[[ NEW YORK METS 2009 OFFSEASON POST: Beltran ahead of schedule ]]

[airmaxpenny1]

I don't know if I can deal with the return of smug yankee fans

 

[shuges]

Smug Yank fans....

Most Yankee fans on NT aren't THAT bad. I only have a problem with them when the Mets come out of their mouth in a negative way.

I don't want the Angels to win cuz I prefer the NL to take the title.

But as stated, I hate the Phils.

And the Dodgers have Manny (

) and Torre (which would be great to root for to throw at Yank fans down the road (

).

So my order out of the remaining teams would be Yanks, Dodgers, Angels, Phils.

 

[briannnnn]

Hey, I can't hate too much on y'all hating smug Yankee fans...the smug Mets fans of 2006 were unbearable

The ones who kept running their mouths to me have since gone into hiding

 

[mez 0ne]

Per Metsblog-

"Today, the Mets announced a variety of changes to Citi Field.

1) The first base VIP entrance will be named after Gil Hodges;
third Base VIP will honor Tom Seaver;
left Field VIP will be named after Casey Stengel;
and the outfield bridge will be named Shea Bridge.

2) The Mets Hall of Fame & Museum will be located adjacent to the Jackie Robinson Rotunda and accessible from both inside and outside the ballpark.According to the team, "A re-formed Mets Hall of Fame Committee will evaluate potential inductees, and is comprised of a combination of media members witha long-standing connection to the club and Mets front office staff," such as Marty Noble, Gary Cohen, and Howie Rose.

3) The release also reads, "Next season, fans will be greeted by Mets colors as they approach Citi Field with full-color banners of Mets players onMets Plaza in front of the Jackie Robinson Rotunda." The team's logo will be added on entry points to the parking areas and on the light poles in theparking lots; the staircases will be painted blue and orange; while blue and orange flowers will be planted at the gardens in Mets Plaza in front of the JackieRobinson Rotunda.

 

[true 3 blue]

F all that, what about the seats?

The orange/blue/red/green seats @ Shea were classic.

 

[shuges]

About #$%%*%% time they addressed the lack of Met colors throughout the stadium.

I don't mind them keeping the seats green. But damn, can we get the logo on the seat backs or arm-rests or SOMETHING??

 

[ballind]

Well get ready for a new cream colored pinstripe jersey

 

[briannnnn]

Originally Posted by SHUGES

About #$%%*%% time they addressed the lack of Met colors throughout the stadium.

And the lack of any significant Mets history. Nice that they are adding some color to the place.

Guess Wilpon finally got the message that the NY Mets, and not the Brooklyn Dodgers, play at Citi Field.

 

[airmaxpenny1]

How about they move the *!+%%%+ fence in, so this team can not finish dead last in homers...or at least lower the walls.

 

[mez 0ne]

Opposing teams had no problems hitting homeruns whatsoever, we had no power in the lineup. Tron and David were hitting for the gaps and had .350+ averagesbefore the injuries started to pile up.

Mets Hot Stove Report: 2009 Season Recap.............The Year of the DL

http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=7138859

 

[true 3 blue]

Man, those jerseys are terrible

Why?

 

[shuges]

The jerseys are ok. Based on this model below, they will have to grow on me.

I would have preferred that cream with no pinstripes though. Looks much cleaner.

 

[mez 0ne]

All these teams not offering their Type A & B players arbitration is proof positive of free agents being even cheaper this time around. I'm shocked theBraves spent as much as they did on Wagner (7M 1 year).

But there's risk here, and this might have been as much an economic decision as a baseball one. The Braves have offered arbitration to both Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez. But they have a thing about giving fat, multi-year contracts to relievers, and there's a good chance both will get more money and more years elsewhere.

If the Braves lose both Soriano and Gonzalez, it means the 38-year-old Wagner is the man at the back of the bullpen. For Wren, this could wind up being a smart decision, both for the team and the payroll. It also could backfire. But maybe the Braves are due to have one of these risks work out.

 

[airmaxpenny1]

I want Piniero and Pedro. And than Berkman.

 

[DYNAMICS]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEZ

 

[mez 0ne]

In a true-false game on Boomer and Carton in the morning Jon Heyman says he thinks Jason Bay, Bengie Molina, Jon Garland, Ben Sheets and Carlos Delgado will be signed by the Mets this off season. We'll see how right he is come opening day.

Bay will be gotten first, Boston already signed Mike Cameron to a 2 year deal.

 

[mez 0ne]

Bay to NY, good job not budging to 5 years.

I can see the Mets letting Gado walking once they sign Molina (which they are close to doing). Last season was basically Murphy's rookie season, he showshe can play at the Major League level.

There are some rumors going around involving Arroyo/Brand Phillips since they wanna unload contracts....and Carlos Zambrano is available as well (packagesinvolving Castillo and 1-2 other young players). Just rumors of course.

 

[airmaxpenny1]

I really didn't want Bay but it wasn't a bad deal. *shrugs* I still think we suck

 

[mez 0ne]

We still are an average team if no other moves are made, but this is just the first step.

 

[youngin33]

I think Bay is a nice addition to the lineup, but if the lineup is healthy(huge IF), then that won't be the problem. Team still needs pitching. Pelf ismore of a 3, I think if we get someone solid behind Tana, then a lot of pressure if off Pelf's right arm and he will excel like his stretch 2 seasons ago.

