Edgy MD

Robert Carson Jeurys Familia Jeremy Hefner Jennry Mejia Garrett Olson Armando Rodriguez Chris Schwinden Who do you see getting the first call when a leak springs in the starting rotation? (Which should be around March 7.) It's sort of the in the "uhhhh... umm..." category now, isn't it? I'm sort of hoping one of Familia or McHugh (or maybe Harvey) could come fast, if not necessarily ready to be consistently effective. They've each done a solid half year in AA. Mejia is probably hands-off for the first half.

He posts the view from outside his window in Arusha. Mount Meru:

He probably gets a big-league contract, which means they have to clear some roster room. Keep your head down and breathe quietly, Josh Stinson.

Joelmon Sherman reporting that Scott Hairston is coming back, pending a physical. Which to me brings up the question: Shouldn't the Mets have a pretty good file on his physical condition already?

I was thinking more like "If Art Howe is in a room in the forest, but Fred Wilpon isn't around to see him in the room, does he give off any light?" Try and answer that one.

It's a "tree falls in the forest" sort of question, isn't it?

I heard Art Howe was going to leave baseball in order to pursue a bid to buy the Mets.

I'd like to see the data on that in a graph.

Mike Jacobs signs with the Diamondbacks despite having the old 50-game suspension to deal with.

Plus he's got Guillen's temper with a younger man's strength and testosterone. Good times. Gar the Batting Stance Guy says he looks forward to Zambrano taking a bat to one of those giant aquariua behind home plate.

All there in black and white at Deadspin. Amazing the crap rich guys get away with. Best six grand he ever spent.

