On this date way back in 1935, the Yankees released an aging slugger by the name of Babe Ruth just one day before his 40th birthday so he could sign with the Boston Braves. The Sultan of Swat hit .288/.448/.537 with 22 homers in his final season in New York, easily his worst full season with the team. He went on to hit just .181/.359/.431 with six homers in 28 games for the Braves before retiring in May. Ruth ended his career as a .342/.474/.690 hitter with a then-record 714 homers.
Here's some links from around the web…
- TYU wants to see the Yankees invite Rocco Baldelli to Spring Training as a non-roster player.
- The Tao of Stieb tries to make sense of the Kevin Gregg addition for the Blue Jays.
- Red Legged, Blue Blooded Boilermaker reviews Cincinnati's offseason and projects their 25-man roster.
- Fantasy Baseball Junkie examines how players perform after being involved in a blockbuster trade, with a fantasy spin.
- More Hardball built a 25-man roster out of players still available on the free agent market.
- Camden Crazies looks at how Miguel Tejada may handle the transition to third base.
- Flushing University says that the Mets have failed to address their biggest needs this offseason.
- MLB News and Rumors compiled prospect lists from all of the different outlets.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here.
“If Smoltz Is The Answer, Mets Asking Wrong Questions”
As a headline, how classic is that?
I’m astonished that the Mets management is not disgrunted with the way the off-season has been. Just a really upsetting team. They need to address the trade market.
all they need is a #2…..
Then another starter to step up and pitch halfway worth a damn, a couple quality bullpen arms, a RF who’s production isn’t completely based on his BABIP, Reyes and Beltran to come back from their injuries, Wright to find his power stroke again, and Santos to not get the lion’s share of the catching duties.
A #2 is enough. If maine pitches like he has in the past he will be fine. The pen is fine, and guys will step up that we probably dont even know about in that area. Why add a RFer when frenchy did well and Fmart probably just needs a little more seasoning in AAA. Reyes is perfectly healthy. Wright had no protection, he didnt lose his power. Santos/Blanco will be sufficient until they deem Thole good enough defensively.
For the rotation, I did say somebody needed to step up. If Maine pitches like he is capable of, then he has “stepped up” and filled a spot in the rotation that’s obviously weak right now. Francoeur is a crap baseball player with no plate discipline and his only successful when his BABIP is at an unsustainable level. F-Mart should be a productive ML player, but his recent comments show his displeasure with the organization as a whole. Protection didn’t have shit to do with Wright’s lack of power, his power numbers were down even when Delgado and Beltran were healthy.
Sure the rotation is fragile, but all are capable of being TOR guys. Frenchy thrived in NY, he’s adequate until he shows he can’t handle it. FMart’s recent comments shows his strong drive, not his displeasure. And news flash, wright usually struggles with power at the start of the season, but i wouldnt expect you to know that.
Somehow I don’t quite buy that all of the guys in the NYM rotation are capable of being TOR starters. Maine I’ll give you, but the rest of the rotation is mediocre at best. Nobody other than Santana can consistently put up an FIP of under 4. And if you really think Francoeur is adequate, then you obviously have no concept of advanced metrics. As for Wright, his career first-half SLG is .503 with an IsoSLG of .204. Last year his first half SLG was .462 with an IsoSLG of .138. I may not have an in-depth knowledge of the Mets, but I know to check the stats to see whether or not I’m right.
Yea, Perez doesnt have some of the best stuff or anything. He has better stuff than anyone on the Mets, its all mental with him. Pelf had a sophmore slump where it was said he was tipping pitches at times, he is a good pitcher. As for frenchy, .311/.338/498, damn those advanced metrics. And here i am thinking a guy who hit .311 with 10HRs .836ops in 300 ABs was adequate. So now we are taking into consideration the entire 1st half for wright? I thought we were talking when delgado was in the lineup or did that change when you realized wright is known for having poor power start in april.
Stuff won’t get you far at all if you can’t control it, and Perez’s career 4.95 BB/9 shows just that. And even with Francoeur’s torrid pace with the Mets, his OBP was barely at an acceptable rate. You can dismiss advanced stats all you want, but remember this when he falls back down to being below replacement-level next season. He was good for the Mets, I’m not trying to argue that. Just don’t expect him to repeat that performance.
And again, we’re back to Wright. Take a look at his splits sometime. His career SLG in April/May is .472. Last year it was .390. There was something wrong with him. Whether it was his mechanics or he was overcompensating for a new park, it was Wright that was messed up.
way to do your homework. I like your stats and research
all they need is a #2…
“all they need is a #2…”
….Well, that and a real 1B….and a true big-league catcher….and a competent GM….and intelligent ownership….and more respect for their fan base….and….
Hmm….did I miss anything?
