OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Wrighting a Wrong: a second chance for the 2010 (and beyond) New York Mets

Amazin69 · 08-28-2011, 02:09 AM

At bat…

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Not looking so great, but we do start the season with three starters on the DL. Daniel Murphy (wrist) and Jose Reyes (knee) are expected back after two weeks, but Carlos Beltran (knee) could be out as long as four weeks.

At catcher, we signed two free agents as a holding action, waiting for Josh "Victory Parade" Thole (he was born the day after Niese in '86) to prove he's ready for a full-time call-up. Thole hit a nice .321/.356/.396 in 53 ABs last September, but I'll let him start the year at Buffalo. Meantime, Henry Blanco (.235/.320/.382 in a reserve role with the Padres last year) will get the nod over Rod Barajas (whose 19 HR for the Blue Jays last year still only added up to a .661 OPS), because "Hank White" is better defensively and he can tell a ball from a strike at the plate. But we need help here, definitely.

While Murphy (who's probably over-valued by my scout, but should still be a good player) heals, first base will be covered by Mike Jacobs, who lit up Shea for one glorious September in 2005 before being shipped off in the Carlos Delgado deal. Nowadays, he seems to have little other than power to offer, but his power is still noteworthy. He'll platoon with Fernando Tatis, who's IMO living off that Comeback Player of the Year season he had in '08 (.297/.369/.484). He wasn't bad last year (.282/.339/.438), I just feel that he's not above average in any part of his game, he's on the decline, and he's sucking up PT (340 ABs last year) that could go to someone with either more impact or more of a future. With all the 1B/OF prospects down in the minors, Tatis feels like a needless holding action. I'll look to move him.

Second base is the province of Luis Castillo, another candidate for the title of The Worst Contract in Mets History. I suppose it's not that bad (2 years remaining, $6 million/yr), but Luis has almost no power (.302/.387/.346 last year, which is a good year for him) and his defensive ratings are heading down, down (54 range still, but only 26 arm and 44 DP skills). Hopefully he can fill in at the top of the order until Reyes is back, but he's not a long-term piece of the puzzle.

Our temporary shortstop is Russ Adams, who was injured last year in Toronto and has never lived up to the promise of his September 2004 cup of coffee (.882 OPS) with the Jays. Still, he's only 29, he's a lefthanded bat, and he rates as average across the board, including on defense. I like him better than our third keystone-combo guy, Alex Cora, who's subpar in OBP, lacks any power, and while he's the best of the trio defensively, he's nothing that special with the glove, either. (60 Range, 54 Arm, 60 DP.) He posted a .251/.320/.310 line in 271 ABs last year…ugh! People say that because Cora is a leader that he's like having another coach on the club. I say that I don't want to pay my coaches $2 million/yr, thank you very much. (And the contract has another year to run after this one, too. Sigh.)

Hey, have you noticed that Omar really liked old Latino players? Yeah, me too.

Third base is of course the province of Mr. David Wright, who even with his power largely confuzzled by the new ballpark last season, still put up a respectable .307/.390/.447 statline. I expect him back over .900 this year. Rudy says his range at third base is a little lacking, but I'm not planning to move him to 1B anytime soon.

Left field belongs to Jason Bay, the latest contender for The Worst Contract in Mets History. Seriously, $71.5 million over 5 years for an outfielder in his 30s who had a big year in Fenway Park? (No, I'm not second-guessing with the benefit of hindsight here; I didn't like this signing when it was made. Honestly.) That's a lot of change for someone who, the last time we had him, we traded away as part of a package for Jason Middlebrook and Steve Reed. (Of course, we had acquired Bay for Lou Collier, originally, so bad trade or not, the whole sequence was pretty much a wash.) Well, our scout says his power is truly impressive and he has good contact and a nice eye…we'll see, I guess. At least the first year of his deal is "only" $6.5 million, so if we need to unload him we won't have spent too much upfront.

Center field will be patrolled by Angel Pagan, who will move to RF when Beltran returns. The switch-hitter had a breakout season last year (.306/.350/.487) and if his power and eye are still slightly south of average, his contact skills, speed and defense certainly aren't. Might blossom with a full-time job.

In RF, for the moment, is Jeff Francoeur, who's pretty pricey ($5 million) for a guy who can't tell a ball from a strike even after the umpire has made the call. He did get hot after the mid-season trade to the Mets last year (.311/.338/.498 in Mets garb) and he does have a cannon for an arm, so we'll see if he can earn more playing time, even after Beltran returns.

Our outfield backups include another returning Met, Gary Matthews, Jr., who got a grand total of one at-bat for the 2002 Mets before we traded him to clear a roster space for McKay Christensen. (Hey, he hadn't discovered HGH yet, okay?) "Little Sarge" carries a ridiculous contract calling for $11 million this year and $12 million in '11—

(IRL, the Angels paid almost all of this, but that's the sort of detail that the game engine can't seem to understand; it was the same way with not realizing the Tigers were paying Gary Sheffield's giant salary when he was with the '09 Mets in OOTP10)

—and I have no idea how I'm going to unload it. Matthews has a good eye and is still useful in the field, but his contact and power skills are gone, and he's put up OPS numbers of .742, .675, and .697 the last three years. Ugh.

Last, and least, we have Frank Catalanotto. His bat's been in steady decline since he left Toronto after '06, and he's a butcher in the field. I think he's on the team because, as a Long Island native, he knows the best places to go for team barbecues on the off-days. Don't expect to see him too often.

Next, a look at the exciting (but horribly-named) Buffalo Bisons! Be there, or…don't be there. (I never was that good at the hard sell.)

