Happy Birthday David Wright

28 years ago today in Norfolk, Virginia, Rhon and Elsa Wright had their first child, a boy whom they named “David Allen Wright.” David grew up under the leadership of his father a police cheif and his mother a school teacher.  His parents occupations led them to teach David the importance of  humility, hard work, and team work in order to achieve your goals. A baseball fan since childhood, he grew up watching the Norfolk Tides, who just happened to be the AAA affiliate for the New York Mets, eventually become young David Wright’s favorite team. In 2001 David was named the Virginia High School Player of the Year, causing many Major League and College scouts to come to his high school to recruit him. David used this opportunity to allow his team mate get scouted as well allowing them to take BP in front of the scouts with him. His teammates at the time included Ryan Zimmerman and BJ Upton. Coming out of High School, David planned to go to Georgia Tech and major in engineering, until he was drafted by his favorite team after a future fellow teammate Aaron Heilman (really New York Mets? No wonder our farm system is a mess ) and signed with the Mets a month later.

In 2004, David Wright made his ML debut for the Mets, though he struggled with his defense at the hot corner, he hit extremely well, finishing among the top categories for ML rookies in BA, HR, Slugging Percentage, Doubles, and Extra base hits, earning him the MLB.com Rookie of the Year. Continuing his career, David has been selected to 4 straight All-Star games, won 2 Silver Slugger awards in ’07 and ’08, won 2 Gold Gloves in ’07 and ’08,  as well as winning the MLB.com play of the year for 2005, 2 NL awards for Player of the Week, 1 NL award for Player of the Month. After his first year in the Majors, David started his own charity, The David Wright Foundation, which help spread awareness about Multiple Sclerosis and raise money for children’s charities. Every December he has the annual Do The Wright Thing Gala, which raises money for these causes. He has many other events and benefits sponsored by his foundation, and is very big on giving back to the community. In 2008, David was awarded the  “Sports Humanitarian Award” from the New Jersey Sports Writers. He has done many 

David Wright has slowly become the face of the New York Mets organization and has been a fan favorite since he came up from the minors in 2004. He is a team leader in the club house and has been known to reach out to rookies and give them advice on how to handle a rough ML season. Any team would be lucky to have a player like David Wright on their team and the Mets have made sure that they’ll will keep him for a long time.

Thanks to MLB.com and New York Mets Chick for the info.

This Week in the NL East

Phillies

Obviously the biggest news in the NL East this week, and in the MLB for that matter, came from the Phillies. They announced that they had signed Cliff Lee to a 5-year $120 million contract. Mets fans have dissected this deal to death, and the basic feeling around baseball is that the Phillies are set for the next 3-4 years, then they’ll become a retirement home for old over-paid players.

Filed in the “Under the Radar Folder,” the Phillies signed former Cardinals great Dennys Reyes to a 1-year, $1.1 million contract on December 9th, but never announced it. Well a few days later it came out the deal “hit a snag” and now Reyes is a free agent again. There was never a definite reason given about what the snag was, but some people believe Reyes didn’t pass the physical.

Braves

After wheeling and dealing  to start the off-season, the Braves have slowed down and are now trying to re-enforce their current roster. As of now the Braves are close to an extension with their newest 2nd baseman Dan Uggla. It is said that Uggla is looking for at least 5 years at about $12 million a year and is eligible to become a free agent at the end of  2011. That deal is what caused the Marlins to trade him, but it seems that the Braves have the money to pay him and it seems that they will agree to the amount and years soon.

Nationals

The biggest news out of the Nationals camp this week was a deal with Oakland that sent Josh Willingham to the A’s for minor leaguers Corey Brown and Henry Rodriguez. The Nationals continue to say that this deal had nothing to do with the $4.6 million Willingham was owed and more about solidifying their bullpen and “adding athleticism to the outfield.” Whatever the reason, it appears to be a good deal for both sides.

