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Andy Pettitte announced his retirement from baseball at Yankee Stadium today, bringing an end to a 16-year career that saw him a 240-138 record between his time with the New York Yankees and Houston Astros.

The five-time World Champion was a fan favorite everywhere he went and he shone in the playoffs as if it was his own stage. His 19 postseason wins are the most in baseball history.

The winningest pitcher of the last decade, Pettitte today leaves a legacy that is only bettered by Whitey Ford among Yankee southpaws. That was four decades ago, and Pettitte has certainly left his mark on the game.

While postseason victories and playoff clinches became his calling card, Pettitte had his moments in the regular season, too.

With only 10 spots to fill, there’s a lot of games that had to be left out, but here’s a list of his 10 greatest games.

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Many New York Mets fans are pessimistic heading into 2011.

Now I’m not saying there’s not a good reason for this—payroll inflexibility, infield depth, Oliver Perez—but fans right now prefer to look to the future than the present.

Unfortunately, the Mets are just one of four teams that did not have a single prospect featured on Jonathan Mayo’s Top 50 list, unveiled on Tuesday night.

Jenrry Mejia was ineligible for the list because he no longer has rookie status and Wilmer Flores came in at No. 58, on the bubble behind Rangers shortstop Jurickson Profar and pitching prospects Jarred Cosart (Phillies), Tyler Skaggs, (D-backs), Dellin Betances (Yankees) and Ethan Martin (Dodgers).

The Mets don’t have the prospects or the farm system like the Rays or the Royals, but they’re not playing them every day. So where do the other NL East teams rank in the list?

The Braves had three guys in the top 21, the Phillies had two prospects inside the top 30 including the fourth overall prospect Domonic Brown and the Nationals had Bryce Harper ranked at No. 3.

The Marlins, like the Mets, had no one in the top 50.

New York’s biggest problem is that, other than Mejia, they have very few, if any, Major League-ready prospects. Mejia will start in Triple-A most likely, and there’s a really good chance that the Mets will be fielding the same core at the position players for many years to come.

Baseball America predicts David Wright, Jose Reyes, Ike Davis, Josh Thole and Angel Pagan will all be in the Mets’ starting lineup on Opening Day of 2014, with the previously-mentioned Flores in left field, Reese Havens at second and Cesar Puello in right.

Puello is seen by some scouts as a better prospect than Kirk Nieuwenhuis, while Baseball America doesn’t seem to rank Lucas Duda or Fernando Martinez, both players with big league experience, that highly at all any more.

The fact is that the Mets haven’t drafted particularly well over the last decade. Their high school picks have looked distinctly average, and until last year Angel Pagan, Jon Niese and Josh Thole had made little to no impact. Take that trio out of the equation and you’re left with very limited success in first-rounders David Wright and Scott Kazmir.

Then consider that the Mets sent Kazmir to the Rays in exchange for Bartolome Fortunato and Victor Zambrano only to watch him rack up 55 wins over the next five seasons as a full-time starter, and things are even less rosy.

The junior college picks have been even less impressive and the four-year college picks are headlined by a pitcher with an ERA north of 5.00 (Bannister) and a batter who has 14 homers in 639 at-bats (Murphy).

With few high-level draft prospects in the system and even fewer legitimate All-Stars on the 40-man roster, 2011 does indeed predict as being tough.

That’s okay though, because the Mets have the cash to bring in everybody they need to succeed, right?

I’ll cheer for this team through thick and thin, but 2012 can’t come soon enough.

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Roberto Alomar was overpaid by the New York Mets for his year and a half of service towards the end of his career, but I was happy to see him get the recognition he deserved with a spot in the Hall of Fame.

His career will always be defined by a select few by the spitting incident, and for those of you who think that is enough to keep him out of Cooperstown, I feel sorry for you.

Some fans will never overlook this transgression, using it as the basis of every argument they ever make about his wrongful inclusion.

They will overlook his production and what he brought to the game, rubbishing 17 years of talent for the seven teams he suited up for.

It’s true that he did not shine in Shea Stadium like he had done in Cleveland, Baltimore, Toronto or San Diego, and it’s also true that his numbers from the 222 games he suited up for the Mets are not necessarily Hall-worthy. Still, Alomar would probably have still been enshrined even if he had called it a day after his time with the Indians came to an end.

