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Daniels out of consideration...
2010-10-26 16:57:00
There have been rumors and speculation that one of the reasons the Mets extended the first round of interviews was to give them time to explore the availability of Jon Daniels.  The Rangers have been adamant that they will re-sign Daniels but speculation was fueled by some vague responses from Daniels himself in regards to his interest in the Mets job.  Apparently the Mets have gotten the message, according to reports Daniels has been ruled out as a candidate..Rangers general manager and Queens product Jon Daniels is no longer being considered to replace Omar Minaya as Mets' GM, and all indications are that the team expects to choose between Sandy Alderson and Josh Byrnes, according to Major League Baseball sources familiar with the team's process. source Daily News

Callis on Fuson
2010-10-26 06:14:00
As I posted at the start of the GM search there are many who believe that Sandy Alderson will accept most of the Mets Hierarchy to remain, as he did in San Diego but the one loyal person he might require is Grady Fuson.  Fuson has been with Alderson since his days in Oakland and was brought in with the Padres; he is considered an excellent scouting director, assistant GM and always ranks high as a potential GM. Despite never getting a shot as a GM he has been considered the heir apparent in Oakland, Texas and San Diego.  Despite not landing the job he has been credited in all three cities for developing the farm with his drafts.Jim Callis of BA was asked about a Fuson/Alderson team in NY and had the following to say...More important than the hire is how much he gets to spend. @wexlerrules: Thoughts on Grady Fuson as potential scouting director for #Mets? source Jim Callis BA twitter

Decision maybe Friday...
2010-10-26 05:56:00
Teams don't want to up-stage the World Series so either teams need to make announcements Tuesday, wait til the end of the series or find a day off to make announcements.  I'm sure the Mets don't want to look like they rushed a decision or that the fix was in by making an announcement tomorrow, so the next day off is Friday .  According to David Lennon that's exactly when we might find out who is the next GM of this team...#Mets did little more than acknowledge today's 2nd interview with Byrnes. Alderson tomorrow, expect decision shortly after, thinking Friday  source David Lennon Twitter
More About: Decision

My biggest concern with Byrnes..
2010-10-25 22:33:00
I completed a full bio post on Josh Byrnes here, I would be excited about Byrnes being a finalist as I would with White, Hahn or even Baird if the situation was different.  All these guys are exciting young, next generation types with innovative ideas.  Yes, they have their warts but like a prospects there is an incredible amount of up-side.  The problem is the same description was given to Omar in 2004 and we saw what the Mets hierarchy did to him...I recently came across an article at Cleveland.com in which they didn't think highly of Byrnes draft picks while he was in charge of the draft as an Asst. GM with the Indians. But that's not what concerns me the most about Josh Byrnes, let me digress for a moment. I believe the theory that the way the Wilpon's owned the team between 2005-2007 is how they would like to run it, it was only when Jeff lost faith in Omar but Fred wouldn't allow Omar to be fired that Jeff became meddlesome and over bearing.  While...

LaRussa on Alderson in NY...
2010-10-24 19:11:00
For those looking for an excuse to be against Sandy Alderson, first there's the argument that he's been out of the loop for too long and the other argument is that he may not be able to handle a major market.  Those who argue that Alderson has been out of the loop for too long seem to be negating his time as Oakland's President and San Diego's CEO.  Those fans or journalist act like the last time he worked in baseball was in 1997.  They don't even acknowledge his time as CEO of the Padres from 2005-2009 or that he was still working in baseball from 1998-2005 in the Commissioners office.  I wonder if those who dismiss  his time as CEO of the Padres are the same people complaining Jeff Wilpon is running the team as COO.While Alderson has worked in NY for the commissioners office and taken a lot of heat in those positions it is true that all of his time operating a baseball team on any level has been in very laid back, low profile, small market teams....

