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East Notes: Collins, Epstein, Phillies

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Yankees GM Brian Cashman's remarks regarding his feigned pursuit of Carl Crawford are creating some buzz today, unsurprisingly. Here are some other items of note out of the east …

  • The Mets will decide whether they'll exercise manager Terry Collins' 2013 option within the next 10 days, a source tells Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. The club will also have to decide on whether to bring back all of Collins' coaches, whose contracts are expiring, except for hitting coach Dave Hudgens.
  • Red Sox GM Theo Epstein told ESPNBoston.com that there's no "disconnect" between him and manager Terry Francona. The latter's job security has been a hot topic on talk radio shows and the like this week, what with the Red Sox owning just a two-game lead over the Rays in both the AL East and the AL Wild Card entering Friday's action. Boston, of course, appeared to be a lock for the postseason only a month ago.
  • The Phillies will lead the Major Leagues in attendance in 2011, writes Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com. With the second highest payroll in the big leagues at $175MM, the great turnout will certainly help pay some of the bills. The Phils sold out their 204th consecutive home game on Thursday, a stretch that dates back to 2009, according to Salisbury.

Red Sox Tried For Capuano; Deal Unlikely

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The slumping Red Sox are looking for pitching reinforcements and spent many days trying to obtain left-hander Chris Capuano from the Mets for cash, according to John Tomase of the Boston Herald. Boston’s lead over the Rays and Angels has shrunk to just 2.5 games after a 5-16 September slide. 

The Red Sox would start Capuano Sunday against the Yankees if they complete a deal, but it appears that the Mets will keep the 33-year-old, who has a 4.47 ERA with 8.0 K/9 and 2.6 BB/9 in 175 1/3 innings this year. Rob Bradford of WEEI.com hears that the Red Sox aren't lkely to make any deals and Joe McDonald of ESPNBoston.com hears that talks are "dead." Boston wouldn’t be able to use Capuano in the playoffs – they’re simply interested in boosting their chances of reaching the postseason.

Jon Lester pitches Friday's series opener and he'll be followed by Tim Wakefield and John Lackey barring a change of plans.

Mets Notes: DePodesta, Rotation, Collins

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The Mets will try to slow the Cardinals' bid for a playoff berth when the two teams take the field in St. Louis tonight. In the meantime, here are some Mets-related links… 

  • Mets executive Paul DePodesta told Bill Plaschke of the LA Times that he doesn't particularly want to become a general manager again. "From my perspective, it's not necessarily a great job," he said. DePodesta was the Dodgers’ GM in 2004 and 2005.
  • GM Sandy Alderson said on last night's TV broadcast that he expects to have a similar rotation next season, according to Michael Baron of MetsBlog. Alderson is hoping for growth from Mike Pelfrey and Jonathon Niese and Baron is hoping that the rotation will go deeper into games.
  • Alderson says that if the Mets make changes to spacious Citi Field for next year they won't be subtle, according to Andrew Keh of the New York Times. The Mets are interested in making the three-year-old park more fair and Alderson knows that "offense sells."
  • It doesn’t appear that the Mets are going to sign manager Terry Collins to an extension in the near future, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com. The skipper is under contract in 2012 and the Mets have a team option for 2013.

Mets Rumors: Closer, Reyes, Wright

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The Mets currently project for the 13th overall draft pick next June, same as this year.  The latest on the club:

  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson talked at length about closers yesterday, as usual leaving the door open for most possibilities.  He explained to ESPN's Adam Rubin that the closer position "needs to be a point of concentration for us," and wouldn't rule out signing one of the big-name free agent closers.  He added, "There are no concessions from me," implying he's not interested in signing a stopgap closer.  On the other hand, a "cheap, proven veteran" is exactly the route Mike Puma of the New York Post expects Alderson to take after listening to the GM make the same comments.  No matter what the Mets decide to do, it'll all be covered in detail at our @CloserNews Twitter feed and CloserNews.com.
  • Alderson expects to know early on which direction the Jose Reyes situation is headed, he told Rubin.  He won't count on an early resolution, but he admitted "everything will be contingent on how that turns out."  Ruben Tejada appears to be Plan B for the Mets at shortstop, writes David Lennon of Newsday.
  • Third baseman David Wright is showing greatly diminished range, a rival scout tells Andrew Keh of the New York Times.

Quick Hits: Pirates, Cubs, Werth, Byrdak

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The Cardinals won and the Braves lost, so only 2.5 games separate the two clubs in the National League Wild Card race. Here's the latest news from around MLB…