His .265 batting average and 13 home runs in New York were not representative of his overall production. Rather, they are the statistics of a once-speedy, defensive-minded second baseman in the twilight of his career.

Alomar was serviceable for the Mets, outperforming fan favorite and double play partner Rey Ordonez across the board. Personally, I would have liked to see the Mets make more of an effort to re-sign Edgardo Alfonzo, but they didn’t lose too much in signing Alomar, with the exception of a little bit of pop, a few million dollars and a couple years. Okay, so maybe they did lose more than a little, but I digress.

This man was a 12-time All-Star and career .300 hitter before he even came to the Mets. His reputation preceded him, and we gave him more money than we should have, but simply put, he was a stud.

He was a Silver Slugger and Gold Glove winner, as well as a World Champion on more than one occasion. He was a winner who was simply past his prime when he came to the Big Apple.

He may never have been the biggest name in any of the cities he played, but he still compares more than favorably with other players at his position. Critics lay praise, rightfully so, on lifelong Cub and fellow Cooperstown member Ryne Sandberg, but Alomar put up similar statistics across the board, both offensively and defensively. Some metrics would have him on top.

He played one more season than Sandberg, matching the Cub like for like. A scattering of more hits and more steals were offset by a couple more home runs and more doubles. Sandberg won an MVP, something Alomar did not, but the players really do have very similar figures.

It’s a little harder to compare him with the likes of other sure-fire Hall of Famers such as Jeff Kent because, despite playing in the same era, Kent’s game featured a lot more power and a lot less speed. Still, look at the career numbers and the disparity is nowhere as great as some perceive.

They had careers of similar lengths, and while Kent was a much better run producer, Alomar was a more patient hitter who utilized the whole field better. Don’t get me started about the glovework. While they both played up the middle, they had contrasting roles within their respective teams. Both flourished.

It’s not like Kent was the most loved person in the clubhouse 24/7 either.

Alomar may not be considered the best second baseman of his era—or the second or the third. Mets fans who only remember him for the time he spent with the club in 2002 and 2003 might not see why he has even been selected at all.

Almost everyone has put the past behind them now when it comes to Alomar and the negativity surrounding that one ugly spitting incident. Baseball writers have followed suit, and now it’s your turn. Remember him for what he accomplished with the bat and with the glove. Roberto Alomar really was one of those rare gems, and now he’s where he belongs.

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New York Mets pitcher Oliver Perez continued to struggle with his command in his fifth start of the winter with the Tomateros de Culiacan.

The 29-year-old left-hander walked six and yielded two runs on three hits while striking out five over six innings, as the Tomateros defeated the Naranjeros de Hermosillo, 13-2.

While he still wasn’t particularly sharp, the one big improvement to note was that almost two-thirds of his outs were recorded on ground balls. Perez isn’t really known as a guy who gets batters to swing over a lot of pitches, so I can only assume that he did a better job at keeping the ball low in the zone against a good hitting team that is at the top of the Mexican League.

Perez walked former ninth-rounder Chris Roberson, the first batter he faced, but erased the baserunner on a ground ball double play. He then worked around a two-out single in the bottom of the second, but gave up the lead in the third frame.

After a pair of groundouts, Perez gave up a double to Roberson before issuing back to back walks to Carlos Gastelum and Erubiel Durazo to load the bases. As he did in his previous start against Guasave, Perez was unable to get out of the jam with men in scoring position, surrendering a two-RBI line drive to center off the bat of Luis Garcia.

The southpaw walked Humberto Cota in the fourth before starting a 1-6-3 double play and he found himself in trouble again in the fifth.

Perez walked Roberson with one down before making a throwing error on a force play at second base. Roberson took third as the ball sailed into center field and Carlos Gastelum advanced to second. Perez issued his sixth walk of the evening to Durazo to load the bases, but he got the following Luis Garcia and former Met and Yankee Karim Garcia out to keep the 5-2 lead intact.

The sixth inning was better, and he completed his outing retiring the Nos. 6, 7 and 8 batters in order on a strikeout and a pair of fly balls to center.

