Edgy MD

The Andy Hassler of our time joins us on Expectations for Eleven. We skipped him alphabetically when we did Luis Castillo, and, well, I'm just as embarrassed as I can be. Pos: RH RP/SP Born: 4/12/1977 in Safford, Arizona Acquired: Signed to a two-year $2.4 million contract (with performance bonuses: $50,000 each for 65, 75 relief appearances and 15 starts) December 9, 2010. 2010 Stats: TmLgWLW-L%ERAGGSGFCGSHOSVIPHRERHRBBIBBSOHBPBKWPBFERA+WHIPH/9HR/9BB/9SO/9SO/BBPITNL22.5003.88450600055.675024244221454042321051.2938.10.63.67.32.05ARINL101.0003.18180200022.6718158112220102981351.3247.10.44.87.91.67TotalAll32.6003.68630800078.336839325343655063301131.3027.80.63.97.51.91 Wifey: Autumn Last Word: He seemed like a decent move to shore up the bullpen, but it was a few weeks before anybody noticed that he has incentive clauses regarding possibly starting for the Mets, which might well have told us how this offseaosn was going to unfold has we checked at the time. He chats with some blog guy here. What do you expect of D.J. Carrasco in 2011?

Number 55 was Pee-Wee Herman's nemesis and fellow manchild Francis, right?

It was bad worth celebrating, though. The coach was the most worthwhile part to me. I thnk all free throws should be taken with the guy who just fouled you staring at you threateningly from under the hoop. You know that guy was Mike Piazza, right?

And the exact type of scions you'd expect to find around campus.

You so totally need to take that act to the SNY booth.

1/9/2011 Metstradamus is reading a bit too much between the lines regarding the Matt Garza trade (well played, irish!). But, I guess, that's why he calls himself Metstradamus. The 'Ropolitans uses a blog the old way, scratching at a a brief independent thought that crossed their minds --- in this case, some speculation about Adam Rubin finding another Met GM reprehensible. Mets Guy in Michigan welcomes Roberto Alomar to Cooperstown. Brent Mayne talks catching. CitiField of Dreams mourns Christina Taylor Green.

Pos: 2B Born: 9/12/1975 in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic Acquired: Traded by the Minnesota Twins to the Mets for Dustin Martin and Drew Butera 7/30/2007 (same day Bill Robinson died, as it turns out). Signed to a four-year, $25 million 11/19/2007, leading to this lovely thread. 2010 Stats: TmLgGPAABRH2B3BHRRBISBCSBBSOBAOBPSLGOPSOPS+TBGDPHBPSHSFIBBNYMNL86299247285842017833925.235.337.267.6046866601121St.�LucieFLOR (A+)416133210000032.154.313.231.543300000TotalAll90315260316052017834227.231.336.265.60169601121 Wifey: Angie Last Word: Sports Illusrated writer Buster olney has reported that the Mets braintrust has had internal discuassions regarding possibly releasing Castill outright before the start of spring training. What do you expect of Luis Castillo in 2011?

Not great, but hit some good notes and you know, you get more here of what you buy Christopher Walken for. Misdirection, stumbling vocal cadences, wierd hair... whole package. One of those strange movies where you see a ton of dubious brand placement. It's like it underwrote the whole film but with two characters going cross country on the grift, none of the brands were placed in a very favorable light.

Christopher Walken is a con man driving across country with his bitter estranged adult son. Cover me. I'm going in.

Bobby Freakin' Valentine, Stamford Citizen of the Year. Not to make too much of it, but what a photo, huh? I'm a good-looking guy --- in some ways moreso than him --- but if you point a camera at me, good luck in catching that kind of charm. He may have been a marginal big leaguer, but he bats 1.000 with photographers. The guy is freaking radiant. It's a talent and it's a little scary, and I think he may be an alien.

