Frayed Knot

How the mighty have fallen. Couple of years ago the guy was on his way to either having the best pitcher in baseball tag hung on him was at least going to be in the class picture.

Cano's seeming lack of effort while fielding is usually (won't say always) more a matter of maintaining a relaxed calmness where he knows he can get to the ball and has the kind of arm that you rarely see in 2Bman that can get the out at 1st without rushing the play or having to sprawl and fire. He throws across his body without really turning as hard as most 2Bs do planting and gunning it overhand and, despite some fumble-itis in his early days, until he reaches the points where he gets really slow on his feet, he'll be an asset on defense. It's on offense where his lack of hustle gets totally infuriating and has been known to turn doubles into singles, ground-outs into a short stroll, and takes even the possibility of a triple totally out of the equation (1 in his last 150 XBHs) unless an outfielder falls down at least twice.

Parnell last appeared in a game on July 30th The first save opportunity after that was Aug 2 where Aardsma was brought in to protect a 1-run lead vs the Royals but loaded the bases w/one out then allowed a game-tying Sac Fly (the Mets later won the game in the 12th) The next save opportunity for the Mets was a one-run lead vs the Rox on the 6th and it was on that day when Hawkins picked up his first save of the season. He went on to tally 12 more and only Black and Francisco (1 each) picked up saves for the rest of the season, both in late September. Aardsma, after his 8/2 blown save, appeared as late as the 9th inning just twice more during the remainder of the season, both in non-save situations while the Mets were behind. Not much of an audition, eh?

Aardsma got exactly ONE shot at closer, he blew the save and Hawkins took over from there. As the season began, Hawkins sat behind the likes of Lyon & Atchison in the set-up role pecking order.

Hawkins was one of those acquisitions that Met fans seem to preemptively dislike: an older, journeyman reliever who's maybe had a solid career but was never really a closer and you probably saw him blow a game or two somewhere along the line and your memories are colored by that. And when the expectations are low to start with usually it only takes one early season bad outing for the fan base to label him as bullpen poison ["Oh no, please tell me Terry isn't bringing in HIM?!?"] and then at least 20 good outings before that rep starts to fade. But, in this case, I don't recall too many bad outings early on so LaTroy was able to establish himself here easier than most in his position and once he took over for Parnell the transition was nearly seemless.

So the Phils currently have contracts and/or some kind of option/vesting option through 2015 or later for: - Hamels thru 2019 - Howard thru 2017 - Rollins thru 2015 - Cliff Lee thru 2016 - Papelbon thru 2016 - Utley thru 2018 - Byrd thru 2016 - Ruiz thru 2017 Of that group: none are under 30; only Hamels is under 33; and Rollins, Ruiz, Utley, Byrd, & Lee will be 35+ on opening day 2014 Good luck with all that, Cheesesteaks.

Born in Glen Cove, HS & College in Georgia. So he's probably a local guy in the same way LoDuca was a local guy - not that that stopped the media from acting like they knew him from the malt shop back in the day. But maybe Markakis still has some relatives in Astoria.

Y'know, at first I was just focusing on the abstract concept of a Markakis trade and am just now paying attention to the specifics of Francesa's proposal as per Mex's post -- [u:1a8u4hty]Ike, Murphy, and a minor league pitcher that would be "below the level of Syndergaard"[/u:1a8u4hty] -- and realizing how absurd it all is. As I said before, at this point I'm not sure I'd give up Muffy straight-up for him much less as merely 1/3 of the deal. Knowing big Mike I'm sure he's taking Markakis's status is as an AL East player (always big in his book) plus remembering a handful of big hits he's had against the Yanx in recent years ("He's Clutch!!!") and blowing him up into near superstar status whose stats would rocket up 40% merely by moving to the (vastly inferior) National League. The idea of a Markakis trade is certainly something worth discussing. These specifics of it are ridiculous.

The team has a better argument from the rookie standpoint in that they can always claim that we just didn't think he was ready yet. In this case they're taking their now healthy SS who was their starter for half the year and deciding they had no use for him during expanded roster time until ... THIS DATE, one which just happens to coincide with keeping his total service time just short of a full year. It's definitely the more manipulative move, or certainly the more provable one, so I can see where Tejada would have a case whereas the rookie can talk until he's blue in the face but it's not going to sway anyone. Of course the Mets could simply turn around and decide next season that he needs to start the year in AAA and he's back below the threshold again so he's probably not going to win in the long run even if the grievance process (assuming it ever gets that far) goes his way.