Latest Rosenthal- Baird & Managerial candidates...
2010-10-23 06:31:00
As every other outlet did today, Ken Rosenthal reported on the Mets dwindling the GM field down to two, but Rosenthal also had some other tidbits of information...Apparently Allard Baird had some out-of-the-box ideas, my first thought was, which core player did he suggest to trade but who knows what he said, the ideas were described as "intriguing":Allard Baird, the Mets’ only other candidate with previous GM experience, had three 100-loss seasons with the Royals. He presented several intriguing “outside-the-box” ideas, but would have been tough to sell to a frustrated fan base, one source said.Also the GM candidates were asked to give a list of managerial prospects, according to Rosenthal both Alderson and Byrnes had Backman on their list:Both Alderson and Byrnes presented lists of four or five managerial candidates in their initial interviews. Each of their lists included Mets Class A manager Wally Backman, sources said.source Ken Rosenthal
More About: Candidates

How many degrees of seperation are between Alderson/Byrnes...
2010-10-23 03:18:00
We've all now heard that the Mets have selected two finalists for the GM position, Josh Byrnes and Sandy Alderson.  I think there's been enough said about Sandy Alderson and why he would be the perfect fit for the Mets but I don't think it's any mistake that they selected Josh Byrnes as the second candidate.  This isn't meant to diminish Byrnes candidacy but Alderson seems like such a slam dunk I'm left thinking either the Mets don't want it to look like the fix was in or that they have other plans for Byrnes.  I know they have made it clear that they're hiring a GM not a Pres. but they've said nothing about an Asst. GM.  Aside from Alderson of the five other candidates, Byrnes is the only one who isn't presently under contract as an asst. GM elsewhere.  It's one thing for a team to allow one of their employees to take the equivalent of a promotion but a lateral move is another story.  It's been said that Byrnes wants back in baseball, ...

The Mets need to avoid the appearance of indecisivness
2010-10-22 18:17:00
Since the stunning end to the 2006 season, there is one word that has consistently described the Mets ; indecisiveness.  While rashness can result in poor decisions and bad choices that is a judgement that is made after the fact; when the decision is determined to be good then it's described as aggressiveness but if the deal sours it was a panic move.  The opposite end of the spectrum is inactivity and that to is also judged with hindsight; patience is applauded until the team repeatedly fails then it's considered indecisive.  In 2005 at the deadline Omar was almost unanimously applauded for not making any moves (source BA) of course that was based on 2004 when the organizations decisions were determined to be out of desperation.  Unlike the Seaver trade in which there were politics at work, Kazmir was simply a deal to keep attendance up.  I was a teenager in the 80's watching Frank Cashen play let's make a deal with the Mets roster and while it...
More About: Appearance

Lennon 100% Alderson...
2010-10-22 07:13:00
As we've all heard by now, the Mets have completed the first round of the GM selection.  So the Mets have six candidates; a living legend ( Alderson), two former GMs ( Baird/Byrnes) and three fast rising Asst. GMs ( Hahn /Brown/White).  I agree with many of the other Mets bloggers I've been reading, that it would be exciting to have one of the hot shot, up and comers take over the Mets but then I remember that, that's exactly what Omar Minaya was five years ago. This team needs Sandy Alderson and not just because they need a good GM; the Mets have philosophical issues, branding concerns, along with managerial and roster problems.  They need someone who can restore credibility to the organization who has been successful as a GM, team president and CEO of an organization along with understanding the baseball big picture from working for the league.  The biggest knock on Alderson has been that he hasn't run the day-to-day operations as a GM in over 15 ...

Alderson at Citi today...
2010-10-21 07:19:00
Sandy Alderson is to meet tomorrow for what is being called the finish up to his initial interview.  Either the Mets don't want to call it a second interview or he's the only one who couldn't finish in his first meeting.  The initial meeting was away from Citi Field, but tomorrow it is reported he will meet at the stadium with two of the highest ranking officials in the building.  David Cohen's office is above the Citi Field outfield and he heads the in-house legal dept., Dave Howard we all rem. from last years state of the Mets address on WFAN his specific title is executive Vice President of Business operations.  We heard that last weeks meeting went very well but Joel Sherman described why it went so well in today's NY Post article...Alderson clearly wants to return to running a team and – from what I understand – that passion was overt in the interview. Also, the Mets see the value of hiring a head of baseball operations who would provide instan...
More About: Today