The Nationals have been busy and are still busy around the Hot Stove. After failing to get Cliff Lee, the Nationals had a deal in place for Zack Greinke, but Greinke wasn’t feeling it, and didn’t give them the OK. Apparently Zack believes that the Brewers give him a better chance to win than the Nats. It’s good news for the NL East, but that still means that Washington will be looking for a starting pitcher to plug into their rotation.

Perhaps that pitcher could come in the form of Chad Gaudin. On Friday, it was announced that Gaudin and the Nationals agreed to a minor-league deal with an invite to Spring Training. Gaudin will be a wild card for the Nats, he is a good low risk, high reward guy, but you never know with that guy.

Another possible fill in for the rotation is Chien-Ming Wang. The Nationals signed him to 1-year major league contract on Thursday. The Nationals signed him to the same deal last year and he never got healthy enough to pitch. If he gets his injuries under control and can regain his former Yankee potential, he could be a great pick up for them, but that is a big “if.”

Now that Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham are gone, Washington needs to find a bat to help protect Ryan Zimmerman and Jayson Werth and that bat could come in the form of Derek Lee. Although Lee has been getting injured more often while he ages, he would add gold glove defense to 1st Base and would become an instant leader to a clubhouse full of young players.

The Nationals remind me a lot of the Mariners last year. Seattle looked to have a great team on paper going into the 2010 season, then all their flaws came to light and they turned out to be a terrible team. Maybe that could be the Nationals this year, but a terrible team in Washington D.C. wouldn’t surprise anyone.

Marlins

The Marlins signed LHP Randy Choate to a 2-year deal on Wednesday. Last year the the 25 year old lefty went 4-3 with Tampa and had an ERA of 4.23. This deal should help the Marlins considering they never really have a reliable bullpen, and Choate has some good upside.

After locking up their ace, Josh Johnson, last year, the Marlins are working hard on locking up their number 2 pitcher, Ricky Nolasco. They have been working on a deal for months now, but the two sides insist that there is no bad feelings between the two. Nolasco isn’t eligible to become a free agent until 2013, so the Marlins could keep offering 1-year deals until then, but the Marlins are known for being tight with their money so it wouldn’t be a shock to see Nolasco wait out the remainder of his arbitration years and test the free agent market.

This Week in the Winter Leagues

Are you wondering how the Mets who haven’t been tweeting have been doing over the past week? Well you’re in luck, because here is the next round of  “This Week in the Winter Leagues.” Before we get started, let’s clear some stuff up. Some of the players have stopped playing due to either injuries or the end of the AFL, so if it seems like some people are missing, that should explain it. Also some players are transitioning from the AFL to their respective winter leagues and haven’t had any ABs yet. If you think we are forgetting anyone or if you want us to cover a player not listed below, feel free to let us know!

Brad Emaus

AVG	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
.250	32	5	8	2	1	1	3	5	5	1	0	.351	.469	.820

Over the last few days Emaus has been pretty standard. His average tells the whole story. He had about one hit a game for each of the games he played; if he had an 0-fer one day, he’d have 2 hits the next day. He had 5 strike outs to go with 5 walks, which isn’t really what he’s known for. Emaus tends to draw more walks than he strikes out, but that should fix itself in the coming weeks considering he was pinch-hitting for some of his games this week.

Wilmer Flores

AVG	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
.353	34	6	12	3	0	0	3	4	6	1	0	.400	.441	.841

Flores had a great week at the plate. He had a hit in every game he started and has had multiple hits in his past 3 games. On top of his ability to hit for average these past days, a quarter of his hits have been for extra bases. The only thing he could improve on are his strike outs. It’d be nice to see Flores be able to get a better eye at the plate, but for the most part, this week has been a good sample size of his performance in the winter leagues.

 Ronny Paulino

AVG	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
.120	25	1	3	0	0	1	2	5	7	0	0	.258	.240	.498

The Mets newest catcher has had a rough few days in the Dominican Winter League. He broke out of an 0-8 slump to start the week, then entered into an 0-9 slump right after it. On a bright note, he finished up the week with hits in 2 consecutive games, including a Home Run yesterday. Paulino isn’t typically a player that hits for great average, but he will definitely play better than an average in the low hundreds. For those interested, this Winter he has been batting .091 against left-handed pitching.

