If I Were GM...

So, if I were GM I would make a lot of moves that would make sense. This club has more potential than a .500 team and everyone knows it. Making key acquisitions can change this all around and this is how I would do it. And this is in no particular order or importance:

1. Demote Elmer Dessens, promote Bobby Parnell.

Why is Elmer Dessens not in AAA? I don't think anyone can answer that. The only logical reason I can think of is that when they tried to promote someone, it got lost in translation and Elmer accidently came up and Omar was too chicken to say anything. I mean, why else?

Parnell can gas it up to the high 90s. That is a plus fastball that was able to throw past MLB batters last year pretty effectively but he was sent to the minors to work on his secondary pitches. But wait, isn't Jenrry Mejia IN the majors to work on his secondary pitches? Something doesn't add up.

2. Demote Gary Matthews Jr, promote ANYONE

Gary Matthews Jr. is batting .193 and has 1 RBI. That is not a player worthy of the major leagues. Why can't we promote something like Mike Hessman or Jesus Feliciano? Some say they're quadruple-A players and will not carry over their numbers to the bigs... So?? Will they hit better than .193? Would they not be so much better than 11/57 at bats?

The main argument I guess is that they can't play the outfield. If that is what is keeping GMJr on this squad then that is outrageous. Stick Tatis in the outfield, or even Chris Carter. This choice is obvious and is being handled very poorly.

3. Demote Jenrry Mejia after the All-Star break

I have recently accepted the idea of Mejia on the big league roster. If they see Jenrry as a top of the rotation starter, why not prep him by giving him big league batters to adapt against? He's done a great job and now that he's gotten his feet wet, my move would be to send him down. People were outraged when he was granted the bullpen role, but in all honesty, he is 20 years old. How can we say that this will mess him up when he probably won't be in a big league rotation until 2011, with 2010 being a stretch?

In my opinion, getting his feet wet with big league batters is a decent move to get him some of the action he'll be expecting when he is finally ready to fulfill the hype. We all know he's meant to be a starter and a 1-2-3 of Johan, Mike, and Jenrry will be nothing short of incredible.

4. Activate Beltran, Francoeur to the bench

Sorry, Frenchy, but when Beltran is eventually activated from the DL its bench warming or water boy duties for you. Frenchy won't even be a good bat off the bench due to his serious and almost concerning first pitch swing addiction. It almost looks like he just wants to swing at the first pitch and doesn't necessarily believe he got a good read on it.

Pagan has been real solid all season and I can't see him going back to the bench. I can see a RF platoon with Pagan/Frenchy with Jeff only hanging on due to his arm. I love Francoeur, he's a great guy and I love his passion, but I can't watch him struggle at the plate any longer. Hell, I can't even spell his last name.

5. Send Castillo to the DL, promote Reese Havens

I don't know if I'm breaking a certain Mets code, but I like Castillo. I'm not saying I love him, but he's been pretty solid this year and continuing his success from last season. He'll get on base, he'll steal a base, he'll give you average defense, he'll never strikeout. Watching him last night limping with that foot injury, yet also stealing a base, hustling down the line and making a couple of great plays really shows something to the fans. Nobody likes Castillo, but hey, he's not as bad as people say.

I want Castillo out, but he is a pretty solid second baseman for us. I say send him to the DL so he can get his foot a rest and promote Reese Havens. Havens can hit and field, so I think giving him playing time for the 15 or so days that Castillo will be on the DL will get his feet wet and prep him for a serious look he'll most certainly be getting next spring training. Worst comes to worst is he's not ready, and you promote Ruben Tejada or just give Cora the nod.

These are the moves that I would make right now if it were up to me. They don't seem outlandish and they don't seem like a stretch. I didn't add a Cliff Lee trade or a trade for another pitcher because that would be something that would take a while to accomplish, and these moves are meant to be active immediately.

Tell me what you think.. I think it's pretty reasonable.

Who would replace Maine?

