With spring training starting to get into full swing, we are learning more and more about the players each day. As a result, I believe it is time to give you my projections for the 2011 Mets.
On Monday, Craig gave his projections for the Mets’ Opening Day roster. You will see a lot of similarity between the picks, but you will also see differences when it comes down to some of the last spots on the roster.
Welcome to the second installment of seven in this preseason breakdown of each MLB division. The first six articles will cover the divisions, and the seventh will predict the playoffs and major award winners. Each team will have its offseason moves broken down, one major strength and weakness identified, one X-factor selected and then their projected record for the 2011 season. The order of the slideshows will be from last to first in the division.
Day two brings us to the NL East.
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Here’s an early look at the N.L. only 2011 shortstop rankings.
1. Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies: It’s really a toss-up between Tulo and HanRam. They are both five-category players. I prefer Tulo because of his ballpark and lineup.
2. Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins: Han-Ram is 1-A. He should post a higher SB total than Tulo, but fewer HRs and RBI. You can’t go wrong either way. I just fear that he won’t see as many good pitches without a strong supporting cast.
3. Jose Reyes, New York Mets: Reyes wasn’t the superstar he used to be, posting a .282-83-11-54-30 line, but that’s not the important part. He stayed healthy. A year later I expect him to take another step forward, especially if the Mets lineup featuring Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Jason Bay, Angel Pagan and Ike Davis can avoid the injury bug.
4. Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies: You know the National League is deep at shortstop when the fourth-ranked SS could be No. 1 in the American League. J-Roll dealt with injuries last year, but I believe he still has what it takes to be an elite fantasy shortstop.
5. Stephen Drew, Arizona Diamondbacks: Drew has four straight seasons with at least 60 RBI. He also hit .278 with 83 runs, 15 HR, and a career-high 10 SBs. He finished strong hitting .300 with 38 runs, 11 HR, 30 RBI, and 4 SB in 217 at-bats from August to October. The youngsters will press him for the top five, but for know it’s his spot to lose.
6. Ian Desmond, Washington Nationals: Desmond’s was a model of consistency as he went .255-31-6-36-8 in his 271 first half ABs and .283-28-4-29-9 in his 254 second half ABs. He’s clearly a cut below the top five, but remains a solid option this year.
7. Starlin Castro, Chicago Cubs: Castro is another youngster that posted a solid rookie season, as he hit .300. He only scored 53 runs in 125 games though, and was thrown out (eight) nearly as many times as he was successful (10) stealing bases.
8. Rafael Furcal, Los Angeles Dodgers: Furcal is great when he is in the lineup. He provides a spark for the Dodgers and his fantasy teams alike. Unfortunately, staying healthy is next to impossible for Furcal. Make sure you have a solid backup plan.
9. Juan Uribe, Los Angeles Dodgers: Uribe has 2B/3B/SS eligibility, which makes him a valuable option. He doesn’t score many runs or steal many bases, but he has decent pop and is a solid RBI guy.
10. Alex Gonzalez, Atlanta Braves: Gonzalez hit 23 home runs last year, but struggled (.240-27-6-38-0) in 72 games with Atlanta. He’s not your ideal shortstop, but he can give you a boost in home runs and RBI.
2011 Fantasy Baseball Profiles
2011 Fantasy First Basemen Rankings
2011 Fantasy A.L. Only First Basemen Rankings
2011 Fantasy N.L. Only First Basemen Rankings
2011 Fantasy Second Basemen Rankings
2011 Fantasy A.L. Only Second Basemen Rankings
2011 Fantasy N.L. Only Second Basemen Rankings
2011 Fantasy Third Basemen Rankings
2011 Fantasy A.L. Only Third Basemen Rankings
2011 Fantasy N.L. Only Third Basemen Rankings
2011 Fantasy Shortstop Rankings
2011 Fantasy A.L. Only Shortstop Rankings
2011 Fantasy Catcher Rankings
2011 Fantasy Outfielder Rankings
2011 Fantasy Starting Pitcher Rankings
2011 Fantasy Closer Rankings
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For as long as most of us can remember, the Dallas Cowboys have been America’s Team.