Could we lose Hale- update
2010-10-20 23:10:00
Chip Hale Looks On ModOriginally uploaded by Michael G. BaronUpdate - I've been informed I have the wrong Hale and am worring about nothing.  Although I could swear I read a tweet about two weeks ago saying Chip Hale was interviewing for the Jays job.  I can't find that tweet and I trust the guys telling me its Demarlo Hale being referenced below.  I try to be accurate and apoligize to anyone I miss lead..Some are reading this headline and probably saying who cares, but as many of you know I think Hale would make an excellent candidate for our managers position. In this post I made my case and in my opinion his resume far out weighs fan favorite Wally Backman. As the Daily News reported the Mets have asked Hale to wait while they go through the process of selecting a GM, which I think they're being way too methodical about ( just sign Sandy already). While the Mets are weighing their options for GM, could Hale be a significant candidate for the Jays managerial job...

A look at today's interviewee Dana Brown...
2010-10-20 22:54:00
The Mets are meeting with Dana Brown today and I wanted to give him his fair shake, as I've posted a bio on all of the other candidates that have reached this point.  I'm not sure I truly agree with the policy of  interviewing a minority candidate just for the sake of doing so, in my opinion it just seems demeaning .  In Brown's case it appears he was the runner up for the mandatory interview when the Tigers refused a request for Al Avila. After the Avila interview was denied all of the sudden the second round interviews were delayed a week, but the only change was Brown's name suddenly coming up in the second week.  I understand the concept of getting these guys foot in the door and that the first interview possibly gets them on the short list but last year Kim Ng was the buzz name and this year without any major slip up that I'm aware of, her name hasn't been mentioned in regards to either opening ( Arizona/NYM).  Of course, many will point to Mike T...

Update: comments from Daniels
2010-10-18 07:05:00
Jim Bowden of XM Fox tweeted the following in regards to Jon Daniels and the Mets...
More About: Comments , Update

Alderson - maybe he has maybe he hasn't
2010-10-18 06:38:00
There was a report by ESPN that Sandy Alderson has been asked back for a second interview.  All along it's been reported that Alderson is the front runner for the position and quite frankly if they don't hire him with his resume then they're more lost then I thought.  Alderson getting a second interview would clearly indicate that he is the front runner and the Mets are on the right track.  Steve Popper reported later that his sources denied a second interview at this time.

Is Daniels worth the wait...
2010-10-18 06:10:00
If you equate the GM selection process to the draft; then my question is whether Jon Daniels sign ability is worth waiting.  Daniels is like the HS school pitcher who's dad swears he's going to college, do you waste your time trying to talk him into coming to the Mets or do you move on to the next playing on the depth chart.  If you truly believe he's your #1 choice and there's even the slightest chance you can get him, then of course you have to wait, but if he's just another candidate and/or you know he's not leaving Texas then why waste your time.  Daniels hints about the Mets reminded me of so many players I've heard drop a big market name just to advance their negotiations with another team.  The Mets can't even get permission to talk with him until after the Rangers are eliminated.Now I don't want the Mets to rush and make a rash decision, but also don't want them prolonging the process to ensure they appear thorough.   There is a lot of...
More About: Worth

Looking for tweet embedding help
2010-10-17 19:25:00
As many sites have been doing I'm looking to embedd tweets for posting pursposes.  I have spoken to several bloggers and simply can't find an easy way to embed tweets in blogger.  Word Press guys are using WPVIbe but I cant figure out where to paste the coding into blogger as its not the same HTML as Word press.  I tried Alot screenshots but it's coming out as a blank shot on twitter. I tried apture but after making an account it isnt recognizing the acoount even though its saying im signed in.  Finally Blackbird Pie was suppose to be the easy way to embed tweets and while it's extremely easy there is one big problem.  The twitter pages background is used over the entire box instead of as a border, now on bland bankgrounds thats not a problem but as most sport sites are a busy backgrounds, it makes the writing un-readable.  The coding is extremely complicated and I cant figure out how to turn off the background while keeping the tweet fram...