It did seem odd at the time that the Mets were slow in bringing back Ruben in September. That the team would do so for that reason does make some sense: they CAN therefore they did; and yet on another level it doesn't: Are they really that worried about when Tejada gains FA-gency? Like Grimm says, there's a decent chance that he never gets that far, at least not in a NYM uniform. Now you can certainly understand why Ruben is upset as he figures to eventually reach that point whether it's as a Met or somewhere else. I don't know that I've ever heard of a case like this going to grievance so I wouldn't even guess at the odds of an outcome.

The only problem with an Ike trade is that I'd say the O's probably feel pretty much set with Chris Davis manning 1B. A couple of years back I would have jumped at a Muffy/Markakis deal but not so much now. Not only has Markakis declined* but we'd be on the hook for either $17mil over one year or $34.5 over two (club option) and/or he has the ability to walk after 2014 (player can void). * [u:3vk5dhjg]TEN[/u:3vk5dhjg] HRs for a full-season LHB in THAT park?!?! I assumed he had missed large chunks of time this year but that was 2012, those HRs this season came via 700 PAs and he hasn't hit as many as 20 since 2008. And all that would be one thing if his OBA was still around .400 like it was in '08 or even the .370 of 2010 - but now that it's fallen to .317 just as he's turning 30 (yesterday in fact) ...

It's been said before about Markakis that owner Angelos would never trade him because both are Greek and Angelos feels an attachment. Not sure how true that is, but it's out there. Having not heard it or the context in which it was delivered, I'm not sure whether Francesa is repeating something he legitimately heard from an actual source with some knowledge or if he's merely speculating out loud about Markakis being available and arbitrarily stating what he thinks it would take (or, frankly, if he can any longer tell the difference ... those voices in his head get awful loud every once in a while).

* Not aggressive enough --- I'm not saying to back away from Peralta, I'm saying that there's a point (that there's ALWAYS a point) where you have to be willing to say no; that he's not a "have to have" guy simply because he's the flavor of the month best option. What could very well be worse than NOT having him at age 32 is STILL having him at age 36. Aggressive doesn't have to mean reckless. * Reyes --- That he once was here has nothing to do with the situation going forward and shouldn't color future decisions. * Tejada --- Jose wasn't not re-signed because they thought Ruben was an equal replacement, nor is the fact that Tejada cratered last year proof that he, at age 24, is forever a bust. Returning to him is merely one option if others don't work out, one which may have the advantage that it would allow them to save resources and improve the team elsewhere and be easier to escape from down the road if/when he doesn't show the promise of a couple years back and a better opportunity comes around.

Scratch 'n Sniff phones baby, they're the wave of the future!!

The future of the franchise does not depend on Jhonny Peralta being in a Met uniform next year. I'll take him if I can get him but, if not, you live with an alternative and try to improve the team by spending your allowance elsewhere. Well put. I'm with FK on this. Do you have a place where you might start? In short: Elsewhere. - You try other, maybe lesser, FAs: Drew, minor league FAs, roster cuts, DFIs, DNRs, whoever. - You try trade possibilities (will Baltimore move Hardy to make way for Machado?) at either the major or minor league levels - Or you return with Tejada and hope he either bounces back or that a different alternative comes up at a later date. At this time last year no one here (or anywhere else that I know of) was thinking of Eric Young, Marlon Byrd and Juan Lagares as the Mets everyday OFers, or that that trio would be 3rd, 4th & 5th on the entire team in ABs. Things change, and the 2014 rosters aren't required to be set in cement prior to Turkey Day. The point here isn't to say that Peralta won't be an upgrade--of course he would be--only that he's not a 'do whatever it takes' kind of guy or the final piece of the puzzle that we "have to get" now because he'll make such a difference in the 2014 season anymore than Michael Bourn* would have been that guy for the 2013 team. You don't want to get into a deal that he becomes a detriment to the budget in the short term or to the roster three or four years down the road, and if that means you don't improve the roster at SS this winter then so be it. In the meantime, you husband the resources (both financial and human) that would have gone to that spot and use them to improve the roster somewhere else. * Would Bourn have been even a two-win** addition to last year's team? ... and, if so, would that have been worth the multi-year deal ($48 mil through 2016 plus a vesting option for '17), the loss of the draft pick, and maybe the overlooking (or trading?) of Lagares simply because he was the best guy out there and the call to "do something" from the fans and the press needing scratching, even if it were partly just for pr purposes? ** Not according to BB-Ref, who list Bourn's offensive WAR at less than 2 wins better than Lagares, a gap which is then wiped out and more by Juan's advantage in defensive WAR

