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Decisions, decisions ...

Frayed Knot Mar 26 2008 12:53 PM

Supposedly the brain-trust will confab tonight to hammer out some of the final roster questions. In addition to the 5th starter question already being discussed elsewhere, several questions remain: - Back of the pen: Steven has all but been Un-Register-ed by being put on waivers, and Duaner has neither enough IPs this Spring nor the back-to-back appearances that they want and will probably start in the minors/DL. So, in addition to those with jobs locked up: Wagner, Heilman, Feliciano, Schoeneweis, and Wise; there are two spots remaining. Sounds like maybe Joe Smith is back in the picture along with a long-man of either Sosa or Figueroa? - Bench: the 2nd catcher*, Marlon Anderson, and Easley seem to be locks - most likely leaving two spots to fill. Rumor has it that Gotay has also been put on waivers (although no one seems anxious to confirm that) but maybe his poor defense, bad ankle, and lack of righty hitting have caught up to him. Is Endy a lock with Alou out or did Pagan's spring (and switchy bat) make him redundant and expendable? And the name of Fernando Tatis is being mentioned more often lately to maybe provide the RH power and 1B backup off the bench. He had a short Spring but should be all set from playing winter ball and had some decent AAA numbers for the org last year. - Backup catcher*: Doesn't sound like Castro will be ready to answer the bell. Whoever replaces him probably won't be around for too long, but either Raul (Newhouse) Casanova or Gustavo (no relation to) Molina will probably be on the opening day roster.

AG/DC Mar 26 2008 12:58 PM

"I was surprised -- and, oddly, a little disappointed -- to find Gustavo isn't, in fact, part of the seemingly inescapable Molina catching clan. Perhaps "molina" means "receiver" in some Spanish dialect, much the way someone named Cooper can bet he had an ancestor who made barrels. Or perhaps it will mean that one day." ---Faith and Fear in Flushing

John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 26 2008 01:15 PM

I think the relief slots go to Soso (if not traded) and Stokes. Nothing lost by stashing Joe Smith in AAA to start the year. The Goat never had a good shot in my book. Not versatile enough and hard to expect the O to stay at the levels he provided last year. I'd look to trade him and Soso together. All for Casanova as a backup. I thought when they released Seanz that Valentin was healthy -- but I'd overlooked Tatis. If he can hit still, well, OK with me.

metirish Mar 26 2008 01:35 PM

Will they bring the fifth starter north to start the season, if not then who. When do rosters have to be set, like is there a specific date and time they have to submitted before? Do they even have to be submitted?

Frayed Knot Mar 26 2008 01:41 PM

Reportedly they're insisting that they'll go with 5 starters from the very beginning even though they could get away with a round or two without one. Yes, there is a specific roster submission date -- I suspect it's either Sunday night or early on Monday.

smg58 Mar 26 2008 02:51 PM

Not only is Sosa the only reliever besides Heilman who can give you more than 70 innings (much less 80), but he might be the best in-house option for fifth starter right now. And he's got an 0.75 ERA this spring. Of course he's coming north with the team. While he may not be that good, he may also not be expendable right now. Casanova's fine as a #2 catcher. My only concern with him is that he won't survive a waiver claim when Castro comes back. Gotay shouldn't survive waivers, and other guys on the team can do what he does. He should have been dealt by now. Claudio Vargas was cut by the Brewers despite a decent spring. He's no All-Star, but he might be viable as a fifth starter. Duaner's not ready, so there's at least one (two if Sosa starts) opening in the pen. Cutting Register now makes no sense, unless the Mets think he can clear waivers and then they can trade something nominal to the Rockies to get the rights to him back (along with three years of options). Otherwise, they just gave up somebody they can use right now, because the alternatives aren't good. Stokes' ERA was 7.07 for Tampa last year and 7.88 this spring. Why exactly is he getting more of a shot than Carlos Muniz did? I'd still like to see a righty bat, but the Mets don't appear to be eager to get one. The Royals just traded Justin Huber to San Diego for a player to be named. He was certain to be waived. I'll be annoyed if the price turns out to be a non-consequential minor leaguer. Matt Murton might be available for a song now. We've gone over other options, too, but I don't see anything happening.

Valadius Mar 26 2008 03:55 PM

Let's not delude ourselves. Stokes SUCKS. He will NOT make the team. If he does, it will be an enormous mistake.

Grote15 Mar 26 2008 04:48 PM

It was my impression from Omars interview on SNY that Pelfrey is going down to learn or lose the slider..El Duque extended spring Catcher: Lotsa Raul Casanova 5th starter Sosa or Figueroa and Joe Smith replaces Duaner I believe Angel Pagan will start in LF He also said he had 5 days to find good verstatile stick. Seemed like a thinly veiled reference to Inge as Omar shrugged his shoulds like "what am I gonna do" as the Tigers need Inge for a week. Moises may only be a month away

AG/DC Mar 26 2008 09:09 PM

I'm not sure what Vlad is trying to say.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 26 2008 09:26 PM

Valadius wrote: Let's not delude ourselves. Stokes SUCKS. He will NOT make the team. If he does, it will be an enormous mistake. 1) Lighten up, Francis. 2) It's not as if the Mets aren;t aware that Stokes has some awful numbers in his recent history. But they obviously like something of his arm or he wouldn't be at camp. 3) Stop exaggerating. Holding a place in the back of a big-league bullpen for a few weeks in April while more accomplished guys rehab injuries barely qualifies as a mistake, much less an enormous one. 4) How is it even necessarily a mistake? Do you mean he'd be on the team only if Willie meant to pick someone else but writes his name down instead?

