Exploring the New Deals, John Maine and the Real Lord of the Rings (Note: Those Movies are Dumb)
I didn’t get to watch too much of last night’s Mets game. My buddy Max suggested, over an afternoon BBQ, that I throw down a unit on Sunday night’s Hall of Game between the Raiders and the Eagles.
I can’t say I really hesitated. My opposition would suggest that this is preseason football, the starters only play about a quarter and no one cares.
I couldn’t agree more.
But this was about something more. This was doing something that I do because it was a symbol of something I love.
Is anything really different about New Year’s Eve? We all eat sleep and use the bathroom the same. But because we are celebrating a new year, we all go out drunk foolin to celebrate.
Well I was celebrating the new season, the return of gambling season - NFL football thru college basketball. Having sat out the last 5 months I was antsy. so I threw down on the Raiders +2.5.
My buddy Danny D had some rational. There was the Madden HOF factor.
There was Art Shell’s return; Al Davis being in attendance and most importantly, Andy Reid being too good of a coach to care.
Most importantly, though, they were the Raiders playing in the first game of the season and they weren't the Eagles.
That is why I missed most of the Mets game.
What I did see out of the Mets were two huge things.
The first one is obvious. John Maine is on fire. I talked last month about his heavy fastball and what I have noticed since then is that Maine doesn’t really have a dominant second pitch.
He relies on his fastball as both a setup pitch and an out pitch. He has been effective, specifically late in counts, because he is getting hitters to chase his high fastball, out of the strike zone.
I still think it is way too premature to say much about this kid. Yeah he once had the hype and of course he has looked great.
But where do we put him in October? Are you comfortable having him throw Game 3 over Hernandez and Trachsel, because right now, I’m not.
One thing that has me oozing in excitement is the emergence of Royce Ring. Acquired in the 2003 pillage of the Old Mets, Ring was the prize package in a July trade with the White Sox for Met dud Robbie Alomar.
As always, with young lefthanded pitching prospects, my buddy Nails pulled out the lube and his baseball glove and then ten minutes later sat down on his computer to do some extensive research.
Ring’s out pitch was his changeup, much like then-Met lefthanded stud, John Franco. Oops.
Like Franco, Ring struggled. He struggled for three years, floating between Shea and Norfolk.
This year things have apparently changed, as Ring has discovered the potential that scouts saw in him.
This could not have been more apparent than in Ring’s 7th inning showdown with Phillies slugger Ryan Howard. As we have seen over this series and throughout the season, Howard is a monster. The Phils traded Jim Thome to Chicago to make sure Howard could play full time and he has rewarded them big time, leading the NL in mashes of the dong with 38.
Last night, in an 8-1 ballgame Ring was out there to face Howard. Not only did he strike out the big fella but he made Howard look terrible. Howard chases slider out of the strike after slider out of the strike zone.
He didn’t even stand a chance.
As good as Pedro Feliciano has been this year and as great as it was to give him daps in the bathroom of a Fenway Park pool hall, I don’t want to see Pedro 2.0 out there against the big lefty. Come October we could see Jim Edmonds, Adam Dunn, and Griffey Jr. among others. We need a guy that can get that out late in games.
While this was only one time, it sure was convincing. This will be something to keep your eye on.
Two more things we will keep our respective eyes on over the next 6 years will be Jose Reyes and David Wright. The All-Star left siders were both signed to contract extensions this past week, Reyes for 4 yrs/24 mil and Wright for 6/55.
Happy Will was his usual happy but analytical self in both deals.
In both deals, I think everything was sort of just fair.
With Reyes, we get the guy for his first 7 years of big league service (one year of free agency.)
My guess with arbitration is that Reyes would have gotten 3-4 mil in ’07, 5-6 in ’08, 8-9 in ’09 and then on the free agent market, with Rafael Furcal setting the bar, Reyes would get around 11-12.
Over 4 years, that’s somewhere between 27-31 million dollars over the 4 years. We got him for 24. But now, if Mr. Glass ever breaks down, he is set for life.
With Wright, we have him for 6 years and a club option for a 7th, taking him through his 8th or 9th year in the show.
Wright’s projected salaries without an extension would look like:
’07: 450K
’08: 4-5 mil
’09: 8 mil
10: 10-11 mil
11: 15-18 mil
12: 15-18 mil
Total: 52.45-60.45mil
Yeah, I think Wright would get Beltran money. Truth is he deserves more. We got Wright at pretty much market value for him, 6 years and 55 mil.
The one question with Wright is timing, mainly was now the right time?
The answer is yes and no. Now is the right time from an organizational standpoint, a PR standpoint, and a D-Wright standpoint.
Signing Reyes and Wright in the same week is a good thing. It is a sign that these are our two guys, our leaders and we want them both.
The move brings optimism to Shea a week after the Mets failed to land a big name at the trade deadline.
And finally, now D Wright is a Met. He saw their commitment to him and now our superstar is happy.
The bad news is that Wright will be a free agent once again when he is 30. The thought of him leaving is almost imposible. This guy loves the Mets more than, well, anyone. But had we waited 2 years, and signed him for 8, then we know he would never leave us.
At the same time, his agent isn’t stupid. He wanted one more deal and now he’ll get it.
Either way, this is a great time to be a Mets fan. For the first time in years everything is going right and we aren’t doing anything too dumb.
For a Monday, I’ll take it.
VCD,
SM
I can’t say I really hesitated. My opposition would suggest that this is preseason football, the starters only play about a quarter and no one cares.
I couldn’t agree more.
