Minor League FAs

[Frayed Knot]

NYM property:
RHP: Manuel Alvarez (Hi A), Julio de la Cruz (AA), German Marte++ (AA), Chris Mason (AAA), Tim McNab (AAA), Carlos Muniz+ (AAA), Jose Sanchez+ (AAA), Kyle Snyder (AAA), Jim Ed Warden (AAA)
LHP: Edgar Alfonzo (AA), Adam Bostick (AAA), Adam Pettyjohn (AAA), Heriberto Ruelas (AA)
C: Robinson Cancel (AAA), Salvador Paniagua (AA), Rene Rivera (AAA)
2B: Argenis Reyes (AAA)
3B: Javier Castillo (AAA), Mark Kiger (AA), Mike Lamb (AAA)
OF: Chip Ambres (AAA), Jason Dubois (AAA), Jesus Feliciano (AAA), Luis Rivera (SS)

+ spent more than half the year on the DL
++ spent the entire season on the DL
league denotes where they finished the year

and the others = http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=6994 -- 536 in all, including a handful of former 1st round draft picks and other former prospects.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Tough to say goodbye to Jim Ed.

Adam Bostick shoulda got a better chance with us, especially considering he's all we have to show for Matt Lindstrom anymore.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Marte was a genuine prospect through 2007. He didn't do anything much at Bingo in 2008 and sat out 2009. Things change.

Gotta think Jim Ed Warden will be back someday driving the lawnmower or something.

[MFS62]

Here's one guy's take on some minor league free agents who might interest the Mets.

http://www.metstoday.com/4050/09-10-offseason/minor-league-free-agent-options/

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

OF: Chip Ambres (AAA)[/quote:23ebx15x]

Gain a Chip, lose a Chip. Gotta obey the Conservation of Chips Law.

[smg58]

Adam Bostick shoulda got a better chance with us, especially considering he's all we have to show for Matt Lindstrom anymore.[/quote:y5c0cpwc]

As a reliever this year, he posted a 2.60 ERA with 20 K and 4 BB in 17.1 IP at AA, and a 3.26 ERA with 43 K and 18 BB in 38.2 IP in AAA. Plus he's lefthanded, and has all his options. I don't see how that's not worth a spot on the 40, especially when the alternative is letting him walk.

[Chad ochoseis]

I never understood how it was that Josh Barfield started sucking after that impressive rookie season. This Indians fan (http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/?p=13930)seems to think that some of it was due to him getting lost in the 2B shuffle in Cleveland. Even if the "dump Castillo/sign Hudson or Figgins or somebody" scenario works, extra 2B depth would still be a good thing, no?

[seawolf17]

C: Orlando Mercado (AA) - bring back the glory days of 1990! (Obviously not the same guy, I know - he's a coach for the Angels now.)
RHP: Jesse Orosco Jr. ® -- Seriously?!?! Yes!
OF: Ryan Freel (AAA) -- Make it happen, Omar. Make. It. Happen.

[smg58]

A healthy Ryan Freel has enough upside to justify a minor league contract and a ST invite, but the past two years he's played hurt when he's been able to play at all. I'd give him a look and take it from there.

[Frayed Knot]

Here's one guy's take on some minor league free agents who might interest the Mets.

http://www.metstoday.com/4050/09-10-offseason/minor-league-free-agent-options/
[/quote:2lp7tj96]

One of whom is former MFY 1st round pick Eric (no relation to Chris, Shelley, or Dave) Duncan.
This Duncan is the one Bill Madden was yelping about when he claimed that the Mets made a horrible miscalculation in opting for Lastings Milledge some 15 picks earlier in the same draft. He also tried to claim that it was a mistake known to everyone except, apparently, the Mets scouting staff - even though no draft board at the time had Duncan remotely listed that high.

