First Reigning Cy Young Award Winner Traded At The Deadline July 31, 1989

On This Day in Baseball History July 31, 1989: Minnesota Twins ace and reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Frank Viola was traded to the New York Mets for Rick Aguilera, Tim Drummond, Kevin Tapani, David West and Jack Savage.

While the trading of ace pitchers during the in-season trading period isn't rare, this transaction between the Twins and Mets marked the first time that a reigning Cy Young Winner was traded the following season after winning the award. Since the 1989 trading deadline deal that sent Viola to the Mets, only two reigning Cy Young Award winners have been traded the following season after winning the award.

In 2007, C.C. Sabathia was the American League Cy Young Award winner with the Cleveland Indians. He would be traded to the Milwaukee Brewers during the 2008 season for Rob Bryson , Zach Jackson, Matt LaPorta and Michael Brantley where he would go 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA down the stretch helping to catapult the Brewers into the postseason.

In 2008, as with C.C. Sabathia, Cliff Lee was the American League Cy Young Award winner with the Cleveland Indians and he would be traded by the deadline with Ben Francisco during the 2009 season to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jason Knapp, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald and Lou Marson. Lee would go 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA as the Phillies would lose to the New York Yankees in their bid to repeat as World Series Champions.

As for Frank Viola? His trade to his hometown team didn't prove to be as successful as he would have wanted. Viola went 5-5 with a 3.38 ERA down the stretch for the Mets in 1989. He would finish third in the 1990 NL Cy Young race by posting a 20-12 record with a 2.67 ERA. Though Viola was an All-Star for the Mets the following season, Viola would finish with a disappointing 13-15 record. Viola would become a free agent at the end of the season and sign with the Boston Red Sox for the 1992 season.

The Twins on the other hand would fare better in the deal. Both Rick Aguilera and Kevin Tapani were pivotal players in the Twins' march to becoming World Series Champions in 1991. Aguilera would save 42 games for Tom Kelly's Twins while Tapani would go 16-9 with a 2.99 ERA.

With the trading deadline looming, I don't think we'll see reigning Cy Young Award winners Corey Kluber or Clayton Kershaw being moved from their respective teams. But as we've seen in recent days, big name pitchers like Johnny Cueto, Cole Hamels and David Price can be moved for the right price. Any guesses on who else gets traded by the deadline?

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle


For Further Reading:
- Click Here to access Frank Viola's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to access Rick Aguilera's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to access Kevin Tapani's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- From Left Field: Only 3 Teams Have Traded A Reigning Cy Young Winner by Jim Mancari from the Mets Merized Online blogpage dated November 15, 2012

Week Three Points and Highlights

Week Three of the 2015 season is in the books and here are a few things I came across.

- Nelson Cruz
The other day I posted the following tweet:

With every homerun Nelson Cruz hits, Robinson Cano's smile gets bigger and bigger. #NelsonCruz #RobinsonCano #SeattleMariners #Mariners
— Baseball Sisco (@BaseballSisco) April 16, 2015

I think I have to amend that tweet. With every homerun Nelson Cruz hits, the entire Seattle Mariners team's smiles get bigger and bigger. What a difference a year makes.

Last season I made mention that while I understood why Robinson Cano signed with the Mariners, I questioned the decision since he would not have much in the way of protection in the lineup. Well, things change this season with the offseason signing of Nelson Cruz. Again, what a difference a year makes.

Last season, Cruz signed for a budget $8-million with the Orioles coming off a 50-games suspension resulting from the Biogenesis scandal and put up an MVP caliber season for the Orioles. Now Cruz is batting after Cano in a lineup that is re-markedly improved along with a solid rotation. For the season Cruz is putting up a slash line of .324/.361/.750 with 9 homers and 20 RBI. So far the M's are sitting tied for 4th place at 7-11 with the surprising Houston Astros sitting pretty a-top the American League West 11-7. I can see the Mariners righting the ship and starting to club the ball. We'll see what happens as the season moves along.

- How About Those New York Mets
I mentioned that last week I would talk about the Metropolitanos. Well, the Mets ripped off an 11-game win streak including a 10-0 homestand against division rivals Philadelphia Phillies, Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves. In doing so, the Mets tied a franchise record set by the 1969, 1972, 1986, and 1990 who all put up 11-game winning streaks. It stopped at 11-games when the Mets lost the first game of the Subway Series against the Yankees.

What I find impressive is that the Mets have done so without a number of players including captain David Wright and starting catch Travis D'Arnaud who both are missing time on the DL. In their place is Eric Campbell and rookie catcher Kevin Plawecki and both are producing. And what can I say about The Dark Knight: Matt Harvey. Its hard to believe that Harvey missed a season to Tommy John surgery. This kid is a total stud.

So far he's gone 4-0 with a 3.04 ERA with 22 hits allowed, 31 strikeouts and only 3 walks for a WHIP of 0.94. His swagger and confidence seems to be slowly seeping into the entire team. As Travis D'Arnaud said during the Mets vs. Yankees telecast on ESPN, the team believes that they can will. Who knows, if they can continue to win as division rivals Washington Nationals and Miami Marlins struggle, the N.L. East might just be their's to lose.

- A brief history of the Mets' eleven-game winning streaks by Chris McShane from Amazin Avenue.com

- Didi Gregorious and Tino Martinez
People fail to realize that it is very difficult to step in the shoes of a Baseball legend. Some might say that it is even harder when the legend plays for the New York Yankees. I notice that Yankee fans are being critical of Didi Gregorious' performance so far with the Yankees at shortstop. Not only is he learning a new league, he's doing it in the long shadow of future Hall of Famer Derek Jeter.

Look at the back page of the New York Daily News the day after the Yankees traded for Gregorious. Just the headline alone shows the expectations that have been placed on Gregorious. And this was before the season started and Gregorious was struggling. The situation reminds me of how Tino Martinez struggled at first base for the New York Yankees at the beginning of the 1996 season.

Martinez was traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Yankees in a December 7, 1995 trade with Jim Mecir and Jeff Nelson for Russ Davis and Sterling Hitchock. Martinez was already a solid first-basemen for the Mariners and similarly to Gregorious, his performance at first was shadowed by recently retired career Yankees legend Don Mattingly. Again, as with Gregorious, Martinez struggled amid great and lofty expectations but as the season progressed, he settled in and was a main player in the 1996 Yankees World Series Championship season.

People need to give Gregorious a chance. I mean a REAL chance. Not a month. Not two months. At the very least give the kid a full season to show his mettle. He's not going to be Derek Jeter. We've already seen him play. We just need to see Didi Gregorious play his game. Maybe he excels. Maybe he becomes the Yankees version of Royce Clayton.
who had the dubious honor of having to replace Ozzie Smith at shortstop for the Cardinals in 1997).