The pitcher, who has allowed 24 baserunners and 11 runs over 13 innings in his last three outings, has a 5.14 ERA for the winter over 10 total appearances.

Perez went 1-1 with a 3.47 ERA in four starts between St. Lucie and Buffalo in 2010, and 0-5 with a 6.80 ERA in 17 Major League appearances, including seven starts.

He is expected to fight for a bullpen job in spring training in March. GM Sandy Alderson reportedly said Perez will not make the 25-man roster unless he thoroughly earns his spot.

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New York Mets top pitching prospect Jenrry Mejia tops the list of a dozen players on the team’s 40-man roster getting some offseason work in the Caribbean Winter Leagues.

Joining Mejia in the warmer climates is left-handed headcase Oliver Perez, second-round Rule 5 Draft pick Pedro Beato, prospects Armando Rodriguez and Manuel Alvarez and veteran closer K-Rod.

Here’s a brief update to look at what these six pitchers have been up to in the Caribbean.

Also be sure to check out James Stewart-Meudt’s article on how possible second base options Daniel Murphy, Justin Turner and Brad Emaus are performing in the Winter Leagues here.

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New York Mets pitching prospect Jenrry Mejia scattered two hits while walking one and striking out four over three shutout innings for the Tigres del Licey in the Dominican Winter League on Friday.

The 21-year-old, making his second start of the fall, fanned three Aguilas batters in the first inning, working around a one-out double followed by a walk, and he recorded three ground ball outs in the second frame to set down the side despite an error by veteran first baseman Wily Mo Pena.

Mejia surrendered a double to Hector Luna, who finished 5-for-6 with three RBIs, in the top of the third frame, but got Edwin Encarnacion to ground out to short and Kevin Barker to fly out to center to complete his outing.

The start was much sharper than his first appearance last Sunday—his first game since being sidelined with shoulder problems in September—in which he gave up a pair of runs on three hits and three walks over 2.1 innings to Escogido.

ESPN’s Adriano Torres reported that Mejia got up to 96 mph on his fastball and that Licey pitching coach Guy Conti was impressed with his progress and poise.

Mejia, who was 0-4 in 33 appearances with the Mets in 2010, will likely start the 2011 season in Triple-A Buffalo where he will be further stretched out as a staring pitcher.

In nine starts across four Minor League levels last year with the Gulf Coast Mets, St. Lucie, Binghamton and Buffalo,  the right-hander went 2-0 with a 1.28 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 42.1 inning. He also threw a complete game shutout for the B-Mets in the Eastern League.

But while Mejia continues to make a positive impression on members of the Mets Minor League field staff, the same cannot be said for headcase Oliver Perez who, unfortunately, is likely to play a much bigger role in the early stages of next season at the Major League level.

Perez faced just one above the minimum over the first three frames in his start for the Tomateros de Culiacan in the Mexican League on Friday night before imploding in the middle innings.

He yielded back-to-back two-out homers in the fourth inning and then gave up a leadoff double in the fifth that came around to score to tie the game at 4-4 in the fifth. Perez recorded two outs in the sixth but was unable to finish his start on a high note, walking first baseman Japhet Amador and surrendering a single to No. 7 hitter Mario Valenzuela. Both baserunners would come around to score.

The final line on Perez read six earned runs on six hits with two walks, three strikeouts and two home runs over 5.2 innings.

The loss was the southpaw’s second in a row and he now sports a 5.73 ERA over nine appearances.

Perez was hit-and-miss in his first two starts and even though he struck out eight and walked six over a combined 10 innings, he kept putting up zeros.

Things have not been as smooth in his last two outings, where he has allowed 15 baserunners nine runs in seven innings.

Perez obviously still has some things he needs to work on throughout the winter and hopefully he will be able to respond next Wednesday with a more positive performance.

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The New York Mets made it abundantly clear that they were not going to be major contenders in the high-profile free agent sweepstakes this week in Florida, so the fact that they signed D.J. Carrasco shouldn’t really surprise anybody.

Patience was the name of the game in Buena Vista for Sandy Alderson, and while not a spectacular move by any stretch of the imagination, the move to snag Carrasco looks to be pretty solid.