All in all, nice move to get Bay. Hopefully dude can take advantage with a lot of gappers next season.

 

[jhova718]

id be ecstatic if we got sheets and garland. shore up the pitchers and let delgado and murphy platoon till Ike Davis is ready.

 

[mez 0ne]

Gado already had a setback, I think it time to move on.

Mets can live with Murph on first if they add some players here and there (esp pitching).

 

[j steezzz]

According to 1050 ESPN Radio, Rich Coutinho reports the Mets are close to signing free-agent C Bengie Molina to a two-year deal.

Earlier today, WFAN's Mike Francesa said Molina still wants a three-year contract, while the Mets had only offered a one-year deal, with a vesting optionfor 2011.

Last week, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com said there are indications Molina might be willing to accept a two-year contract.

Ehh its a upgrade, but is it worth the contract?

 

[briannnnn]

Finally saw the new cream-colored home white pinstripe jersey at Modell's earlier. They looked

Basically, they look like the pinstriped jerseys last year, except aged 10+ yrs out of the box.

 

[mez 0ne]

So yeah, little by little this story has been leaking on SNY, and Beltran is confirmed to have gotten microfracture knee surgery WITHOUT the team'spermission.

...and quite frankly I don't blame him, the medical staff are a bunch of clowns. They called Reyes "day to day" and Church "was ok toplay" after his first concussion.

Updated at 11:13 pm:

According to a new report for the New York Post, recapping the night's events, Joel Sherman says, 'the Commissioners Office and the Players Association have been alerted 'the Mets are claiming this was done without clearance and that the Mets are threatening to take some form of action. There is a potential issue out there.''

However, Sherman believes the Mets were not in the dark on this, and, 'Mets doctors and trainers were kept abreast of the diagnosis in Colorado, even if the Mets did not agree with the remedy.'

Updated at 10:45 pm:

…also, i get the feeling Scott Boras is going to be called out for this, in some, way, shape or form, before all is said and done… from what i can gather, he and beltran played a big role is convincing Oliver Perezto go to Arizona for off-season training… boras has a heavy hand in his client's activities… the word last summer had been that beltran was planning on asking the Mets for a contract extension, but then hit the disabled list and that was that… now here we are… something just doesn't seem right… and, i can't help and think we might soon see people pointing fingers…

Updated at 10:30 pm:

…according to a person high up with the team, the Metsdid not make any major changes to their medical staff this off season; but instead added an assistant or two to help facilitate paperwork, and other administrative duties, for Ray Ramirez and Company…

In an on-air report for SNY, Kevin Burkhardt called this a 'flat-out disaster.' Later, in a post to Twitter, he said, though the Mets knew about the surgery, they didn't agree with him having it.

Updated at 10:22 pm:

Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the Mets are claiming Beltran's procedure was done 'without their blessing,' 'and are threatening some form of action.'

…i also talked to someone close to the team who does not sound happy…

…from what i can gather, the team might have been aware he was going under for one reason, but then, for some other reason, things changed and beltran might have elected to have a different procedure done… if this is the case, things could get ugly…

Updated at 10:10 pm:

…here's the other thing, if what Kevin Burkhardt said on SNY is true, and the Metsreally didn't know he was having this surgery, despite what sherman said earlier, then does have any implications in terms of his contract, and what does that say about his relationship with the team's medical staff, and decision-making process, in that he did this on his own and chose to use his personal physician…

In a post to TedQuarters, SNY's Ted Berg asks the Mets not to panic.

Updated at 9:51 pm:

The Mets issued the following press release a few moments ago:

"Carlos Beltran had worsening of osteoarthritis of the right knee during the offseason. He had not been experiencing pain following the conclusion of the season and into his early offseason conditioning. The symptoms returned to the point where pre-spring training conditioning became too painful. He elected to undergo arthroscopic clean out of the arthritic area of his knee by Beltran"s personal physician Dr. Richard Steadman today in Colorado. He is anticipated to return to baseball activities in 12 weeks.


…i talked with someone close to the team earlier tonight, and they sounded quite distraught… i can't blame them, that's how i feel… what a shame, and now what… i mean, how does the team go about replacing beltran for the year, now, with five weeks left before pitchers and catchers, because i really hope they do not freak out and panic… yes, i realize the team says 12 weeks… but, i heard earlier in the day he would be out for the season, and, so, like was the drill last year, until i see him out, running, playing on the field, i'm going to assume the worst… i do think the Mets can hang tight with Angel Pagan, if beltran really is going to be out just through mid-April…

…and b) how is this going to impact the team, who had to deal with injuries all last season, probably thought it put that behind them where they could now start new in March, only to have to face the same questions and concerns before the season even begins… ugh… what a shame…

Updated at 9:45 pm:

In a follow-up post, Joel Sherman of the New York Post says a second source believes Carlos Beltran simply had his knee 'scoped,' and 'cleaned up,' 'though the Mets are acting like it was more than routine.'

Sherman cites a third source who says this was not microfracture surgery, "but standard scope and Mets team physician Dr. David Altchek and team were OK on this."

Updated at 9:39 pm:

According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, Carlos Beltran had knee surgery today, he is expected to need eight weeks of rehab and will miss the start of the season.

Updated at 9:35 pm:

Joel Sherman of the New York Post says he heard Carlos Beltran had microfracture surgery today without the team's permission.