Nearly 20 Years Later, Another Yankees Replacement Is Struggling by Billy Witz from the New York Times dated April 18, 2015

- Waino done for the season?
The news coming out of St. Louis is not good. Reports state that Adam Wainright was placed on the DL with an left ankle/achilles tendon injury. If he tore the achilles tendon, his season is done. The Cardinals always seem to be able to fill spots due to injuries and according to the article Martinez, Wacha and Lynn Allow Cardinals to Absorb Adam Wainwright Injury by Anthony Witrado from Bleacher Report dated April 25, 2015, Witrado believes that:

There might not be a team in Major League Baseball more equipped to absorb the blow of losing their ace right now than the Cardinals. They have a rotation packed with front-line pitchers in their 20s, and all three of them have sub-2.00 ERAs through each of their first three starts this season.

Michael Wacha, Carlos Martinez—both 23 years old—and Lance Lynn, 27, have helped Wainwright pitch the Cardinals to a 12-4 record. Those four are the reasons the rotation led the majors with a 2.06 ERA entering Saturday, a number lowered to 1.97 by Wainwright's four shutout innings before the injury.

It would seem that Cole Hamels would be a suitable replacement for Wainwright in the rotation. The question is, are the Cardinals willing to trade from their surplus of prospects in order to get Hamels. Since in this situation, the Phillies hold the seller's advantage, the Cardinals might have to overpay if they want Hamels services. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's see what happens after Wainwright's MRI.

AS OF 7:30PM ON 4/27: Adam Wainwright was diagnosed with a torn left achilles tendon which will cause him to miss 9-12 months. 

- Kansas City Royals are a-fighting
So the Royals have started the 2015 season with three bench clearing incidents. Week one had Yordano Ventura jawing with Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels. Then in week two you had a back and forth plunking matches and three straight days of bench clearing between the Royals and the Oakland A's including Yordano Ventura getting ejected when he hit Brett Lawrie with a pitch after Josh Reddick homered. Week three was capped with a full blown brawl started by words being exchanged between Yordano Ventura and Adam Eaton of the Chicago White Sox which led to the suspension of six players including Ventura who was given a seven day suspension.

You see a pattern here? Like I told my friend Melvin the other day: Ventura is young, full of piss and vinegar. I mean, he's become the ace of the staff after James Shields signed with the San Diego Padres. So he must be on cloud nine and is showing his swagger every start. But he needs to dial it down before someone gets hurt.

This is where old time baseball people bemoan the DH since retribution can't be exacted on the guilty party. I think if this was in the NL, Ventura would be a bit more cautious in his plunking of opposing players and his excitable mannerism. Back in the day, he would have taken one to the ribs. I know the Royals want to show the entire league that their World Series appearance was not a fluke. But someone needs to take Ventura aside and let him know that not only is an opposing player at risk of getting hurt due to his behavior, a fellow teammate can get hurt through Baseball's form of retribution. Whether he learns or not is something we'll have to keep an eye on after he serves his suspension.

Well that's all for this week. I'll be back next week with my POV on the fourth week of the MLB season.

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

2014 Rookies of the Year

The first of the 2014 MLB Year End Awards have been handed out. So let's not wait anymore time and get cracking on who won the hardware.

- 2014 American League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year

Slugging first baseman Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox is the winner of the 2014 American League Rookie of the Year. Abreu earned all 30 first-place votes outdistancing Los Angeles Angels right-hander Matt Shoemaker and New York Yankees reliever Dellin Betances who finished second and third, respectively

Abreu led all rookies in home runs (36), RBIs (107), hits (176), doubles (35), runs scored (80), OBP (.383), slugging percentage (.581) and OPS (.964).

Since the Rookie of the Year Award was first given out in 1947, only four rookies have batted at least .300, hit at least 30 home runs and driven in at least 100 runs. All four including Abreu have won their league's respective Rookie of the Year award. The other three players? Walt Dropo for the Boston Red Sox in 1950, Mike Piazza for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1993 and Albert Pujols for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2001.

Abreu is the sixth White Sox player to win the American League Rookie of the Year award after Luis Aparicio 1956, Gary Peters 1963, Tommie Agee 1966, Ron Kittle 1983, Ozzie Guillen 1985.

- 2014 National League Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year

Starting pitcher Jacob deGrom of the New York Mets is the winner of the 2014 National League Rookie of the Year. DeGrom received 26 of the 30 first-place votes. Cincinnati Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton and St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong finished second and third, respectively. The vote was conducted by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

DeGrom, 26, went 9-6 with a 2.69 ERA and 144 strikeouts in 140 1/3 innings pitched over 22 starts.

DeGrom is the fifth Mets' player to win the National League Rookie of the Year award after Tom Seaver 1967, Jon Matlack 1972, Darryl Strawberry 1983 and Dwight Gooden 1984.

Congratulations to both players and continued success in their respective careers. The next award to be given out is Manager of the Year which will be announced today Tuesday November 12th at 6 p.m.

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

Andre Dawson Steals His 300th Base September 22, 1990

On this day in Baseball History September 22, 1990: Andre Dawson of the Chicago Cubs steals his 300th base off of Ron Darling and Mackey Sasser of the New York Mets. The 300th stolen base is significant since it allowed Dawson to join Willie Mays as the only players to have hit 300 home runs, 300 stolen bases and 2000 hits.

Dawson hit his 300th home run against Ron Darling of the New York Mets on April 23, 1989 and gets his 2,000th hit against pitcher Jim Clancy of the Houston Astros at the Astrodome August 18, 1989.

Dawson would retire at the end of the 1996 season. He would be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010 with 78% of the vote (420/539 ballots).

Since Dawson joined Mays on the 300 Hit, 300 Stolen Base, and 2000 hit club, a number of other players have joined them. Who are they? I'll keep that one in the bag for a future post.

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

For Further Reading:
- Click here to access Andre Dawson's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click here to access the article '89 brought milestones, playoffs for Dawson by Carrie Muskat from MLB.com dated June 21, 2010
- Click here to access the article 1990: Andre Dawson of the CUBS stole his 300th base in an... from the Chicago Tribune dated September 22, 2004
- Click here to access the post Andre Dawson by Dan D'Addona for the SABR Baseball Biography Project
- Click here to access the blogpage Hawk 4 The Hall

Last MLB Game Played at the Polo Grounds September 18, 1963

On this day in Baseball History September 18, 1963: The real last MLB game is played in front of 1,752 riveted fans showed up to watch the final home game of the New York Metropolitans of the 1963 season against the Philadelphia Phillies. Why do I say real?

The New York Giants played the first last MLB game at the Polo Grounds on September 29, 1957. They marked the occasion with a 9-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The arrival to the New York Metropolitans for the 1962 season meant that the Polo Grounds would be given a second lease on baseball life while the Mets waited for Flushing Meadows Park Municipal Stadium later rechristened Shea Stadium (in honor of William A. Shea) was finished being built in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens.