Five years later and Milledge is leading in ML ABs approx 1,200 to 0

[ashie62]

Red Sox released catcher George Kottaras is worth an invite, or more

[ashie62]

Adam Bostick shoulda got a better chance with us, especially considering he's all we have to show for Matt Lindstrom anymore.[/quote:3rp496up]

As a reliever this year, he posted a 2.60 ERA with 20 K and 4 BB in 17.1 IP at AA, and a 3.26 ERA with 43 K and 18 BB in 38.2 IP in AAA. Plus he's lefthanded, and has all his options. I don't see how that's not worth a spot on the 40, especially when the alternative is letting him walk.[/quote:3rp496up]

Don't you mean the Twins Lyman Bostick?

[MFS62]

[quote="Frayed Knot
One of whom is former MFY 1st round pick Eric (no relation to Chris, Shelley, or Dave) Duncan.
This Duncan is the one Bill Madden was yelping about when he claimed that the Mets made a horrible miscalculation in opting for Lastings Milledge some 15 picks earlier in the same draft. He also tried to claim that it was a mistake known to everyone except, apparently, the Mets scouting staff - even though no draft board at the time had Duncan remotely listed that high.

Five years later and Milledge is leading in ML ABs approx 1,200 to 0

[Frayed Knot]

I doubt Kay ever saw Duncan play, or at least not enough to make a serious individual evaluation of his skills.
I'm sure his "analysis" of the proposed trade was a case of him either assuming greatness as a result of being a NYY 1st round pick or just blindly repeating (possibly under orders) what had been told to him by Yanqui pr flacks. Waldman does that a lot too; they're both either too trusting or are under the impression that pumping up the product line is part of their job description. Ruben Rivera was the next Mantle if you listened to her a bunch of years ago.

Madden, on the other hand, not only should know better but it's part of his job description to know better. Instead he got so many facts wrong in that article comparing the two (including Duncan's name) that he probably would have been canned by the paper if it weren't for his tenured status.

[metirish]

Was Madden ever a good writer? , or maybe I should ask if he was ever a writer to be taken seriously? I know I've read some good stuff from him, maybe stuff regarding the HOF but in recent years he's a hack.

[Frayed Knot]

I've never been a regular NYDN reader so maybe I'm not the best one to say - but it just seems to me that he's become lazy in recent years by not checking sources or accepting what's being fed to him as facts without even questioning whether there's an agenda involved.
That plus the fact that he's just so identified with the one team for so long now (he was a beat writer covering the Yanx many moons ago before getting his own column) that the reader almost has to think of it as at least partial pr - particularly since the paper itself is so in bed with the team at this point. And all this goes at least as far back to the day when he was seen watching a game from Steinbrenner's box and the next day followed up with an article trashing the just starting-to-fade Don Mattingly. It was so obvious to everyone that the basis for the article was spoon-fed directly from George and his people for the purpose of knocking the immensely popular Donnie-Baseball down a few pegs that that became as much the story as the content of the piece itself.

[metirish]

I've never been a regular NYDN reader so maybe I'm not the best one to say - but it just seems to me that he's become lazy in recent years by not checking sources or accepting what's being fed to him as facts without even questioning whether there's an agenda involved.
That plus the fact that he's just so identified with the one team for so long now (he was a beat writer covering the Yanx many moons ago before getting his own column) that the reader almost has to think of it as at least partial pr - particularly since the paper itself is so in bed with the team at this point. And all this goes at least as far back to the day when he was seen watching a game from Steinbrenner's box and the next day followed up with an article trashing the just starting-to-fade Don Mattingly. It was so obvious to everyone that the basis for the article was spoon-fed directly from George and his people for the purpose of knocking the immensely popular Donnie-Baseball down a few pegs that that became as much the story as the content of the piece itself.[/quote:2es91xei]



Never knew that about being in Steinbrenner's box....interesting. That kind of stuff seemed more prevelent back then that today , or maybe becasue there is so much media now that stuff doesn't have the same impact.