John Maine has been doing awful, no getting around that. If he's plunked from the rotation, who would take his place? We clearly didn't think about this before Opening Day, you know, if our starters weren't going to pan out to what everyone was raving about in spring training (because the previous years weren't clear enough). So, my question is, who would replace John Maine is he bombs his next start?

My first thought would be Jenrry Mejia, as if everyone's probably. If they wanted him up in the MLB bullpen, what's stopping them from wanting him in their starting rotation? If they're this high on him and eventually see him as a dominating starter, why not throw him in to the rotation? They'll say he's not ready, but is he really ready to be in the bullpen?

I can obviously scratch off Fernando Nieve for the starters role. Jerry's frequent usage for him late in games, and Nieve being effective, makes me wonder if he'll ever see another start as a Met again. I think if he can lock up the 8th inning and maybe Igarashi can lock up the 7th inning, our starters would only have to go 5 or 6 innings and that helps. But is 5 or 6 innings of giving up a reasonable amount of runs too much to ask of Ollie these days?

I think the next plausible choice would to give Hisanori Takahashi a go. He was fabulous in spring trainging when he started and Manuel might take that into consideration. Though much of the off season was to get a second lefty in the bullpen, I'm not sure if he'd pluck Takahashi as a pen lefty to stick him in the rotation but could easily just be a short term solution.

Maybe give Raul Valdes the nod? He's been talked about a lot and his name has been going around so maybe Manuel will give him the start. He's been highly effective in the bullpen, pitched 5 innings of 3 hit ball, giving up no earned runs and striking out 7. I'm not sure if Manuel wants to tamper with the rhythmn he has being effective in the bullpen, but that's his decision.

Let's not forget about Bobby Parnell, though. Sure, he wasn't sharp when he had a few starts in the 2009 season, but he's over his first season woes and has been fine tuning his splitter in the minors. Why can't Parnell be a starter? Yes, he was good in the bullpen with that fastball that lingers in the upper 90s but if he can improve his secondary offerings and harness a nice splitter, then age is on his side compared to the other contenders for Maine's spot if he loses it soon.

With the bullpen being completely lights out so far, I find it hard to believe Jerry will yank one of those guys without looking at other options. Due to a dominant bullpen early on in the season, maybe Mejia will be sent down to the minors or maybe stick him in the rotation (!). Maybe they'd bring in a free agent (Pedro???) or maybe just leave Maine in there and watch him embarrass himself every fifth day.

Time will tell. What are your thoughts?

Spring Training update #1

The Mets as a team are now 6-2 outscoring their opponents 44-20. They seem to have great chemistry and work well together. They seem to be confident about this team and I don't know why we shouldn't either. Anything compared to last year will be progress. Sure, I'd love to win the NL East and make it deep into the playoffs. If we win the Wild Card and make it to the first round of the playoffs then I'd be content.

No one sees this team winning a World Series flat out this year. We're not the Red Sox, we're not the Yankees, and we're not the Phillies. I'd say, if everything goes right, we'd be a playoff team through the Wild Card. If we make these small steps forward in 2010, then 2011 could possibly be a success. By the way Spring Training is going, we have a very bright future ahead of us in Jenrry Mejia, Ike Davis, Fernando Martinez, Josh Thole, and Jon Niese (even though Mejia has stolen all the spotlight). Mejia is baffling batters and is perfect through 5.1 IP, F-Mart is hitting for power, Davis and Thole are red hot, and Niese (in my opinion) definitely penciled himself in for the 5th starter role after his last outing.

By the looks of everything, 2011 looks something like:

C Josh Thole

1B Ike Davis

2B Luis Castillo

SS Jose Reyes

3B David Wright

LF Jason Bay

CF Carlos Beltran

RF Fernando Martinez

1. Johan Santana

2. Mike Pelfrey

3. Jon Niese

4. Oliver Perez

5. Jenrry Mejia

As much as I love Jeff Francoeur, I see Mets management favoring Fernando Martinez over him for the RF job in 2011. What happens to Francoeur I do not know, but I wish we'd still have a spot for him.