The Mets were set to play at the shiny new ballpark to begin the 1962 but delays pushed that back. Then the Mets were supposed to begin playing at the new stadium for the 1963 season. The second final MLB game was played at the Polo Grounds during the record setting 40-120 season by the 1962 Mets. The Mets defeated the Chicago Cubs on September 23, 1962 by a score of 2-1 to bring the history of the old Ballpark in Harlem to an end on a winning note. But alas, it was not to be so.

Photo Courtesy of Peter Putnam/New York Times

The book Shea Stadium by Jason D. Antos describes what was happening at Shea Stadium in terms of construction delays:

On April 28, 1960, the green light was given to contractors P.J. Carlin and Thomas Crimmons to begin construction. On January 18, 1961, Wagner now announced that the new Flushing Meadows Municipal Stadium, now budgeted at $16 million, would be ready for the Mets' inaugural season of 1962. City Controller Lawrence E. Gerosa responded negatively, "Even if construction started last fall, they would still have to work overtime to finish it in time for the 1962 season." One week later construction was delayed.

Three months later on March 15, the assembly in Albany vetoed the measure that authorized the city to finance and build the new ballpark. Wagner pleaded in front of the assembly and won. The lease for the new ballpark was approved on October 6, 1961. Under the terms of the lease, the ballpark would pay $450,000 in rentals the first year with it decreasing to $300,000 in seven years. The Mets were able to lease the stadium for 30 years with an option for renewal of 10 additional years. Finally, on October 28, 1961, Wagner along with Robert Moses and the New York Parks Department president Newbold Morris attended the official groundbreaking ceremony.

Construction was further delayed because of loose girders and broken beams that needed to be repaired, and opening was moved to April 1964...As the construction progressed, the cost of stadium was rising faster than the ballpark itself. An extra $1.7 million was needed, causing the grand total to become $26 million. Finally, the official dedication ceremony took place on April 16, 1964.

Based on that and the bad weather in the winter of 1962-1963, the Metropolitans would play their 1963 home games at the Polo Grounds. Fast forward to the last home game of the season where the Mets fell in lackluster defeat to the Phillies 5-1. That must have been the fastest clean-up by the grounds crew at the Polo Grounds. How much of a mess could 1,752 fans really make.

Here is the boxscore from the last MLB game at the Polo Grounds from the September 19, 1963 edition of the New York Times:

The Polo Grounds would meet the same fate as Ebbets Field six days before Shea Stadium was dedicated. On April 10, 1964, the same wrecking ball that was used to demolish Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, was used to bring down the Polo Grounds. As with Ebbets Field, a housing development was built on the site of the old ballpark in Harlem.

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

For Further Reading:

- Click here to access the article Polo Grounds, and Its Former Tenants, Emerge From the Shadows by Richard Sandomir from the New York Times dated January 19, 2011
- Click here to access the article Memories of Polo Grounds on Anniversary of Final Opener by Ken Belson from the New York Times dated April 8, 2013
- Click here to access the article Did They Ever Play Polo at the Polo Grounds? by Toby von Meistersinger from the Gothamist dated July 21, 2008 
- Click here to access the PDF of the report THE POLO GROUNDS CASE (part II) by John Hogrogian from THE COFFIN CORNER: Vol. 12, No. 1 (1990)  
- Click here to access the article The Last of the Polo Grounds: New York City Will Repair a Forgotten Staircase by Chris Epting from the National Trust of Historical Preservation website dated  March 6, 2009
- Click here to access the article Polo Grounds (New York) by Stew Thornley from the SABR Biography Research Project.

Stan Musial Passes Tris Speaker on the All-Time Hit List September 2, 1962

On this day in Baseball History September 2, 1962: Stan "The Man" Musial pinch hits for pitcher Bobby Shantz in the 9th inning against the Mets and singles off of starter Al Jackson at Sportsman Park aka Busch Stadium I. Musial's single was his 3,516th hit which placed him above Tris Speaker on the All-Time Hits list. The New York Times made a small mention of the achievement at the bottom of the article Bases-Filled Hit Tops St. Louis 4-3 from September 3, 1962. Here is the boxscore for the game:

Sitting at second on the list behind Ty Cobb (4,191 hits), Musial was the National League Leader in hits having passed Honus Wagner's 3,431 hits on May 19, 1962. Musial would remain the leader in National League hits until Pete Rose passed him on the list on August 10, 1981.

Stan Musial currently sits at number four on the All-Time hit list:

1. 4256 Pete Rose  
2. 4191 Ty Cobb
3. 3771 Hank Aaron
4. 3630 Stan Musial
5. 3515 Tris Speaker
6. 3445 Derek Jeter
7. 3430 Honus Wagner
8. 3410 Carl Yastrzemski
9. 3319 Paul Molitor
10. 3314 Eddie Collins

Stan Musial would retire after the 1963 season and would be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969 with 93.2% of the vote (317/340 ballots).

Not bad for the kid from Donora, Pennsylvania who tried out for his favorite team and was thought to be too skinny to be a major leaguer. Imagine what that outfield would have looked like with Stan Musial and Roberto Clemente playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. On a side note, Donora, Pennsylvania is the hometown of the Griffeys: Ken Griffey Sr and Jr. There was some amazing ball being played on the sandlots of Donora throughout the years.

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

For Further Reading:
- Click Here to access Stan Musial's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to access the article Hall of Famer Stan Musial, who spent 22-year career with St. Louis Cardinals, dies at 92 by Bill Madden from the New York Daily News dated January 19, 2013
- Click Here to access the article Stan Musial from the SABR Baseball Biography Project by Jan Finkel

Dr. K Becomes the Youngest 20-Game Winner August 25, 1985

On this day in Baseball History August 25, 1985: New York Mets pitcher Dwight "Dr. K" Gooden becomes the youngest 20-game winner in Major League Baseball history. Upon defeating the San Diego Padres 9-3 at Shea Stadium, Gooden was 20 years, nine months and nine days old. Bob Feller was 20 years and ten months and five days old when he won his 20th against the St. Louis Browns on September 8, 1939. At the time of his 20th win, Gooden had only three losses for the season and would only lose one more game which happened during his next start. His last six starts of the season would be just phenomenal.

Gooden would finish the season with four straight wins, of which three were complete games, two of those shutouts with two nine-inning starts (taken out after the ninth due to extra innings) and an eight inning start. He would finish with a 24-4 record with a league best 1.53 ERA, 16 complete games with 8 shutouts, 276.2 innings pitches. He gave up 198 hits with 268 strikeouts and only 69 walks for a WHIP of 0.965.

Gooden would follow his Rookie of the Year campaign and runner up for the National League Cy Young Award in 1984 with the National League Cy Young Award for the 1985 season and a fourth place finish in the National League MVP Race.

Too bad the fast life and drugs of the 1980's led to his eventual downfall. Even though I wasn't a Mets fan, watching a young Dwight Gooden was an event each and everytime.

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

For Further Reading:
- Click here to access Dwight Gooden's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com

4 Mets Have Had 7 or More All-Star Appearances

With the Subway Series looming over the horizon, I've decided to do a Mets-centric post. I originally saw this on Google+ and decided to expand on it little a bit. +New York Mets posted that Mets third baseman David Wright has 7 All-Star appearances, there are three other Mets players that have made 7 or more All-Star appearances while with the Mets. Who were they? First I'll go into Wright.