Minor number crisis: Wimberly wore 7 last season with Indianapolis. Interesting what they're adding here. Lot of versatility. An infielder who can outfield. An outfielder who can catch. Another outfielder who can pitch. Mostly guys with honorable walk rates, too. Signed Away From Chicago (N) To Minor League Contract And Invited To CampSigned Away From Pittsburgh To Minor League Contract And Invited To Camp Signed Away By Oaxaca To Minor League ContractRelief Pitchers Infielders =#FF8000]74 =#0000FF]Jeff Stevens DoB: 9/5/1983 =#FF8000]77 Corey Wimberly DoB: 10/26/1983 =#FF8000]3 =#0000FF]Luis Figueroa DoB: 2/16/1974 Your Projected 2012 Mets (Orange Indicates Players Have Options) Starting Pitchers =#0000FF]43 R.A. Dickey DoB: 10/29/1974 =#FF8000]35 Dillon Gee DoB: 4/28/1986 =#0000FF]49 Jonathon Niese DoB: 10/27/1986 =#0000FF]34 Mike Pelfrey DoB: 1/14/1984 =#0000FF]57 Johan Santana DoB: 3/13/1979Relief Pitchers =#0000FF]46 Manny Acosta DoB: 5/1/1981 =#0000FF]40 Tim Byrdak DoB: 10/31/1973 =#FF8000]50 =#0000FF]Frank Francisco DoB:9/11/1979 =#0000FF]19 Danny Herrera DoB: 10/21/1984 =#0000FF]39 Bobby Parnell DoB: 9/8/1984Relief Pitchers Catchers Infielders =#FF8000]52 =#0000FF]Ram�n Ram�rez DoB:8/31/1981 =#FF8000]60 =#0000FF]John Rauch DoB:9/27/1978 =#FF8000]13 Mike Nickeas DoB: 2/13/1983 =#0000FF]30 Josh Thole DoB: 4/28/1986 =#FF8000]29 Ike Davis DoB: 3/22/1987 Infielders =#0000FF]28 Daniel Murphy DoB: 4/1/1985 =#0000FF]11 Ruben Tejada DoB: 10/27/1989 =#0000FF]2 Justin Turner DoB: 11/23/1984 =#FF8000]62 Jordany Valdespin DoB: 12/23/1984 =#0000FF]5 David Wright DoB: 12/20/1982 Outfielders =#0000FF]44 Jason Bay DoB: 9/20/1978 =#FF8000]21 Lucas Duda DoB: 2/3/1986 =#FF8000]26 Fernando Martinez DoB: 10/10/1988 =#FF8000]11 Kirk Nieuwenhuis DoB:8/7/1987 =#FF8000]56 =#0000FF]Andr�s Torres DoB:1/26/1978 Also on 40-Man Roster Starting Pitchers =#FF8000]50 =#0000FF]Robert Carson DoB:1/23/1989 =#FF8000]46 =#0000FF]Jeurys Familia DoB:10/10/1989 =#FF8000]47 =#0000FF]Jeremy Hefner DoB:3/11/1981 =#FF8000]32 Jennry Mejia DoB: 10/11/1989 =#FF8000]66 Armando Rodriguez DoB: 1/28/1988Starting PitchersRelief Pitchers Infielders =#FF8000]63 Chris Schwinden DoB: 9/22/1986 =#FF8000]27 Pedro Beato DoB: 10/27/1986 =#0000FF]77 D.J. Carrasco DoB: 4/12/1977 =#FF8000]64 Josh Stinson DoB: 3/14/1988 =#FF8000]1 =#0000FF]Wilmer Flores DoB:8/6/1991InfieldersOutfielders =#FF8000]12 =#0000FF]Reese Havens DoB:10/20/1986 =#FF8000]65 Zach Lutz DoB: 6/3/1986 =#FF8000]3 Josh Satin DoB: 12/23/1984 =#FF8000]13 =#0000FF]Juan Lagares DoB:3/17/1989 =#FF8000]22 =#0000FF]Cesar Puello DoB:4/1/1991 Also in Camp Starting PitchersRelief Pitchers Catchers =#FF8000]36 =#0000FF]Garrett Olson DoB: 10/18/1983 =#FF8000]44 =#0000FF]Chuck James DoB: 11/9/1981 =#FF8000]74 =#0000FF]Jeff Stevens DoB: 9/5/1983 =#0000FF]33 =#0000FF]Rob Johnson DoB: 7/22/1982 =#0000FF]22 =#0000FF]Lucas May DoB: 10/24/1984InfieldersOutfielders =#0000FF]15 Val Pascucci DoB: 11/17/1978 =#FF8000]6 =#0000FF]Omar Quintanilla DoB: 10/24/1981 =#FF8000]77 Corey Wimberly DoB: 10/26/1983 =#FF8000]23 Mike Baxter DoB: 12/7/1984 =#FF8000]39 =#0000FF]Adam Loewen DoB: 4/9/1984Outfielders =#FF8000]44 =#0000FF]Vinny Rottino DoB: 4/7/1980 Free Agents Starting PitchersRelief Pitchers Catchers Outfielders =#0000FF]47 Miguel Batista DoB: 2/19/1971 =#0000FF]55 Chris Young DoB: 5/25/1979 =#0000FF]45 Jason Isringhausen DoB: 9/7/1972 =#0000FF]9 Ronny Paulino DoB: 4/21/1988 =#0000FF]12 Scott Hairston DoB: 5/25/1980Outfielders =#0000FF]22 Willie Harris DoB: 6/22/1978

Not THE Jeff Stevens and Corey Wimberly?!?! http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/37379/mets-sign-pair-to-minor-deals not to sound all snotty here as teams sign guys like this all the time but.........is there not minor league players in the system just as bad as these two? Who will they be taking spots from? No, not really. The AAA roster is more or less 70% vacated at the end of the season. Between that and guys who hit minor league free agency in A or AA or are trying to get out of indy ball, 500 or so guys are out hunting for these spring training invites. Maybe 300 get minor league deals and 200 go home disappointed and think about that job at the plant that dad was talking about. Of the 300 invited to camp, maybe 50 make the MLB roster, another 150 get a spot on the AAA squad with the holdovers and the guys promoted from AA, and 100 more get turned loose, getting in line a little late for that job at the plant. Some retire --- in tears if their name rhymes with Rhett Roone --- while others talk it over with their agents and accept an offer in Indy ball. Just so you know, I totally made those numbers up. The key takeaway is that 10 of these guys (the current number of NRIs) is hardly unusual in the best of circumstances and certainly to be expected, and I wouldn't be surprised if five more are signed up by the time P's & C's report. Full disclosure: I love these guys.