Mejia is scheduled to pitch four innings in his next outing, clearly still being groomed as a starting pitcher (thank god).

Mejia is a Stud

Jenrry Mejia bedazzled batters and wowed people who watched him pitch against the Marlins. He was absolutely electric. So, now that we see what he's capable of, what do we do with him next? Do we stick him in the pen? Do we make him our 8th inning guy? Do we send him back to the minors?

The answer is the last one. It would be so exciting to see Mejia in the bigs this year. It's such a tease to watch him pitch in these

Spring Training games and dominate the opposing batters, but he really needs to develop his secondary offerings and gain more experience. Even though he made fools of the batters that faced him, his command was off, which happens to be his flaw.

I'm all for the Mets giving Mejia MLB time, but do it slowly. I think he should be given a few spot starts during the year, then call him up in September. I think where he is now, with a good chunk of time in the minors this season, he'd be the favorite to win a rotation spot in 2011. His stuff is completely filthy and I'd love to see what he can do during a full major league game.

It's going to be interesting to see what's going to happen to Mejia after Spring Training. I really don't think he should break camp this spring, I can totally see him collapse when we try and have him convert from the reliever we made him this season to a starter we'd make him in 2011. It screams Joba Chamberlain all over it.

Even if this happens, he will gain a lot of positive media and notoriety as (by the looks of it) a shut-down set-up man. Is this a good thing?

2011 Looks Bright

Spring Training is upon us and some new faces have reassured us that our future at certain position voids might be filled as of 2011.

1B prospect Ike Davis continues to impress at Spring Training. He continues to turn heads and gain notoriety as the days go on. He'll likely start the year as the starting 1B in AAA with a September call up. Starting 2011, he'll more than likely become the starting first baseman. He's got raw power and being only 22 years old can only improve.

C prospect Josh Thole has also impressed people with his brief MLB debut last season. In 53 trips to the plate, he batted .321 with 9 RBIs. Though his only flaw is his below average defense behind the plate, he's only 23 years old and with a solid season as the starting catcher in AAA, he could be the starting catcher in 2011.

RHP Jenrry Mejia has been referred to as the next Felix Hernandez by some, and Mariano Rivera by others. He is a true stud and has been labeled as either being a dominant starter or a shut-down closer. To be honest, I'm all about grooming this kid to be a starting pitcher. Starting pitchers have always been difficult to come by for the New York Mets, and with this 20 year old kid destined to be our #1 ace of the future, its hard to turn that in for his talent to be wasted as a closer. His pitches have ridiculous movement and if he commands his pitches better and really works on the consistency of his delivery, he could very well be fighting for the #5 spot this time next year. In the meantime, I'm sure he'll get a call-up in September or maybe even a spot start earlier than that.

Possible 2011 lineup: (for humor purposes I left Castillo at second. Who knows who will be playing 2B at that point)

Reyes

Castillo

Wright

Beltran

Bay

Thole

Davis

Francoeur

That is a great lineup right there. If Thole and Davis continue to hit, which they will, we will have such depth as the Yankees or the Phillies with dangerous hitters in mostly all the slots.

Possible 2011 rotation:

Santana

Pelfrey

Niese

Perez

Mejia

Johan will be around 32 in 2011 and obviously won't be as sharp as he used to, though still the staff ace. Everyone below him needs to know that when he's eventually gone, someone needs to fill that void.

I think this season Pelfrey will find his groove and settle in as a good #2, though I don't know if he can fill the ace role when Santana is gone. With better defense behind him and more experience at the MLB level, I think this year will be a breakout year for Mike.

I think Niese will win the 5th rotation spot this spring and flourish. I think he'll establish himself with a positive rookie season and etching himself to fill the #3 spot in 2011. Will he fill Johan's void, probably not but he'll be a great #3.

I think Perez' history makes him unable to fill the ace role. Everyone says he looks fantastic this year in Spring Training, though who knows how long that can last.