- David Wright

Currently in his 11th season with the Metropolitanos, he is the only active player on this list. Wright made his first All-Star appearance in 2006. He would make five straight All-Star appearances from 2006-2010 while missing the game in 2011. Wright has made two straight All-Star appearances since 2012. Of his 7 appearances, Wright was voted the starting third baseman in 5 of them including last year's game played at Citi Field.Wright has a .389 batting average with 7 hits in 18 at-bats including a homerun.

- Click Here to access David Wright's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to access David Wright's All-Star statistics from Baseball Almanac.com

- Mike Piazza

Former Mets catcher and future Hall of Famer Mike Piazza made 7 All-Star appearances for the Mets. His first All-Star appearance for the Mets in 1998, the year that he was traded twice (Dodgers to the Marlins then Marlins to the Mets). He would make five straight appearances from 1998-2002 and then two more from 2004-2005. Piazza was voted the National League starting catcher in six of his seven appearances with the Mets. In total, Piazza made a total of 12 All-Star appearances (5 Dodgers/7 Mets). In total he would hit .240 with 6 hits in 25 at-bats with a double and a two homeruns. Piazza was the All-Star MVP of the 1996 game that was played at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia.

- Click Here to access Mike Piazza's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to access Mike Piazza's All-Star statistics from Baseball Almanac.com 

- Darryl Strawberry

Strawberry made his debut with the New York Mets on May 6, 1983 winning the National League Rookie of the Year. In 1984 he would make his first All-Star Appearance. In total Strawberry would have 7 All-Star appearances for the Mets and he would be the only player on this list to do so consecutively from 1984-1990. Strawberry was voted the starter for five consecutive games from 1984-1988. In total, Strawberry made 8 straight All-Star appearances (7 Mets/1 Dodgers). He batted .333 with 4 hits in 12 at-bats.

- Click Here to access Darryl Strawberry's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to access Darryl Strawberry's career statistics from Baseball Almanac.com 

- Tom Seaver

Hall of Famer Tom Terrific made his debut for the Mets in 1967 and would make his first All-Star appearance as a rookie. This would be the first of seven straight All-Star appearances from 1967-1973. He would make another two straight appearances for the Mets from 1975-1976. Seaver was named the starter of the 1970 All-Star game that was played at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati. He would have probably made a 10th appearance as a Met but he would be traded to the Cincinnati Reds on June 15, 1977 in a heartbreaker of a trade for Seaver and Mets fans alike. Seaver would make a total of 12 All-Star teams (9 Mets/3 Reds). Seaver went 0-0 with 4.85 ERA 14 hits (3 homers) allowed in 13.1 innings pitched with 16 strikeouts and 4 walks.

- Click Here to access Tom Seaver's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to access Tom Seaver's career statistics from Baseball Almanac.com

Well there you go. Thanks to +New York Mets on Google+ for the question and inspiration for the post.

Until Then Play Ball,
Baseball Sisco

Daniel Murphy's Paternity Leave Decision

First off I would like to extend Congratulations to Daniel Murphy on the birth of his first child earlier this week. It's the choice that he made by leaving the team for two games (three days) to be with his wife and child that has been criticized by a number of New York sports radio hosts. As a father of two, I find the comments to be irreprehensible and insensitive. Murphy did nothing wrong. The Paternity leave rule was collectively bargained in 2011 and calls for a 1-3 day leave on the birth of a child. For a radio host to make the following a statement it just shows how out of touch he is:

"One day I understand. And in the old days they didn’t do that. But one day, go see the baby be born and come back. You’re a Major League Baseball player. You can hire a nurse to take care of the baby if your wife needs help...What are you going to do? I mean you are going to sit there and look at your wife in a hospital bed for two days?” he mocked. “Your wife doesn’t need your help the first couple of days; you know that you’re not doing much the first couple days with the baby that was just born."

It really is amazing how some announcers make themselves bigger than a story:

"I guarantee you are not sitting there holding your wife’s hand. . . . I had three kids. . . I was at the birth and was back to work the next day. I didn’t see any reason not to be working. Harrison (Francesa’s son) was born at nine in the morning. I worked that day. What was I gonna do, sit with my wife in the hospital?"

Well, that's great for you Mr. Francesca. I'll make sure to send you a Father of the Year card this Father's Day. Not to be left out of the jackassery, former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason said this:

“have a C-section before the season starts. I need to be at Opening Day, I’m sorry.”

Man, he's come a long way from that caring dad we saw in those commercials for cystic fibrosis years ago. Both of my kids were C-section babies and while my daughter was a planned C-section, my son wasn't. He was the first C-section child, the decision to do the C-section came after many hours of trying to get my son to be born naturally. So for a first born child as Murphy's child was, it's not that easy to say to just "have a C-section before the season starts." 

And following Esiason's comments came his partner, Craig Carton:

"Assuming the birth went well, the wife is fine, the baby is fine, 24 hours and then you get your ass back to your team and you play baseball.”

Ok, enough of the douchiness. I think former Mets pitcher and current Mets announcer Ron Darling said it best before the start of today's the Mets' game against the Washington Nationals:

"Murphy does a really nice job of maneuvering around silliness that comes to him sometimes. He does a great job. Its 2014, it's not 1944. You're not sweating in a waiting room waiting to hand out cigars. It's a family thing you want to be together he was and I think it's great. Better families, better husbands, better the fathers. That's cool."

Amen. Thanks Ron for the logical and intelligent words. Blessings for Daniel Murphy, his wife and their new arrival.

On a side note, I wonder if people will say the same about Jimmy Rollins if he decides to take three days on his paternity leave.

Until Then Play Ball,

Baseball Sisco

For Further Reading

- Click Here to read the New York Daily News article Daniel Murphy leaves Mets for wife and newborn, Mike Francesa rips paternity leave idea, calls it ‘scam’ and ‘gimmick’ dated April 2' 2014

The State of The Yankees Entering June

I find it funny to read comments by some Yankee fans concerning the four game sweep of the Subway Series to the Mets. I keep reading "Wait until September" or "We'll see when the World Series is on and the Yankees are playing". My favorite was "We were saving our strength for Boston". Stop with the false bravado folks. This team will be lucky to finish the month of June with a .500 record with the way they are hitting. Let's look at their schedule this month:

Boston
Cleveland
Seattle
Oakland
Anaheim
Los Angeles
Tampa
Texas
Baltimore

You have all three American division leaders this month (Boston, Cleveland and Texas), two division rivals who are at least five games over. 500 (Baltimore, Tampa), they play 10 games on the West Coast which always proves difficult for the Yankees (Seattle, Oakland, Anaheim) and two games against the Dodgers.

With how their schedule is looking this is the worst time for the team to have stopped hitting and producing runs. And you can't blame the pitching.