Justin Turner

AVG	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
.275	40	5	11	4	0	1	7	4	3	0	1	.341	.450	.791

Justin Turner has been playing well the past week. He had a 6 game hit streak going over the past few games, during which he had 9 hits with 5 RBIs, 5 runs scored, and 1 HR. Turner has been playing well ever since the Mets picked him up and will definitely be someone to keep an eye on when Spring Training comes around. He’s already been mentioned by both Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins that he has a shot at the second base job, and his ability to play multiple position will definitely help his stock of at least getting a bench role. The only issue that people see arising is that he will have to compete for that roster spot with Rule 5 pick Brad Emaus which could end up leaving Turner in the minors if he doesn’t win the starting job.

Jenrry Mejia

W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	GO/AO	AVG
0	0	0.00	1	1	0	0	0	3.0	2	0	0	0	1	4	4.00	.167

 Mejia had a great start last Wednesday pitching 3 innings and only allowing 2 hits while striking out 4. This is the Jenrry Mejia most people were expecting to see pitch when the DWL started. His great outing has lowered his Winter ERA to 3.38 while opponents are only batting .227 against him. Hopefully he can keep this up through the rest of the Winter and into AAA.

Oliver Perez

W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	GO/AO	AVG
1	1	6.43	2	2	0	0	0	11.2	8	8	8	2	8	8	4.50	.180

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, Oliver Perez had another bad start his week. He managed to pitch into the 6th inning, but also managed to allow 6 ER and 6 hits. Coincidence, you decide?  In his second start of the week, he pitched very well, picking up his 3rd win of the Winter season. He went 6 innings allowing 2 ER on only 3 hits while striking out 5. He did walk 6 people which is typical for him, but this is one of those starts where he kept the damage to a minimum. We all know Ollie by now. We know that we have to go into his games expecting the worst and hope that we are pleasantly surprised. This week was really the definition of how Perez’s game is and maybe he can build on this performance.

Another Day, Fewer Pitching Options on the Free Agent Market

Chris Young

Today marks day 40 since free agency has opened. Sandy Alderson still hasn’t addressed the Mets biggest concern, the starting rotation. As it stands right now, Mike Pelfrey will be the opening day pitcher followed by R.A. Dickey, Jon Niese, Dillon Gee, and Pat Misch. Especially since Johan Santana will be out until around the All-Star break, the Mets are in need of at least one more pitcher.

It was obvious that the Mets weren’t going to sign a top tier starting pitcher with a $5 million budget for the offseason. Cliff Lee, Hiroki Kuroda, Carl Pavano, Jake Westbrook, and Jorge de la Rosa were knocked out of the equation right there. Players who were (for the most part) healthy last sign scored deals. Javier Vazquez signed to a 1 year, $7 million deal with the Marlins two weeks ago. Vincente Padilla signed back with the Dodgers a few days ago on a 1 year, $2 million deal, but isn’t being guaranteed a spot in the rotation. Alderson now has to go with project pitchers like he got with Jon Garland in San Diego last year.

Some players who have fit the bill have bee signed with movement from the Mets. To Alderson’s credit, it was responsible of him to not sign Rich Harden or Mark Prior, who’s careers have been ravaged by injuries. Chien-Ming Wang didn’t even make it back to the majors last season and got a deal worth up to $5 million from the Nationals. So who’s left? Considering the budget, these seem to be the options:

Chris Young: 4 GS, 20 IP, 15 K, 0.90 ERA, 1.05 WHIP

Young strained his right shoulder during his first start of last season, but made 3 starts at the end of the year. The fact that he was able to throw 82 pitches in his last start season was encouraging since he could strengthen his shoulder over the offseason and be in shape to not be limited when the season starts. Young is the best cheap option available.

Brad Penny: 9 GS, 55.2 IP, 35 K, 3.23 ERA, 1.29 WHIP

Penny was shut down due to a back and shoulder strain after making his final start in May, so he is a considerably higher risk. Penny has a history of not being in shape, but the theme for the Mets last season was to be in the best shape of your life, so he may absorb the culture. He may be able to command more money since he has more talent than Young.

