Kuzul

Orlando Hudson is a veteran second baseman who goes by the nickname “O-Dawg.”  Orlando’s abilities may have diminished over the years, but something did get better.  

Orlando is one of the greatest clubhouse men of all time.  He is a great guy and all of his teammates love him.  He has a great sense of humor and provides leadership that can really turn around a bad clubhouse. 

Orlando played with the Dodgers and Twins in 2009 and 2010, respectively.  This season he batted .280 and helped the Twins win the American League Central.  The Twins have one of the best clubhouses in the league, and I’m sure O-Dawg plays a big part in it. 

The Mets‘ current second basemen are Luis Castillo and Ruben Tejada.  Castillo is aging and losing his range in the field, and Tejada is a young, promising prospect.  If the Mets can find a way to get rid of Luis Castillo, then they should definitely make a run at Orlando Hudson.

Orlando Hudson has often expressed interest in playing for the Mets, but the Mets never pulled the trigger.  If the Mets get the opportunity to sign Hudson at the right price, then I will be all for that move. 

Orlando is a superb clubhouse guy, but he can also hold his own at the plate.  At 33 years old, he can still hit for a solid average and is also decent in the field.  This would be a home-run signing for the Mets. 

If the Mets make this move, then Ruben Tejada will not see major league playing time for a while.  That might be good for him though.  Ruben will most likely be sent back down to the minors where he can work on his skills.

Orlando can also mentor him in spring training and give him plenty of great advice.  Hudson is a smart baseball player who would make a great mentor for a kid like Ruben.

I’m not saying that the Mets have to give Orlando a big, juicy contract, but a one- or two-year deal worth around $5 million would be fantastic. 

The Dodgers signed O-Dawg in 2009 and made the playoffs.  The Twins also made the playoffs with Hudson this season, while the Dodgers didn’t play nearly as well as they had in 2009.

This may be a coincidence, but I beg to differ.  Orlando is a winning player who will flourish in the New York spotlight.  If the Mets play their cards right with this guy, they could be in line for great things.  It will be interesting to see how the Mets approach Orlando Hudson this offseason.  If they know what’s best for them, then they’ll reach out to him and sign him. 

There’s one problem though.  Orlando is a type A free agent.  That means that if the Twins offer him arbitration, then the team that signs him will have to surrender their 2011 first-round draft pick.  I am totally against that, but I’m hoping that the Twins don’t offer Orlando arbitration.  All we can do is watch and see how this pans out.

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The Mets’ hunt for a general manager is close to finishing. It’s looking more and more like Sandy Alderson will take the job. With that, we never know what will happen until he signs the contract, but we can assume.

Yesterday, ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin Tweeted that Alderson believes hiring an expensive manager is a “misallocation of resources.”

He has a solid argument, but I hope that he knows what Bobby Valentine is capable of doing.

Sandy is right that he doesn’t want to be spending a load of money on a manager. This offseason the Mets’ resources are a bit limited due to the economy. If Alderson takes the job, then I’m sure his top priorities would be to get talent on the field.

Even though managers are huge assets to a team, they are a bit overrated. There is nobody that affects the team more than the talent on the field. The players are what make the team successful or not.

The Mets will not be able to buy big free agents this offseason, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t bring in productive players. There are many guys who won’t be asking for a lot of money that can help out the team.

Guys such as Ted Lilly and Orlando Hudson should be on the Mets’ radar. Those two guys could contribute to the team, and they won’t cost a fortune. If they’re asking for the right amount of money, then the Mets should make a run for them.

With that said, I think that the Mets can pony up some money for Bobby Valentine. Bobby is one of the best managers in the game, and a return to Queens would be fantastic for him and the fans. Bobby took the 2000 Mets team to the World Series, and that team wasn’t nearly as talented as a World Series team should be.

What made the team so much better was Bobby Valentine. Valentine has great baseball knowledge and knows how to max out his players’ abilities. Any manager that can do that ranks among the best of all managers.

I believe that if Valentine is asking for a reasonable amount, the Mets should definitely make a serious run at him. They are finally given their chance to fix what they did wrong by letting Bobby go. If they make this move, they will also show us that they’re dedicated to doing anything to win.

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The Mets‘ hunt for a general manager has only just begun, but many names have already been mentioned.  Of the ten candidates fo far in the running, Sandy Alderson appears to be the front runner.

Sandy Alderson was born on November 22, 1947, in Seattle, Washington.  Most recently, he has worked for the MLB commissioner’s office, where he was the executive vice president of baseball operations from 1998 to 2005. He later took the job as CEO of the San Diego Padres and would resign from that position on March 26, 2009, after four years at the position.