Nymr83 Mar 26 2008 10:38 PM

I don't like Stokes either, but its not an enormous mistake unless you think that someone without options will be let go as a result and that someone will turn out to be good.

duan Mar 27 2008 07:35 AM

Ok, less of the Stokes bashing please. We're a proud bunch.

smg58 Mar 27 2008 12:15 PM

A couple of news items, courtesy of rotoworld: Register has cleared waivers. This is encouraging, as it shouldn't be too hard to work out a deal with the Rockies for somebody they couldn't have wanted that badly in the first place. Plus I'm guessing that since he was off the 40 when the Mets drafted him and I don't think he'd ever been on it, he'd have his full options. Gotay is on waivers as we speak. I can't see a switch-hitting infielder who hit .290 last year surviving waivers, unless his health is a bigger issue than I was aware. It wouldn't surprise me if he winds up in Colorado, actually, completing the deal for Register. But I think he's done as a Met.

metsmarathon Mar 27 2008 01:30 PM

if he somehow manages to stay a met, i'd really like to see gotay given either a third baseman's glove or a first baseman's glove, and see if we can't build ourselves some internal depth and/or an insurance policy of some measure.

Fman99 Mar 27 2008 01:43 PM

metsmarathon wrote: if he somehow manages to stay a met, i'd really like to see gotay given either a third baseman's glove or a first baseman's glove, and see if we can't build ourselves some internal depth and/or an insurance policy of some measure. You'd have to think that if they were going to do this it would've been done by now.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 27 2008 01:55 PM

In the last-guy battles today in the x-game, Clark is 1-4 with a walk; Tatis 1-for-5. Casanova with another homer. Joe Smith pitching in relief of Oliver Perez who went 6+ and seems to have done OK. Good guys leading 9-3 in the 8th.

Frayed Knot Mar 27 2008 02:13 PM

metsmarathon wrote: if he somehow manages to stay a met, i'd really like to see gotay given either a third baseman's glove or a first baseman's glove, and see if we can't build ourselves some internal depth and/or an insurance policy of some measure. I highly doubt he'll ever have the bat to play a corner spot. If he survives waivers then fine, but I'm not going to lose sleep over this one.

metsmarathon Mar 27 2008 02:16 PM

i like his bat backing up our corner positions a hell of a lot better than the rest of our bats that currently back up our corner positions.

Frayed Knot Mar 27 2008 02:24 PM

The problem with Gotay is that his skills are nothing special and, on this team, mostly redundant. A slashing singles & doubles hitter from the left side* (sounds like Endy) who plays a position (and not that well) where we've already got Castillo, Easley & Anderson. I have at least as much Cahn-findence in the corner backup bats of Easley or Pagan, and Tatis at least provides the threat of power. * Yeah, I know he's a switchy but pretty poor swinging RH

metsmarathon Mar 27 2008 02:36 PM

good point, and i'd basically just want to keep him around in the minors to work on his skills (not sure if he'd be displacing anybody tho) we can't really use him at second (yet) because we've got castillo, but such is the price we paid to get santana.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 27 2008 02:44 PM

I'm certain many fans railing against the alleged stupidity of waiving Gotay today will be convinced the Mets suck for not getting guys desirable to other clubs when he gets through OK. In the event he gets claimed though, the Mets will suck too, obviously. I am sure they tried trading him too. He's out of options, coming off an injury, not as great defensive player and not versatile. With most other teams facing their own cut-or-trade quandries, he probably does get through.

Frayed Knot Mar 27 2008 02:58 PM

The Met fans I've heard in the last two days are convinced the team is handing over anyone from Mel Mora to Ryne Sandberg

Grote15 Mar 27 2008 07:22 PM

My concern is that this team will have troble scoring runs. 3 solid sticks..Wright, Reyes, Beltran..the other 5..average at best Might be the starting pitching that gets us to 90 wins...Need a real corner OF capable of 30 knocks...we just dont have it.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Mar 27 2008 07:51 PM

Grote15 wrote: My concern is that this team will have troble scoring runs. I agree with that but that's not something the presence of Ruben Gotay or Brady Clark will or will not fix. By the time we know which of Delgado/Church/Schneider/Castillo/Alou turn out to be complete stiffs or unavailable due to injury perhaps we can line up a trade to fix.

Nymr83 Mar 27 2008 08:43 PM

Grote15 wrote: My concern is that this team will have troble scoring runs. 3 solid sticks..Wright, Reyes, Beltran..the other 5..average at best Might be the starting pitching that gets us to 90 wins...Need a real corner OF capable of 30 knocks...we just dont have it. Church had an OPS+ of 131 and 114 the last 2 years, Alou is a very good hitter when in there, they aren't "average at best" they are "above average at worst." When the Mets come to bat, you can pretend that Beltran is playing RF and Church is in center if that will make you feel better about the number of homers you're "supposed" to get from each spot.