An old west marshall gets married and turns in his badge on the same day, only to realize the ruthless outlaw who once terrorized the town before being put away by said marshall has been released and appaears to be heading to town on the noon train to make good on a promise of revenge. His friends --- Uncle Billy, Colonel Potter, and Izzy Mandelbaum among them --- tell him his job is done and he better just get on out of town, but his conscience makes him turn around. Despite the serious misgivings of his new Quaker bride, he seeks to round up a posse to confront the outlaw and his two sidekicks, and spends the late morning finding out who his friends really are. Tick, tick, tick...

Turns out, Sarah is a pentathlete, not a homicdal maniac.

Yeah, he seems like the big key to this season. If all goes right with him, they need only one or two other breaks to be in Schaefer City. If all goes wrong, they need only one or two other breaks to be deep in last. And it's hard to guage what is most likely.

Chris and Sarah in a happier (at least, less lethal) state at their Hawaiian wedding in 2009:

Pos: LH RP/SP Born: 8/19/1978 in Springfield, Massachusetts Acquired: Signed to a one year contract this month for a base salary of $1.5 millon with clauses that can take him as high as $3.5 million or so. 2010 Stats: TmLgWLW-L%ERAGGSGFCGSHOSVIPHRERHRBBIBBSOHBPBKWPBFERA+WHIPH/9HR/9BB/9SO/9SO/BBBrevard�CountyFLOR (A+)201.0001.2333000014.67122210017001560.8187.40.60.010.4Inf.NashvillePCL (AAA)11.5001.8044000025.002165040161001021.0007.60.01.45.84.00TotalMinors31.7501.5977000039.673387140331011580.9337.50.20.97.58.25MILNL44.5003.95249500066.006529299211541052781001.3038.91.22.97.42.57TotalsAll75.5833.0731165000105.6798373610251872064361001.1648.30.92.17.43.48 Wifey: Dearie, me! Last Word: While it isn't clear whether Capuano (who once won 18 games) is going to be a starter, reliever, or stooge for the Mets this year, Alderson has expressed that his team is "confident he has the ability to re-establish himself as a dependable starter." For what it's worth, negotiations with the Brewers broke off in light of his insistence that he could be a starter again. What do you expect of Chris Capuano in 2011?

.266 --- 24 HR --- 89 RBI --- 9 SB --- RF, primarily.

Well, sure you can't divine much from the sketch I gave you. That's why you have to go beyond. Scour medical reports, interview old teachers, check his GoodReads page. FWIW, he's got a $400,000 motivation to break camp with the team.

I don't really trust a guy named Taylor very easily. My cousin Katie married a Taylor and he's a big talker and I don't think she's particuarly happy, but... well, the buzzbeard on the cherubic face is kinda cute. Pos: RHRP Born: 10/13/1981 (29 in 2011) in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania (definitely Phillie country) Acquired: Signed last week to contract that guarnatees $600,000, with incentives that could take it to $1,200,000. 2010 Stats: TmLgWLW-L%ERAGGSGFCGSHOSVIPHRERHRBBIBBSOHBPBKWPBFERA+WHIPH/9HR/9BB/9SO/9SO/BBCOLNL101.0004.5070200010.010552609000431061.6009.01.85.48.11.5TORAL00---0.002020002.0000000000060.0000.00.00.00.0TotalMLB101.0003.7590400012.010552609000491281.3337.51.54.56.81.5ModestoCAL (A+)101.0000.003100003.0000000400090.0000.00.00.012.0Colorado�SpringsPCL (AAA)01.0005.89180200018.122121239212101841.69110.81.54.45.91.3TotalMiLB11.5005.06211200021.122121239216101931.4539.31.33.86.81.8TotalAll211.0004.59301600033.13217175152251011421.4108.61.44.16.81.7 Last Word: His dad took him to Reading games but he's totally not a Phillies fan. Totally. He's a distant cousin of Clay Buchholz and he may may or may not have a wife who may or may not be named Ashley. What do you expect of Taylor Buchholz in 2011?

