Amazin Mets Blog

The Oliver Perez Binder - Part II

In part one of the Oliver Perez binder, we went over the five chapters which was provided by The Times. In this part, we will go in depth about those chapters. Fasten your seat belts.

Chapter 1 - Perez Turns Corner in 2006

Please tell me that this is a joke? In 2006, Perez had a record of 3-13 with a 6.55 ERA. In seven regular season starts with the Mets in 2006, Perez went 1-3 with a 7.18 ERA. Although he did have one post-season win and pitched his heart out in Game 7, where was this corner turned?

Chapter 2 - Perez is One of Baseball's Top 5 Left-Handed Starting Pitchers

This is going to be shorts and sweet. I'll give you 10 names, off the top of my head who are better than Perez.

(In no order)

1. Johan Santana, 2. Cole Hamels, 3. Scott Kazmi, 4. Cliff Lee, 5. Ted Lilly, 6. Jon Lester, 7. Eric Bedard, 8. Mark Buehrle, 9. Francisco Liriano and 10. C.C. Sabathia

Chapter 3 - A Rare Young Left-Handed Starting Pitcher Available on the Free-Agent Market

Two words: C.C. Sabathia.

Chapter 4 - Big Game Ollie

This is the only chapter that I agree with. Yes, even though this is a short sample, Oliver Perez has been great in his two post-season starts. In those two starts, he is 1-0 with a 4.63 ERA. Also, Ollie is great against the Mets division rivals. Check out these stats:

Philadelphia Phillies - 9 GS, 1-3, 3.38 ERA, 48.0 IP and .209 OBBA
Florida Marlins - 12 GS, 5-2, 3.65 ERA, 69.0 IP and .210 OBBA
Washington Nationals - 7 GS, 2-3, 6.69 ERA, 36.1 IP and .299 OBBA
Atlante Braves - 10 GS, 5-2,  3.39 ERA, 66.1 IP and .254 OBBA

Chapter 5 - Durable Ollie

Since 2006, Oliver Perez has made 85 starts, tallying a total of 483.2 total innings pitched. That is an average of 5.6 innings per start. Anything special about those numbers?

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The chances of Oliver Perez coming back to the Mets in 2009 probably stand around 20-25%, which isn't very good. Many reports have the Mets signing either Randy Wolf, Ryan Dempster or Derek Lowe as potential starters in the free agent market. Also, names such as Edwin Jackson have been broughten up in possible trade talks.

The Oliver Perez Binder

Tonight, I will begin a two-part series regarding Oliver Perez's binder. This is part one of the series.

Scott Boras, is widely regarded as a tough negotiator. He has secured lucrative contracts for his clients that exceed their perceived market value. This has led critics to dub Boras "baseball's most hated man" and "The Baseball Anti-Christ". His critics claim that Boras' big money contracts hurt the game, for example, by widening the gap between rich and poor teams, and may not always be beneficial for the players he represents.

According to The New York Times, Scott Boras has created the infamous binder for Oliver Perez. Boras is known to create binders for all of his clients when their going into free agency. In these binders, he tries to convince various general managers to sign off on lavish free-agent contracts.

The binder is split into eight chapters, which include:

1. Perez Turns Corner in 2006
2. Perez is One of Baseball's Top 5 Left-Handed Starting Pitchers
3. A Rare Young Left-Handed Starting Pitcher Available on the Free-Agent Market
4. Big Game Ollie
5. Durable Ollie

In the next part of this series, I will go in depth, debating the five sections of the binder that were included in The Times' article.

NL Gold Glove Award Winners

Today at 4 p.m., ESPN will be announcing the National League Gold Glove Award winners. Check back here just after 4 p.m. to see which players have won each award.