It is important to note the state of the bullpen as it stands right now. Beside Francisco Rodriguez, nobody has a defined role for 2011. Oliver Perez may or may not feature in long relief and there are big question marks looming over the likely effectiveness of Manny Acosta, Bobby Parnell, Ryota Igarashi and Pat Misch.

If you then factor in spot starters such as Jenrry Mejia and Dillon Gee the pen, especially in the middle innings, looks weak and confusing even though Spring Training is sill three months away.

The Mets needed to populate the relief corps with arms, and I think Carrasco is a pretty decent find for two years.

He is a cheap and serviceable right-handed pitcher, and while he’s not going to win any awards, there’s no reason to think he won’t fit in nicely towards the back end of the bullpen.

At 33, he has six seasons of big league experience under his belt, most recently with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Arizona Diamondbacks, after spending his earlier years in the American League.

He has matured and developed a lot since first breaking through into the Major Leagues seven years ago, and it’s more important to look at his recent form rather than the complete portfolio of his work, which included a not-so-successful year as a starter.

At this stage in his career, he’s much more likely to give you 55 games and 75 innings with an ERA around the 3.75 mark. He is more efficient than his career 4.31 mark suggests, and pitching at Citi Field will only help, especially if he is used more sparingly against left-handers.

He has average stuff made more effective by the late movement he generates on his cutter, and as a result, he gets a better number of ground ball outs while minimizing the risk of a home run.

He will walk more batters than fans will like, but that’s often the case with a guy who works primarily off two types of fastballs.

Carrasco has two big assets to his game. The first is in the change of speed between his fastball and cutter, coupled with the mid-70s curve he will occasionally toss in there.

The second, and arguably the most useful, is the fact that he throws from at least three different arm slots, including sidearm late in the count.

Carrasco isn’t a big-money guy or a sexy household name, but he’s a veteran guy who looks like a low-risk option at this point. Throw him in at the start of the seventh inning and let him do his thing.

If Alderson can compliment this selection with a solid southpaw or two, the Mets will be right on track with where they need the bullpen to be. First impressions tell me this is a great start.

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According to ESPN and the New York Post, the New York Mets are deep in talks with hurler Chris Young.

While Buster Olney says the Mets are “closing in on a deal” for the 31-year-old former All-Star, the Post is reporting that they are “not close” to signing the lanky right-hander.

I can understand why some people consider him a relatively cheap short term option; I just don’t see too much value in going after him.

His price tag is way too high for someone who will enter the season as an almost unknown quantity and the risk outweighs the reward.

Nobody knows just how his surgically repaired right shoulder will hold up under the rigors of a 150-inning campaign, and even if he does have a clean bill of health, the fact remains that he’s not really been a solid pitcher since 2007.

His velocity was down when he did pitch in four games in 2010 and, coupled with a highly restrictive budget, it just doesn’t make sense to blow it all on one aging guy who may or may not contribute much in the coming season.

The Padres, who paid him $11 million for the last two years, had a pretty simple decision to make in not picking up his hefty $8.5 million option for 2011 and the Mets should give him a wide berth, too.

I know the pitching rotation is in a state of flux with Johan Santana starting the year on the DL, but the team has holes all over the place, most notably in the bullpen now that Pedro Feliciano has declined arbitration.

Depending on who you believe, the Mets have anywhere from $5 to $10 million in the budget this year. They played a risky—but probably worthwhile—game in their dealings with Feliciano this past week, and they would be advised to pass on Young.

In short, Young isn’t the same pitcher—injury or not—that posted back-to-back seasons of double-digit wins. His strikeouts have been on the decline since 2007, his command has slowly worsened and hitters are doing a much better job of putting the ball in play. Young doesn’t have the stuff to make hitters scared and because of his declining skill set, they can wait on pitches in the zone and drive them hard somewhere.

The trend over the last three years that he was healthy is that a) batters are swinging at fewer pitches and b) making better contact with the pitches they do swing it. Young has no deception and no ability to blow guys away. It’s all fastball-slider and neither pitch can be considered a “plus” offering any more.

Fans tend to remember the 6’10” Young as the San Diego All-Star who consistently tossed low-90s fastballs on the black. The reality is he’s a mid-80s guy whose best days are behind him.