Brandon Webb: N/A

Webb made one start in 2009 before getting getting major shoulder surgery on his right shoulder and did not pitch in 2010. Webb won the Cy Young award in 2006, so he obviously has the most talent out of the available pitchers in 2010. I don’t think signing Webb would fit Alderson’s style since he is a major risk. He may command a large $10 million contract like Ben Sheets got last year. He topped out at 83 mph in an instructional league game, so this injury may have de-railed his career.

Kevin Millwood: 31 GS, 190.2 IP, 132 K, 5.10 ERA, 1.51 WHIP

One of the few pitchers the Mets should look at because he was actually healthy all last year. Millwood has thrown over 190 IP in each of the past 2 seasons. He would be a great fit in Citi Field since he’s a fly-ball pitcher. I can’t imagine he would get a contract over $3 million.

Justin Ducscherer: 5 GS, 28.0 IP, 18 K, 2.89 ERA, 1.36 WHIP

Ducscherer is in the basically the same boat as Penny. Tons of talent, but didn’t got injured early last season. He was converted into a starter in 2008 and had 22 starts, got injured, then missed the 2009 season. He’s a very high injury risk since he’s never finished a season a starter, but can be had for cheapest.

Jeff Francis: 19 GS, 104.1 IP, 67 K, 5.00 ERA, 1.36 WHIP

Francis finished last season, but hasn’t pitched a full season since 2007. His stuff is goo for a #4 or #5 starter since he’s never had an ERA below 4. He wants $5 million deal, but considering he’s not as talented as Chris Young (who is asking for less), I can’t imagine he’ll get it.

At the end of the day, I expect Sandy Alderson to wait for Chris Young to come to terms of a fair deal. Millwood should be a plan B because he will give gauranteed innings. Francis will be a plan C after that. If Alderson can’t sign him, I expect him to get a starter via trade, which is an entirely different story.

Is the Phantastic Phour as Scary as You Think?

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

At their Christmas event yesterday, the Mets also answered questions about the Phillies starting rotation. Here are some quotes, courtesy of MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.

“They obviously are going to be a formidable opponent now.” – Terry Collins

“They’ve got four legitimate aces on that staff. It’s pick your poison with those guys.” – David Wright

“On paper, it’s pretty formidable.” – Sandy Alderson

“It’s going to be fun, man.” – Carlos Beltran

Should the Mets be scared at the Phillies rotation? Let’s look at the stats to see how have each of the hitters in the Mets lineup fared against R2C2 in their careers thus far.

Josh Thole

Catcher Josh Thole

vs. Roy Halladay – 9 AB, 6 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .667 AVG

vs. Roy Oswalt – 3 AB, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .000 AVG

Overall – 12 AB, 6 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .500 AVG

Ike Davis

First Baseman Ike Davis

vs. Roy Halladay – 12 AB, 3 H, 1 BB, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .250 AVG

vs. Roy Oswalt – 3 AB, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .000 AVG

vs. Cole Hamels – 5 AB, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .400 AVG

Overall – 20 AB, 5 H, 1 BB, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .250 AVG

Daniel Murphy

Second Baseman Daniel Murphy

vs. Cliff Lee – 3 AB, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .333 AVG

vs. Roy Oswalt – 6 AB, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .167 AVG

vs. Cole Hamels – 3 AB, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .333 AVG

Overall – 12 AB, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .250 AVG

Luis Castillo

Second Baseman Luis Castillo

vs. Roy Halladay – 10 AB, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .100 AVG

vs. Cliff Lee – 17 AB, 4 H, 2 BB, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .235 AVG

vs. Roy Oswalt – 22 AB, 5 H, 2 BB, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .227 AVG

vs. Cole Hamels – 13 AB, 5 H, 1 BB, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .385 AVG