What will Alderson do for the Mets
2010-10-16 15:31:00
Another day and another endorsement for Sandy Alderson, this one coming from Fred Claire the guy who ran the Dodgers for 30 years ( 1969-1998).  In an MLB.com article Claire explains that he got to know Alderson quite well as they worked relatively close ( LA/Oakland) for opposing organizations.  What I found interesting is what he felt Alderson could do for the Mets ..And just what answers does Alderson hold for the Mets? You can be sure he will give great attention to hiring a qualified manager, if given the opportunity. He will place great emphasis on scouting and player development. He will build a pro scouting staff stocked with veteran people who know how to do their jobs. He will give credit to others while taking responsibility for the fate of the Mets. source MLB.com.

Request for Avila
2010-10-16 04:07:00
It almost seemed expected at this point, according to reports the Mets have made the formal request to interview Al Avila.  As far as I'm concerned Avila is more then qualified to be the GM of a major league club, no matter what his race, unfortunately the Mets appear to be going in another direction and his interview ( if granted) seems to be to appease a minority requirement. I know there are some who say, give him the interview because he may light up the room for some owner, but do owners in this day and age really over look the best candidates. I don't think they do; I think it would be more insulting to be given an interview to meet a quota then it would be to be over looked.  For example; the Mets front runner appears to be Sandy Alderson because he's a living legend in the industry not because he's white...As a non-minority I say this with the deepest respect for their plight and mean absolutely no disrespect whatsoever.  Despite being in the maj...
More About: Request

Why is Waits out, maybe the prospect review is an indication...
2010-10-14 23:57:00
Rick Waits served the Mets for 15 years on the minor league side in the pitching developmental department.  I'm surprised by the timing of Waits departure, why not wait until the new GM is in place, let him decide who goes and who's going to replace them.  For more on Waits see Toby's article at Mets minor league blog and Matt's at Metsblog.By the timing of this, I'm left wondering if the Mets were so dissatisfied by the development in the pitching dept. that they couldn't wait for the new GM. The farm was clearly improved under Omar's regime, but what happened once they were drafted/signed is another story.  I remembered writing a post in mid season on Jon Sickel's update of our prospect list, here is what I said at the time;I happened to be looking at Sickel's minor league ball, yesterday he posted an in-season progress report on his Mets top 20 prospects. As I read the reports there were two words that would describe too many of the pitchers in our fa...
More About: Review

Rosenthal on Avila
2010-10-14 23:04:00
It would be a tough decision if Sandy Alderson wasn't in the mix, all the other candidates would be top choices if Alderson hadn't thrown his hat in the ring.  Whether it's Hahn, White, Byrnes or Baird they all have solid attributes for a club in need of a top administrator. Al Avila as I posted here would be just as worthy as any of the others and his resume is as impressive as all of them.Of course it's hard to understand when your not in the situation, but I'd, at least think I would be insulted if the reason I was given an interview was to fulfil a minority requirement especially with the resume Avila has.  Keep in mind, #Mets have yet to interview minority candidate for GM opening. One possibility: #Tigers assistant GM Al Avila. #MLB source Ken Rosenthal twitter 

Marquis has support & interest in NY
2009-09-22 19:02:00
One day this spring my son wanted to watch the Little League World Series when it was on TV, the team that was on that day was from Staten Island, each kid said their name and there favorite player. At least 20 of the 25 players named Jason Marquis as their favorite player, the veteran pitcher was a NYC LL hero who threw a no hitter in the LL World Series .The kids from his home town aren't the only ones who support the local star, Jeff Francoeur is quoted today as saying Marquis approached him about becoming a Met this off-season and Frenchy thinks it's a good idea. Francoeur a former teammate of Marquis feels he provides just what the Mets need 200 innings and 12-15 wins. Marquis has been on the Mets radar for a long time, going all the way back to his days with the Cards. In 2006 the Cards looked dead in the water at the deadline and there was a rumor that the Mets looked into the cost of Marquis. In 2007 the Cubs tried to move him straight up for Endy Chavez and then again in ...
More About: Support , Interest