On October 7th, 2010, the New York Daily News stated that the New York Mets were interested in Alderson.  I have no reason to think they shouldn’t be:  he is an experienced and smart baseball personality who would do well with a team like the Mets. 

The Mets have been in dire need of an experienced general manager for some time now. One of the most recent problems with the Mets’ front office has been that the general managers don’t have enough power. Sandy Alderson could change that. 

It is said that the Wilpons haven’t been letting their general managers make their own decisions.  The Wilpons own the Mets, and they might have their reasons for preventing their general managers from having too much power. 

If Alderson takes the position, however, he deserves all the power he can get.  First of all, he is older than Jeff Wilpon, and likely more experienced. Not to mention, it’s a lot easier to take power away from someone with less experience than you, than someone with more.

Fortunately, Alderson knows how to use his power.  He is a great talent evaluator who has repeatedly led the Oakland A’s to the World Series from 1988-1990, winning in 1989.  He built a fantastic A’s team and they had the success to prove it.

The Mets have the resources that Sandy needs, and together, they are the perfect fit.  Other candidates, such as Rick Hahn, are smart, but they just don’t have enough experience for the job. 

The Mets need a guy who has seen it all, and knows how to build a winning franchise.  If he can turn the Mets around, Sandy may actually be unprepared for the amount of love the New York fans will bestow on him.

Sandy Alderson should take this job, although it could either be nightmare or a dream for him.  It’s up to him. But I strongly believe that he will be living a dream.  After all, there’s no better place to win than New York, the Big Apple. 

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The Mets are currently in a changing phase.  Many new faces are going to be brought into Queens, and others will leave. 

One of the players whose name is coming up to leave is Jose Reyes.  The talks have recently dimmed down, but just the thought of that made me sick.  The Mets without Jose Reyes.  That just doesn’t sound right at all. 

Reyes is the gas in the Mets’ tank.  Jose Reyes is what makes the Mets go. The stats are ridiculous; when he scores the Mets win about 80 percent of the time.  He is a dynamic player who knows how to use all of his abilities.  Especially his speed.

Reyes is one of the fastest; if not, the fastest player in the MLB.  Speed kills, and Reyes reminds opposing teams that every game. 

He is a great talent and everybody knows that, but he is also a fantastic clubhouse guy.  He is the centerpiece of the clubhouse, and he knows how to make his teammates smile.  He also can pump them up by using his speed.

The simple move of stealing a base can be a huge boost for many teams.  Many great teams have speed, and that’s not a coincidence.  Speed is crucial in baseball, be it in the field, or on the base paths.  It makes everything just a bit more easier.

Jose Reyes has an option that the team can pick up this offseason.  Rumors say that the Mets most likely will pick up his option.  Rumors also say that the Mets might try to shop Reyes and see what they can get for him. 

This is what gets me mad.  There is no player in baseball who can fulfill Jose’s spot on the Mets.  Jose is a one-of-a-kind player.  Nobody can ever take his spot and do better than he does. 

Jose has recently been haunted with injuries.  Fans were saying that he doesn’t want to be on the playing field, and that’s what got me very mad.  Reyes also got mad at that, too. 

In an interview, Jose said that that was the only thing got him angry, when people said that he did not want to be on the playing field.  Reyes went on to say that he always wants to be on the diamond playing the game that he loves. 

Jose Reyes is bright, talented, great guy.  He always has a smile on his face, and his teammates love him.  Reyes should definitely be in the Mets long-term plans.  He is a centerpiece of the teams young core.  At only 27 years old, he technically hasn’t even hit his “prime” yet.  He’s getting better and Mets fans would love to see nothing more than him be a Met for life.

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Carlos Beltran is an extremely talented baseball player, but I don’t see him as a part of the Mets future.  Ever since the whole surgery incident last offseason, I wanted Beltran out of Queens.

Beltran helped the Mets out a lot in the past, but this year, his comeback hasn’t been what he was hoping for.  He has showed signs of the old Beltran, but he hasn’t been consistent yet.

That is not the reason I want him out though.  I want Beltran to go back to his old self really bad because that will raise his stock.  Yes, I think the Mets should trade Beltran for younger pieces that can help out in the future.

Their’s many reasons for that, but the main one is that the Mets’ outfield is really crowded.  Angel Pagan burst upon the scene this year and I believe he deserves to stay.

I think that Pagan will do great as the Mets’ everyday center fielder.  He is a phenomenal fielder and can hold his own with his bat.