And then there's Mejia. I think he's easily the favorite to win a rotation spot in 2011 being an organizational favorite. If he fine tunes his delivery and command with a full year in the minors, I think he'll be our #5 in 2011 then maybe our #2 in 2012 and possibly our #1 in 2013. Jenrry Mejia has the most upside out of anyone on this list and I expect him to deliver.

So, now that 2011 looks bright, I hope 2010 isn't a drag.

Interesting Reads: Mejia, Chapman, Arroyo, Harang

Silvestricles of Caught Lookin' wonders whether or not the Reds are more inclined to move their big salary players after the Chapman signing.

Amit Badlani of NY Hot Corner wonders as well if the Mets can get Arroyo or Harang instead of settling with Pineiro now that Chapman is in Cincinnati.

Alex Geshwind of Fantasy Bullpen break down Mets top prospect RHP Jenrry Mejia and compares him to Mariner's Felix Hernandez.

That last one gets me so excited. Geshwind says that even though his stuff is not where Hernandez' was at age 20, his stuff is still off the charts and "skill set has ace written all over it." He also writes that Mejia will be the heir to Johan Santana. Even though this is probably true, I'd love a Santana-Mejia-Pelfrey-Holt-Niese rotation eventually. Talk about home grown talent... if all these pitchers (besides Santana) grow into what they're projected to be, Holt, who has "top of the rotation stuff," would be an amazing #4. Who knows if this is possible or even when this is possible.

An ace from the farm

Every team (mostly) has a young farmhand who has tremendous potential on the mound. They are brought up from the minors and either dominate MLB hitters or have shown great flashes of greatness in doing so.

The Yankees have Phil Hughes, Red Sox have Clay Buchholz, Dodgers have Clayton Kershaw, A's have Andrew Bailey, Phillies have JA Happ, Tigers have Rick Porcello, and the Braves have Jair Jurrjens and Tommy Hanson.

Who will the Mets get? Eventually a pitcher will arise from the depths of the Mets' farm. Who will it be? Will it be the praised prospects such as Holt or Mejia? Will it be Niese, Moviel, Familia, or Urbina who step up?

Or, can it be Pelfrey? Having a few seasons under his belt and still not showing signs of dominance, I doubt it. Someone in the farm has to be one of these pitchers. At least one of the pitchers in the Mets farm is destined to fill these shoes. Who will it be?

Thoughts?

Jenrry Mejia and the AFL, 2010 Mets

Jenrry Mejia has been struggling in the Arizona Fall League starting rotation. According to Toby Hyde's Mets Minor League Blog, Mejia has posted a 12.91 ERA for a combined 7.3 innings pitched with 14 hits and 9 walks.

Should we be worried? No. He's 20 years old. He still needs a couple more years of maturing in the minors before he fulfills his projection of being a top-notch starter.

Jerry Manuel and friends watched Mejia pitch in the AFL to see if he can help the Mets bullpen in 2010. Why would they do such a thing? Though he has a minor league career ERA of 2.91, he has posted a 4.47 ERA in AA. If he went from dominating the A+ league with a 1.97 ERA to struggling in AA with a 4.47, what makes you think he's major league ready? I think this would be a huge mistake, especially at such a young age. He needs to develop his pitches more and get more experience before he gets a chance in the majors.

Jon Niese

I enjoyed watching Niese pitch (the two games he was recalled for after his not so good run in the beginning of the season) until he got hurt. I'd like to see him in the rotation for 2010. If he doesn't work out, he doesn't work out. Worst that can happen is that you send him back to the minors. On the upside, he gets serious MLB playing time in a hopefully healthy team that can back him up offensively and defensively.

If Niese pans out to be a solid pitcher, that would go wonderful with Brad Holt and Jenrry Mejia in a couple of years. If Holt and Mejia are major league ready and able to prove to us the reason why they're our best pitching prospects, that could get dangerous. Assuming Pelfrey finds his groove, that is one dirty rotation. But still, that is years away from happening.

Prospects excite me. So much talent yet a lot of it is just hype. The majors and the minors are day and night so you really don't have any idea. I'm just hoping for the best. Us Mets fans can use a little exciting news to look forward to, right?