Buster Olney wrote: Folks in baseball say the bulk of the baseball operations work had been done by Torre asst. Peter Woodfork, so transition will be seamless. Shocking.

Torre resigns as EVP for Baseball Operations Who's going to tell the Mets which hats to wear?

Frayed Knot wrote: P.S. - the BB-Ref stats show Prince as that full 4 inches shorter than his daddy (didn't realize Cecil was that tall) but also 45 pounds heavier than the man who was once described as holding the major league record for having his back pockets further apart than any many who ever played the game. Now I suspect that 230 weight for papa F. was from early in his career while towards the end that real figure might have had a '3' as its first digit but who knows where Prince winds up when he's 35. I suspect that figure is from early in his career too. Like, high school-early.

Maybe, but the thingcicle about Prince is, while he's got a chunky frame, he's not his dad. Four inches shorter and apparently more diet-minded. Weight starts sticking to everybody, and wear and tear of carrying it around starts catching up with everybody, especially if you've got the ol' genetic predisposition. But maybe he can stave that off a bit longer. He always struck me as one of the smartest players out there, if not always wise. What would you offer him in this market? How about five years at $20 million, plus two option years at 22, with one vesting if he stays modestly healthy and another if he stays very healthy? Seems on the fair side. On the other hand, it's less than Reyes got, so I can't imagine he'd jump at it.

Amazin'. For the first two years, his salary actually goes down from it's 2011 level.

