Waiting for Johan: the 2011 Moneyball Mets thread

Adam Rubin, espn.com:

The Wilpon family, stung by losses and litigation stemming from convicted swindler Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme, is considering selling a minority stake in the New York Mets to infuse cash into the organization.

Principal owner Fred Wilpon and chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon announced Friday they had hired former deputy baseball commissioner Steve Greenberg, managing director of Allen & Company, to explore "potential options including the addition of one or more strategic partners."

Regardless of the outcome, the Wilpons added, they intend to maintain majority controlling interest in the Mets.

The Mets have vigorously asserted that the team has not been affected by the Madoff affair, so Friday's announcement that an infusion of cash from other investors is needed marks a deviation from past statements. The team has committed only $8.1 million in major league contracts this offseason, although the Wilpons still estimate the club's payroll will be in the $145 million-$150 million range this season because of past contract commitments.

"Regardless of the outcome of this exploration, [Wilpon-owned] Sterling [Equities] will remain the principal ownership group of the Mets and continue to control and manage the team's operations," the Wilpons said in a statement. "The Mets have been part of our families for more than 30 years and that is not going to change.

"As we have said before, we are totally committed to having the Mets again become a World Series winner. Our fans and all New Yorkers deserve nothing less."

i wonder what the first trolling of this thread will be.

"Our fans"

The Wilpons have fans?

also, Mets signed utility infielder named Hu, counting down to first Abbott & Costello joke by Keith Hernandez.

Alderson was a great hire, even if he is a Selig crony. Terry Collins is a shitty retread, but it's not like managers really matter anyway. I think the Mets can compete with the Braves & Marlins for the wild card these next couple years, though if they wanted to trade everyone except Wright that wouldn't be a bad move either.

what's their starting rotation look like this year? i honestly don't know much about anyone except santana and pelfrey

is niese gonna be the #3?

what about sun god dickey?

i guess it's santana/pelfrey/niese/dickey/??? unless i'm forgetting something. mitsch is the ??? to start the season? not sure they're better than the fish this year.

With Santana out til June (or y'know, whenever), looks like Pelfrey-Dickey-Niese... then any possibilities from Capuano, Chris Young, OLLIE, or Mejia or Gee.

man, that is a wasteland

who's in the Fla rotation, again? anyone up to RA Dickey's level?

r.a. dickey is a folk hero

who's in the Fla rotation, again? anyone up to RA Dickey's level?

― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Friday, January 28, 2011 4:58 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark

lol what

J. Johnson
J. Vazquez
R. Nolasco
C. Volstad
A. Sanchez

THIS is the year Ricky Nolasco pitches to his xFIP. THIS is the year.

buncha ham-and-eggers

I'm not familiar with that phrase, what does it mean

that they're green?

it means they're sub-pazz-and-joppers!

anyone up to RA Dickey's level?

^this is killing me

i love dickey and almost bought his jersey last yr but josh johnson is literally a different species

RA dickey would be a healthy #5 on the marlins

he'd be #1 in awesomeness

Johnson is the only one who can carry Johan's jock tho.

i think those names should be switched at this point

i wonder what the first trolling of this thread will be.

― sanskrit, Friday, January 28, 2011 2:11 PM

i'm not trolling, just speaking truth to power

We will have to podcast whatever Mets-Marlins game we attend in 2012.

ha!

Johnson is the only one who can carry Johan's jock tho.

― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Friday, January 28, 2011 8:36 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

enough with the slash fiction

ML King III on minority-stake rumors:

http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/news/story?id=6077948

ice cold

SI_JonHeyman Jon Heyman
folks, stop speculating on mets going after pujols as free agent. he has more chance to own the mets than play for them
29 Jan Favorite Retweet Reply

not a good fit

In case you missed....

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2011/2/2/1969644/madoff-even-closer-to-mets-than-we-thought

weird i was sent that photo sans context and was going to post it here, but thought it was a little too trolllle. great article.

fuck i knew i should have bid $6000 for that jacket

hey mutts fans, get ready for the new target of yer 15-minute hate to get yer minds offa yer team's being owned by Bernie Madoff's co-conspirators:

Victorino says Phillies 'favorites to win it all'

Knuckles

02/02/2011 7:36 PM

Someone better tell old blowhard Shane that in order to "win it all" you have got to get clutch hits... something the choking Frillies are allergic too... lmfao truth hurts...

morbs, "frillies" is one of your weaker insult names imo

if the Phillies' owners had some of the money that Bernie Madoff stole, they'd at least have the good sense to get the clutch hitting they allegedly lack ...

dude, Victorino is too small-potatoes to take note of.

Really hoping the Wilpons sell w/in the next 2 years.

Daniel Murphy, 2b? Just a bench player in my eyes.

http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2011/2/3/1973500/mets-daniel-murphy-trying-rare-switch

could be worse

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2009/06/13/amd_castillo-drops-ball.jpg

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lg40xzu5M81qb0ctno1_500.jpg

http://www.bravesjournal.com/?p=6567

haha, B+

How was Delgado's defense in his last few years? Looking at his stats it's hard to believe he couldn't help someone.

apparently not so good.