Frenchy seems to have a lot of Talent as well...
2009-09-22 04:31:00
The other day I took a lot of heat for supporting Jeff Francoeur, but more specifically for appreciating the intangibles that he brings to the game. I'm not really sure why, but there's a group of fans who seem to become extremely up-set whenever intangibles are brought up.Look, I agree baseball is 90% talent/skill but professional athletes are so close in there skill set that the other 10% plays into the outcome of a season. I'm not saying I'd rather have David Eckstien play short stop because he has so much more grit then Jose Reyes. But two players of equal talent can have significantly different impact on the exact same team depending upon their personality and the collective personality of that team.I seemed to be on the unpleasant end of some ridicule over using Hadley Ramirez as an example of a player who I felt brought a significant amount of these intangibles to the table, especially in the last series of the season for the past two years.In 2007 on the second to last d...
More About: Talent

Comments from players on VWL
2009-09-22 00:33:00
As I've said before, Andres M. is a big Mets fans who passes along items he comes across on the international sites, it so hard to find more then box scores and generic MLB updates from the winter leagues that anything he comes across is greatly appreciated.Andres has agreed to pass along what he comes across this winter along with translating it for us ( since a lot is missed in the bablefish interpretation). Today he has a few quotes from guys who are planning to play winter ball...Lance Broadway " I hope to keep improving, I have to make some adjustments to my mechanics to be a better pitcher, I think that I would be able to work on that on the WL" said Broadway. " What I'v been doing lately has not been enough to get outs, me ERA is about a million, so I have to Improve. Or I can keep pitching like that and soon be unemployed or I find a better way to pitch. I'm trying to throw from different angles.Broadway said that he will travel to Venezuela on October 8 " I will stay ove...
More About: Players , Comments

Thoughts on Milton Bradley rumors...
2009-09-21 20:24:00
I was once a huge advocate of the Mets acquiring Milton Bradley, I was willing to accept the 50lbs. of baggage he brought with him for the talent he would provide.Since 2003 he has hit .267 or better every year and four of those years he hit over .300 with a lifetime Slg. pct. .450 and OBP .371. In 2008 he was selected to the All-Star team and received League MVP votes (17). He is an injury risk but nothing significant over the past five seasons he averaged 132 gms. per season with his high point being 141 in 2004 and low 75 gms in 2005. In 2007 Bradley was signed by the A's, during the season he was injured and the team asked him to slow his rehab to get a look at a youngster, when he refused he was DFA. The Royals ended up picking him up but it was rumored that the Mets loosely kept an eye on his situation. Now I admit when I'm wrong, as I said before I was a big advocate of the Mets acquiring Bradley and not just in 2007 but again in 2008. One of the most convincing aspects tha...
More About: Rumors , Thoughts , Milton Bradley

Domincan rookie draft...
2009-09-20 18:16:00
Prior to the Domincan winter league the teams hold a rookie draft, generally players are loyal to the teams that draft them and play with that team each year they play in the league. Teams select players who might not even play for future considerations.Andres M. is a big Mets fan and whenever he finds something in the international news he passes it along, as always I appreciate anything Andre brings us since it's usually tidbits we'd never have access to. Here's Andre's comments on the draft and I have to agree it's interesting the order these players went in...Also, I Recently I found out that prior to the Dominican Winter League Season takes a place a Rookies draft of 100 player (PIT Pedro Alvarez taken No.1 Overall), that draft took place on during August 19, and the following are the Mets players taken on the draft.. (I found interesting that Marte and Valdespin were taken before Mejia and Familia)11- Jefrey Marte 3B (Toros)15- Jordany Valdespin 2B (Licey)21- Jenry Mejia ...
More About: Draft

Is Jeff Francoeur our Paul O'Neill
2009-09-20 03:08:00
I'm not much of a bandwagon type, for example; I didn't feed into the Murphy hype and I want to see a veteran catcher next year with Santos as the back-up instead of a Santos/Thole platoon.I know Jeff Francoeur has his flaws, he averages 120 K's per year and Braves fans were fed up with his lack of clutch hits; last year with RISP he hit .192, RISP w/two outs .175 and bases loaded .182.Since coming to the Mets, Francoeur has been impressive, he's a decent fielder with a great arm and loves to use it, all the while hitting .315 ( 60 gms) with 33 RBIs and 7 HRs. But whats been more important is the intangibles that he's brought to the table, he seemed to immediately become a main clubhouse figure and team leader. He brings a hard nosed, passion to the team that has been missing for years. Playing through a thumb injury in meaningless games because he wants to.I know there's a large debate in baseball as a whole, as to whether passion ( gritty/fiery) has any impact what-so-ever ...
More About: Paul