08-28-2011, 02:09 AM	#10
Amazin69 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 2,379 Infractions: 0/1 (1)	Batters…up! (Eep!) At bat… Not looking so great, but we do start the season with three starters on the DL. Daniel Murphy (wrist) and Jose Reyes (knee) are expected back after two weeks, but Carlos Beltran (knee) could be out as long as four weeks. At catcher, we signed two free agents as a holding action, waiting for Josh "Victory Parade" Thole (he was born the day after Niese in '86) to prove he's ready for a full-time call-up. Thole hit a nice .321/.356/.396 in 53 ABs last September, but I'll let him start the year at Buffalo. Meantime, Henry Blanco (.235/.320/.382 in a reserve role with the Padres last year) will get the nod over Rod Barajas (whose 19 HR for the Blue Jays last year still only added up to a .661 OPS), because "Hank White" is better defensively and he can tell a ball from a strike at the plate. But we need help here, definitely. While Murphy (who's probably over-valued by my scout, but should still be a good player) heals, first base will be covered by Mike Jacobs, who lit up Shea for one glorious September in 2005 before being shipped off in the Carlos Delgado deal. Nowadays, he seems to have little other than power to offer, but his power is still noteworthy. He'll platoon with Fernando Tatis, who's IMO living off that Comeback Player of the Year season he had in '08 (.297/.369/.484). He wasn't bad last year (.282/.339/.438), I just feel that he's not above average in any part of his game, he's on the decline, and he's sucking up PT (340 ABs last year) that could go to someone with either more impact or more of a future. With all the 1B/OF prospects down in the minors, Tatis feels like a needless holding action. I'll look to move him. Second base is the province of Luis Castillo, another candidate for the title of The Worst Contract in Mets History. I suppose it's not that bad (2 years remaining, $6 million/yr), but Luis has almost no power (.302/.387/.346 last year, which is a good year for him) and his defensive ratings are heading down, down (54 range still, but only 26 arm and 44 DP skills). Hopefully he can fill in at the top of the order until Reyes is back, but he's not a long-term piece of the puzzle. Our temporary shortstop is Russ Adams, who was injured last year in Toronto and has never lived up to the promise of his September 2004 cup of coffee (.882 OPS) with the Jays. Still, he's only 29, he's a lefthanded bat, and he rates as average across the board, including on defense. I like him better than our third keystone-combo guy, Alex Cora, who's subpar in OBP, lacks any power, and while he's the best of the trio defensively, he's nothing that special with the glove, either. (60 Range, 54 Arm, 60 DP.) He posted a .251/.320/.310 line in 271 ABs last year…ugh! People say that because Cora is a leader that he's like having another coach on the club. I say that I don't want to pay my coaches $2 million/yr, thank you very much. (And the contract has another year to run after this one, too. Sigh.) Hey, have you noticed that Omar really liked old Latino players? Yeah, me too. Third base is of course the province of Mr. David Wright, who even with his power largely confuzzled by the new ballpark last season, still put up a respectable .307/.390/.447 statline. I expect him back over .900 this year. Rudy says his range at third base is a little lacking, but I'm not planning to move him to 1B anytime soon. Left field belongs to Jason Bay, the latest contender for The Worst Contract in Mets History. Seriously, $71.5 million over 5 years for an outfielder in his 30s who had a big year in Fenway Park? (No, I'm not second-guessing with the benefit of hindsight here; I didn't like this signing when it was made. Honestly.) That's a lot of change for someone who, the last time we had him, we traded away as part of a package for Jason Middlebrook and Steve Reed. (Of course, we had acquired Bay for Lou Collier, originally, so bad trade or not, the whole sequence was pretty much a wash.) Well, our scout says his power is truly impressive and he has good contact and a nice eye…we'll see, I guess. At least the first year of his deal is "only" $6.5 million, so if we need to unload him we won't have spent too much upfront. Center field will be patrolled by Angel Pagan, who will move to RF when Beltran returns. The switch-hitter had a breakout season last year (.306/.350/.487) and if his power and eye are still slightly south of average, his contact skills, speed and defense certainly aren't. Might blossom with a full-time job. In RF, for the moment, is Jeff Francoeur, who's pretty pricey ($5 million) for a guy who can't tell a ball from a strike even after the umpire has made the call. He did get hot after the mid-season trade to the Mets last year (.311/.338/.498 in Mets garb) and he does have a cannon for an arm, so we'll see if he can earn more playing time, even after Beltran returns. Our outfield backups include another returning Met, Gary Matthews, Jr., who got a grand total of one at-bat for the 2002 Mets before we traded him to clear a roster space for McKay Christensen. (Hey, he hadn't discovered HGH yet, okay?) "Little Sarge" carries a ridiculous contract calling for $11 million this year and $12 million in '11— (IRL, the Angels paid almost all of this, but that's the sort of detail that the game engine can't seem to understand; it was the same way with not realizing the Tigers were paying Gary Sheffield's giant salary when he was with the '09 Mets in OOTP10) —and I have no idea how I'm going to unload it. Matthews has a good eye and is still useful in the field, but his contact and power skills are gone, and he's put up OPS numbers of .742, .675, and .697 the last three years. Ugh. Last, and least, we have Frank Catalanotto. His bat's been in steady decline since he left Toronto after '06, and he's a butcher in the field. I think he's on the team because, as a Long Island native, he knows the best places to go for team barbecues on the off-days. Don't expect to see him too often. Next, a look at the exciting (but horribly-named) Buffalo Bisons! Be there, or…don't be there. (I never was that good at the hard sell.) Last edited by Amazin69; 08-28-2011 at 02:12 AM.