Harvey: He's Not Ready, So Stop Asking

"He's not ready."

It's a pretty simple sentence that I don't find to be too complicated to understand. But for some reason, there is an alarmingly large group of Mets fans out there that can't comprehend this fact about prospect Matt Harvey.

Sandy Alderson has said himself that Harvey is not ready, and that the organization is not even looking to bring him up any time soon.

With the loss of Mike Pelfrey to Tommy John surgery, and the disaster that followed with Chris Schwinden, I still see fans asking about Harvey.

Right now the Mets need a stopper. Someone who can fill the void until someone is ready to be in the starting rotation long-term.

If I had to guess, I would say Chris Young will get the spot in the rotation as soon as he is done rehabilitating his shoulder.

To date, Harvey has just 30 innings under his belt at Triple-A. His first few starts for Buffalo were ugly, and he has just recently found his groove.

The same thing happened last season when he was called up to Double-A Binghamton. He struggled in his first few starts before finding success.

I don't know about you, but I'm sensing a pattern here.

If Harvey were to get called up now, I'd bet that this pattern continues. He'll probably get shelled in his first few starts, and hopefully straighten things out.

He still has things he needs to work on, and I think we can all agree that the Major Leagues is not a place to learn as a young player.

I understand that fans want to see him pitch, but now is not the time.

He's not ready.

Mets Morning News: Murphy And Duda Are Corner Infielders, Ignoring OffField Distractions, & Pitching Prospects

Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that Mets officials believe Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda are best suited as corner infielders.

"The Mets also privately fret if Davis will hit lefties consistently; something they have far less concern about with Duda. What worries them with Duda is if he will subtract from his offensive value — which even executives around the league believe is legit — by being such a defensive liability in right. Murphy, meanwhile, has been seriously injured each of the past two seasons turning pivots at second.

Thus, the Mets want to verify their beliefs that Duda and Murphy are above-average hitters. If so, they will at least have the option to consider dealing Wright and/or Davis to continue to deepen the young talent base."

Terry Collins sat down with The Star-Ledger to discuss the 2012 season. He won't let his players feel sorry for themselves or be distracted with off the field issues.

"You know what? Jose’s not here...The first time I hear someone say, 'Oh, Jose would have caught that ball,' we've got problems...So our payroll’s down...How many guys here care what our payroll is?"

David Lennon of Newsday writes of how the trio of Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia, and Zack Wheeler shouldn't be labeled the next Generation K. Also, don't expect to see any of them called up before their time.

"The temptation with those three guys doesn't really exist at the moment," [Sandy] Alderson said. "Obviously, when you bring somebody up -- whenever you do -- they still have to perform. So on the one hand, you're tempted to bring somebody up to fill innings, but on the other hand, they better be ready. Because if they're not, there are obviously consequences to that, too."

Mets Fans, Sandy Alderson Is On Twitter, And He Has Jokes

Mets general manager Sandy Alderson joined Twitter today. Here's what he's had to say so far:



You're a brave man, Sandy. Get ready for the onslaught of messages any time you do ANYTHING. I just hope fans can be respectful and state their opinions in a civilized manner, and Alderson can ignore all of those Keyboard Warriors out there (For those wondering, a Keyboard Warrior is someone who feels they can say whatever they want from behind a computer screen).  I'm not asking too much, am I?

Play nice, Mets fans.

Mets Kids Holiday Party

The Mets hosted 100 kids from public schools all across Queens at Citi Field on Tuesday for their annual Kids Holiday Party. Daniel Murphy played the role of Santa this year, and with the help of his "elves," Jon Niese and Justin Turner, he delivered toys to all in attendance.

Santa and his elves.

While all of the kids finished their lunch and participated in performances, all of the beat writers and bloggers were hidden behind a curtain. All was relatively calm until the screaming started. That was our cue that Santa had arrived.

Between the kids and the Christmas music blasting, I couldn't hear a thing. Luckily, my recorder was able to pick up audio. Here's a little summary from interviews with Niese and general manager Sandy Alderson.

Jon Niese

• His goal is to get over 200 innings this year.

• The new additions to bullpen are good. They filled holes where they needed to be filled.

• Facing Jose Reyes: "It's gonna be fun...I can't wait. Watching him hit for a while, hopefully I picked up something to get him out."

• The changes at Citi Field are good. It will give hitters peace of mind and pitchers more confidence. The changes will not cause him to change his approach on the mound.

Sandy Alderson

• Changes to the field: "More scoring makes more sense...it's more entertaining. Even a purist wouldn't want 1-0 games every night."

• Losing Jose Reyes: "Criticism that we never made an offer... what's interesting about that is that from the very outset we didn't want to make an offer that would be shot...and I don't think it's a coincidence that the price went way up from the time on Friday that I described a conceptual puzzle to Saturday to Sunday morning when the apparent offer from Miami went from point a to point z...I don't think we had a shot at signing Jose if we had made the first offer."

• Bullpen: "All three additions are an upgrade...better shot at more consistency in 7th, 8th, and 9th innings...What was once a weakness is now a modest strength for us."