Overall – 62 AB, 15 H, 5 BB, 0 HR, 6 RBI, .242 AVG

Jose Reyes and David Wright

Shortstop Jose Reyes

vs. Roy Halladay – 19 AB, 8 H, 1 BB, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .421 AVG

vs. Roy Oswalt – 32 AB, 9 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .281 AVG

vs. Cole Hamels – 32 AB, 8 H, 3 BB, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .250 AVG

Overall – 83 AB, 25 H, 4 BB, 0 HR, 5 RBI, .301 AVG

Third Baseman David Wright

vs. Roy Halladay – 15 AB, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .133 AVG

vs. Roy Oswalt – 23 AB, 4 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .174 AVG

vs. Cole Hamels – 35 AB, 11 H, 1 BB, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .314 AVG

Overall – 73 AB, 17 H, 1 BB, 2 HR, 7 RBI, .233 AVG

Angel Pagan

Right Fielder Angel Pagan

vs. Roy Halladay – 15 AB, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .200 AVG

vs. Cliff Lee – 3 AB, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .333 AVG

vs. Roy Oswalt – 8 AB, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .125 AVG

vs. Cole Hamels – 28 AB, 8 H, 1 BB, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .286 AVG

Overall – 54 AB, 13 H, 1 BB, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .241 AVG

Carlos Beltran

Center Fielder Carlos Beltran

vs. Roy Halladay – 38 AB, 12 H, 3 BB, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .316 AVG

vs. Cliff Lee – 4 AB, 0 H, 2 BB, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .000 AVG

vs. Roy Oswalt – 24 AB, 9 H, 2 BB, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .375 AVG

vs. Cole Hamels – 31 AB, 10 H, 2 BB, 3 HR, 5 RBI, .323 AVG

Overall – 97 AB, 31 H, 9 BB, 6 HR, 21 RBI, .320 AVG

Jason Bay

Left Fielder Jason Bay

vs. Roy Halladay – 21 AB, 6 H, 1 BB, 2 HR, 4 RBI, .286 AVG

vs. Cliff Lee – 7 AB, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 HR, 1 RBI, .429 AVG

vs. Roy Oswalt – 31 AB, 11 H, 3 BB, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .355 AVG

vs. Cole Hamels – 4 AB, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .500 AVG

Overall – 63 AB, 22 H, 5 BB, 2 HR, 11 RBI, .349 AVG

Halladay, Lee, Oswalt, and Hamels

Overall vs Roy Halladay – 139 AB, 41 H, 6 BB, 4 HR, 18 RBI, .294 AVG

Overall vs Cliff Lee – 34 AB, 9 H, 4 BB, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .265 AVG

Overall vs Roy Oswalt – 152 AB, 40 H, 7 BB, 1 HR, 17 RBI, .263 AVG

Overall vs Cole Hamels – 151 AB, 47 H, 9 BB, 6 HR, 21 RBI, .311 AVG

Overall vs R2C2 – 476 AB, 87 H, 26 BB, 13 HR, 58 RBI, .288 AVG

The .288 AVG isn’t too shabby, but I’d expect more RBI with an AVG like that. What’s great about these four pitchers is their ability to leave runners in scoring position. If Dave Hudgens can find a way to get the team to convert in those situations, something the team hasn’t done in the past several seasons, the Mets can pull out some wins from this elite rotation.

It surprises me that the Mets hitters are least effective against Roy Oswalt and that they have a .294 AVG against Roy Halladay. Since the Mets have had such a great right handed lineup since Hamels MLB debut, I can understand why they are hitting .311 as a team against him. The sample size is too small to judge how the Mets can handle Cliff Lee.

Twitter Special

Twitter

If you’re a Mets fan or a baseball fan in general, follow The NY Hot Corner on Twitter. We’ll discuss hot topics in the Mets twitterverse, have conversations, and post links to our most recent posts. From now on, if you follow us, we’ll follow you back!

To follow The NY Hot Corner, click here.

To follow Amit Badlani, click here.

To follow Kevin Granato, click here.

To follow Patrick Creighton, click here.