Here are the results:

P - Greg Maddux - 18th Gold Glove Award
C - Yadier Molina - 1st Gold Glove Award
1B - Adrain Gonzalez - 1st Gold Glove Award
2B - Brandon Phillips - 1st Gold Glove Award
3B - David Wright - 2nd Gold Glove Award
SS - Jimmy Rollins - 2nd Gold Glove Award
OF - Nate McClouth - 1st Gold Glove Award
OF - Carlos Beltran - 3rd Gold Glove Award
OF - Shane Victorino - 1st Gold Glove Award

Look What We Have Here

According to Joel Sherman, the Mets and Rays have begun talks about the Rays' pitching depth, notably Nos. 4 and 5 starters Andy Sonnanstine and Edwin Jackson. As Sherman goes on in his article, he write that the Rays don't believe the Mets have the necessary pieces to acquire Garza, Kazmir, Shields or Price.

The Rays used to have a lot of interest in Heilman. The Rays still believe that Heilman can become a starting pitcher. Since their interest has dwindled, the Mets would have to give up more in a deal including Aaron.

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The Mets have showed some interest in outfielder, Raul Ibanez. As you know, the Mets tried to acquire Ibanez right before the trade deadline, but the Mariners were asking for Jon Niese, which frankly, will never happen.

One thing that might decrease the likeness of Ibanez being signed by the Mets is that he is left handed. The Mets aren't really in the need of a left handed bat right now. What the Mets need is a right handed power bat in the lineup. Manny Ramirez, anyone?

The Answer to Our Second Base Problems

According to FOXSports.com, David Eckstein is making sure that teams know he wants to play second base this season. Though his sample size at second last season consisted of only 197 innings, Eckstein performed better at the position than he did at shortstop for the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks.

In 38 career games at second base, Eckstein has only committed three errors in 313 innings. Aside from the fielding, Eckstein fits perfectly in the number two hole. Last season, he batted .265 with two home run's and 27 runs batted in.

I believe Eckstein is the player that the Mets have been looking for. He is one of the hard nose players who is willing to do anything for his team to win. We all viewed this first hand when he took the Cardinals to the World Series and went on the win the World Series MVP in 2006.

In early October, Matthew Cerone had an interview with Omar Minaya, in this interview, Minaya said, "When we looked at the market place, we liked David Eckstein a lot.  We tried to do a deal with Eckstein and we couldn't get it done."

Deal or no deal?

Rollins Takes Swipe at the Mets

Last week, the parade for the Philadelphia Phillies was held. As all of us know, the Phillies are 2008 World Series Champions and they deserved. The obviously had the best team in all of baseball and it was their title to win, and they won it. After they had won, I didn't think that they would go this far.

This is what Rollins had to say about the Mets:

"There was a lot of things you can talk about during the offseason. You can talk about the New York Mets, which was followed by boo's, and that great guy, he's a real good picher, Mr. Johan Santana, but there was one thing that they forgot, that it takes more than one player to take home a championship. And this is what we got here"

So, what you can take out of that quote is that Jimmy Rollins bascially punched every person who is affliated with the New York Mets orginazation in the face. Yes, Jimmy Rollins does have the right to say whatever he wants, since he is a champion, but, trying to take a swipe at the Mets is truly uncalled for.

What do you think?

Delgado Will Be Back

According to mets.com, the Mets have officially picked up Carlos Delgado's $12 million option for the 2009 season. The move, which was made Thursday, secures the services of the 36-year-old first baseman. This is ultimately a $8 million option since there would have been a $4 million buyout.

Delgado, who earned $16 million for the 2008 season, became the primary force in the Mets' final 85 games. Some observers considered him the team's most valuable player and, until the Mets faded in their final 17 games, Delgado was included in most conversations about the NL MVP Award.

Delgado was hitting .228 entering July, but rallied to finish at .271 with 38 homers and 115 RBI. Delgado, 36, has said he wants to play a couple of more seasons.

Who thought last June, that Delgado would be back? His bat seemed dead and he looked older than his 36 years. But then he hit .308 with 27 homers and 80 RBI in 84 games from June 27 on. That left him with a final average of .271 with 38 homers and 115 RBI.