The rotation has actually done their job. In three of the four games against the Mets, the starters gave up four runs. In those same three games the Mets scored a total of seven runs. You can't let pitching like that go to waste especially when you have the toughest month on the schedule approaching fast.

Maybe the additions of Teixiera and Youkilis can add some bulk to a very small and thin lineup. Hopefully Tex doesn't have his notoriously slow starts and Youkilis can play like he did to start the season. You also hope that no one else falls prey to the injury bug that seems to keep affecting the team. As we see, the injuries might already be hard to overcome. We'll have to wait and see how it plays out.

So please fellow Yankee fans, root and believe in your team but don't do it blindly. The Yankees have overachieved based on the fact that they were patching holes in the lineup due to the massive amounts of injuries to their roster. I think that early season magic has petered out and we really need to be realistic about this team's chances as they look at the moment. And certainly don't downplay the effort put forth by the Mets and their fans obvious reaction to their team sweeping the entire Subway Series.

Regardless if the team was complete or injured, the Mets won those four games fair and square. So stop being sore losers and let the Mets fans enjoy their moment in the sun. 

Sisco Kid

Johan, Johan and the Mets (a-la Elton John)

The situation between the Mets and their former ace Johan Santana seems to be getting testier by the day. Santana was irked about the way that Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson described him as not being in "pitching shape". In response, Santana took to the mound to show that he could throw. Today it is being reported that Santana would probably not be ready for the season opener and that he will be starting the season on the disabled list. Somehow I get the impression that a few things will be said and/or done before things come to a head. If the relationship between Santana and upper management continues to deteriorate then there is only one suitable resolution: TRADING JOHAN SANTANA.

Full disclosure here folks. I started writing this blog post on the train last night while headed to work not fully realizing what the details of Johan Santana's 6-year $137.5 million dollar contract was. He technically isn't a free agent after this season. Contractually he will an unrestricted free agent after the 2014 season. There is a mutual option on his contract for the 2014 season. According to Spotrac here are the details of the option:

- The party holding the 2014 option must exercise it by Nov. 15, 2013
- If 2014 option is Santana's and he declines it, he receives no buyout.
- Full no-trade clause
- 2014 option includes a $5.5 million buyout
- 2014 club option becomes player option if Santana:
Wins Cy Young award from 2008-13 and finishes second or third in the Cy Young vote in one other season
Ranks second or third in Cy Young vote in any 3 seasons, 2008-13
Is on the active roster for the final 30 days of 2013 season, and:
Pitches 215 innings in 2013, or Pitches 420 innings in 2012-13, or Pitches 630 innings in 2011-13

So given these details and Santana's recent rash of injuries, it looks like the Mets will hold the option. In order to gain his option Santana would have to win the Cy Young this season and he already finished third in the voting during the 2008 season. In terms of his innings pitched threshold he is not coming close to making them. His best chance is to pitch 215 innings this season. He missed the 2011 season so the 630 innings pitched threshold is gone. Since Santana only pitched in 117 innings last season, there is no way he pitches 303 or more innings this season. So it would be safe to say that the Mets will indeed hold the option for Santana at the buyout rate of $5.5 million. Going back to my earlier point, if Johan is healthy and pitching well near the trade deadline, the Mets should just trade him.

I know, some of you out there are aghast that I would dare to say trade the only Met pitcher to throw a no hitter in franchise history.  These must be the same people who were adamant about not trading Jose Reyes in his contract year (what did that get you). As with Reyes, Santana is in his contract year and to be quite honest, a change of scenery might do him well. Also keep in mind that Hall of Famer Tom Seaver was traded by the Mets (and he was and so will say still is THE all-time franchise player) so anyone in this organization can be traded. Now trading Santana at this point of his career won't yield a bonanza of players and/or prospects (as the Mets may have gotten in a trade of Reyes) but why not take advantage of the chance that Johan is possibly healthy by the deadline and you can get something back in return. Doing so would also open up a spot for a young arm to get valuable experience pitching at the Major League level and free up salary money in the process.

My friend Sean B. believes that Santana is no better than a number three starter at this point in his career and on the Mets he would be a solid two. I can't say that I disagree with him.  Sean says that by season's end the Mets' starting five-man rotation made up of Dillon Gee,  Jon Niese, Mike Harvey, Zack Wheeler and Jennry Mejia. If not Mejia then Jeurys Familia would be in the five hole. This is not even including Shawn Marcum into the mix. Obviously there are other questions involved with that proposed rotation. One is whether or not Mejia will be healthy to be part of the rotation. Another is whether or not Wheeler will make the roster during the season let along Spring Training.

Be that as it may, I believe the Mets would be better suited trading Santana to a team that might be in the thick of a pennant race such as Baltimore, Oakland, Los Angeles (either one), Detroit or even Pittsburgh. Santana has a full no-trade clause that he would have to waive. Let me put it this way, if you had the chance to be traded from a rebuilding franchise to play for a contender with a chance to show you can still pitch at a higher level during an option year, would you really give that up? In my opinion, if Santana was faced with that option he'd be a fool to let it pass by. The Mets' future doesn't include an almost 34 year old pitcher who can't seem to stay healthy.

So if you were Sandy Alderson with a healthy Johan Santana do you keep him and risk losing him to free agency? Or Do you trade him for something more than just a compensation pick? Let me know what you think.

Sisco Kid

- Click Here to Access Johan Santana's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to look at the details of Johan Santana's 6-year $137.5 million dollar contract with the Mets from Spotrac.com

Santana and Viola: A Comparison

I came up with the idea for this post while writing my post on the 2011 Mets. In looking at the situation concerning Johan Santana, I couldn't help but think of another time in Mets history when they made a trade for another ace of the Minnesota Twins: Frank Viola. 

Viola was a local New York City area product from East Meadow in Nassau County on Long Island and played his college baseball at St. John's University in Jamaica, NY a few miles from Shea Stadium. Viola was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the second round of the 1981 draft and made the majors in 1982. After having struggled in his first two seasons, Viola hit his stride in 1984. Viola went 18-12 with a 3.21 ERA in 35 games started and 257.2 innings pitched. In 1985 he went 18-14 with a 4.09 ERA in 36 games started and 250.2 innings pitched. In 1986 he went 16-13 with a 4.51 ERA with a league leading 37 starts and 245.2 innings pitched. In the year of the Twins first World Championship of 1987, Viola went 17-10 with a 2.90 ERA in 36 starts and 251.2 innings pitched. In his Cy-Young Award winning season of 1988, Viola went 24-8 with a 2.64 ERA in 35 starts and 255.1 innings pitched. During that stretch (1984-1988), Viola went 93-56 with a 3.46 ERA in 179 starts and 1261 innings pitched. He averaged 36 starts and 252.2 innings pitched per season during these years. Viola was a workhorse of a pitcher for the Twins. 

