Here are a few Mets items of note, as the Wilpons' lawsuit drama continues to unfold …
- The Mets plan to let Jose Reyes play out the entire 2011 season to see if he can stay healthy before deciding whether they should re-sign him, tweets Jon Heyman of SI.com. Reyes, 28 in June, is an All-Star caliber shortstop when healthy (career line of .286/.335/.434), but he played in just 36 games in 2009 and was limited to 133 games last season due to a variety of injuries. The Mets picked up Reyes' $11MM option for 2011 earlier this offseason.
- GM Sandy Alderson is maintaining that the Mets' baseball operations have not been hamstrung by the Wilpons' murky financial standing, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post, but the true test of that will be in the following months, when the team navigates the draft and the non-waiver trade deadline in July. Sherman wonders, will the Mets spend big on the 13th pick and in the international free-agent pool? If they're in contention, will they have the financial flexibility to add a pricey player? If they're out of contention, will they try to offload the big contracts of Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez?
- With the Mets mired in a cycle of bad publicity due to the Madoff scandal, Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez (particularly the latter) might be released in hopes of appeasing an angry fan base, writes Steve Popper of the Bergen Record. Alderson told Popper that new manager Terry Collins won't tolerate the "conduct that has existed in the past," and that the Mets and their players have a "responsibility to the fans."
LETS GO METS…KEEP CASTILLO AND RELEASE OLLIE!!
Word! I don’t really mind Castillo. Besides that one year, he at least plays hard. Ollie is just a lost cause. I can’t wait for the humbling experience after his contract ends and he is offered chump change, if that, in the following offseason.
302 average, 387 on base percentage with 20 steals in 09 and everyone wants to toss Castillo even though he was obviously injured last season. We are taking all these chances with injured players hoping they might return to their former greatness, yet we don’t want to “take a chance” with a guy who once stole 62 bases and had a 418 OBP, I realize it was a long time ago but we’re paying him regardless, so we might as well give him a chance.
He’ll never steal bases again, but he could still get on base.
not last year. And given how he can’t get the ball out of the infield, not a good combination.
especially since he brings nothing much to the table defensively, other than experience.
…and maybe three gold gloves. A hit is a hit, I’m so tired of this “hits like a girl” crap, not all middle infielders can be Uggla or Utley. Nobody hit above the 300 mark last year, Castillo repeating his 09 numbers would be a welcome sight.
you forgot “trade Reyes”
Thank you. So tired of people bashing Castillo. He may not be what he was, but why lose money for a guy that can come off the bench and get on base? Perez should be gone; unlike Castillo he has never shown that he puts his team above him and has never worked as hard as Castillo to not only repair his image but his skill as well. If the guy wanted to be part of the Mets in 2011 he should have went down to the minors in 2010.
Hey Steve Popper,
Vince Coleman says, “hi.”
Signed,
The Firecracker Man
Why doesnt he tell Oliver Perez that he “has a responsibility to the fans”?
Ollie doesn’t care. It’s evident by his past actions.
Get Perez outta there!
Selling off big contracts if not in contention is not surefire evidence that the Mets are in financial trouble. If the Mets are out of the race, it would be prudent roster and money management to unload guys like Beltran and Rodriguez. Further, the Mets have never spent money in the draft. Not spending this year would not be an indication of anything but the Wilpon status quo. I know that Alderson has alluded to spending at the draft but, frankly, I’ll believe that when I see it. I don’t think we’ll ever know the extent of the damage (or windfall) endured by the Wilpons from the Madoff scheme.
the mets carried ollie and luis this long, it makes no sense to just cut them now. at least get them into ST for a couple of weeks and see if they have anything at all left. Not likely, but might as well go all the way with the due diligence.
at least with Castillo, there seems to a possible fit of minimal ability left and a need to fill (if none of the other 2B guys works out). Ollie, that ship has sailed.
Reyes is going to be gone from the mets by next year.
As short handed as this pitching staff seemed to be heading into the off season with Santana on the DL, I believe Ollie still won’t be on the staff come opening day. –Money or no money.
Forget those bums, The Reyes situation is key
I can’t believe so much gets written about the Mets. They haven’t mattered for what seems like a decade. Why they get any more press than a team like…say….oh….the Pirates is beyond me. They’ve won their division exactly 1 more time than the miserly Pirates while spending 2-to-4X on payroll. It might just be me but undeserved big market love (I’m looking at you too Chicago Cubs) is irritating. Let’s cherry-pick division winners here – the Mets have won theirs 5 times since inception (’62) and the Bucs 9 times in that timeframe.
Who cares about the Mets (other than a small fraction of 9 million New Yorkers)?
Um…they get more press because than say the Pirates because they play in new york, are routinely more competitive, and actually have a huge fanbase, many of whom reas this site
You didn’t actually reply with any new information. I specifically covered the fact that they were large market. I can’t get behind the idea that just because a team has a large audience they ought to see frequent press.
1 more time during the losing streak, that is…