Cliff Lee to the Phillies

In case you missed it last night, the Phillies signed Cliff Lee to a 5-year $120 million deal. This is a huge deal for Phillies fans, but after the next year or so, Ruben Amaro Jr may be wishing he didn’t give so much money and so many years to so many players. He’s got to be thinking “Win Now, Get Fired Later,” because as of last year, the Phillies were the oldest team in baseball, now that they’re a year older, it could start to be their decline within the next few years. Don’t misunderstand me, the Phillies will be dominant this year,. Even if one of their SP get injured, they still have 3 other aces to pitch for them. This could be one of the best pitching staffs ever, but just keep this in mind. Last year Chase Utley missed over a quarter of the season with injuries, their only right-handed power bat signed with Washington, and the 31 year-old Ryan Howard had his worst OPS of his career last season. So it’s beginning to look like the  Mets have more than one reason to look forward to the future.

3 Up 3 Down

3 Up

The Mets coaching staff had a good week as they finished filling out their staff. The team announced that Ken Oberkfell will be the new bench coach, Dave Hudgeons will be the new hitting coach and Mookie Wilson will take over the duties of 1st base coach. Oberkfell is the former Mets AAA coach, while Hudgeons has been with the Indians and A’s over the past 8 seasons. The Mets also announced that former Dodger scout Jon Debus will take over the role of bullpen coach.

The Mets also got 2 new members this week during the Rule 5 draft. RHP Pedro Beato and IF Brad Emaus were added this week and will compete to make the team during Spring Training. Emaus has a good chance to end up with at least a bench role and Sandy Alderson has hinted that the picks could be on the team all season.

Johan Santana also had a good week as it was reported that he has been recovering ahead of schedule. If Santana is able to be back anytime earlier than expected it will be huge for the team as they try to evaluate if they are contenders or not.

3 Down

Oliver Perez had another terrible outing, once again. Ollie let up 6 runs in 5 2/3 IP during his last start in Mexico. He continues to struggle and it seems that with every poor start his chances of making the team get worse and worse.

We would be a bad blog if we left Elvin Ramirez out of our down list. It was a good week for him getting picked up by the Nationals but now that he has left the team, he makes the down list.

Finally we have David Wright. He was tabbed to play Santa at the Christmas party which is basically a death sentence for anyone on the Mets. He did play Santa a few years back and then had a career year but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. Then he was seen wearing this shirt which sent the internet into a frenzy. Hopefully his Santa suit looks better.

Even with Madoff Fallout Nearing End, Mets Not Out of Woods Yet

By Patrick Creighton

The New York Mets and the Wilpon family were sued today in Federal Court by Irving H. Picard, the trustee in charge of recapturing profits paid out by convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff, and redistributing that money to his victims. One of the Wilpon’s many businesses, The Mets Limited Partnership, is alleged to have profited almost $48 million from Madoff, according to a report by The New York Times.

The following is a statement that was released today by Sterling Equities, the real estate company owned by the Wilpons:

“The Trustee for Bernard L. Madoff and BLMIS today has filed a complaint against various Sterling partners and entities. Because the parties are engaged in settlement negotiations, the complaint is filed confidentially, under seal.  Consequently, we will have no further comment at this time. Regardless of the outcome of these discussions, we want to emphasize that the New York Mets will have all the necessary financial and operational resources to fully compete and win. That is our commitment to our fans and to New York.”

Fred Wilpon has repeatedly stated that the Madoff scandal has not had any negative effect on the baseball operation of the Mets, and that it would not have such an effect in the future, as The Mets Limited Partnership was just one of many businesses that the Wilpon family operates.

It ought to be noted however, that since the news of the Madoff scandal broke, the Mets have completely changed their financial practices, with the team making clear efforts to reduce spending.

New GM Sandy Alderson has previously stated that the Mets would have limited financial flexibility this year, but expected to have more next season, after a significant amount of payroll comes off the Mets books following the 2011 season, including the contracts of Carlos Beltran (18.5M), Oliver Perez (12M), and Luis Castillo (6M). He also signaled that the Mets would be far more aggressive next year, when there was more payroll flexibility, however he walked that back somewhat today.