Santana came up with the Twins in 2000, and after a few seasons of pitching as a starter and a reliever Santana also found his way. In 2003, Santana went 12-3 with a 3.07 ERA in 45 games of which he started 18 with 158.1 innings pitched. As a full-time starter in 2004, Santana went 20-6 with a league best 2.61ERA in 34 games started and 228.0 innings pitched leading to his winning his frat Cy-Young Award. In 2005 he went 16-7 with a 2.87 ERA in 33 games started and 231.1 innings pitched. In 2006, Santana won his second Cy-Young award with a league best 19 wins with 7 losses and a league best 2.77 ERA in 34 starts and 233.2 innings pitched. In 2007 he went 15-13 with a 3.33 ERA in 33 starts with 219.1 innings pitched. From 2003-2007, Santana went a combined 82-35 with a 2.92 ERA with 152 games started (174 total games) and 1070.2 innings pitched. Like Viola, Santana was the workhorse of the staff in his prime years with the Twins. 

Both pitchers were traded to the Mets in multiplayer deals (Viola during the 1989 season and Santana after the 2007 season) and pitched tremendously well in their first full National League seasons. After going 5-5 with a 3.38 ERA in 12 starts to finish the 1989 season, Viola went 20-12 with a 2.67 ERA with a league best 35 starts and a league most 247.2 innings pitched. In Santana's first season with the Mets in 2008 he  went 16-7 with the league best in 2.53 ERA, games started (34) and innings pitched (234.1). The second full seasons were disappointing for both pitchers. Where Viola made the All-Star team with an 11-5 record, he finished the season with a 2-10 record in his last 12 starts and was allowed to sign with the Red Sox for the 1992 season. On the other side of the coin, Santana went a respectable 13-9 with a 3.13 ERA in 25 starts having to undergo season ending arthroscopic surgery to remove bone chips in his left elbow. Santana's 2010 campaign was also shortened due to the shoulder injury that is keeping him from playing today.

Though both players are significantly different physically, it seems to me that both of them felt the effects of being workhorse type pitchers during their years in Minnesota. When you're the ace of the staff it's expected and I would imagine that neither pitcher would complain about it. It just seems curious to me that both players seemed to falter after their departure from the land of 10,000 lakes. In Santana's case, he has time on his side to prove it differently. Only time will tell.

FH

For Further Reading:
- Click Here to access Frank Viola's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to access Johan Santana's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com

Who is playing for the New York Mets

I was asking a simple question of a few friends who are Mets fans: Who is playing for the Mets this year. Most of them gave me a simple answer: I don't know. I think those three little words speaks volumes as to the state of the New York Mets. The team is in the middle of a lawsuit brought on by those victims of the Madoff ponzi scheme. Based on that, it's safe to say that the team has been hampered financially which reflects the team's lack of aggressiveness when it came to signing free-agents this past offseason. Though many Mets fans are skeptical when it comes to the state of their team this season, the team still has a young nucleus that they can conceivably build around. 

Third baseman David Wright and shortstop Jose Reyes are still the centerpiece to the Mets franchise. Creeping up right behind them is second year first baseman Ike Davis. That leaves three stable piece to the infield, though many believe that Reyes will be taking his services elsewhere by the trade deadline at the earliest. 

I have personally believed that Reyes should have been shipped out for pitching long ago. It just seems that he is too preoccupied with how his home run celebration dances opposed to his total production on the field. Adding to that assessment is the injuries that have helped to hamper his performance in the last two seasons. From 2005-2008, Reyes played in no less than 153 games, topping out with 160 in 2007 and 161 in 2005 while he only played in 36 games in 2009 and 133 in 2010. This season is going to be an important one for Reyes since he is in the last year of his 5-yrs $33.75 million contract.

David Wright will continue to be his consistent self in both the lineup and in the field. Aside from his 2009 season that was shutdown due to a concussion, Wright has played in no less than 154 games playing in 160 games in 2005, 2007 and 2008. For those who worry that Wright has lost some of his power, Wright has averaged 27 homers and 107 RBI for his career and showed last season that he could hit the ball out of the park after his seemingly power empty 2009. He's under contract with the Mets through 2012 with a team option for 2013.

Ike Davis will only get better as time goes on. At least we know that Luis Castillo will NOT be playing second base for the Mets. One of the poster children of the unfulfilled potential of the former regime, Castillo was cut with a 1-year $6-million owed to him. His departure opens the door for Brad Emaus to try and make his name for the Mets at second. If he doesn't work out, the Mets have David Murphy waiting in the wings.

The Mets starting catcher will be Josh Thole. This will be his first chance to start the season as the everyday catcher. After him there is some reason to worry. The Mets signed Ronny Paulino to be their backup catcher once his 50-day suspension for performance enhancing drugs expires. Mets fans will have to wait a little longer for Paulino to make his Mets debut. Paulino has been diagnosed with Anemia and cannot play until his blood count improves. A trip to the DL is likely once his suspension has ended. It leaves the team with relative unknown Mike Nickeas as the backup and backup shortstop Chin-lung Hu as the emergency third catcher.

The outfield is made up of Jason Bay, Angel Pagan and Carlos Beltran though Bay is starting the season on the DL with a rib injury. Can Beltran come back from his knee injury and produce while playing a corner position? Can Pagan continue to improve from his impressive 2010 season? Can Jason Bay live up to the contract he signed during the 2009-2010 offseason? While I would like to say the questions for the Mets end there, there are even more questions the pitching side.

The biggest one revolves around ace Johan Santana. Will he come back from surgery in June or is it just lip service. Some news outlets had reported that Santana was not on pace to come back in June. That in fact he would return NEXT season. To hold down the pitching staff, the job falls to Mike Pelfrey, Jonathan Niese and the surprise story to the 2009 season AJ Dickey. Rounding out the rotation will be Chris Capuano (formerly of the Milwaukee Brewers) and injury prone Chris Young (formerly of the San Diego Padres). Joining Castillo on the departed list will be starter Oliver Perez who seemed to the the focus of the fans' venom. A big sigh of relief could be heard when it was announced that he would be cut from the team.

Aside from closer Francisco Rodriguez, the bullpen seems to be full of faces that might be unrecognizable to Mets fans. From the right side, the Mets have rookie Pedro Beato, Blaine Boyer, Taylor Buchholz, DJ Carrasco and Mets veteran Bobby Parnell. Tim Byrdak will attempt to replace Pedro Feliciano as the left-handed specialist out of the pen.

Mets manager Terry Collins certainly has his full this in his first season with the Mets. With the team playing in a very tough division with the favored Philadelphia Phillies, the dangerous Atlanta Braves and the pesky Florida Nationals and Washington Nationals it seems that this season won't be one ending with a playoff spot. Who knows, if the team keeps close in the hunt maybe when Johan Santana returns, he'll help them get over the hump for a Wild Card spot. Unfortunately, I think the off field issues will overshadow whatever the team does. For the good of the team and their fans, the team needs to have new ownership so that the focus can just return to the field where it belongs.