• Catchers: "We don't have a lot of depth in the system...for the time being our catching situation is going to be a year to year proposition" The team looked at some free agents decided none worth additional expense. "Given the resources we have available, we'd rather spend the money some place else on more significant upgrades...We're aware of catching situation within organization."

• Angel Pagan trade: The Giants were interested in Pagan. He believes Andres Torres was going to be a possible non-tender candidate and the Mets were in a similar position with Pagan.

I would have added video of the Alderson interview, but after watching it, it was a  little too Blair Witch Project for me. I took a peak at the outfield walls while I was there and to be honest, I didn't notice anything worth reporting as of yet. Stay tuned.

Realistic Approach On Free Agency For The New York Mets - StartingPitching

Much like with the free agent hitters, the Mets do not have the financial wherewithal to bring in the top free agent pitchers.

What will happen, much akin to last year’s process with Chris Capuano and Chris Young, is that Sandy Alderson will look for the high upside guys, no matter their risk. With questions surrounding everyone in the Mets starting rotation outside of R.A Dickey, the Mets will try to add as much depth as possible.

Here are some guys I think they Mets could and should go after:

-          Erik Bedard

• While Bedard’s price will most likely place him outside of the Mets range, on a one year, incentive laden contract, the Mets may have the money he is looking for. The reason Bedard is not cashing in like the C.J. Wilson and Mark Buehrles of the world is not lack of success, but rather lack of durability. In 951 innings in the American League, he has a 3.70 ERA and 3.65 FIP, while Buehrle has a career 3.88 ERA and 4.13 FIP. The difference is Buehrle is a lock for 200+ innings and 10+ wins and Bedard is a lock for the DL and that is why Buehrle will fetch around $45 million and Bedard will be lucky to get $5 million. If the Mets could sign Bedard to the type of deal Capuano signed last year, with low guarantees starting around two or three million with incentives up to seven million, this could be a match. After all, this off-season Capuano turned a one year deal for $1.5M guaranteed into a two year deal for $10 million guaranteed, so Sandy can always use that as a reference point.

As GM Of The New York Mets, These Are Free Agents I Would Look Into

As much as I would love to see Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, and C. J. Wilson in a Mets uniform next season, I am going to take a more realistic approach. With a limited budget, the Mets’ top targets are not going to be the players who set the market, but rather those players who have upside. I believe that Sandy and his crew will be looking into incentive laden contracts, much like the Chris Capuano and Chris Young deals they signed last season, just hoping for more results like Capuano, and less like Young.

After scanning the free agent list, these are some guys I would target that will be within the Mets budget.

-          Pudge Rodriguez

• The Mets need a back-up catcher. I know many of you would have preferred Ramon Hernandez, but I think Pudge is better for the Mets in both the short term, and long term. Seems confusing right? He is 40 years old and in an obvious decline as a ballplayer. However, despite those two seemingly very important things, Pudge might be the best leader of any free agent available. He would be a great mentor for Josh Thole, and an even better leader, and teacher for the Mets young pitching staff. Maybe Pudge is the cure that Mike Pelfrey has always needed. With Niese, Gee in the rotation and Wheeler, Harvey, Familia and Mejia all so young and on the way, Rodriguez would be a tremendous source of experience and knowledge, to aid in their development. While I don’t know how much money he is looking for, he may not find a better situation to find some playing time, sitting only 156 hits away from 3,000. He hit only .218 last year, but he still generated 0.4 WAR in only 137 at-bats. Current Mets backup Mike Nickeas hit .189, and Thole hit a solid .268 but only generated 1.0 WAR in 386 at bats, so Pudge adds value here. In addition, with the Mets looking for a catcher who hits lefties well, throughout his career, Pudge has been more productive hitting against left handed pitchers, hitting .289 against them over the past five seasons. On a one year deal, there is very limited downside, with great long term upside potential.

To Jose, Or Not To Jose: For The Mets, That Is The Question

For months now, I have been going back and forth.

Is it a good investment for the Mets to sign Reyes? Or should they let him go, and invest the money elsewhere.

From a fan’s perspective, it is an easy answer. Sign him, no matter the cost. I mean, why not right? They technically don’t have to pay for it (except for higher ticket prices).

From a business perspective however, things get a lot more complicated.

Say what you want about David Wright, good or bad, Jose Reyes has become the face of the franchise, and people pay a lot of money just to Jose play.

Think about it, every aspect of his game is exciting, even when he is not on the field.

Just How Much Could a Carlos Beltran Trade Return?

These next ten days are going to be very stressful for Sandy Alderson. He can blame Carlos Beltran for most, if not all, of that anxiety.

Not only is Beltran the biggest, most talented bat on the trade market, but he has become the Mets' most important player. Without Jose Reyes, Beltran has kept the Mets relevant (they are only 7.5 games back of the Wild Card), and over the last two days he has gotten on base seven out of ten times, with an enormous, game-tying home run to boot in Wednesday's victory.

One thing that will help Mr. Alderson is that with every day Carlos remains a Met, his value goes up because of his production. As the pennant race gets closer every day, each contending team is seeing Beltran as the final piece to the puzzle, and with that, is offering a nice prospect from their organization. With Atlanta, Philadelphia, Boston and San Francisco rumored to be making the strongest pursuit, here are some of the high-end prospects the Mets may receive.