Mets and Reyes to Part Ways...Some Day

When it will be, I don't know. I'm not a psychic, but it will happen.

Reyes has told reporters that he will not negotiate his contract during the regular season, and Sandy Alderson has said he will not get into contract talks before the season starts. That being said, Reyes faces the following:

1. He is traded at the trade deadline, or;
2. He hits the free agent market at the end of the season.

By the looks of things, it would appear as though the Mets are preparing for the loss of Reyes. Ruben Tejada will be in Triple-A this season and will be used solely at shortstop. So, it's not like the Mets would have nobody to fill his roll in the field if he left.

As for the offense provided by Reyes, so what? He hasn't provided much of anything the past few seasons in my opinion. His only real asset is his speed, and that is only an advantage for him if he is able to get on base.

His running game has dropped off significantly since 2007 when he had 74 stolen bases.  He went on to steal 56 bases in 2008, 11 bases in 2009, and 30 bases in 2010.

And this crazy notion of Reyes being a Met for life...I don't see it happening. If you think the Mets wouldn't even think about trading Reyes, think again.

The Mets used to have this other guy who was a pretty good pitcher, and they shipped him off to the Reds.

What was his name? Seaver?

Nieuwenhuis and Gronauer Make the List

I would root for Kirk Nieuwenhuis to make the team for no other reason than to be able to call him Captain Kirk everyday.

Dickey Wants His Money, Dickey Gets His Money

You ask and you shall receive. 

The details of R.A. Dickey's contract were released this morning. The deal is a two-year contract for $7.5 million, with a club option, plus incentives. 

Dickey Gets His Wish

 According to Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger, R.A. Dickey has avoided arbitration, and received that multi-year contract he has been hoping and wishing for. Let's be real, us fans wanted to keep him around too.

Dickey and the Mets verbally agreed to a two-year deal with a club option for 2013. The deal won't be finalized until Monday, however, when Dickey is scheduled to have a physical.

Money details have not been released. Dickey was looking for $4.7 million, while the Mets counter-offered with $3.9 million. It would make sense if the contract was somewhere in the middle of those offers.

This will be a big year for Dickey. This is his chance to prove to all of baseball and Mets fans that last season wasn't a fluke.

You can't help but root for the guy, and you have to admit, after having been moved around and going from the Majors to the Minors repeatedly, the fact that Dickey finally has some stability in his career is nice to see.

Even if it is only for the next two years.

Mets Possibly Selling Minority Stake

So I decide to go to work today, where I don't have access to the Internet, or this blog, and all hell breaks loose with the Mets. Well...kind of.

The Mets held a conference call today in which they announced that they are considering putting 20-25 percent of the team up for sale.

I have a couple bucks to contribute. Who's with me?

This move by Fred and Jeff Wilpon is being made to infuse money into the organization.

In a statement, the Wilpons stated:

"Regardless of the outcome of this exploration, [Wilpon-owned] Sterling [Equities] will remain the principal ownership group of the Mets and continue to control and manage the team's operations. The Mets have been part of our families for more than 30 years and that is not going to change...As we have said before, we are totally committed to having the Mets again become a World Series winner. Our fans and all New Yorkers deserve nothing less."

The Mets have been claiming repeatedly that they are not facing money problems. If this is true, their offseaon moves, and now this, is telling me otherwise.

They have only spent a total of $8.1 million on contracts this offseason.

All of this talk of money trouble stems from Bernie Madoff's Ponzi Scheme. According to Adam Rubin, reports show that the Mets netted a profit of $47.8 million because of the scheme.

A trustee in charge of distributing money to the victims of the scheme, Irving H. Picard, sued the Mets in December.

Rubin reports that Picard could be seeking up to $1 billion from Fred Wilpon and team president Saul Katz.

All Ball Players Aren't Greedy Jerks

Kansas City Roylas pitcher Gil Meche announced his retirement from Major League Baseball. This news alone is not terribly interesting.

What IS interesting is that he is giving up the $12 million guaranteed to him.

According to an article in the NY Times, Meche just didn't have what it takes to be an effective pitcher anymore. He decided it wasn't worth going through the surgery to repair his right shoulder, followed by rehab.

This is refreshing.

How many times do we see players who should be calling it quits, staying for years, killing themselves to play and contributing nothing to their team.

In some cases, you have players who don't play for a year or two prior to announcing their retirement. A nice way to collect that million dollar paycheck.

Meche told NY Times reporter Tyler Kepner, “When I signed my contract, my main goal was to earn it...Once I started to realize I wasn’t earning my money, I felt bad. I was making a crazy amount of money for not even pitching. Honestly, I didn’t feel like I deserved it. I didn’t want to have those feelings again.”