You don't need Melvin Mora to help you find a quint. Signed Away From Texas To Minor League Contract And Invited To CampInfielders =#FF8000]6 =#0000FF]Omar Quintanilla DoB: 10/24/1981 Your Projected 2012 Mets (Orange Indicates Players Have Options) Starting Pitchers =#0000FF]43 R.A. Dickey DoB: 10/29/1974 =#FF8000]35 Dillon Gee DoB: 4/28/1986 =#0000FF]49 Jonathon Niese DoB: 10/27/1986 =#0000FF]34 Mike Pelfrey DoB: 1/14/1984 =#0000FF]57 Johan Santana DoB: 3/13/1979Relief Pitchers =#0000FF]46 Manny Acosta DoB: 5/1/1981 =#0000FF]40 Tim Byrdak DoB: 10/31/1973 =#FF8000]50 =#0000FF]Frank Francisco DoB:9/11/1979 =#0000FF]19 Danny Herrera DoB: 10/21/1984 =#0000FF]39 Bobby Parnell DoB: 9/8/1984Relief Pitchers Catchers Infielders =#FF8000]52 =#0000FF]Ram�n Ram�rez DoB:8/31/1981 =#FF8000]60 =#0000FF]John Rauch DoB:9/27/1978 =#FF8000]13 Mike Nickeas DoB: 2/13/1983 =#0000FF]30 Josh Thole DoB: 4/28/1986 =#FF8000]29 Ike Davis DoB: 3/22/1987 Infielders =#0000FF]28 Daniel Murphy DoB: 4/1/1985 =#0000FF]11 Ruben Tejada DoB: 10/27/1989 =#0000FF]2 Justin Turner DoB: 11/23/1984 =#FF8000]62 Jordany Valdespin DoB: 12/23/1984 =#0000FF]5 David Wright DoB: 12/20/1982 Outfielders =#0000FF]44 Jason Bay DoB: 9/20/1978 =#FF8000]21 Lucas Duda DoB: 2/3/1986 =#FF8000]26 Fernando Martinez DoB: 10/10/1988 =#FF8000]11 Kirk Nieuwenhuis DoB:8/7/1987 =#FF8000]56 =#0000FF]Andr�s Torres DoB:1/26/1978 Also on 40-Man Roster Starting Pitchers =#FF8000]50 =#0000FF]Robert Carson DoB:1/23/1989 =#FF8000]46 =#0000FF]Jeurys Familia DoB:10/10/1989 =#FF8000]47 =#0000FF]Jeremy Hefner DoB:3/11/1981 =#FF8000]32 Jennry Mejia DoB: 10/11/1989 =#FF8000]66 Armando Rodriguez DoB: 1/28/1988Starting PitchersRelief Pitchers Infielders =#FF8000]63 Chris Schwinden DoB: 9/22/1986 =#FF8000]27 Pedro Beato DoB: 10/27/1986 =#0000FF]77 D.J. Carrasco DoB: 4/12/1977 =#FF8000]64 Josh Stinson DoB: 3/14/1988 =#FF8000]1 =#0000FF]Wilmer Flores DoB:8/6/1991InfieldersOutfielders =#FF8000]12 =#0000FF]Reese Havens DoB:10/20/1986 =#FF8000]65 Zach Lutz DoB: 6/3/1986 =#FF8000]3 Josh Satin DoB: 12/23/1984 =#FF8000]13 =#0000FF]Juan Lagares DoB:3/17/1989 =#FF8000]22 =#0000FF]Cesar Puello DoB:4/1/1991 Also in Camp Starting PitchersRelief Pitchers Catchers Infielders =#FF8000]36 =#0000FF]Garrett Olson DoB: 10/18/1983 =#FF8000]44 =#0000FF]Chuck James DoB: 11/9/1981 =#0000FF]33 =#0000FF]Rob Johnson DoB: 7/22/1982 =#0000FF]22 =#0000FF]Lucas May DoB: 10/24/1984 =#0000FF]15 Val Pascucci DoB: 11/17/1978InfieldersOutfielders =#FF8000]6 =#0000FF]Omar Quintanilla DoB: 10/24/1981 =#FF8000]23 Mike Baxter DoB: 12/7/1984 =#FF8000]39 =#0000FF]Adam Loewen DoB: 4/9/1984 =#FF8000]44 =#0000FF]Vinny Rottino DoB: 4/7/1980 Free Agents Starting PitchersRelief Pitchers Catchers Outfielders =#0000FF]47 Miguel Batista DoB: 2/19/1971 =#0000FF]55 Chris Young DoB: 5/25/1979 =#0000FF]45 Jason Isringhausen DoB: 9/7/1972 =#0000FF]9 Ronny Paulino DoB: 4/21/1988 =#0000FF]12 Scott Hairston DoB: 5/25/1980Outfielders =#0000FF]22 Willie Harris DoB: 6/22/1978

Sadly, David Wright will deny him the number 5 that he was born to wear. Here's something you don't see in every Wikipedia profile. If you play MLB 2K8 for some reason he is listed as a lefty. This is an extreme inconvenience as he plays second base, and many runners end up safe because he cannot position himself correctly. As with Ronny Paulino, Alderson shows he's not shy about trolling the free agent rolls for guys with PED suspensions in their recent past.

The Nats could certainly upgrade at first, but I like the AL East for a princely future. Baltimore or Toronto. Or maybe the Sox, with their new management team getting a late start, could do something nutty to clear first base for him. Trade Gonzalez or move him to another position or something.

The Mets complete the task of improving on 2011's .141-OPS-ing Chin-Lung Hu with the 2011 .182-OPS-ing Omar Quintanilla. And all these haters are decrying the do-nothing Mets.

The 2011 thread can be found here. If retired, it can be found among threads begun in January of 2011. We open our news with a report that Rick Peterson is expected to be hired by the Orioles as an "organizational pitching guru." I could be a guru. Where do I apply for a guru job? Also notable is the hiring of former Met associate trainer guy Chris Correnti --- massage therapist for Pedro Martinez and rehab supervisor for Johan Santana.

Let's parody, people.

Justin's morning-after Twitter lament: redturn2 Justin Turner @tiffdeleon she just used me for the best pizza I've ever had! Where did you disappear to? I'm through looking out for him. Want the 2011 thread? Look here or check the archives for threads started in November 2011.