A lot of that has to do with the teams locale, the dearth of professional teams that existed in America’s heartland when the ‘Boys broke onto the expansion scene in 1960.
Mostly though you’d have to say it’s been their great on field success—almost from the word go as they quickly came to challenge Vince Lombardi’s Packers for NFL preeminence in the reasonably early ’60’s—that has dictated to their becoming not only a storied franchise, but one of the two or three most highly valued in all of sports.
There are challengers to the throne no doubt. Incrementally teams will rise up each year and capture the fancy of the rooting public, the New Orleans Saints of 2009/2010 for example, and in a bigger picture, love/hate/you just can’t take your eyes off them sense, the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox or Celtics, the Los Angeles Lakers can at least make some claim to being the most acclaimed team in American sports.
But that’s not quite the same thing as being America’s Team. The team that best represents the country’s current state of being, and at this time we’d like to throw a new candidate into the ring.
The New York Mets.
The team is owned by Fred Wilpon, who providentially bought a split share of the Queen’s nine in 1986, and then finished the deed in 2003 when he paid off partner Nelson Doubleday a balance sum of $135 million.
Good deal for Wilpon you would say. Let’s say he paid around $200 million in total for the Mets who are currently valued somewhere between $8-$900 million dollars.
The problem there though is the Mets are currently in debt to the tune of $500 million plus.
Reports say they are leaking funds annually, maybe as much as $50 million—God knows how that can be, when virtually every other team in the game is turning a profit—and as everybody with access to any aspect of the media is aware, Fred Wilpon and company are up to their eyeballs in the Bernie Madoff scandal.
The latest byline being Wilpon profited from his dealings with the since jailed paper money maker, when countless others took it on the chin to the tune of 70 or 80 billion smackers combined.
Wilpon claims to be clean of course, that is in lieu of the billion dollar law suit against him helmed by attorney Irving Picard who represents the angrily fleeced. But with a Ponzi Scheme prior in 2008—which already cost him a $13 million settlement—you’ve got to figure “Fast Fred” could very well be going down on this one, at least to the tune of another couple of hundred million dollars.
That’s not good, and there’s no wonder MLB had to float the Mets $25 million a couple of months ago, and Wilpon now has his hand out for another $50 million in lieu of sorting through potential investors who are willing to invest an enormous sum for a 20-25 percent stake of this barely floating baseball ship.
And these issues don’t even begin to address the Mets’ monumental on field concerns. With the games fifth largest payroll, $135 million, they finished the 2010 season 79-83, good for fourth in the tough National League East, and did little to improve the club in the offseason.
Heading into 2011 the team has about $12o million tied up in these eight players:
Johan Santana $22.5 million
Carlos Beltran $18.5 million
Jason Bay $16 million
David Wright $14 million
Oliver Perez $12 million
Francisco Rodriguez $11.5 million
Jose Reyes $11 million
Luis Castillo $6 million
There are some pretty frightening names and contracts there.
Figure you can count on Wright and Santana to perform at a high level, but by the same token you’re going to have to pray Oliver Perez and, to a lesser extent, Luis Castillo can make season long big league contributions.
You’ll be in the same position hoping Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran can stay healthy, Jason Bay can give you ten million dollars worth out of the sixteen, and Francisco Rodriguez, Krazy-Rod, can just keep his head on straight long enough to complete the 162 season without complications arising due to domestic affairs and/or incarceration.
And that’s only eight guys!
Is there any wonder why the Mets brought in “Moneyball Administrator” Sandy Alderson, previously adhered to the ever spartan Oakland Athletics, to take over the team and bring some measure of sanity to a situation run completely amok?
My goodness, we’re still thirty days or so from Opening Day and the New York Mets appear to be screwed sixteen ways from Sunday.
Financial status? Bleak.
Opportunity to remedy financial status? Slim to fat.
Field Product? Filled with question marks if not glaring holes.
Prospects for 2011? Prayerful.
