less than desired, and I am sure that if deals were to be made they would have been consummated. But please don’t sell the fans on a productive off-season - and then fail to deliver . I read Hall Of Fame writer Murray Chass’ column this week, and aside from some speculation, I had to believe most off what he wrote to be true. And if Jeff Wilpon is the puppet master behind curtain, than this organization will be as doomed as when M. Donald Grant was running this franchise. Look we won’t know until the middle of May what kind of team we will have here. Maybe they will resort back to their ‘06 form , or maybe we will see a slightly better product that was ion the field last season. I am hoping for ‘06.

                                                                                      ” Is Jeffy Boy the second coming of M. Donald Grant?

And Now it’s time for the INFAMY !!!!

Happy Birthday wishes go out to reserve outfielder from the ’70’s -Benny Ayala (1951) .
Decent pitcher for the early ’80’s Mets , Charlie Puleo is 55 (1955) .Charlie’s biggest contribution to the Mets was being one of the players sent to the Cincinnati Reds for Tom Seaver.
The man who made the second most famous catch in Mets history - Endy Chavez is 32 (1978) . We miss you Endy !!

New York Mets traded pitchers Hank Webb and Richard Sander to the Los Angeles Dodgers for shortstop prospect Rick Auerbach on February 7, 1977.

Mickey Lolich announced his retirement on February 7, 1977. Funny thing is Loilich only retired from being a Met ( he hated being a Met !) - He signed the next year with the San Diego Padres, pitching two seasons for them.

New York Mets released utility infielder Ross Jones on February 7, 1986. Ross was the other player along with future Mets pitching great Sid Fernandez that was traded to the Mets for utility infielder Bob Bailor and pitcher Carlos Diaz

New York Mets claimed utility infielder ,David Lamb on waivers from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on February 7, 2000.

And while you are watching the Super Bowl tonight , just remember there are just 57 days until the Mets open the 2010 season against the Florida Marlins at Citi Field.

3rd wheel or 25th man?

Ed Ryan of Mets Fever puts forth the possibility that perhaps the Mets off season plan was to bring in character guys. Finding this idea interesting and spurred by his post on the topic I searched for some “good guy” quotes about each of the Mets off season acquisitions.  Sorry but my Japanese is not up to snuff so there will be nothing about Ryota Igarashi in this post.

There has been and will continue to be plenty of debate and discussion here and elsewhere about the baseball playing merits or lack thereof of the players brought in this off season.  The intention of this post is not to editorialize for either side of that debate.  Consisting of some quotes praising the “goodness” of the players brought in, it is provided purely for pleasure reading.  Enjoy.

A smile and a dirty uniform go a long way

On Alex Cora: Mets GM Omar Minaya consulted with Cora while pursuing Jason Bay.  While this first quote is more a glimpse at the character of Jason Bay I believe it speaks volumes that Minaya sought out and trusted Cora for input.  Lots of major leaguers had been teammates with Bay, but Minaya asked Cora.  From WEEI.com - Mets general manager Omar Minaya touched base with his infielder to pick Cora’s brain regarding the outfielder whom he played with for three months in Boston. “We talked a little bit, and that’s obviously part of doing his homework,” Cora said. “Everybody knows what J-Bay can do on the field, so it was more like what he was like as a person. Here’s how I put it to him — He went to Boston during one of the biggest distractions you could have, and while nobody wants to admit it he was there to replace Manny (Ramirez). During that whole time we were expected to win. That’s how tough it was, and I’m not saying New York is going to be easier, but it showed that he was going to be able to handle anything. That was the message.”

Red Sox manager Terry Francona relied on the character of his veterans such as Cora.  From the Providence Journal -  “This has been a very easy team (to manage),” he said. “They’ve been very responsible. [In terms of character] our guys have been off the charts. You appreciate that.”  In presiding over a harmonious clubhouse, Francona credited some of the team’s reserve players — led by Alex Cora — for setting the proper tone.  “Guys who don’t play much,” Francona said, “you sort of hope they don’t bring people down. Our guys kind of bring people up.”  He added that the organization tries to do it homework on player’s personalities and character, to ensure that they don’t bring in potential malcontents who create problems when they don’t play.  “We’re not running a Cub Scout troop here,” he said. “You’ve got to have talent. But you’ve also got to be aware of what works and how things work.”