FH

For Further Reading:
- Click Here for a look at the 25-man roster for the 2011 New York Mets from Metsmerizedonline.com

Winter Meetings Day Two Part Two

So continuing with the trend of highlighting the signings during the Winter meetings, here goes:

- Scott Olsen signs with the Pittsburgh Pirates
William DePaoli reports on the InsidePittsburghSports.com website that the Pirates and pitcher Scott Olsen have agreed to the framework of a 1-year $1 million dollar deal with incentives that seem to not have been agreed to by both sides.

Scott Olsen, formerly of the Washington Nationals, has had an injuries limit his pitching the last two seasons. In 2010, Olsen compiled a 4-8 record with a 5.56 ERA in 17 games, 15 of which were starts. He struck out 53 while walking 27 and allowing 93 hits in 81 innings pitched for a WHIP of 1.481.

Maybe Olsen can stay healthy and join a rotation that seems to be full now with the acquisition of Kevin Correia yesterday by the Pirates and Maholm, McDonald and Ohlendorf. If so, the Pirates might have one of the better young rotations in baseball.

- Click Here to access Scott Olsen's career statistics at Baseball Reference.com

- Tony Gwynn Jr. signs with the Los Angeles Dodgers
Tony Jackson of ESPN Los Angeles reports that the Los Angeles Dodgers have signed Tony Gwynn Jr., to a 1-year deal after being non-tendered by the San Diego Padres last week.

After a productive 2009 season for Gwynn, 2010 was a bit of a let down. Gwynn batted .204 with 3 HRs and 20 RBI. He had 59 hits (9 2B/3 3B/3 HR) in 289 at-bats while striking out 50 ties and walking 41 times and stealing 17 bases out of 21 attempts.

I believe that Gwynn will play a similar role with the Dodgers as he did with the Padres. He is versatile by playing all three outfield positions as well as having the speed to be a pinch runner.

- Click Here to see Tony Gwynn Jr's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com

- New York Mets Sign Two Players
Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reports that according to sources the New York Mets have agreed to a one-year, $1.3 million contract with catcher Ronny Paulino and a two-year, $2.5 million contract with reliever D.J. Carrasco. Both deals are pending physicals.

Ronny Paulino, formerly of the Florida Marlins, was suspended for 50 games in late August after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. His suspension ran for 42 games last season and will be in effect for the first 8 games of the 2011 season. Up to the time of the suspension, Paulino was batting .259 with 4 HRs and 37 RBI. In 316 at-bats, Paulino had 82 hits (18 2B/0 3B/4 HR), striking out 51 times and drawing 25 bases on balls.

D.J. Carrasco, played with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Pittsburgh Pirates during the 2010 season compiling a 3-2 record with a 3.68 ERA in 63 games. In 78.1 innings pitched, Carrasco struck out 63, walking 34 and giving up 68 hits for a WHIP of 1.302.

It is believed that Paulino will platoon at catcher with Josh Thole while Carrasco will try to bring some stability to a Mets bullpen that lost Hisanori Takahashi and Pedro Feliciano to free agency. For a small price the Mets have plugged two critical holes within their team.

- Click Here for Ronny Paulino's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here for D.J. Carrasco's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com

Well, day two of the Winter Meetings was a bit anti-climactic since there wasn't any news concerning the main free agents Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford. There's always tomorrow.

FH

The 2011 manager of the New York Mets is...

It has been reported throughout the Internet that the New York Mets have decided on a new manager for the 2011 season. The man hired for the job is Terry Collins, former manager of the Houston Astros and Anaheim Angels. 

In terms of a baseball person, Collins is a disciplinarian who I think will be good for the team. I think he will whip the team into shape and I believe that what he can't work with will be shipped out by GM Sandy Alderson. 

In terms of his track record, in six major league seasons, Collins has a career 444-434 record good for a .506 winning percentage. His record while with the Astros from 1994-1996 was 224-197, while his record while with the Angels was 220-237. His teams were the models of consistency with the teams finishing in second place five out of six seasons. So the man has shown to be a solid manager.

My question is: Why hire Collins now? We're talking about a man who hasn't managed a team in the majors since 1999. His departure in 1999 came about due to a clubhouse revolt by his players which led to current Angels manager Mike Scioscia taking over the reins of the team. Collins also managed the Orix Buffaloes of the Nippon Professional League in 2007 and part of 2008. 

Personal resume aside, I feel as if the team dropped the ball to reinvigorate the Mets' fanbase, especially the hardcore Mets' fans. The team could have made a splash by hiring a fan favorite such as former Mets' second baseman Wally Backman or former manager Bobby Valentine. Instead of stealing the backpage from the Yankees, the Mets left their fans wondering where the feelings of hope and change from last week went.

In management's defense, they interviewed numerous candidates and (if I'm not mistaken) those candidates who were not hired will have positions within the organization. Maybe Collins can bring a new and fresh perspective to the Mets. He has a two-year dealt try and get it done. We'll have to watch and see if it happens.

FH

For Further Reading
- Click Here for David Waldstein's article in November 22, 2010 New York Times Mets Choose the Intense Collins as their Manager

Curious Trivia Questions from Last Night

There weren't many game on last night and I saw two trivia questions that I found real curious and interesting. Here goes.

1. Which pitcher has the most wins for one franchise
The answer is Walter Perry "Big Train" Johnson. In 20 seasons with the Washington Senators (1907-1927), Johnson compiled a 417-279 record with a 2.17 ERA (WOW!!!!!!), 4913 Hits, 1363 BB, 3509 K's and a WHIP of 1.061. To make his numbers look even more astonishing, Johnson appeared in 802 games of which he started 666 and completed 531 of those games with 110 of those games being shutouts. Johnson had 10 consecutive seasons of 20 or more win seasons with his best being in 1913 when he was 36-7 with a 1.14 ERA with 232 Hits in 346 innings pitched. Johnson walked only 38 with 243 K's. Johnson started 48 games, completed 29 and threw 11 shutouts. Not surprisingly, Johnson won the first of his two MVP awards (1913 and 1924). Johnson is second in total wins just being Cy Young. Johnson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1936. His performance was truly amazing since in the 20 years he played in Washington, the Senators finished in 1st twice (1924/1925), in 2nd twice (1912/1913) and won only one World Series in two attempts (1924 against the New York Giants). Truly amazing.

2. Aside from the Arizona Diamonbacks, there are 4 other franchises that have not had a player win the regular season MVP award, who are they.
Myron and I sat there trying to guess who the teams were. I had guessed that at least two of the remaining four had to be part of the recent expansion teams. I chose the Florida Marlins and the Tampa Bay Rays. I also figured the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals have never had an MVP and then I was stumped. I thought maybe San Diego or maybe the Milwaukee Brewers didn't have an MVP, but the answer truly surprised me: The New York Mets. The Mets have never had a regular season MVP.

Now I was a bit taken aback at that since I was sure that at the very least, the Mets would have had an MVP either in 1969 or 1986. But researching the MVP winners list, Willie McCovey won the award in 1969 and Mike Schmidt had won the award in 1986. Truly surprising indeed.