Similarity to the status of too many Americans struggling to keep pace with diminished incomes if not outright joblessness and the higher cost of almost everything? Stark!
The New York Mets for all their myriad problems, tall tales, poor management and bleak prospects have become a media enhanced microcosm of too many things that plague our once great nation.
American’s have lost confidence in our government, Met fans, baseball fans from around the country have come to view the Queen’s Kids as a shining example of almost everything wrong in our National Pastime.
Big spending, little to no return on the dollar. The team is rife with egoism, gluttony and most of all failure, and it would take an apparent miracle for a significant rebound in 2011.
Ring a bell?
In their not so storied past, the Mets have been known to conjure a miracle or two. “You Gotta Believe” is the teams very own catch phrase, and would it surprise you terribly to hear those same three words uttered by political mouthpieces hoping to gain your consumer confidence or just your plain vote as the country moves tenuously forward into continued uncharted waters?
It’s all so murky, but on the other hand so terribly clear. The New York Mets have almost always embraced the role of underdog, but now they are in the worst kind of financial mess to boot.
A lot like the rest of us, and one would have to hope if somehow the Mets can pull through and make a go of it in 2011, then maybe a great breath of others can too.
So here’s a vote for the New York Mets, with all their flaws if not glaring deficiencies becoming America’s Team.
Why?
Because we need a miracle too.
Thanks, A.M.,
DR
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What makes a great leadoff hitter?
Getting on base at a high rate is a good start, but everyone in the lineup is expected to do that. A good eye always helps, but he shouldn’t be afraid to swing. Speed is a bonus, but some of the fastest players in baseball hit at the bottom of the batting order.
The truth is that there’s no formula for the perfect leadoff hitter. Every player approaches the game differently and every team has a different offensive style.
But, that doesn’t diminish the importance of the leadoff man.
These 30 hitters are their team’s respective table-setters, responsible for getting their club off to a good start and rallying their teammates to victory. They may not get the attention of the star slugger or the ace of the pitching staff, but a good leadoff hitter can be the difference between a postseason berth and an October date with the couch.
So here are my rankings of baseball’s top leadoff men and what to expect from them next season. As always, share your thoughts below.
This point may be moot, due to a billion-dollar Ponzi scheme (I’m still rooting for a, “Bernie Madoff Made off with My Team’s Payroll and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt” promotional day) but if there is a choice for the Mets between going for it or rebuilding, they should rebuild.
In fact, the Mets should have started the rebuilding process at least a season ago, when their roster was a combination of a few expensive top level talents, backup catchers and nothing else. Instead, then GM Omar Minaya decided the best way to keep his job was to double down, sign Jason Bay and hope for the best. It didn’t work. Now there’s a new regime in town left to deal with a bloated payroll and the juggernaut that will be the Phillies. Here are five moves the Mets should make as soon as possible.
We may never know if the Wilpon family, principal owners of the New York Mets, benefited or lost as a result from dealings with Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff.
However, we will soon know if the Wilpons’ involvement with Madoff will cost their beloved Mets on the field.
The recent lawsuit against the Wilpons will cost them millions. It’s not relevant if they win or lose in the courtroom.
If they remain majority owners of the Mets—which, despite this mess, appears inevitable—there will be no money to spend next offseason despite a huge chunk of cap space coming off the books. Money that could have been spent putting the best baseball player on the planet (and free agent-to-be), Albert Pujols, in Queens, will instead be spent by the Wilpons on lawyers and legal issues.
Never mind Pujols.
What about re-signing homegrown star Jose Reyes? Fat chance.
Not after Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford cashed in big this year. Not after shortstop became such a razor-thin position that teams will surely be lining up to make offers for Reyes and his services this coming offseason. Not after Madoff.
So, what’s a general manager to do? Well, you could trade Reyes, sure. And Carlos Beltran for that matter.
But what team, exactly, is going to give the Mets fair value as the trade deadline looms in July, knowing the Mets have financial troubles abound?
Beltran is a goner, regardless, and who knows what he has left in the tank? It’s unlikely the Mets would get much for him, anyway.