I don’t see Jeff Franceour in the Mets future plans though.  I see Fernando Martinez.  F-Mart is one of the most talented youngsters in the game, but injuries have made his young career a rough one.

If F-Mart can stay healthy then he can be a great right fielder for the Mets.  He’s a great fielder and if he reaches his potential, he will be a great hitter and base stealer.

Jason Bay will round out the Mets outfield.  Bay has had a down year this season, but anyone with his numbers will return to form.  Everybody has their rough years and I think Bay will bounce back next year.

An outfield of Fernando Martinez, Angel Pagan, and Jason Bay has the potential to be amazing.  It is also a lot cheaper without Beltran.  Beltran is, deservedly so, getting paid a lot of money, but I feel that we can use that money in other places, like the bullpen. 

Fernando Martinez is the key to this, and I really hope he hits well in September. I really want the Mets to get younger and this will definitely make the outfield younger and possibly better.

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The New York Mets haven’t had recent success with young players—until 2010. 

This year promising youngsters are popping up everywhere in the organization.

As much as a roller coaster year it has been, one thing is for sure.  The Mets have some talented prospects on the up rise.  Ike Davis is the cream of the crop along with Jon Niese, but there are many others. 

Such as Ruben Tejada, Josh Thole, Fernando Martinez, Bobby Parnell, and the incredibly gifted Jenrry Mejia.  All of those players can contribute greatly to this organization for a long time to come. 

Even players who have been around for a while but are still really young like David Wright, Jose Reyes and Mike Pelfrey will be contributing for a long time to come. Those three players haven’t even hit their prime yet. 

The 2010 New York Mets are looking more and more like a disappointment, but at least this year we will get to see many talented youngsters take the field on game day. 

With that said, the Mets’ season still has a tiny bit of hope in it.  If they can pull of a great winning streak then they can find themselves back in the thick of things going into September. 

I’m not here to write about that though. 

I’m here to tell you that the New York Mets have something going.  If the Mets make all the right moves they will find themselves greatly equipped for the near future. 

I was happy that the Mets didn’t budge during this years trade deadline.  The Mariners were asking for Jon Niese and the Mets made it clear that their was no way they were trading him. 

This team is finally beginning to protect their great prospects.  This Mets’ team has the most homegrown players on it since the late 90’s. 

The prospects aren’t blowing us away with their stat lines and I’m not surprised. They’re rookies and rookies almost always have roller coaster seasons but  it’s their upside that counts. 

Davis has shown tremendous upside and even though he’s currently mired in a deep slump he is still flashing the leather like a Gold Glover—Tejada is also doing that.  Tejada hasn’t been great with the bat, but he has been fantastic in the field. 

This team has a tight defense and I like it.  Defense is a crucial part to winning ball games. 

The Mets finally have the young pieces they wanted and now we have to see if they handle them right.  If the Mets’ handle this wrong then this will go down as another disappointing chapter in the Mets’ recent history.

But if they handle it right then we got a dynasty waiting to happen.  Maybe soon the Kings of New York will reside in New York.

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The Mets were in dire need of a win today. The Braves threatened to sweep them, and increase their lead to six games over the Mets heading into the All-Star Break.

The Mets, especially Johan Santana, made sure that didn’t happen. Santana tossed seven shutout innings against the Braves, and the Mets actually scored some runs for him. It was a great game all-around, and it’s a good note going into the All-Star Break. 

Although Johan has been dynamite his last three starts, things haven’t always been so good this season. Santana had a string of so-so starts, and those outings were definitely not the norm for him.  

People began questioning who the true ace of the Mets pitching staff was. Mike Pelfrey or Johan Santana? Surprisingly, it seemed like people now trusted the “Big Pelf” more. 

Don’t get me wrong, Pelfrey has been fantastic this year. And although he has hit a little bump in the road, he is still the “Second” Ace of the team.

When people argued that Pelfrey was the true Mets ace, I shook my head. Johan is the Mets ace. I will always want him on the mound for the big game, and he proved why today.

Santana’s numbers for the first half don’t jump off the page, but a lot lies behind the numbers. Santana has seven no decisions, and in those no decisions he has an ERA in the one’s. 

If he won just four of those games, he would be 12-7. Pretty good, right? Johan has gotten no run support, and if he can just get a few more runs per game, his numbers would be so much better. 

Johan is a much better second half pitcher. His numbers in the second half are phenomenal and there’s no reason to believe that Johan won’t have another great stretch run in 2010.

When Johan wasn’t so good this year, it was because he hadn’t yet learn how to pitch with less velocity on his fastball. He was also tipping his pitches during some games.  The crazy thing is that Johan always tips his pitches. It’s just that, because of his surgery, his stuff isn’t as good as it used to be.