What a novel idea...earning your money. 

Adam Rubin Chats with Daniel Murphy

Video: Murphy Sets Sights on Second Chance

As Murphy stated, this will be his third Spring Training and his third position. Maybe the third time will be the charm for Murphy.

I like Murphy's willingness to roll with the punches. I make fun of his fielding all the time, but he hasn't complained once about the moves the Mets have made with him defensively (umm...left field anyone?). At least he tries.

The Mets have said that there will be competition for the second base position. His competition is Luis Castillo, the man the Mets wouldn't even let leave the dugout toward the end of last season, and a man whom the Mets would get rid of in a heart beat if they could.

This is not a competition. A competition should be between two players who deserve to be on the field. This competition only has one, and his name is Murphy. 

Hu is Here

The Mets introduced Chin-lung Hu in a press conference at Citi Field today. If anything, he'll be a hit with the Asian community.

Hu is the Mets first Taiwanese-born player, and he is just the sixth to play in Major League Baseball.

The back-up middle infielder was traded from the Dodgers last month for Mets minor league pitcher, Mike Antonini.

If Hu makes the team, he would play back-up to Jose Reyes, and possibly play a little second base.

I can't wait for his first base hit. Cue the Abbott and Costello jokes.

Pridie, Stoner Clear Waivers

According to Adam Rubin, the Mets announced that Jason Pridie and Tobi Stoner cleared waivers, and Pridie has decided to go to Triple-A Buffalo rather than test the free agent market. 

Pridie and Stoner were removed from the 40-man roster last week to make room for Chris Young and Scott Hairston.

The fact that these two were put on waivers in the first place, over a couple of other knuckleheads, made me worry.

I'm glad to see Pridie stick with the organization, where he'll continue to develop.

Stoner did not have a choice in the matter. He also excepted the assignment to Buffalo.

Both players will be invited to Major League Spring Training camp.

Parnell Wants K-Rod's Job

Jim Mancari of Mets Merized Online, recently chatted with Bobby Parnell about the possibility of being a closer in the future.

“That’s where I want to be,” said Parnell. “I know K-Rod has the role, and he’s well-deserving of it. If he’s healthy, then by all means I’ll do everything I can to help him get as many saves as the team can get him. If he comes in hurt, I would definitely like to help the team in that role until he gets healthy.”

Parnell can be intimidating on the mound, especially when he hits 100 MPH.  The problem with Parnell is that he is predictable.

He throws his fastball over 80 percent of the time, and often times, doesn't have much movement on it. 

I see Parnell as a closer in the future, and I also see him getting plenty of save opportunities this season. I'm assuming the Mets will want to limit Francisco Rodriguez's appearances in order to keep his option from vesting.

Speaking of K-Rod, he is still recovering from thumb surgery.

Citi Field is a Damn Joke

Jeff Francoeur shared this feeling during an interview recently in Kansas City (via: NY Daily News).

To be honest Jeff, you are a damn joke. 

You stunk it up in Atlanta, then you stunk it up in New York. You barely played in Texas, and now you're in Kansas City, a place where players go to either begin their careers or end them.

I liked Frenchy when he was in New York. He had spunk. That being said, shut up, Jeff.

Guess it's easy to run your mouth after you leave town.

I'm a Fan, and I Want a Fest

Why don't the Mets have a fan fest? Every other team seems to have one.

If you look on the Mets web site, you'll see that they do have a fan fest, but not the kind I'm talking about.

The 2K FanFest at Citi Field allows kids to play on Mr. Met's Kiddie Field, and features a batting cage, base running challenge, dunk tank, video games, and more. Occasionally, Mr. Met makes an appearance. How nice.

This fan fest is open before every home game, and runs through the 7th inning.

First of all, don't get me started on the fans that pay to go to a game, and then don't even watch it because they are doing stuff like this.

The Mets need to do a grown-up version of this, and I want to see somebody other than Mr. Met.

The Cubs recently had their fan fest, and the Chicago White Sox had theirs this past weekend.  I'm sure my twitter feed will be blowing up with the nonstop tweeting from other teams' fan fests. No disrespect, but if these teams can do it, why can't the Mets?

The Mets did recently hold a Q & A with season ticket holders and certain VIP. What about us little people though? Why can't we have a Q & A?

If the Mets ever get on board with this, here are a few suggestions:

• Q & A with front office staff

• Meet and greet with current and former players/autographs

• Panel discussions with players

• Go old school and have a banner parade

If they Mets really want to throw us a bone, they could make this cheap too. 

What would you like to see at a fan fest?