What I've been doing is dividing it by four categories Pre-Game Broadcaster In-Game Broadcaster Post-Game Broadcaster Field Reporter

I went with the media guides for broadcast carriers. I feel confident in that. I have no evidence that there were ever Spanish-language TV broadcasts, but it's cool to see that the radio broadcasts went back to year one, and that Max Perez Jimenez returned after 18 or so years. Some of those broadcasters have had other roles as executives or scouts, sometimes concurrently with their broadcast careers, or were producers at the same time they were broadcasting.

Ceetar wrote: I expect a good year out of him. It's a 'contract year' he's gotta be itching to play a full season. He's in a pretty good lineup. His knee is healthier than it was last year and he'd started to hit the ball around. He's grown used to the brace, where it probably feels a little more natural to be wearing it. (He routinely wore a knee brace anyway didn't he? so it can't be _that_ bad) I'm hoping the new manager actively works with him, and they work in the rest where needed. 140-145 games. I think he'll hit over .300, with around a .360 OBP. 34 HR, 120 RBI, 12 SB while playing his typical great CF. That is one optimistic Mets fan. TransMonk wrote: His contract year will rival 2006 as his best in New York. He won't hit 40 HRs, but he'll bat better than .275. Reyes, Beltran, Bay and Wright in the same lineup will give other teams more nightmares than expected and keep us in more games than expected...even against the Phillies. I'll be sad to see him traded in July, but it will be a good thing for the Mets in the long run. If all those guys are producing and we're still dealing Beltran at the deadline, I shudder to think how bad our pitching must look in your head.

Now we start biting into the main course, as Expectations for Eleven looks at the formerrly highest paid of Mets. Until that Santana guy came along. Pos: OF Born: 4/24/77 in Maniti, Puerto Rico Acquired: Signed a seven-year, $119 million contract in January of 2005. 2010 Stats: GPAABRH2B3BHRRBISBCSBBSOBAOBPSLGOPSOPS+TBGDPHBPSHSFIBBBB-R WARFG WAR642552202156113727313039.255.341.427.76810994410451.50.9 Last Word: Carlos, seen here whilst giving 20,000 pounds of food to hungry New Yorkers this Christmastime, has hinted that he's willing to move to right field though nobody has garnered the courage to ask him. Talk is of the trading block and he's said to heard nothing of that either. He likes how his knee fieels but is realistic about the reality that it might night feel so good tomorrow. What do you expect of Carlos Beltran in 2011?

So, Ollie finished 3-3, 5.18 in 11 games (six starts) over 33 innings --- just bad enough to be dis-spiriting, but within the realm of rationalizing the overall numbers away and looking for hope between the numbers. If you need that. Culiacan is in a seven game playoff series now, so we'll see if he gets another shot.

He's already outlasted Igarashi, and I suspect he'll outlast Misch as well. A fate or two right now may hang on what the Mets decide to do with Oliver Perez.

The ExEL Carousel stops at the second of our Rule V pickups, wayward son Pedro Beato, returning to this year to the home he never knew after several seasons in the wilderness --- a lifetime, really. Pos: RHRP Born: 10/27/1986 (Ding! Ding! Show him what he's won!) in Santo Domingo, Rep�blica Dominicana (24 in 2011) Acquired: Claimed in December Rule V draft from Baltimore. Must stay on big league roster or be offered back to Orioles. 2010 Stats: TeamLevelWLW-L%ERAGGSGFCGSHOSVIPHRERHRBBIBBSOHBPBKWPBFWHIPH/9HR/9BB/9SO/9SO/BBBowieA401.0002.1143033001659.24914144190503042421.1407.40.62.97.52.63 Last Word: Coming over just before prospect lists were published, Beato managed to sneak into some reports, and he seems to be generally considered top 20 material for the Mets, if not top ten, which suggests they'd like him to survive this season in hopes for future returns. Carrying him and Brad Emaus (who is typically ranked higher) would be a tough trick, so they'll have to be semi-regular contributors. Pedro has made two appearances for Licey in the Dominican Winter League. He hasn't been effective, but it's two appearances. What do you expect of Pedro Beato in 2011?