  • Pirates GM Neal Huntington didn't say whether he intends to offer arbitration to Ross Ohlendorf this offseason, according to Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Ohlendorf would earn a raise from his current $2.025MM salary if the Pirates tender him a contract this winter.
  • The Cubs told scouting director Tim Wilken that he'll be back in 2012, according to Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. There had been some rumblings that Wilken would receive a four-year extension like the one director of player personnel Oneri Fleita obtained, but Wilken will return on a one-year deal.
  • Giants officials acknowledged to Andrew Baggarly of the San Jose Mercury News that it will be hard to bring back both Jeremy Affeldt ($5MM option) and Javier Lopez (free agent) next year. The two left-handers could hit free agency this offseason.
  • Jayson Werth told Bill Ladson of MLB.com that he still believes that the Nationals are headed for success. The outfielder hasn't lived up to his $126MM contract so far, but he says he has found his swing and regained his composure.
  • Mike Mosa, the agent for Tim Byrdak, told MLBTR's Tim Dierkes that Byrdak's decision to sign an extension with the Mets had to do with the team's willingness to include an opt-out in his deal for 2011 (Twitter link).
  • Dave Cameron of FanGraphs explains that serious analysts don't believe "that awards voting should be done according to an ordinal ranking" of the wins above replacement statistic. WAR is a tool that guides baseball fans, not an absolute statement about value or ability.
  • In this week's edition of Ask BA, Jim Callis of Baseball America explains that he doubts we'll ever see an international draft because of all the logistics that would be involved. Commissioner Bud Selig has long supported a worldwide draft, which will come up during this round of collective bargaining.

Quick Hits: Thome, Indians, Byrdak, Mets

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Sunday night linkage..

  • It's exceedingly rare for the Mets to grant an in-season extension to anyone, but Tim Byrdak was aggressive and approached the team with the idea, tweets Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. 
  • However, it doesn't sound like more extensions with veterans are in the works, Martino tweets.  General Manager Sandy Alderson stressed that locking up a lefty reliever was special circumstance.
  • Indians GM Chris Antonetti believes that Jim Thome can be a productive player in 2012, should he decide to continue playing, writes Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.
  • Even though Indians rookie Jason Kipnis appears to have the starting role at second base locked up for next season, he does not plan on thinking that way, writes Bastian.

Mets, Byrdak Agree On Extension For 2012

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Mets GM Sandy Alderson announced that the team finalized a contract extension for the 2012 season with lefty reliever Tim Byrdak during today's game, tweets Newsday's David Lennon. The team has confirmed the move via press release.

The 37-year-old Byrdak signed a minor league deal with the Mets prior to the 2011 season, and has enjoyed a very strong year for the club. In 36 2/3 innings (68 appearances), the left-hander has posted career bests in ERA (2.95) and K/9 (10.8).

Byrdak has been particularly tough on lefties this season, limiting same-handed batters to a .204/.257/.323 triple slash line this season. He's posted a 5.50 K:BB ratio against lefties this season (33 strikeouts, six walks) as opposed to a 0.92 versus right-handed batters (12 walks, 11 strikeouts). He is represented by agent Mike Mosa, as shown in MLBTR's Agency Database.

Mets, Byrdak Close To Extension

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The Mets are close to signing Tim Byrdak to an extension for 2012, reports Mike Silva of New York Baseball Digest. GM Sandy Alderson confirmed the contract talks to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York (Twitter link).

The 37-year-old Byrdak signed a minor league deal with the Mets prior to the 2011 season, and has enjoyed a very strong year for the club. In 36 2/3 innings (68 appearances), the left-hander has posted career bests in ERA (2.95) and K/9 (10.8).

Byrdak will earn about $1.2MM this season after incentives, and while Silva isn't sure about the terms the two sides are discussing for next year, he predicts that the deal will be for at least the same amount, if not more.

Quick Hits: Astros, Yankees, Mets, Pujols, Fielder

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Some links on this Saturday afternoon..

  • Astros GM Ed Wade isn't sure yet if pitching coach Doug Brocail will return next year, writes MLB.com's Brian McTaggart.  Brocail retired after the 2009 season and was working as a special assistant to Wade this year when he took over as pitching coach when Brad Arnsberg was let go in June.
  • Both the Yankees and Mets will have to start making some critical decisions about which prospects they need to protect ahead of the Rule V draft this winter, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.  It seems likely that the Mets will roll the dice and leave once-promising right-hander Brad Holt unprotected while the Bombers could leave switch-pitcher Pat Venditte exposed.
  • With Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder both hitting the free agent market this winter, the battle between agents Dan Lozano and Scott Boras will be fun to watch, writes Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  • Giants managing partner and CEO Bill Neukom wanted the team to take a more patient approach to hitting when he took over but Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle says that never came to be.

Quick Hits: Draft, White Sox, Rodriguez, Nationals

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On this date nine years ago, Curt Schilling struck out his 300th batter of the season, joining Randy Johnson to become the first teammates to each strike 300 hitters out in the same season. Here are the latest links from around MLB…

  • Conor Glassey of Baseball America took an early look at the top 50 prospects for the 2012 draft (subs. req'd). Stanford right-hander Mark Appel tops the list, and Glassey says he has "Justin Verlander upside."
  • Ozzie Guillen will decide his own fate, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). He can return to the White Sox if he wants to and if not the Marlins would love to have him.
  • One executive told ESPN.com’s Buster Olney that Francisco Rodriguez’s public comments about his displeasure setting up aren’t going to help him in free agency. ”Everybody is going to think he is a me-first guy, totally selfish,” the person said. “Why would you say those things right now?"
  • Bill Price of the New York Daily News wonders if the Mets might be better off without Jose Reyes and David Wright.
  • GM Mike Rizzo told the Philadelphia Daily News that the Nationals feel that they're going in the right direction. "Our young players are getting opportunities and we're progressing. So I think it kind of shows not only our fan base, but the organization itself that we are improving," Rizzo said.
  • Paul Hagen of the Daily News wonders if Ryne Sandberg could end up managing in the Major Leagues next year.
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