New York has the luxury of pitching in a pitchers’ park, so Young may very well be able to post a sub 3.75 ERA there. With the price and risk, though, it’s better to look for cheaper options elsewhere.

2011 is not the year to be inheriting risky arms with inflated contracts.

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Terry Collins has been selected as the new manager of the New York Mets, a source confirmed to MLB.com on Sunday evening.

He wasn’t my first choice to replace Jerry Manuel, but I’ll support him and trust that Sandy Alderson and Co. have made the right decision.

Now the Mets have a manager for the 2011 season, there’s work to be done and Collins will have a busy offseason.

Some things will take time, such as learning how to deal with the media. Others might be a little simpler, like immediately moving Carlos Beltran to right field. Whatever happens, let’s hope Collins has a successful first year, because 2012 is when the Mets could really come into their own when payroll dead weight is slashed.

Fans, both before and after his two-year hire, have had things to say on the state of the club. James Stewart-Meudt said fans should just let events run their course as they play a “sit and wait” game. Sammy Makki has written a great article on what to expect next season and featured columnist Robert Knapel has posted a piece about why Collins was the wrong man for the job. Jim Mancari has also written an article about ways the Mets can look to improve.

Still, he’s here and he will be introduced to the media over the next day or two. Here are 10 things Collins needs to sort out as soon as possible.

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Sandy Alderson and the New York Mets interviewed Terry Collins for the second time on Thursday as the club forges ahead in looking for Jerry Manuel’s successor.

While I find it a little unnerving that all four of the final candidates called back for the final round of interviews are in-house candidates, I just don’t feel comfortable with Collins.

It’s as intangible as anything else, but I just don’t believe he has the makeup needed to guide the Mets back to relevance.

Yes, he has six years of Major League experience under his belt, but how much does that really count for?

Considering he hasn’t managed in the bigs in more than a decade, does his experience really make him any more suitable than Chip Hale of Wally Backman?

I don’t think Backman is right for the job either, but I would consider Collins’ change on a par with Backman’s. Hale, despite no Major League experience, has a more hands-on knowledge of the challenges facing the current roster and I think that a degree of continuity is important.

With that in mind, I think Hale’s familiarity with the Major League club holds more weight than the work Collins has done in the past year as Minor League field coordinator.

Even if you do consider that Collins’ experience with the Houston Astos and the California Angels is invaluable, look at his tenure with these teams where he spent three years each.

Collins managed the Astros to a 224-197 record in three seasons between 1993 and 1996. Despite having the highest winning percentage of any manager at the time, he was fired under a veil of needing to “change dynamics” at the club.

Rumors had it that he was an unpopular manager, and the fact that he was replaced by the team’s broadcaster Larry Dierker—a man with no managerial experience but described as “fan friendly” by the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel—must tell you something.

Apparently the organization had so little faith in Collins’ ability to lead the team in the right direction that they kicked him to the curb in favor of a play-by-play guy.

Collins stayed in the business by landing a job with the Angels, but his fierce regime had some people thinking that it led to a number of late-season collapses.

Then towards the end of the 1999 season, players’ complaints began criticizing his passive managerial style. Others were apparently unhappy at his inability to manage a diverse group of players in the clubhouse.

Team leader Mo Vaughn, Randy Velarde and Todd Greene were so upset with Collins that they met with then-Angel General Manager Bill Bavasi to urge him not to offer Collins an extension.

Bavasi tried to save face by backing up his manager, although when it came down to putting his money where his mouth was, he never tried to talk Collins out of his resignation near the end of the 1999 season.

It’s sad, because there are things that would fit almost perfectly with Alderson’s ideals. There’s just not the right ones.

At his introduction to the press at Citi Field, Alderson said he continues to believe that on-base percentage and slugging and power and so forth are important. He is known for his fondness for sabermetric analytical tools, much like Collins who shares his affinity for things like OBP.

Alderson also wants someone who is fiery and who isn’t afraid to stand up to umpires. Again, if Collins’ reputation precedes him, he seems a good fit.

Unfortunately, Alderson also said leadership is key, and that is where I think Collins is lacking. When it comes down to managing a big market team under the scrutiny of New York’s media, leadership trumps a potential manager’s analytical skills or intuition.

Bob Melvin will be the next manager of the New York Mets, not Terry Collins.

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