Mets Build A Bullpen (Or Are the Mets Sinking?)

The New York Mets surprised many fans and baseball people with a sudden spasm of activity. Perhaps it was the knowledge of Jose Reyes signing with their division rivals, the Miami Marlins, which prompted the moves? Whatever the reason for it, it was great to finally see the Mets actually doing something active. Anything really! I don’t know about the rest of you baseball nerds, but I am so tired of hearing about the Mets financial mess and seeing the Mets sit by idly doing nothing productive.

Yesterday the Mets added three right-handed relievers to their bullpen, significantly beefing it up. It would seem the Mets decided that getting several relievers for around 12 million in total was a smarter move than signing a Ryan Madson type of closer for the same amount. Plus the Mets are trying their best to not give out contracts of any length whatsoever. It is obvious that they are a financial shipwreck, no matter how their GM Sandy Alderson tries to cover up that fact. The $6 mil a year to Frank Francisco is almost a shock!

Three new bullpen additions:

Ramon Ramirez, age 30, arbitration eligible (made $1.65 mil last year)

68.2 IP, 54 H, 26 BB, 66 K, 3-3 record, 11 holds, 4 SV, 1.17 WHIP, 2.62 ERA

Frank Francisco, age 32, 2 year deal for $12 million total.

50.2 IP, 49 H, 18 BB, 53 K, 1-4 record, 2 holds, 17 SV, 1.32 WHIP, 3.55 ERA

Jon Rauch, age 33, 1 year deal for $3.5 million.

52 IP, 56 H, 14 BB, 36 K, 5-4 record, 4 holds, 11 SV, 1.35 WHIP, 4.85 ERA

Ramirez was very solid for the Giants last year holding opponents to a .216 Avg and very impressive OPS of .596! Francisco has been a solid reliever since 2008, bouncing back and forth as a closer and setup man over those years. The incredibly massive, 6’10” 290 pounds, Jon Rauch had a rough second half of 2011. He battled appendicitis in August and then tore his right knee cartilage in September. Ouch! Rauch also got hit hard for 10 homeruns during his injury-plagued season. The Mets must be convinced he is healthy and will rebound in 2012. Rauch has had several elite level seasons also bouncing back and forth between setup man and closer.

Throw these three into the mix with both hard throwing Manny Acosta and Bobby Parnell, and you have quite a few pieces to choose from to finish games. They may even bring the veteran Jason Isringhausen back. The manager Terry Collins has already said he favors Francisco as his closer with Rauch getting the majority of 8^th inning setup work. Sadly, having a decent bullpen might go to waste with the Mets. The offense doesn’t look like it will produce many late game leads and the starting rotation is looking patchy at best. One can always hope Johan Santana comes back healthy and close to his CY Young form.

Part of the deal the Mets made to get Ramon Ramirez from the San Fransico Giants, included receiving OF Andres Torres and sending OF Angel Pagan. Pagan had become too much of a headache for the Mets to deal with, having clashed with the manager several times over the course of the season. The 33 year old Torres is a very solid defender and will man centerfield for the Mets. Unfortunately, he is a very light hitter, but the Mets would seem to have no one better to lead off. How weak is the Mets offense? Here is my early projection of their 2012 lineup… judge for yourself how limp it will be…

Andres Torres    (S) CF

Dan Murphy       (L) 2B

David Wright      (R) 3B

Ike Davis            (L) 1B

Jason Bay           (R) LF

Lucas Duda        (L) RF

Ruben Tejada     (R) SS

Josh Thole          (L) C

I like trying to go righty-lefty whenever possible with lineups.

This lineup configuration is based on several things; Davis coming back healthy after missing most of the season (he only played 36 games), Wright still being on the team when the season starts (chances are good that he will be traded), Bay producing anything to justify his enormous contract (so far Bay has been paid close to $37 million for his 18 HR, 104 RBI over two seasons). If Bay starts off the first month of the season struggling again, will the Mets just give up on him? It just feels like I am watching a slow-motion car wreck occurring and I can’t turn away!

How bad are the finances for the Wilpon family and the Mets? I don’t know their exact state, of course, but besides still having to possibly fork up close to $400 million to settle the Madoff case:

1) They owe a $430 million dollar team mortgage, principle is due June 2014.

2) They owe a $450 million dollar loan against their cable network SNY, most of which is due June 2015.

3) They owe a revenue sharing payment between $15-20 mil due by the end of November (Really? I mean REALLY?? COME ON!!).

4) They owe $26 Million as their bi-annual payment on Citi Field, due December 15^th.

5) They owe Major League Baseball $25 million that was given to them as an emergency loan, OK’d by commissioner Bud Selig.

Everything looks hunky-dory to me!

In my opinion it’s time the Mets had new ownership, period. This situation is not being handled right by the commissioner Bud Selig who, by the way, insanely earned over $18 million in salary last year. In the end it’s going to be another big headache for baseball like the Los Angeles Dodgers are. The Mets are a large market team and it’s a crime that their fans off-season highpoint will be the acquisition of three relievers!