I think that at that point, Johan realized that he wasn’t the pitcher he used to be. The surgery took some velocity away from his fastball, which he found that out the hard way. 

Johan is one of the smartest pitchers in the game and he showed that by finding a way to be great again. He now relies more on control, because his stuff doesn’t overpower hitters anymore, and he has studied up even more on the hitters. 

I am positive that Johan Santana will have a huge second half. He has always done it, and he will keep that trend going. Santana is New York’s ace, and he will help the Mets compete in the second half.  Look forward to big things from Mr. Santana. 

Remember, “Don’t Mess With The Johan”.

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Baseball is mathematically past the halfway mark already, but many teams don’t see the first half as history.  Many teams still have many big games in the first half. 

There are 162 baseball games in baseball’s regular season, so 81 games is the mathematical halfway point in the season.  Even though that is true, many people look at the All-Star Break as the ending of the first half.

With that said, there are quite a lot of teams who have big series left in the “first half” of the 2010 MLB season.  Two of these teams are the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves.

The Braves and Mets top the National League East, with the Braves in first place by three games over the Mets, who currently stand in second place. It’s a very close race so far in the season.

The Mets are welcoming in the Braves Friday, for a three game set in Citi Field.  This will be a crucial series for both teams.

The Braves will try to extend their lead over the Mets, and the Mets will do their best to prevent that from happening.  If any team sweeps than it will dramatically change the landscape of the National League East going into the All-Star Break.

With a bit of simple math, if the Braves sweep the Mets than the Mets would fall to six games back, and if the Mets sweep they will be tied for the first.  This series holds many possibilities for both teams.

The Mets have played phenomenal at home this season and the only team with a better record at home is the Braves.  The Mets swept the Braves earlier in the season, but that was when the Braves were in their nine game losing skid.  They are a totally different team now.

If the Mets win the series then they will be trailing the Braves by two games going into the break.  If the Braves win the series then they will be leading the Mets by four games going into the break. 

The question is, is this a must win series for the Mets?  My answer to that question would be no.  I do think that it is a critical part of the season so far, and it would be fantastic to cap off a great first off with a big series win. 

However, a series win is not mandatory, but something is.  The Mets have to avoid getting swept.  If the Braves sweep the Mets it could really change things up.  The Phillies might swap places with the Mets, and two good teams in front of you in the standings is never good.

With that said, I do believe that the Mets will win two out of three in this big series.  They are currently going with a four man rotation and that means that Mike Pelfrey and Johan Santana will be on the mound for the second and last game of the series.

R.A. Dickey will lead off the series for the Mets, and Jerry Manuel likes to have his knuckleballer lead off series because he believes it might throw off the team for the rest of the series. 

The Mets also have a hot David Wright, and if Jose Reyes is feeling good enough to swing from his left side again then he’ll be strong in this series too.  The Braves are a tough opponent, but if the Mets play good baseball then they can beat anyone.  I’m predicting a big series win for the Mets that would send them to the break in great shape.

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As of now, many see the Mets as a .500 team.  The Mets’ biggest problem is pitching.  The team is very talented offensively, but only has two great pitchers.

Ace Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey are anchoring the Mets’ rotation right now.  Everybody knew that Johan was going to be great, but Pelfrey has been a pleasant surprise.

No one really knew what to expect from Mike “Big Pelf” Pelfrey in 2010.  Pelfrey labeled himself as a talented kid with an unstable mental side of the game. 

All he needed was confidence and a better mindset. 

That is exactly what Mike has now. 

He goes out there expecting to win, and more often than not, he does.  The Mets are 8-2 in Mike Pelfrey’s first 10 starts this year.

Although the Mets have those two guys at the top of the rotation, they could really use another great pitcher.  Hisanori Takahashi and R.A. Dickey have been performing well, but as much as I like them, they are only going to be good bottom of the rotation guys.

If the Mets can acquire another top of the rotation pitcher then they will go from an average team to a well-above average team.  With that, there are many pitchers out there that the Mets can go after.

Some smaller names are Jake Westbrook and Kevin Millwood.  Those two guys are solid pitchers, but definitely not what the Mets desperately need and want.  The big guys are Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt. 

Lee and Oswalt are two accomplished pitchers that would be a fantastic addition to the Mets starting rotation.  They both have different reasons of why they’re on the trading block.

Oswalt respectively asked for a trade because he wants to go to a contender.  Oswalt is on the Houston Astros, and they’re one of the worst teams in the league right now. 