Ever hear of developing a prospect? Big league catcher….why block Thole? Molina was not the answer. I think you miss a lot…
“Ever hear of developing a prospect? Big league catcher….why block Thole?”
Ease up. The point I was making was that there are several holes, so saying “all we need is a #2” doesn’t accurately describe the situation. I was making a kind of “state of the union” comment, not an itemized rundown of who was and was not available, or who specifically the Mets should have gotten.
I’m not dumping on you. I’m just reeeeally frustrated right now.
I hate Omar and the current management, but there just wasn’t much out there to improve the team. Why waste money?
Yeah, and they need to address themselves to reality. Equally upsetting is a seeming lack of real desire to improve themselves in whatever way is available to them. For example, maybe they can’t improve the rotation at this time, but why does that preclude bringing in Orlando Hudson for a significant upgrade in team morale – especially when it was well known how badly he wanted to be a Met? A good team will improve anything it can when possible, and I just don’t see that the front office has that mentality. It hurts to say it but at this point in time I think the Mets are as lousy for baseball as for their fans.
As for the O-dawg, I am pumped that he is going to the Twinkies. That’s a great organization and he deserves to play in one.
“288/.448/.537 with 22 homers”
Babe’s worst full season in New York, huh.
And here I am hoping the current Cub right fielder would put up such numbers.
No one jumped on the “1 MVP for the Babe” thing? Under the AL MVP rules, no player could receive the award twice between 1922 and 1931. Those were the prime years for the Babe, where he was 27-36. He lead the league in OPS all but 1 year in that time span.
Wow some disgruntled Met fans what else is new! Your rotation sucks and your bullpen is garbage. You guys will have a huge payroll again this season and your team will have nothing to show for it. Your organization needs to learn how to develop and scout young quality talent, like that small market team called the Florida Marlins do every year. Not to mention the fact that we have knocked you guys out of playoff contention twice in three years. Where is your number two starter behind Santana? We have Johnson and Nolasco! Its Santana and Tito Jacksons. I hope Omar gets fired! I really do feel for you guys! Enjoy finishing behind the Phillies Marlins and Braves.
”Wow some disgruntled Met fans what else is new!”
Aren’t we something? But what are ya gonna do!
”Your rotation sucks and your bullpen is garbage. You guys will have a huge payroll again this season and your team will have nothing to show for it.“
You need to work on that tendency to hold back. Don’t sugar-coat – just spit it out!
”Your organization needs to learn how to develop and scout young quality talent, like that small market team called the Florida Marlins do every year.”
And what about t the Twins & Indians – among others? Don’t be dissing those other teams that make us look stupid too.
”Where is your number two starter behind Santana”
Wait…what are you looking at? ‘Cause I don’t see anything.
“Enjoy finishing behind the Phillies Marlins and Braves.”
What – no Nats? I feel cheated!
________
Great post, man – all painfully true, but what a great laugh anyway!
:-D
Look on the bright side you do have Jason Bay.
Actually, as things stand now, it looks like the “bright side” for me will probably be the last out of game #162 – but hey…”details.”
Ah Mets fans….its such a sad world of pessimism that you live in. I really think that you are the only fandom that can relate to us Cubs fans. Most other teams try putting positive spins on everything. Cubs and Mets fans won’t start getting excited until the last out of every game because you know that something ridiculous could happen and our team can always grab defeat from the clutches of victory.
I do however think that your team has a better outlook on an improved record from 2009 to 2010. Bay will hit. He may not go deep all the time but I would kill to have him on my team over Soriano.
Just some questions to Mets fans. Who would you rather have at each position between the 2 teams?
Catcher – Soto – Cubs
1B – Lee – Cubs
2B – Inatimate Carbon Rod/wicker basket platoon (much better than either teams option)
SS – Reyes – Mets
3B – Wright – Mets
RF – Francoeur – Mets (close one with Fukudome/Nady/pile of what Milton Bradley left in his locker)
CF – Beltran – Mets missing half the season would be better than what we will get from Byrd*
LF – Bay – Mets
Ace Starter – Santana – Mets (calling Zambrano an ace isn’t a good start)
#2 – Lily – Cubs (probably the true ace which again…not a good start)
#3 – Dempster – Cubs (wow…your rotation goes to shit after Santana doesnt it?)
#4 – Wells – Cubs (no way he repeats ’09 but i’d take a tee ball tee over O. Perez)
#5 – too depressing on either side to evaluate accurate value of either team’s choices of mediocre options)
Closer – K. Rod – Mets
Setup man – Grabow – Cubs (not sure who you guys are going with but the list of options is not promising)
Rest of bullpen – no clue…im losing patience with this project now
So what do we have if we take these players from either team and actually play a full season in either the NL Central or NL East….a team that wins 98 games and then is eliminated in the NLDS against the Rockies by scores of 15-0, 13-3, and 6-0.
sigh