But this was about something more. This was doing something that I do because it was a symbol of something I love.
Is anything really different about New Year’s Eve? We all eat sleep and use the bathroom the same. But because we are celebrating a new year, we all go out drunk foolin to celebrate.
Well I was celebrating the new season, the return of gambling season - NFL football thru college basketball. Having sat out the last 5 months I was antsy. so I threw down on the Raiders +2.5.
My buddy Danny D had some rational. There was the Madden HOF factor.
There was Art Shell’s return; Al Davis being in attendance and most importantly, Andy Reid being too good of a coach to care.
Most importantly, though, they were the Raiders playing in the first game of the season and they weren't the Eagles.
That is why I missed most of the Mets game.
What I did see out of the Mets were two huge things.
The first one is obvious. John Maine is on fire. I talked last month about his heavy fastball and what I have noticed since then is that Maine doesn’t really have a dominant second pitch.
He relies on his fastball as both a setup pitch and an out pitch. He has been effective, specifically late in counts, because he is getting hitters to chase his high fastball, out of the strike zone.
I still think it is way too premature to say much about this kid. Yeah he once had the hype and of course he has looked great.
But where do we put him in October? Are you comfortable having him throw Game 3 over Hernandez and Trachsel, because right now, I’m not.
One thing that has me oozing in excitement is the emergence of Royce Ring. Acquired in the 2003 pillage of the Old Mets, Ring was the prize package in a July trade with the White Sox for Met dud Robbie Alomar.
As always, with young lefthanded pitching prospects, my buddy Nails pulled out the lube and his baseball glove and then ten minutes later sat down on his computer to do some extensive research.
Ring’s out pitch was his changeup, much like then-Met lefthanded stud, John Franco. Oops.
Like Franco, Ring struggled. He struggled for three years, floating between Shea and Norfolk.
This year things have apparently changed, as Ring has discovered the potential that scouts saw in him.
This could not have been more apparent than in Ring’s 7th inning showdown with Phillies slugger Ryan Howard. As we have seen over this series and throughout the season, Howard is a monster. The Phils traded Jim Thome to Chicago to make sure Howard could play full time and he has rewarded them big time, leading the NL in mashes of the dong with 38.
Last night, in an 8-1 ballgame Ring was out there to face Howard. Not only did he strike out the big fella but he made Howard look terrible. Howard chases slider out of the strike after slider out of the strike zone.
He didn’t even stand a chance.
As good as Pedro Feliciano has been this year and as great as it was to give him daps in the bathroom of a Fenway Park pool hall, I don’t want to see Pedro 2.0 out there against the big lefty. Come October we could see Jim Edmonds, Adam Dunn, and Griffey Jr. among others. We need a guy that can get that out late in games.
While this was only one time, it sure was convincing. This will be something to keep your eye on.
Two more things we will keep our respective eyes on over the next 6 years will be Jose Reyes and David Wright. The All-Star left siders were both signed to contract extensions this past week, Reyes for 4 yrs/24 mil and Wright for 6/55.
Happy Will was his usual happy but analytical self in both deals.
In both deals, I think everything was sort of just fair.
With Reyes, we get the guy for his first 7 years of big league service (one year of free agency.)
My guess with arbitration is that Reyes would have gotten 3-4 mil in ’07, 5-6 in ’08, 8-9 in ’09 and then on the free agent market, with Rafael Furcal setting the bar, Reyes would get around 11-12.
Over 4 years, that’s somewhere between 27-31 million dollars over the 4 years. We got him for 24. But now, if Mr. Glass ever breaks down, he is set for life.
With Wright, we have him for 6 years and a club option for a 7th, taking him through his 8th or 9th year in the show.
Wright’s projected salaries without an extension would look like:
’07: 450K
’08: 4-5 mil
’09: 8 mil
10: 10-11 mil
11: 15-18 mil
12: 15-18 mil
Total: 52.45-60.45mil
Yeah, I think Wright would get Beltran money. Truth is he deserves more. We got Wright at pretty much market value for him, 6 years and 55 mil.
The one question with Wright is timing, mainly was now the right time?
The answer is yes and no. Now is the right time from an organizational standpoint, a PR standpoint, and a D-Wright standpoint.
Signing Reyes and Wright in the same week is a good thing. It is a sign that these are our two guys, our leaders and we want them both.
The move brings optimism to Shea a week after the Mets failed to land a big name at the trade deadline.
And finally, now D Wright is a Met. He saw their commitment to him and now our superstar is happy.
The bad news is that Wright will be a free agent once again when he is 30. The thought of him leaving is almost imposible. This guy loves the Mets more than, well, anyone. But had we waited 2 years, and signed him for 8, then we know he would never leave us.
At the same time, his agent isn’t stupid. He wanted one more deal and now he’ll get it.
Either way, this is a great time to be a Mets fan. For the first time in years everything is going right and we aren’t doing anything too dumb.
For a Monday, I’ll take it.
VCD,
SM
posted by Sippy Momo at 11:58 AM
3 Comments:
Actually I've never been all that impressed by Royce Ring. If I did "pull out the lube and baseball glove" it was because we got rid of Alomar, but I wouldn't count on Royce Ring being the answer to anyone's prayers.
RRing looks like the dude from Scream 3 aka Grey's Anatomy man.
someone get Mr Flold some snake oil and a priestess, he had the worst look of a good guy ever.....Im guessing he used to piss in the street on a regular basis...next to a church/synagogue/mosque.
Who's going to see the Monster tonight? Tonks and I will be in Section 70.
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