Thanks for the kind words Shane, have some champagne

On Chris Coste: Shane Victorino noted that just having Coste around kept him grounded.  From CSNPhilly.com - “He was a good teammate. He was the kind of guy that was almost like a dad on the team,” Victorino said. “He was the kind of teammate that no matter how bad you have it, you think about how lucky you are. To see a guy like him work so hard just to get here, it was like when things were bad you thought about him. He kept plugging along, kept working hard – he had a dream to get to the big leagues. That was what was great about him – he paid all his dues.” Not only was Coste a productive member of the team, he was also a reminder to the players on the team that all they had to do was work hard.

Coste was even selfless enough to analyze the Phillies acquisition of another catcher while he was still with the club.  Here is what Coste had to say when the Phillies traded for catcher Ronny Paulino in late 2008, from Philly.com - “Let me just say this – if I was GM of the Phillies I would have made the move in a heartbeat. In fact, even if Ruiz was an All-Star and I had hit .350 in 2008, I still would have made the move. You can never have too much catching, especially when it is such a volatile and injury-prone position. And they got Ronny Paulino, a former major league starting catcher for Jason Jaramillo, a guy they had apparently given up on. This trade was a no-brainer.  If there is a competition then so be it. If someone gets traded then so be it. I have never expected to be handed anything in the world of baseball, and I expect 2009 to be no different.”

KRod is already acquainted with Blanco and his cool tats

On Henry Blanco: In January of 2009 then San Diego Padres GM Kevin Towers was looking for a back up catcher.  Not just any back up catcher.  From mlb.com - Towers was looking for a mentor for 25-year-old catcher Nick Hundley, who impressed during his three-month stint last season after being recalled from Triple-A Portland.  So on Tuesday, Towers picked up the phone and called former Padres pitcher Greg Maddux to procure feedback on what kind of player, mentor and clubhouse presence Blanco was during their time together with the Cubs and Braves.  Apparently, Towers liked what he heard, and on Wednesday the Padres signed Blanco to a one-year deal for $750,000 to occasionally spell Hundley and provide mentorship to a player the Padres think very highly of.  “I thought it was very important,” Towers said of the mentorship. “Two of the guys we identified were Brad Ausmus and Henry Blanco. And a lot of it was what they have done throughout their career.  “Henry has done it with [Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany] Soto. Hopefully he will help Nick develop into one of the elite catchers in the game.” Towers said before Wednesday that he was comfortable going into the regular season with Eliezer Alfonzo, who agreed to a Minor League deal in December as the primary backup at catcher.  But now Blanco — who is regarded for calling a good game and a good clubhouse guy — figures to get that job. And he’s excited to help Hundley become “one of the best,” he said during a conference call.

Former Los Angeles Dodgers GM Paul DePodesta works in the San Diego Padres front office, keeps his own blog, and has a healthy sense of humor.  From his blog - Yesterday the Padres announced the signing of veteran catcher Henry Blanco to a one-year deal.   Throughout the off-season we have been discussing the idea of bringing in a veteran catcher who could help mentor both our young catchers and our young starting pitchers. We feel that Henry fits the role perfectly, especially since he has maintained an 86.2 MR (mentor rating) over the past three seasons. You might find yourself wondering about this “mentor rating.”  I did.  Then I checked the comments section, and read this one from DePodesta himself - Before anyone gets too worked up, the mentor rating is a complete fabrication… but it was fun to write. Let’s make sure we don’t take all of these stats (or ourselves) too seriously.  However, I don’t let the joke to take away from the importance of Henry’s leadership ability and the impact that had on our decision. He will have a definite positive impact on our young players.

Well that’s all for now.  A future installment of Grave Notions will have more quotes on these characters’ character about other recent Met acquisitions.