He basically HAS to come up with Peralta now!! No he doesn't. The concept of believing that certain guys, even ones who might be the best available at a particular position at the moment, are indispensable is what leads to contracts of four years starting at age 32 for someone who may already be nearing their last days as a SS. If the competition for him is a slim as you suspect then there's no reason why he needs to be a $50 million player. And if the bidding from one team does start to get to such "ridiculous" levels then it's better to walk away on the theory that it's easier to recover from the player you fail to sign than it is to recover from the one you sign at the wrong price, a theory that's particularly true when you're talking about multiple years. The future of the franchise does not depend on Jhonny Peralta being in a Met uniform next year. I'll take him if I can get him but, if not, you live with an alternative and try to improve the team by spending your allowance elsewhere.

So with 'Indian' names currently under fire and falling out of favor, do they go with a name change when they change venues? The Cobb Salads, maybe? The Cobb Tys?

The question about Granderson is whether he can re-adjust his approach and return to being more of the Reyes-like gap hitter w/speed and .360-ish OBA that he was during his peak years in Detroit prior to quite intentionally changing to a more pull-happy mode when he started playing half his games in YSIII that dropped his BA nearly 30 points ... and whether he can do all that starting at age 33.

So I guess we can just stick this column in the 'wah-fucking-wah' pile and forget about it then.

So then if I've got this all straight, the upshot of this is that the Mets did NOT spend half the season proclaiming their love for Choo, an over-30 guy who is a second tier FA and almost certainly NOT worth $100 million ... but we're pissed at them anyway for not pursuing him.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I recognize Ike and Turner. (I hope that at least one of the girls is named "Tina.") Not sure who the dude in the back is. Prince Harry

I had never once heard about the Darling/Ethier connection (even though I always thought that there's a vague resemblance) Am NOT surprised that networks wouldn't mention it though; fans are ready enough to accuse an announcing team of favoritism no matter what happens so why give them more ammunition to do so. Also I suspect that Darling probably wants to keep that under wraps. I've never heard it mentioned during NYM telecasts eth(i)er (see what I did there?) and it's not like I miss too many of those.

Always have to figure in where he'll fall on the: 'the more $$ they eat the more bodies we have to cough up' scale.

Ben Badler at BA has nice things to say about him. The Mets quickly snapped up righthander Joel Carreno, who could be one of the steals (a relative term, of course) of the minor league free agent class. Carreno, who turns 27 in March, throws in the low 90s with a curveball that can help him miss bats, something he did more of in 2013 than ever before, perhaps in part because the Blue Jays made him a full-time reliever for the first time in his career. After striking out 25 percent of batters in his minor league career, Carreno�s strikeout rate jumped to 34 percent last year between Double-A New Hampshire and Triple-A Buffalo with a 2.43 composite ERA. Now he�s pitching well for Escogido in the Dominican League. The Red Sox just paid $4 million for 27-year-old Cuban righthander Dalier Hinojosa, who might not even be as good as Carreno

He's been mostly a reliever in his career - including being one of about nine closers the Sawx have used over the last two seasons. I would think he'd almost certainly get enough nibbles to get himself a major league contract from somewhere and so wouldn't be so easy to simply put in AAA storage waiting for a place to use him. Will he be "a good fit" here? ... Yeah, probably ... sure, whatever. I mean, he's a reliever so whodafuckknows - but he's been more on than off in his six year career to date, although less good lately. Turns 31 in a few weeks.