Adam Bostick to play in VWL
2009-09-18 20:34:00
Adam Bostick came into his own this season as a reliever, the 26 y/o lefty has been considered a disappointment as a starter to the extent the Mets removed him from their 40 man roster and were still able to retain him when no one else was interested.Overall he's made 123 starts of 176 appearances with a 4.36 ERA through all levels of the minors. In AAA over four seasons he has an ERA of 5.17 with a 9-14 record. But this year he went to the pen full time and posted a 3.28 ERA in 27 appearances, against lefties his ERA was 1.69 and they hit a mere .211. I was disappointed that Bostick wasn't called up this Sept. as an audition for the second lefties spot in the pen next year, but maybe he's being rested for winter ball. Thanks to Andre M. for finding an international article linking Bostick to playing in VWL...original source Lider De Portes translated BabelfishCañizares was not the unique one mattered signed yesterday by sharks. Also they forged a restrictive practice with Adam ...
More About: Play , Adam

Heyman on the NY Mess
2009-09-18 19:24:00
Even national reporter Jon Heyman is calling our team the NY Mess. Heyman takes a look at the Mets and how they can be fixed, he seems to have a much rosier opinion of the Mets finances. According to Heyman the Mets will explore the big name free agents and while they'll try to curb spending they maybe forced to spend near what they did this year.It obvious what they need, about the biggest debate is whether they can get away with just filling one of LF and 1B or that they need to fill both. Heyman sees us looking at Wolf while I think the Mets need to set their sights higher. The biggest question will be how much the Wilpon's will spend this off-season.Reports have suggested the Mets plan to cut from an NL-high $145 million payroll, but even a small reduction might be a tough sell in their second season in Citi Field. The guess here is the payroll stays about the same. Mets people already are discussing big-name free agent targets -- though, of course, that doesn't guarantee the...

Parnell to the pen...
2009-09-18 03:37:00
Bobby Parnell made his last major league start of the 2009 season, according to Jerry Manuel he has been put back in the pen.Parnell was completely ineffective as a starter and the team couldn't just keep sending him out there to get beat up, no matter how tough he is, I'm sure it starts to weigh on you. Parnell could have made 2-3 more starts but what a way to end the season if he continued to preform as he did as a starter. In 8 starts he has a record of 1-5 with a 7.93 ERA.At least as a reliever Parnell had stints of success and maybe he ends the season on a positive with a success inning of relief. Parnell posted a 3.74 ERA in 45 innings of work as a reliever. The Mets plan to send him to winter ball as a starter which tells me that they still believe he is more of a starter then a reliever. Hindsight is 20/20 and I liked Parnell in the pen, but if they really saw him as a starter then maybe 20 innings in AAA wasn't enough. If they saw Parnell as a starter and he was killing...

Could there be a complete spending freeze...
2009-09-17 22:43:00
Andrew Marchand of ESPN 1050 NY radio just tweeted that an associate of the Wilpon's says they might not spend at all this off-season. Apparently the only way to get the Wilpon's to spend will be public pressure.I know if they actually pull this, this site will be dedicated to blasting their business tactics, I can appreciate the Madoff scandal but that still doesn't exonerate them from not putting out a better product ( take out a loan/ or get a partner). I know I won't be renewing my small inconsequential ticket plan, if this happens. Paging Mr. Carton please find your bullhorn...There was a rumor several weeks ago the Mets may attempt to reduce payroll to 100MM, interesting enough is if the Mets don't bring in a single contract and only pay their current players that their obligated to, along with a few arby eligible and then fill the rest with league min. deal it comes out to about 107MM ( for the math go here).An associate of the Wilpons ftells me that the only way to get ...
More About: Spending , Freeze , Complete