“I don’t have any understanding about what the payroll will be or can’t be going forward, but, look, let’s say arguably we have like $50 or $60 million coming off next year, do I think it would even be prudent to invest that full 50 or 60 again in a situation which binds us going forward, so that we’re only in the market every three years when this lump sum comes off our books? No. That’s not how we want to approach it,” Alderson said today, speaking from the winter meetings. “So next year if 50 comes off, it’s very unlikely that we would re-spend the 50 and commit ourselves for another four years out for all that money and then leave ourselves with a three- or four-year dark period when we can’t do anything else.”

The question now becomes, what will the team’s philosophy be once the Madoff issue is ultimately put behind them?

Clearly, the team was not too injured by its loss of millions of dollars as many have suggested in the past, rather they seemed to know that the day would come when they would have to make lump sum restitution for ill-begotten fruit of a poisonous tree. The Wilpons had no idea that the money was part of a fraudulent scheme, but they must pay restitution regardless.

It seems the team has been holding money back, creating a reserve, for $48 million is nothing to sneeze at, even for men as wealthy as Fred Wilpon.

To put this matter behind them, and move forward is the best news that the Wilpons can get in this case. Finally knowing the outcome, and no longer being in limbo, no longer guessing, must be a relief, albeit costly one. However, the statements made by Alderson remain troubling.

The idea that the Mets will not, once the Madoff business is resolved and they take their losses from the books, reinvest the remaining $50 million in players is a tough one to handle. This is the New York Mets we are talking about, not the Kansas City Royals.

The Mets are a high revenue, big market team. How can this team be talking about reducing payroll to below that of the Minnesota Twins? The idea that the team isn’t forecasting any increase in revenue in the immediate future (possibly due to damage the brand has suffered the last 2 years as a result of a combination of substantial injury, the Madoff scandal, poor management, and bad publicity from actions of players and employees, etc.) is disturbing. Particularly so, if one considers the amount of money the team generates from its SNY network. The idea that payroll could go down $40 million or more from its 2009 high water mark of $148 million, despite its status as a big market, big revenue team, is a bad financial sign for the franchise. This gives the players around the league less incentive and desire to join the team, and further depresses an already desperate fan base.

While there’s no way at this time to know decidedly what the Mets will do as an organization after it reaches its settlement with Mr. Picard, one thing however, is certain: this wild roller coaster ride isn’t over yet.

Thus Far In The Winter Leagues

Even though its Hot Stove season and we are in the midst of the Winter Meetings, most baseball fans are still missing the game itself. Luckily, there are the Winter Leagues to bridge the gap between the World Series and Spring Training. Considering that there are so many different leagues and so many different players, it may get overwhelming trying to find your favorite Mets in their Winter League games, but we at the NYHC have your back. Leave it up to us to do all your research on the players you love and keep you up to date on their stats and injuries.

First off we’ll get OF Fernando Martinez out of the way. He played in one game in the Winter Leagues and had 1 hit, then left with an injury. It’d be nice to see him have the off-season he had last year when he led his team to a Championship, but if the injuries continue to hamper him the Mets may never see what his talent can bring to the table.

RHP Francisco Rodriguez

Team	League	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	GO/AO	AVG
LAG	VWL	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	0	1	1.2	1	0	0	0	0	2	0.50	.167

Frankie made his Winter League debut this past Thursday after what most people would call and eventful couple months. It’s good to see that he was able to put all the distractions aside and get the 5-out save while not allowing any earned runs. There’s a lot of debate around the blogosphere about whether or not the Mets should bring in another closer to stop K-Rod’s option from vesting, but if he continues to pitch at this level, the Mets may not have a choice but to use him in close games.

LHP Oliver Perez

Team	League	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	GO/AO	AVG
CUL	LMP	2	1	4.41	8	3	0	0	0	16.1	16	8	8	1	12	14	0.70	.258

There’s not much to say about Ollie. He’s either great or awful. All Mets fans know him and know what he’s capable of, but then they know that it’s more likely that he won’t live up to what he can do. One glimmer of hope though in his winter league stats are that of the 16.1 IP, he hasn’t allowed a run in 10 of those. Maybe Ollie can harness that potential, or maybe not.