But Reyes is still just 27, and only now entering the prime years. Normally, a guy with his talent at his age could net a fortune for the team that was dealing him.
Unfortunately for New York, the 29 other teams are well aware of their financial constraints. New GM Sandy Alderson has no leverage, and he knows it. Alderson may be better off holding onto his shortstop for 2011, and simply letting him depart via free agency after the season, taking the compensatory draft picks that Reyes would fetch.
Heck, the Mets may want to investigate trading any assets they have right now.
Mike Pelfrey, anyone? Unlike Reyes, Pelfrey is not a free agent at the end of the season, and if he pitches well, a contending team could part with some prospects for him, knowing he’d be more than just a summer rental.
If the Mets are going to be handcuffed financially for years, why not stockpile on young, cheap prospects?
They don’t have the pieces right now to win a title anyway, let alone make the playoffs. And, should this Madoff mess turns out poorly, Citi Field will be a tomb for a long time.
Alderson used his “Moneyball” approach to achieve modest success in Oakland with limited finances, and maybe he’ll have some success in Queens as well, on a possibly even tighter budget. But it’s an entirely different ballgame (no pun intended) here.
This is New York.
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There isn’t a lot to look forward to when it comes to the New York Mets in 2011. There are more questions than answers surrounding this team right now, and with the lawsuit stemming from the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme hanging over their heads, fan morale is at an all-time low.
Well cheer up Mets fans! It’s Spring Training, and with it comes a clean slate. Will the Mets win the World Series this season? Probably not. Can they win the World Series? Sure they can; any team can. That’s why it’s a clean slate.
So let’s take a look at 10 bold predictions for the upcoming 2011 season and the New York Mets.
MLB Spring Training has only just started, but the MLB buzz is continuous. There is already buzz about mid-season trades to come. There’s also already buzz about the free agents after this season.
Albert Pujols and C.C. Sabathia will probably continue to dominate the MLB buzz. There are some other buzz stories past Pujols and Sabathia, though.
Here are some of the latest buzz in the MLB world.
2009 was a disaster for the New York Mets. It seemed that if something could go wrong, it did. 2010 wasn’t much better for the Mets, but at least David Wright (.283-87-29-103-19) and Jose Reyes (.282-83-11-54-30) rebounded. Now the question is can Jason Bay and Carlos Beltran do the same?
Jason Bay was a disappointment coming over from Boston and posting a forgettable .259-48-6-47-10 line. He was limited to 95 games due to a concussion, similar to Justin Morneau, who also coincidentally hails from Canada. When he did play, he was mediocre at best, the only saving grace was the double-digit stolen bases.
That doesn’t mean he’s a lost cause. David Wright struggled with the long ball in his first season in CitiPark, but rebounded nicely last year. Perhaps he just has to attack the park differently. Prior to last year Bay averaged 100.6 runs, 31 HRs, 102.8 RBI and 11.8 SBs in the five previous seasons so I’m hopeful for a rebound.
His ADP, according to Mock Draft Central, is 142 overall and 37th outfielder. He’s a pretty solid option in the 12th round of fantasy drafts.
Beltran is less of a risk based on his ADP of 223 (51st outfielder), but his knees have cost him the better part of two seasons. He hasn’t had fantasy relevance since 2008. Last year Beltran posted a .255-21-7-27-3 line in 64 games. He did end the year on a high note going 25 for 78 (.321) with 12 runs, five HRs, 13 RBI, and two SBs in 78 September at bats. His OPS of .968 was particularly encouraging.
If he can stay healthy, the power and the average could return. I’m not confident that a player with bad knees that’s turning 34 in April will terrorize the basepaths again, but if he can manage 8-10, that would be a nice contribution. His ADP puts him in the 19th round. I say why the heck not take a shot on him there.
I wouldn’t bet the farm that one or both of these former five-tool outfielders returns to form, but I would definitely say they are worth the risk. I realize that Bay could be out for a long time if he suffers another concussion and Beltran’s knees are a risk, but they are calculated risks and worth the gamble.
What are your thoughts on Bay and Beltran?
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