Hello and welcome back once again my friends! Well as you certainly should know by now, the 2009-2010 football season was officially capped off Sunday night with the New Orleans Saints defeating the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. And last Sunday, just like every other Super Bowl Sunday in my past, meant one thing and one thing only to me. Baseball season is nearly here! And not a moment too soon, we need some real baseball news to read about. I’m sick of this uneventful New York Mets offseason, I’m ready to read about some real baseball stories! But, we’re not quite there yet, so for the time being, we’re going to have to stick to some more petty stories. Here are a handful of Mets news tidbits.
For starters, the Mets officially announced on Wednesday that they’ve inked first baseman Mike Jacobs to a minor league deal. However despite the not so promising contract, he will be given a legitimate chance to compete for the first baseman’s job this spring. And with Daniel Murphy and Fernando Tatis currently slated to platoon over there in 2010, I say why not? Neither of the two we’ve got now are irreplaceable, though I’d prefer if the Mets showcased Murphy a little more than Tatis and Jacobs in an attempt to get teams interested in him through trades. I feel Murph’s more or less toast once Ike Davis hits the Big Apple, so I’m all for showcasing Murphy.
As far as Jacobs is concerned, he’s one of those guys that hits plenty of home runs, but not much of anything else. His OBP can be found at the bottom of the barrel, and his glove is also below average. But, we only need a short term solution at first base, so I guess with multiple people vying for the job, the winner will have to make sure he’s kept on his toes and ready to be replaced at any given moment. That’s I good thing I suppose…but I’m anxiously awaiting the day when Davis – the Mets first baseman of the future – is called up to permanently take over the other hot corner.
While on the subject of Daniel Murphy and the first base position, he has been working on his first base defense with Keith Hernandez down at Port St. Lucie, Florida. Why not, certainly can’t hurt. Keith is arguably the best defensive first baseman to ever play the game, and it’s great that Murphy is taking pointers from the best. Anything he picks up will certainly be beneficial. Let’s not forget that back in 2000 when Todd Zeile was signed to play first base despite not having a ton of experience at the position, Keith also worked specially with him during spring training. Zeile wasn’t half bad there either. He was no John Olerud, but he was capable and competent enough to hold down the job.
And finally, the Mets have settled their final arbitration case in Angel Pagan. The outfielder will make 1.5 million dollars in 2010. I’m glad to hear this, those hearings make me edgy. I feel like the whole arbitration hearing process is rather kooky, since the team has to explain to a panel why their player doesn’t deserve the amount of money he’s requesting. Of course I’ve never seen one live, but does this mean that they’ve actually got to bring up negative aspects of the players game? If so, that can totally cause a lot of tension between the player and team. I like Angel Pagan a lot, I think he’s a great 4th outfielder to have in the long run, and I’m glad that there was no need for a potentially damaging arbitrational hearing that could have soured the positive relationship that the Mets and Pagan have together.
So, that’s pretty much what’s been going on as of late in Metland. Nothing too earthshattering, but fear not! In a little over a week’s time, the Mets pitchers and catchers will be reporting for duty down in Florida. And man I cannot wait for the real baseball to begin! Until next time my friends, take care! And thank you for stopping by!