UTIL Daniel Murphy

Team	League	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
AGU	DWL	.320	28	103	9	33	6	1	4	22	53	13	11	5	1	.395	.515	.910

Murphy has been playing extremely well in the Winter Leagues. At one point Murphy had an 11 game hit streak, but it’s not his bat the Mets are concerned with. From what scouts are saying, Daniel Murphy will be able to hold his own at 2B this year and most Mets fans know he is an extremely hard worker, whether or not it shows on the field.

RHP Jenrry Mejia

Team	League	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	GO/AO	AVG
LIC	DWL	0	1	7.71	1	1	0	0	0	2.1	3	2	2	0	3	2	5.00	.300

Mejia’s first start in the Winter Leagues was less perfect, in fact, it was awful. Mejia couldn’t get out of the 3rd inning, while allowing 3 ER and giving up 3 hits and walking 3. People will point to this and say he’s not ready to start yet, and they’re probably right, but we all know Mejia is better than this and he will almost certainly turn it around before Spring Training.

 CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis

Team	League	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
MSS	AFL	.256	26	90	14	23	6	1	1	12	34	12	25	2	3	.356	.378	.734

 Captain Kirk has put up pretty decent numbers in the AFL this winter. About a third of his hits have been for extra bases, but his strike outs have been high. He’s got 25 Ks in 90 ABs and only 12 BB. If he wants to succeed at the Major League level, he is going to have to get his plate discipline under control, but he’s got time to worry about that in AAA this year.

SS Wilmer Flores

Team	League	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
MAR	VWL	.404	16	47	3	19	5	0	2	14	30	2	7	0	0	.404	.638	1.042

Most Mets fans know who Wilmer Flores. I’m not going to spend a lot of time telling you about him. He could be with the club as early as next year,  he could be traded, or he could just continue to develop in the minors. My money is on the minors, but looking at his numbers, he could be the main reason Sandy Alderson is inclined to trade Jose Reyes.

IF Justin Turner

Team	League	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
ESC	DWL	.306	12	49	9	15	4	0	1	6	22	3	6	0	0	.358	.449	.807

Justing Turner was picked up off waivers last year from the Orioles and has garnered a lot of hype since then. He tore up AAA last season and lots of fans are calling for him to play 2B in 2011. If Turner get an invite to Spring Training, and he probably will, he could end up at least getting a job on the bench as a back up infielder.

2B Jordany Valdespin

Team	League	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
MSS	AFL	.355	19	76	19	27	3	1	1	11	35	4	12	7	0	.388	.461	.848

Jordany is another player that has gotten a lot of hype over the past year since he played extremely well in Spring Training last year. He’s only 22 years old and had a sub-par season in the minors last year so it’s pretty safe to say he’s not in the running for the Major League team, but he is putting up great numbers in the Winter Leagues so who knows what will happen with him.

RHP Jeurys Familia is a pitcher that the Mets have high hopes for. He’s made one start for his Dominican Winter League team and gave up 2 ER in 1 IP while striking out 2. He’s still young, so he has a long way to go, but the Mets plan on having him as a part of their rotation in the future.

RHP Brad Holt

Team	League	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	GO/AO	AVG
MSS	AFL	2	1	2.92	5	4	0	0	0	12.1	10	7	4	0	9	13	0.64	.222

Brad Holt is a player that most Mets fans know of and hope that he will be helpful in the near future, but he has struggled to put up good numbers in the minors. He finished last year in AA with an ERA over 10, but this winter is different for him. He has been pitching very well in his time there and hopefully those good numbers will continue throughout 2011.

LHP Eric Niesen is a lefty in the Mets minor leagues who has shown a lot of promise. He’s got an electric fastball and a great slider, but he has been struggling to control those in the winter leagues this year having a 5.04 ERA in 11.2 IP. He was a candidate for the bullpen last year, so perhaps if he turns his winter around, we could get a look at him in Spring Training.