Los Mets Al Sabor Venezolano

In keeping with the country of focus in the last post (Venezuela), I wanted to touch on the state of Latinos on the most Latino populated team in the Major Leagues: The New York Mets.

As spring training has begun for the 2010 Major League Season, the New York Mets have kept up with their nickname under GM Omar Minaya: Los Mets. Since Minaya took over the reins of GM in 2004, he has tapped into the Latino market by signing big named free agents Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran among many. This season is no different.

Though Minaya did not have a blockbuster Latino free agent signing this off-season, the Mets’ roster is full of Latino ballplayers. Let’s look at the Venezuela contingent.

Los Venezolanos (in clockwise order, photo property of the Topps Company)are made up of staff ace Johan Santana (Tovar, VZ), outfielder Fernando Nieve (Puerto Cabello), pitcher Kelvim Escobar (La Sabana), catcher Henry Blanco (Caracas) and closer Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez (Caracas). This marks the first time that five Venezuelans would be playing on the same team. Having Venezolanos on the roster for the Mets is not a rarity. Since their first Venezolano in 1962 (Elio Chacon), the Mets will have had 30 players from Venezuela on their rosters. The Latino presence is not limited to only Venezuela. The Mets have players from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico, as well as, players born in the United States of Latino descent.

Here is the list of potential Latinos on the Mets opening day roster:

Johan Santana (Venezuela)
Francisco Rodriguez (Venezuela)
Fernando Nieve (Venezuela)
Henry Blanco (Venezuela)
Kelvim Escobar (Venezuela)
Jose Reyes (Dominican Republic)
Anderson Hernandez (Dominican Republic)
Luis Castillo (Dominican Republic)
Fernando Martinez (Dominican Republic)
Fernando Tatis (Dominican Republic)
Carlos Beltran (Puerto Rico)
Pedro Feliciano (Puerto Rico)
Omir Santos (Puerto Rico)
Alex Cora (Puerto Rico)
Angel Pagan (Puerto Rico)
Oliver Perez (Mexico)
Arturo Lopez (Mexico)
Rod Barajas (California)

Even if half of these players don’t make the 25-man roster that would still leave the Mets with nine Latinos on the opening day roster. That would still be an impressive representation.

Que Viva Los Mets!!!

Hasta
FH

DeRosa to SF and the Mets FINALLY make a splash

Two teams finally made moves this past week in signing much needed free-agent talent. The San Francisco Giants signed Mark DeRosa and the New York Mets signed Jason Bay. Let me touch on the DeRosa move first.

The Giants signed utility player Mark DeRosa to a 2-year 12 million dollar deal that will place DeRosa primarily at 3B. Now as I've told my friend Justin many times, that the Giants need a power bat to compliment Pablo Sandoval. Sorry to say that DeRosa does not provide that bat. But he provides something else. Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle describes as DeRosa as "He is going to be, as it turns out, a mega-Juan Uribe with a slightly more selective eye - put in any number of positions to protect and defend whatever offense the Giants have in them. He'll be a principal part of Bruce Bochy's daily Rubik's Cube lineup game, morphed around Pablo Sandoval in an attempt to reduce the automatic outs from a lineup that has teemed with them". To read more of Ray Ratto's article click here

DeRosa is currently 35 years old and recovering from wrist surgery. Last season with both the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Cardinals, DeRosa had an combined average of .250 in 139 games where he had 129 hits (23 2B, 1 3B, 23 HR) and 87 RBI. DeRosa struck out 121 times and walked 47 times, had an OBP% of .319 and a SLG% of .433 for an OPS of .799 and a fielding percentage of 1.000 with no errors at a total of 6 positions (LF/RF/CF/1B/2B/3B). So he's not the second coming of Barry Bonds, but what DeRosa brings to the table is a veteran who can play almost anywhere on the field which gives the Giants more depth that they have had in the last few years. Financially he's not too much of a burden on the Giants who seem to be reluctant to pursue big name free-agents since the Barry Zito signing. We'll see how this signing plays out for the pitching rich Giants.

To all my friends who are Mets fans out there you can all now breathe a little easier. I guess the Mets still do have some money to spend. Announced yesterday on SNY, the Mets signed OF Jason Bay to a 4-year 66 million dollar contract with a vesting option for a fifth year pending the passing of a physical examination by Bay. As you can see by the photo, the Mets previously had Bay in their farm system, having traded him to San Diego in 2002 in the deal that brought Steve Reed and Jason Middlebrook to the Mets. So what does this mean for the Mets. Bay brings a solid bat to a lineup that was decimated by injuries this past year. Bay hit for an average of .267 in 151 games where he had 142 hits (29 2B, 3 3B, 36 HR) and 119 RBI. Bay struck out 162 times and walked 94 times, had an OBP% of .384 and a SLG% of .537 for an OPS of .921 and a fielding percentage of 1.000 with no errors in the field. The Mets get not only a bat to protect David Wright in the lineup but also a player who plays with injuries unlike the complaints that were heard by the Mets faithful concerning a number of their players who spent considerable time on the disabled list. Bay is also a solid fielder who will release the pressure that the Mets' pitching staff have dealt with in seasons past due to shoddy defense. This signing brings up another question. Why didn't Boston resign Bay.

To hear some Red Sox fans that I know, they spoke of Bay as if he was the second coming of Ted Williams. Bay suitably filled the void left in both the lineup and the field with the trading of Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The "Anti-Manny" was beloved by the Red Sox nation so why wasn't he resigned. Amelie Benjamin of the Boston Globe states that "In his year and a half in Boston, Bay hit .274 with 45 home runs and 156 RBIs, including a .267 average with 36 homers and 119 RBIs in 2009, Bay also struck out 213 times in 715 at-bats and was extremely streaky last season at the plate". Bay's health seemed to be the sticking point along with his demand for a guaranteed 5th year which the Red Sox were hesitant to offer. I firmly believe that Mike Cameron can't replace Jason Bay in the lineup. Cameron is a decent player but Bay was a perfect fit for the Red Sox even with his hot and cold streaks. He'll surely be missed by Red Sox nation. To read more of Amelie Benjamin's article click here.

In a separate move, the Mets signed RHP Kelvim Escobar. Escobar has had an injury plagued last two seasons with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Escobar missed the entire 2008 season and pitched only 5 innings this past season. By signing Escobar to a 1-year deal, it looks like he'll be a possible 8th inning setup man to his former Angels teammate Francisco Rodriguez. Escobar last pitched in 2007 where he finished 18-7 with a 3.40 ERA as a starter.

The Mets also plan on signing C Benjie Molina formerly of the San Francisco Giants and RHP Joel Piñeiro formerly of the St. Louis Cardinals. I think the Mets need more than these two players to claim a successful offseason. But there really isn't much left out there that the Mets can sign. I'll wait to see what else the Mets do before deciding if the preseason was successful or not.

FH