"Carlos is a key part of our plans for 2009, and we wanted to let him know as quickly as allowed that we wanted him back," GM Omar Minaya said in a statement. "Yesterday -- the day following the conclusion of the World Series -- was the first day that we could pick up the option per the contract. It was our full intent to promptly close our deal with Carlos, and that's what we did."

Mets Sign Fernando Tatis

According to this press release, the New York Mets have signed OF, Fernando Tatis to a one year contract. Terms were not disclosed.

Tatis, who is 33 years of age had a spectacular season with the Mets in '08. Tatis hit .297 with 16 doubles, one triple, 11 home runs and 47 RBI for the Mets. Although, he separated his right shoulder diving for a double by Nationals' pitcher Odalis Perez in the fifth inning on September 16th at Washington. Fernando underwent an MRI the next day and the test revealed a Grade 3 shoulder separation.

It's really nice to see Fernando back with the team. He had a great season and is coming off a season when he won The Comeback Players of the Year award. If all things go wrong, I think Tatis will be the first player to get the call into right field at Citi Field.

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Three Mets filed for free agency on the first day players were eligible: Oliver Perez, Damion Easley and Matt Wise.

Perez's situation, since he's represented by Scott Boras, figures to drag into December.

Easley would like to return, but the Mets may need to get younger and less susceptible to injury.

As for Wise, he never returned from a forearm issue that sapped his velocity. He saw only limited action in April before spending the season on the DL.

Staff Shakeup

Surfing the Mets has reported that Jerry Manuel has made some changes regarding his staff for the '09 season. In addition to Howard Johnson, Dan Warthen and Sandy Alomar Sr. staying in their current roles, Sandy Alomar Jr. will remain in the bullpen and work with the catchers.

Randy Niemann, who was the Mets Minor League Rehabilitation Coordinator, will serve as the team's bullpen coach. Also, Razor Shines, who was the manager of the Phillies Single-A team, will become the team's third base coach.

Guy Conti, Luis Aguayo and first base coach Ken Oberkfell will be reassigned within the organization.

The first base coach position is the lone vacancy remaining.

Surfing the Mets has reported that Jerry Manuel has made some changes regarding his staff for the '09 season. In addition to Howard Johnson, Dan Warthen and Sandy Alomar Sr. staying in their current roles, Sandy Alomar Jr. will remain in the bullpen and work with the catchers.

Randy Niemann, who was the Mets Minor League Rehabilitation Coordinator, will serve as the team's bullpen coach. Also, Razor Shines, who was the manager of the Phillies Single-A team, will become the team's third base coach.

Guy Conti, Luis Aguayo and first base coach Ken Oberkfell will be reassigned within the organization.

The first base coach position is the lone vacancy remaining.

Dealing Castillo Will Be Tough

Joel Sherman had a very nice column in the Daily News today. He proved many solid points which included not only free agents, but also Luis Castillo.

Luis Castillo - New York Mets

 

AVG - .245

HR - 3

RBI - 28

OBP - .355

Joel is well aware that it will be extremely difficult for the Mets to trade Luis Castillo this off season, but he did offer one scenario that has been discussed before: Trade Castillo to the Royals for Jose Guillen. Guillen would bring the Mets a power bat and arm to put in left field, while Castillo would bring the Royals some much-needed OBP and a replacement for free agent Mark Grudzielanek.

Jose Guillen - Kansas City Royals

 

AVG - .264

HR - 20

RBI - 97

OBP - .300

Guillen is owed $24 million for the next two seasons; Castillo $18 million for the next three. So the Royals essentially would be adding $6 million of maneuverability for the next two years, save $6 million overall, but add $6 million to their 2011 budget. The Mets would have the reverse financially. Both players wore out their welcome last year after signing multiyear deals.

In a similar scenario, the Diamondbacks considered shipping diminished righty-hitting outfielder Eric Byrnes (two years left at $22 million) for Castillo, but determined they just don't like Castillo at all.