Oswalt fits what the Mets are looking for, he’s a proven top of the rotation guy who will give them chances to win most of the time.  His only problem is that he has a no-trade clause. 

That means that he has the final say on where he goes.  So, if the Mets trade for him successfully, he will have to approve of it.  Some people think that that won’t be a problem, but others do. 

Oswalt has really stressed that he wants to go to a contender.  It’s up to him if he thinks the Mets are contenders or not. 

Another guy that the Mets are looking at is Cliff Lee.  Lee really came out of nowhere in his Cy Young season.  He went from an above average starter to a Cy Young winner.  Something just clicked for him, and he has been fantastic ever since his Cy Young season. 

Lee is on the trading block because he has made it clear that at the end of the season he is going to turn to free agency.  The Mariners are struggling and are now thinking that it might be better to trade Lee now and get some prospects.

The Mets’ farm system has just recently gotten a lot better.  Many young players are emerging in the Mets’ system.  This is the first time since the Mets traded for Johan Santana, that they have a strong minor league system. 

The Mets certainly have the chips to deal for a top starter.  In my opinion, if they want to trade for a starter this season then I would set my eyes on Lee.  Lee is younger and one of the best southpaws in the game.  It’ll be great if the Mets trade for him and then work out a nice contract.

I’m looking at this situation differently, though.  I think that the Mets can win the wild card with the players they have.  Our rotation has been outperforming and if we can just get solid pitching after Santana and Pelfrey, I think the Mets will be fine.

I’m hoping that the Mets can sign Cliff Lee this offseason.  The Mets’ farm system is rejuvenated and I would love to see them hold on to their top prospects.  We have the money to sign Lee, and it wouldn’t cost any prospects if we acquire him via free agency.

This is a big thing for Mets’ GM, Omar Minaya to think about.  He is aware that the Mets need pitching for the future, but is our pitching good for the rest of year? Or do we have to trade this season?  I’m just hoping that Omar (or whoever is the GM at the time) will make the right decision for the team.

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The 2010 season seems like a short summary of recent Mets’ history.  There have been many ups and downs, and we have only just reached the quarter mark of the season. 

The season started off with yet another Opening Day Mets’ win.  Since Opening Day there has been red hot winning streaks and ice cold losing streaks for the Mets. 

Mixed in is a 20 inning game that Mets wound up winning and most recently a dreadful four game series against the Marlins, in which we got swept.

Questions are rising again for this Mets team.  Pitching is the main key to success for this team and it hasn’t recently been doing well. 

One of the reasons why the Mets had such a great April was because of their fantastic pitching.  So far, May has been a totally different story. 

The Mets’ manager, Jerry Manuel has also made his way back to the hot seat.  This team has many problems, but they can still be a good team.  Maybe even great.

The Mets have so much talent, but it hasn’t translated into great results over the past three years.  There always seems to be holding the Mets back.  As I mentioned earlier, this year their problem is the pitching.

The team can hit for sure.  We have a very strong lineup that will get even better when, Carlos Beltran.  Our bullpen has also been pretty good. 

The team’s character has also shown a lot of improvement.  This is a good mix in the clubhouse, and although they aren’t winning a significant amount of games, you can see that this team has fight in them.

I hate to bring 2009 up, but in 2009 when the Mets found themselves losing they would just flop over and die.  One run felt like three runs, but not this year.  We have already seen the Mets make some great comebacks this season, some resulting in wins and some resulting in losses.

But the most important thing is that the New York Mets are showing fight.  Sooner or later that fight will have to translate into a few important wins. 

The pitching rotation is undergoing some changes, and that may be a good thing.  Hisanori Takahashi is scheduled to make a start against the Yankees this weekend in replacement of Jone Niese. 

Niese suffered a mild hamstring injury in his last start, and the Mets are still evaluating him.  R.A. Dickey will also be a new face in the starting rotation.

Oliver Perez recently lost his job in the starting rotation so the Mets are going to give knuckleballer, R.A. Dickey the nod. 

I’m not expecting huge things from those two guys, but if they can go out there and give us quality starts, I definitely think that the Mets will have a great chance to win.

A crucial part of the season is approaching.  The New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies are making their way over to Citi Field for three games each.  Those will both be very tough series, but great tests for the Mets.

I honestly think that they will rise to the occasion and will have a shot to win both of those series.  If they can, or just void getting swept, then we should still be in good shape.

I’m waiting for this team to go on another tear, and now would be a great time.  I certainly won’t be surprised they get red hot again.  Just keep rooting for the Mets and this team won’t disappoint.  They’ve got the talent, it’s only a matter of time until they make us Mets fans real happy again.

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