Apparently Delgado's not even sure he can play. I think he'd have some DH value for someone if he could although the history of big declining 1B/DH types coming back from gnarly injuries to contribute again is not great (except for Frank Thomas, of course!)

33 Mets already in camp...

SNY analyst Bobby Ojeda on what Terry Collins needs to say to "build a firewall" between the dugout and the Wilpons' mess: "We're the field personnel. We wear the little outfits."

this article is lolterrible: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/sportingscene/2011/09/loving-the-mets.html

terry collins gets emotional

tell me again, O Mets fans, why your team is much more morally superior than the stinky Yankees or the Phillies.

lol, yer psycho

they are cleansed by losing

tbh that *is* really lame, but given the quality of the mets, a significantly cheaper ticket price to see a triple-a game might cut into their attendance infinitesimally, so i can sort of see their point. but no way it's worth being dicks about.

anyway, the triple-a yanks should (now) just play in trenton for the year.

so the Yanks operate a AAA and low-A franchise in the shared territory for a year, while the Mets just have a low-A? That would have an amazing humanitarian vibe; let's reconvene the Nuremberg commission.

What do you think the Yanks would say if the Mets tried this?

just had a vision of Eisbaer leading a "LET DEM PLAY" chant a la Bill Devane in The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training

Braun 0-for-3, congrats Jose, I guess.

ah, the old "the Yankees would do it too!" ploy. which just proves my point wr2 how shit an organization like the Mets are -- they don't have the moxie to either beat the Yankees at their own game, or the balls to play their own game.

and as always, i'll never understand why anyone would root for a butthole operation like the Mets over any other team.

yer not gettin the last fuckin post. prepare to join the Mets on the couch.

RAYZ over PHILZ in 6

― City of Jorts (Steve Shasta), Friday, March 25, 2011 5:27 PM (6 months ago)

also, the Phils would do the same if any team ever wanted to share that fucking shithole city of syphilitic retards with them.

Lakewood?

that reminds me...

could've gone on the phillies thread i guess but http://www.gq.com/sports/profiles/200903/lenny-dykstra-magazine?printable=true

Yeah, that was linked somewhere on ILB a couple of years ago when it came out.

http://www.ecapcity.com/new-york-yankees-new-era-hats-mets-colors.html

^for Spike Lee

mets fired most of their coaches today

tim teufel is the new 3b coach!

did shea stadium have a porn room?

I passed the Toronado this evening (the site of Dr. Morbius/Steve Shasta arm wrassling tourney many moons ago) and there was a gentleman resting peacefully in the gutter, head propped by the gutter, and upon the head: a Mets cap. Should have taken a picture.

head propped by the CURB

it was probably omar minaya

who won the arm wrestling?!?>

I don't remember.

http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltmvnsPcX11qz6f9yo1_r3_500.jpg

a quarter of a century ago today

i feel like something else happened 25 years ago tomorrow, can't recall

no, without checking, it was the 27th.

morbs why was there a day off between Buckner and the clincher? rainout on the 26th? i remember a lot of weather problems that year.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/ws/yr1986ws.shtml

yea it was rained out

smoke bombs and parachutists, that was some sick shit. I remember when baseball was fun.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/7163808/2011-world-series-freed-prisoner-ilan-grapel-told-new-york-mets-won-all-report-says

what an asshole!

Fernando Martinez Placed on Waivers

I don't know who that is.

the Centerfielder of the Future in 2007

at one point not all that long ago, he was the next carlos beltran

he's still only 23, but he's been hurt a lot and largely sucked when healthy

his ml numbers (which is all i have to go on) never matched the hype.

according to BP:
Pre-2007: Rated #22 Prospect
Pre-2008: Rated #20 Prospect
Pre-2009: Rated #30 Prospect
Pre-2010: Rated #77 Prospect
...
2012: DFA'd

Lastings Milledge

tbf lastings had the added burden of being an asshole

mets dudes on bbtf used to jock f mart so fucking hard. rip. we hardly knew ye.

mook, Mets fans do not believe in "the next ____" since the fall of Innis, Wilson & Isringhausen.

F.Mart as organizational metaphor:

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/1/10/2695294/fernando-martinez-new-york-mets-waivers

wow, this is crazy

not crazy in a good or bad way necessarily, just crazy

and just now i happened to be reading up on the next wave of fernando martinezes

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/top-15-prospects-new-york-mets/

Darrell Ceciliani struck me as a brett gardner type when I saw him @ Coney. Fun to watch.

Goldstein's BP report on Mets prospects just went up as well ("moving in the right direction"). Puts Ceciliani as their #20, so I'd say B. Gardner is a stretch.

I SEEN HIM W MY OWN EYES

f-mart claimed by the aStRoS